The Georgia 7 Standing Up Against Education Ban

Education policy makers in Georgia are attempting to prevent undocumented youth from accessing higher education in this country. The Georgia House introduced Bill 59, a bill that would essentially restrict eligible immigrant youth from applying to some of the top schools in the state.

"The Georgia 7" are a group of undocumented students who came out publicly as undocumented people on April 5th and were arrested and briefly detained for exercising their right to civil disobedience during an action on the Georgia State University campus . The young activists gathered from different states and blocked traffic, representing the barriers they personally face in trying to access opportunities in higher education. The protesters came from similar backgrounds and had the same struggles, many of them were brought to the U.S. at a young age, did well in school, and are academically-eligible to go to college. Currently the ban forces the top five schools in Georgia to prohibit undocumented students from applying because of their legal status.

Viridiana Martinez is one of the "Georgia 7" and stated at the rally, "My community is under attack by legislation that strips people of their humanity, and our human right to education." Viridiana represents the thousands of young students who are undocumented and denied access to higher education because they lack a nine-digit number.

These bans on higher education serve to reinforce inhumane immigration policies that do not reflect a comprehensive framework and further subordinate the immigrant community into the shadows. These policies reduce a person to their legal status and take away their humanity by denying them the most basic right to an education. In regards to those that were released yesterday, it is unclear what will happen next.

Unfortunately, these anti-immigrant legislative proposals seem to be gaining more momentum and the introduction of Arizona"SB 1070" type bills are currently underway in states like Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama.

To take action, sign the petition to take a stand against the Georgia ban! The undocumented youth movement continue to empower themselves through organized actions and fearless determination so please be sure to check out: www.thedreamiscoming.com and www.dreamactivist.org . Also for more updates, you can follow DREAM activists on twitter @DREAMAct.

Support our sisters and brothers who are in this fight and be informed!

Hello fellow Feminists

Hello my fellow feminists! My name is Colleen Mullen, and as this is my first of many blogs for the Feminist Majority Foundation, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. I recently gradated from UCLA with a major in Political Science (concentration in Political Theory) and a minor in Women’s Studies. While at UCLA, I realized the ever growing importance and power of civic engagement, community activism, grassroots organizing, and student activism. During my first 2 years at UCLA, I served as the Logistics and Finance Coordinator for the Student Activist Project (SAP). SAP aimed to enlighten students on broad social justice issues, to teach the fundamentals of grassroots organizing, and most importantly to empower students to challenge students to use this knowledge to make a change in our society. In addition, I completed the JusticeCorps program in Downtown Los Angeles where I provided legal information to self-represented litigants in family law cases. With this background, I aim to (at some point) go to law school and study public interest law.

Student Activists hard at work. Student Activist Project Facilitation Team Retreat (2007). Photo Courtesy of Tina Reggio.

Feminists have many different faces. I'm sure that even if we all identify as feminists, we each have different definitions of this means. Feminism, as a political, epistemological, social, cultural philosophy, constantly reinvents, questions, and challenges itself. The theoretical feminist rainbow (for lack of a better metaphor) includes everything from traditional, political Liberal Feminists who strive for individual autonomy; radical Socialist feminist who acknowledge the intersecting oppressions of patriarchy and capitalism on women; third world feminists who challenge Western cultural imperialism; to post modern feminists who claim every individual is a result of intersectional, unique, oppressions that cannot lend itself to group formations. This is the beauty (and some would even argue it is a pain) of feminism.

For me, feminism is something much simpler. Feminism is simply a different perspective of life, a forgotten and invisible perspective. Without realizing, many people have been socialized to view life, themselves, and others, through the perspective of a white, heterosexual, capitalist, rich/middle-class male. This unrecognized perspective ignores the different experiences of communities of color, working class, the LGBTQ communities, physically or mentally disabled, women, societies in non-Western and developing countries… the list goes on and on. The fundamental goal of a feminist (of any theoretical background) therefore must be to simply acknowledge, respect, and act upon all these philosophies.

Two Teenagers After My Own Heart

I can't remember the last time I heard teenagers speaking out about anything beyond how much school sucks, classes are "sooo boring" and how their parents are ruining their lives.

So I was delighted to find this article on Cleveland.com. It seems myself and the other interns here at FMF aren't the only ones who believe abstinence-only education is along the lines of sex un-education.

Here, we've got two actual teenager students, Daniel Sparks, 17, and Jelena Loncar, 16, who voiced their dissatisfaction with the abstinence-only education program at Parma High School. The two presented their views to the 150 adults who attended the school board meeting on the night of February 22.

Some of my favorite parts:

Jelena quoted the district's abstinence-only-until-marriage sex education program, Operation Keepsake:

"I personally don't view men as predators or protectors. And I certainly don't view myself as a treasure or a target. I found it insulting and undermining that Operation Keepsake reduced me to a social stereotype."

And the brave Daniel told his audience, "Operation Keepsake has made me question education as a whole, for while they scared us into understanding what could go wrong, they afforded us no information on how things could go right."

He then asked how he, as a homosexual, is supposed to uphold the abstinence until marriage standard if his home state does not even grant him the right to marry. A bit risky, and bringing up a whole different issue. But still bold and beautiful, I say.

Superintendent Sarah Zatik, along with several parents in attendance, congratulated the students after their presentation. Ms. Zatik announced she would be resigning in July, but not before she forms a committee to "start the conversation" for comprehensive sex education.

These teens are truly ahead of the curve. Time to get the rest of their generation on board.

photo credit: msugovdocs at flickr

To Label Me is to Negate Me: University of Redlands Students Resist Gender Stereotypes

This post has been submitted by Evan Matthews, a University of Redlands student majoring in Race and Ethnic Studies, who has been organizing on campus.


For the past few weeks, students at the University of Redlands have been under attack by an all too common social force: oppressive and stereotypical gender representations. The same force that spawned guerrilla movements, insider criticism, and intellectual debate has again emerged in Redlands, California.

Our initial concern arose when we saw a casting call our University put out for a video targeting potential students. Each female called for represented a different oppressive stereotype: beautiful diva, athletic girl, and nerdy girl.

Concerned individuals spoke out, forcing a public meeting between the marketing department and students to be held. Over two hundred students and faculty members showed. While Marketing took responsibility for the casting call— stating they received the call from the film company, releasing it verbatim without review — their use of the casting call displays not a passive overlook, but an active silence that rings in ears throughout our community.

At this meeting we were shown the entirety of the University's marketing strategy which contained billboard taglines (already in use) such as: “Seriously? You think you are going to get by on looks alone?” and “If you want an average life. Get an average degree somewhere else.” I shudder at the thought of a child reading those words, subconsciously forming images of success in their mind that tell them their options are to be beautiful and successful, or average.

Students are not going down quietly and, hopefully, not at all. Letter writing campaigns to our university president Stuart Dorsey (stuart_dorsey@redlands.edu) have been in place for the past week, students Ani Seuylemezia ’13 and Nick Daily ’11 are in process of getting negotiations with President Dorsey and the Board of Trustees on the table, with countless students undergoing independent projects that represent our community in different ways. While our immediate goal is to get an accurate representation of our University out, more importantly we hope this serves as a notice to Redlands and the rest of America, that dangerous ideas of masculinity and femininity will be met with powerful force and will never be accepted.

To contact Evan Matthews, the writer of this post, email him at evanmatthews08@gmail.com. To join the University of Redlands feminist club, LUST, which is also active on this issue, contact LUST President Sarah Wemple at sarah_wemple@redlands.edu.

Photo courtesy of flikr.com

Young Activist Victory!

Two Florida high school students, Hannah Page and Jacob Brock, won a victory in a lawsuit against their school district this week. Hannah, a rising sophomore, and Jacob, a rising senior, sued their school district in February for telling them that their school's Gay-Straight Alliance couldn't meet on school property unless it changed it's name to exclude the word "gay". The school district claimed that the club could be disruptive to the school, and that having a Gay-Straight Alliance would violate the district's abstinence-only education.

I think Hannah put it best when she said, "We just want the club so that straight and gay kids can get together to talk about harassment and discrimination against gay kids in an open environment. The school is discriminating against us and that's exactly the kind of thing we want to talk about and prevent." The judge agreed.

There is a lot to comment on in this case: a public school discriminating against students based on sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation; the need to even have a "safe space" for gay and lesbian students, when the whole school/community should be safe; yet another shortcoming of abstinence-only education..

But rather than getting caught up in all the problems surrounding this school district, I want to take this space to note how incredibly brave it was for the two students - Hannah and Jacob - to initiate this lawsuit. The legal system is a pretty intimidating thing. Taking action against a school policy is pretty scary. Coming out in high school is downright terrifying. These two students have now done all three - and they won. I'm completely inspired by the bravery of these two students, and I hope that they continue to fight for civil rights.


Note - Hannah has also sued the district because her middle school wouldn't allow her to start a GSA there, so be sure to stay tuned to this blog and to the news as things unfold!

Photo courtesy Fire.Man at flickr.com

Students for DC Vote BBQ next weekend!

Check out this great event next weekend hosted by Students for DC Vote. Every year this group hosts a summer send-off barbeque for college students and recent grads. DC Vote was founded in 1998 to fight the lack of Congressional representation for DC residents. Nearly half a million people live in DC and aren't represented in the House or the Senate. This event is hosted yearly to raise awareness of this issue for DC residents and encourage advocacy.

The event is free, food will be served, and everyone who RSVPs gets some cool DC vote merchandise, snacks and supplies for school, and an advocacy toolkit. If you're interested (and you should be!) RSVP to jdonelan@dcvote.org

Photo courtesy KClvey of flickr

Being labeled as a Feminist

Women today are often fearful of being called a feminist, for fear of what the name connotes. Hairy, man-hating, unhygienic, we have heard it all. Campus Progress has written a very relevant article called "I'm Not a Feminist, but..." which perfectly encompasses a lot of issues that feminists today face. It's a pretty quick read, and I would definitely recommend reading it. You might even find yourself proud to call yourself a feminist after reading it!

CUNY Students Need Your Help

Guest post by Jerin Alam, CUNY Hunter College

Did you know CUNY does not have a university-wide sexual assault policy?
You can help change that. We are in a historical time because a task force has been assembled with CUNY faculty, staff, administration, Public Safety & students to create this policy, which WILL go into effect next year for all 450,000 students. Make it a policy that reflects YOUR voice.

Come to a public forum & tell the taskforce what you want to see on the policy. In attendance: Vice Chancellor of Legal Affairs & other taskforce members, including Hunter College student Jerin Alam. Because CUNY is a public university, all NYC residents are welcome at the forum.

Wednesday, April 29, 1pm – 3pm, Room 603 Hunter West

To view the policy visit: http://cunypolicy.blogspot.com/

Direction to Hunter College: 695 Park Avenue | Take 6 train to 68th Street/the West building is on the southwest corner

If you cannot make the forum, email comments to the blog, contact wrc-usg@hunter.cuny.edu or

stop by The Women’s Rights Coalition clubroom at Thomas Hunter 309

Be FREE! International Women's Day at UCLA

This was written by Myra Duran - FMF West Coast intern and UCLA Bruin Feminist for Equality:

The month of March - Women’s History Month, and home of International Women’s Day - is the month when feminists around the world can commemorate years of activism and celebrate our achievements in the name of women’s equality. From taking action against the war in the Congo, to the oppression of women in Afghanistan and Iran, women all over the world are mobilizing to establish solidarity against sexism, racism, homophobia, gender inequality, and sexual violence.

Since the recognition of International Women’s Day in 1900, it has been a global day of recognition and celebration across developed and developing countries alike. These days, more and more college students are taking on more responsible roles, showing they care about international women’s issues, and are not afraid to express their political ideology on campus.

I am currently involved with a student group at UCLA called Bruin Feminists for Equality. We are a group that seeks to develop bold, new strategies, and programs to advance the social, political and economic equality of all people. Most importantly, we try to focus on the empowerment of women and girls in all sectors of society. So, when March rolled around we decided that we had to put on an event that would embody the true essence of what International Women’s Day is.

If you have been a part of any student group where many different minds, opinions, and thoughts all come together, then you will agree that hosting an event that is supposed to capture a global mindset can be a trying feat to accomplish. We finally settled on a theme we felt confident in: “Taking Back What’s Ours”. It was set to include three workshops: one on women’s self defense, one on gender and sexuality in the workplace, and the last on transnational feminism, with a keynote speaker to close. Through these workshops, our goal was to draw attention to the various ways women can reclaim their rights against patriarchy, violence, homophobia, and other forms of oppression.

Stress and panic arose when two weeks before our event we still didn’t have a keynote speaker. We didn’t just want anyone to speak; we wanted someone who has really made true strides and accomplishments in transnational feminism. One woman stood out for us: world-renowned Chicana poet, playwright, and writer: Cherrie Moraga. In the words of one of my women’s studies classmates, “Cherrie is Chicana feminism - it’s like Shakespeare for English literature. Cherrie Moraga is the definition of what Chicana feminist writing is.” We only hoped that she would want to come out from her Stanford abode and honor us with her presence.

Did we get Cherrie or did we not?……….Yes, we did! We were E-C-S-T-A-T-I-C that this true pioneer for women of color was actually going to speak at our event. All of our hard work paid off when we heard Cherrie was coming, and we knew our event would genuinely embody what International Women’s Day is all about. We knew the event was a great success when over 80 students came to listen to her speak! Listening to Cherrie’s inspirational words and picking her brain for ideas on how we, as young adults, can become the new revolutionaries of our generation was the highlight of the day and her words are still flying in my mind. In the words of Cherrie, “you can only feel joy if you are free, so be FREE!”

Update from the Road: Good News, Bad News Edition

Greetings from the road, fellow feminists! Tania and I have been powering our way through the middle of the country for a little over a week now. We started in Missouri, drove through southern Illinois and Indiana, headed down into Kentucky, and now are working our way back to Missouri!

So, four states and two time zones later, we took an opportunity this evening to vlog (video blog!) about our experiences, good and bad - the students we've met, the legislation we're worried about, the CPC we visited, and the amusing moments that abound while we're on the road. The video is below - we hope you enjoy!

SAVE THE DATE! National Young Women's Leadership Conference

Calling all young feminist leaders!!

We've selected a date for the 3rd annual National Young Women's Leadership Conference this Spring! Mark your calendars now to join us for an incredible opportunity to come together and meet other feminist student activists, national leaders, and to discuss feminist issues and activism as they pertain to YOUR life!

The conference will take place on March 21 and 22 in Washington, DC. Further details will be coming your way soon - check back here regularly for the latest scoop!