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Past Programming
THE
VAGINA
MONOLOGUES
DIRECTED BY KIMBERLY ARNOLD
FEBRUARY
11, 12, 13, 2005 at 7:30 PM
NEW YORK ROOM, COOPER HALL
$10 GENERAL, $7 STUDENTS
INTERMISSION RECEPTION WITH EACH PERFORMANCE
TICKETS
AVAILABLE AT THE WOMEN'S CENTER
CALL 395-5584 FOR MORE INFORMATION
PROCEEDS BENEFIT THE SUNY BROCKPORT WOMEN'S CENTER AND THE AFGHAN WOMEN'S FUND
"Spellbinding,
funny, and almost unberably moving...
it is both a work of art and an incisive piece of cultural history, a
poem and a polemic, a performance and a balm and a benediction."
V-Day is a Global movement to stop violence against women and girls. see www.vday.org.
AND THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN (NOW)
STOP COMPLAINING
AND
DO SOMETHING:
GET INVOLVED
SPONSORED BY THE WOMEN'S CENTER
FREE
CONFERENCE
To be held at
SUNY College at Brockport
Saturday
November 13, 2004
12:30 - 4:30 p.m.
New York Room
Cooper Hall
350 New Campus Drive
Brockport, NY
585-395-5584
Register at:
http://www.brockport.edu/womensctr/register.php
STOP COMPLAINING AND DO
SOMETHING: GET INVOLVED
Workshop Descriptions:
-
Bystander Education, presented by Jeff O'Brien, Director of the Mentors in Violence Prevention Program at Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sports in Society. Come and find out how to respond when people around you are being racist, sexist, homophobic, harassing or bullying others.
-
Contraception and You, presented by Cheryl Sitchenk, Nurse Practitioner and Rebecca Timerson, Graduate Assistant, Student Health Services, SUNY Brockport. It's a pill. It's a patch. It's the latest in birth control options for women. Come join our interactive session to learn what you need to know about contraception to make informed choices that are consistent with your personal values.
-
Leadership Roles, presented by Jenny Lloyd, Assistant Professor, History Department, previously served as the Director of the Women's Study Program and President of the Faculty Senate, SUNY Brockport. What makes a good leader? How can you become one? Join us and find out.
-
Sexual Harassment, presented by Adrienne Collier, Affirmative Action Officer, SUNY Brockport. You may be surprised to find what constitutes sexual harassment as defined by legislation. Join us and find out what it is and how to deal with it.
-
Sweatshops and the Global Economy, presented by Linda Donahue, Cornell University. You will be shocked to find out how the clothing and other consumer goods you take for granted are actually produced. Join us and heighten your consciousness.
-
What Do Transfer/Adult Students Need and How Can They Get It? Presented by Barbara S. Mitrano, of the TRIO Students Support Services Program, and an adjunct in the Women's Studies Program, SUNY Brockport. A panel of students will discuss the needs particular to transfer and adult students and what they can do to get those needs met.
-
Why Does Politics Matter To You? Presented by Colleen Donaldson, Grants Development Director and an adjunct in the Women's Studies Program; Maria Scipioine, Coordinator of the Women's Center and an adjunct in the Theater Department, SUNY Brockport. Financial aid, reproductive health, voting, military, service, education - politics impact every area of our lives. What can you do?
PLANNING COMMITTEE
Marcia Betlem - Residential Life
Colleen Donaldson - Grants Development
Courtney O'Connor - Residential Life
Kathy Hunter - Women's Studies
Barbara Kasper - Social Work
Jenny Lloyd - History
Barbara Mitrano - Women's Studies/SSSP
Maria Scipione - Women's Center
For more information call (585) 395-5584
Register online at: http://www.brockport.edu/womensctr/register.php
RAISING AWARENESS TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Michael Kaufman - Wednesday,
October 15
4 pm reception in McFarlane, 5 pm small
group presentation:
The Biggest Sexual Organ in the World and the Three Secrets of a Great
Relationship.
Relationships are
hurt by bad communication, by needs that don't get appropriately expressed,
by misunderstanding, by fear, and by one partner trying to control the
will of the other. Although this informative talk deals with some very
serious issues, it's fun and very positive. It gets to the heart and soul
(and, yes, other things) of how to build relationships that will make
you feel good. Focusing on building trust and good communications, it's
a real crowd pleaser.
9 pm in the Ballroom, Seymour
Union
Men and Women: Working Together to End Violence
Against Women
Kaufman will talk about
efforts around the world to challenge the many forms of violence against
women, from date rape to violence against women in the home. Michael analyzes
the root causes of this violence and charts an optimistic pathway form
women and men to work together to end the violence. This talk or workshop
addresses miscommunication, confusion, fear, and anger. It looks at the
importance of men listening to women's message, but also understanding
how men pay a price for their traditional roles. We discover how both
women and men will benefit from change and how we can work together as
allies for change.
For more information www.MichaelKaufman.com
Kaufman is sponsored by
Women's Center, Women Studies Organization, BSG, Campus Life, Resident
Life, and the Better Campus Community.
Michael Kimmel - Thursday,
October 23
7:30 pm in the Ballroom, Seymour Union
Kimmel is National Spokesperson
for the National Organization for Men Against Sexism (NOMAS), and has
lectured at over 200 colleges and universities, and run workshops for
organizations and public sector organizations on preventing sexual harassment
and implementing gender equity, and for campus groups on date and acquaintance
rape, sexual assault, pornography, and the changing relations between
women and men.
For more information www.MichaelKimmel.com
Kimmel is sponsored by BSG and WSO
WOMEN'S CENTER NEWSLETTER
NOVEMBER, 2003
WOMEN'S CENTER EVENTS
A
Division of Student Affairs
SUNY College at Brockport
585-395-5584
womensctr@brockport.edu
November
| Thursday, Nov 6 | Noon - 1:30, Women's Center Board Meeting B124 Seymour Union |
| 5 p.m., Workshop on Growing Up with Disabilities by Melissa Davies, B124 Seymour Union, co-sponsored with WSO. | |
| Monday, Nov. 10 | 7 p.m., Presentation on Gender Awareness by Eric Wybe, of AIDS Rochester, Seymour Union Ballroom, co-sponsored with WSO. |
| Wednesday, Nov. 12 | 1 p.m., Women's Center Tea Party. Topic: Women in the Space Program, facilitated by Dr. John Daly, History Department |
| Wednesday, Nov. 19 | Noon, Women's Center Tea Party. Topic: Sexual Harassment, facilitated by Adrienne Collier, Affirmative Action Officer, B124 Seymour Union , co-sponsored with WSO. |
December
| Friday, Dec. 5 | Noon - 1:30 p.m., Women's Center Board Meeting, B124 Seymour Union |
April
Tuesday - Thursday, April 6-8 All day and evening programs
Clothesline Project, an installation of T-shirts documenting violence against women. Seymour Union Ballroom.
VIDEO GAMES AND VIOLENCE
Last academic year students affiliated with the Women's Center and the Women's Studies Organization protested the purchase of the video game Grand Theft Auto for use in the Gallery. In November Brockport Student Government and the Women's Center organized a forum to discuss issues arising from the purchase and the protest. The forum included a showing of the video Game Over. After the forum, Dr. Barbara Mitrano sent the following letter to the student newspaper, The Stylus. While the editor did not refuse to print the letter, it was never printed. We think the issues she raises are still worth contemplating and discussing.
Dear Editor,
I have listened and observed with great interest the controversay surrounding the video game, GRAND THEFT AUTO, but it was attending a forum on Wednesday, November 20, 2002 that compelled me to write. While there are a number of issues relevant to the video game, its presence in the Gallery, and the process used to decide to purchase it, I want to focus on what was particularly upsetting during the forum: some students' disregard for the standards of research, for the rules of logic, and even the seeming inability to pick out one of the main ideas in a nearly hour long video, GAME OVER. When I mention students, I am referring to both panelists and commenters.
One of Dr. Melissa Brown's main points was the amount of research that has been done regarding the relationship between watching violent scences and violent behavior. Dr. Brown was very careful about explaining how this research was done and under what circumstances. Her remarks were dismissed by the comment that "All researchers are biased in favor of their hypothesis." A student commenter did note that that remark summarily wiped out years of scientific research and that as a scientist, he was offended.
In the video GAME OVER, one of the points made by all the experts was that video games are different from other forms of visual stimuli because of their commitment to realism and the interactive nature of video games. These games are designed to enable the player to experience what is happening on the screen as realistically as possible, thereby blurring the line between reality and fantasy. The fact that the military and law enforcement officials use this same technique to train recruits to be able to actually shoot people under certain circumstances made no impression on the students I am concerned with. The reality and fantasy could, at times, be blurred was dismissed as "ridiculous."
The most glaring omission during the forum was that no student addressed any of the issues raised by Dr. Merrill Melnick. Dr. Melnick has prepared several significant points about how boys are socialized to become men by means of encouraging them to repress emotions, deny empathy, and view violence as proof of masculinity. All of this was completely ignored, yet it goes to the heart of the issue. Another point made by Dr. Melnick was that "Brockport deserves better" than to be spending time playing games that reward people for violence. One student did remark that he was puzzled as to why we would want to sink to the lowest common denominator.
One of the stuent panelists, Jo Ann Viterna, did try to clarify that the purpose of the forum was not to have the video game removed from the Gallery, but to raise issues about the climate that is created on campus by violent video games and other violent entertainment. To her credit, Ms. Viterna was the only person to mention the Better Community Statement.
The forum left me wondering about some educational issues. Why were the students who spoke unable to evaluate research or understand that, if you have 30 years of research that comes to the same conclusion, it is not speculative, but conclusive? Why were these same students not able to pick out the main idea of the video about the distinction between video games and other violent entertainment? Why would students frame their defense of this video game as a "First Amendment" right when it should be framed in terms of what Brockport should be like as an academic place, a learning community? Why were the student who spoke unwilling to address the issue of the process by which boys become the adult men that they claimed to be? These are issues that students should be able to discuss using the skills they obtained through their education at Brockport. If they don't have these skills, should we give them degrees?
Barbara S. Mitrano, EdD
Adjunct, Women's
Studies
Director, TRIO Student Support Services Program
