On February 15th, 2016, SBAI held a celebration of Susan B. Anthony’s 196th birthday. Thank you to all of those who attended! During the celebration we recognized two student-selected guests of honor and enjoyed a talk about Susan B. Anthony in local, national, and international perspective.
The birthday cake! The yellow rose is a symbol of the Suffrage Movement, and is the perfect decoration for a cake celebrating Susan B. Anthony’s life and work.
Nora Rubel, Director of SBAI, welcomed attendees and introduced our guests of honor chosen by University of Rochester students for their leadership in the the university community.
Sasha Eloi
One of our guests of honor this year was Sasha Eloi. Sasha is an Academic Program Coordinator in the Office of Minority Student Affairs and an Instructor in the Department of Linguistics at the University of Rochester. We honored Sasha today in recognition of her service and activism in the university community, and for her indispensable support and guidance of students as they develop their own leadership skills. Sasha serves as a leader to her peers in the university-wide Diversity & Inclusion Committee, and continues to be an outstanding advisor to the Black Student Union and the Douglass Leadership House.
Tobi Abubakare
Tobi Abubakare is a junior majoring in neuroscience and is an active member of the University of Rochester’s Debate Union. Today we recognized Tobi for her important advocacy work on intersectional feminism, particularly with regards to intersections of disability status and race with gender. Much of her work takes places within the debate team at the University of Rochester and the broader debate community, but she also spends time discussing feminisms, race, and disability informally with her peers. Tobi’s willingness to engage in challenging discussions about these topics in a variety of situations makes her an asset to the University.
Jean Pedersen delivering her talk on Susan B. Anthony’s international work
Jean Pedersen’s talk, “Susan B. Anthony in Local, National, and International Perspective” not only touched upon Anthony’s work in Rochester and the United States, but also her international travels, conversations with French and British activists, and her participation in the creation of the International Council of Women.
Jean Elisabeth Pedersen is Associate Professor of History at the Eastman School of Music, with additional appointments in the History Department and the Susan B. Anthony Institute. Her main research interests focus on the intellectual and cultural history of nineteenth and twentieth century France, and she offers courses on a wide range of topics in French history, European history, and comparative European and American history from the eighteenth century to the present day. She is currently teaching International Human Rights at the College of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering.
