Thursday, September 24, 2009
Sometimes I don't get it...
After a wonderful concert last night from the Indigo Girls, I rolled back into BG this morning to start another day of rushing from one deadline to another. I rode my bike to campus and stopped by the Velorution 2009 booths in front of DUC (an event for bicyclists or those interested in biking). Unfortunately, the first thing I heard and saw was the “preacher” who makes his yearly visits yelling that we are all going to hell at the top of his lungs. How can we all have such different notions about what is right and what is wrong? They held signs that contained a laundry list of the sins that will condemn us all to hell. The usual suspects were there; homosexuals, liars, drunks, etc. Of course, my favorite was “immodest women.” I love it that these religious fanatics blame women for everything – actually, religion period blames “sin” on women. I can relate more now to the article “My Name is NOT Maria” by Williams, Alvarez, and Hauck in my women’s studies 200 text and this issue of gendered social control. As matter of fact, the entire chapter deals with adolescence and growing up, or growing “into,” our gender as society prescribes it. It is also very interesting to note that this is a very American concept. So, is it driven by consumerism? Power and control? What is the predominant factor here? Is our influence in other countries affecting the way they look at gender? Is there any way to transform this issue?
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Why is this going on?
A Rite of Hazing, Now Out in the Open
By TINA KELLEY
Published: September 18, 2009
MILLBURN, N.J. — The principal of Millburn High, New Jersey’s top-ranked high school, says it has gone on for a decade: annual hazing by senior girls who create a “slut list” of incoming freshmen for the first day of school. A dozen or more names are written on a piece of notebook paper, with crass descriptions, and copies are passed around — hundreds this year, some say.
Parents have complained to officials at Millburn High, a top-ranked school, about hazing of freshman girls.
“We’ve had girls — which is one of the bad things — obsessed that their names are on it, and girls who were upset that they didn’t make the list,” said the principal, William Miron. “It’s basically vulgar.”
And that is not the only type of hazing that goes on, some girls say. Seniors blow whistles in some girls’ faces and jostle or push them into lockers, leaving them afraid to come to school the next day.
These tales were out in the open on Friday after half a dozen parents complained to public school officials and a discussion of hazing on a private e-mail group for mothers made its way around this Essex County township.
Dr. Miron said this year’s list was generated at an August sleepover party of seniors involved in athletics. Like most, it took aim at pretty and popular incoming ninth graders.
In past years, students found responsible for hazing have been suspended, and up to six senior girls in one year have been held out of school for three to five days, Dr. Miron said. This year, which parents in the e-mail group considered worse than usual, none have been reprimanded.
“We spoke to at least a dozen freshmen and half a dozen seniors, and not one person wanted to really give any names,” Dr. Miron said. “There’s very little we can really do if a student doesn’t come to us and say, ‘This is what happened.’ ” He added that none of the 150 faculty members reported seeing any hazing incidents this year at the 1,400-student school.
Most of the girls interviewed after school on Friday said they had never been hazed. Some had not even heard of the problem, and some of those who had said it was all in good fun. One girl talking with friends on Millburn Avenue several blocks from the high school said freshmen were unlikely to name names.
“Then you’ll be the loser,” said the girl, 14, who said she had not been hazed and whose father, contacted later, requested that she not be named. “And it gets much worse.”
Across the street, several freshman girls in sports uniforms said that senior girls on the soccer team had blown whistles in their faces, and that some of their teammates had been pushed into lockers.
“I was scared, actually,” one said. “I didn’t want to go to school the next day. It’s done every year, but it’s still pretty mean.” (After the interview, she asked that her name not be used and that the team she was with not be identified.)
Mikayla Nissan, a 16-year-old junior who was walking with friends on Millburn Avenue toward the center of downtown, said hazing added needless anxiety about the first year in a new school.
“It makes them nervous to come to the school,” she said of the freshmen. “They shouldn’t be nervous. High school is all about teachers helping you figure out what you want to do with your future. It should be a more comforting environment. You shouldn’t have to feel new and uncomfortable.”
There have been no reports of injuries requiring medical attention, but experts say bullying can inflict long-lasting and severe damage.
Lisa Ryan, whose daughter is a former member of the soccer team, said she had heard reports of egregious hazing in the past.
“I was horrified,” Ms. Ryan said in a downtown parking lot. “They did get reprimanded.”
One commenter on the Local, the New York Times blog covering Millburn, Maplewood and South Orange, N.J., said of school administrators: “They have an obligation to protect these new and more vulnerable students. The administration can’t continue to lay the responsibility for their inaction at the feet of a bunch of terrorized kids.” (The commenter, contacted by e-mail, asked to remain anonymous, saying, “My kid would never, ever feel safe in the school again.”)
Asked if students caught with the list could be suspended, Dr. Miron said: “A senior with a slut list we would probably suspend. But it sounds so easy talking about it. When a kid says, ‘I just found it on the floor and picked it up,’ it becomes a little bit messier.”
The school’s superintendent, Richard Brodow, sent an e-mail message to parents on Friday saying hazing was against school policy “and just plain wrong.”
“We are encouraging any student who either has been a victim of or a witness to such behavior to please come forward,” Dr. Brodow wrote. “Those who are found to have engaged in this type of behavior will be disciplined. Parents, along with school personnel, must make it perfectly clear that hazing is wrong and we as a school community are better than that.”
The school, which had a note on its bulletin board congratulating its 12 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, was ranked first in the state in a recent survey by New Jersey Monthly magazine. But it has found itself in the news for less savory reasons a few times this year.
In January, a fight in the school parking lot involving a minister and his sons and a baseball bat resulted in numerous criminal charges but no convictions. In March, school officials called in drug-sniffing dogs for a search that produced no illegal substances.
As she was pulling away from the campus on Friday in a late-model S.U.V., one senior said she did not think the hazing this year was any worse than in past years, but “parents are taking it to an extreme level.”
“Hazing has always been a tradition at Millburn,” she said. “It’s never really a personal attack. As a freshman you get pushed on the first day, and it reinforces the fact that they’re seniors.”
She got pushed three years ago. Did she do any pushing this year? “Not more than anyone else,” she said.
By TINA KELLEY
Published: September 18, 2009
MILLBURN, N.J. — The principal of Millburn High, New Jersey’s top-ranked high school, says it has gone on for a decade: annual hazing by senior girls who create a “slut list” of incoming freshmen for the first day of school. A dozen or more names are written on a piece of notebook paper, with crass descriptions, and copies are passed around — hundreds this year, some say.
Parents have complained to officials at Millburn High, a top-ranked school, about hazing of freshman girls.
“We’ve had girls — which is one of the bad things — obsessed that their names are on it, and girls who were upset that they didn’t make the list,” said the principal, William Miron. “It’s basically vulgar.”
And that is not the only type of hazing that goes on, some girls say. Seniors blow whistles in some girls’ faces and jostle or push them into lockers, leaving them afraid to come to school the next day.
These tales were out in the open on Friday after half a dozen parents complained to public school officials and a discussion of hazing on a private e-mail group for mothers made its way around this Essex County township.
Dr. Miron said this year’s list was generated at an August sleepover party of seniors involved in athletics. Like most, it took aim at pretty and popular incoming ninth graders.
In past years, students found responsible for hazing have been suspended, and up to six senior girls in one year have been held out of school for three to five days, Dr. Miron said. This year, which parents in the e-mail group considered worse than usual, none have been reprimanded.
“We spoke to at least a dozen freshmen and half a dozen seniors, and not one person wanted to really give any names,” Dr. Miron said. “There’s very little we can really do if a student doesn’t come to us and say, ‘This is what happened.’ ” He added that none of the 150 faculty members reported seeing any hazing incidents this year at the 1,400-student school.
Most of the girls interviewed after school on Friday said they had never been hazed. Some had not even heard of the problem, and some of those who had said it was all in good fun. One girl talking with friends on Millburn Avenue several blocks from the high school said freshmen were unlikely to name names.
“Then you’ll be the loser,” said the girl, 14, who said she had not been hazed and whose father, contacted later, requested that she not be named. “And it gets much worse.”
Across the street, several freshman girls in sports uniforms said that senior girls on the soccer team had blown whistles in their faces, and that some of their teammates had been pushed into lockers.
“I was scared, actually,” one said. “I didn’t want to go to school the next day. It’s done every year, but it’s still pretty mean.” (After the interview, she asked that her name not be used and that the team she was with not be identified.)
Mikayla Nissan, a 16-year-old junior who was walking with friends on Millburn Avenue toward the center of downtown, said hazing added needless anxiety about the first year in a new school.
“It makes them nervous to come to the school,” she said of the freshmen. “They shouldn’t be nervous. High school is all about teachers helping you figure out what you want to do with your future. It should be a more comforting environment. You shouldn’t have to feel new and uncomfortable.”
There have been no reports of injuries requiring medical attention, but experts say bullying can inflict long-lasting and severe damage.
Lisa Ryan, whose daughter is a former member of the soccer team, said she had heard reports of egregious hazing in the past.
“I was horrified,” Ms. Ryan said in a downtown parking lot. “They did get reprimanded.”
One commenter on the Local, the New York Times blog covering Millburn, Maplewood and South Orange, N.J., said of school administrators: “They have an obligation to protect these new and more vulnerable students. The administration can’t continue to lay the responsibility for their inaction at the feet of a bunch of terrorized kids.” (The commenter, contacted by e-mail, asked to remain anonymous, saying, “My kid would never, ever feel safe in the school again.”)
Asked if students caught with the list could be suspended, Dr. Miron said: “A senior with a slut list we would probably suspend. But it sounds so easy talking about it. When a kid says, ‘I just found it on the floor and picked it up,’ it becomes a little bit messier.”
The school’s superintendent, Richard Brodow, sent an e-mail message to parents on Friday saying hazing was against school policy “and just plain wrong.”
“We are encouraging any student who either has been a victim of or a witness to such behavior to please come forward,” Dr. Brodow wrote. “Those who are found to have engaged in this type of behavior will be disciplined. Parents, along with school personnel, must make it perfectly clear that hazing is wrong and we as a school community are better than that.”
The school, which had a note on its bulletin board congratulating its 12 National Merit Scholarship semifinalists, was ranked first in the state in a recent survey by New Jersey Monthly magazine. But it has found itself in the news for less savory reasons a few times this year.
In January, a fight in the school parking lot involving a minister and his sons and a baseball bat resulted in numerous criminal charges but no convictions. In March, school officials called in drug-sniffing dogs for a search that produced no illegal substances.
As she was pulling away from the campus on Friday in a late-model S.U.V., one senior said she did not think the hazing this year was any worse than in past years, but “parents are taking it to an extreme level.”
“Hazing has always been a tradition at Millburn,” she said. “It’s never really a personal attack. As a freshman you get pushed on the first day, and it reinforces the fact that they’re seniors.”
She got pushed three years ago. Did she do any pushing this year? “Not more than anyone else,” she said.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Reflections from the middle of week three - Fall 09
I think more than anything this week, I have been struck by the constant battle over Joe Wilson and whether or not he was being racist when he called Obama a liar. As a matter of fact, race has played a huge issue in commentaries this last week. For me this realization started with Serena William’s tirade during a tennis match then moved to Kanya West and his debacle at the VMAs. Oh, and yes, intermingled in this mosh pit is the unprofessional scene that Joe Wilson caused during Obama’s speech. Now, the first thing that commentators pointed out in each of these instances was race and/or some issue surrounding racism. Why? After sitting in class watching Tough Guise (again) I was reminded about how we look at race, gender, class, and sexual orientation in our country. When we think of each of those categories with think in terms of the minority identity not the majority. In other words: Black/Latino/Asian = race; gender = female; class = poor; sexual orientation = LGBT. So, why do we totally ignore the fact that white, male, str8, and wealthy = race, gender, sexual orientation, and class? Why do we also rank what should be nominal variables here as good or bad? I think Jackson Katz does an excellent job explaining how we got to this point. Our culture provides a good definition of systemic structures and dimensions of power. The next question is, “are these distributions change for the better or the worse?” I think in some cases, yes! I am surrounded by folks everyday who do not fit the stereotypical, socially constructed gender roles depicted in popular culture. Unfortunately, for the vast majority I am afraid it is getting worse. Models are getting thinner and posing in objectified and brutalized position, violence against women in film (and if real life) is more abundant than ever, and men are expected to be “tuffer” than ever. Is this what happens during war-time maybe? This is sort of my first war since I was really young during Vietnam. Is this why we are seeing these culturally defined roles magnified? I am not sure I have all the answer but maybe we can work together on them in class.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Blogging 101
I am finding myself extremely interested in blogging this semester. So, interested that I feel compelled to force students to join me (that's what we do here at WKU!) Just kidding! I plan to have my women's studies 200 class set up blogs this weekend and put in RSS subscription links! I will also follow each student's writing during the semester so if you are interested - read along!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Writing Whoas
As I was swimming today I realized that the first paper I was going to revise for publication was on my hard drive that crashed. No back-up anywhere either. That one was about a "done deal." I just needed to make some corrections to the conclusions and it was good to go.
I guess there are two ways to look at this. When I was placed on tenure track in July, I was told I would be basically starting with a clean slate. None of my publications, past awards, teaching experiences, community and university service, etc. counted toward my tenure and promotion. It is though I never existed in higher ed before. So, some karma goddess must have thought it would be appropriate for me to start this journey with no old folders, old files, past emails, or over-loaded hard drive as well. Thanks a lot!
I guess there are two ways to look at this. When I was placed on tenure track in July, I was told I would be basically starting with a clean slate. None of my publications, past awards, teaching experiences, community and university service, etc. counted toward my tenure and promotion. It is though I never existed in higher ed before. So, some karma goddess must have thought it would be appropriate for me to start this journey with no old folders, old files, past emails, or over-loaded hard drive as well. Thanks a lot!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
School begins!
Well, writing must start now. It's all about tenure now instead of enjoyment but what the hell! I still have the Greener Groundz blog that I will keep updated with thing from my Gender, Justice, and Sustainability course this semester. It's going to be an awesome class. I am reading five new books for this course so it'll be interesting. They range from Silent Spring to Omnivores Dilemma to Gaia and God. Nice mix!
I do need to vent about my first day back though. I worked all day Sunday on my syllabi, course readings, assignments, etc. I saved everything in nice little folders so that I could upload on Blackbaord and print as need on Monday morning. Monday morning I bounced in my office only to find that my hard drive had crashed overnight. It's a new computer for Gaia's sake! After a very depressing chat with WKU IT (7000 for those of your who know), they said they would come fix it but not to get my hopes up. Okay, so It's Tuesday afternoon and still no IT! I called them back and emphasized how crucial it was that I get my computer running - they moved me up the list; still no IT. I have transfered my files across campus, from computer to computer, for the last 10-12 years or so. My dissertation, master's thesis, and, well, my entire lifes work (drama here) is on that damned computer. Good thing my iTunes are on my home PC!
I am going to finish up my Jane's Travel Blog readings the hop on my steel horse (Trek bike) and ride down the road into the dust of first year students driving way to fast on campus. I plan to finish my house cleaning instead of doing penny sake night at Samurai; maybe next week.
I do need to vent about my first day back though. I worked all day Sunday on my syllabi, course readings, assignments, etc. I saved everything in nice little folders so that I could upload on Blackbaord and print as need on Monday morning. Monday morning I bounced in my office only to find that my hard drive had crashed overnight. It's a new computer for Gaia's sake! After a very depressing chat with WKU IT (7000 for those of your who know), they said they would come fix it but not to get my hopes up. Okay, so It's Tuesday afternoon and still no IT! I called them back and emphasized how crucial it was that I get my computer running - they moved me up the list; still no IT. I have transfered my files across campus, from computer to computer, for the last 10-12 years or so. My dissertation, master's thesis, and, well, my entire lifes work (drama here) is on that damned computer. Good thing my iTunes are on my home PC!
I am going to finish up my Jane's Travel Blog readings the hop on my steel horse (Trek bike) and ride down the road into the dust of first year students driving way to fast on campus. I plan to finish my house cleaning instead of doing penny sake night at Samurai; maybe next week.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
WS 499 - Directed Study in Sustainability
For the moment, this blog will be used to correspond with my WS 499: Directed Study in Sustainability course.
Note to students: We are reading Silent Spring by Rachel Carson and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.
Carson's book in a primer ecofeminism and ecojustice - not really sure she knew that would be the case. Carson did know that our attempt to control our world, our environment, and our ecospheres would eventually be our demise. Carson left us with a legacy wrought with questions that still loom today.
In the new millennium, ecofeminist like Vandana Shiva, Karen Warren, Starhawk, and Rosemary Radford Ruether continue to pursue these questions from very different perspectives and backgrounds.
Our blogs will take us on that journey from roughly 1960 through present. Please use outside sources and explore this topic to the best of your ability!
Note to students: We are reading Silent Spring by Rachel Carson and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.
Carson's book in a primer ecofeminism and ecojustice - not really sure she knew that would be the case. Carson did know that our attempt to control our world, our environment, and our ecospheres would eventually be our demise. Carson left us with a legacy wrought with questions that still loom today.
In the new millennium, ecofeminist like Vandana Shiva, Karen Warren, Starhawk, and Rosemary Radford Ruether continue to pursue these questions from very different perspectives and backgrounds.
Our blogs will take us on that journey from roughly 1960 through present. Please use outside sources and explore this topic to the best of your ability!
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