Migration Category: Campus Old Site

As you enjoy your summer, we encourage you to take some time to begin planning for the upcoming school year! Reserving a table for the student activities fair, outreaching to returning members, and setting a date for your general interest meeting are all excellent ways to start your activism RIGHT NOW.

If you haven’t already done so, make sure you talk to a member of the campus team to discuss an in-depth PLAN OF ACTION for the beginning of the semester. Contact FMF to receive colorful Leadership Alliance brochures, signs, and other materials for your membership drive and general interest meeting!

From July 6-9, 2000, forty-three student feminist activists representing forty-one campuses nation-wide gathered for the fourth annual Feminist Majority Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia to learn pro-choice organizing strategies. The intense and exciting four-day Institute involved workshops on topics ranging from current issues in Reproductive Choice, to How to Fight the Right-Wing Backlash, to How to Build a Feminist Resume. Participants quickly put study into action by organizing a highly successful pro-choice Get Out the Vote pledge drive and rally held Saturday, July 8 in front of the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. Inspired by the words of FMF President Eleanor Smeal, and armed with skills in leadership and organizing, participants left prepared to implement feminist activism upon return to their campuses. For the full story, visit the Choices Campus News Wire at http://www.feministcampus.org/mediacenter.asp.

The Feminist Majority Foundation and several campus Leadership Alliances groups recently signed on as endorsers of CARE 2000: The Campaign for Access and Reproductive Equity. CARE 2000 is a two-year multi-issue, grassroots, public education effort to increase awareness of prohibitive federal and state legislation impacting the reproductive health of low-income women, women of color and young women. Join FMF and your sister Leadership Alliances to endorse the CARE campaign on your campus and get active! On July 31, CARE 2000 will launch its Grassroots Events project. In September, CARE will begin its Voter Education and Registration component of the campaign. Contact a member of the FMF campus team toll-free at (866) 444-FMLA to find out how your campus can get involved! http://www.feministcampus.org/care.asp

Looking for ideas on how to get the pro-choice message visible on your campus? The Pro-Choice Public Education Project (PEP) has created a series of innovative and eye-catching posters concerning women’s right to reproductive choice and access. Order these posters for free for your Leadership Alliance’s pro-choice education campaign! http://www.feministcampus.org/pepads.asp

Discuss this and more on our interactive on-line chats and discussions at http://www.feministcampus.org! We are also featuring several new discussion rooms in the Alliance Commons on the intersections of race, class, sexual orientation, and gender in the feminist movement, share your thoughts and ideas at http://www.feministcampus.org/ac_disc.asp

Portland Community College conducted a reproductive rights information booth at the school’s resource and information fair. The Leadership Alliance’s booth provided information on reproductive rights nationally, as well as materials about abortion, contraception, and RU486.

Congratulations to Midwestern State University in Wichitaw Falls, TX who recently launched a Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance on their campus! In its initial stages, the group learned of the program online at www.feministcampus.org. They hosted their first equity bake sale last week and raised $140!! East Stroudsburg University organized a Reproductive Rights Week this semester. The week-long festival of events featured an activity every day, including two films, “If These Walls Could Talk” and “Killing in the Name of Life.” The events were very successful, generating a lot of interest and increasing the FMLA’s visibility on campus.

At Feminist Expo 2000, New College student Cat Hughes met and spoke with speaker and feminist author, Michael Kimmel (Manhood in America: A Cultural History and The Gendered Society). This week, the group hosts Kimmel on campus as part of its Take Back the Night march and activities.

On May 9, University of Chicago Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance will co-host a discussion, “Should the Government Fund Abortions: Abortion and the Law Forum”. University of Chicago Assistant Professor of Law, Jill Hasday and Northwestern University Law School Professor Victor Rosenblum will lead a discussion on federal funding for abortions.

Strengthening Campus Activism in the Pacific North West!

FMF Field Representatives Amanda Silver and Carmen Schwisow recently visited students in Oregon and Washington. They conducted leadership-training workshops with the Leadership Alliances at Portland State University, Portland Community College, and Shoreline Community College. At Western Washington University they participated in the school’s Take Back The Night march, and helped students prepare to launch a Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance! They also met with supportive students and faculty at Evergreen State College and the University of Washington.

New Leadership Alliance in Maryland! Congratulations to students at Goucher College who recently launched a Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance!

Feminist Expo 2000 was a huge success! Over 7,000 feminist activists and scholars from around the world came to Baltimore to share their work, their ideas, and their visions for a feminist future. There was an incredibly strong student presence, with over 2,000 students arriving from college campuses around the country! Students both attended and participated in the General Assemblies, the Symposia, and the Roundtable discussions. Many attended Training Sessions on issues such as “Actions to Counter the Right Wing on Campus,” “Gaining Visibility for the Pro-Choice Majority on Campus,” and “Students Defend Abortion Rights.”

Congratulations to the 3 Largest Expo Campus Delegations Congratulations to three largest student delegations at Expo – the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Yale University, and University of Pittsburg respectively. We hope that all of you who joined us for the Expo will take your energy and new ideas back to your campuses and continue your work for equality! If you were unable to attend Expo, you can still access our Take Action materials on CEDAW and Mifepristone by contacting the Field Rep team. Check out FMF’s general website,www.feminist.org to purchase Feminist Expo 2000 audio and video tapes!

Brandeis to host Letter-Writing Campaign to Support Victims of Marital Rape The Brandeis University Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance will hold a coffeehouse next Friday to kick off a letter writing campaign against Article 93 in Costa Rica. Under Article 93, if a man rapes a woman, he cannot be convicted of the crime if he offers to marry her. Students attending the coffeehouse will sign letters to Madeline Albright and donate the cost of a stamp. Featured performers are Mary Lou Lord, a Boston folk singer, and Kate Schutt, an up-and-coming folk-rock artist.

NARAL’s New Searchable Database of Reproductive Rights Legislation The NARAL Foundation has introduced a new searchable database of every reproductive rights related bill introduced in every state legislature in the U.S. Activists can search for bills by keyword or topic, and then read a summary of the legislation and its legislative history. Links are also provided to each state legislature’s website. The information is updated every two weeks, so it is very current. Please take advantage of this incredible resource by visiting http://mail.naral.org.longdoc.nsf.

Leadership Alliances Celebrate Women’s History Month Across the US! As we kick off Women’s History Month, students around the country are preparing to celebrate International Women’s Day. The Leadership Alliance at New College will be hosting a film festival, and students at St. Lawrence University have invited a speaker to address the issues in Afghanistan. Howard University will be passing out condoms and displaying information on women’s reproductive health care around the world. The Cal State LA Leadership Alliance is meeting with Kate Michealman (President of NARAL) to speak with her about Latinas and Reproductive Rights in California. Get great ideas for Women’s History Month actions online at: http://www.feministcampus.org/ac_disc.asp !

Leadership Trainings in NY! Field Representatives Annie O’Connell and Beth Raboin recently spent four days at Hunter College in New York where they conducted leadership training workshops and helped recruit 21 new members to the Leadership Alliance.

Students have been staying busy in the wake of the recent Roe v. Wade anniversary, and are gearing up for Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day (and of course planning to attend Feminist Expo 2000!). The Cerritos Community College FMLA recently co-sponsored a speaking event with Sheila Tobias, author of “Faces of Feminism.” Tobias is now a part of their growing Expo delegation! In addition, Cerritos is planning a Feminist Career Fair for the spring, and wants to invite area Expo co-sponsors to participate in their career panel. The University of Central Florida FMLA hosted its first meeting a few weeks ago, and has already started planning a visibility action. The group will participate in National Condom Week, promoting safer sex on campus by distributing condoms donated to the group by a local health clinic. The condom packages will feature a label with information on the FMLA. Congratulations to the FMLA at California State University of Los Angeles on being recognized as an official student organization by the student government! Planning an event for International Women’s Day (March 8)? Request an action packet online at http://www.feministcampus.org/infoMORE.asp!

Students Nationwide Celebrated the Anniversary of Roe v. Wade! Feminist Majority Leadership Alliances around the country found many different ways to celebrate the 27th anniversary of Roe v. Wade! The University of Chicago hosted a showing of “Jane: An Abortion Service,” which documents the history of an underground abortion service that started at their campus in the late 60’s. Students from Portland Community College worked with Oregon NARAL (National Abortion Rights and Action League) to attend a Roe v. Wade candlelight vigil. The University of Missouri St. Louis did a pro-choice display of facts and figures about reproductive rights, Iowa State University posted pro-choice signs around their campus, and Vanderbilt University plans to distribute the anniversary stickers. The Leadership Alliance at George Washington University plans to show a pro-choice video and lead a discussion on their campus.