RU Women's History Month 2013, Weavers of Hope: Women Waging Peace

March 4, 4:00, Heth 14. Opening Film: Beyond Belief. 9/11 widows reach out to the widows of Afghanistan

March 5, 3:00, Bonnie 249/250. Professor Joseph Jones (Teacher Education & Leadership). “Homophobia on the College Campus: What Can We Learn from Virginia’s Colleges and Universities?”

March 5, 5:00, Heth 14. Professors Mary Atwell, Lori Elis, Lucy Hochstein and Samantha Lynn (Criminal Justice). “Gender and Justice Issues”

March 6, 1:00, Heth 16. Circle of Life Intergenerational Dialogue (50+ inner circle) Professor Jenessa Steele (Psychology)

March 6, 5:00, Heth 43. Film: Generation M: Misogyny in Media & Culture

March 6, 6:30, Heth 43. Film: I Came to Testify. Victims of rape camps in Bosnia bear witness to crimes against humanity at International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

March 7, 2:00, Bonnie 249/250. Film: Tough Guise: Violence, Media, & the Crisis in Masculinity

March 7, 3:30, Bonnie 249/250. Dr. Kathleen Barry, author of Unmaking War, Remaking Men. “Overcoming Masculine Violence in War and at Home: A Call to Action”

March 7, 5:00, Heth 22. Dr. Kathleen Barry. A Program for Women and Men: Creating Empathy, Building Activism

March 7, 7:00. Potluck dinner with Dr. Kathleen Barry

March 18, 4:00, Muse Banquet Hall. Mary Stewart Atwell, author of Wild Girls. Fiction reading and book signing

March 19, 3:30, Bonnie 250. Dr. Rebecca Scheckler (Educational Technologist Waldron College) “Women as Outliers in Science”

March 20, 1:00, Heth 16. Circle of Life Intergenerational Dialogue (30s and 40sinner circle) Professor Jenessa Steele (Psychology)

March 20, 5:00, Young 305. Film: Pray the Devil back to Hell. 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Leymah Gbowee leads Liberian women in their activism to stop the civil war and oust dictator Charles Taylor

March 21, 12:00, Bonnie 248. “Diversity Dialogue: Intersections among Women’s Issues and LGBTQ Issues”

March 21, 2:00, Bonnie 250. Film: “Flirting with Danger.” Examines the line between consent and coercion in heterosexual relationships and hook-ups

March 21, 3:30, Bonnie 248. Marisa Fraley, James Grenier, Jonathan Kirk, John McGee, & James Stratton (Mathematics) “Emmy Noether: A Pioneer in Mathematics”

March 21, 4:30, Bonnie 249/250. Professor David Floyd (CORE). “Love (& not-so-lovely) Poems.” Poetry reading

March 22, 2:00—4:00, Heth 43. Women in Science Symposium. Paper Presenters: Professor Donna C. Boyd (Forensic Science Institute), “Redefining Activism though Scientific ‘Truths,’ Impartiality, and Objectivity,” and Professor Sara O’Brien (Biology), “Building the Future of Women in Science.” Discussion Panelists: Professors Georgia Hammond (Biology), Christine Hermann (Chemistry), Elizabeth McClellan (Geology), Tara Phelps-Durr (Biology), Cassady Urista (Anthropological Sciences)

March 22 & March 23, 7:30, Peters Albig Studio Theatre, B112. Student Dance Concert: Celebrating Women’s History Month

March 25, 4:00, Heth 43. Ms. Crasha Perkins (Director, Center for Diversity and Inclusion) and Professor Deneen Evans (School of Social Work). “Popular Media and Socially Constructed Images of BlackWomen, 1930-2013”

March 26, 4:00, Bonnie Auditorium. Kathy Kelly: International Peace Activist and Coordinator of Voices for Creative Non-Violence. “The Afghan Peace Volunteers: Weaving Peace in the Midst of the Longest U. S. War” 

March 27, 1:00, Heth 16. Circle of Life Intergenerational Dialogue (20s & under inner circle) Professor Jenessa Steele (Psychology)

March 27 & March 28, 6:00, Bonnie Auditorium. Performance: Eve Ensler’s TheVagina Monologues. Lucinda McDermott-Piro, Director. Tickets available at vdayru2013.eventbrite.com

March 28, 2:00, Bonnie 250. Film: The Invisible War. Oscar-nominated documentary about the epidemic of sexual assault in the military. Department of Defense has estimated 19,000 cases of rape and sexual assault in 2010.

March 28, 3:30, Reed 201 “A Conversation with Kathy Kelly on Global Ethics, War, and Peace-Making”

March 29, 4:00, Covington Lobby, Closing Reception with President Kyle in Honor of Radford University Women’s Studies Program Distinguished Women for 2013. All members of the Radford University community are cordially invited to attend

March 30, 2:00 Performance: Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues. Before the performance, Professor Erin Webster-Garrett will offer some final reflections upon Women’s History Month.
Tickets available at vdayru2013.eventbrite.com.

Guest Post: Student protest at Radford College

RC Campus, from the 1963 Beehive

In the spring of 1964, a group of students fed up with social regulations gathered and marched silently around dormitories on the campus of Radford College, not having realized organizers had called off the planned protest.[i] This would be the first of many physical demonstrations held by Radford College student during the 1960s, and this would be the last demonstration they would be pressured to end. The students had realized the college administration they were facing was unwilling to compromise on campus issues that concerned them and they were breaking ground as the first group of students to publically demonstrate against the social policies of Radford College in the 1960s. Some of the reasons for the protest were quoted by students as being, “we can’t wear Bermuda shorts on campus without wearing a coat,” “we should be allowed to drink—the rule now says we can’t drink within a 50 mile radius of campus,” and “we couldn’t hold a drive for the Kennedy Memorial fund, because that was ‘soliciting on campus.’”[ii]  Most of the student’s claims were supported by the student handbook. The social policies and freedoms, as defined by student handbooks, from 1964 until 1972, when the college became coeducational, varied, but still remained strict. Although social regulations annoyed the women of Radford, the lack of attention given to their requests for change seemed to be the real cause for unrest. 

As the decade continued students began to fear they were being censored by the college administration through their campus newspaper the Grapurchat, so they developed an alternative newspaper, The Ant Hill, where students could submit articles on any topic they wished, without the fear of censorship.[iii] And as the decade neared to a close, students on Radford’s campus began to protest the actions of the United States in the war in Vietnam, holding demonstrations and silent protests on campus. In 1968, a student’s article appeared in the Ant Hill concerning the rumor of coeducation, with the author noting that, “college education on any other basis is incomplete and unrealistic. We live in a bisexual world, and to isolate a man or woman, during his or her active and formative college years is quite unnatural and ill-preparing for the rest of life.”[iv]  This article was written four years before Radford would become a coeducational college, but as Radford College, like many other women’s colleges, was transitioning into the 1970s, it was also transitioning towards coeducation.[v]  This change was occurring around the same time another change was taking place at Radford, as Dr. Donald N. Dedmon assumed the position as Radford’s fourth president in 1972 and Dr. Martin took the job of Chancellor and by July 6, 1972, 59 years of tradition would officially change as Radford would be open to both female and male students.[vi]  In Dr. Dedmon’s move to president and Radford’s transition to coeducation, Dedmon promised “a new, exciting, successful era for Radford College.”[vii] 

The new decade and “era” at Radford College was one of promise for the students who had actively participated in bringing change to the campus. By 1972, students were allowed to make their own decisions on what they considered “appropriate dress” as opposed to following a dress code, the handbook printed that students should dress in a way that was “appropriate for the academic or social activity they are attending,” and asked them to use their personal judgment noting that “neat, casual attire” was always appropriate.[viii] Policy was not the only issue that had changed for Radford, as college conferences began to shift from topics concerning housewifery to issues on civil rights and war. Students had gone from being afraid to sign their names on letters to the Grapurchat, to holding public demonstrations against their college administration, with hundreds in attendance. And as the fear of censorship grew, the handbook began to print “safeguards of editorial freedom” and a “code of ethics” in regards to the Grapurchat and outlined regulations for developing new campus organizations. [ix] Although progress had been made, the students still had regulations that had not been abolished and they continued to protest those regulations throughout the new decade. But as the fight for the abolishment of social regulations continued, a new set of problems began to develop surrounding the departure of Dr. Martin. During the midst of the Martin controversy, coeducation and relaxed social regulations allowed for some optimism among the student body, as students hoped Radford would only progress. Each class of women could have not progressed without the work of the class before them and those who followed did not allow that progress to be in vain.

- Caitlyn Parker

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[i]Lewis, “Radford Girls Cancel Protest Demonstration,” Publicity about Radford College-Women’s Division of Virginia Polytechnic Institute, May 1945-June 1956, January 1965-June 1964, vol. 2. Radford University Archives, Radford, Virginia.

[ii] Ibid.

[iii] Ant Hill, Vol. 1, no.2, April 21, 1968, Charles Knox Martin Papers, Radford University Archives, McConnell Library, Radford University, Radford, Virginia.

[iv] Ant Hill, “Co-Education?”

[v] A.J. Angulo and Leland Graham, “Winthrop College in the Sixties: Campus Protests, Southern Style,” Historical Studies in Education 23, no. 2 (2011), 120.

[vi] David Horton, “A Narrative History of Radford University,” Radford University Archives, Radford, Virginia, http://lib.radford.edu/archives/RUHistory/general.html, (Accessed November 4, 2012).

[vii] “Radford Goes Coed,” Grapurchat, Vol. 53, no.1, July 6, 1972, http://library.radford.edu/archives/ grapurchat/GrapurchatImages/1972/july061972-1.JPG, (Accessed November 4, 2012).

[viii] Rules Committee (1970-71). Handbook on Student Life at Radford College, 1971-72, Radford University Archives, Radford, Virginia

[ix] Handbook, 1970-71; Handbook, 1971-72.

Guest Post: Giving Back this Holiday Season

As many of us know, the holiday season is rapidly approaching! I am usually not one to blog - but I know how important and good it will be to pay it forward this holiday season! As you are out and about, shopping for your loved ones - keep into consideration the many single women and children - as well as the struggling families out there who may not be as fortunate as some of us. If you have it, pay it forward. If not, keep many of the women and children in your thoughts and prayers. Giving back is something that we all should do at some point in our lives, but usually the Christmas season brings out the charitable side in most people.

                If you or anyone you know may have any extra food in their pantries that they're not using, have them donate to a local shelter, or to a soup kitchen. Rather than taking some of your gently used clothing items to the Goodwill (where people have to BUY the items), donate them to a good cause. There are many children without the simple things that we take for granted this holiday season. As we know, Christmas time is said to be the most wonderful time of the year.. and while I agree, I know that for many families, making it the most wonderful time of the year for their children may be financially hard on them. If you are able, go out and pick an angel from an angel tree. If you can afford to sponsor more than one, do it! If not, ONE angel still makes a difference :)

                I have never been one to post publically.. I think it primarily has something to do with the fact that I'm getting older..(Whichever, I don't know) However, I will be paying it forward this year and very proud of it! Children are not the only people you can help during this time.. I've found that elderly people LOVE it when you come visit them in the nursing home and bring them Christmas cards.. it truly makes their day. If you have the time, stop by your local nursing home as well..

                OK - Enough of my holiday rant! Enjoy the holidays, enjoy the precious time with your family members and loved ones. Call a friend or family member that you haven't spoken with in a while and simply catch up! No matter how small or big your way of 'giving back' actually is, it can and will still make a big difference!!

Happy Holidays!

-Kieyona Tinsley

Shop Local: A Brief Guide to Gifts from The New River Valley

There are a variety of compelling reasons for us to shop locally this holiday season, and, I encourage you to investigate them. I will not repeat those arguments here, but, if you are already on board for shopping locally to benefit the economy and/or the environment, or just to meet your neighbors, I would like to start folks off with a brief guide of sorts, and, I hope that readers will contribute suggestions in the comments.

First off, are a few upcoming events in Radford, Christiansburg, and Draper that will feature a variety of local artisans and goods:

Saturday, December 1:

The Draper Mercantile is sponsoring the Third Annual Holiday Homecoming at the Merc from 9:00am to 5:00pm, in which guests can “Experience an old-fashioned Christmas at the Draper Mercantile. Join us for artisan demonstrations, live music, and delicious food. Shop for unique, locally-made arts and crafts and meet the artists who create them. Children's felting class will also be offered with the purchase of a $5 ornament kit.”

Closer to home, Main Street Radford is sponsoring a winter market, “before, during, and after, the Christmas Parade” (3:00pm to 6:00pm) in the Bondurant Center - 1129 East Main Street.

Saturday and Sunday, December 8 and 9:

Celebrate “Christmas in Cambria” at the intersection of Cambria and Depot Streets in Christiansburg. The event is being sponsored to support local businesses in the Historic District and will include a “Christmas Caroling Flash Mob” at 2:00 on Saturday, December 8^th with free drinks and cookies provided.

For shopping on your own time, the Green Heron Local Gifts and Art at 111 3^rd Avenue, here in Radford, and the Bell Gallery and Garden, at  112 N. Locust Street in Floyd, both feature the works of local artisans. 

Beth Powers Johnson of Bodyworks Massage Therapy at 206 W. Main Street Radford offers gift cards and Café 24 and Bakery will take special requests for baked goods. For coffee to go with those baked goods, try Red Rooster Coffee Roaster or a Brewin’ Around gift card.  

And, if you just love to browse online, we recommend doing a “shop local” Etsy search and checking out goods produced in Radford and surrounding areas (Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Dublin, Floyd, Pearisburg, Pembroke, Pulaski, etc.) Local Etsy shop owners are numerous, but some examples of women in the area making products that are great for gifting, see: Code Yellow, A Little Twisted, Marshfluff, Native Spring Farm, and Oil and Spice.

Have goods, shops, or events you’d like to recommend? Let us know in the comments!

RU Women’s Studies Courses being offered in Spring 2013

COMS  457 Diversity in Communication TR 12:30 -01:45  Lisa E. Baker   

CRJU   365 Diversity Issues in the Criminal Justice System TR 03:30 -04:45  Pamela N. Hendrix  

CRJU   365 Diversity Issues in the Criminal Justice System MWF 03:00 -03:50     Lori A. Elis

HLTH  453 Human Sexuality     TR 09:30 -10:45  Melissa L. Grim            

HLTH  453 Human Sexuality     TR 11:00 -12:15  Melissa L. Grim          

HIST    306 History of Women (B,C)     MWF   02:00 -02:50      Suzanne E. Ament        

HUMD 300 Human Growth & Development: Birth through Adolescence TR 09:30 -10:45 Marilyn Lanier 

HUMD 300 Human Growth & Development: Birth through Adolescence TR 11:00 -12:15 Marilyn Lanier 

HUMD 300 Human Growth & Development: Birth through Adolescence M 05:00 -08:00 Marilyn Lanier

HUMD 300 Human Growth & Development: Birth through Adolescence W 01:00 -04:00  J. Van Horn 

PSYC   230 Lifespan Developmental Psychology MWF   01:00 -01:50  Jayne E. Bucy   

PSYC   230 Lifespan Developmental Psychology MWF   12:00 -12:50  Jayne E. Bucy        

PSYC   230 Lifespan Developmental Psychology W 06:00 -09:00  R. U. Staff        

PSYC   230 Lifespan Developmental Psychology TR       08:00 -09:15  R. U. Staff  

PSYC   343 Social Psychology (SS Core)            TR       11:00 -12:15  Charles A. Gorman             

PSYC   343 Social Psychology (SS Core)            TR       09:30 -10:45  R. U. Staff             

PSYC   343 Social Psychology (SS Core)            TR       08:00 -09:15  Charles A. Gorman  

PSYC   393 Psychology of Human Sexuality       TR       08:00 -09:15  Tracy J. Cohn  

SOCY  250 Social Inequality      TR       02:00 -03:15  Elizabeth C. Lyman            

SOCY  250 Social Inequality      TR       03:30 -04:45  Elizabeth C. Lyman  

SOCY  326 Men and Women in Society TR 12:30 -01:45  Carla Corroto  

SOCY  331 Race and Ethnic Relations T 06:00 -09:00  Kathryn K. Everard-Van Patten  (IN ROANOKE)

WMST 101 Scholar-Citizen: Introduction to Women's Studies MWF 11:00 -11:50  Michele D. Ren  

WMST 101 Scholar-Citizen: Introduction to Women's Studies MWF 12:00 -12:50  Michele D. Ren  

WMST 101 Women in the World: Introduction to Women's Studies W 05:00 -08:00  Moira P. Baker  

Guest Post: Food for Ta-Tas at RU

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.   In the United States in 2008, 210,023 women were diagnosed with breast cancer, and 40,859 women died from it. Except for skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women (CDC, 2012). No matter what class, race, or age all women are vulnerable to breast cancer. Some women have increased risk due to factors such as: a family history of breast cancer, menstruation before age twelve, and being overweight/ obese.  However, having certain risk factors doesn’t make cancer inevitable! Research has found that eating right and maintaining a healthy weight can reduce your risk of getting breast cancer.

Eating foods high in dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, can protect against some cancers. There seems to be a national consensus that eating healthy is expensive and just plain yucky. Before you roll your eyes, hear me out!  There are ways to eat healthy, yummy food, without breaking the bank. Cruciferous and dark, leafy green vegetables like: spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and collards are rich in vitamins. So are fruits like citrus, berries, and cherries. If you have a meal plan you can find these beauties at Wild Greens, or salad bars in Dalton or Muse. If you buy your own groceries you can certainly find these items at the produce section, but frozen and canned veggies and fruits are acceptable. If you would like to be more sustainable take advantage of our local Farmer’s Market. The one in Radford is open until late October.  While the Farmer’s Market in Blacksburg is open pretty much year round.

Another important food group is grains, most importantly whole-grains. It is recommended to make at least half your grains, whole. Some examples of whole grains are oats, barely, popcorn, breads (yes ladies we must eat carbs) whole grain pastas, breads, cereals. You can find these on campus in the Muse and Dalton dining halls. You find these off campus at local grocery stores offering these for very low prices. I just bought whole wheat linguini this past weekend for as a little as one dollar!

Legumes are also a great component of a eating right. Dried beans and peas, lentils, and soybeans are some examples of legumes.  Legumes are found on campus at the dining halls, and sometimes Olo Sushi offers edamame. These can also be found off campus at local grocery stores for cheap. Food companies like Boca and Morningstar Farms have constructed some very tasty soy products to mimic animal protein like bacon, corn dogs, and chicken patties.   Legumes can sometimes be found at Farmers Markets.         

Because weight is closely connected with breast cancer, participating in regular physical activity can help you maintain a healthy weight and lower your risk.  A good goal is to aim for 30 minutes or more of physical activity most days of the week.  On campus there are two gyms, one in Peters Hall, and another in the main level of the Muse Hall dormitory. If the gym is too intimidating try the aerobics classes offered at the gym in Peters Hall. They offer a variety of classes including Yoga, Zumba, and even a Hoop Aerobics class.  Lastly, if you are like me you need some accountability to follow through try these two things:

·      Buddy System-Set out a schedule with a friend(s) to go the gym or classes together. 

·      Register- Radford offers a Health 200 class that requires you to develop your own personal exercise routines.  There is a nothing like class credit to motivate you to workout.

No matter how you choose to work out or where to get your food leading a healthy lifestyle is the most important initiative. This month highlights an important issue to women and is the perfect time to start working toward habits to reduce your risk. While things like our genetic predisposition or hormonal status may not be in our control, we have the power to give ourselves a fighting chance against diseases.

-Deletra Harmon, Nutrition& Dietetics Major

Sodexo, Student Ambassador

Southwestern Virginia Dietetic Association, Newsletter Editor &Technical Liaison

Radford University Dietetics Association, Historian

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, member

References:

Academy of Nutrition andDietetics (2012). Reduce Breast Cancer risk. Retrieved October 15,2012.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(2012) Breast Cancer.  Retrieved October 15, 2012.

*Guest Post* Beauty: African American Women in Society

Women have always had a difficult time achieving equality within society. But women of color, such as African American women, have often been forgotten when striving for equality between race and gender. Today, in America, it is very difficult for an African American woman to fit into the mold of what is considered beautiful. When the color or tint of her skin does not fit into the mold of beauty she is usually chastised by society as a whole and by the one in which she lives. With the invention of Photoshop, fashion magazines will often lighten the skin of their black models, making it more obvious that lighter skin is better. When young girls look to fashion magazines to identify what society deems beautiful, they are often confronted with the illusion of beauty. An illusion black girls and women often notice is that the lighter the skin the more beautiful and desirable she appears. Often Black women have a difficult time presenting their beauty, even with darker skin, because beauty cosmetics do not have makeup foundations that match their skin color. Other than skin color, the hair of black women is often changed or modified to have more of an appearance of a white woman’s hair. This process includes time, money, and resources, which can be psychology damaging to the individual and how she feels about herself. How a woman feels about herself physically and psychology, in terms of beauty, depends on what she is introduced to in the real word and the illusionary world of fashion magazines; unfortunately, there is often confusion as to which is real or illusion.

When flipping through a fashion magazine I began to notice how very few of the models have darker skin or are in face black, and I became aware  that these “standards of beauty describe in precise terms the relationship that an individual will have to her own body” (Dworkin). By viewing this one magazine, a girl or woman would assert that in order to be beautiful one must be light skinned. With Photoshop becoming a widely used tool within the fashion industry, many black women are made to look like their skin is lighter. This only creates an illusion of what beauty should look like to the black woman. Many young African American girls and women have a difficult time viewing themselves as beautiful based on what they are presented with daily. This fiction has infiltrated the daily lives of many black women, and is now being praised within the black community as a form of beauty that must be achieved. Many young black girls and women go to great lengths in order to attain this unattainable form of beauty that they are often disappointed.

            One of the major disappointments for black women is how rare it is to find makeup that fits their skin tone. Because most cosmetics do not create numerous kinds of color tones for those individuals with darker skin tones, many of the fashion magazines display their makeup for light skinned or white women. White women take this for granted. If a white woman were to purchase makeup, there would be no issue as to whether it will match their skin “flesh” color (McIntosh). Makeup is not the only issue for black women. There various different types of beauty products that are supposed to be nude or skin color, such as the “perfect” push-up bra, but they seem to only favor women with light skin. When a black woman feels that she must look a certain way to be beautiful, yet all tools needed for this result are not available to her, she may feel that she is not a beautiful or desirable person. This is how what society allows to be displayed as beauty can affect an individual of color.

Another factor that many black women deal with in terms of beauty is hair. According to many fashion magazines and commercials, hair should be smooth, sleek, straight, order to be beautiful. In other words, “white”. Black women often deal with how their hair should look in order to achieve beautiful. The idea came about when magazines began publishing advertisements showing black women with, what can only be explained as, white women hair. The model is always shown with very smooth, shiny, straight hair. Many young black girls and women go to great lengths to have hair identical to a picture in a magazine, and sometimes the results of using chemicals can be devastating. Because genetics play a major role in how an individual’s hair will look, this is a very unnatural picture of what is beautiful. With numerous advertisements depicting this same type of beauty for black women, it is hard to avoid. This type of image influences black women and girls to think that in order to be beautiful they must look like that model, which often leaves them disappointed. This illusionary ideal beauty is quickly becoming a problem within the black community. This is also becoming a problem in how boys and men observe beauty in women. If young black men begin to believe that this form is the only form of beauty than young women will be pressured to fit the mold.

The constant pressure for beauty many black women live with is a form of oppression. They are being forced into a mold that does not exist in reality, but in the minds of others. As long as other individuals keep insisting that there is particular form of beauty, that must be achieved, black women will continue having a difficult time identifying the natural and normal forms of beauty. In “Oppression,” Marilyn Frye states that oppression happens when there are barriers restricting change. When there is a constant reminder to young black women and girls that there is only one kind of beauty, it prevents their ability to grasp other forms of beauty as beautiful. This creates the idea that if the ideal beautiful is not achieved, than ugly is the only other option. This oppression of the mind reduces young women to believe that if they do not fit into the mold, they must squeeze into the mold with makeup, hair products, etc. in order to be happy. It is only when escaping the mold does an individual realize that it is all an illusion. 

By: Amanda Lessard