March is National Women’s History Month, and we, the Editorial Leadership of the Muleskinner, want to celebrate the women who have helped form this newsroom into the award-winning student publication it is today.

  The National Women’s History Alliance, the organization that pushed for March to be declared National Women’s History Month, announced the 2023 women’s history theme as, “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.”

  This theme was made to celebrate women journalists, and women who have supported storytelling throughout their lives. National Women’s History Month is of course meant to pay respect to the women of the past, those who fought for rights and freedoms we exercise everyday. However, the purpose of this month is more than that. 

  We would also like to appreciate the women of today, those who are currently making history and making a difference. This month is also a time to empower upcoming women, those who are still finding their place and those who are learning about what it means to be a woman.  

  The women of our newsroom are today’s storytellers, they are expressing themselves in ways that were stifled for so long. The young women that make up our staff are not the only feminine pillars of our organization. 

  Muleskinner Faculty Adviser, Julie Lewis, has worked to empower the voices of students all while being a mother and leader in the local community. While Lewis has only been at the publication for a few years, her impact on the Muleskinner and the adjoining curriculum have made innovations in our coaching and learning lab experience. 

  Nicole Cook, as the Editor in Chief of the Warrensburg Star Journal, Sedalia Democrat and member of the  University of Central Missouri Student Publication Board has also made a difference as a woman storyteller. As an alumna of UCM, she still dedicates her time to our campus and further educating the local community. She recently spoke on campus during a panel discussion about the changing nature of news, where she explained her publication’s commitment to expanding media literacy. 

  Last semester the Muleskinner covered Millie Barnes, a historic figure in women’s intercollegiate basketball and former Jennies basketball coach, and helping to tell the story of women from our history is part of the joy we take in this service. To learn more about the sacrifices and battles women took part in has given us a deeper understanding of all the privileges we have today. 

  This month is a time to pay respects to the women who have made the world a better place, and the women who are still working and fighting to do so. 

  “Women have long been instrumental in passing on our heritage in word and in print to communicate the lessons of those who came before us,” the National Women’s History Alliance stated on their 2023 theme. “Women’s stories, and the larger human story, expand our understanding and strengthen our connections with each other.”