I want to talk about a besieged minority community on the Mills campus. No, not the sexually confused underwater basket weavers (whose specific needs I promise to address in another column - sorry SCUBW's), but a minority community that suffers greatly at the hands of the powers that be.
Posts published in “Opinions”
Opinion pieces, columns, and staff editorials
Record turnout is expected for this historic Presidential election, especially among young voters. This election is also an opportunity for the public to decide many complex issues in the form of propositions and initiatives. For these issues, sample ballots contain statements by proponents and opponents, but these brief statements are only a starting point.
If you're reading this - you probably couldn't go to Nevada, Virginia, New Mexico or another swing state to help bring hope and change to America on November 4th.
But fear not. We can make history right here by uniting as Californians to stop Proposition 8.
Last month I was invited to a fundraising event in New York City for my undergraduate alma mater, Mills College.
I live in the New Jersey suburbs and, therefore, drove in to the City to meet up with my close friend Harriet, another Mills alum. We met at a café around the corner from the event, had some coffee and got caught up on the past year since we saw each other.
I approached this column believing that after 60 years I, like the eloquent Oprah-hero Randy Pausch, might have something useful to impart. However, all that emerged for me were: (1) Your first love is like your first kidney stone -you'll never forget it (and they both may feel better after they pass); (2) You might consider canceling your first few engagements before committing to marriage (if I had known at 23 what I finally learned by 39.); (3) Don't get distracted in your lectures and writings with too many parenthetical asides.
Dear Governor Palin:
Congratulations on your nomination as a candidate for Vice President of the United States. As a woman leader, I welcome your commitment to civic leadership. As a mother, I share your commitment to children and family. While I strongly disagree with many of your stated positions-ranging from your views on the environment to reproductive rights-I profoundly hope that you and I agree on the importance of education as a critical avenue in providing opportunity for our children and building the future of our society.
The Mills student body is famously and fantastically diverse, not only ethnically but religiously. Several of us adhere to the religion of Islam, and have just finished observing the holy month of Ramadan, where we refrained from eating and drinking from sun-up to sundown.