Illustration by Mike Padilla

Youth. Maturity. Reflection. The Women's Studies department is sponsoring a memorial plaza that celebrates those three stages of a woman's life. On track to be completed this spring, the Women's Plaza of Honor "will be a warm, inviting and meditative gathering place" located between Centennial Hall and the Arizona State Museum South.

As the name suggests, the purpose of the Women's Plaza is to celebrate the lives and contributions of women to the state of Arizona. Donors can dedicate a brick, tile, tree, park bench or fountain to honor a woman of their choice.

The contribution for a physical marker in the Plaza ranges from $250 for a commemorative brick to $100,000 for an inscription on the main gateway arch.

The fundraising goal of $1.5 million will be used to fund not only the building of the Plaza, but also an endowment fund for undergraduate and graduate scholarships, the enhancement of the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program and to sponsor visiting Women's Studies scholars.

Rui WangColumnist

As you might expect, no men will be honored in the Women's Plaza and donors cannot purchase a brick in honor of a man. "I don't think it would make sense to include men," said professor Yolanda Broyles-Gonzalez, head of the Women's Studies department. Broyles-Gonzalez quoted President Peter Likins: "When it comes to historical monuments, women are historically overlooked. This monument specifically honors women."

Call it an affirmative action monument, if you will.

The Women's Plaza - and its singular focus on women - is open to criticism for excluding men altogether. While the endowment fund will support both male and female scholars of women's studies, it seems somewhat disingenuous to exclude men from being honored by a brick or tile if someone so chooses.

Men have worked alongside women in the field of women's studies and in the fight for equal rights among the sexes.

Some of the fiercest champions for female equality - in the workplace, in academia, in society at large - have been our fathers, husbands and male mentors. It would seem perfectly legitimate to purchase a brick to honor, for instance, my father, who always encouraged me to look past socially imposed limitations and who believes strongly in gender equality.

The decision to erect monuments to a particular group of people necessarily excludes other groups by definition. However, I don't subscribe to the notion that the theme of the Plaza will go unrealized unless it strictly adheres to its women-only policy. In other words, the core purpose of honoring Arizona women would not be compromised or diluted by the inclusion of men within, say, the names on the paved brick in the Women's Plaza. The emphasis would still be on women, and the vast majority of the monument would still be dedicated to women, but as it stands the no-men policy is shortsighted and incomplete.

A monument that just honors "women" as a disembodied, abstract notion makes about as much sense as a monument that generically honors "humans" or "children." The stories they tell of individual struggles and contributions are what gives monuments their relevance and longevity.

This plaza has relevance in spades. Lorna Lockwood, the state's first female Supreme Court justice, and former College of Social and Behavior Sciences Dean Holly Smith will be honored along with a host of other Arizona women. But the story of these women can't be told without including men - men who recognized their abilities, men who supported their accomplishments.

There should be a place for men in a Women's Plaza if they would like to be recognized for their support of women's rights. It would increase funding for both the plaza and the endowment. As part of a public university that values diversity and inclusiveness, it's also important for the memorial to set that example.

Last week, Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers made comments suggesting that innate differences between the sexes factor into the lack of women in math and science. The comments drew intense criticism. There is certainly a legitimate question as to whether women and men utilize different parts of their brain in problem solving and reasoning. However, these potential biological differences don't diminish the force of his critics' sentiments: We recoil at the suggestion that the sexes are unequal; we believe in an egalitarian system, even though we recognize the disparities that still exist in society. Inclusion of everyone in the Women's Plaza would honor and recognize that ideal.

Rui Wang is a third-year law student. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.