March 10 marked the eleventh anniversary of National Appreciate Your Abortion Provider Day, yet there was little fanfare or information available regarding the festivities of the day.

There were not any scheduled rallies, either on campus or anywhere else in the country. There were no outbreaks in violence over this sensitive issue when, historically, there have been seven recorded murders and 17 attempted murders on abortion providers since 1977, according to research kept by the National Abortion Federation.

According to an article written by Vicki Saporta, president and CEO of NAF, National Appreciate Your Abortion Provider Day was created in memory of Dr. David Gunn, who was killed in 1993 by an anti-abortion protestor.

On the CSUN campus, those asked were unaware that an appreciation day existed for abortion providers. Some were even sickened by the fact that such a day existed.

Kristen Durham, 20, had a reaction that bordered on physical illness in response to whether she knew this day existed.

“It disgusts me that there is even a day to celebrate that,” she said.

She women said her personal religious beliefs, backgrounds and upbringings had to do with shaping her perception of abortion.

When informed that Priests For Life has a National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers, which is done on March 9 to help lure abortion providers away from their careers, both said they were more likely to support that type of movement.

Durham said she would not support anything that would harm the abortion providers or acted on an extremist level.

“If people are pro-life, they shouldn’t be going around killing more people,” she said.

Holly Hawks, 23, said she felt that the idea was too extreme.

“I definitely appreciate that people can use the service,” Hawks said. “I also feel that people take it for granted.”

Danny Green, 22, was more apprehensive about supporting the abortion providers.

“I don’t agree, necessarily, morally with abortion,” he said. “As a male, I don’t feel I have the right to say what a woman can or can’t do with her body.”

Green said he felt that abortion was a service that benefits the good of mankind.

Amy Reichbach of the Klotz Student Health Center knew nothing about the holiday either.

“I’m glad that somebody took the initiative,” Reichbach said. “I understand why it has to be low-key. I am sorry that it has to be low-key in order to protect people’s safety.”

Ayu Nishikawa, Assistant Director of CSUN’s Women’s Resource and Research Center, knew of the Appreciation Day but said the center did not do anything to support it.

“We just finished our rally for ‘Take Back the Night,’ so there was not enough time to organize something,” she said.

The NAF had a petition on their Web site that asked people to sign up to show that they support abortion providers. There was little other information on the Web site regarding National Appreciate Your Abortion Provider Day.

The National Abortion Rights Action League Pro-Choice America, a pro-choice non-profit, had no information regarding the National Appreciate Your Abortion Provider Day on their Web site.