Tales from the Road

The National Campus Organizers here at FMF have been traveling all over the country, firing up feminists in California, Pennsylvania, Maine, New Hampshire, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Here are some reflections from our time on the road.

Tania and Patrice got in touch with their Southern roots and met with amazing activists in Tennessee and Mississippi.

Tania says,

"This October we traveled across Tennessee to support feminist activists at Austin Peay State University, Middle Tennessee State University, University of Tennessee and Rhodes College. At each school we found students eager to discuss ways to break through the stigma and stereotypes of feminism and create a dialogue where feminist activism is relevant and necessary. AT UT we walked to the crisis pregnancy center across the street from campus and were thrilled to see that it has moved!

"Students at APSU are already organizing to expose the dangers of fake clinics in their community after a representative from a nearby CPC spoke to students on campus. To combat the deception of CPCs, young activists at Rhodes are supporting their comprehensive clinics in Memphis as patient advocates. And in perhaps the largest group meeting we’ve ever attended, the wonderful Women in Action of MTSU spoke to a packed room of young students about upcoming events to address body image and violence against women on campus. "

Patrice writes,

"My fall travel to Mississippi has been my best organizing experience thus far! Campus Organizer, Tania Stewart and I visited with feminist student activists at University of Mississippi, Mississippi Valley State University, Millsaps College, and Jackson State University. Though these universities range greatly in their campus dynamics i.e. from liberal to conservative, public to private, majority to historically black, one thing is for certain, young feminists exist and are thriving in Mississippi! We’ve found at every campus students creating a space for more dialogues about the intersection of racial and gender discrimination and its pervasiveness in everyday living in Mississippi. Many students were especially eager to support and adopt the only comprehensive women’s reproductive health center in the entire state.

"At MVSU, located in the heart of the Mississippi Delta where poverty and unemployment is at its highest, former Bennett College FMLA leader now MVSU graduate student, Adrian Brooks, is ready to shake up the campus and dispel the myths about feminism and its relevancy to the African American community. At Jackson State University, we spoke to almost 200 male and female students who wanted to see more feminist action on campus. Many of them cared deeply about Mississippi’s teen pregnancy and STI rates and are advocating for comprehensive sex education and criminal justice reform. The Feminist Majority student group at Ole Miss has been strong and active since its inception. These feminist leaders have successfully helped in defeating the “personhood” initiative campaign last year and are continuing their work to address violence against women, body image and increasing membership. Mississippi feminists – YOU ROCK!!"

During Meghan's inaugural trip as a National Campus Organizer, she and Danielle faced some challenges on the road in Pennsylvania (bed bugs, parking tickets, and more!), but their fierce feminist selves would not be deterred! Says Danielle,

"There is some uncertainly in mainstream media about where the young feminists are. Well good news - I've found them! They're easy to find! By which I mean, you and I always knew where they are: on campus and mad as hell. Meghan and I had the privilege to spend a week visiting campus feminist groups in the Philly area.

"As we met dozens of passionate activists and professors at each college, I kept thinking of that tired cliché where young women are told we are disengaged, apolitical, and not as radical or enthusiastic about smashing patriarchy as our feminist role models have been. Several bloggers have responded that young feminists have moved online, but I’m not sure that’s the full truth either. Some FMLA leaders and feminists blog regularly, but I think more do not.

"Young feminists are even more active off-line, and we are everywhere – raising awareness at Bryn Mawr College about crisis pregnancy centers, talking about titties and breast health at West Chester University, loving our bodies at PSU Abington and Kutztown University, you name it and we're doing it. So I just wanted to thank all of you again, and everyone we met on the road, for your hard work making your campus, community, and world a safer and more equitable place for women and girls."

Emily and Tania had the pleasure of experiencing Northern New England in the fall, and were introduced to a remarkable feminist community in Maine and New Hampshire. Writes Emily,

"Neither Tania and I had ever spent quality time in New Hampshire or Maine before we headed north in October, and we weren't sure what to expect. The feminists we met are wonderful. At the University of Southern Maine, the Gender Studies Student Organization is rebuilding its presence on campus, tackling issues like reproductive choice, LGBT rights, and on-campus childcare. University of Maine is home to the Student Women's Association, who partner with their local comprehensive clinic and are planning a Pro-Choice Week on campus. Activists at Colby College and Bates College are countering the apathy and privilege they find on campus, and the VOX at University of Maine - Farmington has been collecting signatures for affordable birth control and the passage of the Paycheck Fairness Act.

"In New Hampshire, activists at Dartmouth College are working to stop sexual assault on campus. University of New Hampshire students organized a march to the polls on Election Day, and the activists of AWARE at Plymouth State University are doing amazing work despite limited funds and administrative support. Everywhere we traveled, we met folks committed to social justice and equality for all. Thank you for your hard work, and keep it up! We need you more than ever!"

Thank you all for an amazing semester. If you are interested in having the National Campus Organizers visit your school, contact us!

Image via the Library of Congress

This post is part of the November 2010 ezine. To subscribe to the monthly ezine, click here.

The feminists are coming! To DC!

You're on notice - get yourself and your feminist group to FMF's 7th annual National Young Feminist Leadership Conference! The conference is the weekend of March 12-14, 2011 at the George Washington University Marvin Center, in heart of the nation's capitol. Early online registration opens Wednesday, December 1 on our website, so get your head counts and funding lined up this month.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

The registration fee includes the weekend conference and Monday Capitol Hill Day

Early Bird Registration begins December 1
$20 for individuals | $15 for groups of 5+

Registration after February 1
$30 for individuals | $25 for groups of 5+

We will post the registration link on feministcampus.org shortly.

The conference is your chance to meet 500 student activists from across the country, most of whom are leading their feminist groups on campus. Network with our speakers, who are feminist members of Congress, nonprofit leaders, doctors, lawyers, bloggers, and students! We'll share the latest developments in feminist political activism around domestic and global women's health, repro rights, voter participation, gender-based violence, and more. And we want you to be ready to share your tips with other activists for creating a hardcore feminist group on campus and beyond.

Workshops will be all day Saturday the 12th and Sunday the 13th, and this will give you tons of info to bring to your members of Congress at our Capitol Hill visit day Monday the 14th. We are hard at work organizing workshops and inviting speakers, and will let you know as soon as we are able to start releasing the juicy details. But start planning the logistics for registration and getting to DC - look at transportation, lodging, and who your members of Congress are.

Past speakers have included:

• Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation
• Tina Tchen, Exec. Director, White House Council on Women & Girls
  
• Secretary of US Department of Labor Hilda Solis
• Congresswoman Donna Edwards (MD) and Rep. Diane DeGette (CO)
• Dolores Huerta, Co-Founder, United Farm Workers
• Jehmu Greene, President, Women’s Media Center
  
• Megan Evans, National President, Medical Students for Choice
• and many more!
  

HOTEL INFORMATION

We have 2 conference room blocks:

Holiday Inn Rosslyn
5 minute train ride from GWU
www.HIRosslyn.com

$99 for Fri & Sat | $119 for Sun for 2 double beds, up to 5 occupants

Call [703] 807-2000 and mention the Feminist Majority Foundation group. Parking and wi-fi in the rooms are free, and free roll-away cots are available on a first come first served basis, which you can request when you call to reserve your rooms. If you join the free HI priority club, up to 2 guests per room receive free breakfast coupons.

Doubletree Guest Suites Washington DC
4 blocks from GWU Marvin Center

$149/night Friday through Monday nights for a suite with 2 double beds plus full sofa bed, up to 6 occupants

Call 202-785-2000 and mention the Feminist Majority Foundation block. There is a $20/person charge for 5th and 6th guests in a suite, and roll-away cots are available first come first serve basis so you can mention that when you call to reserve rooms. Parking and wi-fi are not included in the rate.

Email campusteam@feminist.org or call our DC office at 703-522-2214 if you have any questions. See you there!

This post is part of the November 2010 ezine. To subscribe to the monthly ezine, click here.

Defending Choice in Charlotte

Every Saturday morning members of the Feminist Union at UNC Charlotte gather on East Hebron Street in front of Family Reproductive Health, a comprehensive women's health care clinic, prepared to brave the elements and the antis. Anti-abortion extremists such as Flip Benham, leader of Operation Rescue/Operation Save America, who was found guilty this week of criminal stalking and picketing for distributing WANTED posters of Charlotte abortion providers in their neighborhoods and offices.

Through training and support from the National Clinic Access Project, a project of The Feminist Majority Foundation, and the Choices Campus Leadership Program, members of the Feminist Union were trained in clinic defense and legal observation to support Family Reproductive Health against the harassment by anti-abortion extremists. The Feminist Union is just one of many pro-choice student groups across the country that are supporting the clinics in their community through FMF's Adopt-A-Clinic Campaign since its introduction last Spring.

Since joining FMF's campaign this summer to defend Charlotte clinics during OR/OSA's siege of bullying and intolerance, the Feminist Union has continued their support of Family Reproductive Health. Each Saturday morning four to ten Feminist Union members serve as a physical barrier from anti-abortion protesters and ensure that all staff and patients safely enter the clinic with minimal harassment. Members also serve as legal observers to assist FMF in the prosecution of FACE and federal and state anti-stalking law violations.

"Defending Family Reproductive Health has really brought us together," according to one member of the Feminist Union. "The antis have started targeting the clinic defenders and have given us all nicknames." In addition to non-violent and non-engagement defense of the clinic, the group gathers to make signs to hold in support of the clinic and thank you cards to the staff. The Feminist Union has seen tremendous growth since their activism against clinic violence and now have a regular membership of 30 students! "It's the utmost form of activism. You have to be out there to experience it, to see the injustice."

Thankfully some of that injustice is starting to get national attention. Many news outlets including NPR, CBS, and MSNBC recently covered the WANTED posters distributed by anti-abortion extremist Flip Benham and the connection between such violent threats and the deaths of abortion providers. "These WANTED posters are communicating a threat to these abortion providers; doctors featured on WANTED posters in the past have become targets of anti-abortion extremists willing to kill, including most recently Dr. George Tiller," stated Kathy Spillar, Executive Vice-President of the Feminist Majority Foundation.

Unfortunately the terror that is experienced by Family Reproductive Health is not exclusive to Charlotte, NC. Clinics across the country are experiencing an increase in clinic violence since the 2008 election. Comprehensive clinics and a woman's right to a safe and legal abortion is under attack in your community! Join groups like the Feminist Union and support your clinic against anti-abortion extremists through FMF's Adopt-A-Clinic Campaign. Contact your FMF National Campus Organizer and begin defending a woman's right to choose today!

Photo credit: Meghan Shalvoy


This post is part of the November 2010 ezine. To subscribe to the monthly ezine, click here.

HIV/AIDS & Young Women: What You Can Do to Fight For Young Women's Lives on World AIDS Day

On December 1st, the world will remember almost 60 million people have been infected with HIV and 25 million people have died of HIV-related causes since the beginning of the epidemic. Today, in many parts of the world, including the U.S., women have become the face of the disease. Women make up an increasing proportion of adults (ages 15–49) living with HIV/AIDS.

Young adults, ages 15–24 account for approximately half of new adult HIV infections and 28% of the global total of adults living with HIV/AIDS. Most young people living with AIDS are girls (62%), including 76% of HIV-positive young people in sub-Saharan Africa. In some countries, infection rates are up to six times higher among young women than young men.

These statistics are shocking, but real.

Sadly, the U.S. has been a strong proponent of abstinence-only funding for HIV/AIDS prevention programs around the world. These programs have been proven ineffective and continues the spread of the disease.

Based on recent studies, much of US aid for global AIDS relief administered under the Bush Administration was given to conservative, faith-based organizations (FBOs) that strongly promoted abstinence as a prevention method and demonized condom use. This type of "proselytization" of what is deemed as appropriate sexual behavior reverses the efforts to fight AIDS and continue its spread. Though a lot has changed in favor of comprehensive HIV/AIDS relief for young women under the Obama Administration, the fear of the continued trend of supporting conservative, anti-choice FBOs is very real. As a matter of fact, many FBOs that have partnered with the U.S. up to 2008 have provided AIDS relief in many developing countries with a special focus on abstinence-only in youth prevention programs. This (as well as lack of access to condoms) is directly tied to the continued rise of HIV transmission among young people.

Young feminists across the country are needed now more than ever! We can make a difference! We can collectively change the way our government makes foreign policy and who it gives our funds to. On this World AIDS Day, advocate for women's sexual and reproductive rights and sustainable AIDS relief on your campus by:

• Contacting members of Congress, the Obama Administration, and the United Nations' Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon via letter-writing campaigns, call-ins, fax-ins, or emails and demand that the U.S. end its support of abstinence-only funding for HIV/AIDS prevention.

• Pressing our government to meet the MDGs' 2015 deadline by increasing international sexual and reproductive health care funding to $3 billion which would provide universal access!

• Not just waiting on World AIDS Day, but get an early start in this "lame-duck" session to petition members of Congress to ratify the Convention for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and pass the International Violence Against Women Act. These policies can curb the epidemic significantly by ending violence against women. Contact the Campus Team at campusteam@feminist.org if you'd like to screen FMF's short documentary "CEDAW: The Secret Treaty". Remember, we only need 67 votes in the Senate!

• Writing op-ed's and campus newspaper articles about the dangers of supporting abstinence-only funding for global HIV/AIDS prevention and the need to support comprehensive sex ed in schools.

• Coordinating with student health services and nearby bars and restaurants to distribute free male and female condoms with HIV/AIDS facts.

• Creating a mural/collage display of various photos, letters, drawings, etc. representing the many "faces of HIV/AIDS" and their many walks of life. This disease affects everyone and we should continue to dispel the myths of who HIV/AIDS affects.

• Sponsoring a benefit theater production or music concert where the proceeds go to a local HIV/AIDS organization or campus HIV/AIDS program.

• Collaborating with your university's public health, nursing, medical, international affairs, and public policy schools/programs and student health services to host a discussion or seminar on the gendered-based effects of HIV/AIDS globally.

• Collaborating with international student organizations and environmental campus groups to create a poster and flyer campaign that shows how poverty and the results of climate change, like depleting water sources, impact young women living with HIV/AIDS.

There's so much we all can do to take action in the fight against AIDS. Remember, you can make a difference in saving the lives of young women and girls around the world. Fight for women and girls on World AIDS Day!

Few action ideas courtesy of Minnesota's Department of Health "How to Plan World AIDS Day Activities 2010: Universities/Colleges Tips".

This post is part of the November 2010 ezine. To subscribe to the monthly ezine, click here.

How Well Did We "Get Out Her Vote?"

The midterm elections have flown right by and we are all settling down from the excitement that came along. Many students nationwide mobilized to get out the vote and encouraged their fellow peers to be active citizens by casting their votes on election day.

The Feminist Majority Foundation’s “Get Out Her Vote” campaign clearly laid out what was going to be at stake if young students didn’t go out to vote in this year’s midterm elections. GOHV focused on issues that really resonated with college students, especially with young women: reproductive rights, marriage equality, immigration, the environment, and access to higher education were going to be on the chopping block if we didn’t educate and mobilize ourselves on ballot measures and congressional representatives. With propositions on state ballots ranging from abortion restrictions (Prop. 62 in CO), to the possible elimination of environmental protection and green jobs (Prop. 23 in CA), it was imperative that young people organized and voted!

So did the midterm elections bring young voters out to the polls this year? The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) found that “an estimated 20.4 percent of young Americans under the age of 30 voted in Tuesday’s midterm elections, compared to 23.5 percent in the last midterm election (2006).” Almost nine million Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 voted and current research shows that youth participate when they are asked to do so. Even though the youth voter turnout decreased from the last midterm election, we still proved that our voting block should definitely not be underestimated! The more we encourage others to engage with the civil process of voting, the more we undoubtedly affect the outcomes of our respective elections, including the upcoming 2012 election which is right around the corner!

It is important to recognize the power that youth have in transforming our political landscape, but we also need to acknowledge that we need more women representing us on both state and federal levels. Women are more than half of the nation’s population and the 2010 election results say otherwise in regards to equal representation. The Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) found that “the number of women in Congress has not dropped since 1979 and has not stayed level since 1987.” With at least 17 women serving in the U.S. Senate and 73 women serving in the U.S. House of Representatives* for the upcoming terms, our representation in Congress remains low and stagnate. I don’t know about you but I am getting deathly tired of knowing that the people who are creating policies regarding my reproductive health and rights have no idea what my lived daily lived experience is as a young woman.

Women win races at the same rates that men do. So why don’t we have more women in office? Simply not enough women run! So this is your call to action to get out there and run for office! We need more feminist in office looking out for equality for all people.

*Official numbers are not in yet because a few races have not been called as absentee ballots are still being counted.

This post is part of the November 2010 ezine. To subscribe to the monthly ezine, click here.

NYC Council sets example with Fake Clinic legislation

Crisis Pregnancy Centers go to great lengths to making women think you are walking into an office where you can get medical advice from professionals, talk about all of your options when facing an unplanned pregnancy, perhaps even see a doctor. But that will not happen behind their doors.

Despite the fact that they appear to be very clinical. Despite the fact that they may be located near a comprehensive clinic, or in a medical complex, or that they may wear a lab coat.

That's why we started the Campaign to Expose Fake Clinics. That's why Austin, TX and Baltimore, MD have passed legislation requiring CPCs clearly post on their doors the services they do and do not provide. That's why NARAL NY has done extensive investigative work to provide a report in NYC that documents the deception and misinformation women are subject to in a fake clinic.

In October, New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn and Councilmember Jessica S. Lappin introduced a bill similar to those passed in Austin and Baltimore. In order to distinguish between comprehensive clinics, the bill defines CPCs as "limited-service centers" and would apply only to counseling centers that do not provide and/or refer for abortions or FDA-approved contraception. This disclosure would have to be provided on their door in English and Spanish. This bill is particularly strong because it goes even farther to require CPCs to include the same disclosure in their advertising.

If you're interested in helping to fight fake clinics on your campus or community, contact us at campusteam@feminist.org.

This post is part of the November 2010 ezine. To subscribe to the monthly ezine, click here.

Meet the new campus organizers!

The Feminist Majority Foundation is excited to welcome two new campus organizers to our Campus Team. Myra Duran and Meghan Shalvoy are both former student leaders of the Bruin Feminist for Equality and the Stony Brook Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, respectively, and will undoubtedly prove to be amazing resources for the activists with whom they will be working!

Some more information on these two talented women:

Myra Duran (left) graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a B.A. in Women's Studies with a concentration in women of color feminism and a minor in labor and workplace studies. As a student activist, she interned for Gabriela Network, U.S.A., the Dolores Huerta Foundation, the California Construction Academy, and the Feminist Majority Foundation. She spearheaded FMF's Campaign to Expose Fake Clinics at UCLA with Bruin Feminists for Equality. Myra also served on the Young Women’s Leadership Council for the Pro-choice Public Education Project. Myra says she is really excited to be a part of the CHOICES Campus Team, especially looks forward to fostering the love she has for activism, young students, the power of voice, and women's rights. Myra will be working out of our West Coast office in Los Angeles.

Meghan Shalvoy (right) is a recent graduate of Stony Brook University and the former President of the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance at Stony Brook. Her decision to major in women’s and gender studies at SBU was largely fueled by her desire to advocate for women’s reproductive rights, and through the WGS program she interned for Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic and New York State Senator Brian X. Foley. Meghan is also the former co-chair of the National Organization for Women-New York State (NOW-NYS) Young Feminist Task Force, and has made multiple trips to Haiti this past year to volunteer at a free medical clinic run by Raising Haiti. Meghan will be working out of our East Coast office in Washington.

Welcome Myra and Meghan!

Clinic Defense & Campus Organizing - A Natural Partnership

Bonjour Campus Choices! Meghan here, and this is my first of many posts as the newest member of Choices Campus Leadership Program’s team of National Campus Organizers. Although new to this position, I am no stranger to the dangers of clinic harassment and violence, or FMF’s work to assist in defending clinics against it.

This July, I joined FMF as a volunteer to keep the clinics of Charlotte, NC safe from the harassment of Operation Save America’s (OSA) annual clinic siege. If you’ve ever seen your average weekend “sidewalk counselor” protests outside a clinic, take that image and quadruple it. Meditate for a moment for sanity’s sake, and then double it again, totally approximately 250 anti-choice harassers.

As a part the National Clinic Access Project, FMF brought in volunteers from miles and miles away to combat the extreme tactics of OSA, which included posting WANTED posters of the brave and committed abortion providers who staff the Charlotte clinics, holding up oversized posters which featured graphic and medically inaccurate images of dead babies, blocking driveways, and using an amplifier to preach hate to the patients, staff and pro-choice volunteers.

Although there were three clinics that were targeted by OSA, Family Reproductive Health requested a presence of pro-choice clinic defenders throughout the week and we spent the majority of our time there. I had never seen anything like what I saw in Charlotte, and it is hard to articulate how sad and infuriating it was to see the way these self-proclaimed intolerant people would attack women who were simply trying to receive basic reproductive health care.

I would, without a doubt, just as soon favor every woman in America have safe and free access to reproductive health services, but what surprised me most was how much I enjoyed my time in Charlotte. Banding together with dozens of passionate and committed pro-choice volunteers, FMF staff, students from UNCC Feminist Union, and Charlotte Pro-Choice Coalition members to keep FRH and the other Charlotte clinics safe and protected by our efforts – including clinic defense, counter-protesting, legal observation and close contact with law enforcement – was inspiring, to say the least.

On the last day of the clinic siege, we managed to rally over 75 clinic defenders in the wee hours of the morning so that when OSA arrived to set up their Harassment HQ, they promptly turned their vans around and drove away. According to the fantastic clinic staff, it was the first Saturday without harassment and protest in the 8 years the clinic had been open.

Luckily, it is not every Saturday that OSA brings hundreds of people from all over the country to target a clinic, but virtually every day of the year there is some form of harassment outside of hundreds of clinics across the US. Get involved to help keep these clinics safe by joining in our Adopt-a-Clinic Campaign. There are so many ways you can help keep your clinic safe and open. Vocal pro-choice support can keep patients safe when entering the clinic, help maintain law enforcements attention to this issue, and show clinics that their hard work is appreciated and important.

This blog post is part of the October eZine. To receive our monthly eZine, click here.

Love Your Body Day - angry feminist style

Campus feminists across the country are organizing Love Your Body Day programs on October 20. There are junk food and pajama parties, prohibitions on body snarking, and poster campaigns. There are discussions on eating disorders, poor body image, and sexist advertising.

As you raise awareness on these issues on campus, take your activism to the next level. Use your votes and wallets to hurt sexist organizations and bring feminism into the mainstream. Some ideas:

Organize a letter/phone/fax bomb for companies that objectify women's bodies and profit from our insecurities. Ms. Magazine's No Comment section highlights a series of offenders in each issue, with contact info for each corporation.

Tired of the 'beauty' industry? Bring back the Freedom Trash Can to your campus, and hold a demonstration where your group discards your scuzzy old makeup, impractical shoes, uncomfortable underwear, magnified mirrors, hair dye, diet pills, hair removal implements, and other detritus cluttering your bathroom and bureau. Pledge to make economic decisions that will empower you, and not just line the pockets of cosmetics corporations and fashion magazines.

Collaborate with your campus arts department and local feminist artists to create and showcase real images of men, women, and everyone in between. Feeling racy? Include close-ups of real genitalia versus the vajazzled, dyed, waxed, surgically-altered genitalia prevalent in mainstream pornography.

Publicly boycott products, shows, and movies with misogynist themes, and support women filmmakers and writers whose films pass the Bechdel test. Host a good old-fashioned picket if necessary.

Get involved with/infiltrate campus and local media, and maintain your own feminist media sources. Petition your campus and local independent book stores to expand the feminist media they carry.

Learn about the Healthy Media for Youth Act that was introduced in the US Senate in September.

There are all kinds of ways to get political and reshape/reject the gendered images we see each day. Let us know the creative and subversive ways you are smashing patriarchy!

This blog post is part of the October eZine. To receive our monthly eZine, click here.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month - Take Action on YOUR Campus!

The month of October is overflowing with activities that student groups across the country are taking action on. For many of us, October signifies the beginning of Domestic Violence Awareness month and gearing up to put on events that really highlight the impact it has in our communities. The first step in fighting this vicious violence is being informed and getting educated on the issue. According to YWCA, "one in three women has been the victim of domestic violence." Not only is this statistic saddening but also learning that "twenty-five percent of college women have been raped" is an issue we cannot blindly stand by!

Domestic violence can happen to anyone of any race, age, sexual orientation, religion or gender. It can happen to couples who are married, living together or who are dating. Domestic violence affects people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and education levels. It is everyone’s problem and has consequences for more than just the people involved.


To take action for Domestic Violence Awareness month, many activists partner with local organizations and shelters that support survivors through fundraisers, host clothing and cell phone drives, hold workshops about consent and the Violence Against Women Act, chalk the campus with statistics about domestic violence, and volunteer endless hours. It can also be as simple as holding a screening that talks about the issue with a thought-provoking discussion afterward because as cliche as it sounds, knowledge really is power. Wherever you are, speak up against violence in your community by becoming a hotline volunteer, attend a local rally, or inform yourself and the rest of your school about your campus sexual assault policy.

Use this month to make a difference in your campus community because it takes just one person to send the message that violence is not acceptable. It’s time to take back our community and end this cycle of violence once and for all.

For more information about domestic violence and available resources, please visit the National Domestic Violence Hotline (www.thehotline.org) and YWCA.

photo courtesy of flickr.com/zappowbang


This blog post is part of the October eZine. To receive our monthly eZine, click here.

Don't Get Tricked, Get Treated!

As we get our costumes ready for Halloween, don't forget about what's really deceptive: Crisis Pregnancy Centers! Crisis Pregnancy Centers pose as comprehensive women’s health clinics and advertise under “abortion” and “family planning” services, but do not offer abortion services, contraception, or referrals. Instead, they have an anti-choice agenda and tell women misinformation about the affects of abortion in attempts to dissuade women away from all of their choices. We wanted to make sure that our campus groups plan ahead to participate in our National Week of Action, called "Don't Get Tricked, Get Treated," taking place the week leading up to Halloween, starting October 25th. Here are some cool ideas of how your campus group can get the word out and take action this Halloween:

1. Host a Screening of 12th and Delaware or of FMF's two videos on the deception of Crisis Pregnancy Centers, which can be found here, followed by a discussion.
2. Create education flyers and posters identifying comprehensive women's health clinics and warning people are fake clinics in your area. Here's a template from our action kit.
   
3. Talk to your Campus Health Center, and ask if they refer students to CPCs. Almost half of 4-year universities in the US do! If your Health Center on campus refers women to CPCs, make them stop, or in the very least have them put a disclaimer!
4. Hand out "Trick of Truth Treats" with candy and facts about CPCs. The truth is delicious!
   
5. Stage a protest at your nearest CPC, warning women about their deceptive practices. Or have a speak out/rally at your school!
   
6. Host a "haunted clinic" at your school. Instead of ghosts and ghouls, emulate what goes on inside a creepy CPC.
7. Photo campaign! Take pictures of people holding up signs with what they want to say about CPCs. Take photos and post them on campus, in a Facebook album, create a photo blog, or send it to your legislators!
8. Propose a "Truth in Advertising" disclaimer on campus if your campus health center refers to CPCs, or campus newspaper accepts ads from CPCs
9. Burma Shave Signs. These are consecutive signs posted one after another at a visible place on campus. Here is an example:

You wouldn't want your dentist telling you that brushing your teeth will give you cavities.
So why would you want (insert name of local CPC) saying that birth control is ineffective?
or that abortion will give you breast cancer?
or make you infertile?
or make you more likely to commit suicide?
Crisis Pregnancy Centers deceive women!

Have more ideas? We'd like to know what you are planning! Contact us at campusteam@feminist.org or call 866-444-3652 Happy exposing!

This blog post is part of the October eZine. To receive our monthly eZine, click here.

Get Out HER Vote: On the Road

FMF National Campus Organizers are currently traveling across the country to discuss the issues at stake in the upcoming election. We've prepared talking points about reproductive rights, marriage equality, the environment and pay equity. What we didn't expect was the biggest issue of all: no one knows when Election Day is! Clearly there is work to be done.

In last month's eZine, I discussed the many ways to Get Out HER Vote on your campus by utilizing the Feminist Majority Foundation's GOHV toolkit. With voter registration deadlines beginning this week in many states, the time to register to vote is now! After that critical paperwork is complete, the real work begins. With just four weeks until election day (which is November 2, 2010 by the way) now is the time to engage your campus around the issues we can impact with our votes this Fall!

Despite being a little uncertain on the exact date (again, that's TUESDAY, November 2) the issues that student activists care about are endless. We've heard from students who are frustrated by the lack of reproductive health care services on campus, pay day lending in their neighborhoods and crisis pregnancy centers that are located across the street from their campus. With your vote this November, ALL of these issues can be addressed.

By utilizing our GOHV toolkit, host a panel discussion to educate your campus on the issues that matter to you. Table in high traffic areas on campus to inform your peers about their rights when they go to the polls. Flyer your campus with posters of the nearest polling location and record public service announcements on your campus radio about the importance of youth participation in civic engagement. At the University of Tennessee there is a polling location on campus and at Millsaps College students can vote directly across the street. Organize a march to the polls on Election Day (that would be November 2, 2010) and let your voice be heard!

Contact your National Campus Organizer for more ideas on how to Get Out HER Vote on your campus today. We can send you brochures, buttons and stickers to help you spread the word that on this Election Day, November 2, 2010, we each must VOTE AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT. Why? Because it does. Don't trust me? Listen to them and VOTE.

This blog post is part of the October eZine. To receive our monthly eZine, click here.

Arizona, Vote NO on 107! Colorado, Vote NO on 62!

As young women across the country are eager to cast their vote in this year's election, they may be surprised to find some shocking measures on the ballot in Colorado and Arizona that are serious threats to women's rights. Ballot initiatives are common ways states can petition a public vote or a referendum on proposed constitutional amendments or statues. These measures are allowed in 24 states, two of which--Arizona and Colorado--have a history of taking up discriminative and anti-choice measures.

You might remember during the 2008 general election, both Colorado's Amendment 46 (a ban on affirmative action in state and local agencies) and Amendment 48 (anti-abortion measure giving personhood to a fetus) was successfully defeated. With 73% of voters rejecting Amendment 48, you would think abortion rights in the state are successfully protected, right? WRONG!

Introducing another threat to a woman's choice--Amendment 62! Colorado voters will be met with, yet again, another anti-abortion measure that seeks to extend legal and constitutional rights to fertilized eggs on the November 2nd ballot. If this amendment is passed, it will have a detrimental affect on everything from property rights to inheritance laws. According to Andrew Toft of the Colorado Bar Association, "Almost every area of law would be impacted, including criminal law, family law, trusts and estates, real estate, elder law, tort law, juvenile law, health law and business law." To learn more about why you should vote NO! on 62, check out NO62 at www.protectfamiliesprotectchoices.org.

Colorado, you are not alone. After the passage of Arizona's controversial anti-immigration law, it's not surprising that an anti-affirmative action initiative, Proposition 107, will also appear on the November ballot. The 2008 election was not very favorable to LGBT communities with the state's enactment of a ban on same-sex marriage. It seems that the mounting support continues for discriminative policies as we are seeing now with Proposition 107. If Prop 107 is passed, it would put an end to equal opportunity programs for women and minorities. This will have a tremendous affect on university admissions for underrepresented students like women and minorities. Check out Protect Arizona's Freedom to learn more about why you should vote NO! on Prop 107.

If you are interested in mobilizing support against these inequitable, anti-choice initiatives, go to our Feminist Campus Get Out HER Vote campaign.

Learn how to organize feminists on your campus to vote for equality in November. Let's put an end to inequality in 2010!

This was post was featured in the September 2010 campus eZine. To join our mailing list, sign up here.

How to get out HER vote on YOUR campus!

With just a few weeks before voter registration deadlines end in many states and only six weeks before election day on November 2, the time to get out HER vote on campus is now!

The Feminist Majority Foundation's Get Out HER Vote (GOHV) campaign is the nation's only student-led voter education and registration initiative aimed at increasing young women's voter participation. It's not enough to register yourself and go to the polls this year -- we must register and inform every feminist on your campus! Feeling a little overwhelmed? To help you get started, utilize FMF's GOHV step-by-step guide to getting our HER vote on your campus today!


Step One: Prepare
1. Review the GOHV toolkit online and designate GOHV chairs to coordinate the campaign and volunteers on your campus.

2. Know the rules and don’t be intimidated! Do you know your state's deadlines to register to vote? Have you ever heard of a provisional ballot? Like with all of your activism on campus, you must educate yourself first before your can inform your campus community. Don't be fooled by the scare tactics and misinformation of others. Know your rights and cast your vote this year! Check out our GOHV website for information on your state’s rules.

3. Build your GOHV campaign around four political issues that will resonate with your group and campus. What are the issues that are most important to you? Do you have a pay equity bake sale each year to raise awareness about wage discrimination? Does your group focus on global women's rights and seek to ratify CEDAW? All of these issues and more can be influenced with your voice and your vote on November 2. For more ideas use the What’s at Stake in 2010? GOHV handout to develop your GOHV platform.

4. Contact your county registrar to obtain voter registration forms, train to become poll workers, and petition for voting machines on campus. Visit our GOHV website to contact your Secretary of State or County Registrar to find the nearest location to pick up a large supply of voter registration forms. Be sure to become familiar with your state's voter registration form, instructions, guidelines, and voter registration deadline.

Step Two: Register
1. Table in high-traffic areas with GOHV materials. Draw attention to your table with balloons, signs, and banners. Have lots of registration forms, voter pledge sheets, and a list of polling stations on hand. No materials other than the registration form should reference political parties or any candidate. Remember you can not deny anyone the right to register to vote based on party affiliation. Don’t just sit behind the table – engage everyone passing by, and ask them to sign the GOHV voter pledge. Encourage students to register to vote using their local address, and tell them you will call them to remind them to vote before Election Day. If your state offers early voting, encourage students to vote as early as possible!

2. Contact the chairs of Women’s Studies and other departments on campus for permission to pass out voter registration forms at the beginning of class and explain how to fill out the form and the location of the nearest polling place. Be sure to collect completed forms at the end of your presentation and deliver them to the local registrar before the deadline!

3. Talk about the issues without endorsing candidates or political parties, and let students know how to sign up to get paid as a county poll worker. FMF's GOHV campaign is a non-partisan, issue-based campaign that does not oppose, support, or otherwise endorse any candidate for public office.

4. Deliver voter registration forms to the local county registrar before the registration deadline! **This is one of the most important steps!** If you don’t turn in the forms, you could be violating state law. Make several trips – county clerks offices often have small staffs, so it is important not to overwhelm them by delivering large stacks of forms all at once.

5. When you drop off completed registration forms, check the voter rolls for a random sample of names you previously submitted. This is a great way to verify the voters you register are getting onto the rolls.

Step Three: Mobilize
1. The month between your state’s voter registration deadline and November 2nd is the best time to mobilize registered students. Blanket campus with information about where and when students can vote. Leaflet with the GOHV FAQs handout to help students who may have questions. If your state offers early voting, publicize it widely.

2. Educate your campus through PSAs on campus radio, op-eds in your student newspaper and a panel discuss with coalition groups on campus about the issues at stake in this election.

3. On the day before Election Day, volunteers should set up a phone-bank to call students who signed voter pledges, remind them to vote, and let them know poll locations. If the main student polling location is off-campus, find out if the student needs a ride and organize a car pool.

4. Election Day – Organize voting rushes on Election Day to rally and lead hundreds of students to polling locations. Host an election watch party after the polls close to celebrate all your hard work!

Just in case you didn't already know: VOTE ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2nd!

This was post was featured in the September 2010 campus eZine. To join our mailing list, sign up here.

Voting Is a Feminist Issue!

Elections are frequently won by tiny margins and the mobilization of students-especially young women-has the potential to change the political landscape drastically. Young people, especially young women, have important rights at stake in this 2010 midterm election. The stakes are high which means it is even more imperative that we exercise our right to vote! Voting is a feminist issue because we are disproportionately under-represented in all levels of government. Even though women are 51% of the population, they hold 17% of the seats in the U.S. Congress. Only 5% of U.S. House seats are held by women of color, and there are no women of color in the U.S. Senate. The picture in our state legislatures is better, but still dismal: women today hold only 24% of state legislative seats nationwide. At the current rate of gain for women in elective office, it will take over 200 years to achieve parity with men in Congress.

Not only is it necessary for us to go out and vote this coming November, but increasing voter participation among young women has the power to transform politics. Everything from abortion rights, the environment, educational loans, immigration reform and LGBTQ civil rights are going to be determined by who we elect into office. Women, between the ages of 18-24, have consistently voted less than any other age group: it’s time to change these numbers!

Your Vote Counts! Young women need to register, vote, and run for government in record numbers. Underrepresentation begins in student governments, so run for office on your campus and Get Out HER Vote this fall!

This was post was featured in the September 2010 campus eZine. To join our mailing list, sign up here.

Let's Get Out Her Vote in California!

There's so much at stake across the nation during the 2010 elections, but especially California. With important races and ballot initiatives to vote on this Fall, we must mobilize to get young people to the polls in the Golden State!

What's at stake you ask? Plenty!

• Abortion rights: Access to safe, legal abortions and affordable family planning services, including California’s Family PACT program which provides free reproductive health care to low-income women, are constantly under attack. Your vote will help determine whether reproductive health care and comprehensive sexual education are supported over failed abstinence-only programs.
  
  
• Education and loans: California is experiencing an education budget crisis, with a projected $18.9 billion deficit for the next fiscal year. Cuts across all levels of education make enrollment in classes increasingly difficult and limit access to quality public education.
  
  
• The Environment: Voters can limit the harmful environmental impacts of big business by voting for cleaner energy measures which contributes to the creation of jobs, development of renewable energy sources and the reduction of California’s dependency on foreign oil.
  
  
• LGBTQ Rights and Marriage Equality: In California and across the nation LGBTQ civil rights issues, including marriage equality and the right to serve openly in the military, will be in the hands of our state and federal law makers.
  
  
• Immigration: Some state law makers support harsh immigration legislation that encourages racial profiling. If such measures were adopted, many families could be torn apart and children of immigrants could lose their path to citizenship. Your vote can determine what kind of legislation our state adopts on immigration policies.
  

Be sure to get involved in our "Get Out Her Vote" Campaign. We have California specific organizing materials to make sure you register, educate, and mobilize students to the polls.

Don't be intimidated! We have a step by step guide on how to get started:

1. Register students to vote! Form broad coalitions with other campus groups, and work with the student government for a massive voter registration efforts. Table everyday, have visibility events, recruit volunteers, and get people to sign the voter pledge!

2. Educate! Make sure people know why they should vote! Young people are the least registered, least voting demographic. Our voice needs to be heard! Flyer with information about what's at stake, use social media to get the word out, and get press coverage about the issues!

3. Mobilize to the polls! It's one thing to register, but it's another thing to get people to the polls on election day! Make sure your volunteers phone bank, chalk, flyer, and have visibility action to remind people to vote and where their polling locations are.

Don't forget to check out our FAQs on student voting, that answers questions like, "Can I vote where I go to school?" (answer: YES!) and "Will my financial aid be affected if I register at a different address than my parents' address?" (answer: NO!)

Get out there California!

Be sure to contact your campus organizers with any questions by email, jsun@feminist.org or mduran@feminist.org, or by phone 866-471-FMLA.

This was post was featured in the September 2010 campus eZine. To join our mailing list, sign up here.

Pay equity & CEDAW: How long must women wait?

FMF's Get Out Her Vote campaign encourages young feminists to vote around the issues we care about on Election Day, which is Tuesday, November 2nd. There are a number of reasons why it's important to vote in the mid-term elections, but I wanted to focus on two particularly timely issues: the gender wage gap and ratification of the UN CEDAW treaty.

Gender wage gap

Even though we have anti-discrimination laws, the gender wage gap begins immediately as young women enter the workforce and graduate from college, and it only widens over the course of their career. During her lifetime, a college-educated women will earn $1.2 million less than her male classmate will, just because she is a women. You know the stats.

So what can your feminist group do?

• Learn more. Read about the Paycheck Fairness Act currently before the US Senate, and get the latest wage gap data [PDF] from our friends at the Institute for Women's Policy Research. Discuss the wage gap at group meetings, and how you can take political action on this issue.
  
• Hold a pay equity bake sale on campus to illustrate the effects of the wage gap and raise some dough (ha!) for your feminist group.
• Work with your campus career center and progressive groups on campus to organize workshops on resumes, interviewing, salary negotiation, and feminist careers. A great off-campus resource is the WAGE Project, which conducts workshops specifically for college women. The WAGE workshop I attended as a student was excellent.
  

Moving right along to...

Ratification of CEDAW

The US is one of the last countries that has not signed the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (full text) human rights treaty. This treaty would serve as a full commitment to women's equality under the law, which we still do not have in this country (see also: Equal Rights Amendment).

Ratifying countries commit to:

● Take concrete measures to ensure women can enjoy basic human rights and fundamental freedoms.
● Establish judicial procedures to ensure the effective protection of the rights of women.
● Take appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women by persons, organizations or enterprises.
● Submit national reports every four years on measures they have taken to comply with the treaty to protect and promote the rights of women in their country.

The Obama administration and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton support ratification. A vote of two-thirds of the US Senate (67 votes) is required for ratification, and no action is required by the House of Representatives.

What your group can do:

• FMF is part of a broad coalition working toward CEDAW ratification in the US. Learn more at http://www.cedaw2010.org/
• Host a film screening and discussion of FMF's short DVD "CEDAW: The Secret Treaty." Email us at campusteam (at) feminist (dot) org to get your free copy, and use this CEDAW handout to facilitate the conversation.
• Ask your women's studies and international relations professors to cover CEDAW in class.

Got more ideas for spreading the word on pay equity and CEDAW? Leave a comment or email us!

And remember, vote on Election Day Tuesday, November 2nd!

This was post was featured in the September 2010 campus eZine. To join our mailing list, sign up here.

FEMMY for Ms. Congeniality: Kutztown FMLA

For their consistent commitment to serving the Kutztown community and women across Pennsylvania, the FEMMY for "Ms. Congeniality" goes to Kutztown University's Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance.

Before 2008, I didn't know Kutztown, PA existed. Then when I joined FMF 2 years ago as a national campus organizer, our president Ellie was quick to sing the praises of the Kutztown University FMLA.

KU is a medium sized public university about an hour from Philly and Harrisburg. Ellie likes to emphasize Kutztown's roots as a teachers college - an empowering place for feminists to learn and change the world.

The FMLA, led by junior Caitlin Smith, is unabashedly political and does great work advocating for women on campus and in the community year after year. Caitlin, Jesse, and all of the FMLAers are the next generation of leaders for the feminist movement, and I know they will be lifelong activists from whom we can expect big things.

Their list of accomplishments is too long to list - the abridged version includes...

• Bringing iconic feminist Gloria Steinem to campus
• Successfully petitioning the campus president to reinstate sexual orientation in the campus nondiscrimination policy
• Contacting their senators to advocate for health care insurance reform
• Sending a delegation of 8 students to FMF's National Young Feminist Leadership Conference
  
• Pay equity bake sales
• Earth Day festivities
• Take Back the Night & Clothesline Project
• Vagina Monologues
  
• Love Your Body Day bra sizing, tshirts and posters
  
• and much more!

It's been my privilege to work with the FMLA, and I can't wait to see the things they'll accomplish next.

This article was featured in our May 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.

FEMMY for Chicago-area Feminist Alliance!

When I came to FMF two years ago and found out I'd be organizing a group of states in this ethereal region called "the Midwest" on account of my Oklahoma roots, I had to laugh - though I did, indeed, spend 18 years in the Sooner State, the rest of the states on my list - Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana - I could identify on a map, and that was about it.

As I have gotten to know and traveled through the Midwest, with its different political climates and cultural sentiments, I've had the privilege of meeting some of the most incredible feminists the region has to offer. This last Spring, I traveled to the Chicago area, and I was really inspired by the feminist groups I met with there.

Particularly wonderful to see was groups that are taking it upon themselves not only to do a fantastic job with activism on campus, but to reach beyond them into the greater Chicago-area community itself. They're also in the beginning stages of reaching out to each other to form a Chicago-wide alliance of feminist student groups to co-host events, share knowledge, and learn from each other. Super cool!

Here at FMF, we love seeing activists work together to keep from reinventing the wheel each time, so for my FEMMY, I'd like to briefly acknowledge some of the fantastic feminist activists in the Chicago area that are reaching out to each other and the community to work smarter, not harder!

Feminists United at the University of Illinois Chicago - This group, a soon-to-be affiliate (yay!) of FMF's campus program, is living proof that activist groups can redefine their presence on campus! When I met with Jenna Andriano, the leader of the group, in February, I was really impressed with their motivation and desire to ramp up their activism and solidify a relationship with FMF. Though I've only been in touch with this group for a few months, I've been impressed with them already!

The Feminist Collective at Northeastern Illinois University - What an amazing group of women! Though they face some challenges making a name for themselves on a mostly commuter-based campus, these folks have proved that activism can find a home anywhere. Bolstered by support from the Women's Studies department on campus, one of the coolest things about this affiliated group is that they don't limit themselves to on-campus activism. They also actively seek partnerships in the community and are really trying to get the aforementioned Chicago-wide feminist-student-group alliance up and running.

Feminists United at Roosevelt University - Another group that I met with during the Chicago trip, this group is so fantastic! FU won Student Organization of the year at RU in 2009 - how awesome is that? One of the co-leaders, Haley Leibovitz, deserves some special props for her devotion to community involvement. Much like the NEIU folks, this group is bound and determined to not just make a difference on their campus, but in the wider community as a whole, and I applaud them for being so devoted.

Thank you, Chicago feminists, for being so fierce! You definitely deserve this FEMMY!

This article was featured in our May 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.

FEMMY for the Boston University Women's Resource Center

The Boston University Women's Resource Center, one of the only women's centers in the nation run completely by student volunteers, has shown us the power of perseverance and just how much you can do with limited resources. For their awesome ambition and dedication to creating a safe space for women on campus, the BU Women's Resource Center wins a FEMMY!

The Women's Resource Center officially opened its doors on October 18, 2008, but it has a long and storied history. For more than 30 years, feminists on campus worked to establish a women's center at BU as a permanent home for their very active student group. When the women's center space was finally granted to them, students quickly put together a detailed organizational structure that guarantees the WRC can put on tons of events and be a comfortable space for conversation around gender and sexuality issues, despite the lack of a large budget or paid staff.

A thirteen person board runs the Center, with the help of fifty student volunteers. The WRC is open every weekday from 10 am - 5 pm as a safe space where students can ask questions and get referrals from volunteers to different services on campus.

In the evenings, the WRC hosts a wide range of events, opening its space for all sorts of student groups and interests every week. Students are encouraged to plan events that fit their passions--among the topics most heavily covered this semester were women's health (including events on birth control and alternative menstrual projects) and feminist art. The WRC honors an artist every month by displaying her work in the Center and hosts open mic nights. Last month, artist Erin McKeowan performed at the WRC's Women Rock Concert, which raised money for FMF's Campaign for Afghan Women and Girls. Another highlight of the semester was a film screening of the feminist anti-pornography documentary The Price of Pleasure, after which a feminist porn director spoke to offer an alternative viewpoint. Co-coordinator Sarah Sullivan emphasizes that the WRC is a place for "non-discriminatory discource on gender and sexuality," and that the WRC does not shy away from respectful debate.

The WRC stays connected with the BU student body through its listserv, Facebook group, and Twitter. Check them out and consider them an feminist inspiration--if you have the passion, vision, and dedication, there is little your group cannot overcome.

This article was featured in our May 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.