[Peace] Sexism and Patriarchy rear their ugly heads at AWARE meeting

[David Green]

Fooled you!

For the second week in a row, in Sept. 2003, I took notes, in spite of
secretarial work also being my day job.
Notice that in spite of deciding not to give money for Danielle Chynoweth's
ill-fated scheme to move the IMC to the Post Office, attendees were kind
enough to encourage individuals to support it through there own funds.
Danielle didn't even have to attend the meeting for that to happen; good
thing, because I'm sure she would have been traumatized by the patriarchy
and sexism that regularly occurred at AWARE meetings, but that I guess I
didn't notice because I was busy taking notes and going on about Israel and
Palestine, and issue not nearly as important as Danielle and Elizabeth's
feelings.

Facilitator: Jay Mittenthal Minutes: David Green Timekeeper: Durl Kruse
Attendance: 20 For next week's meeting (September 14th), please send your
agenda items to me (David Green). Note: Please feel free to make the
necessary additions/modifications/corrections/clarifications. 1. News of
the Week - Carl Estabrook General Anthony Zinni, a veteran of the Vietnam
War, has reflected interestingly on the comparisons between Iraq and
Vietnam. George Bush is speaking tonight to the nation, while a movie about
him called DC 911 is playing opposite to his speech. He ended up asking for
$87 billion (in the speech, not the movie). Israeli incursions into Gaza
put an exclamation point on the end of the ill-fated "roadmap" process. The
Palestinian Prime Minister has since resigned. 69% of Americans believe
that Saddam Hussein is implicated in 9/11--there was a discussion about the
meaning and validity of such a poll. Former members of Saddam Hussein's
security apparatus are now being recruited in order to rule Iraq. 2. Mike
Simon reported on a leadership building conference for minority
students/students of color at the U of I. Mike presented some information
about AWARE at this conference. He stressed to them (and us) the importance
of connecting issues of war and peace to issues of domestic racism. AWARE
needs to work more on networking with minorities and groups dealing with
minority issues (such as the Urban League), and to examine our own issues
of "whiteness." As an example of a domestic issue that connects to war,
effects of the No Child Left Behind Act on education need to be
understood--not only in terms of unfunded mandates, but in terms of the
nature of the mandates themselves, which hardly promote racial justice.
Reminder: David Roediger and Sundiata Cha-Jua will speak prior to the AWARE
meeting on September 21st, at 3:00. 3. Working groups The AWARE literature,
etc. table was at the Farmer's Market Saturday a.m. and then WEFTfest
Saturday p.m. About $120 was raised at both, although "business" was not
heavy. Peter, Carl, Al, and David enjoyed the interaction (even with each
other). Thanks to Peter for two deliveries and pick-ups. Carol Inskeep is
ordering 2004 peace/activism calendars for sale. A pamphlet addressing the
Democratic Presidential candidates views was passed around. If you have any
comments on the pamphlet, please e-mail Peter Rohloff, rohloff at uiuc.edu.
Ricky Baldwin--Other literature still needed, especially regarding
Afghanistan, Liberia, Congo. Please use "Notes and Quotes" for copying
literature. We also need some current pamphlets at the IMC. Gabe
Stanton--Prospect For Peace -- About 30 people attended on a warm day. Over
100 fliers from U.S. Labor Against the War were distributed by Al Kagan.
More positive than negative responses, some interesting interactions
reported by Susan Parenti on peace-discuss. We will consider the
possibility of going back to a weekly demo, but nothing decided yet. As of
now, next P4P will be on October 4th. Thanks to Gabe Stanton for promoting
P4P, and proposing a flier for distribution. There was an article about P4P
in the DI, perhaps also in the N-G and the Parkland paper. Finances (Gabe
for Linda Evans): Balance is about $2468. 4. Carol Inskeep had raised issue
of AWARE donating $500 to IMC building fund. The view was expressed that
those who contribute to AWARE do so with the intention of the money being
spent on AWARE-related activities, which are expressly and specifically
political, as opposed to the IMC, which is not a political organization in
the same sense. On the other hand, it was argued that it is in the
interests of AWARE are so closely related to the success of the IMC that a
contribution is merited. In any event, it was agreed that the success of
the IMC is vital to AWARE, and that individual AWARE members are encouraged
to donate to the IMC building fund, which hopes to raise $100,000 by the
end of the year, and has already been pledged over $50,000. No final
decision was made, but it was agreed that we should at least contact the
IMC to find out whether we can pay more than the $10 per week that we have
been paying, an amount more in line with the customary space renta--if that
proves to be more than $10. Gabe will work with Linda to consult the IMC on
this. 5. Proposal: It was agreeed for AWARE to co-sponsor the Student Peace
Action BBQ, this Saturday from 1 to 4. Brooke Anderson will be notified. 6.
Events of the past week: An informative talk at the mosque was given by the
imam on his recent visit to Iraq. 7. Coming events: Mike Simon proposed
handing out literature at the Engineering Career Expo, Monday-Thursday at
the Illini Union, from 9-4. Ricky suggested handing out the "Reconstruction
of Iraq" pamphlets. It was also proposed that as a student organization,
AWARE apply for SORF (??) funds on a case-by-case basis from the U of I
(such as for a speaker or teach-in).
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