Spring Break
More than March madness
Issue date: 3/3/09 Section: Forum
Many of us know March as the biggest college basketball month of the year. However, it is also Women's History Month.
Sure, celebrating all of the women in your life can be an exhausting task. After all, women represent about 50 percent of the population. Here at OSU, women represent 46.92 percent of the more than 16,000 students.
That wasn't always the case at our school or at any institution. As recently as the 1970s, women were underrepresented in K-12 education. Women's history was not a matter of focus at any education facility nationally; men were in charge, and history was told from a male perspective. On the eve of Title IX in 1978, the Education Task Force of Sonoma County, Calif. noticed the need for a change and created a "Women's History Week."
The task force believed the celebration would help justify the need for Title IX, but thankfully for all of us, this was the first observance of women's history in an educational setting.
In 1987, the National Women's History Project petitioned Congress to expand the celebration through the entire month of March, and here we are today.
There's good reason for this celebration. Women are the mothers, sisters, daughters and girlfriends of this world, yet there is no denying that many are fighting an uphill battle - after all, women are still making 77 cents for every dollar a man makes.
But women are working to claim a place in society. In the 2006-07 school year, 3 million girls competed in high school sports, up from 1.75 million in 1979-80. In 2002, 6.5 million women owned businesses. In the 2004 election, 65 percent of women voted - three percent more than men who voted.
Needless to say, this hard-fought month-long recognition is worth celebrating.
So during the month of March, cheer on the Beavers as they take some names in the basketball playoffs, but remember to celebrate herstory.
Sounds weird? Well, life, from the perspective of men, is history.
The lives of women bring a different perspective, experience and attitude toward our daily lives. The stories of Jackie-O and Michelle Obama are going to be different from their presidential husbands.
Our stories, as women of OSU, will draw a different script than our male counterparts, but that doesn't mean that men can't celebrate. There are important women in all of our lives, and it's easy for all of us-men and women-to take time to celebrate their achievements and amazing stories.
There's a lot going on in the month of March, but be sure to take a moment to celebrate the women in your life.
Editorials serve as a means for Barometer editors to offer commentary and opinions on issues both global and local, grand in scale or diminutive. The views expressed here are a reflection of the editorial board's majority.
Sure, celebrating all of the women in your life can be an exhausting task. After all, women represent about 50 percent of the population. Here at OSU, women represent 46.92 percent of the more than 16,000 students.
That wasn't always the case at our school or at any institution. As recently as the 1970s, women were underrepresented in K-12 education. Women's history was not a matter of focus at any education facility nationally; men were in charge, and history was told from a male perspective. On the eve of Title IX in 1978, the Education Task Force of Sonoma County, Calif. noticed the need for a change and created a "Women's History Week."
The task force believed the celebration would help justify the need for Title IX, but thankfully for all of us, this was the first observance of women's history in an educational setting.
In 1987, the National Women's History Project petitioned Congress to expand the celebration through the entire month of March, and here we are today.
There's good reason for this celebration. Women are the mothers, sisters, daughters and girlfriends of this world, yet there is no denying that many are fighting an uphill battle - after all, women are still making 77 cents for every dollar a man makes.
But women are working to claim a place in society. In the 2006-07 school year, 3 million girls competed in high school sports, up from 1.75 million in 1979-80. In 2002, 6.5 million women owned businesses. In the 2004 election, 65 percent of women voted - three percent more than men who voted.
Needless to say, this hard-fought month-long recognition is worth celebrating.
So during the month of March, cheer on the Beavers as they take some names in the basketball playoffs, but remember to celebrate herstory.
Sounds weird? Well, life, from the perspective of men, is history.
The lives of women bring a different perspective, experience and attitude toward our daily lives. The stories of Jackie-O and Michelle Obama are going to be different from their presidential husbands.
Our stories, as women of OSU, will draw a different script than our male counterparts, but that doesn't mean that men can't celebrate. There are important women in all of our lives, and it's easy for all of us-men and women-to take time to celebrate their achievements and amazing stories.
There's a lot going on in the month of March, but be sure to take a moment to celebrate the women in your life.
Editorials serve as a means for Barometer editors to offer commentary and opinions on issues both global and local, grand in scale or diminutive. The views expressed here are a reflection of the editorial board's majority.
Note: writers will not reply to comments.
Be the first to comment on this story
Comments by registered users are approved by default.