The WSU Women*s Center is taking the themes of  International Women’s Day and creating projects and events that embrace women throughout March.

Lorena Cruz, the student services adviser  at the Women*s Center, said the center has been dedicated to putting on events and celebrations of women during March. 

Cruz said the Women*s Center hosted a celebratory event on March 2 where attendants made feminist-themed buttons, made other crafts and celebrated the powerful women in their lives. 

2024 marks the Women*s Center’s 50th anniversary at WSU, and Cruz said she hopes to have an even bigger celebration of National Women’s History Month than this year. 

International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8, when Cruz said the center will be hosting an event in the Compton Union Building Junior Ballroom from 11–1 p.m. 

“The International Women’s Day theme is embracing equity,” Cruz said. “And so we kind of took that and repurposed it for our own specific theme at the center, which we’re calling ‘Illustrating Invisible Labor.’” 

The event on Wednesday will include a film viewing of “Through the Night,” directed by Loira Limbal. Cruz said this film follows the story of a daycare that stayed open 24/7 during the pandemic to help essential workers with childcare.

This film highlights the importance of underappreciated workers, particularly women in homemaking or childcare jobs, Cruz said. She hopes to continue to elevate the voices and accomplishments of women in the workforce.

“I personally would love to do a thank you campaign for civil service workers on our campus,” she said. “So that’s the women who make our food, the women who deliver our meals, the women in the police; just like different kinds of people that are not given the space to shine or to be valued. That’s really what I try to hold in my heart intentionally as I create these events and as I think about some things that we could be doing as the Women*s Center.” 

In addition to the film viewing, representatives and workers from the Women*s Center will be giving out carnations to passing students in the Compton Union Building on March 21 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Cruz said. She said this event is designed to embrace equity and encourage others to do the same.

“We are going to give out flowers in honor of women everywhere,” she said.

Arash Kazemi, a doctoral student studying American Studies and Culture, said elevating the voices of women is crucial to preserving history. He said many women-oriented WSU organizations have a history that is underrepresented. 

“With many of these organizations, we don’t even have their history,” he said. “Students who are working for them today should know when they started and why. What were the issues that mattered at the time and what were they starting to become impacted from on campus?”

By understanding the roots of organizations, students can better carry out the legacy and mission of past members, he said.

Cruz said she is passionate about continuing to celebrate working women and their accomplishments.

“I really see it as a way of celebrating working-class women specifically because we use the title of woman to kind of encompass all these different experiences, but I think we should unpack that and focus on working women and the women whose labor is not seen as labor, especially those in like the childcare industry, for example,” Cruz said.