Due to low student participa-tion in past Associated Studentsof Mills College (ASMC) elec-tions, the student government hasimplemented new recruitmentstrategies in order to boostinvolvement in its upcoming elec-tion on Mar. 15-16.

In 2010, 191 students voted inthe General ASMC Election and

201 voted in the Presidential Run-off Election out of approximately650 eligible voters (all continuingundergraduates), according toCourtney Young-Law, Director ofStudent Activities.

Since ASMC introducedonline voting last year, voter par-ticipation rates have increasedsaid Young-Law.

“We had about 30 percent par-ticipation in voting last spring,and we are hoping for even morethis spring,” Young-Law said in

an email.The spring election process

began last week, and the ASMChas been encouraging undergrad-uates to step up into leadershiproles and “empower studentvoice,” according to the organiza-tion's vision.

At its Feb. 14 meeting, ASMCleaders discussed possible stu-dents who stand out as leaders andwould enrich student governmentby running for office.

VOLUME 96 ISSUE 14 www.thecampanil.com Tuesday | March 1, 2011

DDiiaannaa AArrbbaassASST. NEWS EDITOR

Attendees listen as Carole Watson, Chief Community Investment Officer for the United Way of theBay Area, is introduced during the “At the Table: Women in Philanthropy” event on Feb. 23.

NICOLE VERMEER

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Philanthropists give morethan money, donate timeand talent with students

Stray bullet

punctures resident’s

windowPublic Safety determined that a

stray bullet from Highway 580struck and punctured a student'swindow in Warren Olney Hall onFeb. 23. The bullet went through astudent's window and grazed thewall of her dorm room, but no onewas injured.

The room in question, number237, is located on the second floorof Warren Olney Hall in the SocialJustice Living LearningCommunity, facing the freeway.The student affected was not avail-able for comment.

According to some of the stu-dent's hall mates, she and several ofher friends believe they heard thegunshot as they were walking toFounders Commons Wed evening.

“We heard the shot, but wewere like ‘whatever, it's Oakland,’”said first-year Kelly Dingman, whowas walking with the student that night.

When the student returned toher room, she found glass every-where and plaster on the floor fromwhere the bullet had grazed herwall, according to Dingman.

The student called PublicSafety, which responded by con-tacting the Oakland Police Department.

Dingman and Chavez bothhope there will be more done toprevent these kinds of incidents inthe future.

“Maybe they should put in dou-ble-paned windows or bullet proofglass,” Chavez said.

Director of Public SafetyMichael Lopez said the college is

not planning on implementing anyrepairs or additions such as bullet-proof glass because of the expenseit would involve.

“The cost for these types ofrepairs are very expensive,” Lopez said.

Linda Zitzner, the AssistantVice President of Facilities, saidexpense is not the college’s mainconcern, but that campus facilitiesis trying to determine the risk ofthis kind of incident happening again in the future before implementing preventative measures.

“This is the first incident of itskind,” Zitzner said, noting that sheand others involved in risk assess-ment on campus do not have a lotof information about the recentincident, making it difficult todetermine what the college shoulddo next.

Zitzner said that the facilitieswill determine within the nextmonth the immediate risk of anincident like this happening again.

In addition to the uncertainty ofthe college facing a similar inci-dent again, Lopez noted that inorder to ensure protection againstfuture stray bullets, the collegewould have to bulletproof everyoutside-facing window.

“We find projectiles like this allover campus,” Lopez said.

Lopez said that it was very like-ly the bullet had deflected off ofsomething else before entering thestudent's room because of theamount of damage that was sustained.

Mills College has offered thestudent whose room the bulletentered an alternative room inOrchard Meadow Hall.

During the 3rd year of a glob-al recession, it seems philanthro-py would be the last thing on theminds of many students. Familybudgets are being stretched thinall across the country and 95% ofMills students receive financialaid from the college.

But even in these economic

conditions, many students feel they can still benefit from learning about philanthropy.

Mills hosted, “At the Table:Women in Philanthropy” on Feb.23, an event which profiledwomen holding leadership posi-tions at Bay Area non-profits.This was the first event of its kindat Mills, organized by Lisa Gray,the former interim Director of theInstitute for Civic Leadership.

According to MichaelaDaystar, head of the Institute forCivic Leadership, the benefit ofthis event was that students wereable to network with successfulwomen in the field of philanthropy.

“We want students to havemore awareness of philanthropyas a sector or as a career path.”said Daystar. She explained howwomen are becoming more pro-

see Philanthropy page 2

LLaauurreenn--MMaarriiee SSlliitteerrCHIEF NEWS EDITOR

NNiiccoollee VVeerrmmeeeerrMANAGING EDITOR

Check your vitals:Body Worldsexhibit at the TechMuseumSee page 5

minent in the field of philanthropyand therefore are in an unprece-dented position to make decisionsabout funding distributed by non-profits.

Emma Karki was asked byJudith Bishop, head of theWomen’s Studies department atMills, to help represent the depart-ment. Karki is an office assistant atthe Office of Institutional advance-ment, the department that raisesfunds for Mills.

While she agrees that most stu-dents aren’t in the mindset ofdonating money she said under-standing philanthropy offers alearning experience for students.

“It’s relevant for students whowant to learn about fundraising,”Karki said. “I don’t have money togive, I’m a student, but I’d love towork in a field where people givemoney to women and education.”

Karki explained that philan-thropy is especially important dur-ing an economic recession.

“The people who need help

from non-profits usually need itmore during difficult economictimes, when unfortunately there areless people to donate,” she said.“It’s probably easy when everyoneis able to do it, but it’s so muchmore important now.”

Gray said her one of her moti-vations to create the panel was toinspire change in the Mills commu-nity. “ICL is trying to reach out tothe larger Mills community aboutsocial justice. These types ofopportunities allow people to see(social justice is) not just me hold-ing a sign.”

The event was designed to cul-tivate partnerships, according toGray. When selecting the panelistsshe asked herself, “Who were the women who were actively engaged?”

Daystar said she was surprisedat the student response to the event.

“I’ve had quite a few studentswho said they were excited, andhow they have planned to go intophilanthropy,” she said.

Gray agreed, saying she waspleased with the turnout. About 35

students were at the event, held inGSB 101.

The event featured 5 speakersfrom different organizations.Among them were Carole Watson,Chief Community InvestmentOfficer for the United Way of theBay Area and Tara Wilson, a Millsalum and a program fellow at theSan Francisco Foundation. Theyrepresented a wide range of experi-ences from someone who was juststarting out in philanthropy(Wilson) to an executive withdecades of experience.

The panelists echoed the senti-ments expressed by Daystar andGray, and spoke about seeking tobuild partnerships between womenin Philanthropy.

“Networking is one thing, rela-tionships are a different thing,” saidWatson. She said a lot of work isdone by building relationships withdifferent people in the field.

Mills sophomore RebeccaFreeman is one of a select group ofstudents chosen by their academicdepartment to attend the openingreception “At the Table.” She said

she is interested in the non-mone-tary ways that students can beinvolved in philanthropy.

“Financially it can be difficult. Irecognize that a large part of phi-lanthropy is donating money, but,given the opportunity, students cansee that there are other ways of giv-ing back without money,” said Freeman.

She said that it was herupbringing that initially interestedher in philanthropy.

“I was always taught that evenif it’s not a large amount of money,if you can give of your time, talent and treasures it’s meaning-ful...Giving of yourself is just asmeaningful, and can be a part ofphilanthropy as well,” she said.

Freeman said she was particu-larly excited about the new club oncampus, the Student Philanthropy Council.

The club was thought up main-ly by Gurpreet Tung, the TelephoneOutreach Program Coordinator atthe Office of InstitutionalAdvancement, which means shecoordinates the program which

calls alumnae to connect and ofcourse, facilitate donating to Mills.

Tung sees the StudentPhilanthropy council as a way tokeep students connected to Millsafter graduation. While philanthro-py can involve many ways of giv-ing back, the Student PhilanthropyCouncil focuses mainly on mone-tary donations and educating stu-dents about how their own educa-tion is funded.

According to Freeman, it’s easyto give back.

“Coming from a perspectivewhere I’m so blessed, philanthropyis a way to be able to share that,”she said.

Gray echoes the sentiment, say-ing “If you are passionate about anissue, you can plug into that andinspire meaningful change for others.”

The ICL is currently acceptingapplications for next year's pro-gram, due March 18th.

Young-Law encouraged ASMCleaders to actively recruit fellow undergraduates.

“People run when they’reasked,” Young-Law said. “A lot ofpeople have ideas inside them-selves. Some people arrive herefirst year and say, ‘I’m going to bepresident of ASMC someday.’ Ifyou are not those people, the bestway to get them is to say, ‘Youwant to run? I think you’d be greatfor X.’”

Internal Affairs Chair RebeccaFreeman said current ASMC lead-ers should keep fellow undergradu-ates informed about student gov-ernment in general so that theyknow they can always getinvolved.

“There’s so much untappedleadership potential on campus,”Young-Law said to ASMC. “I real-ly think you all are key to makingthat happen.”

Many students who are eligibleto run feel that they are unable todo so due to busy schedules and ageneral lack of knowledge aboutASMC itself.

Kacey Bills, a junior, said sheknows very little about ASMC.

“I’m a commuter,” Bills said,“so I don’t keep up with all thatstuff. I feel like I should, but Idon’t. I think it’s harder for us(commuters) to get involved inevents on campus because we haveso much going on outside Mills.”

Michelle Ho, a junior, said shedoes not know much either but

guesses that ASMC has somethingto do with Student Services.

“They host a lot of the partieson campus,” Ho said.

Bills said she has been interest-ed in student government sincehigh school, but she wouldn’t runfor an ASMC position.

“I have to work two jobs, and Isupport myself,” Bills said. “But ifI have time, if I lived on campusand had all that stuff paid for, I’d bedown. I’ve always wanted to do that.”

Angela Moffett, a senior, saidshe’s not involved in school groupslike student government becauseshe doesn’t feel passionate aboutthe activities.

Moffett is a resumer who livesoff campus.

“It’s hard to come back for adance, and no one would want todance with a 40 year old,” Moffett said.

Moffett does think that a goodASMC candidate would be some-one who’s paying attention towhat’s happening on campus and isnot afraid to speak up.

“For the most part, women herefeel pretty comfortable with theirvoices,” Moffett said.

Bills has also noticed this aboutMills women.

“When we have a class discus-sion, it just seems like it neverends. People won’t stop talking,”Moffett said. “People just havevery strong opinions about things. Ithink Mills women are the bestones to be running for any kind ofleadership position. There are a lot

of leaders on our campus. I thinkthey are just not running for ASMCbecause they’re thinking, ‘I’m too busy.’”

For those who aren’t too busyto run, Bills has a suggestion.

“They should come up withplatforms like real politicians,”Bills said. “Why not? So we canreally see what they’re trying to dofor the school.”

ASMC is also trying to encour-age candidates to have platforms.

“Vision statements are moreimportant than the popularitything,” said Isabel Cortes, ASMCJudicial Board Chair.

Ho said a good ASMC candi-date would be someone outspokenand willing to advocate for stu-dents’ real needs.

“I feel like there should bemeetings for everyone,” Ho said,“so the people who don’t talk asmuch or the people who don’t havethe time can email ASMC so atleast our voices will be heard.”

ASMC is looking for candi-dates for both the Senate andExecutive boards.

Members of the ExecutiveBoard are expected to provide atleast four hours a week to ASMCactivities. Some of their responsi-bilities involve being representa-tives of the student body to theadministration and meeting withthe college President about studentneeds.

Senators represent specificareas of campus, such as academicdepartments and residence halls, inASMC meetings.

News22 MM aa rr cc hh 11 ,, 22 00 11 11

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Tara NelsonEditor in Chief

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Elections from page 1

Philanthropy from page 1

ASMC is seeking candidates for both Senate andExecutive board positions. Applications can bepicked up in Rothwell and are due at the Cowellfront desk on Wednesday, March 2.

There is a mandatory candidates meetingThursday, March 3 in GSB 118 at 7 p.m.

Campaigning starts on Friday, March 4 andcontinues through Monday, March 14.Candidates may now use social media applicationssuch as Facebook as part of their campaigns

Executive Board speeches will take placeMonday, March 14 in Adams Plaza at 12:30p.m.

Voting will take place Tuesday, March 15through Wednesday, March 16

Position appointment interviews will take placeThursday, March 17 and Friday, March 18

Election dates and information

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MARCH 1—7MMaarrcchh 11 TTuueessddaayy

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Golden State SlamWhat: Open Mike andCompetitionWhen: 8 p.m.Where: Grand Lake CoffeeCost: $5 for students

Panel DiscussionWhat: Lecture about onlinejournalismWhen: 6:50 p.m.Where: Banatao AuditoriumBerkeley

Lakeview Chess ClubWhat: Play chess withstrangersWhen: 3:30-5:30 p.m.Where: Oakland Public LibraryLakeview Branch

ASMC Application DeadlineWhat: Last day to turn in yourapplication to run for studentgovt. When: By 5 p.m.Where: Cowell Building

Capoeira-Based Fitness ClubWhat: Learn how to danceCapoeiraWhen: 12- 1 p.m. Where: 4137 Piedmont Ave.,Oakland

Faculty Noon Seminar What: A talk about adoptionculture (students are welcome)When: 12- 1 p.m.Where: Faculty Lounge

Emeryville Farmer’s MarketWhat: Buy locally grown pro-duce, flowers, wine, moreWhen: 11:30- 5 p.m.Where: 1333 Park Ave.,Emeryville

Bay Area Seed ExchangeWhat: Potluck, music, andseed exchangeWhen: 7 p.m. - 9 p.m.Where: Ecology Center2530 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley

Art Sucks, I QuitWhat: Lily Black explores thedark night of the soul.Where: Kuhl Frames

412 22nd St., OaklandCost: Free

Black & White Ball What: Dress up in black and/orwhite and join the dance partyWhen: 8p.m.Where: Scott’s Seafood Grill&Bar

Guerrilla Movie NightWhat: Bring a movie and theaudience will decide whichmovie to watch.When: 8 p.m. Where: Long HallWhere: 3124 Shattuck Ave.,BerkeleyCost: Free

80’s NightWhat: Mr. DNA spinssongs from the 80’sWhen: 9 p.m. Where: Easy LoungeCost: Free

Acoustic Open MicWhat: open mic and jamsessionWhen: 8 p.m.Where: The Stadium ClubCost: Free

Aerin Monroe, Sarah Allur,Zach MaltousWhat: Blues, Folk, andCountryWhen: 7-8 p.m.Cost: Free

Mayer, Rood, FelsonWhat: Readings fromrespective poetry collectionWhere: Mythos Fine Art &ArtifactsCost: Free

CollapseWhat: A comedy about afallen relationshipWhen: 7 p.m.Where: Aurora TheatreCost: $10- $50

Grand Lake Farmer’sMarketWhat: Fresh ProduceWhen: 10 a.m.- 3 p.m.Where: Splash Pad ParkOakland

Sick Plant ClinicWhat: Plant Pathologistsdiagnose your plantsWhen: 9 a.m.- 12 p.m.Where: 200 Centennial Dr.,Berkeley

City ChickensWhat: Learn how to set up yourown chicken coopWhen: 10 a.m- 1p.m.Where: 1441 Ashby Ave., Berkeley

Karma KitchenWhat: Free Indian mealWhen: 11 a.m- 3 p.mWhere: 1700 Shattuck Ave.,BerkeleyCost: Free

Salsa LessonsWhat: Learn how to SalsaDance!When: 7- 9 p.m.Where: Lake Merrit DanceCenterCost: $15

Dreaming in Water ColorWhat: Paintings by Dawn DavisWhen: all dayWhere: 306 3rd st., BerkeleyCost: Free

Margo’s Funny MondaysWhat: Weekly Comedy show-caseWhen: 8 p.m.Where: The Marsh Berkeley atGaia Arts CenterCost: $10

Roc-n-BowlWhat: Plays games for $1.50When: 10 p.m.Where: Albany Bowl

The Mills graduate musicdepartment is a medley to say the least.

"I would say this is a prettyrambunctious group," said MusicDepartment Head Chris Brown."There's a lot of contrast in thisgroup; there are a few who aremore anarchic while some aredoing pieces that are more quietand meditative."

Students will get the chance tohear this range Mar. 11-13 duringthe annual Signal Flow music festi-val in the Littlefield Concert Hall.Graduate students will perform a variety of original compositions, varying from double basses to computer music.

Signal Flow began in 2002when the music department startedgrowing. In 1990 there were 30students; there are now around 50.

"Part of our requirements forour masters degree is that studentshave a concert of their own work,but then we got so many students itbecame impossible, Brown said,"so we created a festival so theycould collaborate."

Two of the collaborators thisyear will be Christina Stanley andDaniel Steffey. Steffey will be oneof the musicians who will perform Stanley's composition"Mirror Scratched."

Stanley painted a 30" x 40"graphic score of "MirrorScratched" on canvas. The oilpaints indicate the intensity theplayers should play their instru-ments with.

Despite giving specific direc-

tions via color, Stanley said shewanted to allow for elements of improvisation.

"I like to leave some of (themusic) up to the performers,"Stanley said.

Steffey said that collaboratingin pieces such as Stanley's "MirrorScratched" allow students to work

together, and not feel threatened byeach other.

"You don't get a really compet-itive feeling because everyone's sodiverse," Steffey said.

Steffey studied percussion atthe University of Nevada, LasVegas. Since his time at Mills,

Steffey said he has had the chanceto explore electronic music, some-thing he only had time to do out-side the classroom before.

Steffey also delved into com-posing, writing music at all hours.He composed his Signal Flowpiece entitled String Quartet No. 1for two weeks straight last October,

writing from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. every night.

"I conceived it over a long peri-od of time," Steffey said. "It tookeight months of planning but twoweeks to write."

For graduate student PeterWong, the compositional process

took years. He studied linguisticsat UC Berkeley for his bachelors,focusing on phonology and phonet-ics, the study of speech sounds.Wong said he realized he wanted toexplore music when he graduated.

"(My composition) 'Choices' isthe outcome of an idea I had sever-al years ago, and that inspired me

to apply to Mills to pursue a degreein electronic music," Wong said."When I thought of the piece, Irealized I didn't know enough topull it off, neither musically nortechnically, and I had reached a point of stagnation in my self-study."

Since enrolling at Mills, Wonghas learned various techniquesfrom composing on a Moog, a syn-thesizer from the 1960s, to readingvarious texts on post-World War I compositions.

"After a year and a half ofcramming reams of knowledge intomy head and gleaning finer - aswell as many blunter - points ofaesthetics from the experiencedand discriminating artists whomake up the faculty and studentbody in the music department here,I feel like I've gotten to a pointwhere I can take a stab at('Choices')," Wong said.

And hopefully students will bepresent to see Wong try to tackleelectronic music.

"Relatively few people outsideour music community come to ourconcerts, even when we advertiseand have free admission," saidgraduate student Ralph Lewis."This generation of composerswants people to come and to getconnected with contemporarymusic making."

Lewis, 24, said that, above allelse, the music department justwants students to come and soak inthe Signal Flow music festival.

"I think what many of us ask is,put aside formal assumptions andexpectations," Lewis said. "Cometake on the different visceral expe-riences of these evenings."

Grad students hope that, oncethey graduate, the show will go on.

“After Mills, I just want to keepwriting and playing and compos-ing,” Steffey said. "I want to start agroup with people who are intosimilar things and maybe start an electronic community and keep this (Mills music) community going.”

Music graduate student Christina Stanley paints the score for her composition “Mirror Scratched.”

BBoonnnniiee HHoorrggoossSPORTS AND HEALTH EDITOR

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRISTINA STANLEY

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Music grads perform forcommunity

Mills earsMusic to

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There’s something about know-ing the eyes looking back at youfrom behind the glass were oncealive; it's far more profound thanlooking at a model. But for a roomfilled with the deceased, the moodis hardly eerie. Between the artful-ly posed bodies - immortalized inpositions ranging from “TheLassoer” to the “Acrobatic CouplePerforming Overhead Lift” theinvisible workings of our deepestinsides are laid bare in an stylishtribute to human potential.

Now through April 26, hun-dreds of plasticized bodies andbody parts are on display at the SanJose Tech Museum in a presenta-tion entitled Body Worlds: Vital.Body Worlds is the world’s mostpopular touring attraction, withover 32 million visitors since it wasfirst presented in Tokyo in 1995.The exhibit showcases human bod-ies preserved using a techniquecalled “plastination,” which wasinvented by the German Dr. VonHagens - the man who is also the creator of the Body Worlds exhibits.

Plastination is an alternative tothe more common procedure ofmaking molds from bodies andparts—plastinated models are par-tially composed of the actualhuman or animal tissue itself.

“Think of a steak. Steak iscomposed of tissue,” explained Dr.Richard Cone. Cone, a professor atMills for five years, has a Ph. D. inmicrobiology. Cone currentlyteaches human physiology.

“They treat that tissue chemi-cally in order to preserve it. Thenthey infiltrate the tissue with a plas-tic resin by soaking it in the plasticresin. Basically what you’re leftwith is a plastic tissue composite,"Cone said.

The mission of various BodyWorlds installations at large is toprovide laypeople—non-medicalprofessionals—with a deeperunderstanding of human anatomy.Perhaps what makes the anatomicalinformation in the exhibit so palat-able - other than the sheer noveltyof preserved human bodies - is theartful presentation, which incorpo-rates not just factoids or scientifictidbits, but also quotes fromfamous writers and artists, videoinstallations, an interactive BMI

calculator and placards which readlike a cross between a textbook anda hymn.

The exhibit’s first placard setsthis poetic, transcendental tonequite eloquently, reading: “Theidentities, ages and causes of deathof the individual body donors arenot given with these exhibits,because the exhibit focuses on thenature of our physical being, not onproviding personal information onprivate tragedies.”

But how did those bodies getthere? Before their deaths, individ-uals donated their bodies specifi-cally to Body Worlds.

“We do not solicit donors ever.Donors, mostly those who haveseen the exhibition, make inquiriesthrough our website or by sendingfor information. Once they havereviewed the information, thosewho wish to embark on the processfill out the comprehensive forms.After a review process and uponacceptance to the program, theyreceive a body donation card. They may revoke their wish todonate to the IFP at any time,”Hamburg explained.

Many donors feel compelled todonate their bodies due to the edu-cational nature of Body Worlds.Cone, too, feels the educationalvalue of the exhibit is immense.

“Plastination is really useful forteaching,” Cone said. “I thinkwe’re going to see plasticized andmodels come more into teaching inthe future.”

According to Cone, the mainreason plastination has not yetbecome the status quo in researchand teaching is because of money; plastination is far moreexpensive than the standard “sculp-ture” method.

Another element which makesthe technical and scientific infor-mation in Body Worlds so accessi-ble is the “storytelling” format inwhich displays are arranged. Thetale told by Vital is “the compellingstory of how to best defeat lifethreatening diseases,” according tothe Tech Museum’s website.

“Body Worlds: Vital is the mostAmerican of all the Body Worldsexhibitions,” said Gail Hamburg,the Director of ScienceCommunications for Body Worldsand the Institute for Plastination.“It is a motivational and inspira-tional exhibit because it doesn't just

present the science of the body, butalso seeks to influence the visitor toembrace change. It addresses thehealth issues that Americans facefrom obesity to stress to cancer, itshows the diversity of the body human, it celebrates the potential of the human body, and it encourages visitors towards improvement.”

Although there may be a slightelement of otherwordliness withinthe walls of the Vital exhibit, manyvisitors experienced a kind offamiliarity after looking at theirpreserved, plastinated counterparts.

“I like to think it’s mainly con-firmed how I feel about my body,”remarked Jake Hughey, a Stanfordgraduate student who traveled fromFremont to see the exhibit. “It’simportant to stay healthy and notabuse my body. I used to smoke, so seeing the smoker’s and non-smoker’s lungs together was pretty cool.”

Although the bodies and bodyparts in Body Worlds are preservedand, therefore, made somewhatimmortal, they still reflect the con-dition of mortality itself: Some vis-itors recognized the ailmentsbehind the glass as their own, or aswhat could be their own if they did-n’t change their lifestyles.

“It’s scary what an impact youcan have by doing nothing," saidAngela Freemyer, a medical assis-tant who came with her 8-year-olddaughter and husband.

However, while many visitorsbelieved the exhibit encouragedviewers to take responsibility fortheir personal wellness, few felt theexhibit was shaming, preaching orfinger-pointing.

“I think, overall, they’re tryingto be positive,” said Ryan McElroy,a 28-year old Facebook softwareprogrammer who had driven fromPalo Alto to see the exhibit withsome friends.

Nevertheless, many parentstried to use the exhibit as a teachingtool for their children. RhondaClements, a history and healthcareers teacher at South SanFrancisco High, was among thelong line of parents pressing theirchild's face especially close to theglass containing the smoker's lungalongside the non-smoker's lung.

“I have to take my C-Set for myhealth credentials, so I came for anice anatomy review,” Clements

said. “And I brought my sonbecause I thought he might be interested.”

Many visitors to Vital sharedexperiences in the exhibit’s guestbook, which contained hundreds ofcomments ranging from “Yourocked my body and mind” to“Wow. Make it bigger” to “Toomany penises.”

While visitors' responses arevarious, Von Hagens’ intention is to

provoke feelings of anything butsomberness, the emotion typicallytied to experiencing or coming intoclose contact with death.

The exhibit’s final giant plac-ard, a direct statement from VonHagens, affirms this aim to uplift,reading: “Plastination transformsthe body, and object of individualmourning, into an object of rever-ence, learning, enlightenment andappreciation.”

LLaauurreenn SSoollddaannooOPINIONS EDITOR

Guests look at the plastinates and cross-sections in Body Worlds.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GUNTHER VON HAGENS, INSTITUTE FOR PLASTINATION, HEIDELBERG, GERMANY,WWW.BODYWORLDS.COM

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PHOTO COURTESY OF PHOTOS8.COM

Vital Signs

The dead educate the living

On February 18th, the USHouse of Representatives voted towithdraw federal funding forPlanned Parenthood. The with-draw amount in total, if it passes inthe Senate, will reduce the organi-zation’s budget by $363 million dollars.

The measure is part of a largerbill to cut government spending—strangely, among the programswhich did not receive cuts that daywas NASCAR, the largest sanc-tioning body of stock car racing inthe United States. Yes, really.

A bill proposed by MinnesotaDemocratic Representative Betty

McCollum would have stopped theArmy’s annual $7 million sponsor-ship of NASCAR, paid for by tax-payer dollars. However, theRepublican-controlled Housevoted overwhelmingly against it.Apparently health services forlow-income, uninsured women isless of a basic human right thanhigh speed car races.

After we all reemerged fromour initial shock—and, of course,doing the “SPAM” chant a fewtimes to help ease our panic—weall felt pretty furious.

Although political affiliationsin the newsroom range from

admittedly conservative to far, farleftist, we all agree that womenshould be allowed full control overtheir own bodies, which includesaccess to any kind of reproductivehealth care they need.

The Campanil Staff feels thatcuts for Planned Parenthood inconjunction with the decision tocontinue to federally fundNASCAR is one of many exam-ples showing the often mixed uppriorities of our country’s govern-ment. The billions of dollars spenton the continuation of the “War onTerror” while the nation’s schoolssuffer enormous budget slashes

comes to mind pretty quickly.Some staff members feel that it

is not the place of the governmenttp fund private institutions in gen-eral. These staff members feel thatit is worrisome to rely on govern-ment legislation and interventionto enact change, and instead feelthat individuals and activistswhole truly believe in PlannedParenthood’s cause should becharged with ensuring the organi-zation’s continued existence.

It is unlikely that the House’sdecision (if it passes in the Senate)will mean the immediate dissolu-tion of the organization, as

Planned Parenthood is also largelyfunded by donations. However, ifthe measure passes it will certainlymake a severe impact on the serv-ices the organization is currentlyable to provide—services whichare extremely valuable to womenall over the country, includingmany of us here at the Campanilwho regularly use those services.

The Campanil staff encouragesall readers who consider them-selves advocates for reproductivejustice or accessible healthcare forthe uninsured to speak out, get out-side the gates, and do something tohelp Planned Parenthood.

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STAFFSTAFF EDITORIALEDITORIALPlanned Parenthood Loses Funding In The Race Against NASCAR

OPENFORUM

In their 2011critical compila-tion, A Megaphone,Mills professorsJuliana Spahr andStephanie Youngconfront the collec-tive shrugging-of-shoulders at the pandemic dearth of women writers in literary journals. The two poets admit to, at times, wondering “if this is all in our para-noid, self-marginalizing minds, ifwe are just imagining a nonexistent disenfranchisement.”

Well, it seems the literati havefrozen mid-shrug—it’s no longerpossible to deny the disparity. OnFebruary 2nd of this year, VIDA—an organization supporting womenin the literary arts—published TheCount 2010, a statistical analysis ofwomen writers published andreviewed in influential magazines.But even VIDA, who seems tohave rocked the boys’ club statusquo boat with the publishing of itsstudy, has contributed to myth thatthe literary world can’t stand upwithout its men.

In thirteen journals documentby the VIDA count—includingpublications ranging from the NewYorker to the Threepenny Review—women got a measly third to a dev-astating fifth as much play as men.(But Spahr and Young alreadyknew this; in their 2007 essay,“Numbers Trouble,” they foundthat, between 1906 and 1999,women poets were included inanthologies at a rate of 22 percent.)

Since the release of thosehaunting red-and-blue pie charts,blogs, comment boards, and liter-ary journal websites have explodedwith responses—dismay, anger,beleaguered acceptance, and theall-too-common skeptical requestfor “more information.”

These latter bloggers and edi-tors, including Stephen Elliott ofThe Rumpus, wanted to knowwhether the low publication ratecorrelated with a low submissionrate by women. Wouldn’t that be a

convenient way to excuse the dom-inant wash of male editors fromtaking responsibility for this disparity?

Juliana Spahr told me, “Even ifwomen are submitting less and thenumbers are a twice removed sign,they still indicate something. Andthis ‘something’ might let individ-ual editors ‘off the hook.’”

In the interest of getting off thehook—or perhaps because theytruly wish to transform their jour-nals—editors at Tin House and TheNew Republic, both targeted in theVIDA study, crunched some morenumbers, and found that (1) writerswith agents or a connection to aneditor tended to be male, (2)women writers were less apt to re-submit when solicited, or after hav-ing a piece rejected, and (3) pub-lished women authors are in theminority across the board at bothbehemoth and independent pub-lishing houses.

So lit mag editors can cleartheir names and pass the blame onto publishing houses, agents, andthe very women writers themselveswho are so afraid to submit, right?They can rectify the unpleasantnessby strongly encouraging women tosubmit to their journals (as manyhave done), right?

Wrong.What needs to be rectified was

best said by Vermont-based writerJohn Walters in a comment on theVIDA website, “…there’s still anunspoken, and quite toxic, assump-tion that books by women are‘women’s books,’ and somehownot universal.”

Kate Gale, managing editor ofRed Hen Press, blogged inresponse to the VIDA study, “Malewriters nearly always read onlymen while women read male andfemale writers because they aremarginalized so they have to readoutside the margins.”

The only way women writersare going to believe in their right tobe widely published is by seeingexamples of widely published

women writers. We’re not fools.We look at the track record of mag-azines before we take on the mentaland emotional strain of sending inour work. And the only way maleeditors are going to be repro-grammed to respond to women’swriting as anything more universalthan “women’s writing” is by expe-riencing it as an indispensible partof the literary canon from an early age.

VIDA is trying to address allthis, both from the hard-lined sta-tistical angle and from a socialapproach. At this month’sAssociation of Writers and WritingPrograms’ Conference (a massiveannual gathering of literary types)VIDA hosted the event, “VIDA andthe MEN Who Love Us: Readingand Dance Party,” which featuredsixteen male authors reading theirfavorite female authors.

Wait—what? If we’re celebrat-ing women authors, why give themen the stage and the mike, andwhy list only their names on the flyer?

A colleague guessed VIDAmight have spotlighted men in theevent because of the dance partyfollowing the reading, which theylikely wanted to be co-ed.

I thought back to the variousall-women panels and readings Ihave attended, and how any self-identified women-focused eventcouldn’t attract two male audiencemembers to rub together. MaybeVIDA had earnestly intended totout the fact that men do readwomen and men should readwomen—or maybe they just knewthis was the only way to get men toattend a reading of women’s writ-ing—if men got to hold the mics.

Apparently, it’s not a danceparty if there are no men—and I’mnot talking about dance parties.

2010 VIDA Count: If Men Can’t Dance, They Don’tWant To Be Part of the Publishing Equity Revolution

Jessica Langlois received herMFA in Creative Writing fromMills in 2010. Read more of herwriting on her blog, http://www.asupposedlyfunthing.com/.

L a d yGaga’s newsingle “BornThis Way” ismeant as ananthem for allo p p r e s s e dminorities, butmany are won-dering how can this anthem be lib-erating when it continues tooppress the people it aims to uplift.

After hyping the single formonths, it was finally released—breaking a slew of records. Thesong debuted at number 1 on theBillboard Hot 100, being only the19th song to do so. It is also the1000th song to hold the numberone spot, which is also cause forcelebration. The Billboard chartsbase their numbers off of howmany downloads and radio playsthe song has had. The single alsobroke an iTunes record for mostdownloads sold in the first week.However, the song does not live upto all the hype.

Some of the song’s lyrics—while I personally feel they sound alittle contrived and unoriginal—are definitely pro-LGBT, and couldbe an anthem for many. For exam-ple, “No matter gay, straight, or bi/lesbian, transgendered life, I’m onthe right track baby/ I was born to survive.”

First of all, let’s take a momentto think about the fact that the cur-rent number one gives a shout-outto transgender folks. In this currentpolitical climate, that is an awe-some step towards equality. Can wejust bask in the idea of millions ofyoung fans singing about “trans-gender life”? Surprisingly, therehas been no critical backlash fromconservative anti-gay groups—butI think they’re all too busy takingaway women’s rights to worryabout the gays for a minute.

However, a lot of people haveproblems with the next part of thesong, which goes, “Don’t be a drag,just be a queen/whether you’rebroke or evergreen/ you’re black,

white beige, chola descent/ you’relebanese, you’re orient”

Most people, besides LadyGaga apparently, know that theterm “orient” is seriously outdated,and generally pretty racist.Phoenix-based Chicanos UnidosArizona has also criticized the songfor use of the term “chola” saying,“These are stereotypical terms.“Chola” is as derogatory as the “N”word when referring to a Hispanic female.”

Whether that is true or not is upto the individual to decide. Maybeshe meant to use the word in orderto reclaim it, saying that someonelabeled as a “chola”—usually anegative thing — should be proudto be themselves. However, this isnot explicit and the exclusion ofany other representation ofHispanic people adds to theoffense. And as for the term “ori-ent”... well, there is no excuse.

Lady Gaga claims she wrote thesong in ten minutes, after consum-ing a combination of whiskey andmarijuana. I guess that explains thelack of proper judgment.

Here Lady Gaga, I rewrotesome of the lyrics for you. I am nota poet by any means, and maybethe rhyme scheme isn’t set up verywell, but it does eliminate theinherent racism.

“Don`t be a drag, just be aqueen/Whether you`re broke orevergreen/You`re black, white,beige, Hispanic persuasion/You`reMiddle Eastern, you`re Asian.”

(And yes, I know it’s cheap torhyme Asian with persuasion, butlike I said I’m not a poet.) This tookme all of about thirty seconds, andshouldn’t have messed withGaga’s ability to write the wholesong in ten minutes.)

Oh and by the way... Madonnacalled. She wants “ExpressYourself” back.

Nicole Vermeer is senior and aEnglish major. She is ManagingEditor for the Campanil.

Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” Failsto Live Up to All the Hype

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How could PlannedParenthood and

NASCAR best com-bine forces to ensurereproductive rights?

Question of The Week

“Yaz and Ortho Tri-Cyclen could be spon-sors for the cars—Trojan could have a car,too.”

— Patrice Scanlon,

Technical Director

“Making PlannedParenthood pit stops—

that would actually bebetter because it usuallytakes hours in there to

be seen for ten min-utes.”

—Anna Moreno,

junior

“NASCAR drivers shouldrace to deliver birth con-trol to women every-where.”

—Carmen Elster,

sophomore

“There should be aPlanned Parenthood

themed NASCARevent where drivers

wear giant NuvaRingsaround their waists andthe cars look like con-

doms.”

—Prudence Amsden,

junior

WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY KATIE SUNSHINE

arar e Ye YOO U a cU a c artoonisartoonis t? t? ...... then send ythen send y our doodles to:our doodles to:soldano@thecsoldano@thec ampanil.ampanil. cc omom

Letter from abroad: Guanajuato, Mexico

S/pace of Life: Finding Home Outside The GatesGuanajuato is

shaped like a bowl.Brightly paintedhouses squeeze hap-hazardly onto therising hills; down-town plazas, gar-dens, and shops col-lect at the bottom; and cars andpeople go down and climb back upthe narrow, winding streets. Unlessyou drive around the panoramichighway or otherwise reach the rimof the bowl, you cannot see the horizon.

Being nestled in the confines ofGuanajuato’s basket can make youfeel warm and situated, swaddledlike a baby. Or it can make youfeel crazy. Landlocked. Trapped.

It’s not unlike being on Millscampus, and, similarly, it’s goodfor one’s sanity to make it out thefront gate from time to time.

Push down the edges of thebowl of Guanajuato and flattenthem out with a rolling pin. Widenthe streets, raise up the buildings,turn the geometric, intersectingchaos into a grid of right angles.Now stretch it out for miles and

you have, where once stoodTenochtitlan, the booming, thebustling: Mexico City.

A couple of weekends ago Imade the five-hour bus ride south-east to the gargantuan metropolis.Going from enclosed colonial townto sprawling urbania was a bit dis-orienting, but wonderful.

Maybe I’m idealizing, butit strikes me that Mills

offers a unique combina-tion of the two: it’s

homey. And homo-y.

My second night there I wentout to the La Zona Rosa, the famedgay section of town, to check outthe scene, and, you know, theladies. After a couple of drinks Istopped analyzing obsessively overwhat it meant for me, with my spe-cific social location, to be occupy-ing this space and just took it in.

Maybe this will sound strangeto you Millsians, but I was superexcited just to see gay people

again. I mean, I couldn’t reallyclaim it as my space or my commu-nity (so many complexities goingon there!), but I was grateful for itsexistence as a traveling queer look-ing for some refuge. Being there,even for just a few hours, rechargedme and put a bounce in my step.

Coming home produced mixedfeelings. The gayness was gone, noglitter to be found. But I hadmissed my host family and homecooked meals and knowing myway around. Small towns and bigcities both have their pluses and minuses.

Maybe I’m idealizing, but itstrikes me that Mills offers aunique combination of the two: it’shomey. And homo-y.

My hope is to realize that samefulfilling mixture here. I just foundout that there’s a gay bar tuckedaway somewhere a few blocksfrom my house. I must havewalked past it a hundred times.

Well, I know where I’ll be thisSaturday night. And I know whereI’ll be Sunday morning: eating pan-cakes with my host family in my PJs.

Terra Mikalson is a junior and an Ethnic Studies major currently studying abroad in Guanajuato, Mexico. Readmore of her writing on her study abroad weblog, “T(i)erra Mexican at http://simka18.wordpress.com/.

COMPILED BY LAUREN SOLDANO

Last week it was fair game towrite on bathroom walls at Mills College.

Large sheets of colorful paperwere taped throughout campusbathrooms, encouraging students towrite self-accepting phrases suchas “you are beautiful!”

The Mills College Office ofSpiritual and Religious Life and theOffice of Wellness and CommunityOutreach sponsored multipleevents including the bathroomboosts for the National EatingDisorder Awareness week, Feb. 20-26. Titled “Got Self Love? part 2,”the week's activities included a lec-ture on Feb. 28 in Mills Hall and adiscussion on food and spiritualityin the Chapel Lounge on Feb. 23.The events focused on raisingawareness about eating disordersand how Mills can provide support.

The idea for “Got Self Love?”began last semester whenResidential Assistants IsabelCortes and Gena Cardona organ-ized Got Self Love? part 1 for theirhalls. Students discussed variousissues about eating disorders at theevent. In addition, Mills studentsKeeley Driscoll and LilianaGonzalez separately approachedthe Office of Wellness andCommunity Outreach last semes-ter, proposing that the collegeorganize events for National EatingDisorder Awareness week.

Kim Baranek, Director ofWellness and CommunityOutreach, said she hoped Millswould become more responsive toeating disorders, boosting carealready provided including theMills Counseling Center.

“One of the things I'm going totake away (from these events) ishow the environment can be moresupportive,” Baranek said.

Laura Engelken, director ofSpiritual and Religious Life, saidone way Mills could provide sup-port for students with eating disor-ders is to host more events such asthe discussion on Feb. 23 abouteating and spirituality.

“In terms of my role, I'd like tohelp create those connections anddialogue about how spiritualityimpacts all different areas of ourlives,” Engelken said. “We allbring our (issues)... Hopefully, ide-ally, because there are some sharedexperiences we may be able to talkabout our issues more.”

And that's exactly what hap-pened in the Chapel Lounge onFeb. 23. A group of 16 students,faculty and guests gathered to dis-cuss how food and religiousphilosophies relate, a commontheme in recovery programs.

Three people shared storiesfrom overeating to undereatingincluding Dr. Joi Lewis, Dean ofStudents and Vice Provost for theDivision of Student Life. Since shebegan working at Mills in the sum-mer of 2007, Lewis has lost around100 lbs. thanks to facing her life-long issues with food head-on.

“I know it's a God-sized holethat can't be filled up with food,”Dr. Joi said, referring to her strug-gles with eating.

Dr. Joi now weighs and meas-ures her food, eating three mealsper day with no snacks in between.

“(Food) really is a drug for me.If I want to be numb, don't want tofeel anything, I go for the food,”Dr. Joi said. “It was about the foodbut it was also about this spiritualawakening; I wanted some peaceand serenity.”

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Community opens up about creating support on campusfor students and staff struggling with eating disorders

BBoonnnniiee HHoorrggoossSPORTS & HEALTH EDITOR

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BONNIE HORGOS

A group of Mills students, faculty and guests gathered on Feb. 23 to discuss relationships with food and spirituality for National Eating Disorder Awareness week.