Students, faculty and staff are urged to participate in the Women's Issues Discussion series at noon Wednesday in the Southeast Missouri State University Center Tribute Room. This event, "The Working Woman: Shattering the Glass Ceiling," will highlight many issues working women face and highlight the idea of feminism.

"The event will be held like a full discussion. We will talk on the subject for a short time then allow the people attending to discuss the subject. We are hoping we get a good turnout, and everyone is welcomed to join, regardless of being male or female," Coordinator of Leadership Development Megan Randolph-Murray said. "The events are held during lunch time so more people are able to join the discussion at a convenient time, and it is OK for people to bring their lunch with them, too.

"We are also arranging to have a dinner one night too instead of the snacks we provide to get more people interested in coming. We try to create a good educated discussion on not only feminism, but gender roles, social justice and women's rights. A lot of the time when people hear the word feminism, it becomes a sore or touchy subject. Many people view feminism as a bad thing, so we are really just focused on letting students know what it really is, and that it shouldn't be a touchy subject. There will also be a session for male feminists, which not many people think exist. This is also a great chance for students to network with many of the very successful women from the area."

This event is part of an eight-week-long discussion series. There is an event held once a week that started at the beginning of February and will end at the beginning of May. The series is designed to provide the Southeast community with a chance to talk about subjects that are rarely talked about. Other events will be held at the same place and time on April 8 with "The Sexual Double Standard," April 22 with "The Ban Bossy Movement" and May 6 with "The Male Feminists" to help educate students, faculty and staff about the meaning and purpose of feminism.

"The idea of feminism to me is the pursuit of equal rights for women or men who have had sex changes, who are now women," Southeast student Seth Mayes said. "Feminism is about equal rights such as pay, employment, the extermination of sexist jokes and treatment. Overall, feminism to me is the general equal acceptance of women, but equal rights are so skewed. Feminism now may even focus on the act of being feminine like supporting a more metro male. Anyone can act feminine; I assume we don't want to put gender on feminism because equal rights should be for everyone, not just women. I think I would go to this event if I had the time. I think it would be interesting with what other people come up with."

The events are sponsored by Leadership Development, Campus Life & Event Services and the LGBT Resource Center. For more information on this event or for a calendar of the whole series, students can email leadership@semo.edu, call (573) 651-2280 or go to the University Center, room 414.