Holy tokwats!
It's about time I updated this, di ba? Great news! I just got an emergency grant from the Third Wave Foundation for the upcoming printing of Bamboo Girl, issue #11. This gestation period has been somewhat long mainly for financial reasons, and especially after 9.11, I was feeling not altogether here for a time. But yes, finally, I'm smackin this bun outta the oven January! It's set.
The main criteria of the Third Wave Foundation's emergency grant was to address post 9.11 events, such as: feminist and women of color perspectives, hate crimes, profiling, and many other topics. It so happens that my next issue will be chock full of the stuff. There will be an interview with Samira, a Filipina muslim who grew up in Saudi Arabia and now lives in the Philippines. She is a really fascinating woman, an intelligent student studying journalism who is articulate and observant, yet is also fond of pop culture, Filipino pop culture in particular. She had a lot of interesting observations on the 9.11 events, as well as her view of women and their role in Muslim society. There will be a layout of photos I took at the Union Square Vigil in NYC during its 1st (only?) weekend, listings of racial profiling and hate/bias crimes that have resulted as a by-product of the war, resources related to 9.11, and many other items... but it will also have interviews with FACES (Filipino American Coalition for Environmental Solutions), a growing movement of church, environmental, peace and justice groups, students, scientists, professionals, and other concerned citizens who are committed to seeking environmental justice for the communities affected by toxic contamination at former U.S. military bases in the Philippines. There will also be an interview with Project Bookmobile, a traveling exhibition of artist book works, zines, and independent publications - traveling by way of a vintage Airstream, the Bookmobile aims to make its way to community centers, schools, festivals, artist run centers, libraries, prisons, and remote regions where independent publications are hard to come by. And of course, various articles from various perspectives, some of them covering topics such as herbal allies for crazy girls, the 22nd Annual Boston Dragon Boat festival, the case of world-peace activist Fumiaki Hoshino, as well as all girl band Fanny from the 70's (did you know Pinay rockers existed even then?)
---
PUSOD HOLIDAY GIFTS!
Be a conscientious consumer! Have a Green Holiday Season (never mind the White Christmas) and give gifts that also help keep your "navel" base, Pusod, going!
Order online and by telephone. Prices below do not include shipping and handling:
Organik $15.00
Earthly love songs from Philippine musician and poet JoeyAyala. Gently packaged in tree-free, biodegradable algae board. Lyrics inscribed with English translations. Especially planted for the Filipino-American community and for all kababayan, kalahi, kasama, kapatid, ka-pusod, ka-likas-an - who are living outside the archipelago.
Call of Nature $12.00 for 4 issues
Quarterly green reading for the evolving global mind. The meaning of lechon in Filipino culture. Global warming. The GMO debate. What it means to compost and step-by-step instructions to do it at home! No Postage Necessary.
Seed Membership $150.00 Holiday Special!
Live as lightly as a seed, taking and giving only what we need. Support your navel base and the art of reconnecting community to culture and the environment.
Unbroken Spirit $10.00
Reminiscent of the three wise men, this strikingly beautiful image is of three Muslim children meditating in a mosque, today's manger. Black and white poster by world-renowned Filipino photographer Rick Rocamora.
Filipino's First Bath $12.00
Vintage magazine cover image (18" x 24" color poster) of President McKinley force-bathing a "primitive" Pinoy pygmy-baby with the brush of "Education" in the waters of "Civilization". From the popular exhibit "Colored: Black n' White, Filipinos in American Popular Media, 1896-1907." Was on exhibit at Pusod June-October 2001, now on tour.
Return to the Tribe $23.00
An independent film maker, Aureus Solito, discovers then reconnects to his Palawan roots as seen through the eyes of master documentarist Howie Severino. Shown on Philippine TV's longest running investigative journalism show The Probe Team. Available in Tagalog with no subtitles or Tagalog with English Subtitles.
Pusod Agimat $10.00
The symbol you know us by: a silver amulet abstraction of the "earth in our navel," to help ward off cultural amnesia and colonial hexes. A perfect gift to be worn as a beautiful lapel pin or necklace pendant.
To order and for images and details, go to www.bwf.org, scroll down to and click on "Talipapa"; email pusod@bwf.org or call (510) 883-1808.
Maraming Salamat Po and Happy Holidays from the Pusod Staff!
PUSOD
1808 Fifth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
(510) 883-1808
Office Hours: M-F 10-6
Exhibit Hours: Tues-Sat 11-6
--
BRANDEIS STUDENTS RALLY AGAINST ACTS OF HATE AND PREJUDICE ON CAMPUS
December 10, 2001
Waltham, Massachusetts
Today, concerned students staged a rally in front of the Usdan Student Center from noon to 2 pm, spurred by recent harassment targeting Asian-American women on Brandeis University campus. The rally aptly named "Speak Out!", is intended to provide a safe space for students voices to be heard, and to provide solidarity in the fight against all forms of intolerance and discrimination. The specific incidents of harassment which predate today's rally include a November 20, 2001, incident where WBRS 100.1 fm, a Brandeis community radio organization funded by the student union, broadcasted an overtly offensive radio show run by 5 Brandeis students, called "the Men's Room". The hosts of the show made sexist and racist remarks over the air specifically targeting Asian-Americans. Words like “Chink" and "Gook” were used as "synonyms for Asians", and they continued to laugh though a song they improvised on the subject of Asian strippers. They made a pun of the word "slanted", mocking the almond-shaped eyes distinctive to people of East Asian descent. They continued with a verse stating, "I once was in China. wanted to see some vagina"; the offensive verses continued with "I love when strippers give me licks, to my dick/ I said babe, touch my chopstick..." and she said “me love you long time", referring to the stereotyped line in reference to Asian women's submissiveness and sexual objectification. They then sang about an Asian woman who was "hot" and "Yellow", and who had shown them her "tits", undermining the integrity and humanity of all Asian American women.
After this unacceptable verbal attack on the Asian American community was brought to the attention of the administration, all that has so far been enacted to respond has been an "open forum" on racism, aired on WBRS, where the hosts were present. The show has since been canceled, though participating members remain on the radio stations executive board.
However, less than a week after the forum intended to promote awareness, another act of hate was committed against several Asian -American women; two separate student housing rooms had been vandalized with the phrases "me love you long time", "black dicks too big", and "me fuck you long time", seemingly as backlash for the way many Asian-American women on campus had stood up for themselves in the face of their public degradation.
President Jehudah Reinharz has stated that if the perpetrator(s) to this hate crime are caught, they will be appropriately penalized, as well as has issued a general statement decrying acts of intolerance, such as the racism evident on the radio show.
The Intercultural Center Programming Board at Brandeis has released a statement responding with, "we would be comforted by an Administrative response that will speak to the specific insensitivities that were manifested in this recent broadcast, and not a generic response that has no real meaning to us as minority students." The statement included larger community concerns, "...with such ignorance evident on this campus, we cannot feel at home at this University until our senior leadership shows a genuine disdain for the event that has caused our most recent pains."
Still, there remains a disempowered, silenced group of Asian-American women who have been warned against speaking out, with consequences of community ostracism, and terrorized with concerns of racial as well as sexual harassment.
Organizers hope this rally will give a voice to those students who have be silenced by fear, as well as impress upon the administration the urgency to take immediate action to restore a safe campus environment, where diversity is welcome and hate crimes are not tolerated.
A group of concerned students are planning on attending a community meeting following the rally, where they will present specific demands to the administration, in order to prevents incidents of biased harassment for Asian American students, as well as all marginalized groups in the future. They will demand that the University create new positions of two senior administrators who will have the specific duty of addressing the concerns of diversity within the makeup of the student body, faculty, staff, and other administration, whose responsibilities would include being a centralized location for the confidential reporting of homophobic, sexist, and racist incidents, creating a safe space for students of minority groups to discuss issues of concern. These funded administrators will also implement programs of sensitivity training for students and faculty to include concern for issues of difference within gender, race, class, age, disability, religion, nationality, and ethnicity.
For further information, contact Michelle Lowinger (646-242-3567)
NOTE:
Please send letters of support to Jeffrey W. Fong, President of the Brandeis Asian American Student Association. If you are part of an organization, and your organization supports the efforts being made by the Brandeis students, please sign-on your organization's name.
Please contact Jeff with your support:
Jeffrey W. Fong
waiho@brandeis.edu
MB 1870
Brandeis University
P.O. Box 549239
Waltham, MA 02454-9239
1-781-529-4042
It's about time I updated this, di ba? Great news! I just got an emergency grant from the Third Wave Foundation for the upcoming printing of Bamboo Girl, issue #11. This gestation period has been somewhat long mainly for financial reasons, and especially after 9.11, I was feeling not altogether here for a time. But yes, finally, I'm smackin this bun outta the oven January! It's set.
The main criteria of the Third Wave Foundation's emergency grant was to address post 9.11 events, such as: feminist and women of color perspectives, hate crimes, profiling, and many other topics. It so happens that my next issue will be chock full of the stuff. There will be an interview with Samira, a Filipina muslim who grew up in Saudi Arabia and now lives in the Philippines. She is a really fascinating woman, an intelligent student studying journalism who is articulate and observant, yet is also fond of pop culture, Filipino pop culture in particular. She had a lot of interesting observations on the 9.11 events, as well as her view of women and their role in Muslim society. There will be a layout of photos I took at the Union Square Vigil in NYC during its 1st (only?) weekend, listings of racial profiling and hate/bias crimes that have resulted as a by-product of the war, resources related to 9.11, and many other items... but it will also have interviews with FACES (Filipino American Coalition for Environmental Solutions), a growing movement of church, environmental, peace and justice groups, students, scientists, professionals, and other concerned citizens who are committed to seeking environmental justice for the communities affected by toxic contamination at former U.S. military bases in the Philippines. There will also be an interview with Project Bookmobile, a traveling exhibition of artist book works, zines, and independent publications - traveling by way of a vintage Airstream, the Bookmobile aims to make its way to community centers, schools, festivals, artist run centers, libraries, prisons, and remote regions where independent publications are hard to come by. And of course, various articles from various perspectives, some of them covering topics such as herbal allies for crazy girls, the 22nd Annual Boston Dragon Boat festival, the case of world-peace activist Fumiaki Hoshino, as well as all girl band Fanny from the 70's (did you know Pinay rockers existed even then?)
---
PUSOD HOLIDAY GIFTS!
Be a conscientious consumer! Have a Green Holiday Season (never mind the White Christmas) and give gifts that also help keep your "navel" base, Pusod, going!
Order online and by telephone. Prices below do not include shipping and handling:
Organik $15.00
Earthly love songs from Philippine musician and poet JoeyAyala. Gently packaged in tree-free, biodegradable algae board. Lyrics inscribed with English translations. Especially planted for the Filipino-American community and for all kababayan, kalahi, kasama, kapatid, ka-pusod, ka-likas-an - who are living outside the archipelago.
Call of Nature $12.00 for 4 issues
Quarterly green reading for the evolving global mind. The meaning of lechon in Filipino culture. Global warming. The GMO debate. What it means to compost and step-by-step instructions to do it at home! No Postage Necessary.
Seed Membership $150.00 Holiday Special!
Live as lightly as a seed, taking and giving only what we need. Support your navel base and the art of reconnecting community to culture and the environment.
Unbroken Spirit $10.00
Reminiscent of the three wise men, this strikingly beautiful image is of three Muslim children meditating in a mosque, today's manger. Black and white poster by world-renowned Filipino photographer Rick Rocamora.
Filipino's First Bath $12.00
Vintage magazine cover image (18" x 24" color poster) of President McKinley force-bathing a "primitive" Pinoy pygmy-baby with the brush of "Education" in the waters of "Civilization". From the popular exhibit "Colored: Black n' White, Filipinos in American Popular Media, 1896-1907." Was on exhibit at Pusod June-October 2001, now on tour.
Return to the Tribe $23.00
An independent film maker, Aureus Solito, discovers then reconnects to his Palawan roots as seen through the eyes of master documentarist Howie Severino. Shown on Philippine TV's longest running investigative journalism show The Probe Team. Available in Tagalog with no subtitles or Tagalog with English Subtitles.
Pusod Agimat $10.00
The symbol you know us by: a silver amulet abstraction of the "earth in our navel," to help ward off cultural amnesia and colonial hexes. A perfect gift to be worn as a beautiful lapel pin or necklace pendant.
To order and for images and details, go to www.bwf.org, scroll down to and click on "Talipapa"; email pusod@bwf.org or call (510) 883-1808.
Maraming Salamat Po and Happy Holidays from the Pusod Staff!
PUSOD
1808 Fifth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
(510) 883-1808
Office Hours: M-F 10-6
Exhibit Hours: Tues-Sat 11-6
--
BRANDEIS STUDENTS RALLY AGAINST ACTS OF HATE AND PREJUDICE ON CAMPUS
December 10, 2001
Waltham, Massachusetts
Today, concerned students staged a rally in front of the Usdan Student Center from noon to 2 pm, spurred by recent harassment targeting Asian-American women on Brandeis University campus. The rally aptly named "Speak Out!", is intended to provide a safe space for students voices to be heard, and to provide solidarity in the fight against all forms of intolerance and discrimination. The specific incidents of harassment which predate today's rally include a November 20, 2001, incident where WBRS 100.1 fm, a Brandeis community radio organization funded by the student union, broadcasted an overtly offensive radio show run by 5 Brandeis students, called "the Men's Room". The hosts of the show made sexist and racist remarks over the air specifically targeting Asian-Americans. Words like “Chink" and "Gook” were used as "synonyms for Asians", and they continued to laugh though a song they improvised on the subject of Asian strippers. They made a pun of the word "slanted", mocking the almond-shaped eyes distinctive to people of East Asian descent. They continued with a verse stating, "I once was in China. wanted to see some vagina"; the offensive verses continued with "I love when strippers give me licks, to my dick/ I said babe, touch my chopstick..." and she said “me love you long time", referring to the stereotyped line in reference to Asian women's submissiveness and sexual objectification. They then sang about an Asian woman who was "hot" and "Yellow", and who had shown them her "tits", undermining the integrity and humanity of all Asian American women.
After this unacceptable verbal attack on the Asian American community was brought to the attention of the administration, all that has so far been enacted to respond has been an "open forum" on racism, aired on WBRS, where the hosts were present. The show has since been canceled, though participating members remain on the radio stations executive board.
However, less than a week after the forum intended to promote awareness, another act of hate was committed against several Asian -American women; two separate student housing rooms had been vandalized with the phrases "me love you long time", "black dicks too big", and "me fuck you long time", seemingly as backlash for the way many Asian-American women on campus had stood up for themselves in the face of their public degradation.
President Jehudah Reinharz has stated that if the perpetrator(s) to this hate crime are caught, they will be appropriately penalized, as well as has issued a general statement decrying acts of intolerance, such as the racism evident on the radio show.
The Intercultural Center Programming Board at Brandeis has released a statement responding with, "we would be comforted by an Administrative response that will speak to the specific insensitivities that were manifested in this recent broadcast, and not a generic response that has no real meaning to us as minority students." The statement included larger community concerns, "...with such ignorance evident on this campus, we cannot feel at home at this University until our senior leadership shows a genuine disdain for the event that has caused our most recent pains."
Still, there remains a disempowered, silenced group of Asian-American women who have been warned against speaking out, with consequences of community ostracism, and terrorized with concerns of racial as well as sexual harassment.
Organizers hope this rally will give a voice to those students who have be silenced by fear, as well as impress upon the administration the urgency to take immediate action to restore a safe campus environment, where diversity is welcome and hate crimes are not tolerated.
A group of concerned students are planning on attending a community meeting following the rally, where they will present specific demands to the administration, in order to prevents incidents of biased harassment for Asian American students, as well as all marginalized groups in the future. They will demand that the University create new positions of two senior administrators who will have the specific duty of addressing the concerns of diversity within the makeup of the student body, faculty, staff, and other administration, whose responsibilities would include being a centralized location for the confidential reporting of homophobic, sexist, and racist incidents, creating a safe space for students of minority groups to discuss issues of concern. These funded administrators will also implement programs of sensitivity training for students and faculty to include concern for issues of difference within gender, race, class, age, disability, religion, nationality, and ethnicity.
For further information, contact Michelle Lowinger (646-242-3567)
NOTE:
Please send letters of support to Jeffrey W. Fong, President of the Brandeis Asian American Student Association. If you are part of an organization, and your organization supports the efforts being made by the Brandeis students, please sign-on your organization's name.
Please contact Jeff with your support:
Jeffrey W. Fong
waiho@brandeis.edu
MB 1870
Brandeis University
P.O. Box 549239
Waltham, MA 02454-9239
1-781-529-4042
posted by Sabrina Margarita at
12/27/2001 10:25:00 PM
