collegate improvisation

Roses! yet, alas,
I have no vase for them. To
Save the day? Nalgene!

Feminism, sheminism

Feminism talks
Reveal age gaps in thoughts, ideas
Generations change?

For my womens' studies class today, we had a slightly strange assignment: ask three people what the first three words that think of when the hear the word "feminist." Just for background, this class is conducted online, so there is only asynchronous communication in a forum. I got my answers last night, and wrote up my forum post before heading off to my other class this morning. When I had a chance to look at the other posts this afternoon, I was genuinely surprised. There was a very clear distinction between positive and negative reactions amongst my classmates, but the breakdown wasn't what you would think. Instead of there being an opposition between genders, there was a very strong opposition between generations*.

Those of the older group, especially the women, had negative thoughts about feminism. One mentioned something her brother said about all feminists being lesbians and man haters, and agreed with him. Another woman mentioned that she was all for equality "but absolutely not a feminist." To me, that is exactly what a feminist is; someone who believes in equality between men and women. I was more than a little surprised by the obvious discomfort these older women had with the term "feminist."

Among the younger posters, including the men**, were much more genial opinions. One was positively shocked that his brother-in-law used the word "dyke" to describe femininists, another was horified that his younger sister (who he mentioned was in middle school) said something about angry man eaters. One of the men acknowledged that he was a feminist, and received some rather negative feedback from some of the older female posters.

This brings up several questions for me. While I don't actually know anyone's age, why is it that the seemingly older posters have a negative reaction to feminism? Why are we accepting of the negative reactions of older men, and unhappy with the positive reactions of the younger? This generation gap puzzles me. Aren't these older posters part of an enlightened and liberated generation of women?

I will be happy to say that I am a feminist. As a female scientist, I dislike the portrayals of scientists as men. How many people know that Rosaline Franklin took the first pictures of DNA and that her lab partners, Watson and Crick, stole her work? As a student at a womens' college, I find it particularly aggravating that I, as a scientist, am not taken seriously by the faculty and administrators at my own college. As a physicist, I resent the snide comments I get from the more socially acceptable female chem and bio majors.

So my big question is, what happened here?

When did we stop caring, and when did we start again?

When will no one care about gender anymore?

*This is of course, entirely based on speculation. Those who mention children or nieces or "my 80 year-old mother" I assume are of at least one generation previous to mine. The same is true of the guy who mentioned he's a resident at a hospital and the woman who used the phrase "back when I graduated."

**Again, some speculation. Some first names are obviously masculine, so I assume they're men. There's also the mysterious Terry, who I haven't decided on yet...

A tragedy of food

Tikka Masala,
Six twenty-seven, but I
Have only six dollars.

Registration sucks

"Permission denied"
Can't get into class I need
Registration fail

Warning, Danger, Alarm! (or not)

This morning, at about 11:15, I was shot by a masked man who had broken into the building on Pomona where I was working.

Well, almost.

Well, not really.

I guess I should explain.

This morning, when I got out of class, I went directly to the Computer Science lounge to work on my assignment, which is due at midnight. The CS lounge is a lovely room with large glass walls and lots of computers and white boards. There happened to be about six or seven other people with me in the lounge at the time, and suddenly, their phones all went off. Then they got up and left the room. Dominick, who's in my class, stuck his head around the door frame and asked "Are you coming?"

At this point, I was understandably a bit confused. Several phones just rang all at once, and everyone but me left. And then I was being asked to go somewhere. Where were we going, and why did we need to go there?

The answer came to me a few seconds later as the network manager for the CS department came out of his office and said to me "well, if you keep sitting there, you're going to get shot, and it won't be my problem at that point."

Apparently, Pomona was having a lock down. A lock down drill, to be exact, but they were giving citations to anyone found outside a designated safe room. As I followed a small, ragtag group of professors and students into the "safe room" in that building, I pondered how incredibly fractured the campus notification system is. If I had been alone, and this had been a real lock down, I would be dead by now.

The problem is both easy and understandable. Despite our designation as "The Claremont Colleges" run by the "Claremont University Consortium," we're still one big campus split up into five different colleges (seven, if Claremont Graduate University and Keck Graduate Institute are included). Each of the colleges runs their own affairs without much interference from any of the other colleges. The only shared resources are the library, campus safety, student health, and the office of the chaplains. Among the services not shared are the registrar's offices, the grounds departments, the catering departments, and the campus notification systems.

At last, the sticking point. There are five (or seven) colleges, each with their own notification system. Being a Scripps student, I am registered on the Scripps emergency notification system. If there is a lock down, or an earth quake drill, or any other situation, I get a text message relaying that information. This is great when I'm on campus, but it has one major flaw: there are five colleges, and I could be on any given campus at any given time.

From this, two scenarios arise. The first is pretty harmless: a Scripps only drill happens, and I'm not on Scripps. No problem, it doesn't effect me. The second scenario, though, is potentially much more dangerous: I'm not on Scripps, and something happens on the campus I'm on. The students around me will get text messages and phone calls, but, just like this morning, I'll be out of the loop. Or another scenario: something happens on Pomona's north campus, but students in the CMC dorms just across the street will have no idea that there is any danger.

There is, clearly, a simple solution for this: make one, big emergency notification list with all students from all five schools on it. Problem solved. Having a lock down drill on Pomona? Send all students the message "lock down drill, Pomona" or something of the sort. Those who are on Pomona at the time will know, those who aren't on Pomona will know, but won't care. Problem solved.

For know though, I have to settle for what I can get. So thank you, Dominick, for making sure I wasn't shot. If you're ever on Scripps, I'll return the favor.

State of Existence

It's a census year. We all know that. Everywhere, there are signs and posters telling us that the census is a "portrait of America" and that "everyone counts." It's the way that the government keeps count of how many people are in the country. And of course, the census is also how the government decides to divvy up the 435 seats in the House of Representatives. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is where I have a problem.

I am a resident of the state of Alaska. I am registered to vote in the state of Alaska. I receive my credit card bill in the state of Alaska. I receive my PFD every year because of the fact that I live in the state of Alaska. I currently attend school in the state of California. However, this school has listed my permanent address as being in the state of Alaska. So clearly, when I fill out the census, I should be counted as a resident of Alaska when it comes time to hand out those 435 seats, right?

Wrong.

As I was told (with a straight face) by the census worker I asked, the census is "a snapshot of America on April first," census day. And because of this, since I was in the state of California on April first, I am considered a resident of California and will be counted as such when it comes time to hand out seats. So too, I learned, would international students attending college in California. When I asked why, the census worker (after proudly showing off some sort of badge that meant he got to answer my questions) began to explain to me the origins of the census, and that it is administered by the federal government because states could exaggerate the number of residents they had in order to get more Representatives. Which, of course, was not the answer to the question I asked.

As a resident of the state of Alaska, I will happily stand up and be counted.

But not, as it seems, in Alaska.

Haiku for a rainy day

The rain comes down for
Several hours, non-stop
Drip drop, plip plop, splash.

Thanksgiving Days

Thanksgiving is a day
For turkey, and football
Pies and the Macy's parade.

But it is also a chance
for poor tired students
to go home
and sleep.

I fly three hours
And then another four
to be home in my bed.

I fly not only for pie,
But also for snow, and home.
For friends
For family.

And so, I go
With my suitcase and backpack
And no work, for a time.

I go home.

Conformity

Conformity.
It keeps us running.
Stop to catch a breath, then we keep running.
Never going to stop going in circles.
We like to hide by the game of camouflage because we know
we can win.
So keep your head down
and keep your pace up
and you’ll be okay.

Safety is conformity.

Oh, boring!
It’s all the same!
Stop ignoring yourself.
They are not your definition,
so wake up from your sad condition,
losing yourself
to everyone else.
Who are you?
Yeah, you?
Yeah, you?
Yeah,
you?

Strike off on a trail on your own!
It’s not safe, and you might feel alone.
But you’re not! No, you’re not.
No, you’re not alone.
And you are free,
free to be,
free to see,
so look around
and listen to the sound
of peace.

Is Anybody Out There?

Please excuse our many
Absences, for it's that we
Have not enough time.

We all have, you see
much academically, and
Cannot be here now.

In short (and simple)
We do not have enough time
To update our blog.

Sorry.