Women’s Agenda Assembly to meet Oct. 23

Sarah McGlinchey / Reporter

Attention local women of Elon University: you can have a voice and make a change in your community! That’s right, talk about issues affecting you, decide what’s most important and make a difference.

Your opinion counts, and it can be taken as far as the state legislature.

The 2004 Alamance County Women’s Agenda Assembly will be held Oct. 23 at Alamance Regional Medical Center’s Grand Oaks Building. This forum addresses issues affecting local women and their families, such as domestic violence, health care access, mental health services, equal political representation and aging.

“Women are encouraged to come and have a voice in developing public policy. This is a way to speak your mind and help improve the lives of women in Alamance County and across the state,” said Becky Mock, coordinator of the Alamance County Assembly.

The Women’s Agenda Assembly is held in the even years to produce the information that will be submitted to the Women’s Legislative Agenda’s General Assembly, which is held in the odd years.

The assembly is one of many being held across North Carolina by the North Carolina Women United (NCWU) Women’s Agenda Program. NCWU supports women through grassroots activism, community organizing, legislative advocacy and engagement in the political process. The results of the Women’s Agenda Assembly help to produce the statewide 2005 Women’s Legislative Agenda Assembly.

The assembly generally begins with a group discussion, where about five minutes is spent discussing the proposed issues. This generates into small group discussions, where groups of eight to ten women discuss and rank each of the issues based on importance. Then the entire group meets once again to rank each of the issues for a second time. The final results are sent to the state legislature.

“I think it’s a great way to find out from other women in the community about issues that are important to all of us. It’s so important for all of us to join together so that our voices can be heard by the Legislature, and there is no better time than now,” said freshman Lindsay Howerton.

The deadline for registration is Oct. 18. The $6 registration fee includes lunch and materials. Scholarships are also available from the Women’s Resource Center.

To register, to apply for a scholarship, or for more information, contact the Women’s Resource Center (WRC) at 227-6900 or visit the WRC online at http://www.wrcac.org.

Contact Sarah McGlinchey at pendulum@elon.edu or 278-7247.