Archive | events RSS feed for this section

International Women’s Day Picnic 2pm Friday Argyle Square

6 Mar

iwd

 

Come join us on Friday for a cross campus International Women’s Day picnic and a chat about women and media. Food, conversation and sun will be provided. The picnic is a collaboration between Melbourne, RMIT, Swinburne and LaTrobe Wom*n’s Departments. The picnic is at Argyle Square (off Lygon Street) and will start from 2pm. Here’s the Facebook event!

This friday marks the 106th birthday of  International Women’s Day. From the first demonstrations in Russia in 1917, a trigger for the February Revolution, the day has been a time for activism by women and for women.

The lives of women have changed, mostly for the better, but IWD remains as a reminder of what is left to do. The theme of IWD this year ‘A Promise is a Promise: Time for Action to End Violence Against Women’ is an assertion that this year, like the years before it, we have been asked to observe terrible violence against women flashed on our tv screens and printed in our newspapers. We have observed how these experiences have been twisted and exploited. How they have been ignored or explained away.

Women and media can get complicated. It connects us, allows sharing of experience, spreads knowledge. It has created new forms of activism and expression. Yet often the stories of women are contorted. Representation of women is like looking into a funhouse mirror, just off. That is if they’re there at all. It’s not surprising, on the whole it is not women who control the production of print, television or film. Females owned only 6.8 percent (91) of 1,348 full-power commercial television stations in 2011, compared with 5.6 percent (66) of 1,187 full-power commercial television stations in 2009 (Federal Communications Commission’s Report on Ownership of
Commercial Broadcast Stations). Despite the prominence of women in 2012’s presidential election, male front-page bylines covering the election at top newspapers outnumbered female bylines nearly three to one (4th Estate Project).

It’s time to talk seriously about the presence of women in the media. It’s time to talk about how we can take control over our own stories.

Tags: ,

Image

Women’s Mentoring Network!

29 Jan

Women's Mentoring Network!

The 2013 Wom*n’s Department is working on a union led mentoring program which would provide women students with opportunities to network within their chosen field, swapping necessary skills and knowledge.

In 2012 the Wom*n’s Department ran Bluestockings Week as part of a national campaign that celebrated women in academia. The week was a great opportunity to reflect on what women students had won, and what they are still fighting for. A key message that emerged from Bluestockings was the benefits of role models, from within general academia and specific fields of study, who can help fledgling students navigate the tricky landscape of study and employment.

The Women’s Mentoring Network will be a professional networking group, which will allow women to meet, talk and share experiences in a casual setting. The network will group (optimistically pair) undergraduate students with post graduate women in their field, it will also invite significant key note speakers for the group at large. The Network will provide support and training for the mentors, an opportunity for leadership that will make them more outstanding graduates in the work force. The WMN is in its early stages at the moment, but we hope to have our first meetings at the beginning of the semester. At the moment we are looking for expressions of interest from prospective mentorees and mentors. Register your interest here!

Tags: , , , ,

Summer Bulletin (aka there’s heaps of stuff to sign up for and put in your diary)

18 Jan

Happy New Year!

We’re back in Union House getting ready to plan a whole lot of activism and social events, generally designed towards smashing the patriarchy, empowering women, and destroying the joint (unless the joint has cupcakes in it, we’ll save the cupcakes).

While most of you probably aren’t back on campus yet, the Wom*n’s Room is open everyday, and if it isn’t pop by the UMSU offices on level one to the right of the stairs and we will open it up.

Student Representative Network is open for applications – if you’ve ever wondered how the Uni is run, or want a say over your education this is the place to get involved! It’s important that women’s voices are heard. We are the majority of the undergrad population, but not the majority making the decisions about how the uni is run.

WAC will be starting up as of week one of semester, but there’s so much to get done for NOWSA and Bluestockings Week and International Women’s day that we want to have a WAC Summer Sesh Femmo Love-In before Galentine’s Day, in the Wom*n’s Room or on South lawn if the weather’s too lovely to resist. There’s a Facebook event here and we will update on Twitter. New faces and old hands are always welcome.

The NUS Women’s Talk About It Survey, a survey of women’s experience of safety on campus is still open for submissions. It’s the only student-run survey of its kind and getting as many submissions as possible will make sure it’s able to represent your experiences, and then be used by universities and student unions to improve campus life. It does come with a trigger warning for harassment & sexual violence. Please share it around your networkWe’d love ideas on what you want to see happen on campus for International Women’s Day. E-mail us! We’ll also be hosting a White Ribbon BBQ with the Welfare Department on Wednesday 6th of March at midday, promoting the message of the White Ribbon Oath “I swear never to commit, excuse or remain silent about violence against women.” Men and women from the University and Student Union as well as a White Ribbon Ambassador will be speaking and taking the oath.

Put the O-Week Welcome/Back Picnic and Ffffilm in your diary to kick start your year and welcome new students to the department/uni as a whole. Tuesday 26th February at 3pm in the Wom*n’s Room, straight after the Union Carnival on South Lawn. Here’s the Facebook event.

We are always around for a chat/vent and to hear what your concerns about campus life, and want from the department and the union more broadly.

Bluestockings Week, a national campaign celebrating women in higher education (and the peak of our dress coded calendar) is happening in May this year, get excited!

In solidarity,

Amy & Mercedes

ON TEH TWITTERZ @umsuwomyn

https://www.facebook.com/groups/umsu.womyns/

womyns@union.unimelb.edu.au

Tags: , , , ,

FFFFILMS! Tomorrow: Persepolis

17 Oct

Filmmakers Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi collaborated to co-write and co-direct Persepolis, an adaptation of Satrapi’s bestselling autobiographical graphic novel detailing the trials faced by an outspoken Iranian girl who finds her unique attitude and outlook on life repeatedly challenged during the Islamic revolution.

Tomorrow at 4:30pm! Students/Members Lounge, Ground Floor Union House. All welcome.

Tags: , , , ,

Come & practive the flashmob dance moves!

17 Sep

another past melbourne flashmob!

Hey everyone, if you’re interested in the flashmob to help end the stigma surrounding abortion and reproductive choice, tomorrow’s the first practice session! Click here for the facebook event page.

There’ll be another session on Monday the 24th, and here’s the event page for that one!

The final flashmob will be happening on Sat September 30 in Fed Square, with everyone meeting at 10:15.

Get involved!

Tags: , ,

Wanna be in a feminist flashmob?!

10 Sep

Hey everyone! Here’s an invite from Reproductive Choice Australia to all students at Melbourne Uni to get involved with a flashmob! We’ll be practicing the moves at uni and you can also practice at home to the video they’ve made. Here’s the details:

LET’S END THE STIGMA!

Reproductive Choice Australia is throwing a Flashmob, and we want YOU to come. Dance in Melbourne’s CBD in support of women and against abortion shame, silence and stigma! The Flashmob will take place on:

  • Sunday September 30, 2012
  • 10:15am arrival, for an 11:00am sharp start

REGISTER NOW to be part of the fun. Dancing is uplifting and fun – the perfect antidote to shame. The Flashmob is a dance everyone can learn – check out our fun instructional video here! 

The Melbourne Flashmob is open to EVERYONE! Men are warmly invited to attend and every effort will be made to ensure disability-access. Rehearsal parties will be after work at the University of Melbourne on 18 and 24 September, for those who want to attend (more info on the times and rooms to be posted soon). We’ll supply the Flashmob t-shirts, which you are free to keep!

I WANT TO STAND UP FOR WOMEN. REGISTER ME FOR THE “LET’S END THE STIGMA” FLASHMOB!

x Belle

Tags: , , , , ,

Girlzone is WEEKLY now

21 Aug

In addition to out big semester focus (Semester 1: Rad Sex & Consent/Semester 2: Bluestockings Week) the Wom*n’s department does stuff all over the place (WAC, stitch n bitch, FFFFilms & Girlzone) every week to create community and a space for students to learn and grow as feminists and people and friggin’ make friends and all that stuff you’re meant to do at uni.

So here’s the thing, due to popular demand: Girlzone is WEEKLY now.

At 1pm on Thursdays in the Wom*n’s Room.

There’s free tea and cake and donuts and other grrls who are queer or questioning. Lemme make this clear: that can mean bi, pan, trans, poly, celibate, lesbian, and not-quite-sure. Like seriously, you are welcome.

It’s now necessarily a queery-style brain-breaking ideological conversation (not that it’s off-limits), it’s just a chill time to chat with others socially. And eat cake.

The Facebook event is here. You don’t have to press attending if you don’t feel comfortable with people on your Facebook seeing, but know you’re welcome :)

- Amy xx

Tags: , , ,

Stress Less Week

13 Aug
First off I want to say thank you so much to everyone who supported Bluestockings Week. From baking cupcakes, womanning the stalls, postering, petitioning and playing snakes and ladders, it was so great to have so many wonderful students get so into it! We had so much interest and involvement (and fun) from wom*n students from all across the uni, it was heartening to see so much support for the cause(s). Everyone should be really proud. If you haven’t signed the petition yet, it’s right here. SPREAD IT ROUND!

No rest for your student union though, right after working with the Wom*n’s department on Bluestockings Week the UMSU Education department is now running Stress Less Week, with workshops on mental health and self-care and THEN A JUMPING CASTLE. Srsly, get on it.

Meanwhile, in the Wom*n’s department, we’re back to our weekly fun:
  • Monday 1pm in the Wom*n’s Room: Women’s Action Collective (WAC)
  • Wednesday morning in the Wom*n’s Room: Stitch n Bitch
  • Thursday 1pm in the Wom*n’s Room: Girlzone (Tea, cake and conversation for queer and questioning wom*n)
  • Thursday 4.30pm in the Students’ Lounge, Ground Floor, Union House: FFFFILMS (open to all genders)

In sisterhood,

Amy x

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bluestockings Week

28 Jun

Hello everyone, and hope you’re enjoying your uni break! The website has been on a bit of a hiatus as we’ve all slogged through exams & essays, then got the flu, then kinda gone into holiday mode a bit, but also still working away in the background organising our NOWSA collective. Only a week until we go away to Canberra… can’t wait!

In the meantime, we wanted to let you know about a big Semester 2 event that is in the works. We’d love any interested people to get involved – you don’t need any special experience or knowledge, just some enthusiasm and keenness to meet new people! Run in conjunction with the National Union of Students, it’s called Bluestocking Week:

Bluestocking is a campaign which celebrates women in higher education. The ‘week’ will run from the 6th-17th of August. This year’s Bluestocking Week will focus on the original bluestocking themes of celebrating women’s intellectualism; advancing feminism through education; and rebelling against social constructs that prescribe roles for women’ including those of class, race, sexuality and culture, that restrict women’s freedom of expression and thought – and we will add a modern (or postmodern) twist. Bluestocking Week is coordinated by the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) Women’s Action Committee (which has representatives from each State) and the National Union of Students Women’s Department. Events are being organised at national, divisional and university level. The project will be launched by Jane Garrett MP and Jeannie Rea, President of the NTEU at La Trobe University, Eagle Bar (event details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/196702417124126/)

In terms of what’s happening at Melbourne Uni, that’s where you come in! We’d love you to be part of the organising collective. Please drop us a line at womyns@union.unimelb.edu.au if you’d like to be a part of making the week happen, and getting your thoughts and ideas about women & higher education out there.

Happy uni break everyone!

- bel

Tags: , , , , ,

NOWSA looks like it’s really shaping up!

7 Jun
Image

So, this is something that comes up when you search wom*n going to Canberra. lol.

Hope everyone’s surviving assessment time!

Just a quick post to say the ANU students hosting NOWSA this year are working away hard and are super excited about the week! Stay tuned for more information about speakers and workshops.

So far we have around 10 confirmed unimelb wom*n going with a further 10 or so expressing interest (but reserving their final decision until after their uni work is done and they can think about something besides frickin goshdarn word limits for a second!) We should have the money situation worked out early next week so we can start letting you know about costs & reimbursements. Then can start figuring travel arrangements.

So if you’re interested in finding out more or potentially coming along, don’t be shy! There’ll be a fair few new faces and it doesn’t matter if you haven’t been involved with the department before. In fact, a NOWSA trip is how many wom*n students have got to know each other in previous years.

Email womyns@union.unimelb.edu.au if you haven’t already done so :)

Tags:

← Older Entries

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 139 other followers

%d bloggers like this: