The Saint Mary's and Notre Dame communities will gather Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Stapleton Lounge, Le Mans Hall to discuss women in athletics.
Notre Dame senior Alison Leddy, founder of the female empowerment club Notre Dames, said she hopes this week's “Talk it Out Tuesday” event will strengthen the relationship between the two schools.
“I recognize that most Notre Dame women never go to Saint Mary’s beautiful campus, yet we seem to expect Saint Mary’s women to come to our campus for classes, clubs and social events,” Leddy said.
“This Talk It Out Tuesday is a great opportunity to explore Saint Mary's and to chat about the very interesting issues surrounding women in athletics.”
Leddy said the club’s weekly discussions generally deal with issues that affect women, but this week’s topic is especially meaningful.
“I have always been interested in hosting Talk it Out Tuesdays at Saint Mary’s because I want Notre Dames to be as inclusive, collaborative and supportive of the women in the Notre Dame and Saint Mary's family as possible,” Leddy said.
“We’ve reached out to coaches at Saint Mary’s because the input of female athletes would be extremely valuable in this conversation.”
Although Leddy encourages participation of athletes in this week's Talk it Out Tuesday, she said that all are welcome to discuss this topic.
“For the non-athletes, there is absolutely room to contribute about perceptions of female athletics and the treatment of female sports fans,” Leddy said.
“It’s a great chance to learn more, listen to insights from others, and get inspired.”
Leddy said she worked closely with senior and community co-chair of Saint Mary's student government association, Emily Getz, to coordinate the event. Notre Dames hopes this week’s discussion will spark weekly participation from Saint Mary’s students, Getz said.
“Alison and I are hoping that by hosting the event here, students from Saint Mary’s will enjoy the talk and start going to Notre Dames on Tuesdays,” Getz said.
“I see Notre Dames as a great way to bring women together.”
Tuesday’s event is an open discussion, but Getz said she especially hopes to discuss why men’s and women’s sports follow different rules.
“I hope women will recognize the differences in men’s and women’s athletics,” Getz said.
“Through society, women and men are given these distinct norms, but in my opinion, not every man or woman fits these characteristics.”
“People believe that because men are bigger, faster and stronger, women should play by a separate set of rules,” Getz said. “This is not necessarily the case.”
She said she looks forward to hearing new opinions on the topic, since many students have played sports at some point in their lives.
“We thought athletics would be an interesting topic of discussion, because of the community of the two schools,” Getz said.
“With Saint Mary’s having all women athletic teams and Notre Dame having co-ed athletics, it will be interesting to hear people’s perspectives on both sides.”
