The University Women’s Center used their final Brown Bag Luncheon of the semester to have attendees assess their command of women’s history.
The informal event, which utilized a series of games aimed to test popular knowledge of women’s history, was held yesterday at the Women’s Center in Hanna Hall.
“Game Day: How Well Do You Know Women’s History?” featured complimentary cookies, group discussion and card games that highlighted the achievements of various notable women in history.
The first game, which vaguely resembled “Go Fish,” featured notable African-American women such as jazz singer Billie Holiday, entertainer Josephine Baker and poet/activist Alice Ruth Moore Dunbar-Nelson. For this game, the players tentatively agreed upon a set of rules that were constantly exploited in the various players’ interests.
The second game, which somewhat resembled rummy, featured renowned female athletes like track and field legend Wilma Rudolph, tennis star Billie Jean King and swimming gold medalist Shane Gould. In this game, each of the rules was disputed from the onset and eventually all discernible rules were abandoned, with the various players cheerfully crying foul play at one another.
Marshall Rose, the director of the University’s Office of Equity and Diversity, noted the absence of distinct regulations effectively nullified the claims of cheating.
“You can’t really cheat if there are no rules,” he said.
Grace Mbungu, the graduate assistant of the Women’s Center, appeared to win both of yesterday’s games. Not surprisingly, she was the most accused of all players.
“I feel really good about this game. It was the most enjoyable thing I did at the Women’s Center this year because it was a learning experience. And because I won,” she said.
Mary Krueger, the director of the Women’s Center, was pleased with the event’s relaxed atmosphere.
“I thought it was really cozy and fun. I wish we would have had more folks, but that’s okay,” she said.
In 2009, the Women’s Center will resume its Brown Bag Luncheons as well as a number of other featured events.
“We will have another series of Brown Bag Luncheons next semester on a variety of topics, some serious, some lighter,” Krueger said.
