Come learn your rights!

Come to TOE this friday (March 22) at 4 PM to learn what you can do to defend yourself against all forms of law inforcment. Learn what to do if Public Safety shows up at your door rambling about "a strange odor." Learn how to react of police get violent. Learn how to resist with non violence. Come learn how to not get your shit taken! This is a subject everyone needs to know about!

-Outsider

Why Walk Out?

On March 20, students at over 80 high schools and universities around the United States walked out of class to protest the war in Iraq on its fourth anniversary. Included in that assemblage were 76 Drew students. As someone who attends many club-sponsored events at Drew, I can tell you that that’s a pretty good turnout on a campus often accused of being riddled with apathy. However, what I have to say is not really about student body apathy or numbers. I want to share why the walkout and the rally that followed it were invaluably important to me, to my friends, to my adversaries, to the social climate of this school, to the learning process at Drew, and to the town of Madison.

When my friend Rich sent out an e-mail to the list serve of Drew Students for a Democratic Society urging us to start organizing a walkout in solidarity with other schools across the country, I was eager to get the ball rolling. As someone who helped organize and participate in a walkout from my high school on March 5, 2003, before the war in Iraq had officially been waged, it upsets and disgusts me that not only was my voice ignored by those in power back then, when my fellow students and I advised that there were not WMDs in Iraq and that Saddam Hussein was not an immediate threat to our country, but that they have continued to ignore it year after year, protest after protest.

I don’t go to protests anymore because I think the government actually takes notice or gives a fuck what I have to say. I go to protests because I need a space to share my frustration and sadness, my hope and knowledge with other like-minded people. I think that the walkout at Drew on March 20 truly embodied and exemplified such an event.

After reading Rich’s e-mail, I did some googling to find out what other schools were doing. I was directed to SDS: March 20 Student Day of Action Against the War Blog, where at the time over 70 schools were sharing their organizing strategies. One that I particularly liked was to create a facebook event site for the walkout. Inspired by the recent success of the Democratic Party in online grassroots organizing, I took the initiative to put the event on the Drew facebook network, and invited all of my friends.

At first the response was positive but mild. However, on the second day of the event being posted, some pro-war invitees posted on the event wall to say that they felt that the walkout was not supportive of American troops. I and some other anti-war students wrote back defending our position that being against the ideology of the war does not contradict supporting the soldiers who fight it. Over the next five or so days, the wall of the event became a fertile breeding ground for this discussion to be elaborated upon. People from many walks of life and many political affiliations took part in it. When I suggested that a more appropriate forum for the discussion would be in a facebook group devoted solely to a discussion of the war, some of the dialogue spilled over there, while it also continued furiously on the event page. I received and sent many personal messages and e-mails with people on both sides of the discussion, people who I had and still have never spoken to face to face.

Watching the spontaneous, organic creation of this online community, tense as it sometimes was, (and is, the event may be over but the discussion isn’t) was, for lack of a better word, really cool. Having so many students from different clubs, teams, graduating classes, dorms, etc participate in meaningful dialogue about something they were so passionate about was beautiful, even when I felt personally frustrated with having my political views offended.

By Monday night, the eve before the walkout, there were two groups making plans: the anti-war ralliers and the pro-war ralliers. Separately we made signs, planned strategies, and discussed our passion for the cause. The community was no longer on the internet, now we were sharing ideology in person.

On Tuesday, we walked. I won’t go into the details of everything that happened that afternoon, there are too many, but here are some of the events from that day which are most meaningful to me:

- Sitting in a circle in the courtyard of the UC, sharing stories of friends and family who are or have been stationed in Iraq. Sharing concerns for veterans’ physical and mental health, sharing concerns about the security of our country and others around the world. Reading aloud statistics, newspaper articles, poems, and blog entries about the war.

- Marching into town with my fellow students, waving signs and playing instruments, chanting, talking to shoppers and shop-owners and receiving approving honks from drivers passing by.

- Receiving the support of many of the professors and administrative staff at Drew

- Bonding with 75 new friends

Some people I spoke with before the walkout said they weren’t sure if they could come because they didn’t think they could afford to miss class. My friend Kristin was one of them, and while we marched past the library she confided “I’m skipping my test to be here right now.” “Good for you,” I replied, “Which will you remember in 10 years?” Other people told me that they definitely would not be coming because they attend Drew to learn, and that is their priority. I would like to remind these people that learning is not an activity confined to a classroom or mandated solely by an approved institution. Learning is life. I learned more about myself, my peers, my faculty, and the town of Madison on Tuesday than I’ve learned in weeks of going to class. Maybe semesters. In the words of Mark Twain, “I never allowed schooling to interfere with my education.”

Today, Wednesday, as I again browse SDS: March 20 Student Day of Action Against the War Blog
and read and view the actions that took place at schools across the country, it warms me to see that despite the feelings of isolation that sometimes brew when I view what is often an apathetic campus, I am not alone. There are hundreds of thousands who agree with me, and on Tuesday we made a statement. And while of course it is our desire for the government to take notice of our views and to act upon them, that’s only one reason to walk out. The personal satisfaction and empowerment of communicating with so many people in such an impassioned way is why it was worth it for me to walk out. Why did (or didn’t) you walk out?

- Robin

Hey Check It Out

Come one, come all and view the a new feature that was just added to this blog. We have created an events page, this page will be a place to post upcoming club, social event and concerts on and around Drew.

Clubs take notice: this page allows pepole to look for event they want with out reading emails

Features include:
- A calender view of all events
- feeder (allows pepole to get atoumatic updates)
- cool new look and trial logo

SO CHECK IT OUT CLICK HERE

We Can Do Better

If I understand correctly, there has been an event at Drew very recently
in which students choose not to attend class in protest over the War in
Iraq, the idea being that our absence from class represents the troops’
absence from their homes.
I don’t feel I need to devote a great deal of energy to this, so I’ll
just say as simply as possible that I think this is pretty weak. An
event like this has no positive effect at all. Not only will the troops
never benefit from it or know about it, it’s unlikely that they’d care
even if they did know; they don't worry about whether you skip class or
not any more than anyone else. Further, I think that promoting absence
from class is an ill-conceived strategy. Whoever comes up with things
like this and participates in them should realize that we’re in college
to learn things. Holding protests and demonstrations should be lower on
a student’s priority list than academics.

-Enoch

So What Is A Menstrual Cup?

Recently, there has been a lot of discussion at Drew about the failures and successes of the school. As much as we all hate the Commons, the unreasonable treatment we often receive from ResLife and Public Safety, and the fact that there’s still no soap in the bathrooms, my time at Drew has not, by any means, felt like a waste. Some students complain that there is nothing to do on campus. I don’t know about them, but nearly everyday, out of the deluge of campus wide emails, I manage to find at least one message advertising an event that strikes my fancy. I’ve attended some pretty awesome events over the past three years, learned some stuff I never would have learned in a classroom.

I can think of no better example of this than when I attended a menstrual health workshop in the fall of 2005. It was hosted by, I believe Earth House and Womyn’s Concerns House, and out of curiosity, I attended with my roommate. This is where I first learned about menstrual cups and reusable pads, and after coming home from the event, I googled them both extensively. I ended up receiving my menstrual cup a couple months later, as a Christmas present from my slightly confused but supportive parents. Since then, menstrual cups have become my obsession. I feel like a Born Again Christian, except my passion is periods, not Jesus Christ Our Lord and Savior. I find myself proselytizing to anyone with a vagina who is willing to listen, and have converted a couple handfuls of friends and quadmates. So, if your mind is inquisitive, you probably have a couple questions.

• What the hell is a menstrual cup?

A menstrual cup is a small cup that is inserted into your vagina and holds menstrual blood. It can then be removed, dumped, cleaned, and reinserted. There are both reusable and disposable varieties (the Instead being the disposable variety, and DivaCups, Keepers, Lunettes, and Mooncups being the reusables). Aside from the Keeper, which is made of rubber, the other reusable cups are made of medical grade silicone, which is hypoallergenic and very durable.

• Why would you ever want to use one?

There are many different reasons why someone with a period would want to use one, but personally, I’m not fond of tampons or pads. I’m REALLY not fond of them now that I know what else is out there. The most basic reasons that I chose to try a cup out was that they are cheaper, better for the environment, and better for my body.

The initial cost of a reusable cup puts many people off at first, because they do cost more than a box of tampons. Generally, their price runs from about 20 to 35 dollars, depending on what deals you can find online. However, reusable cups pay for themselves quickly. It is a one-time investment, unlike disposables that you need to keep buying every month. A reusable silicone cup can last at least five years (although theoretically they can be used indefinitely. You just have to make sure not to drop it down the toilet or lose it). Some brands even offer a money back guarantee.

Because the cup is reusable, there is no waste produced. A woman will use an average of 17 shopping carts full of tampons or pads in her lifetime. That’s a lot of shit! Menstrual cups are much better for the environment. Wasting less and caring for the earth makes me feel good about myself!

Finally, menstrual cups are in many ways healthier for your vag. They don’t absorb your natural secretions (the ones that keep your vagina lubricated and self-cleaning), unlike tampons, which often come with the unfortunate side effect of absorbing EVERYTHING, not just blood. This results in a happier, healthier vagina, especially when coupled with the fact that it no longer has to worry about TSS (toxic shock syndrome), since silicone isn’t a hospitable environment for TSS bacteria to grow.

And if you needed more reasons to be convinced, there are plenty:

• You can keep your cup in for longer amounts of time than tampons; I’ve kept mine in for a full 24 hours before with no problems. Especially awesome if you have a light period.
• You’re not supporting huge, gross, profit-hungry corporations (who couldn’t care less about the women using their products)!
• You can sterilize your cup as often as you want. Just stick it in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes and you’re good as new.
• You can feel more connected with your body and your period. Some people think it’s gross and not to be talked about or dealt with any more than necessary, but it’s empowering and just damn interesting to see what your body is actually doing. If you really were curious, in fact, you can measure how heavy your flow is (the cup has markers that show how many mL it contains).
• You can recycle your menstrual blood by making a water/blood mixture and watering your plants with it. I’m not even making this shit up. Plants love it, because menstrual blood is very nutrient-rich.
• If you have any problems or questions, there are tons of other cup users eager to help you out. I am one of them, but there is a livejournal community dedicated to cups and can be found here: http://community.livejournal.com/menstrual_cups/

That, in short (or not so short), is why I love my cup. And one reason why, when all is said and done, I can feel good about the things I’ve gained from my time at Drew.

-emily

Student Government

So, there is a lot of talk going on about the SGA and Student Union. I was lucky enough to have the time to sit in on a meeting between both the SGA and SDS (Students for Democratic Society). Many great ideas were shared, and many misconceptions were cleared up.

What do YOU think? Should there be a student union? Do you think we should have direct democracy on campus? What about the SGA? Do you feel sufficiently knowledgeable on how their process works? What do you think can be done to raise the dismal level of student participation? What would you like to see happen with our student government?

-Outsider

Why Are You So Hard On The Acorn?

Readers and writers of the Nutcracker, this isn't much of an article as it is a long winded question. I "hear" an underlying negative magnetic flow through various writer's and responder's musings on this website towards the Acorn.

My question is, simply- Why? Have many/any of you submitted articles to the Acorn only to have them ____________, which was so very wrong in your point of view? (You can fill in the blank for me). I'd like to open up a discussion about this general opposition to one of the (from what I know) hardest working, ever pressured, and consistently degraded student group on campus. Yet, despite the anger and biting (rather than constructive) criticism they receive daily by their peers, they report for duty into the wee hours of the nights. Nights we spend drinking to our hearts desire, getting that coveted ass, or maybe studying for that exam. Those are luxuries few editors are able to receive.

How much do all of you know about journalism? Do you know what the University limits the Acorn to? When and if you submit an article, have you optioned to have them go over the editing process with you? Have any of you approached members of the Acorn staff with your qualms? Where, in your mind, are you justified in your attacks?

Like any group on campus, I know the Acorn suffers from lack of interest and participation. In the paper, I see the same writers every week. How do we expect them to improve if we aren't giving them any help? I especially love the letters to the editor. They're always an interesting read.

Where I came from, the newspaper was everything. On most campuses, the newspaper is a cause for controversy, as it should be. It tells you what's going on, whether you like it or not. And misquotations, sure they suck, yet how quick can you jot down a conversation, getting every last word? Even on a recorder, it's very hard to hear. Also, most campuses pay their newspaper staff, offer them credits for their hard work, give them a stipend, etc. I know the Acorn is self motivated, with fairly little help from the University.

I don't think a community should ever cut its major source of communication slack, but I do believe a lot of effort is wasted in complaining rather than in improving. Why do you criticize the Acorn with such disdain? And why aren't you using your energy to write something productive? Something that maybe you can take pride in? You can't claim an anonymous posting on a blog, but a clipping of an article you wrote is much more rewarding. I am all for improving our newspaper. After all, Drew isn't getting any better, and we all know that.

I'm just worried our priorities are out of line, and that the student body is turning into quite the complaining, narcissistic and self righteous bunch. It's very easy to criticize. And we all enjoy our defense mechanisms. But, first the SGA, now the Acorn. What are we going to take down next? The GLBTQ? Act Out? Rugby?

Where's the love?

-Prince Ali