Human Writes: A Social Justice Journal

UCSD Grad Student Mark Farrales Seeks Asylum

2010-12-23T17:24:00.000-08:00

LA Times: UC San Diego grad student scrambling to avoid deportation: "Mark Farrales, whose family sought political asylum when he was 10, is to be sent back to the Philippines. The Harvard alumnus hopes Congress will consider a private immigration bill."

Support Mark Farrales: Sign the Petition today!

SPACES Alternative Tour Guide Positions Available!

2010-10-10T23:47:00.000-07:00

The Student Promoted Access Center for Education and Services (SPACES) hosts alternative tours for UCSD that focus on the history and culture of UCSD and San Diego to appeal to a more diverse group of potential students. Tours are an opportunity for students from under-served and under-resourced backgrounds to be exposed to and engaged in the academic, social, cultural and political aspects of the undergraduate experience on campus. Volunteers are essential to lead tours, reach out to visiting students, talk about their experiences on panels, and help SPACES Tours out.

WHO:
Members of SAAC (BSU, MEChA, KP, APSA, QPOC, NASA, SDC), allies, and any individuals committed to social justice, to provide the (our)story of students of color on this campus, diversity and change.

BENEFITS:
- Gain public speaking skills & build your resume
- Learn the (our)story of students of color and activism at UCSD
- Great way to get involved with social justice activism on campus
- Paid stipends $$$

HOW:
- Fill out an application: https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dDlGUjlKajFtLUhJNUduX3Z4QzFTWUE6MQ
- Attend a Training!

WHEN:
Thursday Oct 14th - 7pm @ SPACES
Friday Oct 15th - 3pm @ SPACES
(Pick one training to attend)

CONTACT:
Leslie & Melissa at: ucsdalternativetours[at]gmail[dot]com for more information!

Join our Facebook Group to stay connected: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=34998746985&ref=ts

APPLY TODAY!

Sexism & Misogyny at UCSD

2010-09-30T21:43:00.000-07:00

Recently offensive graffiti has been found across the UCSD Campus with overtly sexist and misogynistic messages. These messages only reinforce the lack of safety at UCSD and demonstrate how sexism, misogyny, homophobia and racism are pervasive and systemic at UCSD.

If you know anything regarding these messages please contact the UCSD Police Department.

Reads: "Confucius say: it is good to meet girl at park but better to park meat in girl"

August's Bits & Pieces

2010-08-31T12:41:00.000-07:00

"Obama doesn't realize I need a missile launcher to protect my family...Obama was born in the darkest depths of mordor...Obama won't let gays vote..." That's why I'm Voting Tea Party!

22.1% of women and 7.4% of men in the US report victimization by an intimate partner
Look to End Abuse Permanently (LEAP)

Yes Means Yes Blog!

"Illegal alien felons" on killing sprees, gay porn, banning bottled water, "San Francisco is out of control." Abel Maldonado, you're crazy!

Pakistan’s Floods: A Crisis of Empathy, Amnesty International

Meg Whitman: Putting the A in Absentee

Corky

2010-08-06T18:11:00.000-07:00

A character sketch by Trevor Scott Barton

Author's Note: The setting of my story is a small farm in Clarendon County, S.C. from 1947 until 1954. The narrator is Carter, a nine-year-old African American boy who lives on that farm with his brother Carver, a five-year-old genius with an inquiring mind and a photographic memory. The action centers on a lawsuit filed by an old farmer in Clarendon County, Levi Pearson, against the county board of education on behalf of African American children for a school bus to help them get to school. That lawsuit became Briggs v. Elliott which became Brown v. Board of Education which became a cornerstone of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. In my story you will meet Carter, Carver, their Momma and Poppa, Corky (the thirty-something year old town drunk who is brilliant and articulate when sober and stupid and unintelligible when drunk and whose Mother was secretary to Governor Strom Thurmond), Junior (the sixty-something year old giant of a man who has the mind and heart of a little child), and Lillian (based on the person Lillian Smith who was arguably the clearest voice from the white folks during that moment in time). You will also find guest appearances from Larry Doby, Septima Clark, Mojeska Simkins, Strom Thurmond, J. Waties Waring, Thurgood Marshall, and Flannery O'Connor...

“Hey li’l brothers,” Corky slurred as we stepped off the sidewalk to let him pass by on his bicycle. A broken headlight dangled from two frayed wires, the once fiery red frame was faded by rain and sun and tarnished by rust and seasons, and spokes were missing from the wobbly wheels. He smelled of old liquor, new sweat, and days without bath or change of clothes. A lens on his glasses was cracked but he didn’t seem to notice.

“What’s happ’nin brother?” He stopped and leaned unsteadily on one leg to greet the minister of the little Baptist mission for white folks across the railroad tracks. He leaned too far and crashed to the ground with a thud and a moan. The bemused minister untangled him from the thicket of arms, legs and metal, lifted him onto his feet, and brushed the red chalky dust and tiny jagged rocks from his shirt, pants, and skin.

“Corky, are you okay? What in the world…?”

“No…nope…yep…yes, I’m okay. Hey, where’re you off to?

“I’m goin’ to the noon Holy Week Service in town. It’s at the First Baptist Church today. Let’s park your bike. You can come with me.“

“Well hell. You Baptists go to church all the time. Even on a Thursday. You all must need it more than other folks do!”

“The services are for ev’rybody…Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Episcopalians…ev’rybody. I reckon we all need it! Come on. It’ll do us both good.

Hello there, boys. I almost didn’t see you. Come here. Close your eyes. Hold out your hands.”

We said hello to the minister, careful not to look him in the eyes as Momma and Poppa taught us to do with white folks. He wore a blue shirt, ‘Dickies’ pants like the ones Poppa wore in the fields, and tattered black shoes. This must have been his uniform because it was what he was wearing every time we saw him. His bespectacled eyes were circled by perfectly round lenses in wire frames that hooked around his ears and made him look more like a college professor than a new minister just out of minister training school and just starting ministering in our town. We came to him, closed our eyes, held out our hands and felt the small, barrel shapes of the chewing gum they sold in big barrels at the counter of the S & H Green Stamp store on Main Street. It was a store we couldn’t enter but that we knew well from the detailed stories of all the things inside by our white friends whose families were welcome to shop there.
“Thank you, sir!”

“You’re welcome. Now you boys run on to where you’re going and do what you need to be doing. Blow some bubbles along the way!”

The minister put his arm around Corky’s shoulders and they started up the road toward Main Street. As they lumbered along side by side the midday sun sat high in the sky and cast their shadows straight down behind them. A minister and the town drunk going to church together! It was a sight to see. We were finished with the chore Poppa gave us to do so there was time before we had to be home for lunch.

“Carver, I’ve never seen a drunk person go into a church before. What ‘cha ‘spect’ll happ’n? You reckon he’ll get struck by light’nin’?”

“I don’t know but I figure som’pin’ll happ’n.”

Carver was only five years old but he knew the scientific method like a seasoned scientist. At home on the farm he was always leading me through the steps of his way of thinking. We found that it helped us to think this way about people and events because it helped us work our way through our place and position in the world and ways of white folks.

“Well, we did the first step in the method. We asked a question.”

“Let’s follow behind ‘em and see what happens.”

Finish reading here!

Inspired by Sin

2010-07-20T15:47:00.000-07:00

By E.J. Choi

AUTHOR'S WARNING: This is a dark, dark one-shot I wrote in memory of Jang Ja-Yeon & countless other hopeful actresses who took their lives too early. There is CUSSING, and very MATURE content up ahead.

When she's born, she's not beautiful, but that's okay, because, as her mother lovingly puts it, "beauty isn't always natural and artificial can be a good thing". After a few years of strict diet regiments, a few years of nose jobs and lasers cutting into her skin to form double-eyelids, she's so pretty and maybe a little generic, like the rest of a population obsessed with appearance.

But that's fine, fabulous, because she'll be famous, like those other girls who re-shaped their jawlines and cut lines into their eyelids, lines speaking of fame and adoration and simply, paradise.

----//
She speaks softly, smiles sweetly, even when rough hands graze the skin of her thighs too purposefully for the incidents to be accidents. She doesn't lose her countenance when a bespectacled man sidles up to her after the dinner party and orders her to meet him in the bathroom in five minutes because he's the head of the company that's supposed to introduce her to the world of media and entertainment and fame.

She doesn't let it break her, doesn't let herself think when he's behind her, thrusting her roughly into the smooth quality of the bathroom stall door, hinges squeaking as he pants into the back of her neck. She feels pain, warm liquid, and finds that she can grab at nothing to keep herself standing.

She had always thought that her first would be in a hotel bedroom, looking into the eyes of the man she was fucking, wanting to be there.

But I do, she says to herself convincingly, ignoring the way his worn hands squeeze her tender hips. I want to be here.

And as he shrieks in an undignified manner near her ear, telling her he's coming, she believes that this is the right way to fame.

And it is.

----//
After one, comes more, and this time, she's on her knees, dress rumpled, hair mussed as she takes him in her mouth, closing her eyes to drown out the sound of old-man-ecstasy. Her tongue is near numb as it works on him, and her thoughts are no longer tangible.

The first fuck got her her first main role in a romance drama.
The fifth fuck got her a supporting role in a movie.
The seventeenth fuck got her a respectable award.

His fingers tangle in her hair and she winces with something more than pain. He demands more, more, bitch, moreand she takes it all, takes it all in, and wonders if she's as bitter as he tastes.

----//
She had never believed in "beauty is a curse" until now. Now, when she's being pushed into expensive covers and her cheap dress is being ripped in half. He looks at her with a perverted gleam that makes her eyes close tightly and her hands tremble as they betray her to him without a fight. His thin lips bruise the neck of her skin, too rough, and his fingers pull her hair, too hard.

She keeps her mouth shut, because now she knows. She knows that no one is ever going to come save her, not when she wanted this in the first place.

----//
She glows in the pictures.

----//
"What did you expect?" says her manager, as he zips up his pants. "Did you think you would live a celebrity's life with your integrity intact?"

----//
She clings onto this kind of life for two more years, two years of empty compliments and fleeting praises. Panic rises in her throat when she realizes she's not as famous as she used to be, not as famous as the younger girl who snagged the role she was supposed to get, oh god.

I need more surgery, she thinks frantically, refusing to admit her steady descent to nothing. Doing my nose should be good, eyes even better.

----//
To her credit, she's not really considering death as an option until she sees the rope on the set of her drama, abandoned in the corner.

----//
The worst thing, she speculates before her neck breaks, that could happen, is if death asks her for a quick fuck in exchange for a ticket to heaven. Because she knows she'd rather go to hell with whatever she's got left than enter heaven with nothing but sins littering her body.

Rights Violations and Housing Concerns in New Orleans

2010-07-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

By Joeva Rock

On August 29th, 2005, the United States watched as New Orleans, one of the country’s oldest and most culturally vibrant cities, was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. The country watched as the usually lively and energetic city was devastated by the storm. Images of people on their roofs waiting for assistance, and displaced peoples packing into the Super Dome could be seen on every news station. Although other areas were affected by the storm, none were hit as hard as New Orleans, which, prior to the hurricane, had been dealing extensively with issues surrounding “historical, structural and institutional racism” (Amnesty International 1). These problems were exasperated by the storm as certain members of the community were treated differently in terms of relief measures. While it is easy to acknowledge, as ex-Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director James Lee Witt said, that all “disasters are very political events,” the ways in which post-Katrina responses played out were especially political, in such that it was extremely obvious who was being most disadvantaged by the disaster.

The victims of the federal government’s negligence were the people of New Orleans. Katrina caused “the largest displacement of people since the … Dust Bowl” as “[m]ore than 1.5 million people were directly affected and more than 800,000 citizens were forced to live outside of their homes” (Department of Homeland Security). This type of dislocation of people is not common in the US, and state and local governments were ill prepared to handle such large numbers. New Orleans had a similar problem. Before the storm, roughly 450,000 people lived in the city limits, a majority of which were African-American. Almost 90% of the city and its people were affected by the storm, “with seventy-five percent of those individuals being African-American and more than twenty-nine percent living below the national poverty line” (Amnesty International 1). New Orleans lost almost half of its population the years following the storm, and has still not regained much of it.

Under the UN’s Declaration for Human Rights (UDHR), all people have a right to life, dignity, and proper housing. The citizens of New Orleans had their human rights violated as displacement, inadequate health services and death were rampant. Approximately 1,800 people died in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama due to flooding and other Katrina related causes. Slow or absent evacuation tactics left thousands of people stranded in their homes, which resulted in death and illness. By not immediately providing for New Orleans, FEMA did not actively work to prevent death, and therefore failed the UN’s Guiding Principles for Internally Displaced Persons (UNGPID) as well as Article 3 of the UDHR.

One of the biggest failures of Hurricane Katrina was the unequal access to housing after the storm, as well as insufficient temporary housing. Housing is a major part of someone’s life, well-being, and development, and “[w]ithout adequate housing, an individual is vulnerable,… [which] compromise[es] other human rights including the rights to family life, [and] health” (Amnesty International 5). Therefore, rights are not simply mutually exclusive abstractions; they are interconnected and impacting. In New Orleans, people faced three key problems in terms of housing: 1) many public housing complexes were destroyed, 2) home-owners received more assistance than renters, and 3) FEMA provided inadequate temporary housing. All three of these issues unequally affect poor, low-income communities, many of which are African-American.

The way the housing crisis was handled does not meet the requirements of the UNDHR or UNGPID, and thus, human rights abuses were committed. Governmental inaction is in violation of the UDHR, especially Articles 3, 22 and 25, since not having access to adequate housing is dangerous to ones life and health, and compromises their access to resources. Moreover, FEMA’s housing policies contravene the UNGPID’s demand that state governments not discriminate against IDPs since the policies a) permanently displace people, and b) disproportionably affect minority, lower-income communities. FEMA’s actions were inadequate and discriminatory because they specifically targeted and affected low-income African Americans. Housing, a fundamental human right, was compromised and violated for the people of New Orleans. The debate over decent housing was not necessarily mainstream before Katrina. The events that took place in New Orleans helped both US government and society re-examine their ideas of living standard minimums. It also opened room for more critical examination over other public housing issues, and in that way, expanded the American human rights debate.

In conclusion, it can be inferred that through bureaucratic clutter and legal barriers (i.e. The Stafford Act), FEMA failed to meet the need of its constituents. By not providing sufficient temporary and permanent housing for New Orleans’ residents, especially its lower-income, African-American communities, the US government was not compliant with the UDHR and UNGPID, and thus ought to be held accountable for their irresponsible actions and human rights abuses. If the US honestly values the sovereignty of the UN, then it will admit its neglect and work to reform its domestic laws to be in accordance to international standards and covenants.

Shared Parenting

2010-07-02T09:20:00.000-07:00

By Marnie Brookolo

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about parenting, mothering, care-taking, and the work of raising children. My male partner and I have been talking more about having kids and what we want it to be like, our hopes, and our fears. I recently saw a short film called “Mother: The Job” which contained many moving and thought-provoking images of mothers at work: cooking, cleaning, braiding hair, caring for children, etc. The film advocates for valuing the important work that mothers do and for more family friendly policies. While I appreciate the film and other books and organizations that work towards valuing mothering I can’t help but wonder, where are the dads? First off, it is important to note that there are many types of families raising children: single mothers and fathers, LGBT parents, grandparents, extended families, and more. However, in 2 parent families with a male and female partner it seems that most of the child rearing is still the domain of moms. These messages are everywhere and even couples that I see struggle to push against this are doing so within a context that makes creating an equal partnership pretty difficult. Even cool organizations and films and couples who believe in equality in their relationships don’t seem to question this much. The film that I discussed earlier did suggest that paternity leave be more accessible and that dads help in raising kids, but where is the expectation that good dads become more than good helpers? Another organization that does great work, Moms Rising, still frames the issue in a way that situates family, childrearing, and creating a more family friendly nation as the responsibility of women, and moms more specifically. When my partner and I have children I don’t want him to be a good helper. I want him to be empowered to take on an active parenting role with equal responsibilities and equal joy. I want him to pick up new shoes for the kids when he’s out at the store and comb their hair to get them ready. For my family I hope that my partner and I can both think about the needs of our children, large and small. Through our conversations it is clear that he wants this too, but even as two people that want this we know it won’t be easy. Each family is different and will have their own desires and expectations when it comes to raising children and that’s ok. What I’d like to see are more discussions about the many possibilities that exist and could exist for families when it comes to raising children. As important as valuing mothering is I think that new language and new ways of talking about families and children is needed to create the possibility for men, especially men with women as partners, to have the opportunity, and maybe even the expectation, to participate fully in the responsibilities (and many rewards) of raising children. I’m not sure what this looks like yet, but I’m excited to continue to explore it and hope to continue the discussion with others who want to create a space for these explorations too.

The Environmental and Economical Implications of Offshore Oil Drilling

2010-06-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

By Nicolle Ma

There is an age old debate dealing with the advantages and disadvantages of offshore oil drilling that has resurged in light of the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Many politicians argue that offshore oil drilling allows the United States to strengthen its economy and maintain its competitive edge with the rest of the world. In contrast, conservationists assert that the environmental consequences of oil drilling varying from pollution to threatening endangered species upend any attempt at marine conservation. Yet such arguments are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to dealing with offshore oil drilling. It is the overall pull between the environment, economy, politics and society which depicts the complexity of this debate. This interaction between humans on multiple levels and their interaction with nature creates a human predicament that frustrates politicians, economists, conservationists and individuals alike. Upon examining this classic debate via the environmental and economical implications of oil drilling in the United States to determine whether the arguments have any merit, it can be concluded that oil drilling is not an environmentally sustainable and economically sound idea...

Read the full article here!

June's Bits & Pieces

2010-06-21T18:25:00.000-07:00

Feminism & Politics:

Carly Fiorina: A woman candidate does not a feminist make!
The pro-life movement's attempt to co-opt feminism
Washington Post: 'The Fake Feminism of Sarah Palin'

Human Trafficking at the South Africa 2010 World Cup: Not For Sale Campaign

Petition to start an Islamic Studies Minor at UCSD

Hollywood's Prince of Persia sans Persians

Purchase your copy of Another University is Possible

Check out The Collective Voice's newest edition

~ Congratulations to the UC San Diego Class of 2010 and all graduates! ~

Dear Women's Center Community,

2010-06-14T16:53:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much for all of the memories and experiences we shared this year. You are all inspiring and amazing people and I'm so glad to have gotten the chance to know each of you. Being at the Women's Center taught me so much and it wouldn't have been the same without all of you. I wasn't expecting this internship to be such a personal or significant experience, but looking back I really value all of it, including the difficult times.

I really respect all of you as activists, feminists, and people, and hope that I can continue learning from all of you. I know I'm risking sounding really mushy and cliché, I just wanted to write something to show my appreciation and love for you all!

Thank you for everything.

Love, Melissa

“If a Cop Says “Papers” and I Say “Scissors”…Do I Win?”

2010-06-10T10:29:00.001-07:00

By J. Guerrero

The current topic on my mind is the legislation that was passed in Arizona a few fun weeks ago. Who knew that racial profiling could be encouraged during this day and age? But then again, it would be naïve for me to think any differently. Racism is so embedded within our society today that it is only natural for us (or me at least!) to think that this legislation came out of nowhere. This particular issue has struck a chord with me because of my identity as a Mexican American, as well as the family experiences that I have had.

For those of you who do not know, Governor Jan Brewer of Arizona signed a bill which allows police officers to stop people who they suspect are in the U.S. without “authorization”. It also gives officers the power to charge illegal immigrants with a state crime if they are caught without immigration documents.

Both of my grandmothers are from Mexico, but they were privileged enough to have legal status. One of my grandmothers became a U.S. citizen in her 70’s, and has voted every year ever since. However, I still cannot help but notice the way that people treat her sometimes, especially since she only speaks Spanish. Although my grandmother has faced prejudice all of her life, she nonetheless became an American citizen because the U.S. has been her home for over 40 years. Doesn’t she deserve to be treated like any other “U.S.-looking” citizen? She has faced enough questions and weird looks for a lifetime.

“If a cop says ‘papers’ and I say ‘scissors’…do I win?” This is actually the name of a Facebook group, but I think that it reflects a lot of what I am feeling right now. I was watching the news a few weeks ago, and I was surprised (and quite proud) to find out that the San Diego Unified School District talked a great deal about this legislation during their meeting. However, I was more surprised to find out that some woman from Arizona (I forgot her name) was infuriated by this, and believed that the San Diego School Board should not waste their time with something that does not concern them. Well I am here today to tell you that it does concern us. It certainly concerns me, not only as a woman of color, but also as a person who grew up next to the U.S.-Mexico border. It concerns me because I have relatives in Mexico, friends from Mexico, as well as relatives and friends who are not from Mexico but are tired of being hassled because of the color of their skin. If you don’t want us to concern ourselves with “your” problems, then don’t create laws which affect all of us.

Speak Out! Friday June 4th

2010-06-02T19:39:00.000-07:00

UCSD Coalition for Educational Justice
- Student Worker Collective - Student Sustainability Collective

SPEAK OUT!

12 Noon on FRIDAY JUNE 4th 2010

UC San Diego Library Walk

On JUNE 4th Students, Workers, Professors, Lecturers, and Allies Stand United!
WE DEMAND:

1. NO BUDGET CUTS! NO FEE HIKES!

2. RE-HIRE LAID OFF WORKERS!

3. PROTECT TENURED PROFESSORS & ACADEMIC FREEDOM

4. STOP RACIST PRACTICES & PROTEST SB1070!

We stand united with the students of Puerto Rico. Together we must stop the privatization of our public education, we must fight for accessible higher education, we must boycott a system that prioritizes military and correctional spending over education, we must not accept the excuses of the regents who pretend their hands are tied.

We want to hear the voices of the students. We would like for you to share your stories and your thoughts on June 4th. Please follow the post to the google sign-up sheet below if you're interested in addressing your peers, allies, and community. You are ALL leaders. Your stories and voices are important! We must speak out for all the students who do and will find higher education impossible to attain.

Together we must FREE KNOWLEDGE FROM POWER!

In Solidarity,
UCSD's Coalition For Educational Justice

June 4th SPEAK OUT Facebook Event

What is Cultural Appropriation?

2010-05-20T19:17:00.000-07:00

Cultural appropriation is the practice through which a culture, spirituality, religion, language, or practice is co-opted, contorted, and taken by a dominant culture, oppressor, or colonizer to be assigned a new significance and used for their own purposes. Appropriation relates to cultural imperialism which is similar in that they are both forms of domination and oppression through which one culture is promoted as superior and other cultures are repressed and viewed as inferior (often indigenous cultures).

Dressing up as an "indian" is a form of cultural appropriation in which outfits and clothes regarded as sacred within Native American culture are disrespected and used to perpetuate stereotypes, discrimination, and oppression.

Why do people dress up like "indians"?
To play a character, to "go crazy," to wear a "fun costume," and to be "wild like savages." All ideas that play into negative images and ideas of Native Americans and only help to create and maintain an environment in which it is permissible to disrespect Native American culture and people.

Whether it is wearing blackface or dressing up like an "indian," cultural appropriation is not only disrespectful and offensive, but it is inherently violent, demeaning, and oppressive.

Why is cultural appropriation so pervasive here at UC San Diego and what does that say about the environment and community here?

For more on cultural appropriation check out:

- Native Appropriations: But Why Can't I Wear a Hipster Headdress?

- Spiritual Appropriation As Sexual Violence by Andrea Smith

- Bitch Media: Feminist Intersection: Ke$ha and the ongoing cultural appropriation and sexualization of Native women

- Feministing: When Cultural Appropriation Goes Too Far

Native American Cultural Appropriation at UCSD Sungod Festival

2010-05-18T18:28:00.000-07:00

URGENT: Please forward this to as many people as possible to make people aware that these actions should not be tolerated. Please view attached photo. This is just one example of what took place during Sungod.

To whom it may concern:

On Friday May 14th, 2010 at UCSD’s annual Sungod Festival, UCSD students dressed in mock Native American attire, including, but not limited to, painted faces, feathers, and headdresses. This act is disrespectful and degrading to the traditions and culture of Natives as the attire is sacred to many Native American tribes. Acts like this perpetuate negative stereotypes of Native American culture, breeding the insensitivity and misunderstanding that is already plaguing our university. Actions should be taken to properly educate the UCSD community (students, faculty, staff, and Alumni) on Native American culture and issues. As students at UCSD we should not have to see our cultures mocked and ridiculed during a student sponsored event taking place at our university.

Native American students were forced to witness these acts of disrespect and see their peers mocking and degrading what is considered to be sacred attire in many of the Native American cultures. Though the university was awakened to issues of diversity and campus climate at UCSD in the past few months, based on these numerous incidents of disrespect it is apparent that the university needs to take more action to promote diversity and cultural awareness among the UCSD community (particularly with regard to the Native American community with whom the university has had a long history of discontent).

The denigrating acts are a product of the ever-diminishing Native American presence on UCSD: UCSD’s Native American undergraduate population is less that 1%, there are few (if any) Native American Faculty, there are very few classes taught on Native American issues and there is still no Native American Studies Minor. These are just a few factors that allow acts of ignorance such as those carried out during Sungod to take place.

While the Native presence at UCSD is small, there is no excuse for the lack of knowledge and representation that the students and local Native American community feel from the university. The university needs to increase their efforts to outreach to the local Native American community. Members of the Native American Student Alliance have worked to bring the American Indian Recruitment (AIR) Program to UCSD. While we would like to see this program flourish at UCSD, it is difficult to do so without the university showing that they would like to see a strong Native presence at UCSD. With the repatriation of local Kumeyaay remains, more classes centered around Native American Studies, increased Native staff and faculty and the institutionalization of the AIR Program at UCSD, the overall tolerance and knowledge of Native American issues will improve along with the current campus climate issue.

Given the recent humiliating incidences of cultural insensitivity at Sungod, the Native American Student Alliance strongly urges the UCSD administration to hold a meeting in order to address the pressing issues of the UCSD Native American community as mentioned above and discuss more specifically the ways in which these goals can be carried out. On Friday May 21st members of the UCSD Native American community will be meeting with UCSD administration to address the recent developments in the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) with respect to the “culturally unidentifiable” remains. We strongly suggest that our meeting take place in conjunction with, if not immediately after, the meeting discussing the remains.

Sincerely,
UCSD Native American Student Alliance

UCSD Women's Center presents: The Different F.A.C.E.S of Feminism

2010-05-16T01:39:00.000-07:00

Join us at the F-Word Symposium: The Different F.A.C.E.S of Feminism!

3-7pm Monday May 17th, 2010

UCSD Price Center Ballrooms

Breakout Sessions Including:
- Racism 101 for Well-Intentioned White Folks with Inga Muscio
- Feminism, Women of Color & A New Way Forward with Rosa Clemente
- Intersectionality in Feminism with Sara Kaplan, Ph.D.
- Women of Color & Student Voices in Organizing
- Allyship & Organizing Strategies

Banana Split

2010-05-07T20:42:00.000-07:00

By Thomas Curry, University of St Andrews Student

Yesterday my flatmates and I were idly wandering round the chilled isles of our local supermarket buying a couple of essentials for our weekly shop and, though I’ll admit there isn’t anything particularly striking about us doing just a routine food shop, it did really get me thinking. Whilst picking our way through the fruit and veg section we almost automatically grabbed a bunch of fair-trade bananas, sure they might have been a couple of pence more than ordinary bananas, but it really was only a few pence, and it’s worth it. After lugging it all back home and bundling everything in the fridge however I was struck by the fact that, out of everything we’d bought, as far as I could tell, it was just that one bunch of bananas that was fair-trade. We hadn’t really looked at the packaging when choosing a couple of different teas, and I couldn’t find anything on our wholegrain rice to say that it was fair-trade either. There seems to be a slightly inexplicable focus on the need for supermarkets to source at least one type of fair-trade banana, but when it comes to tea, coffee, rice, or fruit juices I don’t even realise that what I’m buying most likely isn’t fair-trade at all. When I think about clothing too, I try to make sure that what I’m wearing is made of natural fibres, but I wouldn’t even know how to go about checking whether the cotton or linen being used in my clothes is purchased fair-trade. Organic? Sure that’s a bit easier. I can think of a few places that produce organic t-shirts, or make jeans from organically grown cotton, and most supermarkets offer a good mix of organic and non-organic produce, but fair-trade is so much more difficult to get hold of. It’s a bit disheartening to think about how easy a change it would be for companies to, well, pay their employees just a little more change, whether it be per sack of rice, or bag of tea leaves; but rather than letting apathy set in, we, the consumers need to stay positive and create a market for fair-trade products in all we buy. If we start demanding fair-trade rice, if we start asking sales assistants ‘is this shirt fair-trade?’, then hopefully the change that we’ve managed to bring about in the increased availability of organic produce will be replicated in an increased availability of fair-trade goods. We’ve managed it with bananas after all, shouldn’t we have a crack at cotton, rice and a whole host of other essentials?

Fighting for Health Care Reform

2010-04-30T23:03:00.000-07:00

By Nicolle Ma

It's hard to be happy when you're not healthy. With the United States ranking 29 out of 37 industrialized nations in infant mortality and 31 in life expectancy, it's hard to see how Americans could be happy with their current health care situation. To combat the status quo and fight for health care reform, there has been a health care rally on Nobel Drive near Whole Foods every Saturday. The people who show up come from all different backgrounds to carry signs varying from "46 million Americans have no health insurance" to "Like your insurance? You probably haven't used yours". After all, it is inevitable that this health care situation will eventually affect everyone.

Yet health care reform is not easy. It can only begin with a single step -- the final passing of the health care bill with the approval of both the House and the Senate. Although the Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, "We're not going to rush into anything", this health care rally group emphasizes that fierce urgency of now. Monumental steps have been taken to reform the health care system and it is crucial that the final bill be pushed through without delay. Not since the 1960's when Medicare was introduced has a reform movement of this scale been attempted with separate health care bills going through both branches of Congress. Now we are waiting to see whether the House will pass the Senate version of the bill, if the two branches will strike a compromise by merging their bills, or whether the Senate approves a special budget reconciliation bill to make the changes the House Democrats desire. Sometimes it seems like Congress has already scrutinized every little detail and struck so many compromises that giving up seems like sweet repose. Yet if the American people do not take a stand and fight for health care reform then Congress will not pass the bill.

This attempt at health care reform has been far more successful than the attempt during Clinton's presidency, but it will be nothing more than an attempt if nothing passes. If we start at square one again the country will become deluged with other pressing concerns, e.g. job creation, green energy, reforming our education and encouraging innovation and creativity so that we can thrive as a nation and be competitive in this ever changing world. Admittedly, whatever bill that emerges from Congress will be far from perfect. No one will be completely satisfied. This health care reform bill, however, is an important first step in the right direction in addressing this country's needs. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.” This is what motivates this small grassroots movement to give up an hour of their time every Saturday. Come and join us in the fight for health care reform.*

* For more information, please contact ncma@ucsd.edu

Health Care Reform Rally - Saturday May 8th

Think the health care reform movement is over? Far from it! UCSD and
SDSU students will join forces to take part in a health care rally for the
Single Payer System for California because there is still much work to be
done. This health care rally will take place on Saturday, May 8th, from
11 AM - 12 noon on Nobel Drive and Villa La Jolla Drive (near Whole
Foods). For more information, please contact Nicolle at ncma@ucsd.edu.

Nominate Student Activists!

2010-04-14T10:32:00.000-07:00

Human Writes is doing a project to interview, highlight, and appreciate Student Activists and their work!

Do you know outstanding student social justice activists?

Leaders/organizers of protests, student organizations, rallies, or events?

Click here to nominate the student activists in your community!

APRIL 2010: UCSD Sexual Assault Awareness Month!

2010-04-01T00:04:00.000-07:00

Visit http://women.ucsd.edu/ and the facebook page for more info!

UC Regents Meetings March 24-25

2010-03-25T19:25:00.000-07:00

UC San Diego students were well represented at the UC Regents Meetings at UCSF yesterday and today! Here are a few brief updates of the meetings and my experiences:

The most inspiring part of the meetings were the public input sessions where the Regents ever so kindly allow each person 60 seconds to speak. UCSD students, many of which had driven 8+ hours to San Francisco were able to get on the speakers' list and voice our opinions!

The UCSD Black Student Union co-chairs Fnann Keflezighi and David Ritcherson spoke and gave a presentation along with Victor Sánchez, the President of the UC Students Association about recent racial incidents. Ritcherson asked all the UC students who attended the meeting on Wednesday to stand up and show our numbers and solidarity, and reminded all of us that all of the regents “work for us!” Keflezighi and Ritcherson also clarified that the actions taken by the UCSD administration and the plans proposed were all created and put into action by the students and not the administration. They also elucidated how incompetent the UCSD administration has been in dealing with issues of diversity and the need for real experts on campus climate and racial issues.

Throughout the meeting, many students expressed their support for the Irvine 11, the group of students arrested for interrupting Israeli ambassador Michael Oren during a lecture on campus in February. Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake presented on the issue and defended his role in the enforcement of the student conduct code, and received hissing by a number of audience-members.

Overall going to the Regents Meetings was an eye-opening and powerful experience. What struck me the most was seeing the lack of diversity of the regents themselves; there were very few women and even fewer people of color sitting at the table...It got me thinking about how regents are chosen because they certainly don’t seem representative of UC students or the California population!

Even if the regents may be only half-listening to us or too busy with their own agendas, it felt empowering to voice our opinions and to build community with all the activists that attended!

- Here is my one-minute public input blurb:

My name is Melissa and I am a 2nd year student at UC San Diego and an intern at the UCSD Women’s Center. This year there are 8 student interns at the Women’s Center where we’ve been trained on social justice issues such as race, gender, and sexuality and we work with the LGBT Resource Center and the Cross Cultural Center to form the network of campus community centers that many students say are the only places on campus where they feel at home. However, next year, because our budget has been cut, the Women’s Center will not be able to hire as many interns or put on as many programs– and as a result the UCSD community will suffer. Given that racism, sexism, and homophobia are rampant on our campuses, it is clear that Campus Community Centers are crucial to the University in promoting diversity, tolerance, and community, and yet they remain extremely undervalued and underfunded. Why are we being asked to pay more to attend a university that is becoming increasingly less welcoming and comfortable for students of color and other underrepresented students? I realize economically the UC system is struggling, but we need to consider our priorities, and in order to decrease the racism, sexism, and homophobia on our campuses we must fund and support social justice centers and programs.

- Memorable quote from Wednesday's meeting: "That UC logo up there...that should read 'Let there be PROFIT!'"

- UCSD students are on TV for a few seconds! Look for us around 30 seconds sitting on the left.

- You can check out videos from yesterday's meeting here: http://www.ustream.tv/regentsmeeting

- The Daily Californian: Regents Discuss Changing Admissions Policy in Light of 'Toxic' Racial Climate

- San Francisco Chronicle Article: UC Regents Sorry for Acts of Hate on Campuses

March 4th: DAY OF ACTION UPDATES

2010-03-04T17:12:00.000-08:00

Activism across the state and nation for educational and social justice!

Today the movement begins and the struggle continues!

"Whose University?" "OUR University!"

"Ain't no power like the power of the students, cuz the power of the students don't stop!"

"Lay off, Yudof!"

"Real Pain, Real Action!"

Day of Action UPDATES:

UC Regent Live (Blog) Live updates/photos of all UC Campuses

Occupy CA

Student Activism "What's March 4th Looking Like So Far?"

JusticeUCSD Videos & Flickr: Justice UCSD From the Stop Racism, Sexism, & Homophobia at UCSD Blog

UCSD Rally in front of Geisel Library, Photo by Kevin Chiu

Poster in Price Center

Geisel Library

March 4th: WE MARCH FORTH!

2010-03-03T19:21:00.000-08:00

TOMORROW:

March 4 Strike and Day of Action To Defend Public Education!

Teach-Out! Walk-Out! Speak-Out! Again

st the Privatization of Education

UCSD DAY OF ACTION SCHEDULE:

9.00 AM – 12.00 PM

Breakfast at Su

stainability Resource Center (next to PC Theater)

9.30 AM

BSU Rally at Chancellor’s Complex

11.00 AM

Faculty Press Confer

ence at Cross Cultural Center, Comuni

dad Rm

11.30 AM

Walkout/gather at Gilman Parking Structure

11.45 AM

March to Geisel Library

12.00 – 3.00 PM

Rally at Silent Tree (Library Walk)

including the Arts Collective, Sam Jung, Jake Blanc, Fnann Keflezighi, Mar Velez,

Edwina Welch, Kuttin Kandi, Micah Cardenas, Yen Espiritu, Ivan Evans, K.

Wayne Yang, Maria Tillmanns, Carolan

Buckmaster, Matias Marin, L. Chase Smith, Krishna Sriram. And MCs: Chevelle

Newell and Bryant Pena.

2.30 PM

Buses leave for All San

Diego Rally from Chancellor’s Complex

March begins at C

entro Cultural de la Raza (Park & President’s Way) @ 3.30 PM

March Downtown to Governor’s Office (1350 Front Street)

· first-come-first-serve on buses

· travel to downtown also by Rt. 150 at Gilman

UCSD Coalition for Educational Justice

Stand with our Community, Join the Activism!

2010-03-01T00:02:00.001-08:00

SOCIAL JUSTICE EVENTS at UCSD:

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

• 12:00-2:00pm: Reclaiming Our University Reclaim the comfortability we should have on our campus and maintain visibility of our community.

• 12:00-2:00pm: Critical Gender Studies Meeting about recent events(Cross Cultural Center, 2nd Floor, Price Center East).

• 7:00-9:00pm: Asian & Pacific Islander Student Alliance (APSA) Forum on the current racial emergency (Cross Cultural Center, 2nd Floor, Price Center East).

Thursday, MARCH 4, 2010

• ALL DAY: Day of Action: Teach-Out! Walk-Out! Speak-Out! Against the Privatization of Education

- State-Wide Strike and Day of Action To Defend Public Education

- UCSD Coalition for Educational Justice

Some events/descriptions courtesy of Stop the Racism, Sexism, & Homophobia at UCSD

Noose found at UCSD Library

2010-02-26T01:48:00.000-08:00

A noose was found on the 7th floor of UCSD's Geisel Library today.

UCSD is in a State of Emergency!!

We cannot tolerate the racism, sexism, classism, & homophobia in our community any longer!

Voice your opinion: Write to HumanWritesJournal@gmail.com!

Social Justice Activism in the UCSD Community!

2010-02-23T17:38:00.001-08:00

Learn more about the recent activism

surrounding the racism, sexism, classism, & homophobia at

UC San Diego:

- UCSD Guardian Campus Reacts to Racial Slur

- Do UC Us? Campaign to Increase Numbers of African-American Students at the University of California, San Diego

- UCSD-Chronicles of Racism 2010 [Video]

- Stop the Racism, Sexism and Homophobia at UC San Diego

- UCSD

Administrative Response: Join the Battle Against Hate

- NBC News:

Outrage at UCSD Over 'Compton Cookout

Racial Tensions Boil at UCSD

UCSD Students Condemn 'Hateful' Speech

Take Action!

☛ WEDNESDAY February 24th:

- Institutional Racism Press Conference 10AM on Library Walk

- Teach-in with Vice Chancellor Penny Rue 12pm in PC East Ballroom

☞ FRIDAY February 26th:

- Gender Buffet: A safe space to explore how gender, race, and class intersect 12pm @ the Women's Center

☛ TUESDAY March 2nd:

- Reclaiming Our University Reclaim the comfortability we should have on our campus and maintain visibility of our community.

☞ THURSDAY March 4th:

- UCSD Day of Action! Teach-Out! Walk-Out! Speak-Out! Against the Privatization of Education

- State-Wide Strike and Day of Action To Defend Public Education

- UCSD Coalition for Educational Justice

Voice your opinion, CONTRIBUTE to Human Writes today!

Stay tuned for Human Writes' Official LAUNCH

Coming soon!

Calling All Social Justice Activists!

2010-01-23T00:29:00.000-08:00

We are currently searching for activists to join our project and submit pieces today!

If you are interested in joining Human Writes please fill out the Contributor Questionnaire ASAP!

2010-01-17T14:16:00.000-08:00

An Invitation to Join a Social Justice Project

2010-01-13T23:44:00.000-08:00

Hello,

My name is Melissa and I am an intern at the UCSD Women’s Center. I am writing to you because I am starting a Social Justice Blog for my Gender Action Project, and I would love for you to be a part of it!

The purpose of this project, entitled “Human Writes: A Social Justice Journal,” is to spread awareness about social justice issues, to get people excited about and involved with social justice activism, and to also create a tool and resource for activism of all kinds. The blog will hopefully incorporate a wide variety of pieces including: articles, essays, stories, poems, interviews, videos, art, news, and history, into a lively and appealing website that encourages awareness, discussion, involvement, and activism. Another goal of the blog is to serve as a community networking tool in which members of UCSD and beyond can communicate regarding social justice issues, and publicize events, programs, and projects.

I would really appreciate any type of contribution from you about any social justice issue in whichever form expression you would like! Contributions can be any length ranging from 200-1000 words, can center on any topic related to human rights or social justice, and may include pictures, graphics, hyperlinks, and/or videos.

Please let me know if you are interested contributing to Human Writes by emailing HumanWritesJournal@gmail.com Please also email me if you are interested in becoming a core contributor and would like to be further involved in the organization behind this project.

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions or comments.

Thank you!

Melissa

UCSD Women’s Center Intern ’09-‘10