Blogs

Hi friends,

I know tonight is our last night of class, and you may no longer be checking the Serendip conversation posts anymore.  That being said, there is a post in our conversation that I think really merits more discussion.  That post is jmorgant's post "OUT" and the replies it garnered.  I think that the conversation about choice that resulted from the original post just kind of dwindled out, which is a huge shame, because it is not only an important conversation for us to have -- it is necessary for us to understand.

I am choosing to post anew rather than to respond to the original post in the hope that more of you will see this and join me in continuing to discuss it.  

As far as my perspectives go, I was blown away by the comments made by Christine.  Her story highlights the lack of choice faced by survivors as well as the extent to which lack of understanding regarding rape and sexual assault is ingrained in our minds and the system.  As a society, we need to strive to gain a better understanding of rape and sexual assault and what survivors are going through.  We cannot discount the witness that survivors share.  Let's keep talking.

     The difference that Humbach makes between rights and right relationships can be teased out within the debate on food security/sovereignty. Food security, as an ideal, is the right for all people and communities to have enough culturally appropriate food. Food sovereignty builds upon this by accentuating the importance of process in food acquisition. It places importance on community food systems, non-exploitation, and health.
      The issues of food justice and food security have always been important to me. On the surface, they are merely about food: having enough, access and availability. And on the surface, these are simple problems to fix, right? To fix hunger, farmers should plant more. Grocery chains should build stores in neighborhoods that lack them. But relationships always prove to be more complicated than their surface implications.

The following is a link to the movement I wanted to present towards a right relationship between Bryn Mawr College (or maybe all single-sex schools?) and transgender students. I chose to use a prezi to present this information to show that there has been movement, but also that I would like to see more movement. 

There is a zoom in/zoom out button at the right side of the screen, which you might like to use as some of the slides might be more comfortably viewed when zoomed in on. I have a slide with a link to my sources at the end of the presentation. I hope my movement through this work makes sense to all of you!

http://prezi.com/ywplr8dhknut/movement/ 

I recently read in an article in GQ about how regardless of race or class, everyone is kind of pretentious in college. And in everything we do, we show this-- including our writing. I try to sound smart in my writing-- I think everyone does. And because of this, we all come off pretentious. That being said,  in terms of true expression, I think pictures/images are the way to go-- they speak for themselves and say a thousand words. You dont need a college degree to look at a picture and judge it, critique, explain it, discuss, or disagree with it. It has nothing to with the bourgeiosie or the prolertariat. Anyone can talk about a picture, but not everyone could read this sentence. Not everyone would know that a comma shouldnt be used here or that a period means the end of a setnce. Pictures transcend all of that. It transcends time, language, class, and race. 

still haven't heard back from kammy, but/and/so
here's the (interim) current plan for tomorrow night
(feel free to use less--but not more!-- time than been's allotted for your group)

7:10-7:30: review end of semester requirements, portfolio work, etc.

7:30-7:37--alice.in.wonderland

7:37-7:44--amophrast, Katie Randall

7:44-7:59--venn diagram, jmorgant, phenoms

7:59-8:14--aybala50, lgleysteen, leamirella, S. Yaeger

8:14-8:29--jfwright, essietee, kimk, lwacker, rachelr

8:29-8:44--snacks

8:44-9:14--someshine, AmyMay, charlie, chelseam, Gavi, sel209, shlomo

9:14--9:30--end of semester evals

looking forward to this!
anne

As some of you may know, the Occupy Phildephia site was evicted this past Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. As a sign that there's still people who believe in the movement and are working toward a different society and way of life in the US, the working groups organized a march on Saturday. Some other Bryn Mawr students and I went and marched in solidarity. It was incredible. We marched, chanted, and danced our way from City Hall to Independence Park. The march itself was filled with such a strong, positive energy and we got many gestures of support from people on the sidewalks (as well as some people who were against what we stood for). After we arrived at Independence Park, we held a People's Assembly where anyone can speak up and say whatever's on their mind in regards to issues pertaining to the Occupy movement, social inequalities and injustices, voting, the role of the police in the movement, etc. One thing that was announced that I found very intriguing and pertinent to this course was one young man who said he and his friend were starting a Free University of Philadelphia. He stated that they would give anyone who wanted one, an education. I twinkle-fingered this announement (meaning I put my hands up to signal that I agreed with it/supported it) because I agree with the sentiment that everyone deserves access to free education.

Academic writing to me, is intimidating. The specific structure of each paragraph within a structured essay is almost like guess work. Each teacher has a different view on what academic writing really is, and the way they want their essays given.Academic writing seems more to do with your educational path, and what you've learned throughout the years in school, so class is involved. It isn't true that it's always involved but I think in most cases its involved. Theres other ways to express ideas and communicate with others besides through academic papers, such as presentations. Presentations make it easy to map out information for all to understand because you can incorporate other things besides words, such as graphs, or images.

I’d been working on another paper for this web event, one linking human rights abuses to sexual assault, and examining the relevance of transitional justice mechanisms. After the past three days, however, I feel compelled to share some of what’s been going on in my quest to build “right relationships” between people – students, administrators, faculty, and staff – on Haverford’s campus.

The Context: Rape and Sexual Assault at Haverford College

Haverford is mandated by the Clery Act to report crime statistics, including sex offenses. According to Haverford College’s 2011 Security & Fire Safety Report, there were reported 4 forcible sex offenses in 2008, 7 forcible sex offenses in 2009, and 8 forcible sex offenses in 2010. The same report listed 0 non-forcible sex offenses for the same years (but does not define how it distinguishes between forcible and non-forcible sex offenses).

(Source: 2011 Fire & Security Safety Report, Haverford College, 2011. Page 6.)

The Security Report goes on to acknowledge, “According to the U.S. Department of Justice, crimes of sexual assault are among the most underreported of all crimes. This is especially true on college and university campuses.” It continues, “Any reported rape or sexual assault will be treated confidentially with concern and sensitivity…All victims of campus crime are strongly encouraged to report the incident.”