llews Section Editor: Eileen Velthuis the other press eileenv@telus.net Mach 5, 2003 Celebrating International Women’s Day Eileen Velthuis News Editor International Women’s Day is this Saturday, March 8 and its the highlight of this year’s International Women’s Week, March 2-8. The tradition actually began in February 1909, when women across the United States celebrated a National Women’s Day. The celebration took on different forms through the years, but when the Charter of the United Nations (UN) was signed in 1945, the first international proclamation of gender equality being a fundamental human right was declared. Following this tradition, International Women’s Day was established by the UN in 1977 to celebrate women’s advances in equality, to reflect on current challenges women face, and to discuss future steps to equality. This year’s Canadian theme is World Wide Women (WWW): Surfing the Digital Revolution, because tech- nology, such as the Internet, has completely changed how people communicate and gain access to information. The theme is meant to encourage Canadians to think about how the Internet impacts women’s equality and how it can be used to empower people and promote equality between the sexes. According to Status of Women Canada, 53 percent of Canadians over the age of 15 use the Internet, but women only make up 26 percent of computer pro- fessionals in the country. Only one in five full- time undergraduate students studying comput- er science is female. “We women have a stronger voice now than ever before,” DC student Frances Dela Pena said. Danielle Young, another local student, agrees, but thinks there’s more work to do. “It’s very empowering that they've designated a day for women, but I think there's still a long way to go,” she said. At DC’s New Westminster Campus, the Douglas College Women’s Centre and Douglas Students’ Union will be holding their annual dinner in celebration of International Women’s Day. The dinner will be held in the lower cafeteria from 6p.m. to 9p.m. and there will be guest speakers. Cost is $5-$15—on a sliding scale, depending on how much you can give. For more infor- mation, contact Kim Longmuir at 604-527-5148 or by email at . According to Vancouver Rape Relief and Women's Shelter, there will be a march and rally this Saturday involving various organizations. Groups will be gathering March a & : " at 1la.m. at Thornton Park in Vancouver (by the Main Street and Science World SkyTrain station). This is a free activity, and participants are encouraged to march to Victory Square, where a rally will be held at 12 noon. The organizers will be arranging free child care and sign language interpretation. To help out please contact the committee at 604-708-0447. Students target weapons manufac- turer Lockheed Martin Mary-Jana Wege The Gazette HALIFAX (CUP)—About 40 anti-war activists, including more than ten Dalhousie University students on break, brought atten- tion to the world’s largest weapons manufac- turer when they attempted to shut down the Dartmouth, Nova Scotia office of Lockheed Martin on February 17. Twelve protesters were arrested during the demonstrations and 11 were charged with mischief. “The energy amongst us was pretty high. The atmosphere was fairly respectful even when the police got here,” described activist and King’s College student Aaron Beswisk. The activists, who oppose a potential war in Iraq, started the demonstration at 9 on Monday morning. At about 9:30a.m. the pro- testers entered the office building of Lockheed Martin. Eight activists sat down on the floor to block the office doors, their arms locked together in colourful plastic tubes. When the activists refused to leave the build- ing, the atmosphere grew tense. About 30 Halifax Regional Police officers dragged the locked anti-war advocates out of the building. “It was painful, when they tried to unlock us. I still have bruises a week and a half later,” said activist Cassandra Birch. “The police response was predictable,” said Dalhousie stu- dent Valerie Zink. At 10:30a.m., four women and seven men were handcuffed. Dalhousie student Chris Arsenault was one of them, but was released shortly after. “They couldn't charge me with anything. I was only standing in the hallway,” he said. Arsenault added that he was “very upset,” because the police confiscated his daytime planner and discs and are still holding on to the items. “The confiscated items might show that an existing condition has been violated,” said Sgt. Don Spicer, Halifax Regional Police spokesman. Arsenault had been arrested dur- ing the protests of the G-7 finance ministers meeting in Halifax last summer and is under the order not to initiate any protests. According to Sgt. Spicer, confiscated items might be held until trial. Eight of the 11 anti-war activists who have been charged with mischief signed an under- taking. It is a promise to appear in Dartmouth provincial court on April 15. “They signed a non-association clause. These activists are not allowed to communi- cate with anyone else involved in the Lockheed Martin protest,” said Chris Arsenault. Spicer said he was not aware of that condi- tion, but that he could not refute it. Cassandra Birch is one of the three advo- cates who did not sign the conditions and spent one night at the police station instead. “I had to agree to keep the peace and stay off the Lockheed Martin property, but I am allowed to associate with other activists,” she said. Although the anti-war campaigners did not achieve their goal in shutting down the Lockheed Martin office for a day, most of them feel that the demonstration was not in vain. “We succeeded in showing the public the connection between corporate involvement and war and that there are people making a lot of profit off a war,” said Beswisk. John Diamond-Jibson feels positive about the protest as well. “More people are now aware of the fact that the world’s largest weapons manufacturer has offices here in Nova Scotia,” he said. A spokesman for Lockheed Martin in Dartmouth referred calls concerning the protest to the headquarters in Kanata, Ontario. Several attempts to talk to a spokesperson failed. Cassandra Birch will enter a plea of “not guilty” on April 15. “How can I be guilty and the company that is manufacturing weapons that kill people is not?” she said. page 3 ©