Stories about gender specific stereotypes, MC USA convention to be told

 February kicks off Bluffton’s spring semester “First Tuesday” Forum events.  The first Tuesday of every month, between Feb. and April, two Forum lectures will be offered from 11 a.m. to noon. 

On Feb. 2, Kathy DeBoer, Executive Director of the American Volleyball Coaches Association, will present her speech titled “Gender and Competition: Discussing and Dealing with Difference” at 11 a.m. in Yoder Recital Hall.

She will discuss the potential problems that can arise through the well-intentioned desire to avoid stereotypes. Join us for an entertaining talk on gender-related reactions to competitive situations that will allow you to both laugh and think about difference in new ways.

DeBoer become the executive director in 2006 after serving 23 years in intercollegiate athletics as a coach, administrator and fundraiser. She also spent eighteen years as the head volleyball coach at the University of Kentucky where she finished as the Senior Associate Athletics Director. She resides in Lexington, Ky.

In addition to the speaker in Yoder Recital Hall, Bluffton University senior Margaret Short will be presenting a speech titled “Covering Conflict at Kansas City 2015” at 11 a.m. in the Reading Room of Musselman Library.

Short is a public relations major at Bluffton University, and she will reflect on her role as a team member of the Bluffton student journalists who told the story of the recent Mennonite Church USA convention. She is from Archbold, Ohio.