Celebrate Women's History Month!

March is probably best known for two things: St. Patrick's Day and NCAA March Madness. But the month has even more special significance than for shamrocks and basketball, because it is also Women’s History Month. Its purpose is to recognize and honor the achievements women have made throughout history, and the roots of this declared month stem from International Women’s Day.

International Women’s Day is March 8th and is considered to be a major day of global celebration for the achievements of women. On March 8th, 1857, women working in clothing and textile factories staged a protest over poor working conditions and low wages. More protests followed on March 8th during subsequent years. On March 8th, 1908, 15,000 women marched through the streets of New York City to demand less working hours, better wages, and voting rights.

The first observance of International Women’s Day in the United States was on February 28th, 1909. Although International Women’s Day was commemorated in this country through the early 1900s, the fervor began to dissipate after the 1920s. The flame was rekindled in the 1960s due to the rise of feminism. In 1978, the school district of Sonoma, California participated in Women’s History Week, centering the event during the week of March 26th. In 1981, Congress passed a resolution making Women’s History Week a national holiday in response to the increasing popularity of the event. In 1987, the week was expanded to include the entire month of March.

Chicsters: do not let this important month go by without showing your female spirit! Learn more about a woman that has influenced the course of women’s history. Volunteer your time at a local women’s shelter. Give a donation to The National Breast Cancer Society. Take part in an event on campus or organize one yourself. Universities across the nation are holding events to commemorate Women’s History Month.

A selection of Women's History Month celebrations on college campuses include:

*The Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture at Duke University is co-sponsoring "The Five Women @ Duke Photo Contest". The contest and exhibit consists of a recreation of a photos of five Duke University women taken near the Clock Quad in 1946 and 1976. The exhibit will open March 21st.

*At Arizona State University, a three-part lunch and learn series will be held in which the focus will center around the women's suffrage movement and the women that helped shape it. The award-winning documentary "Not for Ourselves Alone”, which explores lives and work of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, will also be shown.

*The Women's History Celebration Committee of St. John’s University sponsored a Women’s Hat Luncheon on March 8, 2007 in an effort to honor the women of St. John’s and acknowledge “ the many hats they wear.”

(Please check the events calendar at your university to get the low-down on what events are being held in honor of Women’s History Month.)

The Virginia Slims slogan is correct: women have come a long way. However, women still do not receive the same wages as men for the same job, and a woman’s right to choose is still a topic of heavy debate. It is evident that women must trek further. University women of today will be the leaders of the world tomorrow. The true significance of Women’s History Month is not to discuss the importance of women like Susan B. Anthony or Gloria Steinem over a Starbucks latte.

Instead, we should take the thirty-one days of March and regard it as a measuring stick that shows how far women still must travel in order to truly be considered an equal gender, not only in the United States, but also around the world. It is a time to accept our roles as the future luminaries that will brighten the path of women’s history for the women that will follow behind us this millennium, just like the woman of the previous century did for us.

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