By RAYMOND ADEEKO

Staff Writer

International Women's Day is not only a United Nations holiday, but also a local event celebrated by some faculty and staff.

IWD, which will be held March 8, is an internationally-celebrated occasion commemorated to appreciate and praise the works of women all around the world.

Anne Reynolds-Case, an instructor of Spanish, said she likes the idea of IWD because it shows people to realize the importance of women in society and be more grateful of what they do.

"I think the IWD recognizes how far women have come, and where they are now is so much better than where we were before," Reynolds-Case said. "It's more of an appreciation day for women. I think the day is more positive than negative."

According to the Web site www.un.org/ecosocdev/geninfo/women/womday97.htm, it is a day when women on all continents, often divided by national boundaries and by ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences, come together to celebrate their day.

Marissa Sanders, a junior kinesiology and health promotions major, said the day agrees with the struggles and quest of women in the past for a more balanced society.

She also said it is befitting that the women are recognized and appreciated.

"I think it is a pretty neat idea," Sanders said. "I do agree with women's rights and I think [IWD] should be a norm to be continued."

The Web site concurred with Sanders and added that in commemoration of the day, women can look back to a tradition that represents at least nine decades of struggle for equality, justice, peace and development.

It also praises women for their efforts and participation in issues of importance to the modern world.

Reynolds-case presented a paper at a Louisiana State University, Baton Rogue symposium for Spanish teachers in Oct. 18 2003 in which she discussed the stereotype of "Spanish Women".

She said during her visits to some Hispanic communities in the U.S, she noticed that women were still regarded as inferior. She linked this to the message of IWD that exonerates women who have now come to be respected persons in matters of the world today.

In California, I noticed that Hispanic women were quieter than men and didn’t speak up for themselves," Reynolds-case said. "[People] should realize that things have changed a lot and it is not really like that anymore."

The Web site said, "Today a central organizing principle of the work in the United Nations is that no enduring solution to society's most threatening social, economic and political problems can be found without the full participation, and the full empowerment, of the world's women."

Ejiro Oteri, a freshman mechanical engineering major, said the IWD should be more popularized. She also said the day is well deserved because of growth of women in the professional world.

"I think it helps women come together to share a common joy and feeling of triumph," Oteri said. "It shows that a woman's place is no longer in the kitchen or the bedroom."

Oteri also said the day symbolizes a change in the trend that women should be dependent.