October, 2007 | THE RECORD

SOPP Office Hosts Conference on Public Policy and Women’s Health

Last Thursday the SOPP office hosted the third annual Women’s Health Month Conference. This year’s topic was “Understanding the Influence of Public Policy on Women’s Health”. Although the conference was not as well attended as in past years, there was a good assortment of health care providers and academics present.

The first presenter, Dr. Wendy Smooth, an Ohio State Women’s Studies Professor, provided an overview of “Women as Policymakers”. According to Dr. Smooth, Women, and especially women of color, carry some of the most progressive legislation and are more likely to list health care as one of their top priorities. Unfortunately, female politicians are still in a very small minority – only two percent of Congress. On the state level, women are more present with around 22 percent of all state legislator positions. Dr. Smooth also covered some power dynamics within political meetings that make it difficult for female politicians to get an equal voice.

Julie Piercey and Laurie Housmeyer from Planned Parenthood Southwest Ohio presented on public policy effecting sex education, contraceptive accessibility, and other women’s health issues. In their synopsis, they compared the US with several European countries in numbers of teen pregnancy and numbers of sexual partners, amongst other factors, making it clear that our educational programs and cultural support systems are failing.

Our own Women’s Studies professor, Isabella Winkler, gave a different perspective on women’s health by looking at the interaction between public policy and the GLBTQ community. Winkler posed the question which part of a GLBTQ community would fit into the constraints of a woman’s health conference and continued to challenge public health policy to expose in what ways construction of identity alters health and policy.

In an attempt to help attendees bring concerns into action, Ann Hembree rounded off with “A brief Training on How to Influence Public Policy,” that included guidelines for talking to politicians and ways to become involved.

For more information on Women’s health and how to get involved, the SOPP office can be reached at PBX 1128.

Antioch Panel Speaks at Wittenberg

“In my mind, Antioch has a soul,” mused Antioch College professor Scott Warren to a small audience gathered at Wittenberg University last Wednesday. Community members Jeanne Kay, Scott Warren, Scott Sanders, and Wittenberg professor and Yellow Springs resident Laurie Askland comprised the panel in order to openly discuss the circumstances regarding the closing of Antioch College.
The panel started off with college archivist Scott Sanders, presenting pieces of Antioch history to illuminate parallels between the college’s current financial situation and those of its past. According to Sanders, the year 1880 saw no graduates and concerned alumni and students met with the college’s Board of Trustees in order to prevent the closure of the college. Sanders also described the events of the summer that led to the announcement of closure as “surprising” and elaborated upon the efforts of friends and alumni of the College to prevent the suspension of operations that is planned for July 1, 2008.

Jeanne Kay, a second-year globalization major at the college, providing a student perspective to an intimate crowd in the Wittenberg auditorium, lamented the wave of “bad press” over the summer, following the announcement of suspension of operations. Kay stated her concerns about limited operations, facilities, and the number of students on campus, but she disputed the sentiment parlayed in newspapers across the country that campus culture has had a negative effect on the retention rate of the college. she pointed to the 100 percent retention rate of the incoming class and the fact that the second-year class has had half of its original students return to campus even after the news of suspension of operations as indicative of the environment of tolerance resplendent on campus.

Scott Warren reminded the audience of the economic implications of the college’s closure to the community of Yellow Springs and the Miami Valley. Laurie Askland, a town representative and professor of Women’s Studies at Wittenberg University described the college as the “heart” of the village. “It became clear to me how much the fabric the community I lived in was linked directly to the college,” she said.

Warren further described the measures currently undertaken by the campus community and Yellow Springs to prevent the suspension and panelists listed their favorite websites for news and background on everything Antioch.

A week after the event, it becomes evident the wave of direct action, generated by alumni and friends of Antioch college since this summer, has found its way to the Wittenberg community. Students that were present at the panel discussion have contacted Wittenberg faculty and facilitators to inquire after ways start campaigns to effective fundraise for Antioch College.

Postcard from Co-Op

I was undecided about going to a co-op community, after hearing rumors of the failed attempts in New Mexico with the Place of Text course. But I was convinced to take a job in Albuquerque, working at Channel 27, the public access television station.

News of the Board of Trustees’ decision this summer to close Antioch made everyone second guess what they would do for the fall. I had made the decision to go on co-op, because that was one of the main reasons I had come to Antioch, but soon realized I had made it too early. After purchasing my plane ticket and committing to renting out a room, I realized it was too late to change my mind and return to Yellow Springs in the fall. I never contacted Antioch to assure them I was going on co-op, secretly hoping to sabotage the planning and end up back on campus. When I arrived in Albuquerque, however, unsure and hoping my job was unavailable, I saw they were understaffed and needed all the help they could get; my job was definitely still free for the taking. Continue reading Postcard from Co-Op

Pillow Talk at Antioch

Her smile, that’s what cued me in. Was it a smile that was specifically targeted for me or was it a smile she prepared for all customers? After all, I dropped by Current Cuisine just for the soup.

It was the summer that I graduated from Antioch and I was basically extending a co-op in Yellow Springs. I was living in a shack on High Street. An extension cord from the main house brought me heat and entertainment from a radio. Water was heated on the oven and brought back to me in a deep pot for my daily bird baths. It wasn’t a sexy existence, but it allowed me to embrace the town of Yellow Springs that I found rather elusive during my three year Antioch stint. I was helping a guy build a house and I was, oh-so occasionally, writing articles for the Yellow Springs News under the wise tutelage of Amy Harper, then editor of the News.

Continue reading Pillow Talk at Antioch

Cooking Up Cabaret Horace

The Creation, Collaboration, and Performance class has mixed together a few recipes for an event in the theater on Founders Day, Friday October, 5th. We want community participation and that is why we are being as transparent as possible. Transparency is a value worth including in planning for community events and worth salvaging from the Antioch dumpster and bake it into food we, as a community can all enjoy.

One recipe in the kitchen is the creation of parody that dramatizes the partition between the ethics of the current Antioch administration, the Board of Trustees included, and the founding values of Antioch College. Social justice, shared governance, and experiential education are just some of the ingredients our founders have added through the years. What do we have to add? If we are going to bake a cake lets make with multiple layers from the ground up. One layer our class has heated up is acting out Horace’s Army by making Horace masks from a picture we are looking to find. Your favorite Horace quotes could be folded into the batter, read aloud, or performed in silence. To mix it up a bit we thought about adding in short improvs from an array of topics like what would Horace do.

Don’t know what Horace was about? Its cool. Neither do we. We are compiling a research team, which needs sugar and spice. So if you know or find spicy / sweet tidbits about our founders come cook with us. Stirring with a similar spoon to Trivia with Beth Goodney at Community Meeting we thought a “founders trivia special” would be the icing on the cake.

Another layer to the cake we had in mind is pouring in music of all sounds from y’alls talents and creative tendencies. There are a couple of musicians in the class that would love to join in with the cookin’. Food seems to taste better when hearing tunes while cooking up something great.

All the tasks and responsibilities that are beginning to pile up in mind, Cabaret Horace is a cook-in process that respects varied energy and levels of commitment. We are seeking a change in perception of Antioch culture. If you are interested in cookin’ it up contact Tim Peyton or Shea Witzberger. Or just show up at 7:30 on Friday at the Antioch Theater to sign up for a slot to perform. Refreshments will be served!