Building a more just world over a cup of tea: EqualiTEA returns to celebrate Women's History Month at GVSU

Grand Valley students, faculty and staff gathered to celebrate Women’s History Month at EqualiTEA on March 18, where they heard from an advocate for optimizing the working world for all. 

Sandra Upton, founder of Upton Consulting Group , led a discussion on how to continue the work of building a more just workplace and world while navigating a constantly changing societal climate. 

Upton offered three strategies on how to collectively and individually make a lasting impact: stay focused on moving this work forward, be a change leader in your community and practice cultural intelligence. 

“In addition to creating change and seeing yourself as change leaders, you also want to make sure that you're demanding change,” said Upton, elaborating on her second strategy. “So how do we do that? You make your voice heard. You hold leadership accountable to the work. You get involved in campus and community activism. You make sure you vote.” 

A long-standing part of Grand Valley’s Women’s History Month celebrations, EqualiTEA began in 2003 and has served as a place for the community to gather and have important conversations over a cup of tea ever since. 

“The women’s suffrage movement started with a tea party,” said Holly Jasinski, director of the Gayle R. Davis Center for Women and Gender Equity (CWGE). “EqualiTEA is an opportunity to reflect on the past, make new connections, and strengthen our resolve to work toward gender equity.”

For Grand Valley junior Lilah Wolfer, creating change looks like her on-campus job as a student employee at the CWGE. Through her position, she has seen the impact of having a feminist-focused space at Grand Valley, through large events like EqualiTEA and smaller weekly programs like Talk Back Tuesday and Femme Film Friday that encourage students to participate in conversations about gender and equality issues. 

“I keep saying to myself, I’m just a student worker. But I’m often the first face people see when they’re visiting the CWGE,” said Wolfer. “With this event, it’s much more impactful, because you realize what’s happening in the world and that there’s still a sense of community even in a mid-size school like Grand Valley; that people are showing up and coming out.”