Introducing Unofficial Passions

We are growing into Web 2.0 and sorting things out as we go. We've concluded that we'll post only our "official" AAUW branch items here.

But, we want a place to share the things that interest us as individuals. A place to post about our passions, events we want to share, , issues we support and want others to support, too. A place to brag about our successes and introduce you to our businesses, books, products, and services.

So, take a look at
Unofficial Passions - Issues and Activities that KAAUW Members Care About

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Contribute, too!

11/27/07: branch meeting on non-violent communication

Update: here's what you missed

Roberta Wall presented some salient features of Non-Violent Communication at a Branch Meeting of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) that took place on November 27th in the Woodstock Library. This system of observing and analyzing human behavior was developed by Marshall Rosenberg who was a protégé of Carl Rogers and utilizes a similar type of empathic listening that was made famous by Rogers.

Behavior is not judged as right or wrong but is viewed as fulfilling needs. When these needs are verbalized and understood, Roberta Wall feels most conflicts do not escalate to violence.

She shared that Marshall Rosenberg witnessed race riots in Detroit as well as experienced virulent anti-Semitism as a child. These experiences prompted him to develop a method of intervention that would reduce conflict. His method has been used in over 60 countries and applied to situations of both social and personal conflict.

Roberta Wall told the group that Non-Violent Communications practitioners learn a set of skills that enable them to listen with empathy and identify the needs of both parties as well as the strategies used by each party to fulfill these needs. She feels that this system allows people to speak and act from awareness of the interconnectedness of all life.

She told the audience of several opportunities in the mid-Hudson Valley for training and further discussion of Non-Violent Communication.

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Join us for the Kingston AAUW Branch Meeting.

Date: November 27th
Time: 7pm
Place: Woodstock Library

Topic: Roberta Wall will present a program on non-violent communications.

About Roberta: Roberta Wall is a lawyer, mediator, teacher and coach. She lives in the beautiful Hudson River Vally of Upstate New York and travels the world coaching couples, individuals and organizations and facilitating workshops and retreats in Nonviolent Communication (NVC) as developed by Marshall Rosenberg.

Roberta uses her 20 years of experience as a lawyer, mediator, coach, teacher, parent and activist in service of peaceful resolution of conflict, individual and organizational growth, and community and spiritual development. Among her students and clients are families in the Hudson Valley, businesses in India, centers in New York City, Mexico, France, California and India, peace activists, court advocates, spiritual communities, teachers, students and healing professionals.

You can read more about Roberta on her website.

Reminder: This meeting is at the Woodstock Library.

Take Action to Correct Elimination of Low Cost Birth Control

Since 1990, drug companies have offered low cost birth control to college health clinics and safety-net providers, making it affordable for the college students and low-income women who rely on it. However, deficit reduction legislation passed by Congress in 2005 which took effect this year inadvertently excluded over 400 clinics from this program.

This means that many women, especially college students, were suddenly and unintentionally excluded from receiving low cost birth control from their local safety-net healthcare provider or university health clinic. Over 3 million undergraduate students have seen their monthly birth control prices skyrocket, from $10 up to $40 or $50.

This sharp rise in the cost of birth control dispensed by college campus health centers and clinics serving low-income women has forced many women to choose between reliable birth control and other necessities. It has also caused many college health clinics to stop providing birth control because they can no longer afford to do so.

Efforts are underway in both the House and the Senate to correct this error. But, the Prevention Through Affordable Access proposal needs public support. You can lend your support by clicking on this link to the Two Minute Activist. (You don't have to be an AAUW member to use this service.)

Photo by Amber Bradley

American Association of University Women - Two Minute Activist:

LEGAL ADVOCACY FUND: Highlights of our 25 Year History

1981
The American Association of University Women (AAUW) Board of Directors votes at the June Convention in Boston, MA for the AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund as a two-year pilot program to provide moral and financial support to female plaintiffs in higher education sex discrimination cases. LAF national office staff is an extension of the Public Policy department at AAUW.

1983
AAUW directs the Board of Directors to establish a permanent Legal Advocacy Fund. By 1983, LAF contributed $8,500 to the Cornell 11 (Zahorik, et al. v. Cornell University) and granted support status to two additional cases: Penk, et al. v. Oregon State Board of Higher Education and Haffer v. Temple University.

1991
The LAF Board of Directors initiated Plaintiff Travel Grants with a generous contribution from LAF-supported plaintiff Colleen Roberts (Roberts v. College of the Desert ). These grants fund travel for LAF plaintiffs to speak at state and regional AAUW meetings. Based on the enthusiastic response, LAF continues to make a limited number of Plaintiff Travel Grants each year.

1992
LAF supported its first case to go to the Supreme Court - Lever v. Northwestern University, et al. - a case of denial of tenure based on sex discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Right Act of 1964.

1994
LAF Update begins as a single page article in the winter issue of AAUW Outlook.

1997
LAF recognizes Lani Guinier as its first Speaking Out for Justice honoree at the AAUW June Convention in Los Angeles, CA.

Lani Guinier's 1993 nomination as assistant attorney general for civil rights in the U.S. Department of Justice was withdrawn in a climate of intense controversy. Guinier argued that the existing legal education program in our country serves neither the needs of current students nor the legal profession.

LAF continues to present this award biennially during the AAUW Convention to those who have made a significant contribution to the betterment and well-being of women and whose focus of achievement agrees with the AAUW mission and that of LAF.

1997
LAF makes headlines with Brzonkala v. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, et al. , a landmark rape case that went to the Supreme Court. Brzonkala sued for sexual harassment under Title IX and also for disparate treatment.

2000
LAF releases A License for Bias: Sex Discrimination, Schools and Title IX , a publication issued to dispel the belief that Title IX is a sports equity law and to determine the effectiveness of the current legislation.

2004
AAUW launches Network News, an online publication where LAF network attorneys and experts provide case updates.

2004
LAF and the AAUW Educational Foundation release a joint research report: Tenure Denied: Cases of Sex Discrimination in Academia

2005
LAF supports its 100th case, having provided over $1.3 million in funding for its plaintiffs.

LAF supports its first male case to go to the Supreme Court - Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education. This case is based on sex discrimination and retaliation under Title IX.

2007
LAF supported plaintiff, Dr. Janet Conney is awarded $4 million from her sex discrimination suit against the Regents of the University of California. Conney had sued the university, along with three former male colleagues, for sexual harassment, retaliation, and pay inequity.

For additional information see www.aauw.org/Advocacy

11/15/07: Rembrandt lecture

On 11/15, Bernard Greenwald, art professor at Bard College, gave an informal lecture to a good-sized, receptive audience on how to view Rembrandt's work. The talk, held upstairs at the Kingston Library at 55 Franklin Street, was sort of a "sneak preview" for those who went on the 12/13 trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Greenwald gave a brief history of Rembrandt's life, showed us many examples of Rembrandt's artwork, and also some of his own.

11/13/07: literary group discussed Stones From the River

On 11/13/07, the literary group met upstairs at the Kingston Library at 55 Franklin Street to discuss Ursula Hegi's book Stones From the River.

Virginia Kohli gave us some background history and information about the author.

Two Minute Activist - Support the Higher Ed Reauthorization Bill

"Thanks to the hard work of AAUW members and coalition partners, we are pleased to announce that the House version of the bill addresses many of the priorities that AAUW has been working on for years to make the dream of a higher education a reality for more women." -- LAF

Take a minute to urge our representatives to support the College Opportunity and Affordability Act.

The House version of the bill incorporates several of our AAUW priorities:

• Graduate fellowships that will help diversify university faculty
• Studies of both the gender and other biases in standardized testing and gender and racial equity among senior faculty
• Campaign to expand the qualified pool of individuals in STEM fields
• Financial aid for non-traditional students
• Expand the definition of hate crimes on campus to parallel that used by the FBI
• Increased support for campus child care programs

Clicking this link will take you to the AAUW Two-Minute Activist page that makes it really easy to send elected officials a message. (You don't have to be an AAUW member.) So, do it now!

American Association of University Women - Two Minute Activist:

Bernadette Carpino -- Dedicated AAUW Historian

Bernie joined AAUW in 1972 when she was teaching first grade. AAUW gave her an opportunity to interact with big people from other fields. She has always found the programs and projects to be stimulating.

Now retired, she loves reading and gardening. She's passionate about nature and the environment. She has twin grand-daughters, now thirteen, who live in Virginia. Bernie looks forward to the time they spend with her each year.

As branch historian, Bernie has written some wonderful articles for our newsletter that we hope to publish here on the blog. She keeps up our scrap books and continues to work on our oral history. She notes that she finds the social aspect of AAUW as important as AAUW's commitment to education.

In the Halloween Spirit - a free lecture

I thought I'd pass this link on to all of you. I've bought a lot of their courses over the years -- from the Teaching Company

...Halloween approaches, we are sending you a free online lecture on "The World of Witches" by UCLA Professor Teofilo F. Ruiz. We offer free lectures to our customers at various times throughout the year as part of our goal to provide a lifelong learning experience.

Professor Ruiz (Ph.D., Princeton University) is a medieval history specialist, selected by the Carnegie Foundation in 1994-1995 as one of four Outstanding U.S. Teachers of the Year. He has crafted three courses for The Teaching Company. This lecture is from his course The Terror of History: Mystics, Heretics, and Witches in the Western Tradition and is a fascinating exploration of a 16th-century description of how to become a witch.

Click here to access the free lecture.

You may download this lecture and listen to it at your computer, transfer it to your iPod or MP3 player, or burn it to a CD.

Access your free lecture online between now and December 31, 2007. Please feel free to send the lecture link to friends who might also enjoy it. It is free for them as well.

Have any of you taken any of their courses? My very favorite is 'How to Listen to and Understand Great Music.' What's yours?

Abstinence Only Funding Increase Withdrawn

Update from Advocates for Youth

Yesterday, conservative Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) withdrew his amendment to increase funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs and the Senate finally approved its fiscal year 2008 Labor-HHS Appropriations bill. The approved bill calls for a $28 million cut in the Community-Based Abstinence Education (CBAE) program. Once again common sense has prevailed.

But our work isn't over!!

Senate supporters are working hard to keep the CUT in the final bill. But they need your support!

Three months ago the House of Representatives approved a $28 million INCREASE for the Abstinence Education program, even though a 10-year evaluation revealed that abstinence-only programs don't work. (Click here to read more: http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/news/blogs/060807_jw.htm)

Now, the House and Senate have to agree on a final bill. Negotiations are moving quickly. The final bill could be voted out and on the President's desk by November 1st.

Take action today!

Young people deserve accurate and complete information to help them make responsible decisions about their sexual and reproductive health.

Please tell your representative: It's time for a change -- Support the Senate's abstinence-only-until-marriage $28 million cut!

Sincerely,
Sonya Clay
Domestic Policy Director
Advocates for Youth