Today marked the last day of the Justice for All exhibit being on the UA mall. For some on campus it’s a relief; for others such as myself, it’s a somber goodbye to a very moving time on campus. I was about to write a 10-item list of what I learned, but I’ve decided to let it flow into paragraphs instead.

It is truly unfortunate that we have to “shock” people, but there will always be a certain portion of the student body who needs to see that in order for them to make the effort to become informed. If people would get informed on their own without being “shocked,” not only would we not need the pictures, but we wouldn’t need to educate the student body, either.

The “shock” effect initially led me to believe that JFA would be associated with such mall phenomena as Brother Jed and Bible Jim. For the most part, this was never the case. Nobody came out with their signs and megaphones to come challenge us in a shouting match. For the most part, everything remained very peaceful.

What shocked me more than the relative calm was something different, namely that people of other faiths to whom I talked deride the practice and legality of abortion. One would think the Church should be the primary voice, but all we manage to do it seems is either to shove bibles in people’s faces or remain silent as if there is no problem.

Some of those to whom I spoke were not Americans. Three of them were Muslims from the Middle East. Here in the United States, we often espouse certain rights enshrined in our Constitution such as freedom of speech, assembly, and press. Often, it may give us an ego trip compared to our fellow international students. What then is indicated when I have to explain to an international student why unborn children in the United States don’t have the freedom to live?

The Holocaust claimed 11 million. Pol Pot’s genocide in Cambodia claimed 2 million, some of whom are family I will never meet. In contrast, the American Unborn Genocide has now claimed the lives of 40 million. The numbers are difficult to fathom. While my exposure to pictures such as these in high school has desensitized me to their violence to a very large degree, I don’t know what to do with a number like 40 million? How many cities is that? How many small countries could fit into that number?

And while this week’s events statistically may make a trivial impact, our God is not a god of statistics. He is a God who loves each and every one of us, in such detail that the very hairs on our heads are numbered. One heart changed, one mind challenged, one life saved is not a waste of time.

Photograph by Nils Fretwurst.

It’s one thing when students react strongly against the Justice for All exhibit, including calling it a great big "lie".  I’m one to know that having been a volunteer over the past week.  It’s another thing when the student government does it, and that’s exactly what has apparently happened.

Joke about the Women’s Resource Center all you want, but according to a source within ASUA, the following letter was sent onto the "ASUA_ADMIN" listserv, which unlike the ASUA listserv appears closed to public view.  The senders’ surnames and email addresses have been removed for privacy (read: lawsuit aversion) reasons, but the removed surnames can be garnered from the WRC page on the ASUA website.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Carly [surname] <[email]>
Date: Jan 24, 2007 9:47 AM
Subject: Women’s Resource Center
To: ASUA_ADMIN@listserv.arizona.edu

The current misleading, lie-filled display against abortion on the UA mall is a
good reminder of the need for an active progressive feminist space on
campus—a central location where information can be disseminated, activists
can meet, and groups can collaborate on projects and programming.

Did you know that there is a Women’s Resource Center at the University of
Arizona? If not, you are certainly not alone. We are two graduate students in
the Women’s Studies Department, and have recently been confirmed as the new
Co-Directors of the WRC, which is located in the ASUA branch of the Student
Union.  Although the center hasn’t been too highly-functioning over the past
several years, we hope to transform it into a feminist, social-justice
oriented, activist hub.

SAVE THE DATE: As part of the grand re-opening for the WRC, Jennifer Baumgardner
and Amy Richards, internationally renowned authors of several books, including
__Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism and the Future__, will be speaking on
Tuesday March 20th! Details to come! To check out the biographies of these
amazing women, go to: http://www.soapboxinc.com/whoweare.html

(PROFESSORS: if you want Jen and Amy to speak in your class in the afternoon,
let us know ASAP. If you hold a Tuesday evening course, this would be a great
event to attend as a class! Please consider, and for the sake of planning,
please contact Carly at [email] to let us know!)

Because we activists are too often unaware of the activities of other
like-minded folks, we envision the Women’s Resource Center as a location to
bring folks together. Mostly, we want to collaborate with the activists that
are already doing great social justice work! For those of you already involved
in other progressive feminist organizations, we can offer you office space,
potential funding for events and outreach, and endless energy and hugs!

Furthermore, we are looking for individuals to act as coordinators for various
committees, or create other committees you see a need for. Although these would
not be paid positions, this is a great opportunity to get involved in a
leadership role, learn valuable job skills, and earn an important line on a CV
or resume.

In order to do make these changes, we need YOU! As stated, we’re looking for
individuals to volunteer and organizations to collaborate with.  Several
individuals have already expressed an interest in collaborating to create
campus and community programming in the following areas:

•       Women’s Health (sexuality, alternative health, reproductive health/rights
issues)
•       Violence Against Women (sexual assault prevention, healthy relationships,
Take Back the Night)
•       Women’s Empowerment (discussion and book groups, open mic nights)

The WRC is currently staffed:

Mondays—9:30-1:30 (Carly)
Thursdays—from 11-3 (Sara)
Fridays—11-3 (Nettie)

Although the space is obviously not staffed at all times, we can arrange for use
of the space at almost any time. Eventually, we hope to be open 40+ hours/week,
but this will require volunteers to staff the center, work on outreach, write
grants, etc. Nonetheless, Please do stop by and see us!

Professors: Do you require or would you like to incorporate a service learning
component into your classes? If so, we may be able to help connect your
students to community organizations, or will definitely be able to offer them a
meaningful service project through the WRC. If you are interested, we’d love
to chat about this further!

Lastly, there is an important new group on campus called the Reproductive Rights
Coalition. The focus of this coalition is to bring together the various campus
and community-based reproductive justice groups in order to share resources,
collaborate on events, and support one another’s work in order to have a real
impact. One of our primary objectives is working to overturn the on-campus
abortion ban. For more information on meetings, or to join or support the RRC
in any capacity, please contact Carly at [email].

Because of the obvious intersections between race, class, sexuality, gender and
social justice, we hope to work on a wide variety of issues. In other words,
All issues, personalities, and skills will be welcome and appreciated! Any
questions, any interest, or to donate massive amounts of cash , please
contact either:

Sara [surname]                              or             Carly [surname]
[email]                           [email]

Please forward this message widely; We look forward to working with you!

Carly and Sara

 

Raise your hand if this makes you more sick than the abortions photographs already do.  Expect a candidate question specifically about this incident.

Note: I’ve been consistently fighting HTML problems here, so take note if you’re comparing versions.

Update: I think that’s it for the HTML problems.  Holy crap, I’m not cutting and pasting from GMail ever again.

As of 8:15 am, I saw no Justice for All exhibit where it was supposed to be, so I don’t think it’s happening it today. I’ll post here if find out about any updates.

Update (5:35 p.m.):It happened, but the display came up later than expected. Expect setup to start at 7 a.m. tomorrow.

The announcement on the right concerning the abortion dialogue seminar isn’t an isolated thing, this according to the UA College Republicans’ listserv.  Rather, it’s preparation for the Justice for All exhibit (GRAPHIC IMAGE WARNING) happening this week on the UA campus.

Please pray that hearts and minds may be changed.  Even if only one heart or mind is changed, we will not have wasted our time. 

There’s chatter going on around the blogosphere concerning the availability of Plan B over the counter. The best example, via fellow Cactus Alliance member Hot AZ It Gets, is from Cathi Herrod of the Center for Arizona Policy.

Arizona State University’s Campus Health Service now dispenses “Plan B,” the morning after pill, without a prescription. These pills, which contain an ultra-high dosage of synthetic hormones, have the potential to prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus, causing an abortion. The long-term health effects of taking high doses of hormones is still unknown, and unlike regular birth control pills, no physical exam is needed to obtain them. Since the “no-prescription” sales have begun, demand has already increased by 50 percent. The danger is compounded by the fact that young women are encouraged to stockpile extra doses of the morning after pill for future “emergency use.” No one has studied what effect repeated ultra-high dosages of synthetic hormones will have on a woman’s body, which sell for $40 per dose at Campus Health Services. Once again, those who claim to advocate for “women’s health” are doing nothing more than making a “healthy profit” at the expense of the women they purport to help!

Some studies apparently suggest that it doesn’t (see page 3). I certainly hope they’re right. And if they are, then make it legal and allow people to make their own choices on their own health when it doesn’t involve killing someone else. Government making such choices for the population only results in the individual’s inability to make such choices for him or herself.

Check some of these out in your free time:

• Norm Seeley is podcasting frequently, and he’s doing a very good job at it.
• My roommate Jesse Allen just started up Thoughts of Carl.  The rest of us in our apartment jokingly call him a "hippie liberal", but he’s actually quite moderate and a real blast to debate or simply discuss issues with.
• In the midst of the Plan B OTC approval, Scott Ott mulls over the possibility of Plan C.  Of course, I’d personally recommend Plan A before trying anything else.

Language is a [expletive], isn’t it?

I learned something about Plan B today.  It apparently does get rid of a fertilized egg.  So much for the term "emergency contraceptive."  Thanks for the misinformation.

Moreover, a medical expert I spoke to notes that taking a week’s worth of birth control pills does the same damn thing.