“When I first got involved with GABRIELA, I was in college. I was really shocked by the issue of sex trafficking and how Filipinos are affected by sex trafficking. When I first started college, I didn’t know that Filipino women were affected by so many issues. I had grown up in the US undocumented, so I didn’t have a lot of access to information or even just basic history of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans, until I got to college. It was the first time I was learning a lot of these things, that there was a sex trade, and that people were making money off of it, off of the bodies of women. And it really struck me because at the time I was thinking, “that could be me.” These women, they’re me. They’re my age, they could be my cousins, my family. Any of us could easily have fallen into the sex trade or been victimized in the same way, because I lived in the same conditions that these women are living in right now. So when those realizations came to me, that was when I decided that I had to do something.

Elaine Villasper is the Vice Chair of Education for GABRIELA USA, the North American chapter of the Filipino women’s rights organization. …Villasper helps to teach basic organizing skills, trains young leaders and helps to educate the local community about issues that affect Filipino and Filipino-American women. GABRIELA USA runs a number of cultural and artistic programs here in the US, as well as the Back to the Motherland program, which enables Filipino-Americans to travel to the Philippines to gain a better grasp of the pressing political, socioeconomic and human rights issues on the ground there. Here in the US, the organization works on issues like domestic violence, workers’ rights, immigrants’ rights and political representation for the Filipino-American population.

Read the interview with Villasper here

Dale Minami, civil rights attorney;  Lani Guinier, Harvard law prof/activist; Goodwin Liu, Berkeley law prof; Patricia Williams, Columbia law prof; Harold Koh, lawyer/scholar; Marsha Berzon, 9th Circuit federal appeals judge; Jackie Berrien, EEOC chair; Gerald Lopez, UCLA law prof; and Jed Rakoff, federal district judge.

And be sure to check out the newly re-launched ColorLines webmagazine, now a fully digital publication.

Enjoy your summer!

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center (LGBTRC), Fall 2010

Position Available:

Graduate Assistantship in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Resource Center.

Responsibilities

* Serve on University-wide community specific committees as needed

* Work on special projects as assigned; possible projects could be (but not limited to):

• Safe Zone Training
• Peer-Mentor Program
• Speaker/Performance Series
• National Coming Out Week
• LGBT History Celebration
• PRIDE Celebration
• Speakers Bureau* Attend weekly staff meetings

* Assist in the staffing of the office during business hours

* Maintains contact and other information on campus and community resources

* Maintains the library, resource areas and bulletin boards

Programming & ‘Out’reach

• Assist the Assistant Director in student ‘out’reach.
• Serve as liaison between LGBTRC and SJSU’s diverse student body.
• Meet with students, student organizations, and focus groups
• Organizing and providing information tables and displays for various campus events
• Giving presentations on the LGBTRC’s mission and services to potential students, students, staff, and faculty.
• Editing and contributing to LGBTRC newsletter and web page
• Informs campus and community constituents of the LGBTRC’s resources and services

Qualifications

• Enrolled in a SJSU graduate program in good academic standing
• Commitment to student growth, development and empowerment
• Demonstrated understanding and commitment to social justice and equity
• Openness to a variety of ideas, people, abilities, cultures, and races
• Previous experience working with LGBTQQIA student organizations
• Effective written and oral communication skills
• Proficiency with technology
• Ability to establish and maintain effective, cooperative working relationships with diverse students, faculty, staff, and community members
• Professional attitude and conduct

Learning Outcomes

• Enhance and develop critical thinking, communication, and leadership skills
• Gain an understanding and appreciation of diversity and social justice
• Develop comprehensive event planning skills through implementation of campus-wide events
• Ability to implement and evaluate programs and events through the use of assessment techniques
• Develop Strong Advocacy skills

Program Preferences (not limited to the listed programs)

• Masters Programs in Communication Studies, Counseling, Cultural Studies, Education, History, Interdisciplinary Studies, Psychology, Public Administration, Social Work, Sociology and Women’s Studies

Physical and Environmental Conditions

Work in the atmosphere of a busy office (noise, phones, frequent interruptions, etc.).  Attend meetings and activities at a variety of locations, crossing campus frequently during the day, sometimes at night and on weekends.  Work at a computer terminal for extended periods of time.

Commitment and Wage

• 20 hours a week
• Assist in the staffing of the office during business hours
• Report directly to the Assistant Director
• Starting hourly wage is $13.00

Application Deadline:  Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Apply To:

San Jose State University, LGBT Resource Center,
Building BB, Room 101B
Attn: Bonnie SugiyamaOne Washington Square
San Jose, CA 95192-0161
Start Date: The week of August 2, 2010 (flexible)

 Is there a woman in your life whose made a difference for a reason, a season, a lifetime? If so, enter this writing contest and share with others your story.

If you are enrolled in a Women’s Study program at any accredited college or university in the United States, you are eligible to enter The Godmothers Writing Contest:  Here are the rules:

• Write and submit a 300-500 word story on a woman in your life who made a difference in your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.
• Deadline: June 1, 2010
• Three winners will be chosen from the entries and announced on or before September 1, 2010.  In addition to being published by The Godmothers Club, winners will receive:
  • 1^st Prize: $250 — $125 Donated to a Charity of Your Choice and a $125 American Express Gift Certificate for you
  • 2^nd Prize: $100 — $50 Donated to a Charity of Your Choice and a $50 American Express Gift Certificate for you
  • 3^rd Prize: $50 — $25 Donated to a Charity of Your Choice and a $25 American Express Gift Certificate for you
• Three honorable mentions will also be published
• Each winner and honorable mention will receive a Certificate of Honor
• Entries and winners will be judged and selected by Editor
• Winners will be contacted via email
• One entry per person
• Story and entry information must be emailed to me through Facebook
• Contest void where prohibited by law
• Provide the following information along with your story:
  • Name
  • Age
  • City and State of home residence
  • Email Address
  • College/University

http://www.thegodmothersclub.com/godmother-notes/2010/04/writing-contest-for-womens-studies-students.html

Angela Davis Comes to SJSU

Wednesday, April 21, 2010
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Morris Dailey Auditorium

$15 general admission
$5 for students

SJSU students:
Present your SJSU ID and visit any of these locations to receive a $3 coupon

Cesar Chavez Community Action Center
Building BB, #105
One Washington Sq.
San Jose, CA 95192-0265
(408) 924-4144
Email: cccac@as.sjsu.edu

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center (LGBT)
Building BB, Room 101B
One Washington Square
San Jose, CA 95192-0161
(408) 924-6157
sjsulgbtrc@gmail.com

MOSAIC Cross Cultural Center
Student Union, 3rd floor
One Washington Square
San Jose, CA 95192-0238
(408) 924-6255
mosaic@sjsu.edu

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 20 – Women of Color in the US **JUST ADDED!
Sec 01     Reg for # 29853    MW 1030-1145    V Rue

WOMS 101- The Study of Women (Meets Gen Ed: S)
Sec 01     Reg for # 25611    MW 1030-1145     M Ochoa
Sec 02     Reg for # 23343    MW 1330-1445     M Ochoa
Sec 03    Reg for # 29891    TTH 0900-1015    S Gallardo **JUST ADDED

WOMS 102 – Global Women (Meets Gen Ed: V)
Sec 01     Reg for # 27744    MW 1200-1315     T Bakhru

WOMS 180 – Individual Studies
Sec 1     Reg for #42992    TBA     S Gerami

WOMS 189 – Islam & Gender
Sec 1     Reg for # 28900    TTH 1030-11455     S Gerami

WOMS 190 – Internship
Sec 1     Reg for # 22198    TBA     S Gerami

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.

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.