Posts from — March 2010

Are you man enough to walk a mile in her shoes?
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
4:00pm – 7:00pm
Plaza de Cesar Chavez, Downtown San Jose

See young men walk a mile in heels to raise awareness about Sexual Assault!  The YWCA of Silicon Valley hosts this unique event during Sexual Assault Awareness Month to call attention to these statistics:  one-in-three women and one-in-five men, regardless of socio-economic status, will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime.

This event is a light-hearted approach to a very serious subject and is also a fundraiser for our local YWCA’s  local rape crisis center. Donations are not required to walk, but every little bit helps.

Registration for the event begins at 4PM. The walk will start at 5:00. Shoes WILL be provided, but show up early. The walk route parades through downtown San Jose, culminating at the California Theatre on First Street. There will be a reception to follow.

Also, don’t forget, AfricanAmerican scholar/activist Angela Davis will be speaking the same evening at Morris Daily Auditorium!

If that’s not enough to pique your interest, here’s a few more facts why you should walk, and ladies don’t worry. Only the guys need to wear heels. ;) [Read more →]

March 24 – Liz Burke,  “Classism: How it Effects Our Lives at MOSAIC: Cross Cultural Center  at 5 p.m.

April 7 – Andrew House,White Privilege:  Identifying & Understanding at MOSAIC: Cross Cultural Center.

This article from the Racewire blog draws attention both to First Lady Michelle Obama’s campaign to reform the American diet.  She does this both by modeling the importance of eating fresh fruits and vegetables and using organic gardening methods, but also advocates structural change by working with America’s food manufacturers to reduce fat and sodium content in their food.  Go Michelle!

As Michelle Obama turns up the heat on food manufacturers, PolicyLink and The Food Trust have released a report that maps America’s “food deserts” and looks at their lasting effects in rural areas and low-income communities of color.

The report culls research from more than 100 previous studies to bring together the best data available on food access. The findings won’t shock anyone living in one of America’s many food deserts, but they prove Obama’s childhood obesity campaign can’t stop with telling parents to feed their kids better:

• 23.5 million Americans lived over a mile away from the nearest supermarket in 2009;
• African Americans were nearly four times as likely to live a food desert as whites;
• 80 percent of nonwhite residents in Albany, N.Y., can’t find low-fat milk or high-fiber bread sold in their neighborhoods;
• More than 70 percent of families eligible for food stamps in Mississippi travel at least 30 miles to reach a supermarket.

Racewire blog article continues here

Report from PolicyLink & The Food Trust here

Tune in to hear bell hooks interviewed on 99.5 FM WBAI Pacifica Radio Thursday, March 18 at 12 noon to 1pm EST. She’ll be promoting her newest book, Teaching Critical Thinking (Routledge, 2010).  WBAI is New York’s Pacifica radio station, accessible online.

Join us for a wonderful afternoon talk with sex educator Carol Queen!   Writer and cultural sexologist Carol Queen offers observations about women’s sexuality and discusses key issues like information, desire, boundaries, support, and communication — including specific tools that may help any woman learn what she wants for her sexuality, and move toward achieving it.

Carol Queen is a writer, speaker, educator and activist with a doctorate in sexology.  She has a long history of organizing in local and international lesbian/gay communities, including co-founding one of the first gay youth groups in the United States.  She is a worker/owner at Good Vibrations, the women-owned, worker-owned sex toy and book emporium, where she directs Continuing Education for the staff. She also organizes workshops at The Center for Sex and Culture, a non-profit sexuality education center which my partner Dr. Robert Lawrence and I have spent the last several years organizing.

The multialented queen writes explicit fiction and memoir, essays, commentary, analysis, book and film/video reviews, reportage, and interviews.  She publishes a sex and relationship advice column which is available at the Good Vibrations Magazine.

Please join us Wednesday at 1:30-2:45 in Engineering 189.

Related links:
www.goodvibes.com
www.sexandculture.org
www.carolqueen.com

Students Majoring in any of the Social Sciences are Invited to Apply for
Spring 2010 College of Social Sciences Scholarships
(DEADLINE: 3/25/10, to WSQ 103)

Seven scholarships will be awarded to students majoring in the Social Sciences.  Both undergraduate and graduate students may apply.  Last year’s scholarship recipients are not eligible to apply for any of these scholarships during Spring 2010.

• SJSU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION DEANS’ SCHOLARSHIPS (2) • $1,250  (The SJSU Alumni Scholarship is awarded to a student only once during their academic career at SJSU.  This scholarship will be disbursed Fall 2010 and is only available to students enrolling at SJSU for Fall 2010. Scholarship applicants must demonstrate community service or participation in student organizations.)
• GERALD WHEELER SCHOLARSHIP (1) • $1,000
• CHARLES BURDICK SCHOLARSHIPS (1) • $1,000 (student must demonstrate financial need based on the 09-10 FAFSA – FAFSA must be on file in the SJSU Financial Aid Office)
• INEZ AND DONALD BURDICK SCHOLARSHIPS (1) • $1,000 (student must demonstrate financial need based on the 09-10 FAFSA – FAFSA must be on file in the SJSU Financial Aid Office

Application available here in MSWord format or here in PDF format [Read more →]

Come learn how SJSU Women’s Studies alumni are making change in local communities with Noemi Teppang, Lindsey Mansfield, and Margie Strubel.  From 10:30 – 11:45 in MLK Library rooms 255/257

A strong editorial in the Sacramento bee by Joseph Palermo:

Sometimes I think there are two Californias out there. One of them is the California of small things and small thinking. It’s the California that is obsessed with petty anti-tax politics. The one that wants to gut social programs and dismantle our public higher education system. It thrives on driving wedges between us and promoting divisiveness.

It’s the California of Proposition 187 (cutting services to illegal immigrants), Nixon, Reagan and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. It includes a lot of people who hate government but are the first to complain when the garbage isn’t picked up.

The other California is the California of bold ideas and dreams of a better future. It’s the California that wants to conserve and protect its unique and beautiful state parks and wilderness, wishes to invest in its people and seeks common ground amid diversity.

It’s the California of Proposition 215 (legalizing medical marijuana), John Muir, Cesar Chavez and Harvey Milk. It’s the California that recognizes the vital role that our public colleges and universities play in laying the foundation for the state’s future.

Story continues at Sacbee

Womyn United:  International Womyns’ Day Marcha & Festival 2010

March begins 11am at Roosevelt Park, continues down Santa Clara and First Street to the Biblioteca Latinoamericana.  Festival from 1 to 4pm with vendors, food, and entertainment.

Participating Organizations: Cihuatl Tlatocan (MAIZ), FOCUS-SV, Silicon Valley
DEBUG, San Jose Peace and Justice Center, Women’s International League for Peace and  Freedom , San Jose CodePink, SJSU WoWi (Womyn on Womyn’s Issues), Santa Clara County’s Office on Women’s Policy,  LGBTQ Youth Spaces, SOMOS Mayfair, Cardea Center for Women, Bay Area Radical Women, SJSU Women’s Studies.

Cihuatl Tlatocan  is a women’s based mass organization whose vision seeks the liberation of Mexican womyn at an individual and community level, in a collective struggle towards social change and is a member organization of the MAIZ Alliance  (Movimiento de Accion, inspirando Servicio). Questions?  Cihuatl.Tlatocan@gmail.com

Download flyer here (click on image to see fullsize)

English	Spanish	Tagalog

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