Conference Early Bird Registration Coming Up

It’s that time of year again feminists! The 7th annual National Young Feminist Leadership Conference is coming up fast. It’s happening on March 12th-14th at the George Washington University in our nation’s capital, Washington, DC. There, hundreds of young feminist activists will come together to learn from influential feminist activists, as well as to meet with other young feminists and discuss important women’s issues such as abortion and birth control access, the environment, LGBT rights, and the economy.

The first two days of the conference will be filled with exciting town hall meetings and workshops, including a regional caucus where groups will meet with others in their region to address issues specific to their area of the country. Then on Monday, March 14th, the conference will host a Congressional Visit Day where students will have the opportunity to put their skills into action by speaking with your representatives about the issues that matter to them the most. It’s an opportunity and experience you don’t want to miss!

The end of Early Bird registration is quickly approaching. Register by February 1st to get the discounted rates of $20 for individuals and $15 for groups of 5 or more. After Feb 1st, the registration will be $30 for individuals and $25 for groups. We are also offering a special discount rate of $15 for returning conference members, and attendance is free for all GW students.


In addition, we will be offering prizes for the three largest delegations who recruit the most members to attend the conference. Prizes will include feminist goodies such as “This is What a Feminist Looks Like” tote bags, T-shirts, and more!

So RECRUIT your student groups to meet us in Washington, DC for an unforgettable experience!

Hope to see you there!

Campus Organizing Series: Large Public Universities

So the DC Campus Interns have been assigned the project of blogging campus organizing tips for different types of campuses, in order to provide our fellow college feminists with some tools for making change on their campuses. My first topic is one with which I have a lot of experience: Large Public Universities.

I am a rising senior at the University of California, Davis, a public land grant university with nearly 30,000 students and I have a lot of experience with activism on my campus. I am an ASUCD Senator and my platform was driven by the needs of the feminist and social justice activist communities. So far I have been able to protest blood drives on our campus (for their discrimination against men who have sex with men), gain funding for ethnic and lavender graduation ceremonies and culture weeks, begin planning a womyn’s leadership conference, draft a pregnant undergrad resource guide, and advocate for sexual harassment training of all ASUCD employees (and that's just in one quarter!).

Organizing the crowds at a public university can be tough, but it’s definitely doable! Here are my top five tips to keep in mind, with some personal anecdotes to go along:

1.Know Your Resources- Large public universities seem to have an administrative department for everything. Be sure you know where you’ll need to go to reserve a room on campus, how to get permission to do fundraising, and how to request a sound permit (it’s also best to know this information before you need it!).
You may find that your campus offers grants and services for student clubs. Make sure you register your group to receive these benefits!
On the UC Davis campus there are about 100 places you can go to request money (the student government, campus resource centers, academic departments, the office of the chancellor, etc.), and it’s important to hit up every relevant one during a budget crisis. This will also give you great practice in the world of grant writing!
Troll your school’s website for deadlines and requirements for each funding source.

2.Collaborate!- On such a large campus there are bound to be multiple clubs that work on the same issues: why not collaborate! This is a great way to acquire more resources and people-power to pull off those BIG events you have planned.
If there is not a directory of clubs on your campus, keep your eye out for fliers from other groups and visit their meetings. Go out to coffee with their President and get to know what they’re about and if your goals align in any way (and if they don’t align, why not hold a public debate?). This is a great way to expand attendance at your events from the regular crew.
Also, if you’re lobbying the administration, having a coalition of student groups behind your cause will get their attention!
I have found that this is a great way to get new ideas for club activities and also to make great friends. Even if you never work with a group on an event, establishing a personal relationship with them will make them more likely to attend your future events.
If your group is lacking diversity, be sure to make the effort to work with those you’re not already in constant contact with. It’s important to make your group feel welcoming to all, but you’ll never really know why it’s not until you ask!

3.Media Control- The media loves large public universities, and you can take advantage of this fact! If you are holding an event with a lot of drama or action (like a protest), the media may want to cover it!
Write a press release and send it to local newspapers and news stations. Who knows, you just might make the evening news! Also, be sure to send press releases to your campus newspaper(s); if they write an article about it, you can reach a lot of students on your campus!
With the media comes a word of caution though: you must make an effort to control the way you are portrayed. Media is always looking for drama. Some interviewers may try to trigger you or put words in your mouth with leading questions. Be just a little wary and make mental notes about which sources have been sly in the past.
If you are doing an interview for print, it is within your rights to request an advance copy of the quotes they will use from you (as they wrote them down, because sometimes that can be different than the way you thought you said them) or of the story. And never be afraid to say, “No comment.”

4.Utilizing Social Media- On large campuses, it’s usually easiest to advertise your events through social media (rather than chalking or flyering in the hundreds of classrooms for hours!).
Create a facebook group, a twitter account, a flickr, a myspace, and whatever new thing that everyone on your campus is using. Invite all your friends and ask them to invite all their friends. When the first years arrive in fall, they will be able to find your group on your university’s network and learn about how to get involved before your first meeting!
I’ve found that on facebook, it’s important to make events for each individual event as well as a group for your club. This way folks who aren’t comfortable having your group on their profile 24/7 can still get invited, plus casual attendees.
And there is something to be said about chalking on campus: I have sat in many a boring class and decided to attend a movie or a panel that evening just because it was in my line of sight for so long. On some campuses it’s a no-no, and sometimes you have to wake up at 5 am to do it, but it really is worth it to make that effort!

5.Infiltrate Your Student Government- At large public universities, some student governments have a lot of power (and money!). It is important that women and feminists are getting a say!
Contact a member of the student government and voice your concerns, as well as possible projects the student government could take on.
Also, see if there is a committee that deals with gender, race, and/or sexuality. If not, demand that it be created!

If all else fails (or if you’re successful), run for office (your collaboration with other student clubs will help create a large voting base).

This is an issue that I am extremely passionate about. Historically, women have been only a sixth of UC Davis' senate table, even though we’re more than half of the student population! In the national congress, women are only 17%!

If you are able to deal with the mental and social pressures of politics, I feel like it’s your duty to get involved. Make sure the women on your campus are being served, make sure the underrepresented are being heard!

Photo Cred: UC Davis Magazine

Spring into Action: Eradicating Sexual Assault on Campus

April is generally known for the coming of spring and for DC residents, the first sight of bloom of cherry blossoms. But April also brings us another significant focus--Sexual Assault Awareness Month. This is a great time of the year to renew one's commitment to activism, and what better way to do that than advocating for the eradication of sexual violence in our communities and on our campues.

Aside from participating in awareness raising events such as these, during this month we are encouraging every student from colleges and universities across the country to take your organizing efforts to next level by ensuring that your university has a comprehensive sexual assault policy, encourage reporting, and be the advocate to shift campus culture to a more sensitive space and ultimately change attitudes about sexual assault.

You may ask, how can this be done? Well before we begin, there's a huge hurdle facing many young activists when addressing this problem--the lack of cooperation by school administrators and the re-victimization of sexual assault survivors on campuses. If the recent American University controversy, among many others, has shown us anything, its that more work needs to be done on the parts of universities to support and enhance safety precautions for female students.

A recent study done by the Center of Public Integrity found that majority of students who are sexually assaulted remain silent because of the impeding institutional barriers and practices of secrecy through judicial and disciplinary proceedings making the process of disclosure and reporting very difficult for victims. Also, there were many cases of off-record negotiations that even today contributes to the creation of a hostile environment on campus. Fifty percent of the students they interviewed claimed "they unsuccessfully sought criminal charges, and instead had to seek justice in closed, school-run proceedings that led to either light penalties or no punishment at all." Leaving a survivor unsafe and unsupported. The research has also shown that "repeat offenders actually account for a significant number of sexual assaults on campus." This poses a great threat to the safety of students for the sake of a university's reputation.

Now that you know what barriers lie ahead, here's what you can do to overcome them:

• The best place to start is by looking at other universities for examples of ways in which you can bring awareness to your campus and urge your administration to adopt a comprehensive sexual assault policy. The College of Holy Cross, Spelman College, Lehigh University, and University of Michigan are a few examples of excellent comprehensive sexual assault policies.

• A comprehensive sexual assault policy is most viable when there is a university-wide focus on prevention. Sadly, some universities are doing a very poor job in their preventive efforts, such as Valdosta State University in Georgia discussed in this blog post. So consider starting a sexual assault peer educators group or advocate for a sexual assault information and support center through your university's women's center, counseling center, or student health center.
  

• Align your student activist group with other national advocacy organizations that specifically work with reducing sexual assault on campus. Check out groups like Students Active For Ending Rape (SAFER) and Men Can Stop Rape who have prevention programs specific to university campuses.

• Do you have a unique sexual assault program that you would like to launch, but unsure of where to get the funding? The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Violence Against Women provides grant opportunities for campus initiatives that seek to reduce sexual assault, rape, harassment, and stalking on campus.

• Lastly, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center has a great Campus Sexual Violence Resource list that will come in handy for all of your sexual violence awareness raising needs.

Take time this semester to begin discussing how you can make your campus a better and safer institution for all its students. If you have more ideas on how to eradicate sexual violence on campus, feel free to contact FMF's Campus Team at campusteam@feminist.org.

Photo Courtesy of Flickr

This article was featured in our April 2010 monthly Choices eZine. Sign up for our alerts to stay up-to-date with the latest feminist news and to receive the monthly eZine!

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month

According to the Department of Justice, 1 in 6 women will face some type of sexual violence in their lifetime. One of the ways to work to eliminate this violence is to raise awareness.
Don't know how to raise awareness for sexual assault on your campus?

The blog Stop Street Harrassment has a list of great ideas for events you can have on campus and ways you can help out.

Included on the list are some of the events my school's Women's Initiative is putting on in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month:

• From April 5-11, the campus will be hosting a Clothesline Project. We will hang t-shirts decorated with statistics, personal stories, and statements against sexual assault around one of our buildings on campus.

• On April 12th, we are holding our 7th annual Take Back The Night. The event gives advocates and survivors of sexual and domestic violence a voice to speak out against violence against women. Students will march around campus and convene in a safe space to share their stories. Thousands of marches are held around the world every year, click here to find an event near you.

Use this month to make a difference in your campus community.


photo courtesy of bex011087 via flickr