German Club Provides Sweets and Suffragettes
Callan Shore, assistant editor
Just days out from International Women’s Day (March 8), it is time to talk women’s suffrage. PVCC’s German Club hosted an event on Feb. 25 to discuss the women’s suffrage movements in the U.S. and Germany.
In the North Mall Meeting Room, the core members of German club gave a PowerPoint presentation and then served as speakers on a panel. With the help of their Faculty Advisor Patricia Jassmann, the members served hot coffee and an assortment of cookies. The turnout was low, but the presenters did not lose confidence.
When picking a topic for their upcoming panel, the members of German Club unanimously voted to cover the suffrage movements. Though none of the club members are fluent in German, they each have enough of a grasp on the language to practice it and play German games during Club meetings.
“The club is not centered around practicing German; it’s more about the culture,” said German club member Sarah Canning.
The German women’s suffragettes faced many of the same challenges as American suffragettes, and they achieved the right to vote sooner, yet member Payton Peins said, “Most people probably don’t even know that this year is the 100 anniversary of German women gaining the right to vote.”
As reported by the Brooklyn Museum website, German suffragette Clara Zetkin may not be as well-known as American suffragettes like Susan B. Anthony, but she was a co-creator of International Women’s Day.
The German Club’s PowerPoint presentation consisted of two slides filled with research about the two countries’ women’s suffrage movements. The presenters compared and contrasted the original motivations for the movements, the supporters and adversaries, and how the laws were changed.
“If a woman in Germany snuck into a political meeting and was discovered, the meeting and everything discussed there was considered ruined,” said Canning.
According to The Local, a German newspaper, German women gained the right to vote in 1919, and American women followed closely behind in 1920.
German Club member Melissa Stacy said, “One difference between the German and American movements was that the German suffragettes focused on legislative change from the beginning, whereas American suffragettes started by protesting.”
The German Club at PVCC meets every Monday. In order to join, students should email Patricia Jassmann at pjassmann@pvcc.edu or call her at (434) 296-0500.
Prospective members can also find out information about the club from a student member.
