April Cambero
Social Media Editor
The Office of International Services and Engagement and the Center for Multicultural Services collaborated to create a small event to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 7 in the Johnson Family Plaza.
Students walking by on their way to class, work and meetings joined in on the festivities that the event had to offer. Music by women artists only blasted through the plaza and caught the attention of many students and faculty.
International Women’s Day, March 8, has been celebrated annually since the early 20th Century in North America and Europe, as a day to shine a light on such issues as gender equity, reproductive rights and violence against women.
A plethora of colorful and impactful stickers were available for students to peruse as they enjoyed coffee, donuts, music and each other’s company.
“Celebrating International Women’s Day is very important solely for the fact that the amount of oppression that women have faced is still rooted a lot culturally and religiously so it’s good to let women know that we still support you no matter what,” Miguel Hernandez, freshman education major, said.
Hernandez passed by with their friends and ran into the event. They were thrilled to see the nature of the event and see the gathering of women there.
Although it was a small and short event, students were excited to see the University of La Verne celebrating an important day like International Women’s Day and brought the ULV community together to recognize women and their achievements.
At the event, the offices of International Services and Engagement and the Center for Multicultural Services ensured all students could participate. Although it was an event geared towards women, it was important for all students, including men, to recognize a day like this.
“I think it’s a great thing that the University is putting on an event for this day not only just to celebrate women, but also to bring awareness for those who maybe didn’t know that there was a day dedicated for women,” Jocel Sanchez, junior anthropology major, said.
Sanchez is a student worker at the Ludwick Center and attended to support the event as well as celebrate International Women’s Day. She was happy to be able to be a part of the event and see students participating.
International Women’s Day, officially recognized by the United Nations in 1977, is a day to celebrate women’s accomplishments.
According to the United Nations website, we celebrate on March 8 because during the Russian Revolution women protested for peace and observed their first women’s day on March 8. The rest of the United Nations followed suit and now celebrates on our around that day.
Students were thrilled to see ULV care about a day like this and take time to acknowledge its importance. ULV took into consideration that not many students are here on Friday’s and chose to celebrate the day before to make sure the ULV community had a chance to commemorate the day.
“I think it’s honestly great that they’re celebrating just an important time in history because we don’t really shed light on issues that go on,” Jazmin Jacamo, freshman political science major, said. “But I feel like since the university is doing this it’s like just keeping in touch with all the students and just the diverse people here.”
When reflecting on International Women’s Day and its roots, students believed that ULV had been doing a great job at acknowledging women like with this event, however they can still do a better job. Some students had some creative ideas that can bring the ULV community of women together and support them better.
“I know some colleges do a female walk through the city where if I want to go for a walk I have all these people to go with me for protection and support and things like that,” Eva White, sophomore kinesiology major, said. “I know I go for walks around the La Verne neighborhoods and I have not had any issues, but it would be interesting to see how many women could show up for something like that.”
April Cambero can be reached at april.cambero@laverne.edu.
April Cambero is a senior communications major with a concentration in public relations. She is the Fall 2024 editor-in-chief for the Campus Times and has also served as social media editor and staff writer.
Ayalen Ortiz, a freshman art major, is a staff photographer for the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine. He has past experience with graphic design, fine arts and video editing.
