For the second straight year, SUNY New Paltz will honor International Women’s Day with an event on campus that will be open to both students and the community.
International Women’s Day, observed every March 6, celebrates every victory made which benefited the equality movement for women.
There will be four speakers, two of which are professor of political science İlgü Özler, and member of the Mid-Hudson chapter of Women Organized to Resist and Defend (WORD), Donna Goodman. There will also be a performance by slam poetry group Urban Lyrics.
In reponse to laws which attempt to limit Women’s Rights to contraceptives and abortions, Goodman said that women are often still treated as second-class citizens.
“People are ready to remember International Women’s Day to honor this holiday together,” Goodman said.
Goodman said she believes this event has become annual, because the student population, filled with young activists, has been very receptive.
The event’s focus will be the “war on women,” but Goodman said that shouldn’t deter others who are not women from participating. Her goal is to teach every oppressed group to unite.
“People are strongest when they stand together and fight against their oppressors as one,” Goodman said.
The event will take place Thursday, March 6, in the Coykendall Science Building Auditorium at 6:30 p.m.
“People are strongest when they unite,” Goodman said.