Yo!

PAGE 1

0! ------------Mai'CIJ 15, 1994 -'t5lume 1 --NumiJer 12-------------Justice Department to Mediate in Ovett, Miss. On February 17, 1991, !here was a developmenl in llle situation in Ovell, Mississippi in which the lesbian owners of Camp Sist<>r Spirit, a charity organi:.>:ation, wete the victims of various harassment and intimidation techniques by the sur rounding town Brenda and Wanda Ilenson, the owners of Camp Sister Sririt, called upon NGITF (National Gay and Lesbian Task Force) for help Attorney General janet Reno has responded to the NGLTF s request for a sistancc by sending CRS (Community Relations Service) into Ovett 10 intervene in lhe situation and to help mediate the dispule stating in a letter to the NGLTF, "While CRS i statutorily limited to assist only in connicts aris ing from race, color and national origin issues, I consider the thf'('at of violence in Ovett to be real and believe CRS's in volvement is both appropriate and necessaty to restore calm to tlte community Reno also stated, in the same letter, fed eral jurisdiction is curcntly restricted by statute. 1\t this time sexual orientation is not a protected status under the federal civil rights law. Accordingly. we unable to assist the T !ensons through the enforcement of existing federal criminal civil rights laws concerning housing or feder<1lly -potected aclivilies." A threatening leiter was sent to the I Iensons tltrough the n1;1il, however, which may be a violation of orne federal criminal laws regarding the use of the federal postal system. Based on this the FRT has been asked to investigate this matter. 'll1e NGLTF is concet ned tlwtthc justice Department is not legally required to any action with regard to the Ilensons' situation; in sending the CHS in to inlervene and mediale the situation, the justice Depanment is making an exception to the law; the law itself will remain tl1e same. ln response to the T lensons request for help, the NG!J'F called upon Attorney General Janet Reno to bring in the justice Department's Community Relations Service to mediate the conflict and p r ovide the protection the llensons need NC.LTF also brokered a historic meeting with the jus tice Department to press the case. NGTLF Legislative Direc tor. Tanya Domi, called upon Congress to pressure janet Reno and the Department of justice to lake action. She met with "Brenda and 'Wanda Henson'' Continue d on page 2 Orientation Committee Discusses Changes, Additions for 1994-95 drLeda -----------111e orientation commit1ee meeting on '1. IW \. worked to improve the orientation for incoming students A rough chedule of orientation events included mailings o\'er the summer, moving out-of st;ne students in the day befort using the afternoon of day #l fot a welcome from the Pro vost, Dean Michalson, and Admissions, as well uccessful alumnae / i at the icc cream social so that parents are reassured. ll w;1s also suggested that activities should extend well into the night to discourage funher pn tation committee's plans are that new students need to f(<:l that they are welcome; they will need an introduction to n iii cal complex, logistical infonnation and they will need lhe opponunity to establish links and networks \' ilh faculty, peers, rriencls csources and swrr. 'I11cre also needs to be some cultural orientation about what wcit niles go\(:rn faculty and student inter:tction; this can be a hie\'('d l1H1ugh skits, film, or other !>lllclent art expressions. Other ideas included hm ing Faculty 'f:as during ori entation, Open llouses at Chuck Peggy's. Park\ icw. :111d Ma1k B .'s. Student activities and clubs hould he up running right away with lots of w
PAGE 2

}!f)! Page 2 Editor: Leslie Shaffer. (358 0561) Layout and Design Editor: .i\ri Weinstein Contributors: April Richards Nina Smuckler, Mark Breirnhorst, james \XIyman. YOI is typeset in PageMaker 5.0, with body text in Guamond, bylines in Brush Script, and Headlines in .i\rial Black YOI is printed by the Campus Copy Center Letters to the Editor should be typed and submitted on disk with a printed copy attached to Box 373. "Brenda and Wanda Henson" Continued from page 1 the staffs of Senator joseph Biden and Don Edwards, each of whom head Congressional cornntillees that over see the Department of justice. NGJTr Public Infonna tion manager, Robin Kane, in a nurry of media activity shone the spotlight on Ovett, leaving nowhere for the bigots to hide he al'io traveled to Ovett to monitor the second anti-! Jenson conm1unity meeting in january and to povide support and media assistance for the women. In an open letter to the NGJXF, Brenda Ilenson tn1de the following statements, "When my spouse, \Xanda, and l first met, we shared a dream. After years of working to im prove the lives of those atUund us, we dreamed of slatting a womyn s retreat, a afe place where people could come and learn to help build a future free of hate and discrimination. tittle did we know that our dream would be labeled perverse, that our lives would be theatened and that many of our neighbors would try to fott:e us off our land We never imagined that anned men would invade our ptUperty and that someone would kill a puppy just to us. We never imagined people could hate so much. When our dream was threatened, when we feared for our lives, we called for help. Those that wete supposed to protect us, the police and local officials, were among those who were conspiring against us. Our U.S. representative condemned our pn:sence and everything we stood fot: Jonathon Darr is working to arrange assistance for the llensons from the New College commtmity. lie can be contacted at box 117. The address for the T Iensons is: Brenda and Wanda Ilenson, Camp Sister Spiri t P.O Box 12, Oveu, Mississippi 39164. NG!Tf can be contacted NGL:t"F Policy Institute; P.O. Box 96031; Washington D.C 20090-6031. SAC News At 1 h e last meeting of the SAC, YO! tcquested $1 10 i to change IO an printer. The request was denied. TI1e SAC minutes, h owever, read that }"Q!"wa nts more money ("gasp Can it be?!?) 111e copy center h<1s been and l-eslie I haiTer] wants the Gutcnbctgs to produce her maga zine at a cost of $700 milli o n per issue The cost is justified by the continued timely supply of political tealises from April on topics such Nucleat Dis:10namcnt <1nd Femi nine Hygiene." The following comments, while pari of the permanent SAC record, \Vcre not part of FO!s presenl
PAGE 3

Mark's News Boston COOL pcopk: meet in Mark's ollke at 8 p m Monday so we can gage demand and decide how we ac paying the remainder We need final d e cisions by 'luesday so tell me your plans or 1'11 assume you can t go . There will be a meeting of st1.1dent leaders otganizers and facilitators who want to he in a support group to dis cuss skills and issues involved in leadership 'Ji.Jesday, March 15, at 6 :30 in my ofrice . occer game, Wednesday 5 :15p.m. between Ham Cen t e r and Pei. Graduating students--sec me if you interested in participating in the n1esis Col l oquia We had a good turnout at the College Bowl general intere t meeting There arc a lot of good players now beginning to prepare for our big tournament next fall. See me if you want to get i nvolved . The Spring Dance Marathon is happening friday April 29th at 9 p m until Saturday the 30th at 9 p m.. ign up at my onke if you want to dance so you can begin filling your sponsor sheet over break. tn Jill Ross, Dorothy Hoppe, Tracie Merritt or myself or come to our general meeting Mon day March 14 at 9 p.m. in my oflke if you want to help plan enterwinment, solicit donations etc Please also vote on whic h charity you would like to benefit. SEX!!! Planned Parenthood s Marilyn Anderson ancl'lbm Rohe r 1son (FREE CO DOM !!!) will be leading a frank and open discussion (FREE DEN 'li\L DAMS!!!) about sex, intimacy, S'J'Ds, abstinence and contraception Please come of whether you are currently sexually active, want to be or want not to be. Matdl 16, 6 p .m. Sudakoff The first of the new \Xednesday Night Series Recycling Efforts Continue I f 'l1eut.---------------After a bri e f lull over !SP and a s etba c k fnm the administration campus recycling app ears to be in ftill opera lion again First, a short description o f how is man aged Glass plastic and s o m e newsrzrpers art' picked up by Drowning Ferris Industries (13Fl), an intcrnationzrl business 13FT rents recyding bins to the c ollege at a cost of $12 per l>in per month for a total co l of ab o ut $261 every month Hins arc located behind tlam c enter, at Palmer Huilding II., and at College !Tall. 'l11e bins are emptied by BFI e'ery \\l dnesday A per on separate frum BFI, H o n Ortiz, pi cks up aluminum Sorting is done by tudents every Sunday late in the morning 'llle two students responsible for it arc David Clark and Dorothy I loppc, both of whom arc being paid work study for their effort. Dorothy states that, on average, about to ten people show up C \'ery Sunday to volunteer Doruthy described the work as being a douhle-cdgcd sword": the work is hard, but you see an immediate \ontribution to your community. Keeping recy c ling going lw not been without its obstacles At the beginning of the there ,,as an < ''t'r Oow of recyclable material due to se, cr; Jircasons First, then : was no organized elfort to do recy c ling until Dorothy : rnd David look the job Sec ond since Morrison s lws he<'n sell ing Snapple and other fn.ril drinks, the the number of gl :tss bottles to be recycled has sho t up. Third the Gill that h :1d been used to help wiLh recycling was hopelessly bruke Fourth 13FI did not pick up any rccyclablcs for about a two week period in late januaryearly February n1e tcason why i s not yet known. At the same time that this was going on Dean Schenk declared in a memo that there were no funds for recycling and that if need be, recyclahles were to he dis posed as trash Student bins were then removed from the west side of C"..tmpus. In an interview Dean Schenk Slken c ;ut ha.., been replaced by the old Naluml Scie nces van. which 4nda Block Hill helped obtain /lfarcb 15. 1991 ------------------

PAGE 4

}!f)! Page 4 Racism: Are We Together or Apart? l11 Luta -------------o names are used in this article to preserve privacy and to avoid misquotes If anyone feels th; H this article has overlooked or neglected to expand on any topic-or if you want your name attached to your comments, please feel fcc to write a letter to the editor to rectify this situation On this past Tuesday, Chuck Daly held an Open llnuse on the sub ject "R.1cism: Are We Together or Apart?"" The subject was chosen because it is one not often talked on campus ; there are both overt and covert racist vie>' s and misunder standings on campus. The questions discussed included Does it exist on our campus? Is ew College dilferent? 'J11e discus sion avoided defining racism because the point was not to get into a "highbrow"' definition of tenns Racism was dis cussed as a power relation and a recognition of difference, and the difficulty of separating the two. Some of the topics discussed included racist language, the clilficulty of getting and keeping minority students at 1ew segegation in higher education as a whole and New College in and the feelings of minority students on campus. Discussion began by focussing on the question of racist jokes Questions were raised about perpetuating racist stereotypes through jokes. While very often these jokes" not told to people of that race, many of the Black women on campus have had racist remarks made to them The difficulty of telling a friend that racist remarks / jokes are offensive was discussed because they very often will just claim to be telling a joke and make accusations about not h ;wing a sense of humor. One person stated that he was told he was racist for being offended by the wor d "spic; he wns told that to be offended by the word is part of the problem. The problems that New College has in getting and keeping minority students was b10ught up. -n,e expense and the "competitive market" were cited as reasons for the lack of students of color on campus. In response to this, the ques tion was raised about, given the social climate of New Col l ege, would having mote students of color be positive? W:>uld that group be accepted? The tremendous amount of separat ism of Blacks and other minorities in higkr education was cited. 'Xbuld we work to prevent that here? Would i t be different here? Being aware of institutional racism is impor tant. n1e problems of not having a fee l ing of safety and comfort for different'" people on college campuses tends to cause segregation. A similar occurrence can be seen with the queer community on campus Someone that mak ing a "safe place" involves exam i ning questioning assumptions. and questioning selves; "TI1ey don't talk to other peop le-what about other people talking to them?"' This led to a discussion of racism being about what you feel as opposed to what you think; while it isn't difficult t o change what you think, what you feel has been with you almost since birth, a sometimes subtle sometimes over1 lean1ed be havior; some of this can he changed by later experience Racism wa discussed as a lack of experience, h;wing never been exposed to different cultures and different races. An other student claimed that it was n disservice to the New College conununity to not have a diverse community It suggested that New College needs to move forward to have a more diverse faculty, as wellthat thete wett:n t enough people breaking down borders in academe; our curriculum is very eurocentric-while some faculty try to teach fK)rn non Western perspectives, it is not re
PAGE 5

'tDI Page ') {) ur ];itter V'l'ine: j_,ppfcin'{J Itt 9enAer frbnt ;Different e :Per Jpective$ The New College Race and Gender Symposium will be held March 16-19. The schedule is as follows: Wednesday, MarciJ 16 Student Presentations in lhe Teaching Auditorium at 6:00p.m. New College students will be papers on vari ous topics ranging from film criticism, hcterosexism, rap mu sic as these relate to gender and race issues. A question and answer period will follow. All are encouraged to attend. Movie: The Body Beautiful (1991) 23 min. Directed by Ngozi Onwurah at 8 : 00p.m. in the Teaching Auditorium. This bold, stunning exploration of a white mother who undergoes a radical mastectomy and her f3lack daughter who embarks on a modeling career reveals the pi'Ofound effects of body image and the strain of racial and sexual identity on their charged, intensely loving bond. At the heart of Onwurah s brave excursion into her mother's scomed sexuality is a pro vocative intetweaving of memory and fantasy The filmmaker plumbs the depths of matetnal strength daughterly devo tion in an unforgellable tribute starring her real mother, Madge Onwurah. Movie: Ana Mcndicta(l987) 52 min. Horsfield Garcia rerraz and Miller at 8:30p.m. in the Teaching Auditorium. TIis beautiful video is a portrait or the life and work of Cuban-born American artist Ana Mendieta. Mendieta used her own body, the raw materials of nat'-lle and Afro Cuban religion to express her feminist political consciousness and poetic vision Interview footage with Mendieta and her own filmed records of her earthworks and performances are incor porated to render a vivid testament to her and extraor dinary talent after her tragic, untimely death in 1985. 11Jursday, March 17 Student Wock.,hop will be held lll 6:30 p .m. in the !Ia milton Cent er Fishbowl. The New College Community will meet to discuss issues of race and gender at New College. New College staff and faculty members are eager l y invited. Movie: VISionary Voices: Women on Power (1992) 22 min. Directed by Penny Hosewasser and Lisa Rudman <1! 8:30p.m. in the l eaching Auditorium. Visionary Voices fea tures a multiracial group of women activists, artists, and heal ers reading excerpts f1om their interviews in a book of the same name about healthy uses of power The simplicity of the form of this video enhances the complexity of views ex pressed by these remarkable women ; an inspirational ,..,ork about the contribution women of color have made tot ht women s movement as well as how to teach without domina tion organize without inlirnidation. disagree without degr's of of African heritage as they strugg l e to create a new <1nd t.m powered perspective Movie: Hidden Faces 0990) ';2 min. Oill'Cted by Cl:lirc Hunt and Kim Longinollo m 9 : 30 p.m in the leaching Audi torium. Originally intended as a film about intermlliomtlly re nowned feminist writer Nawal El Saada,vi, llidden Faces. develops into a f
PAGE 6

}191 Page 6 "Race and Gender Sytnposium" Continued from page 5 contributed to many anthologies that vital texts in cultural tudic education, race and gender studies. Ms. \'mens tudies at nte City College of ew 1brk and serves as the Cooldinator of \\bmen's Studies J:>eakers and Associate Professor of English and \Xbmens Studies at the City University of New York Graduate Center. Movie Warrior Marks (1993) 54 min Produced and directed by Alice \Xf.llkcr and Pratiba Pannar at 9:00 p.m. in udako!T Center. Wamor Marks i.<; a poetic and political film about fe rnalc genital mutilation f10m the director of A Place of Rage presented by Pulitzer Prize winning author of77Je Color Pm1Jle and J>ossessing tbe Secret of joy. female genital mutilation affects one hundred million of the world's women and this remarkable film unlocks some of the cultural and political complexities surrounding this issue Interviews with some women from Senegal, 111e Gamhia, I3urkino Faso, the United States and England who are concemed with and affected by genital mutilation are intercut with Walker's own personal reOcctions on the subjects Movie: Knowing Her Place (1990) 40 min Directed by lndu Krishnu at 10:00 p .m. in Sudakoff Center. A powerful and moving investigation of the cultural schizophrenia experienced by Y.lsu, an Indian \\'Oman who has spent most of her life in the U.S. Vasu's relationships with her mother and 92-year-old grandmother in India, and her husband and teenage sons in ew York reveal profound con flicts between her traditional upbringing and her personal and professional aspirations TI1e tape fuses photographs, verite sequences, and experimental techniques to pobe the multilayered experience of immigrant women with candor and emotional r:csonance Sal:lttviay, March 19 Panel discussion at 2:00p.m. in SudakoJf Center. Tatiana de Ia Tierra, Renu Khator, and Dr. Kim Vaz. Panelists will discuss Lssues of race and gender as they elate to their personal experiences and to their respective fields. Short presentations by each panelist will follow a moderated discussion and brief question and answer period Movie: Wilina P. Man.killer-WQman of Power (I 993) 29 min. Directed by Mary Scott at 7:00p.m. in Sudakolf Cen ter n1e first part of a documentary series on women in power, \f!i/ma P Mankiller-\Kbnw11 of Pouer is a profile of the first female Chief of the Chc10kec Nation. The video follows her through one clay in her life, and shows how she has done ground-breaking work in governance, co mmunity development, and furth e ring the cm.1se of her people Wil111o P Mmlki/{er -\rvman nfJ>o/l'ereffcctivcly shows llK)d<:'m t1 ihal life as well as raising questions about women and lcadcsltip. Wilma Man killer pro\ kles a st1ong role rnoclel for women Clnd alive Americans as s he attempts to find the delicate balance of participating in existing White power struclu(.'S whilst main taining her own cultural integrity Movie: As the Min-or Burns (1990) 58 min Dircrtecl by Christina Poz7.an at 7:30 p.m in Sudakolf Center. Most representations of the VtetnClm War show women as innocent bystanders who sometimes became caught up in the connie! but who welt' otbe1wise uninvolved. As the Mir ror I3urns is an amazing redressing of this misconception TI1e \Vomen's Museum in I Jo Chi Minh City estimates that over 70% of the guerillas in the war were women; women who lived in the unde1ground tunnel ystcms raised their children while their land was being bombed and defoliated above their heads; women who wee not victims but who were active parti c ipants in the struggle against for eign dominalion. As the Minor Burns, shows how the war still shapes the lives of the women of Vietnam as they co n tinue their work in the fields and factories, on the 10ads and in the homes, to restore peace to their land Movie: A Place of Rage (1991) 52 min Dilt'Cted by Pratibah Pam1ar at 8:30 p m in Center 'f11is exuberant celebration of African Amelican women and their achievements featutCS interviews with Angela Davis, junejordan, and Alice \'\{llker Within the context of the civil rights, I31ack Power and feminist movements, the trio a.ssesses how women such as Rosa Parks and Fannie Lou I lamer (>VO lutionized Ameri an society. Angela Davis, at one time the FBI's most wanted woman, n::counts her involvement with the Black Panthers and the communist party. I Icr racly seen 1970 prison interview. civil rights footage and aR:hival photos are interwoven with june Jodan's powerful poetry linking issues of homophobia, racism, U.S. imperialism and libera tion struggles worldwide. The insights of writer Alice Walker and filmmaker Trinh T. Minh -ha enrich this en grossing portrait of African American feminism A stirring chapter in African American history, highlighted by musi c fnm Prince,janctjackson, the Neville I3JOthers and the Staple Sing ers. Movie: A Man, When lie is a Man t 1982) 66 nun. Directed by Valeria Sarmiento at9:30 p .m. in SudakoO Center. Set in Costa Rica and touched with clark this stylistically imaginative documentay illuminates the social climate and cultural traditions which nurtu(.' machismo and allow the domination of women to noulish in Latin Amctica ------------------Marcb 15, 1991 -------------------

PAGE 7

Student Leadership Development Magazine Published St11dent a new national leadership development magazine has been made available to moe than 597 colleges and universities, including New College. Stu dent Leader features helpful tips and interviews with successfu I campus leaders :1 nd administrators ncHionwide, de signed to help campus deci ion makers polish their commu nication, organizational, and supervisory skills Although origi nally planned to be given fn.:e to any school tht ment in our nations youth If you are au indi\ idual "ith human sensitivity and a positive altitude this unique pnfes sional opportunity may be for you Counselori"Jl'achers llt come role models and facililalurs for self healing for the t li cnt campers \\ho have come to the pK)gram for help. He quirements of the position include high personal and nKlfal standards, and the ahility to work panicipativcly with tnubled youth. Counselors live in a willcmess campsite\\ ith a grnup of 10 to 12 child r n, 2tl hours a day, 5 days a eek. Forty eight hours of lime-off arc arranged for during each seven d
PAGE 8

Page 8 In My Opinion Castor Kills FPIRG ----------Belly Castor. President of USF, decided last week to kick the Florida PJHG chapters otr USF and New College. Despite ten years of student support, a stong petition drive in progress this year at U F, and a completed petition drive at New College in which a of students indicated sup port for the program <1nd fee, Castor unilaterally cancelled the program and fee at both campuses. Previous USF (Interim) President Robert Bryan be gan the process by stating that the contract between FPJRG and the University would not be renewed this year. Bryan, however, was replaced by Castor who previously said that she supported FP!RG. In the past, the President required a majority of students to indicate their support for the pogram and fee before she/he would sign the contract. n1e actions or Bryan and Castor bypassed the students and igno.cd their right to petition for a fee to support a g10up. Students on both campuses shocked and dis mayed at this blatant disregard for our rights By taking this action, the administration is clearly pulling themselves in a position in which students are subject to every whim that the administration might have By ignoring a majority decision by students and kicking one of the most popular and success ful groups ofT campus, the administration has overstepred its bounds 11tcre arc three main problems with President Castor's decision First, she is contradicting herself by saying that she supports FPIRG and then killing it at the University by culling its funding. Second, the students are still in the midst of their petition drive that will result in a majority of students indicat ing support for the program and fee l11e third problem is that over 8,000 students at USF and a majority of students at New College have already indi cated support for the program and fee. Does this not mean anything? 111e argument that FPIRG should exist on donations is purely smoke and mirrors designed to hide the political r easons for kicking FPIRG ofT USf <1nd New College. There is no way that an eJTeclive statew ide student OJganizatioo can run on donations. It is a proven fact. l11e political reality of the situation is that for ten years, students have had a t.emen dous eiTect on Florida politics. 111e best way to keep the students out of the political realm is to kill the vehi le. florida P!RG is the only group in the state that provides college stu dents the means to actively participate in statewide political issues. President Castor's decision means that student activity will be relegated to nothing more than recycling and tree planting. Students need t o re pond to this attack. Letters and phone calJs to 13elty Castor ate encouraged The administra tion must realize that they can not get away with walking all over students' rights. Radio Project Update fltU4 7tddt The five thousand dollars allocated to the Radio Pnject for the acquisition of an FM license has been returned to the SAC. 1 would like to thank all of the students who worked. signed the petition for or otherwise supported funding the project this year. The money w<1s not used because it as project members this long to lcam that our only pmct1cal option for on-air transmission is to b\JY or lease a license '\I.e can not apply for a license since all available ftequencies in this area are licensed. However, we can buy or lease a radio station. We have located a license holder who perked up at the suggestion of transferring his license to a nonp1ofit col lege organization. jim Heese, a l ocal AM license is extremely interested in the possibility of selling or leasing his license to New College. Offici