Feminist Events Calendar

February-Black History Month:
-14th-21st: National Condom Week

March-Women's History Month:
-1st: International Women of Color Day
-8th: International Women's Day
-22nd: Back Up Your Birth Control Day

April:
-8th: Feminist Leadership Institute
-9th-11th: National Collegiate Global Women's and Human Rights Conference
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Women's History Month
March is Women's History Month, kick off your celebrations with activities on March 1st for International Women of Color Day. Not soon after, on the 8th, is International Women's Day. Students and groups around the country are hosting speakers, discussion groups, movie screenings, and other events in order to recognize and honor women who have come before us. Need ideas on how to join in the celebrations? Check out the National Women's History Project.
Another opportunity to take action this month is on the 22nd with Back Up Your Birth Control (BUYBC) Day. Take control of your reproductive health by planning ahead for Spring Break with Emergency Contraception, and expect a mailing from us soon with a Spring Break BUYBC Kit!

*photo courtesy of PBS

Watch, SISTERS OF '77, a new documentary on women's history – March 1 on PBS
During one historic weekend in November 1977, the first federally funded National Women's Conference brought 20,000 women and men including the most influential leaders of the burgeoning women's movement - Bella Abzug, Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, Eleanor Smeal, Ann Richards, Coretta Scott King, Barbara Jordan and others, to Houston, Texas, where they caucused, argued and finally hammered out resolutions that revolutionized the women's movement in America.

SISTERS OF '77 weaves archival footage and interviews with past and current activists and conference participants. The documentary is a fascinating look at that pivotal weekend and how it changed American life and the lives of the women who attended. It will air nationally on the Emmy-winning PBS series Independent Lens, hosted by Susan Sarandon, on Tuesday, March 1st at 10 p.m. (check local listings.)

It's not too late! Send a Condom Week of Action ecard today!

Condom Week of Action
The official Week of Action is almost over, but make sure to continue spreading awareness about Condoms and Emergency Contraception in your activist work! Knowledge and practice lead to consistent condom use which reduces the risk of HIV transmission by 85-100%. Consistent use is 85%-98% effective in preventing unintended pregnancy.

University of Central Florida
The UCF FMLA passed out Condom Grams and coupons for Emergency Contraception in front of their Student Union to spread awareness about safer sex and EC this week. According to the group their "free prophylactics with creative sayings such as 'cuff your carrot before you share it'" were a fun way to share their message about safer sex with the UCF campus.

University of North Texas
The UNT FMLA's production of the Vagina Monologues raised over $20,000 this week! The group had two shows and also sold Vday merchandise to raise the money. They will be donating the money to four different organizations: The Polaris Project, a multicultural grassroots non-profit agency combating sex trafficking and modern-day slavery, RAWA, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, Dallas Parkland Rape Crisis and Sexual Abuse Center, and 10% of the money raised will go towards this year's V-Day spotlight campaign, "Women of Iraq, Under Siege."

Swarthmore College (PA)
This week the FMLA at Swarthmore hosted a very successful valentine/letter writing campaign called "Love in a Time of Politics," which they advertised as an event where people could send a card to that Special Someone as well as write a political letter to that Special Senator. They had fact sheets dealing with a number of pertinent issues on hand so that people felt comfortable writing their own informed letters, and they also had some form letters that people could simply read and sign. They were very encouraged by the turnout at the event and the response that they received.

Hobart and William Smith Colleges (Geneva, NY)
The Women's Collective, a new affiliate group in the FMF Campus Program, sold out two shows of Eve Ensler's Vagina Monologues last weekend and raised over $1000 by selling tickets, t-shirts, and vagina chocolates. The group donated 90% of the money to the local Finger Lakes Family Counseling Center which collects cell phones for at-risk women, organizes clothing drives, and addresses domestic violence in the community. The Center serves not just Geneva, but the surrounding region which is one of the most poverty-stricken in New York state. The remaining 10% of the funds raised went to this year's V-Day spotlight campaign, "Women of Iraq, Under Siege".

New FMLAs!
We would like to welcome the Texas State University (San Marcos, TX) FMLA, as well as the Women's Collective, a new affiliate group at Hobart and William Smith Colleges (Geneva, NY) to the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance community!

Harvard President Finally Releases Transcript of Controversial Speech
February 18, 2005--Following pressure by women's groups and Harvard faculty members, Harvard President Lawrence Summers finally released the transcript of the speech he gave at an academic conference last month during which he suggested the possibility that women have less innate ability to perform in science and mathematics than men. "I'm glad his words are finally out there," Shirley Malcom, director of education for the American Association for the Advancement of Science told the New York Times. "So many of us have been accused of implying that [Summers] said things he did not, and now people can judge for themselves." However, the Feminist Majority Foundation has heard that some women professors in attendance for Summers' remarks are questioning whether the text of his speech has been modified because of the backlash it has caused. More

South Dakota Considers Several Anti-Choice Bills
February 16, 2005--South Dakota's Republican-dominated House of Representatives passed a bill on Tuesday that would outlaw abortion in the state if a woman's right to choose was no longer protected by the federal government. The bill, known as a "trigger statute" and sponsored by state Representative Joel Dykstra (R), would not offer exceptions for rape or incest or for the health of the woman, but only for the life of the woman, the Associated Press reports. The bill would make performing an abortion a felony, punishable by up to two years in prison. More

Gloria Steinem Receives Award in Missouri
February 15, 2005--Activist and writer Gloria Steinem was honored on Thursday by the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Awarding Steinem the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism, Dean Mills called her a "personal hero and truly a giant of America," reports the Columbia Missourian. More

Congresswoman Maloney Prevented from Testifying on EC for Rape Survivors
February 14, 2005--Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) was prevented from testifying on Thursday about the need to include information on emergency contraception in the Department of Justice's (DOJ) guidelines for the treatment of sexual assault victims before an advisory committee working to strengthen the federal Violence Against Women Act. Rep. Maloney was told that if she did not leave, security would escort her out, according to her office. A spokesman for DOJ told Newsday that Maloney was asked to leave because she had not registered to speak in time. "Today's unfortunate incident raises questions about the basic willingness of the Justice Department to hear public comment on its decisions regarding women's health," Maloney said in a statement released by her office on Thursday. More

More Feminist News

Polish Parliament Drops Vote to Liberalize Abortion
February 17, 2005--Poland's Parliament voted 199 to 183 to drop a measure that would have liberalized the severely restrictive abortion laws in a country that currently has a very powerful Catholic hierarchy. According to Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, the measure would legalized abortions up to 12 weeks gestation and called for sex education to be taught as a separate subject in junior high schools. More

At Least 40 Women Killed When Mosque in Iran Catches Fire
February 16, 2005--At a mosque in Iran on Feb. 15th, at least 59 people were killed and over 250 injured after a female worshipper's veil was set on fire by a kerosene heater. Forty of the people killed were women. Women were separated from the men on the second floor, which is a common practice in the country, causing them to have to run down a narrow set of stairs, resulting in the trampling of many women, reports the Associated Press. More

More Global Feminist News

Global Conference
The Feminist Majority Foundation's National Collegiate Global Women's and Human Rights Conference will be held on April 9, 10, & 11, 2005!

The goal of this conference is to educate and mobilize young people on a range of foreign policy issues and create a supportive network for progressive US foreign policy.

Join members of Congress and leaders from human rights, peace, environmental, anti-sweatshop, and women's groups on Saturday, April 9th and Sunday, April 10th from 9am-6pm for workshops including:

• "Who Dies to Make Your Shirt?": Globalization and its impact on labor, women's rights, child labor, the environment, and human rights.
• "We Talk the Talk, but We Don't Walk the Walk": The US failure to ratify international humanitarian and environmental treaties.
• "Trading Lives": The passage of international trade agreements and their impact on human rights, women's rights, wages, and the environment.
• "Where Are Our Dollars Going?": The federal budget and its funding of foreign aid, military, and family planning.

On the last day of the conference, Monday April, 11th from 9am-12pm, join us for a Congressional Visit Day. This will be a time for attendees to visit Capitol Hill and the offices of members of Congress.

What are you waiting for? Register Today!

Also, spread the word about the conference, with our NEW flyer! Fill in the blank with your own campus contact info. and organize a delegation from your campus.

International Women of Color Day-March 1st
Take Action
Work to build solidarity in the movement by:

• Working in coalition with multicultural student organizations on campus including women of color groups.
• Focusing on the intersections of gender, race, ability, age, sexual orientation and class; and how they affect all people. Remember that we can always learn from each other.
• Conducting a 'Faces of Feminism' Campaign--Highlight the diversity within feminism by creating a collage or other visual representation of feminist figures in all areas of society.
• Educating your campus about intersecting issues of reproductive justice with 'Did you know?' fliers and posters

Condom Week of Action

• Make sure you are informed about condoms and reproductive health by reading FMF's new brochures: Everything You Need to Know About Condoms and Emergency Contraception.
• Print the brochures out and spread them around your campus.
• Send an ecard to your friends reminding them to know the facts and use protection!

New ePSA from Advocates for Youth
Advocates for Youth has announced the launching of their Emergency Contraception ePSA (electronic public service announcement) called Emergency Contraception: A Puppet Parable of Politics & Polemics. View it online at http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/ec/

2nd annual Women and Media Conference (WAM!)
The Center for New Words, in collaboration with the MIT Program in Women's Studies, in sponsoring its second annual Women and Media Conference (WAM!).

The conference will be held March 18-20 at the Stata Center at MIT in Cambridge, MA. There will be breakout and networking sessions, as well as outreach tables, vendors' tables, and book signings throughout the weekend.

Keynote speakers include Medea Benjamin, the co-founder of Code Pink and Founding Director of Global Exchange; Maria Hinojosa, an author and journalist with CNN and NPR; Jill Nelson, a commentator, author, and journalist with niaonline.com and USA Today; and Daisy Hernandez, an author and journalist with ColorLines, Ms. Magazine, and The New York Times.

Registration fees vary depending on date of registration and status, but scholarships and work-study are available. Contact Andi Sutton at asutton@centerfornewwords.org or (617) 876-5310 for more information. Register by February 28 to recieve the best rates. To learn more about the conference, visit www.centerfornewwords.org.

Find a feminist internship or post-graduate job!

Job Search Tips:

• Once you get an interview with your organization of choice, practice answering common interview questions, and be prepared to talk about concrete skills you have and how they relate to the position you are applying for.

Each issue will have new tips to help you succeed in finding a feminist internship or job. Have a great tip for this section? Submit it to campusteam@feminist.org!