Although March is Women’s History Month, many students are not aware of it, or that St. John’s is hosting a series of events in honor of the month.

“I’ve heard of it, but I didn’t know it was in March,” said senior Anish Patel.

Women’s History Month has been celebrated since 1987, when Congress declared the month of March to be Women’s History Month.
But Women’s History Month’s roots started before 1987. In fact, in 1978, a school district in California began a Women’s History Week, which Congress officially made a weeklong celebration for the United States.

Then in 1987, a group of women, along with representatives from various organizations, pushed to make the Women’s History Week into a month, which is what led Congress to change the celebration from a week to a month.

Every year, there is a different theme for the month, and this year’s national theme is “Women’s Art: Women’s Vision.”

“The history of women and art is quintessential women’s history,” the National Women’s History Project Web site states. “This year’s theme provides a special opportunity to discover and celebrate women’s visual arts in a variety of forms and mediums…”

The main event taking place on is the “Women of Distinction Dinner,” taking place on Tuesday, April 1. The event begins at 5 p.m. with a blessing ceremony in Thomas Moore Church, and then moves on to dinner in the U.C Commons.

According to a Campus Activities flyer, “We will be honoring the women who have gone above and beyond their duties and have made a difference in our society.”

In addition to the dinner, the Division of Student Affairs is holding an event on Thursday, March 13 called “Living like Mama D- Lessons in Community Service and Leadership,” where Patti Ramey, who speaks to college students through the Brent Scarpo speaking program, will be talking about Mama D, a woman who according to the Campus Activities flyer, enriched the lives of thousands of Los Angeles’ homeless and forgotten through sheer determination and a single disability check.”

Another event sponsored by the Division of Student Affairs along with the History Department and the University’s Women’s Studies program, is called “Naming the Violence, Reversing the Shame: Female Activists and Truth Commission in Latin America and South Africa.”

This event will take place on Tuesday, March 18 during Common Hour in the U.C Lounge.

Sophomore Michelle Abbas said that she did not know that March is Women’s History Month, and she added that she was unaware of any events that St. John’s was holding.
Another sophomore, Suji Song, said that she was not interested in going to any events in honor of Women’s History Month, but thinks that the University should “spread awareness about it.”