The Brandeis Women's Studies Program started its 25th anniversary celebration on Saturday night in Levin Ballroom. The celebration was entitled "Stirring Up Justice," and revolved around a weekend-long series of workshops which addressed topics such as "Education: Do Girls Rule In School?" and "The Challenge of Men and Feminism." To open the weekend, the Women's Studies Program threw a banquet dinner, complete with speakers and a video documenting the progress of the program in the last quarter century. After a catered dinner, Susan S. Lanser, the current chair of the Women's Studies Program, opened the celebration with some welcoming remarks. She asked various groups of people to stand, including speakers, workshop leaders, alumni and students. Each group was applauded and praised before Lanser began to speak about the program. Her pride in the program and its quick accomplishments was present in every particle of her body, especially in her words. "It's taken less than a quarter century for Women's Studies to infiltrate every academic field," she boasted. She recognized important members of the program, and noted key moments in their history. But she spoke mainly about the future of the program, and its role both at Brandeis and in the world. "Studying Women's Studies means knitting together past and future."

Lanser then introduced Joyce Antler '63, who was the chair of the program from 1980 to 1990. "We begin our celebration by thinking back through our mothers," Antler said, motioning to the pictures decorating the back of the stage, the wall and the podium from which she spoke. Pointing to one old and yellowing picture in particular, she told us "That is Fannie Brandeis," the sister of Brandeis founder Justice Louis Brandeis. After giving a brief overview of Fannie's life, she introduced Annette Liberman Miller '58, an award-winning actress and Brandeis alumna, who would be reading excerpts from the letters of Fannie Brandeis.

Miller has a disarmingly evocative voice, and as I listened to her speak I became more and more convinced that it was the voice of Fannie herself. Miller allowed us to revel in the dim light and used her voice to take us back in time. Fannie's letters were absolutely heartbreaking as her spiral into depression was documented. "I trust I am as happy as I ought to be," Miller read, her voice practically breaking with the confusion and pain, "... Though better than Monday, I am very far from well." For as much as Miller allowed her voice to do the acting, you could see the pain on her face as she read, "So much of my day I must spend in solitude and complete quiet if I am to spend them at all." The letters - and the reading - abruptly concluded as Antler took the stage again to explain that Fannie committed suicide at age 39, shortly after the birth of her daughter.

In contrast to the somber letters of Fannie Brandeis, Robin Parks-McConnell M.F.A. '93 took the stage next to read a composition by Pauli Murray entitled "Rendez-vous with History." Murray was a prominent Women's Rights and Civil Rights activist who was a key link between the two movements. In contrast to Miller, Parks-McConnell used her entire body and truly seemed to become Murray to the point where I was convinced Murray's words were her own. Her performance sent chills of respect and inspiration down my spine. As she detailed the accomplishments of the movement so far, she also posed questions for the future: "We have the power that no other group in our society has ... All we need to fulfill this joyous petition ... is faith in ourselves. We are trembling on the verge of a breakthrough ... Shall we take the risk?"

The audience gave Parks-McConnell a well-deserved standing ovation when she left the stage, and continued to cheer as Antler introduced Shulamit Reinharz, Ph.D. '77, who chaired the Women's Studies Program from 1991-2001. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if Fannie met Pauli?" Reinharz asked as she began to speak. She spoke of history as the program grew from a few headstrong professors to a deeply respected Brandeisian institution. She recognized and spoke about exceptional professors and students who truly did something to help the Women's Movement as it stands today. "To me, that's what Women's Studies is about," she said, "Doing something about it." She also introduced the video, made by Seth Bernstein '06, that documented the past 25 years of the program.
Bernstein's video was an exceedingly well-made documentary that flipped between historical photos, pictures of the new Women's Resource Center and interviews with past and current students and faculty members. It detailed the program from its inception and first major course (Women in the Bible, NEJS), to its current achievements. The look of pride in the eyes of all involved in the program once the video was finished was truly inspiring.

Susan Lanser took the stage once more to offer closing words, but as she spoke I found my mind repeating something Reinharz said at the end of her speech that seemed to embody not only the current celebration, but the central idea of Women's Studies as well. When speaking about the future of Women's Studies, she gave the audience a dazzling smile and said, "What's in the future? Everything's in the future.