Events

Since its founding in 2022, SWIS has participated in the annual Climate Action Exposition at Ithaca High School, organized by IHS GOAT (Green Outdoor Adventure Team). This is a fun and inclusive event is open to all students, parents, guardians and community members, with the goal of informing participants about the realities of the climate crisis and equipping them with a range of tools to address it by partnering with community organizations to provide numerous demonstrations of practical decarbonizing solutions, from composting to transportation alternatives, renewable energy, lobbying efforts, urban planning, building practices, and much more.

SWIS's display and presentation was focused on the social and human impacts of climate change, as well as inequity in the climate movement.

• Feminists @ Boynton: SWIS has met with the recently-formed feminist club at Boynton Middle School over the past couple of years, and we plan on marching with them in the Ithaca Parade in coming years.

• Active Minds: In 2019, SWIS held a joint meeting with the IHS branch of Active Minds to discuss body image, as the club's mission is to destigmatize, talk about, and improve our community's mental health.

• Feminists of Tompkins County: In 2015, SWIS collaborated with feminists clubs at Trumansburg and LACS to host a semi-formal soiree, themed A Night in Classic Hollywood. All profits were donated to the Advocacy Center.

• EE Club: In 2015, SWIS collaborated with the class of 2016 and the EE Club to organize a Sadie Hawkins Homecoming dance.

Ithaca Parade

• • In recent years, SWIS members have marched with the Feminists @ Boynton club in the parade.

  • In 2016, SWIS marched in the parade in support of Planned Parenthood.

Johnson Art Museum

• • Due to the museum's current covid policy, they have not permitted in-person field trips over the past few years, but once they open up again to larger groups, SWIS plans on visiting for special exhibits.

  • In November 2021, SWIS met with the museum over Zoom to view and discuss this exhibit: Women Making Their Mark.

  • In March 2020, museum curators Maryterese Pasquale and Nancy Green met with SWIS over Zoom to present on "Prom, the Kitchen Table, and a Five Day Forecast: Women + Contemporary Photography."

Movie Nights

• • We have held movie showings in the past of movies like Mean Girls, and more recently in 2021 we hosted a showing of the 2018 documentary Period. End of Sentence.

  • In 2015, SWIS took field trips to Cinemapolis to watch Connie Cook: A Documentary and Suffragette.

Protests

• • Historically (most recently in 2017, 2018, and 2023), SWIS has participated in Take Back the Night, which is an annual march, rally, and vigil that unites the Ithaca community to support survivors and envision an end to sexual assault, domestic violence, rape, and child sexual abuse. 

  • In January 2016, SWIS took a bus to the New York State Capitol in Albany to participate in Planned Parenthood's Day of Action rally.

Seneca Falls

• • In 2014, SWIS visited the Women's Rights National Historical Park in Seneca Falls, NY. Members toured the museum, the Wesleyan Chapel, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton's house, and discussed first wave feminism.

We think that guest speakers are really important, especially for topics which SWIS members do not have much experience or perspective on. SWIS aims to bring in more guest speakers, but the pandemic has made this more challenging in recent years. 

Some of our most recent guest speakers:

• Vanessa Fajans-Turner, an IHS alum on the campaign trail running for Congress, came to SWIS in April 2022 to talk about her experiences in politics and the importance of political engagement. She was able to offer insight on everything from climate policies to speaking in front of an audience to the war in Ukraine.

• Kate Hooks gave a presentation to SWIS on "Losing My Body without Losing Myself" in February 2022 and 2023, in honor of Rare Disease Day (2/28). Ms. Hooks has multiple sclerosis and works at Ithaca High School, and she was able to share her experiences with accessibility (especially while working at public schools), body positivity vs. body neutrality, and struggling to get a diagnosis. 

Herstory is an annual event and fundraiser for the Advocacy Center of Tompkins County that SWIS hosts in which guest speakers from the community are invited to talk about subjects surrounding women's rights.

In 2020, Herstory was virtual and themed "Women Around the World." Take a look at it here: Archived: Herstory 2020

• It was also featured in the Ithaca Voice 

Some past Herstory themes: "Women in Politics", "Lessons from Our Mothers", "A Celebration of Love", and "A Personal History of Feminism"

Every year, SWIS holds a drive collecting menstrual products. In the past, we have donated the collected products to local women's homeless shelters, but in 2023 we decided to give back more directly to the IHS community by donating to the IHS Community Closet and Nurse's Office, as well as the Tompkins County Advocacy Center. This drive serves to raise awareness about period poverty in our own community and help students access our school resources for menstrual products.

SWIS often contributes to Social Justice Week, which is a designated week at Ithaca High School when classes are invited to attend presentations, panels, events, and activities by student clubs, community organizations, and guest speakers. Social Justice Week aims to introduce IHS students to diverse perspectives and voices, to inspire their critical thinking, and to invite dialogue on a wide array of social and political issues.

Here are some of our past presentations:

• In 2023, SWIS presented on sexual violence, resources for survivors, and the annual Take Back the Night event (see below). We titled our presentation "Take Back the Night: Supporting Survivors and Ending Silence". We also hosted a poster-making workshop for the Take Back the Night event during lunch.

• In 2019, SWIS presented on the topic "2019: The Year of Women"

• In 2018, SWIS presented on the topic "Men and Feminism: Ways Everyone Can Support Gender Equality"

Annually, with a brief hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SWIS collaborates with the Advocacy Center to take part in Take Back the Night, which is a march, rally, and vigil that unites the community to support survivors and envision an end to sexual assault, domestic violence, rape, and child sexual abuse. Tracing roots back to the 1970s, Take Back the Night started as a call to end violence and reclaim the night for survivors without fear from walking alone after dark.

In April 2023, SWIS, along with the Advocacy Center with support from ICSD administration, organized a march from IHS on the afternoon of Take Back the Night to show student solidarity with survivors and victims of sexual violence, which then joined the main rally and vigil on the Ithaca Commons. Preceding this, we used our platform during Social Justice Week to do a presentation about sexual violence and Take Back the Night, as well as to organize a poster-making workshop for the IHS community in preparation for TBTN.