March serves as Women's History Month, and within that month is the iconic, International Women's Day, taking place Sunday, March 8. To honor and celebrate this month of remembering the cultural impact women have made, many groups within the Kean community have prepared events designed to acknowledge the contributions women have made in history, and to empower the women of today to shatter the societal expectations placed on them.

To directly celebrate International Women's Day, the Center for Leadership and Service will be hosting an event in the Miron Student Center Atrium on March 4 from 1 to 4 p.m. This event is meant to pay homage and respect to powerful women in history. The event will have information and a showing of some of these empowering women. For more information, call the Center for Leadership and Service at 908-737-5170 or email serve@kean.edu.

Another event, also being spear-headed by the Center for Leadership and Service, is the Women's Fighting Hunger Luncheon: Community Food Bank event. This will be a special trip to the annual Women Fighting Hunger Luncheon, hosted by the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, on Friday, March 6 from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

This luncheon is meant to connect women and work toward ending hunger and food insecurity in the community. This event is a service trip for students, who will be volunteering to assist in the preparation for the event. Pre-registration is required for the luncheon and only limited spots are available.Transportation will be provided. Information regarding departure time and location will be provided to approved volunteers closer to the event date.

P.U.L.S.E. will also be hosting a Women on the Rise Brunch in the Cougar's Den on Wednesday, March 18 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. P.U.L.S.E. stands for Programming for a Unique and Lively Student Experience, and they work to create activities for student entertainment on campus. Their goal is to promote student involvement and community. This event invites students to join in advocating empowerment and listen to guest speakers from the community. One can expect free food and giveaways at this event, as well as learning a new appreciation for powerful women.

Additionally, Catholic Newman Club will be hosting their event, International Women's Day: Women in the Church on Tuesday, March 3 at 3:30 p.m. which will be a discussion of the important roles women hold in the Church.

Further, the Annual Women's History Month Guest Lecture will be taking place Monday, March 16 at 11 a.m. The guest lecture will be Claire Renzetti, Ph.D., who will be talking about the perceptions of justice in campus sexual assault cases.

For students who live within the residence halls, there is also a multitude of events being produced by the Residential Student Services' (RSS) Resident Assistants, meant to educate attendees on the impact and cultural influence many women have had throughout history. These events can be found on Cougar Link.

All of these events, and others, are opportunities for students to pay tribute to women in history and celebrate the women in their own lives. Many more events honoring Women's History Month and International Women's Day can be found on Cougar Link. Also, students should look out for events produced by women's groups on campus, like the National Council of Negro Women, Association for Computing Machinery - Women, American Medical Women's Association and all of Kean's many female-led sororities.