i can't shake this - and i had to share/vent/cry: a few hours ago i received the news that my first alma mater, byu, is shutting down the women's research institute (WRI), which just celebrated it's 30-year anniversary after its founding by apostles dallin h. oaks and jeffrey r. holland. (bless them.)i'm totally devastated, and my utter disappointment in byu has only been amplified. byu has already shown zero support for african studies - they shut down the international development major, and now this!
remember this article from nick kristof on how critical it is to support women for poverty reduction and general social benefit? and how important it is to acknowledge that women are grossly and disproportionately maltreated and mutilated and abused - the majority of their perpetrators met only with impunity? his article only gave a prominent voice to research and truths that many of us have been saying for decades, and that the faculty at the WRI tried to project to BYU's (often narrow-minded) campus.
the WRI gave me a grant to go to syria to do research on women. they housed the womanstats database project i worked on for 2 years. but most critical of all, they gave an actual voice and call to the world that byu was concerned about women, understood that their problems were critical, and should not be shelved as "special interest."
and now? oh byu - you're steadily making me lose hope in you completely.
these pictures are from the glory days: my last semester sara, thelms, brittany, ali, and i mounted a grand domestic violence advocacy event on byu's campus for international women's day. we had to be so political in framing it to byu's administration, but we did it. and it was a great success. and mom and dad stopped by, and lincoln helped out TONS. sigh. i miss those days. i hope byu students will continue to carry the torch for women's rights! down with domestic violence! help us break the silence!
11 comments:
Oh, the words that are coming out of my mouth right now. Are. Not. Polite.
Jooj--Reading the press release it sounds like the decision was the result of politics/power moves among the professors, more than anything. Not a decision by BYU to renounce the idea of women's studies. It's too bad, but I wouldn't hold it against BYU, only the professors on the "inter-discplinary" committee who voted to shut it down. These things come and go, and maybe there's an opportunity for someone who's passionate about it to get it going again in a few years. :-)
bummer jooj. sounds like somebody needs a talking to.
grrrrrrr
Lame, but not that surprising to be honest
my heart is sad. (and yes, i, too, blogged about it.)
we need the fem4 back in provs.
That is terrible! Why, why do they do things like that? The University is only enriched by programs such as this one. They do this and are yet able to get funding to build the new sports fields, bleachers and athletic buildings . . . hm.
ahh well... we all know my feelings towards the visual arts department at byu :) haha. But I have come to realize that it isn't as much a reflection on the whole university.. Unfortunately there are always politics involved with different professors (grrr) But overall, BYU does some amazing things. Just remember all of the wonderful clubs they do support :) SID, and UNICEF, and I just found out they have one for recycling and global warming... The politics are frustrating, but unfortunately, we get that everywhere... just look at congress. :) xoxo ps, love the pics of those signs at BYU, I wish I had been there!
oh i love that vanessa is there with elijah! all that was so much fun. sigh.
I started reading your blog a little while ago, but I've never actually commented. But today on facebook I noticed there's a big group of people who want to save the program.
Here's the link:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/group.php?gid=169442383235&ref=nf
Good Luck!
I remember that day! In fact, a friend from home that I hadsn't seen in a few years ran into me while talking (he seems to think I was accosting people..hm...semantics probably) to peeps that day and still mentions it. Well, there are some things you just can't hide I guess. Oh, I miss you all when I see pics like that. Go Women's Day! Go Valerie and her prodigies...
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