 |
 |
|
Organization; Women
in Construction; The
Life House; Safe Ha-
ven; The Domestic
Abuse Intervention
Project; Praxis Inter-
national; the YWCA;
Planned Parenthood;
Adeline’s. Many of
these organizations as well
as the WS department are
celebrating our 25th anni-
versary about which you are
sure to learn more in the
next newsletter.
Last but certainly not
least, we want to recognize
our graduating students and
wish them all the best. You
are fabulous! Do please
keep in touch.
In sisterhood,
Tineke
T
his is my last letter
to you signed as
Department Head. It’s
my honor to pass on the
so-called chair to Njoki
Kamau, Associate Pro-
fessor of Women’s
Studies.
You have heard me say
it often, but I will say it
again: there would be no
Department of Women’s
Studies at UMD if it were-
n’t for its deep roots in the
feminist communities on
the UMD campus and in
Duluth that keep us alive
and vibrant. They are the
women who do the work in
the trenches. They are the
ones who teach our interns,
inspire us, keep us informed
about the everyday strug-
gles women face--we know
it isn’t getting easier-- they
are the ones who keep us
accountable.
At UMD my heartfelt
thanks go to: our students,
who do us proud; Geraldine
Hughes and Anna Hoffman
in the WS Office (we would
not be nor go anywhere
without you), my terrific
colleagues on the faculty:
Beth Bartlett, Njoki Kamau,
Susana Pelayo Woodward,
Joan Varney and Cindy
Christian; Susana Pelayo
Woodward, Chris
Simonson, Katy Brandes,
Sarah Fries, Annie Ragsdale
of the Women’s
Resource and Action
Center for amazing
programming; Gesa
Zinn and the
Women’s Studies
Advisory Board;
Angie Nichols and
GLBT services; the
UMD Commission on
Women; KUMD’s 103.3
FM for the women’s music
program. In Duluth thank
you: Tina Welsh, founder
and Director of the
Women’s Health Center
and the Building for
Women, and who was our
never-to-forget keynote
speaker for Women’s His-
tory Month on the topic of
our vanishing reproductive
rights; Beth Olson and Can-
dace Harshner at the Pro-
gram for Aid to Victims of
Sexual Assault and organiz-
ers of the powerful Take
Back the Night March; the
Northland Country
Women’s Coffee House;
Aurora. A Northland Les-
bian Center; Women’s
Community Development
FROM THE DEPARTMENT HEAD
UMD DEPARTMENT
OF
WOMEN
’S
STUDIES
MAY 2006
VOLUME 19, ISSUE 3
NORTH
SHORE
VISIONS
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Common ground
2
Slamming poetry
3
2006 graduates
4&6
Olympic gold
5
Library news
5
Madre project
5
congratulations
6
Slimming and
whitening
7
University for
Peace
8
WS students with Tina
Tineke, Tina and Beth
hospitable woman who has lived
in that house for 29 years. This
was definitely the hardest and
some of the most rewarding
work I have ever done. Due to
black mold and other carcino-
gens from the flood water, not
only all the furniture and pos-
sessions had to be thrown away,
but the walls, ceilings and floors
had to be removed as well.
Towards the end of the week, I
worked on another house, and I
participated in civil disobedi-
ence with 200 volunteers when
we began to gut a public school
in the lower 9th ward. How-
ever, the police did not end up
arresting anyone and instead let
us go about our business trying
to clean out the severely dam-
aged MLK elementary school. I
also attended an
Undoing Racism
workshop put
on by The Peo-
ple’s Institute, a
press conference
concerning the
closing of St.
Augustine par-
ish, and spent time explor-
ing New Orleans with
many new friends.
I must share with you
what I saw in New Or-
leans, because it was quite
shocking. It has been eight
months since the hurricane
hit, but it seems that hardly
any reconstruction has taken
place. However, it is widely
known that more rebuilding
has taken place in the more
affluent white neighborhoods,
while the hardest hit areas—
which were predominantly
poor African-Americans—
have hardly been touched
since Katrina. Despite the
fact that New Orleans has a
history of racism, I was
shocked by the apparently
blatant discrimination by the
government in the relief ef-
forts, and I feel that all of
America needs to know what
is happening.
I am not an expert and I do
not have a solution to these
problems, but I want to make
you aware of what is going on
in Louisiana. Please stay
aware of what is happening in
this region and help if you
can. There are many organi-
zations participating in the
relief effort and there has
been recent legislation in our
federal government concern-
ing funds going to Gulf
O
n March 10, I took the
Greyhound bus to New
Orleans to work with an
amazing organization called
Common Ground Collective.
Common Ground was
formed in the wake of Hurri-
cane Katrina to provide im-
mediate aid and long-term
support to residents in re-
building their communities in
just and sustainable ways. It
is a grassroots, all-volunteer
organization which has helped
over 60,000 residents in New
Orleans and the surrounding
Gulf region. The collective
includes a free health clinic,
women’s center, technology
center, childcare facility, bio-
remediation gardens, volun-
teer lawyers and volunteer
laborers.
I worked with Common
Ground for five days in mid-
March. I was given a place to
sleep in a former Catholic
School, St. Mary’s, where
residents had sought refuge
during the hurricanes, and I
was fed three delicious,
mostly vegan meals each day
in exchange for any service I
could offer. The week I
worked with Common
Ground, there were about
700 people working with
them—about 500 of whom
were staying at St. Mary’s. It
was quite the experience of
communal living.
After an orientation session,
I was put into a work team
with whom I later worked
with gutting houses. We
completed a small house be-
longing to a high school
teacher named Miss Pat. She
is an incredibly gracious and
PAGE 2
VOLUME 19, ISSUE 3
COMMON GROUND
BY
KATY BRANDES, WS MAJOR
Debris collected
Homeowner, Miss Pat with Abena and
Norris, student volunteers from George
Washington University
Region.
Please visit Common
Ground’s website at
org. If you would like an
invitation to my online
photo album, please email
me and I would be happy to
share it with you.
My favorite thing about
Common Ground Relief is
their motto: Solidarity not
Charity. When residents
thanked me for coming all
the way to Louisiana I told
them that I was supposed to
be there and more Ameri-
cans should be because we
should all be in this together.
I may not know all the facts
on what has happened and
what is currently happening
in the relief efforts on the
Gulf coast, but I do know
that was I saw in New Or-
leans is not acceptable, and it
is the responsibility of all
Americans to do what they
can to help.
In Solidarity,
Katy Rose Brandes
katybrandes@hotmail.com
Katy in safety gear
I
n February, 2006
Bushra Rehman,
New York, Pakistani,
performance poet and
writer, came to UMD
as an artist-in-residence.
Bushra is the co-editor
of Colonize This! Young
Women of Color on
Today's Feminism. In
her writing, she tells
stories of her immigrant
upbringing in Queens,
the aunties, bodegas, stray
dogs, street life, and chil-
dren, with both humor and
sincerity. These events
were made possible by a
UMD Chancellor’s Diver-
sity Grant.
At UMD, Bushra gave a
solo performance, she
taught poetry and perform-
ance workshops, and she
spoke in several classes. In
each setting, Bushra
brought warmth and a
lively spirit. For example,
Bushra spoke at Njoki Ka-
mau’s “Women, Race, and
Class” evening session. At
the end of the period, one
of the students rigged
Bushra’s laptop to the
classroom speakers and the
whole class learned how to
dance Pakistani dances set
to Bollywood music. The
week culminated in a po-
etry slam at the Duluth
restaurant Pizza Luce.
Over 100 people came to
see the poetry slam and 20
students performed, most
of them from the women’s
studies program. Poetry
slams are “edgy” poetry
performance events where
the audience judges rounds
of poetry until a winner is
declared. Whew! It was a
whirlwind week. Here’s
what some of the faculty
had to say about the experi-
ence.
“Bushra was amazing in so
many ways, and inspiring
to all. Our students are still
raving about her, their new
friend. My favorite Bushra
event was the poetry slam
at Pizza Luce. I could not
have fathomed that the
place would be absolutely
packed, by young people
who had come out to share
their poetry or just listen.
Poetry! That was awe-
some. Of course, the
Women’s Studies Depart-
ment takes pride in the fact
that the winner was Molly
Duepner, a WS major,
whose poems left the audi-
ence spellbound. Bushra
also succeeded in bringing
to the stage poets Cheryl
Reitan and Angie Nichols,
both of whom revealed
tremendous personal cour-
age through their respec-
tive poems?” Tineke Rit-
meester
“Bushra's presentation was
refreshing. It was a chance
to experiment with dra-
matic verbal expression
and to connect with others
(students, staff and faculty)
across campus in a personal
way?” Lynn Bye
“Bushra was delightful.
She brought wonderful
energy to this campus, and
to my classroom. The Intro
to Women's Studies stu-
dents were so excited that
she was visiting our class
because we've been reading
Colonize This! She led them
in a poetry writing exercise
to elicit their responses to
images of women in the
media. Their poems were
wonderfully creative, hu-
morous, serious, and pro-
found. Some of the stu-
dents later read their po-
ems at the poetry slam. I
loved working with Bushra
in the workshop on incor-
porating poetry into the
classroom, and was imme-
diately inspired to go try it.
I did this in Ecofeminism
and was impressed with the
way my students were will-
ing and eager to use poetry
to access and express their
feelings about the topic of
the day -- Hurricane
Katrina. I learned so much
from Bushra, but mostly
she touched my heart and
delighted my soul with her
spirit?” Beth Bartlett
Women’s Studies and Slamming Poetry by Cheryl Reitan, WSAB member
PAGE 3
NORTH SHORE VISIONS
Bushra Rehman
(No Photo)
Katie Rasset: I will be leaving
Duluth to go student teach in
St. Paul next fall, finishing up
my degree in Secondary Edu-
cation- Social Studies with a
concentration in Psychology.
After that I plan on heading out
of the state to get a teaching
job, I am focusing my search
on going to Alaska. Through-
out all of my classes and pro-
fessors, Women’s Studies has
allowed me to feel as an indi-
vidual where my opinion is
beloved. Differing perspectives
and life lessons learned
through those who were pre-
sented before me in these
courses by some astonishing
women are things that I will be
taking into my own classroom.
Susan Meyers: The Women's
Studies program has been an
amazing journey full of transi-
tion and growth for me. I hon-
estly didn't have a clue what
'Women's Studies' involved; I
only knew that this was where
I was supposed to be. I began
the WS program at a point in
my life that was full of new
opportunities, fear, explora-
tion and self-discovery. I had
already completed my BFA in
Graphic Design in spring
2003, so this is my second
Bachelor’s. Art has always
been a big part of who I am
and Art has always held the
ability to empower me, and I
felt the need to share that feel-
ing of empowerment and con-
fidence with other women,
and being led in this direction,
into the Women's Studies
program seemed to be a per-
fect fit. The WS classes have
taught me about more than
the various "feminist theo-
ries," which were amazing to
learn, even though I may not
have them all memorized, the
core concepts will be with me
forever. I have learned how to
be more honest with myself
and with others, to be genuine
and authentic, to look at all
issues from different perspec-
tives and so much more. Eve-
ryone I have met in the WS
program has helped me under-
stand that there is much work
to be done for women, chil-
dren and men, women of
color, and various classes in
this world. They have helped
me realize my role, my contri-
bution, no matter how large
or small, and that I can make a
difference. I realize my work
is valuable. The WS depart-
ment and peers have shown
me how women's issues are
important not only to me, but
to everyone I know, especially
my daughter, my son and my
precious three year old niece.
I have met and worked with
such wonderful, warm,
strong, active and intelligent
women as peers and instruc-
tors. We, as women, have so
much to give and share with
each other and the world.
I am now able to see my fu-
ture clearer, freer and in a role
of empowering others, as well
learning more about myself
and the world each and every
day. I have started an 'Art En-
richment' program at a local
battered women's shelter that I
plan on continuing and support
it in its continued growth. I
hope to become more active in
other causes related to women,
the earth, art and spirit.
Many thanks to everyone here
at the UMD WS Department. I
feel this experience has made a
powerful impression on my life
in a very beautiful way. I am a
changed woman.
Sarah Fries: Women’s Stud-
ies has honestly changed my
life. While I don’t have a solid
plan after graduation, I can
definitely attest to the numer-
ous ways this field of study has
impacted my academic and
personal life, as well as helped
to direct my career goals. This
can be attributed not only to
the course matter, but more
importantly, to the staff and
Continued on Page 6
2006 GRADUATES
“EVERYONE I HAVE
MET IN THE
WS
PROGRAM HAS
HELPED ME
UNDERSTAND
THAT THERE IS
MUCH WORK TO
BE DONE FOR
WOMEN
, CHILDREN
AND MEN
, WOMEN
OF COLOR
, AND
VARIOUS CLASSES
IN THIS WORLD
.”
SUSAN MEYERS
PAGE 4
NORTH SHORE VISIONS
C
ongratulations
to Women's
Studies alumna Caro-
line Ouelette (2005)
for achieving, for a
second time, her
dream of winning an
Olympic gold medal in
women's ice hockey.
Caroline was part of the
winning Canadian women's
hockey team, scoring a hat
trick in the first few min-
utes of their first game, and
finishing out the last game
with the goal that put the
Canadians safely in the lead
over second-place Sweden.
Caroline, who played for
and was the captain of the
UMD women's ice hockey
team, has dreamed of and
worked for this Olympic
achievement all of her life.
But she said that it was not
the medal or even the last
game that she will remem-
ber, but rather the journey.
The friendships and the
solidarity, the struggles and
the joys she and her team-
mates shared, are the high-
lights for her.
Caroline plans to continue
to train for the 2010
Olympics in Vancouver,
Canada, and hopes to coach
women's hockey in the fu-
ture.
world by developing partner-
ships with community-based
women’s groups. We col-
lected household hygiene
items and medical supplies,
little things such as tooth-
paste, soap and aspirin, which
we take for granted everyday,
but not for women and chil-
dren and families in war
stricken countries, who have
lost everything. We were able
to get the word out by flyers,
word of mouth, email and
tabling in front of the book-
B
ecause of the class,
Women, Peace and War,
Amanda DeVoogdt, Nancy
Carriveau, Erika Kern, and
myself were able to join with
MADRE and create a lasting
class project; a class project
that not only educated the
class, but the students, the
community, and helped
women and their families
abroad. MADRE is an inter-
national organization which
promotes social justice and
development around the
store. For our project, we col-
lected many bags full of items.
The outpouring of help was
tremendous and the response
by the students and faculty
was astonishing. The shipment
will be on its way to MADRE
headquarters in New York to
be distributed as needed to
Latin American and African
countries. Thank you to Beth
Bartlett for creating the class
and to all who donated for
your support. We couldn’t
have done it without you!
Women’s Studies Alumna Wins Olympic Gold! By Beth Bartlett, WS Department
Women, Peace and War: MADRE Project by Kristin Thompson, WS Major
LIBRARY NEWS BY JODI ©ARLSON, WOMEN’S STUDIES LIBRARIAN
askus/index.htm.
To chat with a librarian just
add the UMD Library to your
buddy/contact list.
Network Buddy Name
AOL umdlibaskus
YAHOO umdlibaskus
MESSENGER
umdlibaskus@hotmail.com
ICQ 277562210
GoogleTalk
umdlibaskus@gmail.com
The UMD Library has IM
Chat and Chat/Co-Browse
services available for online
assistance to UMD students,
faculty and staff. Chat/Co-
Browse is available Monday
through Friday from 1 to 4
pm and IM Chat is available
when the Reference Desk is
open. Users seeking help at
other times may use the e-
mail form on the “Ask Us!”
page. To find out more check
out--http://
PAGE 5
NORTH SHORE VISIONS
Caroline Ouelette
the students I have had the
pleasure of interacting with
over the last couple of years.
They have inspired me and
encouraged me to take what I
have learned in the classroom
and apply it to my daily life,
something that I feel makes
Women’s Studies a unique
department. I cannot imagine
what my life would be like
without the amazing experi-
ences I have had while being a
part of the Women’s Studies
program and I am eternally
grateful for the impression
everyone has left on me.
Thank you!
Sara Scalise: As of May 13,
2006, I will be a graduate of
the University of Minnesota
Duluth majoring in Cri-
monology with a double mi-
nor in Women’s Studies and
Sociology. I am currently
employed at Bethel Work
Release Center as the infor-
mation specialist and have
committed to continuing my
employment until February of
next year. Sometime shortly
after that I plan to move back
down to the cities and search
for a new job. I would really
like to apply to law school at
William Mitchell, the U of M
or St. Thomas. I hope to be-
come a criminal prosecuting
lawyer with hopes of someday
becoming a judge. I think that
getting involved in the
Women’s Studies program at
UMD has really opened my
eyes to things that I would
like to accomplish. I really
feel that getting involved in
law, and maybe someday be-
coming a judge with a
Women’s Studies passion and
background could really influ-
ence me in trying my hardest
to make some changes in our
legal system.
Katie Witzig: As I look back
on the years I’ve spent here at
UMD, I feel as though I have
made the most of my college
education by double majoring
in Women Studies and Studio
Art. Both have enriched my
life more than words could
ever express. I discover daily
the interconnectedness of my
majors and the impact my
Women Studies courses have
had on my life and my art. I
plan on taking a year or two
off to decompress before I go
on to grad school. I will miss
the professors who so will-
ingly shared their wisdom,
compassion, and enthusiasm
with their students as well as
my classmates who continu-
ally brought a multitude of
perspectives to every women
studies course.
Terri Fitzgibbons: As a
women’s studies minor, not
only have I developed a
greater understanding of how
to see the world through a
feminist lens, I have also had
the opportunity to meet
some wonderful students and
professors at the University of
Minnesota Duluth. I would
like to thank my professors,
Beth Bartlett, Susana Pelayo-
Woodward, and Tineke Rit-
meester, for sharing their
passion and knowledge. As
for the future, I am currently
working as an administrative
assistant for the Duluth
Police Department and
hope to volunteer at
PAVSA. The knowledge I
have gained from the
Women’s Studies Depart-
ment at UMD will certainly
stay with me throughout
my lifetime.
Not featured in the gradu-
ate listing is Kristin Zilkoski.
Congratulations to all of you
and good luck on your en-
deavors!
2006 GRADUATES CONTINUED, AND CONGRATULATIONS …
PAGE 6
NORTH SHORE VISIONS
Congratulations to Su-
sana Pelayo-Woodward!
Susana was selected for the
UMD Outstanding Academic
Advisor Award this year.
Susana is so dedicated and
gives so much of herself to
her students. We are so
lucky to have you with us.
Pictures from the Grad
Party:
From the left to right: Geraldine,
Susana, Terri, Elisa and Joan.
From the left to right: Katy, Molly and
Njoki
PAGE 7
Road for window shopping
and I got my exercise in for
the day walking through
miles of shopping centers.
While in the shopping cen-
ters, I noticed beauty prod-
ucts to whiten a woman’s
skin. From Clinique to
Clarins, you name the brand,
there is a whitening product
or two available. Not think-
ing anything of it, I kept on
observing.
Outside on the streets and in
the newspapers, there were
advertisements for slimming
packages for the
“overweight.” The main fea-
ture of the ads were women
carrying a young child or
baby as the before shot, and
the same women sans baby in
a slinky outfit looking all
trim and slim. I never did
take a magnifying glass to
those ads to see if the women
are one and the same!
So then I thought well
you’re in Singapore, the
women here pride themselves
in dressing well and looking
great all the time, and it
might be different in Malay-
sia. Well it wasn’t any differ-
ent! I asked my best friends,
VOLUME 19, ISSUE 3
After almost a three year
“absence” from my home-
town, Kuala Lumpur, Malay-
sia, I decided enough was
enough and that I needed to
get home to see my parents,
friends and relatives. Book-
ing the flight was not a prob-
lem, but my timing was
rather bad for my department.
The plan worked out that I’d
be gone right in the middle of
Women’s History Month, one
of our busiest times of the
year.
I arrived in Singapore
March 9th in the wee hours
of the morning, to be greeted
by my darling mother, and
cousin Jeremy. We spent the
night in my uncle’s home.
Later that morning, Mom,
cousin Adrienna and I took a
ride to the Singapore Botani-
cal Gardens. Our mission
was to find my aunt Angie a
copy of the orchid booklet the
Botanical Gardens’ publishes.
I told Adrienna that it is
probably some little leaflet or
pamphlet style publication as
a joke when she mentioned
the price (Singapore Dollar
$7.80). Funny, it was a pam-
phlet! After that, we went to
Singapore’s famous Orchard
Faridah and Josephine why
there are so many slimming
“spas” and Faridah’s answer,
“It’s a huge money maker.” If I
have learned anything working
in this department, it’s not to
take such a statement lightly
because it’s abusive to put your
body through the process of
losing weight in a short time.
And why does a woman need to
have fairer skin, an outsider
might ask.
Growing up in Southeast Asia,
girls were always protected
from the sun because if your
daughter has dark or darkened
skin, she has less of a chance of
marrying well. Whatever that
means! My mother allowed my
sister and me to tan on the
beach as children (with sun-
block on) and she was often
chastised for allowing us to tan.
If a woman is unmarried in my
homeland, it would be said that
she is too dark therefore, no
man wants her as she’s not
beautiful enough.
When I kept receiving
“compliments” on the fairness
of my skin, it brought back
some of the memories of being
able to play on the beach in-
stead of sitting under the trees
away from the sun. Do these
SLIMMING
AND
WHITENING
CREAM
BY
GERALDINE HUGHES, WS DEPT. STAFF
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING UMD’S DEPARTMENT OF WOMEN’S STUDIES
I/We would like to make a gift to Women’s Studies: $__________
Gifts to UMD/Women’s Studies are tax
Name: ______________________________________________________
deductible.
Address: ____________________________________________________
City, State, Zip: _______________________________________________
Mail pledge form to:
Phone:_________________ E-mail: ______________________________
UMD Department of Women’s Studies
Graduation year if alumna/alumnus: ______________
1201 Ordean Court
__ My/our employer will match this gift. Enclosed is the company’s matching gift form. 475 Humanities
Payment Options: __ Check enclosed (Payable to UMD)
Duluth MN 55812
Credit Card: __ Visa __ American Express __ MasterCard __ Discover Card
Account # _________________________ Exp. Date: ____________
Name of Card: ___________________________________________
Signature: _______________________________________________
Editors: Tineke Rit-
meester and Geraldine
Hughes
Contact Informa-
tion:
Dept. of Women’s
Studies
1201 Ordean Court
475 H
Duluth MN 55812
Tel: 218-726-7953
Fax: 218-726-7651
Office hours: 7:45 a.m.
to 3:45 p.m. Mon-
Thurs.
women want to end up like Mi-
chael Jackson?
To be continued in next news-
letter.
Nonprofit Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit No. 705
Duluth, Minnesota
University of Minnesota Duluth
475 Humanities
1201 Ordean Court
Duluth MN 55812
Phone: 218-726-7953/6224
Fax: 218-726-7651
Email: ws@d.umn.edu
Website: www.d.umn.edu/ws
UMD DEPARTMENT OF
WOMEN
’S STUDIES
ployee through many organiza-
tions. Due to this astonishing
community and my experiences
within it, I have recently been
awarded a full scholarship to at-
tend the United Nations mandated
University for Peace in San Jose,
Costa Rica. I plan to move to
Costa Rica in August 2006 where
I will be working towards a mas-
ter’s in Gender and Peace Build-
ing. This is a one-year program
that offers a thoroughly global
education about peace and human
rights issues. Upon completion of
the program, I hope to work for
an international women’s human
rights organization. I would just
like to express a sincere thank you
to the WS department for prepar-
ing me for such an endeavor and
especially for inspiring young
women everyday to create
change.
I
have always known that Du-
luth has some of the most
amazing women. Ironically,
many of them can be found in or
are products of the Women’s
Studies Department at UMD. I
credit much of who I am as well
as my achievements to those
women. As a 2004 UMD gradu-
ate, I value my WS minor as the
foundation of my entire under-
graduate education. My experi-
ences academically inspired me
to become a feminist activist in
the Duluth community as a vol-
unteer, organizer, and an em-
Bon Voyage—Off to UNIVERSITY for peace, COSTA RICA by Annie Kiel, WS alumna
THE UNIVERSITY
OF
MINNESOTA IS
AN
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EDUCATOR
AND EMPLOYER
.
*Mark Your Calendar!!!
Women’s Studies Department’s
25th Anniversary Celebrations
Homecoming Weekend
Oct. 6-7, 2006
LOOK for details in the next
issue of North Shore Visions.
** Submission deadline:
Aug. 22, 2006
Return Service Request
 |