These are some of the things I have learned while living in the sustainability housing this semester.  Have a good day and try to remember that unplug anything you are not using.

Joseph Metzler
LV E2 Sustainability Blogger

For anyone who went the viewing of, “Miss Representation,” in Pierce Hall on November 7, thank you for attending and taking advantage of the opportunity. I prefer to use the word, “opportunity,” because Franklin Pierce is the only college so far in the state of New Hampshire that has held a public viewing of the film. “Miss Representation,” a documentary that was shown during the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, aims to educate its audience on the media’s representation of gender.  For those who attended, I hope you were able to take away something with you after the viewing that could influence or change the way you see gender portrayed on the big and sliver screen, as well as in your own prospective field or discipline.

Though the members of the Women in Leadership program were unable to lead a group discussion with the attendees due to time restraints, I briefly discussed the movie among a few viewers and others in the Women in Leadership program. We discussed how pleased we were that the film discussed these issues with examples from all media outlets, interviews with media industry leaders, as well as some details on how males are also victims of media misrepresentation. However, as we discussed the film’s potential for educating more people about gender issues in the media, we were reminded about one misconception that has yet to be brought into focus: the idea that gender inequality is a thing of the past.

Before enrolling in my first gender studies class, I knew that gender inequality existed, but I did not understand the magnitude of the situation. It wasn’t until I dug deeper for information that I realized how we see and even act is based upon gender roles we perceive as, “normal.” However, this, “normal,” role that we conform to is anything but that; the pressure we face from society and culture to align ourselves with these, “appropriate,” roles is the root of inequality and discrimination in our world.  Even some of the most troubling facts, such as the fact that women make up 51% of the country, but only make up 17% of Congress, are not examined critically enough to recognize there is something very odd and puzzling about what is happening around us.

So how do we fix these issues? What obligations do you have to the public and the community in terms of gender representation? The answer is simple: education. This does not mean you need to rush to sign yourself up for the next open seat in a gender studies class, but rather that you should take the initiative to investigate the issues, form your own opinions, and seek out appropriate solutions and ways to get the word out about them. From signing a petition, to updating the outdated FBI definition of rape, to staying on top of current issues in your discipline regarding gender and discussing them in class, any small individual effort can influence others in the community and society to start thinking about them as well. However, above all else, ask questions about everything and anything because that is change is initiated.

 Val Armstrong
Pierce Arrow Blogger 

After the event, I had gone to work and decided to quickly check through my Twitter feed. As I casually scrolled through, updating myself on the events of the last few hours, one post from feministmajority.com immediately caught me by surprise.

“fempolitics: The FBI’s UCR subcommittee voted unanimously yesterday to update its 82-year-old definition of rape!”

I had first become familiar with the “Rape is Rape” campaign over this summer when I finally began to use the Twitter account I signed up for two years ago. I had just begun to follow Ms. Magazine and feministmajority.com in order to keep up with current news on gender issues and to hopefully spark some creative ideas for future blog posts. Over a two week period, both accounts were posting information about the outdated definition of rape used by the FBI in their Uniform Crime Report (UCR) and that the current definition was leaving so many cases of rape out of its report. They also provided a link to the petition that demanded that the FBI see that “Rape is Rape” and change their currently “flawed” definition.

After some quick fact-checking research, I discovered that the definition the FBI was using, which had not been updated since 1929, included only “forcible rape” of a female against her will. According to the petition (http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-the-fbi-rape-is-rape) this definition “excludes rapes involving forced anal sex and/or oral sex, vaginal or anal fisting, rape with an object (even if serious injuries result), rapes of men and transgender people and other injurious and degrading sexual assaults. Also, because the definition includes the word “forcibly,” police departments often interpret the rule (against UCR guidelines) as leaving out rapes of women with physical or mental disabilities and those who were unconscious or under the influence of drugs and alcohol.” In addition, estimates show that the 2007 UCR numbers on the amount of “forcible rapes” could actually be 24 times higher than 91,874 the UCR had recorded.

However, this outdated definition began to receive wide attention through the petition created and promoted by Ms. Magazine. The petition, addressed to the Director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Robert Mueller, and U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder, has received 134,875 so far, which is 89% of their goal of 150,000 signatures. In addition, it only took the petition eight days to go from 2,500 signatures to 100,000. With numbers like that, how is there any doubt that change is needed and should be on the way? Well, the good news is that the wheels are beginning to turn, and the change shortly around the corner.

On October 19, reports began to come out that the UCR sub-advisory committee had met in a closed-door meeting to discuss revisiting the definition of rape and had voted unanimously to propose the change to the Criminal Justice Information Services Division’s Advisory Policy Board (APB). If approved by the APB on December 6-7, the definition would change to include “penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”

Reading up on this news, I was ecstatic to know that this had all happened as the Women in Leadership committee and I were preparing for our night to speak out against issues such as this. It reminded me that though there is much to be said for strength in numbers, what truly matters is the individuals who are unafraid of taking a stand against what is wrong and spreading the word on the issues. From signing this petition to participating in the events and learning about these issues, the individual steps that are taken set the example for the crowd to listen, learn and follow.

I have made my own personal step by signing the petition, will you?
SIGN THE PETITION & TELL THE FBI “RAPE IS RAPE”

http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-the-fbi-rape-is-rape

Sources:

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/advisory-policy-board

http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2011/10/19/update-major-victory-in-rape-is-rape-campaign/

http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-the-fbi-rape-is-rape

Val Armstrong
Women in Leadership Intern

I know the season is just 11 games in but before you know it that 11 games will be 20 and that 20 will become 50 and then the season will be over before you know. I would like to see this powerplay get going before we reach that 20th game. Last season had a great ending but getting there was stressful and you would never know what team was going to show up to play. Would it be the team that would play 60 minutes, play hard and win? Or would it be the team that would play maybe 30 minutes, barely battle and then lose? It would nice to see a team this season that has a solid powerplay and a team that battles hard everyday even if they lose which obviously they will. No team is going to win all the time.

Something I need to address is Joe Corvo. I kind of hated on him in my previous posts and that was mainly because I wanted to see Kampfer get a shot but I was wrong about Corvo. I seem to be wrong a lot. But anyways, I really like what Corvo brings to the game. He really can move the puck well and I like his tendency to get shots to the net from the blueline. They may not be rocket shots but he knows when I shot on net will work by getting a rebound or a tip from someone in front. I think Kampfer is a great player but right now I am glad that Corvo is in there. The one thing that irks me about Corvo is that he seems to not want to get involved in tussles. I have faith that if something was actually going down he would get involved but he seems to back away from the little pushing and shoving around the net.

But that leads me to something else. I like the spark that I see in this team. Putting the Carolina game aside, honestly I believe that was embarrassing on so many levels. The Bruins stooped rather low, the fans made me angry by throwing stuff on the ice and the refs made some horrible games. But anyways, besides that game, the Bruins (a lot of them) are not afraid to mix them up. This season we have already seen Gregory Campbell, Zdeno Chara, Chris Kelly, Shawn Thornton and Brad Marchand. Seeing Kelly and Marchand fight shows that more than just the “fighters” on the team are willing to step up. I put fighters in quotes because Campbell is not exactly a fighter but he never backs down and always stands up for himself or his teammates. Chara’s not really a fighter either but he can beatdown anyone. One person that is missing from this list is Milan Lucic. It would be nice to see Lucic start being that tough guy again who can score goals as well.

Recently, I have been asked who my number one player on the team is and it has been hard for me to choose one but I think I have made my choice now. I would say Patrice Bergeron is my pick for the number one player on the Bruins. Too me, the number one player is the player who I would not want to see go down with an injury for a long period of time because it would greatly effect the team. Obviously Tim Thomas would be bad to lose for an extended period of time but he is the goalie so it is just understood that he is truly the number one player. But back to Bergeron. He does everything for this team. He plays on the PP, penalty kill and whatever situation you need him in. Yes, he could score more goals but the goal scorers are just the ones that are the last ones to touch the puck. A whole lot goes on (sometimes) before that happens and I feel like Bergeron makes a lot of that happen for the Bruins. You can disagree with me but Bergeron is my choice for the number one player on this Boston Bruins team as of right now.

It’s no shave November. Maybe the beards will help the Bruins win some games just like the beards helped in June. They could use some help.

Kristin Carbone
Pierce Arrow Blogger

Christa and I were home alone for the weekend and decided to become proactive. We started feeling guilty that we weren’t doing enough. On our snow day, we planned and took action. We began writing index cards of facts and reminders to post around the apartment. These reminders are for us as well as our guests. A lot of the time we forget to unplug something or throw something away which can actually be recycled. Now, with these reminders to guide us, we feel we will be able to make a bigger difference.

We also looked up cleaning alternatives. Many products that we had under the sink are toxic. All of these products are non point sources of pollution. We have no way of telling directly where these pollutants are coming from, but they get into our water systems and can pollute rivers and streams. We wanted to cut down on our own addition to non point pollution so we purchased baking soda and vinegar. Baking soda can be used to clean and deodorize. You can use it in the kitchen to clean microwaves, refrigerators, sinks, counters, pots, pans, cutting boards, and food containers. You can add it to your laundry to help it smell cleaner and fresher. You can also use baking soda in the bathroom to remove dirt from tile, tubs, toilets, showers, sinks, floors and counters. Vinegar and lemon juice can be used to cut grease. These products can eliminate the use of bleach, Clorox wipes, Lysol,  Comet and other harsh products that are toxic to our environments AND are more expensive! A four pound box of baking soda only costs $1.99 at Market Basket and a 32 oz bottle of vinegar only cost 79 cents! We have an old bottle of Fantastik cleaner priced at $3.19, which is more expensive than baking soda and vinegar combined. The bottle also has statements on it such as, “Hazard to humans and domestic animals: Caution”. Which would you rather use to clean your household?

Rachel Moon
Pierce Arrow Blogger

Sustainability TipsMore Sustainability Advice from E6from E6Happy Sustainable Halloween from E6!

]]> http://piercearrow.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/an-eco-friendly-halloween-from-e6/feed/ 0 piercearrow E6 Picture 1 http://piercearrow.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/living-in-e/ http://piercearrow.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/living-in-e/#comments Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:02:09 +0000 piercearrow http://piercearrow.wordpress.com/2011/10/24/living-in-e/ ]]> Living in E6 is myself, Christa Lorusso, Hayley Kelly, and Allie Masson. We all lived in the same hall together last year and were all interested in practicing sustainability. Since we got here, we have been making an effort to live a sustainable lifestyle. We started off buying eco-friendly products over the summer. We have eco pots and pans, green produce bags to make food last longer, reusable shopping bags, and more.
I bring tomatoes, green beans, pumpkins, and other things that my parents grew in our garden back home. Buying or using locally grown products is a lot better than buying produce from a grocery store. This is because those products usually come from around 3,000 miles away. All that travel burns a lot of fossil fuels! Another thing we are doing in our apartment would be that Allie has a drying rack in her room for clothes, so instead of wasting electricity in the laundry room she can conveniently air dry her clothes. We mostly keep lights shut off in our apartment even we are home. For example, my desk has been moved into the closet and since there is a light switch in there, the light in the room can be shut off. We also have power strips that we can turn off when appliances are not in use. If there is not a power strip, we try to unplug as many appliances as we can when they are not in use.
Of course we recycle as well. Michelle Comeau gave us and all the other sustainable living apartments recycling bins for plastic, cans, and paper. We have found ourselves recycling a LOT of paper. Especially when we buy products at the grocery store and they come in a cardboard box. When we use paper plates we recycle those as well. Even though these materials are generally labeled as cardboard, they are recycled with the paper because it is not corrugated cardboard. We also keep track of how many bags of trash we throw away and how many bins we recycle. We hope to cut down on these amounts over time as we become more accustomed to living sustainably.
Over the school year we hope to find new ways to live sustainably. We will be trying out new products and reviewing them. We are hoping to measure the kilowatts we use in each appliance and try to cut use of things that use to much electricity. We will also be trying to cut down on overall waste.

Rachel Moon
Pierce Arrow Blogger Contributor

Brittany Martelle, Kate McDonald, Brooke Coderre, Jessica Hurd
E5 Sustainability Residents

The women’s movement around the world gained recognition when it was announced Thursday, October 6th that the Nobel Peace Prize was being awarded to three women for their individual efforts to promote peace, democracy, and gender equality in their respective countries.

The three women recipients, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee, and Tawakkul Karman, will each receive the Peace Prize gold metal and share the $1.5 million dollar prize for these efforts. According to the New York Times, this is the first time any woman has received this prestigious award since 2004.

According to the press release from the Nobel Prize website, Sirleaf – the first women elected president in Africa – has committed herself since her 2006 inauguration to “securing peace in Liberia, to promoting economic and social development, and to strengthening the position of women”. In an article in the New York Times, it stated that Sirleaf recently told a Paris-based magazine that she did not “want Africa to return to the men’s club” and anticipated that “women would take over in more African countries”.

Meanwhile, Gbowee, who heads the Women Peace and Security Network (WPSN) in Ghana, is recognized for her efforts to organize the women of war-torn Liberia, despite religious and ethnic differences. Gbowee and these women protested the conflict between former Liberian president Charles Taylor and the rebels for fourteen years, from 1989 until peace was achieved in 2003. According to the BBC News, Gbowee continues to counsel women and young girls who have been affected by the violence in Liberia as well as the Congo. In addition, the Nobel Prize press release states that she has worked to ensure the votes of women in the country as well.
As a pro-democracy activist and head of the Women Journalist Without Chains, Karman has strived to protect the right of expression and free speech for women and other journalist in Yemen. According the Nobel Prize press release, Karman “has played a leading part in the struggle for women’s rights and for democracy and peace in Yemen.” Despite being arrested during a recent protest earlier this year, she continues to lead numerous nonviolent protests against the Yemeni government. According to an article on Aljazeera’s English website, Karman had also inspired the rising in Tunisian.
Though these women have made giant strides towards equality and democracy in Middle Eastern and African countries, we must remind ourselves again that this movement towards peace, democracy and gender equality has yet to be achieved universally. Discrimination, harassment, violence and other injustices against women are still a reality for some women around the world and prevent us from obtaining the “developments at all levels of society.” Nonetheless, these three women are true examples of what non-violent protest and actions can do to secure and protect women and their rights, as well as change a society for the better.

To watch the Associated Press news package on the 2011 Nobel Peace Price, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PINzgSnSyMg&feature=youtu.be.

Sources:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15215312

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/10/201110711019647156.html

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2011/press.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/08/world/nobel-peace-prize-johnson-sirleaf-gbowee-karman.html

Val Armstrong
Pierce Arrow Blogger, Women in Leadership