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Volume 40, Issue 12
April 8, 2003
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April 8, 2003
Women focus of governor’s visit
By Carla Brown
For the Mesa Legend
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PHOTOS BYMATT REED/MESA LEGEND
Gov. Janet Napolitano spoke at MCC
in a presentation titled “Women Pioneering the Future.”
She is pictured above with (left to right) Debi Smith, Ronna Lytle,
Susan Taffer, Nancy Hellner and MCC’s Dean of Instruction Gail
Mee.
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“Women’s History Week? Women’s History Month? Let’s
make it Women’s History Decade,” said Gov. Janet Napolitano
as she took the stage in the Navajo Room of the Kirk Center on March 26.
Napolitano came to speak in honor of Women’s History Month invited
by the MCC Women’s History Month Committee, Career and Re-entry Services,
Women’s Studies Department and Women’s Leadership Group.
The topic was “Women Pioneering the Future.”
During the luncheon, Napolitano acknowledged the accomplishments of women
in history and addressed the current concerns of Arizona today.
Napolitano explained that Arizona has “a proud tradition” of
strong women, pointing to Sandra Day O’Connor, who was the first
woman to be on the Supreme Court.
The governor also reported that the average income for women has increased
at a tremendous rate over the years, but she also reminded the audience
that “we still have a way to go,” and that “we have some
more challenges ahead.”
A primary goal for Napolitano is to challenge the idea that domestic violence
is a private issue.
According to Napolitano’s research, there is one reported act of
domestic violence every five minutes in Phoenix.
The governor’s approach to resolving this problem is education.
“Prevention! Prevention! Prevention! We need to learn how to turn
off the spigot of domestic violence. We need to have better training for
first arrivers (at the crime scene) and if I see one more anger management
class for offenders, I’m going to get mad,” said Napolitano.
Statistics presented by the governor showed that 43 percent of child support
is collected in Arizona, a number Napolitano wants to focus on increasing.
The governor also wants to give more attention to affordable housing,
voluntary all day kindergarten, pay equity, drop-out rates and poverty
levels.
A moment of silence for the soldiers in Iraq took place during the event,
at the request of MCC President Larry Christiansen, who was also in attendance.
The luncheon entailed the presentation of Maya Angelou’s poem, “Phenomenal
Woman,” read by MCC coordinator Trina Hillary and video titled, “One
Fine Day,” written and produced by Kay Weaver, which showcased famous
women including aviator Amelia Earhart and Noble Prize winning physicist
Marie Curie.
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