By Jose Munoz, 2020-2021 SCS Advising Leader:
While March has passed, it’s important to remember to recognize the achievements and contributions of women and celebrate Irish heritage not only during March. We should continue to observe these accomplishments during and after March. For this blog, I would like to show appreciation for the achievements of women, Irish culture, and the contribution both have made to society around the world. Needless to say, there are many women and Irish activists, artists, musicians, scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs that have made a significant positive impact in the world. The important thing I’d like to emphasize is to appreciate your all heroes as well. Family, food workers, custodians, teachers, laborers, and more. For this month, I have prepared another set of flyers of well-known and less-known figures in Women’s History and Irish Heritage. Feel free to expose yourself to these amazing faces!
Considering the Champaign-Urbana area, there aren’t as many resources as possible around campus to support women-owned and Irish-owned businesses. From what I could find, these are the following resources about supporting women, organizations on campus, general and cultural resources. Though I was only recently able to visit Neil St. Blues under the current COVID guidelines, I very much enjoyed the atmosphere and the food. The events on campus have been limited, but I have full confidence in the Women’s Resource Center and Registered Student Organizations (RSO) on campus as I have multiple friends who have told me their personal experiences with them. I’d like to point out there’s a list of virtual events such as Women’s History Trivia Night on the Women’s Resource Center website that would be great to attend for exposure on the topic. The Women at Illinois resource has a very neatly organized list of academic/professional organizations, social communities, development programs, and national organizations to be involved with.
- Women's Resource Center
- Women at Illinois (organizations/communities)
- Woman-Owned Businesses - Champaign (including Neil St. Blues!)
- Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations
Information I can find for Irish resources on campus includes some ideas on where to dine-in safely under the COVID guidelines! The list of restaurants was prepared by yelp and the history linked below is supplied by the University of Illinois itself. Directories for organizations on campus seem to be limited.
- Irish Illini History
- Businesses to support: Sylvia’s Irish Inn, Murphy’s Pub, Farren’s Pub & Eatery
With a plethora of information to absorb, it is important to be patient and receptive when exploring different cultures and lifestyles different from our own. With each passing day lies a fresh start to learn something new! Don’t be afraid to research, ask questions, and remember to support year-round.