Weekly Newsletters, Fall 2008-Spring 2009

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Well Educated and Undocumented

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/students-undocumented-california-2249138-state-maria


Thousands of undocumented college graduates face major hurdles while looking for employment. Most were brought here by their parents.

The Orange County Register

Carried into the United States in her mother's arms, Maria became a criminal when she was just over 2-weeks-old.

Of course, she did not know that at the time. Maria found out that she was an illegal immigrant when she began applying to colleges at 17, and told herself that if she was unable to gain U.S. citizenship by the time she was 30, she would leave the country forever.

Now 22-years-old and a graduate student at Cal State Fullerton, Maria, who is still undocumented, said that she tries not to think about her lack of citizenship and the obstacles it could create for her future.

Maria is one of thousands of students in Orange County who have been able to attend college through AB 540, a California law that allows undocumented students to pay in-state tuition, rather than the higher fee charged to non-California residents.

The Register is withholding the full names of the undocumented students at their request and under newspaper policy that recognizes the potential for retaliation against them.

Undocumented students are ineligible for state or federal financial aid, but do get help under a policy that allows them to pay the same fees as California residents. For example, non-California residents pay an additional $20,608 a year at the University of California; up to $10,170 at the California State University: and up to $170 per unit at community colleges.

Since AB 540 was enacted in 2001, a growing number of undocumented students in California have been able to pursue college degrees. There are no statewide numbers on how many undocumented students receive help through the program or how much they receive.

While the bill has opened doors to some undocumented students, it has also created a big debate about the legality and merit of subsidizing education for illegal immigrants. And for students like Maria, who would not otherwise have been able to afford higher education, AB 540 has created a huge unanswered question: What happens after graduation?

Every year an estimated 50,000 undocumented students graduate from U.S. high schools. About five percent of those students continue on to college, according to Roberto Gonzales, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Washington, who conducted several studies about undocumented students in Southern California.

For some U.S. citizens, that is five percent too many.

"(California Lt. Gov.) John Garamendi came out last week and said California education is on a starvation diet," said Ira Mehlman, communications director for FAIR, the Federation for American Immigration Reform.

"The idea that California is starving its once proud education program and at the same time turning over these very valuable seats to people who are in the country illegally flies in the face of logic," Mehlman said.

The debate is heading toward the state Supreme Court

One of the attorneys leading the fight against AB 540 is Kris Kobach, chairman of the Kansas Republican Party. Kobach represents a group of students who attended California universities and paid the much higher out-of-state tuition rate.

The students' attorneys argue that, among other things, AB 540 conflicts with federal immigration laws limiting the ability of states to provide certain benefits to undocumented immigrants, said Nicholas Espiritu, staff attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund.

In 2006, the case was dismissed by the Yolo County Superior Court and has wound through various appellate panels. Both sides are now petitioning the state Supreme Court to weigh in. In the meantime, the law stands in effect.

Adding to the complexity of AB 540 is that the law also benefits U.S. citizens who attended high school in California for more than three years and moved out of state after graduation. They too can qualify for in-state tuition through AB 540. In fact, advocates stress that the majority of people taking advantage of the law are U.S. citizens.

According to a 2008 annual report, all but 455 of the 1,639 students who received in-state tuition in the UC system through AB 540 were citizens. Currently, the CSU system does not track AB 540 students, and paperwork varies among community colleges. Fullerton College had 571 students enrolled through AB 540 this fall, but was unable to provide the Register the potential percentage of those students who are undocumented.

Regardless of how people feel about illegal immigration, most of these students are here to stay, argued Josh Bernstein, director of federal policy at the National Immigration Law Center, a pro-immigration think tank.

"The question is would we rather have them in an uneducated state or allow them to be educated and contribute to society?" Bernstein said.

Unlike Maria, Daniel, a 25-year-old senior computer science major at UCI, was originally a legal immigrant. He was 13 when his parents emigrated from Korea to the United States on a business visa. The visa expired and when Daniel turned 21, he became an undocumented student.

"I left Korea when I was in middle school. If I went back now I would be a 13-year-old again," Daniel said, pointing out that his Korean vocabulary and cultural understanding are stuck at an adolescent level.

Daniel said that many of his undocumented Korean friends have gotten married after graduation, hoping to gain citizenship through their spouse. A growing number are returning to Korea to teach English.

"They teach English and earn a lot of money, actually," Daniel said. "Four times as much as a Korean man who graduated from a Korean college."

A growing number of undocumented students who feel stuck in limbo find the answer to the big "what next" question in graduate school, hoping that immigration reform will be passed by the time they earn a master's degree.

"College at least offers some safety for students. I wouldn't call it sanctuary, but at least it's the one legal option they have. Those who aren't (in school) face a day-to-day life of looking over their shoulders," Gonzales said.

Being a full time college student provides no protection from deportation, said Virginia Kice, Spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"Are we specifically targeting individuals who are in this country illegally and going to school?" Kice said. "I would say any individual in the country illegally is subject to arrest and deportation. However, like any law enforcement agency, we have a finite number of resources so we have to prioritize what cases we pursue."

Maria doesn't spend much time looking over her shoulder. A petite woman whose language is peppered with California slang like "chillax," Maria believes, in an admittedly naive way, that she would not be deported because she is so obviously a "Cali girl."

"I want to break down stereotypes," Maria said. "We are here, we are getting an education and we want to make the world better too."

Facing graduation, Claudia, a 28-year-old student at Cal State Long Beach, is having a hard time figuring how to use her double major in psychology and sociology.

"There is really nothing happening with immigration reform," Claudia said. "I am trying to look for other options."

Although Claudia still has family in Mexico and has considered moving back there, right now she is considering graduate school in Spain.

"Here in the States, after college you can go for your master's, but what after that? If I move somewhere else, maybe I can find other options," she said.

Claudia considers herself to be American, even though she wasn't born here. Moving to Spain would not only mean leaving her family behind, it would mean leaving her adopted country behind too, with no guarantee of ever returning.

It is a choice that not many undocumented students make.

"We are waiting for things to change so we can use our degrees," said Matias, a recent graduate of University California Los Angeles.

Many undocumented students have attached their hopes to the federal Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, proposed legislation that would provide a path to citizenship for undocumented high school graduates who arrived in the U.S. before the age of 16.

Some – who've built an education on one bill – may not be willing to stake their future on another bill.

"I am not turning any younger. I want things. I want a job. I want a house. All I have right now is my clothes and my car," Claudia said. "I hope the Dream Act passes, but I don't want to depend on it all my life."

Contact the writer: Contact the writer at jterrell@ocregister.com or 714-796-7722

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Last meeting of the semester! Bring snacks!

Hello FORCErs!

This week (tomorrow) we will be having our last meeting of the semester. We'll be getting together just to hang out and make plans for the next semester and/or winter break.

Hope to see you all there!

For equality,
F.O.R.C.E.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Newsletter 12/01/08

F.O.R.C.E. Newsletter December 1, 2008

F.O.R.C.E. Meetings
Mondays, 1-2pm in the Women’s Resource Center (WRC)

Ongoing Events…

“The Art of War: American Posters from WWI and WWII” Art Exhibit
Sep 5 – Jan 26, 2009
Mondays (noon–6pm), Wednesdays–Thursdays (noon–6pm), Fridays (noon–9pm), Saturdays–Sundays (noon–6pm)
Norton Simon Museum (411 W Colorado Blvd), 626.449.6840
When searching for a means of drumming up support for World War I, officials in Washington didn't have to look much further than two-dimensional art. Upon being asked to lend a hand to the war effort, Society of Illustrators President Charles Dana Gibson and his fellow artists began pumping out graphic masterpieces dripping with propaganda. The Art of War: American Posters from World War I and World War II is a timely exhibit culled from the Norton Simon's own collection. Works include Norman Rockwell's picture-perfect portrayal of the American family gathering and James Montgomery Flagg's iconic I Want You for the U.S. Army, which brought us the enduring image of the white-bearded Uncle Sam.

“War as a Way of Life” Art Exhibit
Sep 29 – Dec 19 Mondays–Fridays (11am–5:30pm)
18th Street Arts Center (1639 18th St), 310.453.3711
18th Street wraps up its yearlong, four-part examination of sociopolitical issues with War as a Way of Life. The exhibit includes the work of 16 artists who demonstrate how war, in all its forms — overseas, at home, in our minds — has become an integral part of the way we live. The unveiling of the show coincides with Art Night, a quarterly extravaganza featuring live music, dancing, and, of course, striking visual art. Intriguingly, the gallery doubles as a polling location on November 4. With images of protest and devastation on display, expect a controversial meeting of politics and art.

In December…

Wednesday, December 3
Die In
To go along with our international women’s issues theme for November, we will be hosting a “Die In.” More details will be announced in the coming weeks. The event will be a way to raise awareness to the number of women that are dying due to various factors and atrocities around the world. We will be wearing all black and speaking about these issues, on the friendship walk on upper campus.
Facebook event page: here.

December 4-6
Black Consciousness Conference
December 4: Talent Showcase, 6pm
December 5: Lecture Series I featuring Michaela Angela Davis, 12-9pm
December 6: Lecture Series II featuring Merira Kwesi, 12-9pm
Flier: here.

Saturday, December 6
Community Meeting Against Discrimination and Police Violence
3:30-6pm
Flier: here.

December 21
Eid-ul-Adha EID Carnival (Muslim Student Association CSULB)
10am-5pm
Flier: here and here.

Die-In this Wednesday!

Hi all,

Hope you're all having a great weekend. As you know, F.O.R.C.E. will be putting on a Die-In this Wednesday, Dec. 3 from 11-2 on the grass near the Friendship Walk, across from the University Bookstore. The purpose of the Die-In is to raise awareness about the Global Gag Rule by dressing in black, laying down and "playing dead" in order to represent the hundreds of thousands of women that have died as a result of this policy. We will also be distributing factsheets about the Global Gag Rule, as well as ways to help.

We want to make sure this event gets a lot of attention. Tell all your friends about it, mention it to your classmates, and don't forget to WEAR BLACK ON WEDNESDAY!

We will need a couple people to help set up and take down the event; we will have more specific information at the F.O.R.C.E. meeting on Monday at 1pm. What I also need, though, is one or two people willing to e-mail CSULB professors about the event (we should have done this earlier, but better late than never), asking them to mention this event to their classes if they can, and perhaps suggest extra credit. Departments of which this topic is most relevant are probably the Political Science and Women's Studies Departments, but feel free to contact more. We need someone to just go to the department websites, copy and paste the e-mail addresses of the professors, and send out a mass e-mail.

You can take information from forceclub.blogspot.com, the Die-In event
page on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=41223147753&ref=mf, or go to http://www.globalgagrule.org/ for more information.

Let me know if you have time to do this, or if you have any other questions about this event.

Thanks!!!

-Justine / F.O.R.C.E.
(760) 670-5483
justineeemarie@gmail.com

Monday, November 24, 2008

The Pink Sari Gang

India's 'pink' vigilante women

By Soutik Biswas
BBC News, Banda


Members of the 'gulabi gang'
The 'pink' gang has staged protests against corrupt officials

They wear pink saris and go after corrupt officials and boorish men with sticks and axes.

The several hundred vigilante women of India's northern Uttar Pradesh state's Banda area proudly call themselves the "gulabi gang" (pink gang), striking fear in the hearts of wrongdoers and earning the grudging respect of officials.

The pink women of Banda shun political parties and NGOs because, in the words of their feisty leader, Sampat Pal Devi, "they are always looking for kickbacks when they offer to fund us".

Two years after they gave themselves a name and an attire, the women in pink have thrashed men who have abandoned or beaten their wives and unearthed corruption in the distribution of grain to the poor.

They have also stormed a police station and attacked a policeman after they took in an untouchable man and refused to register a case.

Poorest

"Nobody comes to our help in these parts. The officials and the police are corrupt and anti-poor. So sometimes we have to take the law in our hands. At other times, we prefer to shame the wrongdoers," says Sampat Pal Devi, between teaching a "gang" member on how to use a lathi (traditional Indian stick) in self defence.

We are a gang for justice
Sampat Pal Devi

Banda is at the heart of the blighted region that is Bundelkhand, one of the poorest parts of one of India's most populous states.

It is among the poorest 200 districts in India which were first targeted for the federal government's massive jobs-for-work programme. Over 20% of its 1.6 million people living in 600 villages are lower castes or untouchables. Drought has parched its already arid, single-crop lands.

Banda road (Pic: Soutik Biswas)
Banda is one of the poorest districts in Uttar Pradesh

To make matters worse, women bear the brunt of poverty and discrimination in Banda's highly caste-ridden, feudalistic and male dominated society. Dowry demands and domestic and sexual violence are common.

Locals say it is not surprising that a women's vigilante group has sprung up in this landscape of poverty, discrimination and chauvinism.

Sampat Pal Devi is a wiry woman, wife of an ice cream vendor, mother of five children, and a former government health worker who set up and leads the "pink gang".

"Mind you," she says, "we are not a gang in the usual sense of the term. We are a gang for justice."

'Uproot the corrupt'

Her seeds of rebellion were sown very early on when in face of her parents' resistance to send her to school, she began writing and drawing on the walls, floors and dust-caked village streets.

She finally ended up going to school, but was married off when she was nine in a region where child marriages are common. At 12, she went to live with her husband and at 13 she had her first child.

Sampat Devi (Pic: Soutik Biswas)
Sampat Pal Devi says nobody helps the poor

To keep the home fires burning, Sampat Devi began to work as a government health worker, but she quit after a while because her job was not satisfying enough.

"I wanted to work for the people, not for myself alone. I was already holding meetings with people, networking with women who were ready to fight for a cause, and was ready with a group of women two years ago," she says.

Sitting outside a home in Attara, Sampat Devi waves her calloused hands, breaks into a rousing song to "uproot the corrupt and be self reliant", and animatedly talks to women - and men - who flock to her with their problems.

A mother brings in her weeping daughter who has been thrown out by her husband demanding 20,000 rupees from her parents.

"He married me for the love of money," sobs Malti.

Sampat Devi tells her "gang" that they will soon march to the girl's house and demand an explanation from the husband. "If they don't take her back and keep her well, we will resort to other measures," she says.

'No handouts'

The pink sorority is not exactly a group of male-bashing feminists - they claim they have returned 11 girls who were thrown out of their homes to their spouses because "women need men to live with".

That is also why men like Jai Prakash Shivhari join the "gulabi" gang and talk with remarkable passion about child marriages, dowry deaths, depleting water resources, farm subsidies and how funds are being stolen in government projects.

"We don't want donations or handouts. We don't want appeasement or affirmative action. Give us work, pay us proper wages and restore our dignity," he says.

The women in the "gulabi gang" echo the same sentiment - but Sampat Devi has a separate agenda for women.

'Gulabi gang' members learning to fight with sticks (Pic: Soutik Biswas)
The women thrashed a policeman in protest against the arrest of a poor man

"Village society in India is loaded against women. It refuses to educate them, marries them off too early, barters them for money. Village women need to study and become independent to sort it out themselves," she says.

Where do the pink women go from here?

They already claim to have done some work in combating crime and corruption in the area. Last year, Sampat Devi contested the state polls as an independent candidate and mustered only 2,800 votes.

"Joining politics is not my chosen way to help people. We will keep up our good work, so the state does not take us for granted," she says.

In the badlands of Uttar Pradesh where nothing seems to work for the poor, this itself is a laudable aim.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

California Supreme Court will hear Prop 8 arguments

LINK to the story and court order

BREAKING: (Press Release) The California Supreme Court today denied requests to stay the enforcement or implementation of Proposition 8, and at the same time agreed to decide several issues arising out of the passage of Proposition 8.

The court’s order, issued in the first three cases that had been filed directly in the state’s highest court challenging the validity of Proposition 8, directed the parties to brief and argue three issues:

(1) Is Proposition 8 invalid because it constitutes a revision of, rather than an amendment to, the California Constitution?
(2) Does Proposition 8 violate the separation-of-powers doctrine under the California Constitution?
(3) If Proposition 8 is not unconstitutional, what is its effect, if any, on the marriages of same-sex couples performed before the adoption of Proposition 8?

The court issued its order in three cases filed on behalf of a variety of parties, including same-sex couples who seek to enter into marriage despite the passage of Proposition 8, a same-sex couple who married in California prior to the adoption of Proposition 8, and a number of cities and counties whose officials seek to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Petitioners in each of these cases seek an order directing the relevant state officials to refrain from implementing, enforcing, or applying Proposition 8.

In response to the petitions, the Attorney General filed a preliminary opposition, in which he urged the court to assume jurisdiction over these cases to decide the important legal issues presented, but also argued that the court should not stay the operation of Proposition 8 pending the court’s resolution of the issues. The proponents of Proposition 8 also responded to the petitions, seeking to intervene as formal parties in the action and also urging the court to accept the cases for decision. The court’s order granted the motion to intervene filed by the proponents of Proposition 8.

In its order, the court established an expedited briefing schedule, under which briefing will be completed in January 2009 and oral argument potentially could be held as early as March 2009.
Six justices — Chief Justice Ronald M. George, Justice Marvin R. Baxter, Justice Kathryn M. Werdegar, Justice Ming W. Chin, Justice Carlos R. Moreno, and Justice Carol A. Corrigan — signed the court’s order, although Justice Moreno indicated that he would grant the requests to stay the operation of Proposition 8 pending the court’s resolution of these matters.

Justice Joyce L. Kennard would deny these petitions without prejudice to the filing in the Supreme Court of an appropriate action to determine Proposition 8’s effect, if any, on the marriages of same-sex couples performed before Proposition 8’s adoption.

New York City Sexbloggers 2009 Calendar


This amazing sex positive calendar is only $20! Awesome

Thanks, Becky, for the tip!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Newsletter - 11/15/08

F.O.R.C.E. Newsletter November 15, 2008

F.O.R.C.E. Meetings
Mondays, 1-2pm in the Women’s Resource Center (WRC)

This week…

Tuesday, November 18
Practicing Peace (Center for Peace and Social Justice - CPSJ)
The Center for Peace and Social Justice along with the College of Liberal Arts is hosting a campus & community festival for Peace. An all inclusive event of dialogue, performance, action and celebration dedicated to creating a more peaceful and just world.
Activities include: A human peace symbol, “It takes a Village to Rape a Woman” Domestic violence workshop presented by WSSA, Workshop on Hate Crimes in Long Beach Presented by The Human Dignity Program of Long Beach and CCEJ, Guests Speakers, and a candlelight vigil honoring all those lost to violence world wide.
Flier: here.

Tuesday, November 18
Islamic Awareness Month: Misconceptions of Jihad
12:00-2:00pm, Speaker’s Platform
Speaker: Amir Abdel Malik

Wednesday, November 19
Islamic Awareness Month: Lost History
12:00-2:00pm, USU Ballrooms
Speaker: Michael Morgon
Wednesday, November 19
Fall 2008 Women’s Research Colloquium
Theme for 2008-2009 "Advocates for Action: Women...Equity...Change!"
(Sponsored by The President’s Commission on the Status of Women)
5:00pm-7:30pm (Dinner begins at 5:00pm; Presentations begin at 5:30pm)
The Pointe, Pyramid
Presenters: Deborah Hann, "Maps in Children's Literature: Their Uses, Forms, and Functions" and Dr. Lina Kawar, "What Keeps Jordanian Immigrant Women from Participating in Breast Cancer Screening"
Cost: $20 for faculty, staff, guests, and students.
RSVP by Wednesday, November 12, 2008 to Cynthia Angiuli via email - cangiuli@csulb.edu or by phone - (562) 985-1688
After RSVP, payment may be made in advance or at the door on the evening of the event.
To pay in advance, please: Forward check payable to CSULB Foundation to Cynthia Angiuli, Presidents Office, BH 300. Include name, department and guest list.

Thursday, November 20
Record Swap
12pm-3pm
Bring VHS, DVDs, books, mixtapes, LPs, CDs, etc.!
There will be no selling of items. If you do not bring anything to the swap, please take no more than 2 items.
If you would like to drop off your stuff before the swap, please email F.O.R.C.E. to set up a pick-up: theragzine@gmail.com
Otherwise, just bring your items on the day of the swap!
Flier: here.
Facebook event page: here.

Thursday, November 20
Islamic Awareness Month: Evolution
4:00-6:00pm, USU Ballroom A
Speaker: Mustafa Umar

Thursday, November 20
Transgender Day of Remembrance Film Screening
5:00pm, Multicultural Center
We will be screening Transamerica and discussing transgender issues in honor of Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Facebook event page: here.

Friday, November 21
Spain in the Americas & The Americas in Spain
AS110 (Karl Anatol Center)
2pm-5pm Panel, 5pm Reception, 7pm Flamenco
2:00-5pm: Shirley Mangini, CSULB: “Maruja Mallo: International Artist” &
Luis Martín-Cabrera, UCSD: “Towards a Model of Global Justice? ‘El Caso Pinochet’ and the Limits of Human Rights and International Law”
The event is free & open to public. RSVP to cmccarty@csulb.edu or call (562) 985-4318.

Ongoing Events…

“The Art of War: American Posters from WWI and WWII” Art Exhibit
Sep 5 – Jan 26, 2009
Mondays (noon–6pm), Wednesdays–Thursdays (noon–6pm), Fridays (noon–9pm), Saturdays–Sundays (noon–6pm)
Norton Simon Museum (411 W Colorado Blvd), 626.449.6840
When searching for a means of drumming up support for World War I, officials in Washington didn't have to look much further than two-dimensional art. Upon being asked to lend a hand to the war effort, Society of Illustrators President Charles Dana Gibson and his fellow artists began pumping out graphic masterpieces dripping with propaganda. The Art of War: American Posters from World War I and World War II is a timely exhibit culled from the Norton Simon's own collection. Works include Norman Rockwell's picture-perfect portrayal of the American family gathering and James Montgomery Flagg's iconic I Want You for the U.S. Army, which brought us the enduring image of the white-bearded Uncle Sam.

“War as a Way of Life” Art Exhibit
Sep 29 – Dec 19 Mondays–Fridays (11am–5:30pm)
18th Street Arts Center (1639 18th St), 310.453.3711
18th Street wraps up its yearlong, four-part examination of sociopolitical issues with War as a Way of Life. The exhibit includes the work of 16 artists who demonstrate how war, in all its forms — overseas, at home, in our minds — has become an integral part of the way we live. The unveiling of the show coincides with Art Night, a quarterly extravaganza featuring live music, dancing, and, of course, striking visual art. Intriguingly, the gallery doubles as a polling location on November 4. With images of protest and devastation on display, expect a controversial meeting of politics and art.

In November and beyond…

Wednesday, December 3
Die In
To go along with our international women’s issues theme for November, we will be hosting a “Die In.” More details will be announced in the coming weeks. The event will be a way to raise awareness to the number of women that are dying due to various factors and atrocities around the world. We will be wearing all black and speaking about these issues, on the friendship walk on upper campus.
Facebook event page: here.
If you would like to help plan the Die In, please email Justine at justineeemarie@gmail.com

December 4-6
Black Consciousness Conference
December 4: Talent Showcase, 6pm
December 5: Lecture Series I featuring Michaela Angela Davis, 12-9pm
December 6: Lecture Series II featuring Merira Kwesi, 12-9pm
Flier: here.

Immigration Awareness Week

Come on down for some eye-opening experiences.


Tuesday, Nov. 18:
"The Life of an Undocumented University Student"
Room ED1-40
10:30am-12:00noon

Wednesday, Nov. 19:
"Women, Labor, and Migration"
Film: Maquilapolis
Room: MultiCultural Center
12:00pm-2:00pm

Thursday, Nov. 20:
"Immigration, Health, and Well-being"
Room: AS-122 (Near Beach Hut)
7:00pm-8:30pm


Sponsored by-
The Long Beach Immigrant Rights Coalition
Sociology Department, Psychology Department, La Raza Student Association, WSSA, Center for Community Engagement, F.U.E.L., ASI


for more info, contact: longbeachimmigrantrightscoalition@yahoo.com
or Annette Quintero @ 714-335-5297

Friday, November 14, 2008

CSUN student released on bail in Iran

Esha Momeni was arrested last month while working on a master's thesis about women's rights. She still faces charges of 'acting against national security,' which could bring a lengthy prison term.
By Ramin Mostaghim and Borzou Daragahi
November 11, 2008
Reporting from Tehran and Beirut -- A Cal State Northridge graduate student who was arrested in Iran last month was released on $200,000 bail Monday, her father said.

Esha Momeni, 28, a dual U.S. and Iranian citizen who was visiting Iran to research a master's thesis, may not leave the country and must still stand before a political tribunal to face charges of "acting against national security" and "propagating against the system," said Reza Momeni, her father.

[Image here]

Both are serious charges that can carry lengthy prison sentences.

In a brief telephone interview, Momeni said his daughter had lost about 15 pounds but otherwise appeared to be in good health. He said he had to put up the deed to his family's Tehran apartment as collateral to win his Los Angeles-born daughter's release.

"I hope she will go back to L.A. soon," he said. "But for now, the authorities told us she is forbidden to go out. Tomorrow, we will be in court, and they will tell us what the next step will be."

Esha Momeni moved to Iran with her family at a young age but returned to the United States to study after she divorced in 2005. She traveled to Iran about 10 weeks ago to videotape interviews with women's rights activists as part of a master's project. She was focusing on members of the One Million Signatures Campaign for Equality, a loosely organized group that advocates better rights for Iranian women.

She was arrested and locked up in a political ward inside Tehran's Evin prison Oct. 15 after what at first appeared to be a routine traffic stop. Instead of issuing a ticket, however, police escorted her to her parents' home, where she was staying, searched the flat and seized her computer before taking her away.

News of the arrest spread abroad. Her classmates at Cal State Northridge launched a website, for-esha.blogspot.com, calling for her release. Italy's ambassador to Iran last week lodged a formal complaint about her detention, Italy's official ANSA news agency reported.

On Friday, her father was quoted by Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency as saying he disapproved of his daughter's activities.

"I had no knowledge about the illegal activities of my daughter," he said. "But now I have realized that her work was illegal."

He also denied reports that he had been barred from seeing her, saying that he and his wife "did not want to visit her" in prison "because of our anger in connection to her activities."

Mostaghim is a special correspondent. Daragahi is a Times staff writer.

daragahi@latimes.com

An intellectual makeover for Iranian women

An intellectual makeover for Iranian women

Nazanin Gohari
Newsha Tavakolian / For The Times
Nazanin Gohari has turned her living room into a library for women, with secondhand books filling up makeshift bookshelves.
In an impoverished Tehran district, a hairdresser-turned-activist helps girls and women help themselves through books, health workshops and civic action.
By Borzou Daragahi
November 14, 2008
Reporting from Tehran -- In her eyes, they are all daughters and sisters. The waifish 18-year-old, already married and a mother, but with a hunger to learn. The pair of shy high school students, nervous at first, but soon browsing eagerly through the bookshelves. The matronly homemaker, unsure and uneducated, but discovering the world beyond the slums of southern Tehran by reading Feodor Dostoevski and Jean-Paul Sartre.

For the women in her neighborhood, Nazanin Gohari has become a savior of minds.

[Image here]

A few years back, the part-time hairdresser-turned-community activist transformed her shabby apartment into a library for women, collecting secondhand books to fill the makeshift shelves in her living room.

First she stocked them with trashy novels, poetry and how-to and self-help titles. But the demand for cookbooks and sewing patterns eventually gave way to requests for college-preparation books and literature. The girls leafing through illustrated children's books bloomed into strong-willed women eager to pursue higher education.

Gohari remembers one girl, a 17-year-old named Sedigheh, who came to her crying, distraught that her parents couldn't afford the study materials for college entrance exams. Scoring high would place the bright teenager on the fast track to a potentially glorious future, maybe even including medical school. Not taking the test would mean a life more ordinary, perhaps married to a man twice her age, tending to babies and home.

For Gohari, helping the teen became a mission, one of many. She scoured the city for the study books, relatively cheap by Western standards but a fortune for Iran's poor.

"She was ashamed because she couldn't afford the books," Gohari said.

The older woman put her hand out to the girl. "I said, 'Study here.' " And then Gohari handed her the books.

A plump, bespectacled woman now in her late 50s, Gohari delights in the women in her impoverished district, recounting the details of their triumphs and ordeals. She sprinkles her sentences with folksy praises of God as she speaks excitedly about her adventures as a grass-roots activist, filling a social and even political vacuum created by Iran's rapid transition from a largely rural nation where people tended to neighbors' needs to today's impersonal urban society where most fend for themselves.

Obscured from public view, Iran's women have quietly navigated restrictions of politics, religion and tradition over the last three decades to bolster their status and advance into positions of power.

Although the conservative clerics who took over the country after the 1979 ouster of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi hoped to ossify women's traditional roles, they set in place dynamics that liberated them. As the clerics launched literacy drives and built hundreds of colleges around the country, Iran's literacy rate rose from less than 50% in the 1970s to as high as 85% today.

Instead of creating a powerful new Islamic generation, they pushed the country into the modern age, raising the ambitions and savvy of young Iranians, half of them women, who began to question society's rules and strictures.

"It's one of the ironies of the revolution that women's sense of self has become much stronger," said Pardis Mahdavi, an Iranian American anthropologist who teaches at Pomona College and wrote the 2008 book "Passionate Uprisings," about the evolution of sex and gender in Iran. "The revolution has given birth to a stronger women's movement."

Gohari, a mother of two and the wife of a civil servant, began embracing community activism in the early 1990s, shortly after the Iran-Iraq war and the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Wartime restrictions loosened and the revolutionary leader's charismatic spell was broken. The country began to focus on practical matters such as rebuilding a ravaged infrastructure and promoting better health. A social worker dispatched to Gohari's neighborhood, the ancient district of Rey, charmed her into attending a breast cancer awareness workshop.

She didn't want to go at first. But from the beginning of the initial session, on breast self-examinations, it was a revelation. One of her best friends had died of breast cancer. "It was eye-opening," she said. "Those 10 minutes changed my life."

The reluctant student became a cheerleader for women's health, encouraging her neighbors, many of them poor recent arrivals from the countryside, to come to workshops on prenatal care, child development, breast cancer awareness, nutrition, sex education and mental health.

"I would offer women discounts on hairdos if they would come to the courses," Gohari said.

She began organizing the women to demand better municipal services, better-lighted streets clear of drug addicts and criminals, and parks where mothers could take their children without fear of being accosted by panhandlers or stumbling over used needles.

Gohari was elected head of a women's council that she and her neighbors created. They began demanding meetings with municipal leaders.

One top official for the Ministry of Electricity resisted. His excuse: He didn't like dealing with women.

[continue reading here...]

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Newsletter - 11/08/08

F.O.R.C.E. Newsletter November 8, 2008

F.O.R.C.E. Meetings
Mondays, 1-2pm in the Women’s Resource Center (WRC)

F.O.R.C.E. does NOT support the passing of Prop 8. We plan to work hard to fight this along with other progressive organizations in California and nationwide. We will post information on our blog as we get it.

This week...

Wednesday, November 12
What is Really Happening in Venezuela?: Chavéz, Bush and the U.S. Media
CBA Rm. 229, 4-7 pm
Free pizza and refreshments.
This forum will include reflections from students who visited Venezuela last summer, short clips from a documentary made by Luis Testa, a recent graduate of the journalism department, and commentaries by Professor Raul Reis and anthropology major Patricia McHugh. Open discussion/debate about media, politics and foreign policy will follow.

Friday, November 14
iCULTURE: An informal discussion on today's social issues
topic: Democracy in America
6:30pm
Mirage Cafe, 538 E. Bixby Ave., LB
Flier here.

Next week…

Tuesday, November 18
Practicing Peace (Center for Peace and Social Justice - CPSJ)
The Center for Peace and Social Justice along with the College of Liberal Arts is hosting a campus & community festival for Peace. An all inclusive event of dialogue, performance, action and celebration dedicated to creating a more peaceful and just world.
Activities include: A human peace symbol, “It takes a Village to Rape a Woman” Domestic violence workshop presented by WSSA, Workshop on Hate Crimes in Long Beach Presented by The Human Dignity Program of Long Beach and CCEJ, Guests Speakers, and a candlelight vigil honoring all those lost to violence world wide.

Wednesday, November 19
Fall 2008 Women’s Research Colloquium, Theme for 2008-2009 "Advocates for Action: Women...Equity...Change!"
(Sponsored by The President’s Commission on the Status of Women)
5:00pm-7:30pm (Dinner begins at 5:00pm; Presentations begin at 5:30pm)
The Pointe, Pyramid
Presenters: Deborah Hann, "Maps in Children's Literature: Their Uses, Forms, and Functions" and Dr. Lina Kawar, "What Keeps Jordanian Immigrant Women from Participating in Breast Cancer Screening"
Cost: $20 for faculty, staff, guests, and students.
RSVP by Wednesday, November 12, 2008 to Cynthia Angiuli via email - cangiuli@csulb.edu or by phone - (562) 985-1688
After RSVP, payment may be made in advance or at the door on the evening of the Colloquium.
To pay in advance, please: Forward check payable to CSULB Foundation to Cynthia Angiuli, Presidents Office, BH 300. Include name, department and guest list.

Thursday, November 20
Transgender Day of Remembrance film screening
CSULB Multicultural Center
5:00pm
Facebook event page: here.

Thursday, November 20
Record Swap
12pm-3pm
Bring VHS, DVDs, books, mixtapes, LPs, CDs, etc.!
There will be no selling of items. If you do not bring anything to the swap, please take no more than 2 items.
If you would like to drop off your stuff before the swap, please email F.O.R.C.E. to set up a pick-up: theragzine@gmail.com
Otherwise, just bring your items on the day of the swap!

Ongoing Events…

“The Art of War: American Posters from WWI and WWII” Art Exhibit
Sep 5 – Jan 26, 2009
Mondays (noon–6pm), Wednesdays–Thursdays (noon–6pm), Fridays (noon–9pm), Saturdays–Sundays (noon–6pm)
Norton Simon Museum (411 W Colorado Blvd), 626.449.6840
When searching for a means of drumming up support for World War I, officials in Washington didn't have to look much further than two-dimensional art. Upon being asked to lend a hand to the war effort, Society of Illustrators President Charles Dana Gibson and his fellow artists began pumping out graphic masterpieces dripping with propaganda. The Art of War: American Posters from World War I and World War II is a timely exhibit culled from the Norton Simon's own collection. Works include Norman Rockwell's picture-perfect portrayal of the American family gathering and James Montgomery Flagg's iconic I Want You for the U.S. Army, which brought us the enduring image of the white-bearded Uncle Sam.

“War as a Way of Life” Art Exhibit
Sep 29 – Dec 19 Mondays–Fridays (11am–5:30pm)
18th Street Arts Center (1639 18th St), 310.453.3711
18th Street wraps up its yearlong, four-part examination of sociopolitical issues with War as a Way of Life. The exhibit includes the work of 16 artists who demonstrate how war, in all its forms — overseas, at home, in our minds — has become an integral part of the way we live. The unveiling of the show coincides with Art Night, a quarterly extravaganza featuring live music, dancing, and, of course, striking visual art. Intriguingly, the gallery doubles as a polling location on November 4. With images of protest and devastation on display, expect a controversial meeting of politics and art.

In November and beyond…

Wednesday, December 3
Die In
To go along with our international women’s issues theme for November, we will be hosting a “Die In.” More details will be announced in the coming weeks. The event will be a way to raise awareness to the number of women that are dying due to various factors and atrocities around the world. We will be wearing all black and speaking about these issues, on the friendship walk on upper campus.
Facebook event page: here.
If you would like to help plan the Die In, please email Justine at justineeemarie@gmail.com

Also…

Study abroad in Oaxaca!
ANTH 440/540 (3 units)
January 5-19, 2009
Open to all majors (Faculty permission required)
ETHNOGRAPHIC FIELD SCHOOL
OAXACA, MEXICO
Estimated cost: $2,275
Included:
Course tuition, Roundtrip fare LAX -->Oaxaca, Land transportation, Medical insurance, Hotel/2 meals per day, Entry to sites
Not Included:
Passport fee, Some meals, Personal expenses
You will be…
Learning to collect and analyze data, Visiting museums, schools, and historic and cultural sites that shape Oaxacan identity, Interviewing farmers, artists, teachers and students about family and community life, Participating in everyday activities in Oaxaca City and farming and artisan villages
For information and application please contact:
Dr. Jayne Howell, Department of Anthropology: jhowell@csulb.edu
Deadline: Registration and payment of all fees Nov. 15, 2008

Thursday, November 6, 2008

We do NOT support Prop 8!

Prop 8 is a ballot measure on the November 4, 2008 California ballots that has taken away the marriage rights of same-sex couples. It is WRONG.

Last night, we attended a rally in West Hollywood against Proposition 8. The turn-out was amazing! People are really working hard to do something about the violation of basic civil rights that has just been passed. This is a huge issue and FORCE is prepared to help in any way possible. There will be other rallies and protests and events, and we will post them as we find them.

http://www.noonprop8.com

News coverage of the event:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2008/11/los-angeles-p-1.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-protestarrest6-2008nov06,0,288808.story

http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid64979.asp


Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Picnic & Film Screening this Saturday, 11/08/08

FORCE will be carpooling to the AFI Film Festival on Saturday, November 8, for two FREE screenings. We will be meeting on campus at 12:00pm, having a picnic in Griffith Park at 1:00pm, then going to the "Food Fight" screening at 3:15pm. If you can stay longer, we'll also see "The World We Want" at 7:00pm.

BRING A PICNIC LUNCH!

There are many more films that day, but those are the only free ones. The other films are $11.

If interested, please contact us at force4change@yahoo.com


*****
FOOD FIGHT
Free Screenings
(USA, 2008, 83 mins)
HDCAM
Directed By: Chris Taylor
Producers: Chris Taylor, Mark Rossen
Executive Producer: Alan Siegel
Director of Photography: Pete Fuszard
Editor: Miranda Yousef
Music: Scott Harper

* www.foodfightthedoc.com/


Horrible news: there’s been a governmental conspiracy afoot for decades to make America’s food less delicious! In Chris Taylor’s gastronomical documentary, this crime against our taste buds is comprehensively exposed, with the revolutionary stance against it (otherwise known as organic produce) brought into delectable relief. Taylor reaches as far back as World War II to explain our country’s initial tendency toward corporate-owned, mass-produced and flavorless agricultural goods, and examines how this trend has ultimately landed the United States in the unhealthy state it is in today. From there, the documentary takes a mouthwatering turn as it follows the now-legendary chefs who spearheaded the California Cuisine movement. Notables such as Chez Panisse owner Alice Waters, Wolfgang Puck, Jeremiah Tower and Suzanne Goin are interviewed, with their stories of culinary triumph lovingly retold. In a country where The Man seems to have quality control over almost all aspects of our lives, a fight for fresh food is more than just a tummy growl—it’s a subversive move to protect our right to be healthy and happy. FOOD FIGHT fully promotes this idea, and urges its viewers to continue the 50-year battle for deliciousness by buying locally and eating organically. And who could argue? All we have to lose is our heart disease, obesity and wealthy corporate middlemen. Viva la revolution!



*****

THE WORLD WE WANT
Free Screenings
(USA, 2008, 100 mins)
World Premiere
Directed By: Patrick Davidson
Producer: Patrick Davidson
Director of Photography: Curt Miles,Brian Pratt
Editors: Joanne Nucho, Bill Macomber
Music: Paul Hollman
Co Producer: Roberta Davidson

* theworldwewantmovie.com/


Patrick Davidson's empowering documentary follows a group of self-motivated teenagers, from a broad spectrum of countries, who come together to strive for societal betterment. In the film, the final eight teams compete in Project Citizen, an international program in which groups of teens present game plans for community improvement in their home cities. An array of countries are represented—Jordan, Senegal, Columbia, India and beyond—with an even more diverse group of active and intelligent young people each given his or her moment to defend a worthy cause. Perhaps what is most moving about THE WORLD WE WANT is how it captures the non-destructive side of teen spirit. The young men and women are at once normal and exemplary, channeling their rebellious teenage drive into positive action, with hopes of creating a more positive future. Meanwhile, Davidson provides sobering reminders that the world we currently occupy is far from ideal. The team from Jordan investigates into the relentless presence of beatings-as-punishment in primary schools, while the Senegalese team takes a stand against the unsanitary drinking water in the city of Ross Bethio. The members of Project Citizen have seen violence, poverty, and corruption, experienced illness, and even lost loved ones: harsh realities that set them into motion. In a culture that glorifies selfish, privileged and irresponsible teenagers, the youth of THE WORLD WE WANT deserve at least equal time.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Newsletter 11/03/08

F.O.R.C.E. Newsletter November 3, 2008

F.O.R.C.E. Meetings
Mondays, 1-2pm in the Women’s Resource Center (WRC)

Submission date extended for entries for the 2nd Zine
Entries Due: Saturday, November 8.
Theme: international women’s issues!
Flier: here.

This past week…

Monday, October 27
Prop 4 Forum
12:00pm-2:00pm, in room LA3-108
F.O.R.C.E. hosted a forum to discuss both sides of Proposition 4 on the California ballot. The event raised awareness about the importance of voting on this issue.

This week…
Friday, October 31 – November 9
AFI Fest 2008
AFI Fest is a film festival featuring documentary and feature films from around the world. Independent cinema and foreign cinema are well represented.
http://www.afi.com/onscreen/afifest/2008/default.aspx


November 4
VOTE VOTE VOTE!
We have "Vote No on 4 & 8" signs and literature to pass out to voters. Election regulations state that you can hand out literature up to 100 feet away from polling locations. At CSULB's Student Union on Election Day, there will be a voting location. We plan to have some of our members and supporters handing out "No on 4 & 8" literature for voters and generally helping in the voting process.
If you have even 30min-an hour on election day and would like to hold a sign, help voters, or pass out literature with us, PLEASE do so! We will be keeping all of the material in the Women's Resource Center at at the Student Union location. if you are interested, please email me your name and phone number so that we can arrange the time that you can help out!


In November and beyond…


November 18
Practicing Peace (Center for Peace and Social Justice - CPSJ)
The Center for Peace and Social Justice along with the College of Liberal Arts is hosting a campus & community festival for Peace. An all inclusive event of dialogue, performance, action and celebration dedicated to creating a more peaceful and just world.
Activities include: A human peace symbol, “It takes a Village to Rape a Woman” Domestic violence workshop presented by WSSA, Workshop on Hate Crimes in Long Beach Presented by The Human Dignity Program of Long Beach and CCEJ, Guests Speakers, and a candlelight vigil honoring all those lost to violence world wide.

Wednesday, December 3
Die In
To go along with our international women’s issues theme for November, we will be hosting a “Die In.” More details will be announced in the coming weeks. The event will be a way to raise awareness to the number of women that are dying due to various factors and atrocities around the world. We will be wearing all black and speaking about these issues, on the friendship walk on upper campus.
Facebook event page: here.
If you would like to help plan the Die In, please email Justine at justineeemarie@gmail.com


Also…

Study abroad in Oaxaca!
ANTH 440/540 (3 units)
January 5-19, 2009
Open to all majors (Faculty permission required)
ETHNOGRAPHIC FIELD SCHOOL
OAXACA, MEXICO
Estimated cost: $2,275
Included:
Course tuition, Roundtrip fare LAX -->Oaxaca, Land transportation, Medical insurance, Hotel/2 meals per day, Entry to sites
Not Included:
Passport fee, Some meals, Personal expenses
You will be…
Learning to collect and analyze data, Visiting museums, schools, and historic and cultural sites that shape Oaxacan identity, Interviewing farmers, artists, teachers and students about family and community life, Participating in everyday activities in Oaxaca City and farming and artisan villages
For information and application please contact:
Dr. Jayne Howell, Department of Anthropology: jhowell@csulb.edu
Deadline: Registration and payment of all fees Nov. 15, 2008

Sunday, October 26, 2008

A Woman Leads Muslim Prayer in Britain For the First Time
By Fatemeh Fakhraie
October 22, 2008

The landmark event depicts a religion in transition, but what of the criticisms that it's just a publicity stunt?

Last Friday, Dr. Amina Wadud led a mixed-gender congregation of 15 people in prayer in the U.K. This is the first time that any Muslim woman has done so in Britain, and the second time Dr. Wadud has led a mixed congregational prayer (she made history by leading a congregation in New York City in 2005).

Plenty of less-than-enthusiastic Muslims lined up outside to protest Dr. Wadud because they feel Islamic law does not permit women to lead prayer. Several prominent Muslims in Britain, including the Vice President of the Muslim Association of Britain, issued statements opposing the sermon. On the blogosphere, there have been mixed reactions. There are people who are down with the idea, people who aren't aren’t, and some in between.

Personally, I'm in the camp that finds Dr. Wadud and her work to be awesome, including her leading prayer. My only major qualm is with the media presence: the cameras make the event look like a publicity stunt (which is one of the accusations made by those who disagree with Dr. Wadud) which would lessen its value. I can understand the desire for transparency and wanting to share this occasion with others around the world. But frankly, it doesn’t good when cameras outnumber actual worshippers.

Still, the critical point here is that Dr. Wadud’s work illustrates that Islam is not a stagnant religion and that Muslims aren’t religiously-programmed robots. For many people, Islam is not rigid or immutable, but changes as we and our societies evolve. This is an example of what can happen when a fresh pair of eyes delves into Islamic theology and law. Dr. Wadud’s work is not presently accepted by the majority of Muslims, but it is important work nonetheless.

Bio
Fatemeh Fakhraie is an Iranian-American Muslim woman who writes articles about race, religion, and feminism in different outlets, and speaks publicly about issues that Muslim women face from an Islamic feminist viewpoint. She founded and currently serves as editor of Muslimah Media Watch, a website that critiques media images of Muslim women.
This Is Not An Invitation To Rape Me - Changing Attitudes on The Blame For Rape
http://www.thisisnotaninvitationtorapeme.co.uk/

A great campaign that started in Scotland. The campaign uses provocative and interesting imagery to expose to the way rape culture promotes victim-blaming. Some of the topics covered are dress, intimacy, drinking, and relationships. This is a great resource for people who wish to learn more about rape culture
An Open Letter to White Non-Muslim Western Feminists
by Fatemeh, muslimnista.org

We need to talk.

Having the economic privilege to spend a few summers in Cairo or to study abroad in Dubai does not give you the authority to speak about Middle Eastern culture.

Dating a Saudi guy does not give you the authority to speak about Islam. Or about Muslim men.

Knowing some Muslim women through work or as friends does not give you the authority to speak for them or the rest of Muslim women.

There are those of us who suffer. But don’t speak of us as victims if we are not dead. Don’t deny the agency with which we become survivors and active shapers of our lives. Don’t ignore the fighting we do for ourselves.

We can—and do—speak for ourselves. So stop speaking for us.

I notice a lot of condescension and arrogance when you talk to us or about us. Let me be clear: you do not know more about us than we know about ourselves, our religion, our cultures, our families, or the forces that shape our lives. You do not know what’s best for us more than we do.

So please check yourselves.

Being an ally does not mean speaking for us, making choices for us, or figuring out what’s best for us. It means supporting and defending the choices we make and the voices we use.

If we want help, and ask for it, then do only what you’re asked. Don’t invent new ways to characterize us as oppressed or agitate for the solving of problems that aren’t pressingly important. Case in point: if we want better divorce laws in a particular country, don’t agitate for the abolishing of mandatory clothing policies.

If you can’t do that, then don’t bother. It’s better to just stay out of our way. Passing judgment on and mischaracterizing our choices, our religion, or ways of life does us more harm than good; with friends like that, who needs enemies?

Sincerely,

An Islamic feminist who has met one-too-many white non-Muslim feminists that assume that they know better

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Newsletter 10/25/08

F.O.R.C.E. Newsletter October 25, 2008

F.O.R.C.E. Meetings
Mondays, 1-2pm in the Women’s Resource Center (WRC)
NOTE: There will be no F.O.R.C.E. meeting this Monday, October 27, because of the Prop 4 Forum

This week…

October 22, 2008 - November 02, 2008
Refugee Camp in the Heart of Los Angeles
9:00AM - 5:30PM
Los Angeles: (Crystal Springs Picnic Area, Griffith Park): October 22 - 27
Santa Monica (Santa Monica Pier): October 31 -November 2
Step into the lives of refugees who have fled their homes.
"A Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City," an outdoor interactive exhibit organized by Doctors Without Borders, asks visitors to imagine they are among the world's 42 million people forced to flee their homes because of war or conflict.
Will I be safe? What will I eat? How do I find water? Can I get medical care? Where will I live?
Experienced aid workers from Doctors Without Borders guide visitors through structures such as a cholera treatment center, emergency refugee housing, and nutrition and vaccination tents while they explain challenges that refugees face in finding food, water, shelter, and medical care. The exhibit is made up of actual materials the organization uses in its medical humanitarian work around the world.
Event is free, open to the public and wheelchair accessbile.
For more information visit: www.doctorswithoutborders.org/RefugeeCamp

Saturday, October 25
headRush presents “Tour for a True Democracy”
Echo Park, CA
Use the arts and popular education to spark civic engagement and explore the issues surrounding the upcoming election 2008!
Fall 2008, headRush takes their wild multi-media satire to theatres, colleges, and public spaces throughout the country to ignite a community-based dialogue on the current state of affairs and our collective power to create the kind of democratic structure that truly represents us.The Throwdown brings street theatre to the stage and takes the audience into the imagination of a young man struggling for a "true" democracy. Through spoken word comedy, surreal musical numbers, and visual projections, headRush takes us on a psycho-political trip through this homeboy’s subconscious where elements of the corporo-tocracy take superhuman form, a world where powerful fiends use hyper-surveillance to maintain their grip on inner city youth, manipulate Homeland (In)Security over the US/Mexico border, and flood consumers with endless glittering golden distractions. This hybrid performance invites audiences to participate in a collective vision of our potential for change.
The cost is $10 to 25 sliding scale but no one will be turned away!

Monday, October 27
Prop 4 Forum
12:00pm-2:00pm, in room LA3-108
F.O.R.C.E. is hosting a forum to discuss both sides of Proposition 4 on the California ballot. The event will raise awareness about the importance of voting on this issue. Anyone and everyone is invited to attend, or special on a particular side, if they wish.
NO ON PROP 4: http://www.yeson4.net
YES ON PROP 4: http://www.yeson4.net
Facebook event page: here.


Tuesday, October 28th
Prop 2 Teach-In (Cease Animal Torture)
1:00-2:00pm, on the upper campus quad near KJazz
An event to raise awareness about the importance of Prop 2 on the November ballot. Information on the ballot available here.

Tuesday, October 28
ITVS DOCUMENTARY SERIES presents a screening of LIONESS
7:30pm, The Egyptian Theater, Los Angeles (Map)
They went to Iraq as cooks, clerks and mechanics and returned a year later as part of America's first generation of female combat veterans. Despite an official government policy that states that women are not supposed to partake in direct ground combat, the five women featured here most certainly did. LIONESS, the provocative and powerful documentary from Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers, tells the story of five women who served together for a year in Iraq. Free Admission! First come, first served. Panel Discussion participants to be announced. About ITVS Community Cinema: ITVS, the co-presenter of Independent Lens, presents ITVS Community Cinema, a free monthly screening series, offered in over 50 cities throughout the U.S. www.itvs.org , www.pbs.org/independentlens

Tuesday, October 28
I.O.U.S.A. Film Screening
Doors open at 5pm, Panel at 6:45pm, Sneak preview Monday Oct. 27 at 5pm
USU Beach Auditorium
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBo2xQIWHiM
The Financial Management Association (FMA) will present
the Sundance Award-winning film I.O.U.S.A. on Monday, October 27 and
Tuesday, October 28 in the USU Beach Auditorium. This is a
critically acclaimed documentary that discusses government
debt, liabilities, the trade deficit, personal debt, and
leadership/ethics. FMA has been granted exclusive rights
to show it at the university with no admission charge. As
a matter of fact, the CSULB will be hosting the very first
university release of this film in the western United
States.
Both screenings of I.O.U.S.A. will begin at 5 PM. However,
the October 28th showing will be the official event, as it
will be followed by a panel of experts at 6:45 PM.
Confirmed panelists are Drs. Michael Solt (Finance Expert and CBA Dean), Edgar Kaskla (Political Science), Lisa Grobar (Economics), Steven Yamarik (Economics), and F. King Alexander (President of CSULB)

Wednesday, October 29
CSULB No on Prop 8 Protest
12:30pm-2:30pm, Friendship Walk
http://www.noonprop8.com
Facebook event page: here.

Thursday, October 30
“Know Your Props” Information Fair
12-3pm, on the Friendship walk on upper campus
CA propositions on the November ballot
Groups that will be featured: Campus Progressive Collective, F.O.R.C.E., C.A.T., W.S.S.A., Environmental Science & policy CLUB & More

In November and December, F.O.R.C.E. will be taking on international women’s issues. We will be having a zine, a “Die In,” and we will be working with various other organizations on events that promote peace and equality on a global scale. Please email us if you want to be involved in any way!

Friday, October 31 – November 9
AFI Fest 2008
AFI Fest is a film festival featuring documentary and feature films from around the world. Independent cinema and foreign cinema are well represented.
http://www.afi.com/onscreen/afifest/2008/default.aspx

Next week...

Saturday, November 1
Entries for the 2nd Zine Due. Theme: international women’s issues!
Flier: here.

November 4
VOTE VOTE VOTE!

In November and beyond...

November 18 and 19
Practicing Peace (Center for Peace and Social Justice - CPSJ)
The Center for Peace and Social Justice along with the College of Liberal Arts is hosting a campus & community festival for Peace. An all inclusive event of dialogue, performance, action and celebration dedicated to creating a more peaceful and just world.
Activities include: A human peace symbol, “It takes a Village to Rape a Woman” Domestic violence workshop presented by WSSA, Workshop on Hate Crimes in Long Beach Presented by The Human Dignity Program of Long Beach and CCEJ, Guests Speakers, and a candlelight vigil honoring all those lost to violence world wide.

Date TBA
Die In
To go along with our international women’s issues theme for November, we will be hosting a “Die In.” More details will be announced in the coming weeks. The event will be a way to raise awareness to the number of women that are dying due to various factors and atrocities around the world. We will be wearing all black and speaking about these issues, on the friendship walk on upper campus.
If you would like to help plan the Die In, please email Justine at justineeemarie@gmail.com

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

New Documentary: "Saving Africa's Witch Children"

Channel 4's Dispatches to investigate Nigerian 'witch children'

From The Guardian UK: Oscar-nominated actor Sophie Okonedo is to narrate a hard-hitting Dispatches programme for Channel 4 (UK) about children in Nigeria who are tortured for being witches.

The new programme... will look at the phenomenon of children who are blamed for catastrophes, death and famine and branded witches in some of the poorest parts of Nigeria.

Saving Africa's Witch Children follows Briton Gary Foxcroft, who has devoted his life to raising money to help the children and who works with Nigerian Sam Itauma, who runs a shelter for children accused of witchcraft.

The documentary will feature shocking stories of torture inflicted on children, including a 13-year-old who was tied up with chicken wire and starved and beaten for two weeks, and a 14-year-old girl who was burned with acid before her mother attempted to bury her alive.

Read the full article here.

Afghan gets 20 years for women’s rights talk

Afghan gets 20 years for women’s rights talk
Death sentence quashed, but student is jailed over Islam questions in class

KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan appeals court overturned a death sentence Tuesday for a journalism student accused of blasphemy for asking questions in class about women's rights under Islam. But the judges still sentenced him to 20 years in prison.

Read the story here.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Newsletter 10/20/08

F.O.R.C.E. Newsletter October 20, 2008

F.O.R.C.E. Meetings
Mondays, 1-2pm in the Women’s Resource Center (WRC)

The first F.O.R.C.E. zine of the semester, The Sex Positive Zine, is finished! There are lots of great articles, stories, poems, and art work in the zine. If you would like a copy, they are $1.00. Please email us at force4change@yahoo.com

This past week…

Tuesday, October 14
Record Swap! (12pm-3pm)
Pictures: here.

This week…
In the state of California, in order to be eligible to vote in the statewide election on November 4, 2008 (General Election), your registration must be postmarked no later than October 20, 2008
Register to vote HERE.

Monday and Tuesday, October 20th and 21st
Disability Awareness Days: Open Your Mind to Our Endless Abilities
Monday: Mental Health Awareness keynote speaker 12-1:30pm, panel discussion 2-3:30pm (USU Ballrooms)
Tuesday: "Take a walk in our shoes" reflection, movie screening "Darius Goes West" (Anatol Center)

Tuesday and Wednesday, October 21st and 22nd
CSULB Project Safe & Clothesline Project
11:00am-7:00pm
In recognition of October as National Domestic Violence Awareness month...
Survivors speak out, stories of hope, and candlelight vigil. Speak Out is an open mic oppurtunity for survivors to share their stories in a supportive environment and for the community to learn about the true impact of domestic violence and dating violence. The silent vigil will honor survivors and join the Long Beach community together to end domestic violence.

Thursday, October 23th
Prop 8 Discussion Forum (hosted by Associated Students Inc.)
3:00-5:30 pm, in the Beach Auditorium in the first floor of the University Student Union (USU)
We will be discussing Proposition 8, which deals with the issue of Gay and Lesbian Marriage in the state of California. Hear both sides speak about the issue, and please have questions ready for both!
Maceo Persson, a community organizer, will be speaking on behalf of No on 8
Jeff Parker, attorney, will be speaking on behalf of Yes on 8

Saturday, October 25
Young Women’s Empowerment Conference
Senator Lowenthal hosts a one day conference/field trip for young women that targets high school juniors and seniors, (11th and 12th grade), and focuses on all aspects of their growth and development. Speakers/Workshop leaders will discuss current issues most relevant to young women and their development as leaders.
The purpose of this event is to give young women a forum to learn more about the issues confronting them in a comfortable venue with great speakers/role models. Common themes focused during workshops are: going and preparing for college, self esteem, setting and achieving goals, as well as avoiding teenage pregnancies and abusive relationships.
The Young Women’s Empowerment Conference needs volunteers! There will be about 300 girls at the conference, and volunteers are needed to introduce and meet the girls. There are other needs as well, please email FORCE at force4change@yahoo.com or Stephanie Mejias at smejias@csulb.edu (include in the email, your name, Contact information, and t-shirt size).

Saturday, October 25
headRush presents “Tour for a True Democracy”
Echo Park, CA (We do not yet have the exact address, please email us if you are interested in attending)
Use the arts and popular education to spark civic engagement and explore the issues surrounding the upcoming election 2008!
Fall 2008, headRush takes their wild multi-media satire to theatres, colleges, and public spaces throughout the country to ignite a community-based dialogue on the current state of affairs and our collective power to create the kind of democratic structure that truly represents us.The Throwdown brings street theatre to the stage and takes the audience into the imagination of a young man struggling for a "true" democracy. Through spoken word comedy, surreal musical numbers, and visual projections, headRush takes us on a psycho-political trip through this homeboy’s subconscious where elements of the corporo-tocracy take superhuman form, a world where powerful fiends use hyper-surveillance to maintain their grip on inner city youth, manipulate Homeland (In)Security over the US/Mexico border, and flood consumers with endless glittering golden distractions. This hybrid performance invites audiences to participate in a collective vision of our potential for change.
The cost is $10 to 25 sliding scale but no one will be turned away!

In October and beyond…

Monday, October 27
Prop 4 Forum
Location TBA, 12pm-2pm
F.O.R.C.E. is hosting a discussion on Proposition 4. We invite various groups and individuals (anyone who wants to attend)! We also need people to speak on either No or Yes on Prop 4. We are trying to mix it up, so that people who are voting one way might be arguing for a different side. This should provide for an insightful and interesting discussion.

Tuesday, October 28 – 7:30 PM
The Egyptian Theater, Los Angeles (Map)
ITVS DOCUMENTARY SERIES presents a screening of LIONESS
They went to Iraq as cooks, clerks and mechanics and returned a year later as part of America's first generation of female combat veterans. Despite an official government policy that states that women are not supposed to partake in direct ground combat, the five women featured here most certainly did. LIONESS, the provocative and powerful documentary from Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers, tells the story of five women who served together for a year in Iraq. Free Admission! First come, first served. Panel Discussion participants to be announced. About ITVS Community Cinema: ITVS, the co-presenter of Independent Lens, presents ITVS Community Cinema, a free monthly screening series, offered in over 50 cities throughout the U.S. www.itvs.org , www.pbs.org/independentlens

Thursday, October 30
Proposition Fair (hosted by Campus Progressives)
12:00-3:00pm
Friendship walk, Upper Campus
Various different groups will be offering information and tabling for the propositions on this November’s ballot. F.O.R.C.E. will be representing Prop 4.

In November, F.O.R.C.E. will be taking on international women’s issues. We will be having a zine, a “Die In,” and we will be working with various other organizations on events that promote peace and equality on a global scale. Please email us if you want to be involved in any way!

November 1
Entries for the 2nd Zine Due. Theme: international women’s issues!
Flier: here.

November 4
VOTE VOTE VOTE!

Date TBA
Die In
To go along with our internation women’s issues theme for November, we will be hosting a “Die In.” More details will be announced in the coming weeks. The event will be a way to raise awareness to the number of women that are dying due to various factors and atrocities around the world. We will be wearing all black and speaking about these issues, on the friendship walk on upper campus.
If you would like to help plan the Die In, please email Justine at justineeemarie@gmail.com

November 18 and 19
Practicing Peace (Center for Peace and Social Justice - CPSJ)
The Center for Peace and Social Justice along with the College of Liberal Arts is hosting a campus & community festival for Peace. An all inclusive event of dialogue, performance, action and celebration dedicated to creating a more peaceful and just world.
Activities include: A human peace symbol, “It takes a Village to Rape a Woman” Domestic violence workshop presented by WSSA and F.O.R.C.E., Workshop on Hate Crimes in Long Beach Presented by The Human Dignity Program of Long Beach and CCEJ, Guests Speakers, and a candlelight vigil honoring all those lost to violence world wide.