2002-2003
The Clothesline Project, Silicon Valley displayed a moving piece on violence against women and girls. First displayed at "Take Back The Night", the Clothesline is a visual testiment to the lives affected by violence. On May 7, 2003 we hosted The Clothesline in the Art Quad, inviting members of the SJSU community to decorate a shirt to honor their personal exeriences, or the experiences of a woman close to them. The shirts are coded according to the age the abuse first began - from infant "onesies" to adult t-shirts. They are also color coded - black for victims (those who have died) and white for survivors. The t-shirts are now a part of The Clothesline's permanent collection.
Statement
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In partnership with the MOSAIC Cross-cultural Center, we celebrated Asian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month by inviting Grace Lin to speak about her experience as a critically-acclaimed multi-cultural children's book author and illustrator. Her books draw from her life as contemporary Chinese-American, a dramatic departure from the usual multi-cultural children's books, which generally focus on ancient cultural myths and legends. Her experiences underscored the need for consumers to make socially conscious decisions when shopping. After the lecture, Grace did a book reading and signing for the children of the A.S. Child Development Center.
To bring attention to the ever-present wage gap between men and women, the WRC and INVST teamed up to have an "Equal Pay Day" Bake Sale. Cookies were priced equally for men and women; however women were in for a shock - their cookies were missing 25%, reflecting the very real difference in men's and women's salaries. The campus community also recieved information from the Coalition for Equal Pay about the wage gap. Finally, students and faculty were asked to pass a quiz on pay inequity (women needed a 75% to pass; men a perfect score). Those who passed became eligible to enter a drawing for 2 tickets to the San Francisco Giants. At the end of the day, students joined the Coalition's protest at the post office.
April is Sexual Violence Awareness Month, and to educate our campus about the nationwide problem of date rape, we held our Second Annual Take Back The Night Event on April 11. The annual protest and rally involved Bernard Mungin, co-chair of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Alliance as well as Angelina Fernandez, President of the Feminst Majority Leadership Alliance and an Intervention/Prevention Specialist with the YWCA Rape Crisis Center. Our keynote speaker was world reknowned cultural critic Riane Eisler, the founder of The Center for Partnership Studies. After a very moving "Survivor Speakout," in which members of the audience were invited to tell their stories of survival, we marched around campus and in to the surrounding neighborhoods. Despite taunting from several fraternity houses, the marchers demanded an end to sexual violence against all people. The event ended with an art activity.
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Continuing our Women's History Month celebrations, we hosted, in partnership with INVST, a That Takes Ovaries! Open Mike on March 19. Hyon Chu Yi acted as emcee as three of the books contributors read their submissions, answered questions and autographed books. After the authors spoke, we opened the floor for other women to tell of any time when they were bold, brazen babes! Women told their personal stories of athletic triumphs, confronting racism, and natural childbirth. The event also raised money for Equality Now!, an international human rights organzation focused on women.
On March 6, the WRC and the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance kicked off Women's History Month with a bang! In one of the largest events in Women's Resource Center History, almost 500 people watched the first ever V-Day College Campaign on our campus. Featuring an all-star cast of SJSU students and staff, the audience was moved to tears by both the dramatic and comedic looks at life with a vagina. The event raised more than $3000 to benefit the Women's Resource Center, the YWCA Rape Crisis Center, and the Support Network for Battered Women.
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To celebrate Love Your Body Day 2002, the WRC and students from WOMS 10 and 20 teamed up to challenge SJSU to love themselves! For the entire week of October 14, the students educated the campus on various issues of body image issues, including the effects of the media, eating disorders, and sexuality. Some of the events included video screenings, a table in the Art Quad with posters and pamphlets on body image, and a petition which was sent to various magazines and advertisers challenging them to stop using "twisted beauty standards." The event was covered by Update News, the campus broadcast journalism program.