In the September 21, 1995 Dickinsonian, Chris Zubowicz reported on the Non-Governmental Organizations Forum on Women held at the Olympic Stadium in Beijing and the experiences of the two Dickinson Professors, Amy Farrell and Susan Rose, who attended.
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This article from the September 22, 1995 edition of The Carlisle Sentinel reports on Dickinson professors Amy Farrell and Susan Rose's experiences at the fourth World Conference on Women in China.
The November 9, 1995 edition of The Dickinsonian reports on the
investigations of an allegation of sexual assault of a first-year
student on campus being carried on by the Carlisle Police Department, in
cooperation with Dickinson Safety and Security, as well as the arrest of an unrelated assaulter.
Allison Lowry writes for the November 9, 1995 edition of The Dickinsonian
on the Looking Glass Theater's performance of skits about sexual
assault for the Women's Center's Sexual Assault Awareness Week.
Introduction to Womens Studies class with Stephanie Larson. Students Julie Song and Heather Pomeroy study a book called "The Lenses of Gender."
A journal taken from the womens center, it contains female Dickinsonians rants, frustrations, and the sharing of stories. Many of the stories have to do with sexual assault or rape and demonstrate how the Women's Center was a safe place for these women to share their stories and try to find some peace.
The Women's Studies Program in conjunction with the Pennsylvania Humanities Council sponsored Dr. Janice Hamlet, Director of Ethnic Studies at Shippensburg University, to come and speak on "the African American Woman's unique struggle in mainstream society," in Memorial Hall on September 19, 1996.
Dickinson hosted a week of events surrounding National Coming Out Day in
1996 entitled "Self, Family, World: Continuing the Struggle for
Acceptance."Â The events included a debate over gay marriage, a showing
of the movie Go Fish, a discussion led by the Mechancisburg
Chapter of P-FLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), a lecture
The departments of Anthropology and Sociology and the Women's Studies Program sponsored a talk by Cornelia Kammerer of Hampshire College on "Hypersexualized Hilltribes in Thai and Western Imagination" in Bosler Hall on November 4, 1996.
The Women's Studies Program and the Clarke Center sponsored Jo Freeman, a
noted author, speaker and political activist, to speak on women's
political issues in a talk titled, "Feminism vs. Family values: Women in
the Democratic and Republican Parties."Â The talk took pace in Memorial
Hall on December 4, 1996.
The Women's Studies program sponsored two lectures in February of 1997. One was given by Kristen Miller, a doctoral student of sociology at the University of Delaware, on lesbian identity, and the other was given by Barbara Ozieblo, a professor of American Literature at the University of Malaga, on feminism in Spain.
A lecture was given by Christopher Simpson on March 25, 1997 in Weiss Center for the Arts about "Comfort Women" who were victims of sexual enslavement during World War II. The talk accompanied an exhibit in the Trout Gallery on the same subject. The talk was sponsored by the Sociology, History, and Anthropology Departments, the Women's Studies and International Studies Programs, the Clarke Center, the Commission on the Status of Women, and the Trout Gallery.
The Women's Studies Program and the Religious Affairs Office sponsored a talk and reading by Margaret Starbird, entitled "Was Jesus Married?" which looked at her book The Woman with the Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalen and the Holy Grail. The talk was held on April 2, 1997 in the Hartman Alumni House.
The Women's Studies Program and English Department sponsored Beth Frost, professor at Fordham University and former-Dickinson College English and Women's Studies professor, to do a reading of her own poetry on April 11, 1997 in Memorial Hall.
Winona Mensch Gray (Class of 1948) describes female dormitory life during World War II in an interview. Gray lived in Metzger Hall during her freshman and sophomore years. She was only one of two sophomores who lived in the hall. She describes Metzger Hall as an "old building with high ceilings." There was a dining room in the basement and wash basins down the hall for laundry. The dean of women lived on the second floor in an apartment. She remembers the beds being uncomfortable.
Marthe Weyandt reports on Dickinson's response to two allegations of sexual assault in the Carlisle area in the September 9, 1999 edition of The Dickinsonian.
The Board Members of the Zatae Longsdorff Center for Women introduce themselves to the wider Dickinson community in the September 24, 1999 edition of The Dickinsonian.
Jennifer Vogelsong reports in the October 10, 1999 Carlisle Sentinel on Cumberland County's recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, including a cutting of a purple ribbon and the Silent Witness Project. The article also announces Dickinson's Clothesline Project, which was up on exhibit the same month.
In this article from the November 5, 1999 Dickinsonian, a student considers the pros and cons of such controversial events as "Take Back the Night" and the "March Against Hate."
Founded in the early 2000s, AIDS Awareness in Dickinson Society (A.A.I.D.S.) sought to promote AIDS awareness through education and activism. According to their constitution "The Purpose of A.A.I.D.S. is to provide the community with the realities of AIDS and its impact on the world. This organization is the first student group to offer such contributions to the college community." A.A.I.D.S. was not affiliated with any other campus group.
In this article in the February 4, 2000 Dickinsonian, John Pappas
covered a talk given by Dr. Judith Yorio on the issues of women and
athletics. The talk, held on February 8, 2000, was hosted by the Zatae
Longsdorff Center for Women in honor of National Girls and Women in
Sports Day.
In observance of Victim's Rights Week, Dickinson presents "The Yellow
Dress", a play about relationship violence produced and directed by
Deana's Fund, as reported in The Carlisle Sentinel on April 9, 2000. The play was performed on April 11th in the Anita Tuvin Schlecther Auditorium.
Dean Joyce Bylander in this week's copy of the Dickinsonian addresses the student body about acquaintance sexual assault. She urges that the student body "to create an envionment that simply is intolerant of acts of violence against women (women are the primary victims of this act) and work to stop them. We have to be able to make the connection between exploitation and degredation of women and the resulting propensity to see women as sexual objects," she says. The Women's Center actively works to make the Dickinson campus safer for women.
An anonymous letter to the Editor in response to Dean Bylander's article on sexual assault and the reasons why victims do not come forward addresses Dickinson's judicial system. He/she says: "It fails to provide victims with security or closure, and more often than not, it allows the abuser to come away with little more than a slap on the wrist." They demand to know "what the college is hiding." This student feels that sexual violence was not being dealt with openly and more awareness was necessary on campus.
Around Campus questioning about affirmative action bringing more men to campus in 2000 brought some interesting comments. Ayree Koh '04 said that "People should be able to choose where they go to school without an outside force compelling them." A male student, Chris Daubert had no opinion:"Honestly, it's not that important to me," he said .Melissa Laureau '03 said "It would be nice to have more men on campus. I would prefer that the school keep the standards up." Why standards would need to be "kept up" is unclear.
Women's Studies becomes a major/minor program, not just a certificate (it had been since 1991). "Men don't know what it means to be marginazlied. If we are the make this world a better place for all people men must learn about the role of male dominance in oppression and injustice and learn what they can do to change that oppression."
Dr. Drew Pinsky, the "love doctor" came to Dickinson to answer relationship questions. He discusses issues like masturbation, pornography, birth control, prostitutes/strippers. In conclusion, Dr. Drew wanted his audience to know that "sex is a wonderful and beautiful thing in the right context and at the right time. But if sex is abused or done in the wrong way or at the wrong time, then it can lead to serious and painful problems."Â He also addressed cheating- men cheat beacuse they can. But women do because they are looking for a remedy for their emotional needs.
A poll of Dickinson students shows that the majority of those who responded "hook-up"- which they have defined as "being "physically intimate with people who they are not dating." 43% of students were in a serious monogamous relationship. 26% of single students were not looking for a relationship. 57% of students were not invovled in any relationship. The student respondents felt that the reason for this "hook up" culture was due to Dickinson's social scene focusing on parties and drinking.
"Girls debased by lack of clothing" was an article posted in the September 2002 Dickinsonian about the way women dress on campus. The writer rants about the way women dress in the cafeteria, that it is "not a place to parade around half-naked." She expresses her shock that "in today's ultra-feminist world there was so many girls who would let themselves be so degraded, let alone degrade themselves!" She calls for the college to impose some sort of dress code, nothing too strict, just that people dress appropriately for class and public places.
As reported by Jerilyn Covert in the October 24, 2003 Dickinsonian,
Dickinson College faced a low male to female ratio in the early years
of the 21st century and sought ways of bridging the gap without changing
admissions standards.
While the national average for male female ratio is 45/55, at Dickinson in 1999, it was 36/64 and in 2003. 43-57. Dickinson wants to combat this increasingly female trend by emphasizing Dickinson's strengths in athletics or sciences, more "masculine" fields. It was stressed in the article that admissions decisions were NEVER based on gender and no one that was unqualified for Dickinson would be admitted even if they were of a lacking gender. That is why Dickinson is never 45/55 exactly. The decrease of male applicants created this upsurge in female matriculation.
This article in the November 21, 2003 edition of The Dickinsonian reports on the Clothesline Project hosted by the Zatae Longsdorff Center for Women to increase awareness and to bear witness to victims of violence against women.
Kathryn Egan, the Women's Center columnist for the Dickinsonian, discusses stereotypes experienced at college in the September 2004 issue of the Dickinsonian. She discusses the stereotypes of sororities, fraternities, those in favor of women's issues, those who attend a private liberal arts college, men and women. Kathryn expresses her disgust with how people stereotype all of these groups, stating that we all individuals, but because of that we have a tendency by others to be grouped.
"No Time for Dating" is a piece written for the September 2004 issue of the Dickinsonian discussing how Dickinson students have no time for dating. According to the writer, students do not have enough time for a serious relationship, between "classes, clubs, homework and jobs there are just not enough hours in a day." Since we are mostly confined to the classroom for the majority of the day, and then spend the rest of the time in the library, it is hard to sustain a relationship.
"Stereotyping the Genders" was a piece written by Susannah Rowe for the September 2005 Dickinsonian discussing an awareness event on campus. "She Fears You" was a program meant to draw attention to the stereotypes of men and women through provocative posters and a program. The main idea of the program was breaking the generalizations that "men rape" and all women "fear" men. In some cases, this is true, but Susannah Rowe writes about how the campus program worked to shatter some of these images.
In this Senate Update, published in the February 18, 2005 Dickinsonian, diversity on campus, especially in student organizations, and funding for speakers for the Women's Center are discussed.
Susannah Rowe calls for women to understand and appreciate the "traditional" male roles on the dating scene in her "Dating Too Traditional?" article in the March 2005 Dickinsonian. Rowe takes a look at how in all aspects of life, even in the natural world, men are supposed to take the lead in getting a relationship, or even dating. She calls for women to be more appreciative of the effort men put out to get their attention, and even asks women to consider taking charge of their dating life.
Ellen Ramsden interviews Susan Lindner '92 for the April 1, 2006 edition of The Dickinsonian on Lotus Public Reations, the public relations firm Lindner founded, and her life since graduation.
In this article in the April 15, 2005 edition of The Dickinsonian, Rachel Hurnyak comments on the crowd at the Take Back the Night rally and the speech given by Associate Provost Joyce Bylander.
This May 2005 Women's Studies Department newsletter includes news of Dickinson events, students, professors, and alumni.
The May 6, 2005 Dickinsonian features a article on the newly renamed 'Spectrum' LGBT club at Dickinson and its activities and involvement on campus.
Students traveling on Dickinson Study Abroad Programs run the risk of getting involved in serious relationships that sometimes end, like for Natalie Wilson on the Toulouse Program, with an engagement. Program directors note that dating natives helps increase students' understanding of the language and culture, but often times this separates the students from the rest of the student group. In most cases these are American Dickinsonian women dating native men, and usually these women never planned on meeting someone!
In the February 23, 2006 Dickinsonian, Lizzy Price opines that gender does not belong at all in the admissions selection process.
Shannon Sullivan, in the February 23, 2006 Dickinsonian, comments on The Vagina Monologues and female and male sexuality. The Vagina Monologues were performed at Dickinson on February 18, 2006.
Dr. M. Jocelyn Elders, former US Surgeon General, spoke about "Healthcare in the 21st Century" at The Central Pennsylvania Consortium's Annual Women's Studies Conference. The conference was about Women in Health and took place Saturday, March 4, 2006 at Gettysburg College. Dickinson College was invited to attend the event.
In this article from the March 9, 2006 edition of The Dickinsonian,
Michelle Hadley reports on Dickinson's commemoration of International
Women's Day with a panel discussion on women's situations across the
globe, hosted by the Clarke Center and the Women's Center, as well as a t-shirt sale to benefit the Global Fund for Women.
In this article in the May 4, 2006 edition of The Dickinsonian,
Soren Capawanna reports on the results of a study on the gender climate
at Dickinson, conducted by the President's Commission for Women.
Shannon Sullivan '09, writes a column for the March 2006 Dickinsonian on the perceptions of the Women's Studies Major. Being a Women's Studies Major, Shannon discusses how many people feel the major is "completely unnecessary."Â Since this major is still very "new" in terms of most college majors, people often forget how important this major is to understanding our culture.
Shannon Sullivan considers both sides of the pornography debate in her column in the November 2, 2006 Dickinsonian, in response to a discussion on the topic held by the Zatae Longsdorff Center For Women on October 25th.
In this article from the November 2, 2006 Dickinsonian, copy editor Kelly Clark '09 talks about the amount of work involved in keeping The Dickinsonian going and asks for the help of the wider Dickinson community.