In celebration of Women’s History Month, West seniors Isabella Gourley, McKenna Anderson, Alaina Berk, Eleanor Mastin, and Isabella Crozier decided to plan a women’s history assembly and march that took place at West on April 6, 2023. Something like this has not been done before at West. Those who took part in planning the assembly and march decided to start this new tradition as a way to spread light on the obstacles and struggles that women face today in America. The girls even took the charge in contacting Natalie Manley, an Illinois State Representative here in Joliet to speak at the assembly and participate in the march.

On April 5, 2023, a poster-making event was held to spark excitement for the event. The festivities started with an assembly during 8th period on April 6 where guest speaker Natalie Manley spoke on the history of women in America, women in power, what they’re working towards now, and how students at West can get involved. After the assembly, the march was held on the West campus for about 20 minutes.

One of the main coordinators of this event, senior Isabella Gourley, explained that women “have to put in twice the amount of work to get to the same place as their male counterparts.” After Gourley graduates she believes this march “must be a standing tradition because change cannot happen with one person, it must be a continuous effort by everyone.”

Although the West community has already been on the right track in regards to this topic, vice principal Mrs. Wooten thinks this event can give students the motivation to understand and recognize the issues women face in general in our society. Mrs. Wooten wanted to thank the students for coming up with this idea and as a last remark added, “It doesn’t surprise me because students in this school always step up for what they think we need.”