Announcing the Leadership Team for RAPP 2013-14!

The selection process for the limited leadership roles available in RAPP is a challenging one - each year, we have more more-than-qualified applicants than spots available.

Many thanks to the great campus leaders who helped make this imperfect process a manageable and even enjoyable one:  AJ E (RAPP XXVI), Ana M (RAPP XXVI), Becca H (RED), Farooq A (RAPP XXVII), Maggy F (RED), Shyamal R (XXVI), & Susie M (SALD)!

Many thanks also to the all of the great Bearcats who applied for the positions.  It was truly a talented group, making the selection process a difficult one.  All of the applicants are leaders in RAPP and around campus who work to make our campus a more just and caring community.

Please join me in welcoming those who were placed into formal positions:

Accelerating Racial Justice 2013
Peer Leaders:
Corinne Pattersion - Activists Coming Together (ACT), Women in Leadership & Learning (WILL)
Gregory Gamble - ARJ 2012, Social Justice League 2012-13
Jazmyn Battie - ARJ 2012
Maya Whyte - RAPP XXVIII

Process Observers:
Jojo Azevedo - RAPP XXIV, RAPP XXVI Peer Leader, ARJ 2013 & RAPP XXVII Student Facilitator, Social Justice League 2010-2013
Kevin Weber - RAPP XXVI, Social Justice League 2011-13

Student Facilitators:
Jamieson Williams - RAPP XXVII, ARJ 2013 Student Worker
Megan Kreaps - RAPP XXVII, Social Justice League 2012-13

RAPP XXIX
Peer Leaders:
Jalisa Holifield - RAPP XXVII, ARJ 2012 Peer Leader, Social Justice League 2012-13, ACT, WILL
Nathaniel Bell - RAPP XXVIII
Siva Nagi Reddy Inturi - RAPP XXVI

Student Facilitator/Worker:
Brice Mickey

RAPPORT
Student Workers:
Jamieson Williams - RAPP XXVII, ARJ 2013 Student Worker/Facilitator
Matthew Woodruff - RAPP XXVI, RAPP XXVII Peer Leader, Social Justice League 2011-13

ARJ 2014
Student Worker:
Meg Groat - RAPP XXVIII

$tart $mart Workshop - Feb 20th!

From the UC Women's Center:

Graduating Women Students are cordially invited to attend the...
$tart $mart Workshop

Learn skills to negotiate salary and benefits for the job you want after graduation!

February 20
4pm-7pm
743 Steger

Free Dinner Provided!

RSVP to Ann.Brown@uc.edu by 5pm, February 18th

Limited space available. Reserve your spot today!

For questions, email Barbara.Rinto@uc.edu or call 513-556-3279
Sponsored by the UC Women's Center

RAPPORT's V-Week - Feb 11th & 14th!

Come join RAPPORT for a joint meeting with the V-Day College Campaign out of the Women's Center!

The event will be held on Thursday, February 14th, starting at 6pm in front of Zimmer Auditorium.

RAPPORT members will be helping with set up for the Vagina Village, a resource fair related to the Vagina Monologues. We'll also be participating in the Village, an activism project and the teach-in for 1 Billion Rising.

On Monday, February 11th, we'll be having an informal screening related to the V-Day movement at 6pm in 455 Steger Conference Room. There will be popcorn! Check out Facebook for more details about the events

RAPPers and friends of RAPP who performed in & attended the 2010 Vagina Monologues
Front Row (l-r): Kelly (XXV), Kenzie (ARJ 2013), Nancy (XXIV)
Back Row (l-r): Patty, Kimmins (XXIII), Rachel (XXV), Mimi, Sarah (XXV), Anthony (XXV) 

Elect Her Student Training - Register now for Feb 9th Event!

Elect Her
Cincinnati Women Win

Interested in being more active in campus politics?  Want to learn successful campaign strategies?

Register now for Elect Her!

February 9, 2013
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Stratford Heights Pavilion

Workshop registration available online
sites.ucfilespace.uc.edu/sga/node/494

For more information contact Kathleen Hurley
hurley.kmh@gmail.com

Auditions/Interview for The Vagina Monologues & One Billion Rising - Jan 9th & 10th!

From the UC Women's Center:

VDay@UC 2013 is finally here! You may now sign up for auditions/interviews for The Vagina Monologues and One Billion Rising in the Women's Center (571 Steger)! 

Auditions will take place THIS THURSDAY (1/9) AND FRIDAY (1/10) in 565 Steger. Don't let the quick date scare you off. NO MEMORIZATION OR EXPERIENCE NECESSARY! Audition/interviews will run for 15 minutes. Everyone who would like to participate in the production is encouraged to sign up for a time slot!

*Note: All gender identities are welcome to participate in VDay & One Billion Rising activism;however, stage performance of TVM is limited to women-identified people only.

V-Day College Campaign at UC

VDay University of Cincinnati 2013 will present a production of Eve Ensler’s award winning play The Vagina Monologues and participate in 1BILLION RISING this coming February!
"Thank You!" to everyone who joined us for the December InfoSocial. Auditions will happen early in January! Please check back for information on how to be involved with the activism of  V-Day, audition information, and updates on 2013 production times and locations.

Our VDay Campaign goal: To raise awareness to stop violence against women and girls and funds for our beneficiaries: a local organization that provides crisis intervention and support services for direct and indirect victims of sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking in SouthwesternOhio, and the V-Day Spotlight Campaign 1BILLION RISING.

For more information about the VDay UC 2013 production, please contact brandy.turnbow@uc.edu

Transfer Student & Graduate Says There's a Place for Everyone at UC

From UC News:

Transfer Student/Graduate Says There’s A Place For Everyone At UC

An injury first led to Kara Mate’s transfer to UC, but she says her discoveries in and out of the classroom are what kept her on her pathway to graduation.

Date: 11/29/2012
By: Dawn Fuller
Phone: (513) 556-1823
Photos By: Dottie Stover

Kara Mate is launching a career in service after the University of Cincinnati Commencement Ceremony on Dec. 15. Mate, a 22-year-old resident of Hamilton, is graduating from the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) with a bachelor’s degree (BS) in psychology. After Commencement, she plans to join the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) in Perry Point, Md., to provide service to communities throughout that region.

Kara Mate

A graduate of Madeira High School, Mate says she transferred to UC after an ACL injury caused her to give up a ROTC scholarship to another university, but she adds that her exploration of UC’s student organizations built her campus connections that kept her here. She joins the increasing number of students who are transferring to the “Hottest College in America.”

Last fall, UC reported 1,970 new, undergraduate transfer students, which was up 16.8 percent from autumn 2011. Lisa Holstrom, director of the UC Transfer and Lifelong Learning Center, attributes the growing numbers of transfer students to a reenergized campus.  “Students are more aware that something exciting is happening at UC, whether it’s our quality academics, exciting athletics events or services to students, including our new veterans center and military-friendly rating,”says Holstrom.

(From left) Kim Fulbright (Women's Ctr.), Kara Mate, Rebecca Lehman (Women's Ctr.)

Mate says outside the classroom, she found a home at UC through her involvement with the university’s student organizations, which number more than 300. During her junior year at UC, she was a participant in the UC Women’s Center program, Activists Coming Together (ACT), a year-long program to build feminist activists and leaders. Students must apply for acceptance into the program.

Last year, she participated in the V-Day University of Cincinnati presentation of the award-winning play, “The Vagina Monologues,” as part of a UC Women’s Center sponsored  fundraiser to end violence against women and girls. The play is presented around Valentine’s Day as part of the global anti-violencre movement called V-Day. “It’s an empowering cause for women around the world, and I truly believe in the message,” says Mate. “This year, the UC Women’s Center will be participating in the One Billion Rising campaign, marking the 15th anniversary worldwide of V-Day activities. It’s an amazing opportunity for women and men to get involved.”

Last summer, she was among the inaugural students who participated in an intensive, week-long retreat under the Racial Awareness Program (RAPP), called Accelerating Racial Justice. The program strives to build students’ understanding of racial justice and inclusive leadership.

“Kara is a great model for transfer students as well as students who began at UC,” says Rebecca Lehman, program coordinator for RAPP. “Transfer students have a different orientation experience, they aren’t as likely to have a learning community experience, and they can often feel disconnected from the wealth of co-curricular experiences that UC offers. By getting involved, Kara exemplified the spirit and power of integrated learning.”



Mate is also among UC’s first students in five decades to graduate under a semester calendaring system, which took effect in the fall, as UC joined other Ohio public universities in converting to semesters in accordance with the University System of Ohio’s strategic plan for higher education. “I think semesters establish a stronger connection with our classes and professors than academic quarters, simply because we have more time together. I enjoyed it,” she says.

She says that moving to Maryland will be a big step. The longest that she has been away from home was after she worked for a couple of months for a non-profit organization in San Diego. However, she says she’s looking forward to the challenge.

“The people I’ve met through the UC Women’s Center and RAPP really opened up my eyes to the UC community and showed me that there is a place here for everyone. I think that’s the big discovery that I’ll be taking with me,” says Mate.

“Everyone is scared when they first come to college, but they’re not alone. Everyone here is searching for who they are and what they want to do. I’m not sure what I’m going to be yet, but that’s not such a bad thing,” she says.

UC Women’s Center

Racial Awareness Program (RAPP)
Student Organizations and Leadership Development

Proudly Cincinnati – Transforming Student Lives

Woman of the Week Nominations Open!

From the UC Women's Center:

The Women's Center is now accepting Woman of the Week nominations once again! If you know any female students on campus, who you believe show outstanding leadership traits, whether or not they are in an actual leadership position, PLEASE nominate them! The nomination form is very short and simple although we do ask that you know a little bit of basic information about the nominee.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFExd1F4OFJWcmZhd3oxVU1ycUhBQWc6MQ#gid=0

CONNECT Women's Leadership Conference - Oct 13th! REGISTER BY OCTOBER 10th!

From UC Women's Center:
CONNECT Conference

CONNECT Conference is hosted annually during the Fall and aims to connect First-Year women to Upper-Class women in leadership on campus. The conference serves to encourage First and Second-Year women to get more involved and take on leadership positions during their time at the university.

CONNECT 2012  will take place October 13, 2012 from 10am-3:30pm in Stratford Heights Pavillion. 
This conference is open to Freshman and Sophomore Women Only. 

Registration now available! Click here to complete your registration today!  Please register by October 10th!

For more information on how you can be a part of this program, please contact Dylan Colvin,  Student Government Director of Women's Affairs, at colvindm@mail.uc.edu.

CONNECT Conference - First & Second Year Women's Leadership Conference - Oct 13th!

From UC Women's Center:
CONNECT Conference

CONNECT Conference is hosted annually during the Fall and aims to connect First-Year women to Upper-Class women in leadership on campus. The conference serves to encourage First and Second-Year women to get more involved and take on leadership positions during their time at the university.

CONNECT 2012  will take place October 13, 2012 from 10am-3:30pm in Stratford Heights Pavillion. 
This conference is open to Freshman and Sophomore Women Only. 

Registration now available! Click here to complete your registration today!

For more information on how you can be a part of this program, please contact Dylan Colvin,  Student Government Director of Women's Affairs, at colvindm@mail.uc.edu.

Talkin' Bout my Generation - Tomorrow!

WelcomeWeekend 2012

Come on a journey with us! This award-winning play will surely bring down the house.
FREE DINNER!

Talkin' Bout My Generation
Saturday, August 25
4:00-6:00 P.M.
Tangeman University Center Cinema

Presented by the LGBTQ Center, Women's Center, Enough is Enough, Student Wellness Center, African American Cultural & Resource Center, and Ethnic Programs & Services

UC Launches Women in Leadership and Learning Program - Applications due May 4th!

From UC News:

UC Launches Women in Leadership and Learning Program

Applications are due May 4 for WILL, a new University of Cincinnati program that uses experiential learning to develop women leaders.

Date: 4/27/2012 12:00:00 AM
By: Greg Hand
Phone: (513) 556-1822

   A new program, known as WILL, for Women in Leadership and Learning, aims to build leadership among University of Cincinnati's women students in a community setting over the course of their college years. The program applies classroom and experiential learning components built on themes of social justice and activism.  The new program will begin in the fall of 2012.

Collaborating in WILL’s development are the UC Women’s Center and the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies in UC’s McMicken College of Arts & Sciences. The program incorporates a core curriculum based in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies as well as co-curricular leadership development programming coordinated through the Women’s Center. Amy Howton, Assistant Director of the Women's Center, coordinates the program with assistance from WILL student workers Dylan Colvin and Tasha Vaught.

“WILL is a multi-year learning community comprised of both academic and co-curricular experiences designed to develop a student’s leadership over the course of her collegiate experience,” Howton said.

The UC program is modeled on the original WILL program established at the University of Richmond in 1980.

“WILL was created in response to scholarship demonstrating that the self-confidence of women students plummets in their college years,” Vaught said. “Since its inception over 30 years ago, WILL has gained considerable national recognition. The UC program focuses on applied learning so that students grow as individuals, build community, and work toward creating social change.”

WILL was created to encompass the key, three touch points of a students’ collegiate experience: first year experience, mid-collegiate, and senior year experience. 

“These touch points are effectively structured through both required, sequential academic courses and developmental, multi-year co-curricular experiences,” Howton said.

Applications to participate in WILL are due by Friday, May 4. For more information on WILL, or to download an application, visit:

http://www.uc.edu/ucwc/WILL.html

UC Monologues - May 2nd!

From the UC Women's Center:

Did you like the Vagina Monologues?
Then be part of the 2nd annual UC Monologues

UC students can write and perform an array of original comic and dramatic monologues that deal with issues of gender, sexuality, and other identities.

This show will be made up of monologues written by UC students and performed by UC students.

Want to participate?

Write your own to perform yourself, write your own and have someone else perform it, or perform one that has been written.

Wednesday, May 2nd

7PM @ Baba Budan's

For more info, contact Kim at kimberly.fulbright@uc.edu

QueerCat Pride Week - Apr 30th to May 5th!

From the UC LGBTQ Center:

QueerCat Pride Week
It's that time of year again … for UC's LGBTQ community and its allied friends to celebrate diversity! Join us for all of the great events that the LGBTQ Center has planned for Queercat Pride Week 2012!

MONDAY, 04/30
• Rainbow Flash Mob ..... 11:50 a.m. – 12:10 p.m., Main Street
• Queer Movie Monday ..... 7:00 p.m., Swift 500 (Food will be provided.)

TUESDAY, 05/01
• Ally Day
• Purple People Eater Picnic ..... 12:30 – 2:00 p.m., McMicken Commons (Show your support. Wear purple. Pick up your ally button.)
• Sara Montiel as a Gay Icon in Theatre, Cinema and Literature within the Hispanic World Today ..... 4:30 – 6:30 p.m., Baur Room, CCM
• Speaker: Genny Beemyn, Ph.D., Director, the Stonewall Center, Univ. of Massachusetts Amherst ..... 6:00 p.m., Braunstein 301
• Queer Game Night ..... 7:00 – 9:00 p.m., Daniels Hall (Bring your favorite game. Snacks will be provided.)

WEDNESDAY, 05/02
• Ally Day (Wear your ally button.)
• Free HIV Testing ..... 11:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., TUC 415
• UC Monologues / Open Minded Mic Night ..... 7:00 p.m., Baba Budan’s
• Alternative to the Alternative Dance Party ..... 9:30 p.m., Baba Budan’s

THURSDAY, 05/03
• Queer Zumba w/ Carlos Gooden ..... 12:30 – 1:30 p.m., McMicken Commons
• (Un)heard: Transmasculine People of Color Speak! / Building Solidarity: An LGBTQ-Focused Anti-Racism Workshop ..... 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., AACRC (Gallery display at start of program.)

FRIDAY, 05/04
• Same-Sex Hand Holding Day
• Genderf*ck Drag Show .... 9 p.m., Catskeller
• Guerilla Queer Bar ..... After the drag show, location TBA

For more info contact:
LGBTQ Center (565 Steger), 513-556-4329

www.uc.edu/lgbtq
http://uc-lgbtq.blogspot.com/
www.twitter.com/UC_LGBTQcenter

Co‐sponsored by:
LGBTQ Center, UC Alliance, GenderBloc, Colors of Pride, UC Women’s Center, Student Wellness Center, Student Government, SALD, UBSA.

Free Showing of "Miss Representation" - Apr 18th!

From the UC Women's Center:
Miss Representation Showing!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
7:00pm until 9:00pm


Join us for a showing of the intriguing documentary Miss Representation, followed by a group discussion about women in the media.

Snacks will be provided! We hope to see you there!

Email Amanda at the UC Women's Center with any questions! lyncha3@mail.uc.edu.

$tart $mart Workshops - Apr 3rd & 4th!

From the UC Women's Center:

Graduate women students are cordially invited to attend the $tart $mart Workshop.

Learn skills to negotiate salary and benefits for the job you want after graduation.

Two workshops offered:
Tuesday, April 3rd, 4PM-7PM
&
Wednesday, April 4th, 4PM-7PM


Location: 743 Steger
Free dinner provided

RSVP to Ann.Brown@uc.edu by March 29th, 2012

Limited space available.  Reserve your spot today!

For questions, email Barbara.Rinto@uc.edu or call 556-3279
Sponsored by the UC Women's Center and Undergraduate Student Government.

Young Invincibles Bus Tour Stops at UC - Mar 29th! (RSVP by Mar 27th!)

From the UC Women's Center:

The non-profit Young Invincibles’ National Bus Tour is coming to UC!

What is the National YouthBus Tour? This spring, the National Youth Bus Tour will travel across the country to 18 states. Young Invincibles will conduct over 100 roundtable discussions with local campus and non-campus organizations and young adults and host meetings with policymakers, legislators, and stakeholders. These roundtables will provide a means to elevate diverse youth voices, thoughts on problems, and ideas for solutions.

Who are the Young Invincibles?  They began in 2009 when a few friends noticed that young people's voices were not being heard in the health care reform debate.  What began as a website quickly became a national organization that represents the interests of 18 to 34 year ­olds.  We make sure our perspective is heard during discussions about our future through policy analysis, shared stories of young Americans, campaigns that inform and mobilize our generation, and advocacy to change the status quo.

Please RSVP no later than March 27^th to participate in this roundtable discussion co-sponsored by the UC Women’s Center.  Feel free to pass this along to friends who might be interested. First come, first serve so get your RSVP in early.

When: Thursday, March 29^th 2:00-4:00pm

Where: 743 Steger Student Life Center

RSVP: to Kim Fulbright at Kimberly.fulbright@uc.edu OR 513.556.4328 (no later than March 27^th)

Check out their website: http://www.younginvincibles.org/

Advocates for Youth at Activist Brown Bag Lunch Series - Mar 7th!

Activist Brown Bag Lunch Series: March - Advocates for Youth
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
12:00pm until 1:00pm
6th floor Steger Student Life Center Lounge


Come to the fourth Brown Bag Lunch of the school year and celebrate activism in the Women's Center! Maybe you'll find something you're interested in!

Bring lunch and we'll give you drinks and dessert!

Advocates for Youth
Guest Speaker Amanda Lynch and other speakers that aren't confirmed yet!

Lear Green Speaks: Unpacking the Underground Railroad - Feb 27th!

Lear Green Speaks: Unpacking the Underground Railroad

Celebrating Black History Month! 
“Lear Green Speaks: Unpacking the Underground Railroad” 

Date: Monday, February 27, 2012
Time: 6PM-8PM
Location: Zimmer Hall Auditorium

Vicie Rolling will present her touching and poignant original interpretation and portrayal of the life of Lear Green, a former slave, who lived the last three years of her life in freedom. The story goes that Ms. Green escaped from slavery, with the help of her future mother-in-law, in a trunk on a ship. Her fiancé and his mother were free persons of color from New York State and after eighteen hours in the trunk she arrived in Philadelphia where she stayed briefly. She arrived in Elmira via the Underground Railroad. Very few people know her story or she lived under the name Elizabeth Adams.

Come join the Office of Ethnic Programs and Services, the African American Cultural and Resource Center, Women’s Center, Department of Africana Studies, the LGBTQ Center, the United Black Student Association, the Counseling Center, Student Government, and Black Arts Collaborative to celebrate the life of Lear Green! 

Gender-Neutral Bathrooms Update for UC Campus

From the UC Planning, Design & Construction Department and the UC Women's Center (which has been working hard on this important issue):

The following bathrooms will have new signs placed indicating they are unisex type bathrooms to be used for one person…The signage should be installed over the next few weeks. The Steger 553 bathroom is in the design phase, so it will be at least six or eight months til this room is available.

WEST CAMPUS

Aronoff/DAAP 6420

Aronoff/DAAP 6418

Teachers 249
Teachers 122C
Blegen 207A
Blegen 410C
Blegen 605A
Steger 553 (to be converted to a bathroom- still at least six or eight months from being available)
Steger 630D
Steger 630I
Langsam 546
Lindner 114
Lindner 337
Lindner 602
Tangeman 364A
Tangeman 364B
Rec Center 0222A, 0222B, 0222C, 0222D
French West 2101
French West 2231
Old Chem 502
Market Pointe 101C

EAST CAMPUS

MSB 4187 (not available til building renovation is complete)
MSB 4188 (not available til building renovation is complete)
MSB 7017
MSB 7018
CARE R810
CARE R812
French East 220
Kettering G20, G24, G33, 406

GRI/READING CAMPUS
Building B 345
Building C 221
Building F 114
Building F 210

Bi-Okoto Performance - Feb 21st!

Join us in celebration of both Black History Month and the ArtsWave campaign. Bi-Okoto is one of the many smaller arts organizations supported in part by ArtsWave. The performance is free and open to all of the University community. 

Tuesday, February 21

11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.

MainStreet Cinema, TUC

Sponsors: Cincinnati ArtsWave; Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs and Services and Chief Diversity Officer; UC Women’s Center; Ethnic Programs and Services (EPS); and Resident Education and Development (RED).