In honor of International Women’s Day, Cerritos hosted its annual reading contest on Mar. 8 and gave a cash prize to the top three contestants with the best readings.
Attendees read out a variety of written pieces, such as novels, poems, songs and scientific literature, all of which were written by women.
The event was hosted by Henrietta Hurtado, an EOPS professor of counseling and the Chicano Studies department chair and Katie Mischler, a program facilitator.
“Having discussions like this in circles creates that type of environment for hope and healing,” Hurtado said.
Hurtado also said that she hopes that students who attended the event leave more conscious about the importance of acknowledging the intellect and contributions that women have made throughout history.
“We noticed topics written by LGBT authors… and historical books on Chinese history, medical history and songs,” Hurtado said, “There was a really nice variety of songs, poems, stories, histories and people also shared their own story.”
“It’s one of my favorite books,” Stephanie Minami said when she read the book, “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel” by Lisa See.
The EOPS Specialist and CARE Coordinator said, “It tells the story of a friendship between two girls that grow up into women, in 19th century China.”
“As a mark of beauty and obedience, women are meant to quietly endure their suffering, [the book is] told from the perspective of an 80 year old woman looking back on her life,” Minami added.
Walter Fernandez, a professor from the history department, read a medical book titled, “A Book of Medical Discourses: In Two Parts” by Rebecca Crumpler.
“It’s written by a woman who was a nurse but continued her education […] She graduated and became a MD (Medical Doctor), she was born in 1831 in Delaware, raised in Pennsylvania, died in Boston Massachusetts in 1895,” Crumpler said.
“She emphasizes the need for women to understand the human structure, the human body and to understand medicine.”
The reading contest received participation from both students and staff members as participants were able to come together to share several moving testaments they found in different mediums.
“It was a good incentive for students to come on campus to share and participate because as you know mostly everyone is taking online classes,” Hurtado said about the event.
The money for the winners will come from the Women’s History Committee, who has a budget that they’ll share with this year’s participants.
Hurtado concluded the event by congratulating all women for their contributions.
“Congratulations to all women for thriving,” she said, “For saving our environment, our spaces, families, our places of work, our government systems, for sustaining what we enjoy and for being an inspiration.”
