UA grad’s photo book in Cleveland museum exhibit

The Cleveland Museum of Arts DIY: Photographers & Books exhibition space. (Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art)

An outstanding former student in the University of Akron Women’s Studies Program is making a name for herself in artistic circles — and her work is being shown at the Cleveland Museum of Art, right alongside that of well-known photographers.

Susan Lilley, a University of Akron graduate with a degree in art, entered a juried exhibition at the museum called DIY: Photographers & Books. Her print-on-demand book of photographs was accepted and will become part of the nationally known teaching collection of books at the Cleveland Institute of Art.

In an email, Lilley wrote that “one of the aspects that I am trying to achieve with my photography . . . is getting photos off the wall an into the realm of everyday living.”

The groundbreaking show runs through Dec. 30. Visit www.clevelandart.org for details.

To learn more, read the Akron Beacon Journal story published in the Aug. 26 issue, “Photo books share images with public.”

Sign petition to educate Biden about low pay for adjunct faculty

The letter reprinted below is from Maria Maisto, president of New Faculty Majority, the national coalision for adjunct and contingent equity.

Friday the 13th was truly an unlucky day for college faculty. Vice President Joe Biden characterized them as supposedly overpaid and a major reason for the high cost of college! Mr. Biden claimed that “Error on salaries for college professors have escalated significantly? to “$100,000.”

In fact, what has escalated is the number of these so-called “part-time? faculty, who together with graduate students constitute over 60.5% of the teaching faculty (often 80% at community colleges). When you factor in the number of non-tenure-track full-time faculty, whose pay is closer to the $39,000 figure Biden quoted for the early 90s, the adjunct population reaches a whopping 75%!

With the average pay of part-timers $25,000 or less per year for having the same teaching loads and teaching responsibilities as their full-time colleagues, and the average pay for full-timers, tenure track or not, nowhere near the $100K range, it’s clear that Vice President Biden needs to be educated about the real working conditions of college faculty in the United States.

SO: educate him and his colleagues by signing this petition and recruiting as many additional signatures as you possibly can!

Because faculty working conditions are student learning conditions,

Maria Maisto
President, New Faculty Majority

Take action against the heartbeat bill

Speak out against H.B. 125, the heartbeat bill now under consideration in the Ohio State Legislature. Please call each state senator’s office and politely tell them:

• House Bill 125 is unconstitutional.
• Passing an unconstitutional bill will put the state in a costly court battle that would last years.
• If they want to reduce the number of abortions that happen in Ohio, they should support the Ohio Prevention First Act, Senate Bill 190.

Then use this link to fill out the Web form to email their offices.

You can also read this Toledo Blade editorial, which effectively sums up the issue.

 

National Coming Out Day open-mic night Oct. 11

 Calling all allies and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender supporters — join us in celebrating National Coming Out Day with the LGBT community and allies on Tuesday, Oct. 11. This event is free and will be held in the Student Union Starbucks lounge from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This event aims at educating and raising awareness of the LGBT community issues and the LGBT rights movement.

This is an open mic event. Express your support by speaking or performing at the event.

Also show your support by inviting students to attend and sign up to read a fact about National Coming Out Day. Information will be handed out and crafts to create as well. Join the fun and support diversity!

For a time slot reservation, contact Aamina Jenkins, ZPN diversity chair, at zpndiversity@uakron.edu or call ext. 7014. Participation is open to all faculty, staff and students.

This event is sponsored by the LGBT Equality Committee, the Office of Inclusion and Equity, Women’s Resource Center, Women’s Studies Academic Program, ZPN Diversity and LGBTU.

Download the flyer.

It’s Women’s Equality Day: Let your voice be heard

Today is Women’s Equality Day, the anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment on Aug. 26, 1920, that gave women the right to vote.

Make sure your voice is heard: Vote!

New on campus? Protect yourself from rape and sign the petition

I am not a big fan of Cosmopolitan magazine, but I am a fan of their latest campaign. Starting last month Cosmo declared it is “Fighting Campus Rape”!

Included in this fight is support of the SaVE Act. You can sign the petition, started by Security on Campus and hosted by change.org, to encourage the Senate to pass the act here.

Now find out how to protect yourself on campus.

• The majority of college rapes happen during the first few weeks of freshman or sophomore year, and the first few days of freshman year are the riskiest, according to the Department of Justice. Read more: How to Protect Yourself From Rape – How to Avoid Rape on College Campus – Cosmopolitan
• College women are four times more likely to be sexually assaulted than the rest of the population, yet 95.2% of rapes on campus will never be reported, according to the Department of Justice. Read more: Why Most Victims Don’t Report Rape – Cosmopolitan
• These days, it’s not uncommon to hear about a young female who goes out to party or bar one night and doesn’t come back. Read more: Buddy System – Women and Safety in Numbers – Cosmopolitan

Hear Gloria Steinem in her own words

Thanks to UA art student Susie Lilly for this news:

• Gloria Steinem was interviewed by Christiane Amanpour on ABC’s This Week on Saturday. Watch it.
• On Aug. 15, HBO will air a new documentary on Gloria Steinem titled Gloria: In Her Own Words. Read more.