Posts Categorized: Uncategorized
It’s Time to Get Serious About Domestic Abuse and the NFL
In light of the recent scandal that the dearly beloved Johnny “Football” Manziel got himself in by beating his girlfriend, I think it’s important to talk about the ridiculous number of athletes who have also committed similar crimes, but continue to go without punishment and continue to get paid thousands of dollars per game. First and foremost, I want to admit that I’m not that into sports. At all. I’d like to think that this gives me the ability to not be hindered by rose colored glasses, but to accurately see the system as it really is. The being said there is a huge fucking problem in our sports entertainment industry. We see time and time again, male athletes being arrested for beating their wives, girlfriends, and family members. Johnny… Read more »
People of Color and Women to be Featured on American Money
I like money. Money pays my rent and I can trade it for groceries. But more than that, I am interested in money itself. As a history buff, money fascinates me. Like a national anthem or literature, it can show the values and beliefs of the society it comes from. It can be politically volatile, or used as a force for change. I’ve collected coins for years now, and I can tell you the history of every state quarter you will find in the United States. And now, we’re going to see women and people of color on our American money. This may be nothing new to collectors: Booker T. Washington, Sacajawea and Susan B. Anthony all have their faces on coinage. But these are mainly collectors items. After all,… Read more »
What the Anti-Trans Bathroom Bill Would Mean for Kansas Students
Unfortunately, the Kansas Legislature is still considering HB2737 as a way to legalize transphobia. HB 2737, the Student Physical Privacy Act, states that students using facilities designated for the opposite sex of their biological sex threaten the psychological and physical safety of others. In the language it also states that public schools, including universities, need to take reasonable steps to make sure that people of the opposite sex don’t use the ‘wrong facilities,’ or face a lawsuit. These “Reasonable Steps” that schools should be taking were not outlined. Putting this so vaguely makes a case against a transgender student easier to file and leaves the possibility of means of finding out such as physical or sexual assault excusable. The school would have to pay $2,500 plus lawyer fees and any… Read more »
Reproductive Justice and the Single Lady
My latest read has been “All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation” by Rebecca Traister and it is amazing. I seriously recommend this book to everyone. The book is about the history of marriage and how as it changed and women became more and more independent, society changes with it. Single women have changed the political landscape in many ways. This book got me thinking about how single people today impact the reproductive justice movement. For one, Traister points out in her book people are staying single in college verses getting married in or right out of college. This means there are younger single people and there is no denying how vital young people are to reproductive justice and activism. Single people have impacted abolition,… Read more »
Unionizing Workers is Central to the Reproductive Justice Movement
Over the past year the Fight for 15 movement has swelled into a national workers rights movement. Today, a movement that began with fast food workers walking off their jobs, has become a movement for all minimum wage workers and those who stand in solidarity with their struggle. They’re taking to the streets to celebrate minimum wage victories already won and rally in support of a $15 minimum wage everywhere and a union for everyone. The $15 minimum wage victories have been hard won by the tireless effort and solidarity amongst fast food workers, care workers, and academics alike. Despite intense opposition from businesses and the various institutions that work to protect businesses’ bottom line, workers have managed to win a $15 minimum wage in cities across America and, just… Read more »
Alabama’s SB 205: a New Spin on TRAP Laws?
As of 2014, Alabama has five abortion clinics. Today, the House Health Committee is having a public hearing on Senate Bill 205, which could force clinics to relocate or ultimately shut down, further decreasing our already limited access to abortion providers. SB 205 would prohibit the renewal of licenses for abortion clinics within 2,000 feet of a school—the same distance required of sex offenders. Not only does this distance and the association with sex crimes make obtaining an abortion seem like an illicit act—Senator Paul Sanford, who proposed the bill, even stated that if they can limit a pedophile’s proximity to a school, they should be able to do the same with the clinics—but it also comes across like yet another law imposed in the hopes of shutting down clinics… Read more »
Contraception Access and the Zika Virus
The recent surfacing of the Zika virus in the Americas highlights the public health concerns caused by restricted access to contraceptives and abortion access. Last May, reports of Zika infections started coming out of Brazil, and in February, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the virus a public health emergency of international concern. Zika is spread by blood through a specific breed of mosquito. Normally, infections manifest themselves in the form of a rash and conjunctivitis, but for fetuses, the effect is significantly worse. The virus causes a birth defect called microcephaly. Microcephaly causes a smaller brain and hindered brain development. The WHO and Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) urge parents to put off having children until treatments and vaccines are widely available which is estimated to be available in two… Read more »
An Ode to Equal Pay Day
Dear Equal Pay Day, Oh how I wish this wasn’t necessary. It’s 2016, 53 years after the Equal Pay Act was signed by Kennedy in 1963, and we’re still having this conversation. This isn’t your fault, of course, but the fault of systemic misogyny, sexist societal views, and racism. You’re just here as a way for us to organize and act; as a way to help us get together and fight this oppressive system. I know, I know. This can be a lot to handle. I mean, as someone who has personally worked at an establishment that paid female employees less than male employees, it is immensely frustrating. Not only was I paid less hourly than my male counterparts ($2 less hourly than men who had the same job as… Read more »
Know Your IX Boot Camp: A Recap
Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the Know Your IX Activist Bootcamp, an intensive two day long training dedicated to educating student activists about anti-sexual violence campaigns across universities on the West Coast. Know Your IX, a grassroots, youth and survivor led organization dedicated to providing students with the legal knowledge and organizing skills to end sexual violence on campuses, hosted the event. I came away from the training in awe of the incredible work students and survivors are already doing on their campuses. Badass student activists are not only holding their universities accountable, but creating a culture of consent and safety for communities affected by gender-based violence on their campuses. If you’re not well-versed in the intricacies of federal and state laws that protect students… Read more »
Perspective: It’s Time to Allow Foreign Doctors to Provide Care
Though many religious leaders say it is not required given the circumstances, diabetic and pregnant Muslims often try to celebrate Ramadan with both fasting and prayer. This practice requires the supervision and care of a culturally-competent doctor who understands both the medical issues that could spring up from fasting as a diabetic or mother-to-be, but also one who understands the cultural significance of the holiday. Culturally-competent doctors can be hard to come by in the United States; many medical students have only just begun to be assigned textbooks on the subject of treating those from foreign cultures. So why, then, is it so difficult for doctors from foreign countries to get certified in the United States? According to the Migration Policy Institute, there are now nearly 42 million immigrants living the United… Read more »
