February 11, 2009 Meeting

Hey everyone!

We had a jam-packed (ha ha) meeting tonight. I say ha-ha because we had PB&J for dinner tonight. :) Stupid, yes. Worth it to say, maybe.

Anyway, onto the good stuff.

The Vagina monologues are this coming weekend (13th, 14th and 15th). We decided to go as a group Friday night. However, we will have a table there to get petitions signed and people to sign up for the listserve. We have a couple of people to take care of the table on Friday night. However, if anyone could make the Saturday night or Sunday afternoon showings so that we can have someone at the table, please e-mail Julie and let her know your availability. The show starts at 7pm but if you're able to table, we'd need to there around 6pm. Please let Julie know soon and we hope to see you there this weekend!

We also have a bunch of NARAL petitions for the Reproductive Health Act. This is a really important thing to show support for because, should Roe v. Wade be overturned, New York State is really not as protected as most people think it is. We would love for you to pick one up from Sue or Julie (or anyone else that has them really), get them signed, and bring them back in about 2 weeks (the meeting after next).

We're also now co-sponsoring OxFam's "Raise Hope for Congo" on February 17th at 6pm on the 10th Floor of Kimmel. We'd love for people to come and show their support for this amazing and powerful event. Here's the link to their facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/wall.php?id=1075080069&banter_id=1381740042&show_all#/event.php?eid=60223353976&ref=nf.

We had some really nice and informative guests come tonight from the Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF)--Emily and Patrice. They are campus organizers from the FMF, which is a Washington D.C. based organization akin to NOW. However, most of their chapters are college groups and work on a lot of international issues. Some campaigns that they are or have been working on are training midwives in Afghanistan to lower the maternal mortality rate (which has spiked to one out of every six women). They have also worked to shut down Crisis Pregnancy Centers ("fake abortion clinics"). We had a really great discussion about these Centers. While it is important for people to feel comfortable going somewhere that they feel can give them other options besides abortion, it is also important to recognize that women should be receiving comprehensive, accurate information on all aspects of pregnancy-related options (adoption, keeping the baby, abortion, etc. etc.). We have more information/handouts on the issue if you are interested in learning more. Back to their visit! They are hosting the National Young Women's Leadership Conference in Washington D.C. (we have flyers for this too). On March 21-22 they are having "From Campus to Congress" where many nationwide feminist on-campus organizations will meet with each other and discuss (things). On March 23-24 they are having Congressional Visit Days at Capitol Hill. They discussed with us that the group rate is $15 per person, not including transportation or housing. However, they discussed some options with us (such as outreach to other groups for possible bus sponsorship), putting everyone in the same room, staying at a friend's house, etc. We can discuss these options more as we decide what to do and who may or may not go. For more information go to their website at www.feministcampus.org/leadership or contact Emily Kadar at ekadar@feminist.org.

They also have internships available in D.C. (and L.A.) during the semester AND over the summer. This would be a wonderful opportunity for many young feminists. They recommended getting applications in by the end of March. For more information or to apply go to www.feminist.org/intern or e-mail FMF at internship@feminist.org (for DC) or internshipla@feminist.org (for LA).

Rachael told us about a trip to Albany that she is going on with her internship organization that she would love to see people at. They are going to Albany to protest/repeal the Rockefeller drug laws, which often only serve to facilitate black men into prisons.

Our exciting event with ICARUS is coming up on March 3 at 7pm in Gallatin, room 522. It's the day after the opening ceremonies for Women's (Womyn's) Herstory month. This will speak to alternative forms of mental health (particularly for those uncomfortable with medications), self-destruction/mutilation, and the interplay between mental health and gender.

Our sex toy workshop will be on March 11 during our regular meeting (7pm in Kimmel room 805).

We are also discussing the event coming up (Time and place TBA) with Irshad Manji, author of "The Trouble with Islam". We will be hosting a showing of her film "Faith Without Fear" which is about reconciling the Muslim faith with human rights. She will then be discussing our right and responsibility as young activitists to stand up for different communities (even if we are not a part of them), and also to be open and courageous enough to ask questions even if we feel they may make us or others uncomfortable. She will be speaking to the question: "What does it mean to be a global citizen?" This event will be on February 20th. We are currently working on finding the space and time. More information will be available soon.

Thanks for reading! Hope to see you at the next meeting and at many of our exciting, upcoming events!!!!!

Love,
Sarah