Happy New Year!

We welcome the new year with this quote from Benjamin Franklin:

Be at war with your vices; at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better [wo]man.

The Kingston Branch of AAUW celebrated the holidays by sharing favorite holiday traditions. Pictured here is Susan Holland reading the Polar Express -- her favorite Christmas story.

We were pleased to send armloads of simple gifts to the women at Family of Woodstock's shelter for victims of domestic violence.

We look forward to a great year together.

Kingston AAUW Trip Reservation Form

Complete the reservation form below to reserve your place for any of our trips. After you submit the form, Kingston AAUW will send you a message, usually within 48 hours, that either confirms that we are holding a place for you, or where you are on a waiting list if the trip is full.

The Small Print

We look forward to having you join us and we believe that clarity yields happy fellow travelers. We hope this information brings clarity.

Payment terms: generally, we expect payment within a week of your confirmed reservation. Your confirmation message will note any exceptions -- for example, the Washington DC trip requires an initial $200 deposit and full payment by March 4th.

Send your check, made out to AAUW–Kingston Branch, to Garnette Arledge, PO Box 14, Glenford, NY 12443

Cancellation Policy: No refunds unless KAAUW cancels the trip. If you find you cannot attend you may arrange for someone else to take your spot. If you aren't coming, do let us know. If there is a waiting list we may be able to help you find someone, but we make no promise to do so.

In some cases, you may be able to arrange private trip insurance. If you provide your address on the reservation form, we will send you information about a company that offers it. Please note: we have no connection to this insurance company. If you choose to contract with them, it is strictly between you and them.

Departure and Return: All trips leave promptly from the rear of the former Ames in the Kingston Plaza. Departure times are firm. Return times are estimates that may be impacted by traffic or weather.

Questions? Leave a Garnette Arledge message at 845-704-2120 or send her an email. She will get back to you.

To reserve your space on one or all of our summer 2008 trips,
go to our reservation form here.

Thanks! We look forward to traveling with you.

Literary group: more on Island at the Center of the World

Hi Everyone,
For those of you who read Island at the Center of the World, there is an interesting article on the Op-Ed page A29 in the Thurs. 12-27-07 issue by Kenneth Jackson. The article mentions how NYC, when it was still New Amsterdam developed religious tolerance.
From, Marjorie

Editor's note: I recommend this brief article to anyone interested in the issue of religion and its place in politics today. Jackson, in A Colony with a Conscience, offers up the story of early settlers in Flushing, Queens who, in 1657, stood up for a principle they believed in. They still stand tall as role models for us today.

12/18/07: Branch meeting & holiday party -- Simple Gifts

Branch Meeting and Holiday Party

Tuesday, December 18
3 PM, Kingston Library

This year's theme was Simple Gifts. We, ourselves, were the program. People brought and shared readings, poems, songs, and memories that evoked the holidays for them.

In addition, we shared "simple gifts" with the women living in the Homeless Shelter and Domestic Violence Shelter run by Family of Woodstock -- books, board games, puzzles, bath & beauty sets, art supplies, winter hats & gloves, writing supplies...

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

Book mark it; make it a favorite; subscribe for updates.
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.