President's Message 

Susan P. McNamara

 On the discussion agenda of the November 1st meeting of our Board was the submission from Bethlehem for the 2011-2012 AAUW-PA Branch Highlights recognition: A “summary of an event, process, change or initiative” that might be about ‘something old that’s still working, something new you’ve tried… something borrowed or adapted…or something else you’re proud to report or think would help others.”

           A consensus, almost instantaneously, was that our collaborative projects and events are most noteworthy and in a variety of ways meet all the criteria!  Just as quickly members arrived at a paragraph heading “Stepping Out of the Box” and specifics: In March 2011, we joined AAUW members from Allentown, Easton, and Pocono Area branches for a discussion of  racism and white privilege using The Help as a touchstone. We followed this program up with the formation in late spring of a diversity interest group and in mid-summer with a The Help movie night joining again members from Allentown and Easton. In April we worked with our Moravian College Student Affiliates to hold our second Pay Equity bake sale and campus speak-out. AAUW-Bethlehem also was a co-sponsor of, and participant in, the college’s Take Back the Night reception, march and candle-light speak-out. Members joined Student Affiliate faculty advisor, Professor Stacey Zaremba, a member of the Bethlehem YW and named President of the Y Board in August, in the Y’s Race Against Racism in April 2011.The Presidents of the four collaborating branches accepted the challenge of serving as the steering committee for the Eastern District meeting held in October 2011. Together, we are exploring options for the creation of a web common calendar for these four branches. In September, Membership Chair, Yvonne and I, responded to a reach-out from two faculty members at Northampton Community College NCC) interested in AAUW-Bethlehem and STEM. At present, an NCC and AAUW-Bethlehem C/U partnership along with inter-face with AAUW-Easton is being explored.

         “Stepping out” highlights that these events are taking us beyond our branch’s prior geographic and organizational boundaries. It emphasizes movement from discussion to action. It includes initiatives that incorporate more collective use of available technology. It points to focus on activities linked to the broader AAUW Mission concerns related to equity. In short, ‘somethings’ old, ‘somethings’ new, ‘somethings’ borrowed and a collective of things of which we are, and should be, very proud!

With all this stepping out, however, it is important to acknowledge some accompanying risks. In whatever way or ways we define or describe “the box,” this metaphor connotes a place of safety, predictability, security, and comfort. “Stepping out”, then, carries with it a risk of diminishing or losing those protective walls.  And, it is true that, for example, Pay Equity Day can, and does, still provoke some hostility, even if only from a few on a college campus.

 

 A book discussion of racism in the south in the 1960s does stir up some discomfort in many of us when talk turns to issue of present-day ‘white privilege.’ More reliance on technology prompts for some feelings that “I’m just not smart enough” or “it’s all too much for me.” When we think about sustaining membership in AAUW with the recognition that women holding college degrees are increasingly representative of a broadly diverse in terms of age, race, creed, sexual orientation, class, and disability, we worry that AAUW-Bethlehem just might not be or become any more ‘our organization.”  With events, plans, activities that sometimes provoke hostility, challenge our sense of self-worth or prompt on-going examination of beliefs and opinions, it’s only to be expected that we sometimes want to resist change, feel obligated to defend and protect that box.

Simultaneously, however, for those of us in AAUW-Bethlehem, another expectation can be that these are opportunities in which the very defining attributes of AAUW can flourish: as advocates of life-long learning, we can grab hold of our immediate, and very human, resisting responses by acknowledging and working through them in ‘teachable moments’; we can stretch out to participate in study/interest groups that encourage  candid discussion or even difficult dialogues on controversial topics, we can sponsor activities that address contemporary issues and problems. In short, the very act of acknowledging the risks that accompany those choices and actions of which we are proud, can free us to continue subscribing to and promoting the core values of AAUW. It can remind us of the intelligence, sensitivity, and dedication that AAUW women for 130 years have brought to the challenges of facing down barriers to equity in spite of the risks, personal and collective. We can continue to extend our boundaries.  

AAUW State and Branch Presidents: Get More Involved with She Should Run!

Dear AAUW State and Branch Presidents,

AAUW is pleased to collaborate for a second year with She Should Run as a part of our highly successful Elect Her initiative. She Should Run is a program that provides the resources and information needed to help women explore whether public office is right for them.  This collaboration is an important aspect of Elect Her, which builds the pipeline of women running for office in order to diminish the long-standing gender gap in political leadership.

1. •Through the She Should Run online tool, individuals can nominate themselves or encourage women they know to run for office.
   

2. •She Should Run also provides a monthly newsletter and companion notebook that demystifies the process of running for office and includes resources, training, and information about running for office nationwide.
   

She Should Run is forming state partnerships in all 50 states to ensure that more women know about the program at the local level. Since AAUW works so closely with She Should Run, we would love for you to get more involved!

 

You can collaborate with She Should Run at the state or branch level by including She Should Run on your website and providing information about the program at state and branch meetings. AAUW and She Should Run want to make sure that women in your community have the local resources and connections they need to explore whether running for office is the right path for them.   

 

To receive the She Should Run logo, information for your website, and brochures for your meetings, please contact Julie Daniels, She Should Run programs director,  at 202/393-8164 or by e-mail at Julie@wcfonline.org. 

 

Regards,

 

Kate Farrar

Director, Leadership Programs

AAUW

 

Julie Daniels

Programs Director

She Should Run