19 Sep BB Response: Latinas in Education

Tuesday's brown bag focused on the experience of Latinas in higher education, featuring a panel of three students from LASO: Gabriella Cortes '13, Rose Quispe '13, and Charity Whyte '16.  They discussed what it's like to be a first-generation college student, the stigma against higher education for Latina women and the cultural pressure to start a family instead, and the Dream Act.  The brown bag also began with a video from a speech before the DNC given by a student who is here illegally dealing with her persuit of an education.  It got me thinking about how the internal cultural pressure to go straight into the workforce or the home compounds with the place allotted Latina/os in the American economy, where these are the positions they are expected to obtain, and not higher education or its associated jobs.  The American image of Latina/os seems to be exclusively presentations as "the help" or in hard labour, and the assumption that they are always already illegally here.  There is no real cultural presentation of well-educated Latin American people, especially Latinas, and this can make it difficult for Latina women to break into academia as respected students and teachers.  And if such a person is here illegally, it is assumed they have no right to pursue an education here.  I can only imagine the toll this adversity takes on one's focus and participation in an educational context.  I wonder however if this experience of incredibility as an educated subject is unique to Latina/os, though I recognize that the specific circumstances creating this stigma are unique.  Nevertheless, I'm sure that other people of colour and similarly assumed classes have a shared experience of obstacles to feeling respected in education.

Xavia Publius

Lunch with Teresa Delgado, PhD '88

On September 17th, 2012, the Center was graced with the presence of Colgate alum, Teresa Delgado '88. She is now an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Iona College. Teresa sat down to a nice lunch with interns, Kelsey, Che, Stephanie, Christina, and me. She told us all about her experiences being a Colgate student during this time. We spent a lot of time talking comparing Colgate’s environment in the past to today’s culture. A big topic was the fact that there was not much diversity in terms of people and even education.  Imagine there being no Women’s Studies OR BROWN BAGS!!!?!? The horror!! But, in all seriousness, there were not many spaces where one could express what we so freely talk about everyday on campus. I think that this was one of the most shocking aspects and made me more grateful to be part of Colgate in this particular time period. There were also some sad points where not much has changed since the time she went here, such as sexual assaults, intolerance of women and some various groups. There are definitely improvements that need to be made in order for our campus to become a safer space. Teresa recommend that we keep voicing our opinions and make sure to firmly stand up for our beliefs because people will listen. There was also a story of hope and she said that a boy who threatened and tormented her later became an environmental activist, is Pro-Obama, and has passionate liberal beliefs. She was shocked because of all people, she did not think he would have had any of these beliefs. People can change and life takes us all on an interesting journey. This is why we must all never be afraid to be ourselves, express our opinions, and be open to new and exciting things. The Center and Colgate thanks Teresa again! We hope to see you soon. 

~Natalie George

9/11 Brown Bag: Colgate's Title IX and Sexual Misconduct Policies

The Brown Bag on 9/11/12 was about Colgate’s Title IX and Sexual Misconduct Policies. The panel included Sheila Johnson-Willis, Lyn Rugg, Kim Taylor, and Jen Servedio. The brown bag was necessary because it allowed communication between the administration and students about bias, sexual assault, harassment, disabilities, and such. The conversation was fluid and people seemed comfortable and were more concerned about whether or not the school would take their complaints seriously. The panel did a great job in quelling the misconceptions and apprehensions people have toward filing complaints (which can be done anonymously).  However, much of the topics discussed dealt with harassment. Professor Loe brought up an incident of harassment where a woman was encircled at the Jug by a group of men, who were chanting for her to expose her breasts. This led to a heated and humorous discussion about environments like the Jug that foster harassment and other practices. I think that people were able to express that they do feel uncomfortable at times on this campus and the panel  was very receptive to these concerns. I think that we have come far from when I was a Firstyear; however, I think that there are resources that still need to be made available to Colgate students. I was shocked to hear that the Hamilton's hospital and Colgate's Health Center are not able to administer a rape kit test. A survivor of sexual assault would have to be bused to Syracuse. I think that if Colgate could work on getting more resources for survivors closer to home then this would maybe encourage more people to come forward. What do you think???

To read more about Title IX and Sexual Misconduct Policies, Check out these links:

More Info!

Even MORE Info!


     ~Natalie George 

Women and Politics in 2012

On Tuesday, September 4^th, Joan Mandle, Executive Director of Democracy Matters, and David Butler ’13 facilitated the Brown Bag about Women and Politics in 2012. David started off the discussion by reading off statistics about female representation in our government. One of the most prominent figures is that women are 51% of the population and yet only 17% of Congress is comprised of women. In a government designed to represent the people, the numbers clearly do not support this ideal. News flash: As feminists, we are not okay with this.

The conversation quickly turned into why there is a lack of female representation in our government.  The most well known reasons are the glass-ceiling and what is expected of women/mothers in our society. Joan Mandle offered another explanation as to why women are seriously underrepresented in our government. Thus far in the presidential election, Barack Obama has raised $348,413,128 and Mitt Romney has raised $193,373,762 totaling around half a billion dollars. (If you like more information about the breakdown of the money I would recommend browsing opensecrets.org.) It is important to note that none of this money comes from federal funds, only private funding. Joan suggested that in this day and age, getting elected president isn’t based on the policies, but rather who can raise and spend the most amount of money. This leads us into why women are seriously underrepresented in government. Generally when women have children they either drop out of the workforce or take on a part time job thus decreasing their annual average income. In a political system where election is heavily influence by supporting a candidate financially, women have very little say compared to men. I’m not saying that women will automatically vote for any female candidate, but it is more difficult for women to support a developing female politician. Thus, as with any feminist issue, the lack of female representation in government is not one-dimensional. A variety of factors as the individual, social, and institutional level contribute to the serious gap in female representation.

Democracy Matters aims to “get private money out of politics and people back in.” Thus, Joan advocated that we, as students, really needed to register and vote for the upcoming election. Our voices do matter even if we are broke and have no financial contribution. However, if students become invested in politics, we can turn around politics and make it less about the money and more about the policy. So, long story short, REGISTER TO VOTE!

-Michelle Van Veen '14

8/28 BB Response: The F Word

It’s everyone’s favorite time of year: the first brown bag at the Center for Women’s Studies! And that's not an exaggeration, since there was such an incredible turn out for our annual kick-off topic “The F Word.” Each year, Colgate students on this panel discuss their views of feminism, how it effects their identity, and their experience as part of the Colgate community.

Since I've been a student, this has been one of my favorite topics because I'm always interested in personal stories when it comes to feminist ideology and work. This time was a little different, though, because I actually had to be part of this year's five-person panel. A little nerve wracking at first, but I like to think I got through it with something resembling grace; it became less of a stress as I was sitting alongside my astonishing peers: Andrew Hoadley '13, Faith Benson '14, Griffin O'Shea '13, and Drea Finley '13. Each of us had a particular way of describing how we "do feminism" as Colgate students, whether it was describing how we gained comfort with the label itself, experiences during time spent abroad, or just criticizing the climate of the campus itself. The point of having this brown bag is to open up discussion about the many faces that feminist work can take on; it emphasizes the ways, in which, this work becomes personalized and the different ways individuals can fit feminism into their goals and actions.

During the Q&A, audience members seemed very interested in addressing the challenges that come with being an advocate for equality in this society. And there were questions from the first-year students about "how bad" Colgate is in terms of these issues. The panelists addressing this question were careful to reiterate that they did not want to frighten newcomers but remained honest in saying that Colgate has some significant problems that are constantly being worked on. Being mindful that Colgate as an institution spent its early years as a space for elite White males (much like the country itself), this is a legacy that continues to influence the culture of this school. Yes, female and trans* students are now part of the community, so are people of color, and those from various countries and sexual orientations and socioeconomic backgrounds; progress has been made, but we also know from the Campus Climate Survey that racism, sexism, cissexism, and heterosexism still need to be addressed. Colgate also has a reputation of being a partying and drinking school, and we also know from the Campus Climate Survey that sexual assault is an issue on this campus.From this standpoint, it is possible to deconstruct the ways, in which, Colgate remains an institution that is for the elite White male (again, much like the country itself), and it is for these very reasons that things like the Office for LGBTQ Initiatives exists, the Center for Women's Studies, ALST, student groups like the Network, Men at Colgate, SORT, and so many others exist. And that is one of the great things about this institution, the ability of its concerned, vocal, and active members to create spaces that push against generally accepted notions of who this environment belongs to and what it is about. That is a job crucial to anyone identifying as a feminist no matter what faction of this society they happen to find themselves in. And this is also crucial to the point of having this brown bag topic at the beginning of the year, because there always needs to be a reminder that anyone at this institution who has an inkling of concern about these problems needs to and can do what is within their power to work against those oppressive and destructive aspects of the culture. It is tough, but necessary work.

This is a discussion that needs to be constantly happening and shifting on this campus and, also, beyond it, which makes it awesome that the Center for Women's Studies is now recording all of its brown bags! You can find the link for this week's topic here, so that you can engage with these ideas even more.

- Che J. Hatter