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As this brochure goes to print, it is uncertain if, and how, insurance coverage for abortion services will be included in the national health care reform bill. Join us for a discussion on the latest news at the federal level, plus what’s in store for Minnesota on the subject of family planning services, funding for “crisis pregnancy” centers and more.

Presenter:

• Linnea House is the Executive Director of NARAL Pro-choice Minnesota and the former President of the NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota Foundation Board of Directors. She has worked in the reproductive health field for over 10 years, most recently with Midwest Health Center for Women and Pro-Choice Resources. House has a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Women’s Studies from St. Olaf College, and a Master’s Degree in Non-Profit Management from Hamline University. She lives in South Minneapolis with her partner and two young sons. In commemoration of the 37th anniversary of the landmark Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion

The experiences and participation of women and girls in sport at all levels during the last 40 years have led to a tremendous rise in research on the impact of sport on women and girls—and on society as a whole. Join us for an update on the latest research related to the dwindling number of women coaches, heterosexism in women’s sport, gender barriers and opportunities in youth sports, and media representations of female athletes.

Presenter:

• Dr. Nicole LaVoi, Ph.D. is the Associate Director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, Co-Coordinator of the Minnesota Youth Sport Research Consortium, and instructor in the area of Physical Activity Social & Behavioral Science at the University of Minnesota, School of Kinesiology. Currently she is developing “We Coach: Educating & Empowering Through Sport” which will provide professional development and networking opportunities for female coaches in interscholastic and youth sport, and was recently commissioned to contribute to the Team Up For Youth Monograph Series pertaining to Sports- Based Youth Development for Underserved Girls.

Over the past decade, hundreds of college campuses throughout the country have organized and hosted performances of The Vagina Monologues, a play written by Eve Ensler to celebrate women’s sexuality and strength. In addition to raising public awareness and funds for victims of violence against women, these performances have profoundly affected St. Cloud State University women students who have performed in The Vagina Monologues. Join us for a discussion with current cast members as they talk about the impact of their involvement and their journeys toward empowerment--plus a preview monologue as a primer for V-Day!

Panelists:

• Catherine Bjertness is completing the final semester of her B.S. in English while student teaching. Her work with the V-Day organization was prompted three years ago by a desire to bring a voice to those disenfranchised by violence. Bjertness hopes to continue this work with nonprofit organizations in the Fargo-Moorhead area.
• Drea Dunkle began participating in the Vagina Monologues three years ago because she was searching for a medium for her voice to be heard after ending an unhealthy relationship. She is a junior at St. Cloud State University double majoring in biochemistry and biomedical sciences.
• Catherine (Cat) Salonek began participating in the Vagina Monologues at St. Cloud State University three years ago knowing that women at St. Cloud State University suffer gender violence on campus and in the community. She saw The Vagina Monologues as an empowering way for these issues to come to the surface, focusing on the intersection of gender, race, LBTQ, and social class-based oppressions. Salonek is a senior at St. Cloud State University double majoring in Spanish and Latin American Studies.
• Brianne Perreten (Moderator) has been participating in The Vagina Monologues since her freshman year at St. Cloud State University and is currently serving as codirector. When she joined the cast, she didn’t know much about The Vagina Monologues or the V-Day Organization, but she quickly learned how imperative ending violence against women is. Perreten is a junior at St. Cloud State University majoring in communication studies with a minor in community psychology.

There IS hope! People do and can recover from eating disorders and addictions. There is a popular misconception that eating disorders are incurable, life-long diseases. But many who live a life in recovery will share a different story, one that includes hope! Our presenter will share her inspiring story of struggle and recovery from an eating disorder, coupled with information on the causes of eating disorders, signs and symptoms of eating disorders, goals of treatment and ways to support family members of those struggling with an eating disorder. This presentation will also address other addictions, making it applicable to all who attend.

Panelists:

• Lee Blum is a Health Educator as well as speaker and writer at Park Nicollet’s Melrose Institute for Eating Disorders in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. She works daily with patients in all levels of the Melrose Institute’s program and runs a support group for friends and family of those struggling with an eating disorder. After almost losing her life to an eating disorder and depression fourteen years ago, Blum has made it her mission to share her story of hope and recovery, so others can find life on the other side of an eating disorder.

The National Stalking Resource Center reports that 3.4 million people over the age of 18 are stalked in the U.S., and one in four reports being stalked through the use of technology. Players’ will explore the problem of and various responses to the problem of stalking, including the abuse of technology such as cell phones, social networking sites and GPS, as well as inappropriate behaviors in relationships that create concern and anxiety.

Presenter:

• Players Performance Group is a public forum for contemporary social and cultural issues. Members are provided a space to explore intellectual and educational growth by cultivating a critical engagement with various social problems through aesthetic means and a commitment to dialogic communication between self, other, and society. Subjects such as body image, immigration, the prison system, and torture have been explored in the past.

Many people are unaware of the international treaty ratified after years of effort in and outside of the United Nations during the 1970s in support of women’s human rights. They are also unaware that the treaty, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, has been signed by the vast majority of countries but still not the U.S. Why won’t the U.S. sign a treaty supporting the human rights of women, what can be done about it, and what’s at stake? Join us for a panel discussion with St. Cloud State University faculty members on this important, but little-known, topic.

Panelists:

• Dr. Linda Butenhoff is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Global Studies and the Global Studies Program at St. Cloud State University. An Austrian-American Fulbright Scholar, she holds a Doctorate in International Studies from the Joseph Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. While her primary area of expertise is international studies, human rights, conflict and conflict resolution and Asian studies, she enjoys teaching courses such as International Politics Theory and Global Society and Citizenship.
• Dr. Mumbi Mwangi is an assistant professor in the St. Cloud State University Women’s Studies Program with a Ph.D. in Education and a minor in Women’s Studies from Iowa State University. Her scholarly and research interests include international education, feminist methodology, qualitative methodology, women and education, international/ transnational motherhood, and global issues affecting women, particularly, in the third world.
• Dr. Emily Schultz is a cultural anthropologist, author and professor in the St. Cloud State University Anthropology Department teaching a variety of topics, including the Anthropology of Sex and Gender. She is currently writing about connections between evolutionary biology and ecology and cultural anthropological studies of social, cultural, and political change.

In commemoration of International Women’s Day on March 8.

The book Push, by Sapphire and accompanying film, Precious, reignites focus on the important social and health issue of teen sexuality, including teen pregnancy and the need for comprehensive sex education. This session focuses on the results of abstinence-only sex education, rates of teen pregnancy and STD’s, effective sexuality education, and what type of sex education is, in fact, being provided in Minnesota schools.

Presenter:

• Amy Marsicano is the Director of Health Education for The Birds and Bees Project at Pro-choice Resources. She is responsible for developing the content of the Teacher Sexuality Education Residency Training. Marsicano has developed youth programming in the fields of sexuality, sexual violence prevention and intimate partner violence, as well as worked directly with incarcerated youth and women, youth surviving sexual assault, LGB and Trans youth, and youth targeted by poverty and racism.

In celebration of National Young Women’s Day of Action

In spite of the fact that women comprise nineteen percent of all AIDS cases, many women see AIDS as irrelevant to them personally. This could be a deadly mistake. The Centers for Disease Control reports that women’s risk of AIDS is climbing and will top men’s worldwide if new HIV infections continue at their current rate. There are unique issues for women because AIDS intersects with racism, sexism and other forms of discrimination. Our speaker will address these factors, in addition to the facts of preventing AIDS.

Presenter:

• Lorraine Teel has been the executive director of the Minnesota AIDS Project since 1990. Her leadership has led to the development of peer-support programs, a community building program and an advocacy program for individuals living with AIDS. Lorraine has worked with nonprofits that work with marginalized populations including Eden House, Institute on Black Chemical Abuse and La Oportunidad. In 1998 Lorraine was awarded the Brian Coyle Leadership Award from the Human Rights Campaign.

Co-sponsored by OPAA, Organization for the Prevention of AIDS in Africa

Two sets of mothers and daughters will discuss how feminism has shaped their experiences, perspectives and relationships with each other. They will explore their journey of being in feminist-centered homes, as well as offer insights on feminist mothering, growing up with feminist mothers, plus the joys and challenges along the way.

• Erin Schaefer is a feminist, graduate student, daughter of Julie and Eleanor, and employee at The Mindful Heart and the Women’s Center.
• Julie Schaefer has an M.A. in Interdisciplinary Holistic Studies, and is a teacher, founder and director of The Mindful Heart, a meditation and education center.
• Eleanor Simpson holds a Ph. D. in American Studies, teaches at The Mindful Heart and is Faculty Emeritus from St. Cloud State University who taught Women’s Studies/American Studies for 35 years.
• Azania Tripp is a first year student at St. Cloud State University, a graduate of the MSS Advanced Preparation Program and a cast member of the 2010 Vagina Monologues at St. Cloud State University.
• Hedy Tripp is an activist, educator, consultant, member of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, and was the coordinator of Create CommUnity, an organization designed to reduce racism in our community.

Presenters will discuss how they, and you, can be a part of the solution to stop gender violence such as sexual assault! With a focus on empowering everyone to make a difference and take responsibility for preventing violence, specific tools to confront perpetrators of violence, as well as support victims will be shared. The Mentors in Violence Prevention Program focuses on how women and men can intervene in creative and empowered ways.

Panelists are participants who completed the spring 2010 Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) Program at St. Cloud State University. The Mentors in Violence Prevention Program was created in 1993 to train men to address violence in all forms. Since then it has evolved to include a female component and has been implemented in a variety of settings including institutional, high school, college and the U.S. Marine Corps with positive results.

In commemoration of National Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Shattered Hearts: the commercial sexual exploitation of American Indian women and girls in Minnesota chronicles the dangers, realities and impacts of sex trafficking and sexual violence against Native Americans girls and women in Minnesota. Believed to be the first research study of its kind in the U.S., it was published by the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center (MIWRC) of Minneapolis to document the numbers and stories of victims, and shatter the silence of this oppression.

Presenter:

• Suzanne Koepplinger, M.A., has been the Executive Director of the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center since December of 2003. Her extensive civic, volunteer, and community experience includes service on the State of Minnesota Children’s Justice Initiative Committee, the board of the American Indian Community Development Corporation, the Steering Committee for the Sheila Wellstone Institute, and the FBI Civil Rights Advisory Group. Koepplinger is of Canadian Mohawk and European ancestry, holds a Masters degree in the Art of Leadership from Augsburg College and is a Certified Substance Abuse Prevention Specialist.

Co-sponsored by the St. Cloud State University American Indian Center, Multicultural Resource Center and Women’s Studies

In honor of St. Cloud State University American Indian Education Week and National Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Reception to follow at the St. Cloud State University American Indian Center. All are welcome!

The problem of pay inequity continues to negatively impact women in the labor force, even though the gender gap in pay has been slowly declining. The problem is enormous for women if one adds up lifetime earnings, including retirement earnings. Whether it’s due to flat-out sex discrimination, possible breaks for care-giving (children and seniors) or sex-role scripts that hurt women’s negotiation skills, the outcomes are the same. Join us as our Dean of the College of Business discusses typical gender dynamics during employment negotiations, strategies for negotiating pay in spite of a difficult economy and ways to add value above salary.

Presenter:

• Dr. Diana Lawson is the Dean of the G.R. Herberger College of Business, a college with more than 3,200 students and 75 faculty members with nationallyaccredited programs in accounting, business computers, management, marketing and business law, finance, insurance and real estate. She earned two master’s degrees and a doctorate in marketing and international business at Kent State University in Ohio. Lawson has extensive administrative, scholarship and teaching experience, including Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan and the College of Business, Public Policy and Health at the University of Maine, Orono, Maine.

In commemoration of National Pay Equity Day