Category — Miscellaneous

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

WOMS 10 – Perspectives on Sex and Gender Roles
(Meets Gen Ed: D1)
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WOMS 20 – Women of Color in the US **JUST ADDED!
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WOMS 101- The Study of Women (Meets Gen Ed: S)
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WOMS 102 – Global Women (Meets Gen Ed: V)
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WOMS 180 – Individual Studies
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WOMS 189 – Islam & Gender
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Happy New Year, everyone!

For a thoroughly random moment, check out this film taken from a streetcar traveling down Market Street in San Francisco in 1905, before the earthquake/fire destroyed the area. It’s worth taking 7 minutes of your life to watch…no paved roads, no driving rules, no traffic lights, no pedestrian crosswalks. But it all works because the pace is slower.

Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to draw your attention to a joint hearing happening today (Monday) to discuss updating the master plan, and issues relating to public higher education in California. I found the story on a KQED Report. I think this is something we all really need to be aware of and listen carefully to what is being said at this meeting. It might also be a good time to finally send that letter or make that phone call to our legislator about the budget cuts and how it is impacting our experiences at SJSU. I am personally committed to public education not only because I work for a CSU but because I firmly believe that quality public education is a bastion of democracy and something we must fight to maintain.

Here’s a great article about $1 million Opus Prize winner Aicha Ech Channa, founder of the Association for Women’s Solidarity in Casablanca, Morocco, to help unwed mothers become self-sufficient. She is the first Muslim to win the Opus award, an annual humanitarian award which goes to “unsung heroes for their faith-based acts of compassion….”

In the 1980s, she was working for the Moroccan Ministry of Social Affairs, where unwed mothers came seeking help, even though little help was available. Under [local] law, the women were considered prostitutes, and many had their babies taken away over their objections.

Considering that unacceptable, Ech Channa launched her program in 1985. It offers women legal counseling, job training and medical and psychological support with a goal of making them self-sufficient so they can raise their children….

Despite criticism from Muslim clerics, she is committed to her faith, which she approaches from a humanist standpoint.

Humanism is about individuals and the love they have for one another,” she said. “Every human being has a flame [of love] inside them that must be fanned.”

Found this article via Muslimah Media Watch, a terrific blog worth checking out further….

I’m re-posting this entry because Ms. Martin followed up with some terrific responses she got from a host of men’s groups.  Check out the second part here.

And the original post:

Courtney Martin of the American Prospect writes about a new generation of men rejecting “traditional and toxic notions of masculinity…but they’re still figuring out what should replace it.”

While it’s thrilling that there is also a movement of young men all who want to tear down the patriarchy right alongside women, it’s dangerous that they don’t have a clear picture of what they want to build in its place. At the conference, one young man spoke up against the notion of a new “feminist masculinity,” explaining that he feared it would be one more box that young men felt they had to fit into. There’s a lot of validity to his argument, but I fear that the old adage is true: We can’t be what we can’t see. Models help us try on various identities and find one that is truly authentic. The more publicly feminist-aligned men we have, the more opportunities the next generation has to find a positive, masculine gender identity that actually fits.

Continues at What’s the Alternative to Tucker Max? | The American Prospect.

From “No, Not You”

1. Don’t put drugs in people’s drinks in order to control their behavior.

2. When you see someone walking by themselves, leave them alone!

3. If you pull over to help someone with car problems, remember not to assault them!

4. NEVER open an unlocked door or window uninvited.

5. If you are in an elevator and someone else gets in, DON’T ASSAULT THEM!

6. Remember, people go to laundry to do their laundry, do not attempt to molest someone who is alone in a laundry room.

7. USE THE BUDDY SYSTEM! If you are not able to stop yourself from assaulting people, ask a friend to stay with you while you are in public.

8. Always be honest with people! Don’t pretend to be a caring friend in order to gain the trust of someone you want to assault. Consider telling them you plan to assault them. If you don’t communicate your intentions, the other person may take that as a sign that you do not plan to rape them.

9. Don’t forget: you can’t have sex with someone unless they are awake!

10. Carry a whistle! If you are worried you might assault someone “on accident” you can hand it to the person you are with, so they can blow it if you do.

And, ALWAYS REMEMBER: if you didn’t ask permission and then respect the answer the first time, you are committing a crime- no matter how “into it” others appear to be.

Here’s another version

For those of you who make scheduled fee payments:

You MUST PAY by the deadline on your account. The Bursar’s Office will be dropping students for non-payment of the September 17th deadline.  If you don’t make your payment, you will be dropped from all of your classes for the rest of the year.

I’ve seen too much in sports to be outraged by Serena Williams‘ outburst at the U.S. Open last weekend. I’ve seen world class athletes head-butt opponents, spit in the face of umpires, fire lethal serves at linespeople, tackle aging bench coaches.

I’ve seen it all. But rarely from a woman.

Which is why I can’t help but think that the outrage unleashed toward Williams in the past two days has something to do with her gender. She’s playing the sport of frilly underpants and dangly earrings, yet she came off last weekend as unhinged as Mike Tyson.

And Michael Kimmel wrote in Huffington Post

Ask yourself this: would the line judge have felt so threatened had she been yelled at by perky, pretty little Melanie Oudin, all 5 foot 6 of her bouncy teenage self?

How about a white man? White men can express anger and outrage — indeed, they’re supposed to. It’s one of the few emotional men are allowed to express — and we express it often, and often without penalty. And sometimes we go even further. Don’t get mad, the saying goes, get even.

Read more

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-kimmel/double-fault-serenass-los_b_285039.html