Independent Women's Forum - R. Gaull Silberman Center for Collegiate Studies

First Place Winner, 2007-2008 IWF College Essay Contest

Tue, 06 May 2008 10:07:00 EDT

By Cassidy Bugos

Whether a Democrat or a Republican, the president-elect who takes the oath next January will not have won by the male vote alone, but will have judiciously curried the favor of female constituents nationwide.

Any 2008 Presidential-hopeful who peddles him or herself to women by endlessly touting "reproductive rights," exploiting his supposed boyish charms, or appealing to their mutual sex insults the intelligence of female voters. To lock up the female vote, candidates must prove that they will defend true American values-the same values that have done so much to liberate women in America and around the globe.

The fact is, American women have more to think about these days than how wonderful it is to be female. Consequently, those who vote for Hillary Clinton will not be voting for her simply to celebrate her womanhood, but because they agree with her policies. Those who vote against her will do so because she swings afield of the values of the majority of Americans.

Today more American women want a government that is practical, efficient, and self-limiting, because more American women ascribe to a feminism that is practical, efficient, and self-limiting. A candidate who defends the basic principles of limited government, free markets, affordable health care, choice in education, and a strong, effective foreign policy and national defense is a candidate who defends the interests of American women.

Indeed, these issues especially resonate with female voters since so many women seek their happiness in motherhood while at the same time striving to succeed in challenging and fulfilling careers. Hence women have historically shown a slight preference for big-government Democratic platforms that pledge more services. But this gender gap has narrowed in recent elections, a reflection of the fact that American women are more educated and more financially independent than ever before.

In 2008, all issues will be women's issues.

The candidate who knows what concerns cut across age, income, and education is a candidate who operates on the principle that no welfare program can replace the family. No doubt it would be too much to ask a far-left candidate to promote heterosexual marriage, but as president he or she would be faced with the responsibility of arresting the social and economic decline that started with the breakdown of the family. A candidate who advocates reforming no-fault divorce and making divorce harder to obtain, as well as the removal of the marriage penalties in the tax code, is a candidate who as president would go a long way toward arresting decline. Likewise, reforming the public school system so that parents are free to choose their child's school would be a giant step toward defeating the deterioration of American education.

Women voters know that concrete measures like these, designed to protect the family, would also give long-term stability to the economy. They will be skeptical, however, of candidates who offer straw-man quick-fixes to the problems faced by women, particularly poor women and single mothers. For instance, many Democrat contenders want to increase the minimum wage and mandate more employee benefits, but some women are wary, realizing that an employer who is forced to pay workers more may also be forced to make cost-cutting decisions such as lay-offs and salary reductions. The candidate who understands what women want will promise instead to make tax cuts, increase job opportunities by removing undue regulations, and devise Social Security and pension systems that increase women's opportunities to save and invest their money as they see fit.

Stay-at-home mothers, working mothers, and single women all share in the American spirit of free enterprise and self-reliance. Women represent the greater proportion of purchasing decisions made in the United States, thus benefiting directly from global free trade. However, unlimited expansion does not benefit women if it comes at the expense of stable family life and a healthy moral culture. Increasing political and economic individual freedom is the American way of preserving this balance.

Democrats have a tradition of pandering to women as a bloc, but it is a safe bet that in 2008 they will only be using their usual stale catch-phrases of "reproductive rights" and "equal pay," shaking their fists at imaginary foes while neglecting to address the issues with which American women are most concerned. The ball is in the court of the GOP contender who can show himself tuned in to the real needs and concerns of the female population, and who has realistic solutions to the unique problems faced by women pursuing the American dream.

Second Place Winner, 2007-2008 IWF College Essay Contest

Tue, 06 May 2008 10:03:00 EDT

By Lauren Migliore

The election of 1994 sent shockwaves through the country when it was revealed that the Republicans had captured a majority for the first time in decades in both the House and the Senate from the previously "unbeatable" Democrats. The GOP, which was even referred to as the "Permanent Minority," had defied all odds. A former Democrat-turned-Republican, Newt Gingrich, led the Republicans to this victory with his innovative ideas that championed the free market and were presented on a unified, national level. It was beautifully orchestrated, but, as recent events have shown, victory was short-lived. This important moment in history can serve as a lesson to contemporary Republican politicians looking to turn the tide back to the right. The year of 2007 could be like 1993, when people felt the tremors underfoot of a revolution already underway, or it could resemble 2005, when Republicans who were continuing to drift away from their core principles of a free market and limited government had the rug pulled out from under them (except this time, the rug might be the White House). The secret to a new revolution and prevention of a Democratic takeover: The Women's Vote.

Democrats like to consider women their "Permanent Majority" and count on women voters to move as a single block to sweep their supposed candidate, Hillary Clinton, into the White House for another eight years. Democratic candidates are well aware of their edge on the women's vote and exploit it daily in their rhetoric on the campaign trail and taskforces giving lip-service to "women's issues." In order to curb the Democratic momentum, the GOP must pay attention to these subjects-not only because it will aid Republicans in victory, but because women's issues and their principles go hand in hand.

The GOP has the opportunity to redefine the debate over women's issues this election. Democratic oratories propagating issues that were dominant at a time when bras fueled bonfires and radical feminist diatribes against alleged Republican chauvinism were rampant are no longer resonating with female voters. This is evident in the closing of the gender gap between male and female voting records. To reinforce this trend, the Republican candidate must show women how the Democratic Party is out of touch with the ideas of the 21^st century when technology and a service-driven economy reign supreme. Democrats are still rooted in the post-industrial politics of the New Deal era-a time that catered to labor unions and big bureaucracy. Voters reward policy innovation and new ideas and are growing tired of the age-old rap appealing to "equal pay," "the right to choose," and the ERA.

The women's issues of the 21^st century have evolved significantly over the past 50 years and truly have underlying parallels to the conservative agenda. The woman of the new millennium is a working mother and wife who cares about the financial stability of her family and the society in which her children grow up. Basic economics teaches us that free markets bring about wealth and economic prosperity, which in turn bring about stable families and communities. Here Republicans have an opportunity to show women voters their appeal. For instance, the flat tax would eliminate the "marriage tax" and progressive tax codes that punish married working women. Republicans also champion new innovations such as "flex time" that promote flexibility in the workforce and have championed freedom with other issues like healthcare options. President Bush tried till he was blue in the face to articulate how Americans would benefit from the freedoms of private Social Security accounts-only to be blocked by Democratic obstructionists. School choice and voucher programs have been advocated by the Republican administration. All these programs are designed to help families and restore freedom and a culture of ownership back into American society.

Women's issues are Republican issues. The GOP does not need secret war rooms to devise a strategy to appeal to women voters. They already have it-their platform! The deficiency does not lie in the message but in the execution of the message. Republicans need to wake up and smell the opportunity. Perhaps they need another strong visionary leader, like Newt Gingrich, to capitalize on such opportunity. Or perhaps soccer moms toting briefcases will storm the steps of the Capital to bring about a second coming of 1994. Regardless of how it happens, one thing is for sure, a second Revolution for the Republicans, led by women voters, is within reach. All they need to do is claim it.

Third Place Winner, 2007-2008 IWF College Essay Contest

Tue, 06 May 2008 10:00:00 EDT

By Sara Elizabeth Walter

When I walked into the ballroom of the Pennsylvania College Republican State Convention Dinner last spring, I had prepared myself to be a woman in a sea of men. I was pleasantly surprised to see that about 40% of the attendees at the convention were female-and many of them holding important positions within their College Republicans chapters. I have been told by feminist professors and teachers for years that women were incredibly underrepresented in politics, and that this was because the system was inherently chauvinistic (particularly on the conservative side). Was I, along with the rest of the women present, merely succumbing to this misogynist view? I tend to differ in this viewpoint. Women shouldn't be treated any different than men (which is what I thought the entire goal of the feminist movement was in the first place), and this applies to politics too. I have never been looked upon as "revolutionary" or "different" because I am a woman in Republican politics-unless it's a Democrat who is doing the looking, in which case I am a rare bird who must be insane to put up with the constant misogyny which they believe is so prevalent within the conservative movement.

In this election cycle, with Hillary Clinton and so much emphasis on women as a powerful bloc of voters, I question whether women should have separate issues. If feminism is succeeding, then shouldn't the left recognize that women as a whole most often prioritize the same issues as men when deciding whom they will vote for? The news media often report how Clinton will sweep the female vote because she is female. The left cries that if you don't vote for Hillary, you don't want to give a woman the chance to be president. Such claims are pure hogwash, designed to make women not empowered, but ignorant and apathetic. By using scare tactics to make women think that they can only support a fellow woman for president, the Democrats are making a dangerous assumption-that women feel alienated by men. However, by and large, women won't vote for a woman merely because of a hatred of men-a myth that the feminist movement has trusted for far too long.

"Women's issues" is quite a vague term unto itself, although almost every Democratic presidential candidate has hired staff for just this topic. Generally, included in this category are abortion, health care, welfare (particularly for single mothers). But what Democrats aren't saying, and what Republicans haven't quite cashed in on yet, is that these are not uniquely women's issues-men care just as much. And even more so, the conservative capitalist, free market economic policies would benefit women (particularly married women-a demographic oft-ignored by feminist groups as traitors) and give them more freedom and opportunity through financial independence based on tax breaks. Also, since many health care decisions are made by women, the health care plans proposed by Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani should be lauded as another way to place more power in the hands of women in determining how they would like their health care plan. Instead, conservative candidates thus far seem to be focusing on exactly what you would think the feminists (in theory) would love-there are no women's issues, only issues which affect women as well as men.

In the movie "Little Women," Jo March says of women's suffrage, "I find it poor logic to say that women should vote because they are good. Men do not vote because they are good; they vote because they are male, and women should vote, not because we are angels and men are animals, but because we are human beings and citizens of this country." Thus, women should not vote for Hillary (or for any other candidate, for that matter) because they represent "women's issues." In truth, there are no "women's issues"-no more than there are "men's issues." There are only American issues-and these are the issues we should be focusing on in this election cycle. By alleging that candidates should have staff to deal with "women's issues," they are only perpetuating the myth that women should be treated separately and differently than men. Perhaps if the Democratic candidates focused on the real issues this election cycle, we would have a much better dialogue and better-developed policy proposals.

IWF Essay Contest Winners 2007-2008

Mon, 05 May 2008 12:11:00 EDT

The Independent Women's Forum is pleased to announce the winners of the 2007-2008 IWF College Essay Contest. IWF received hundreds of essays for this year's contest. Full-time, female undergraduate students were asked to submit an essay no longer than 750 words, answering the question: What role should "women's issues" play in the 2008 elections and how do you define women's issues?

The awards include: First Place Award - $5,000, Second Place Award - $2,000, Third Place Award - $1,000, and Ten Honorable Mentions - $250

The winners are:

1^st Place Cassidy Bugos, Christendom College

2^nd Place Lauren Migliore, Kalamazoo College

3^rd Place Sara Elizabeth Walter, Lafayette College

Honorable Mentions:

Ashley Amidon, George Mason University

Kyli Archibald, Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Marina Buryak, Stetson University

Catherine Helsley, Randolph College

Jeanette Moll, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Courtney Parry, Saint Mary's College Notre Dame

Megan Proehl, Ohio State University

Jessica Richman, Stanford University

Morgan Wilkins, Indiana University Southeast

Jiayi Zhou, University of California, Berkeley

Congratulations to all of the winners!

V-Day Comes to New Orleans

info@iwf.org (Allison Kasic) — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:03:00 EDT

Townhall.com

Watch out, New Orleans: "Vagina Warriors" are headed your way. This weekend V-Day will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a two-day festival in New Orleans, or "the vagina of America," as V-Day board member and actress Rosario Dawson called it at the luncheon announcing the festivities. Why New Orleans? V-Day's website says, "We need to celebrate New Orleans, cherish it, protect it, just as we do our vaginas, and make sure it goes on and on."

Celebrities, including mega-stars Katie Holmes and Oprah Winfrey, have signed on in droves to attend the vagina festival, but one wonders if they know what they are really supporting. V-Day's mission is to end violence against women, surely a noble cause. But when you look at the activities done in the name of V-Day, it's clear that this about more than just ending violence. On campus, V-Day groups sell vagina-shaped lollipops, chocolates, and t-shirts with slogans like "I love Vagina" and "A vagina by any other name would smell just as sweet." They parade around campus in vagina costumes, or in the case of the George Washington University, have a four-foot-tall "living vagina" named Joan on display. If ending violence is really the aim, V-Day's organizers have some bizarre tactics.

The New Orleans celebration is of a similar nature. The Superdome will transform into SUPERLOVE, "a place to heal, gather, celebrate and activate to change the story of women." During the event, V-Day organizers say they will "reclaim the dome, transforming it into a place of empowerment and action." Activities will include everything from slam poetry (a staple at leftist events), a parade, storytelling, and art to free massages, yoga, meditation, and makeovers. If you favor more blatantly political activities, you can celebrate "everyday activists doing extraordinary things" which will feature liberal political activists like CODE PINK co-founder Jodie Evans, or take in a panel on race and gender issues in post-Katrina Gulf South or discuss "the connections and parallels between our treatment of the earth and our treatment of women's bodies." And for those attendees who just like to boogie, Gabriella Roth will lead an "ecstatic dancing experience for all attendees."

Of course, the event will end with a performance of The Vagina Monologues, including a new monologue to be performed by Oprah Winfrey. The Monologues have always been the centerpiece of the V-Day movement, so it's worth taking a closer look at the play's content. Some people are taken aback by the often vulgar nature of the play (shouting "c*nt" on stage over and over, for example), but the material is just as disturbing.

For starters, the play is extremely anti-male. Nearly all of the men featured in the play are despicable characters. The only "positive" male character is "Bob," who enjoys staring at vaginas. It's difficult to see how that is a redeeming quality, but in the context of the play he stands out as the most worthy male.

You might not be surprised that men are stereotyped, but women are too as they are constantly treated as sex objects. The plays message, after all, is that women's path to empowerment is "embracing" their vaginas. They should aim to "be" their vaginas and discover themselves through sexual acts. The Monologues blatantly promote promiscuous behavior-a message that could be easily construed as socially irresponsible in an age where sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise among young people and women are especially vulnerable to STDs.

The women of New Orleans have certainly had a rough time recently with the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. It's hard to see how a vagina parade or slam poetry session will help them recover, let alone stop violence against women (there are after all, other ways to hold a fundraiser). The women of New Orleans-women everywhere actually-deserve a positive message about women and relationships. And if V-Day's past behavior is any guide, they are not capable of providing that message.

Allison Kasic is the director of R. Gaull Silberman Center for Collegiate Studies at the Independent Women's Forum.

2007-2008 Essay Contest Finalists

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 12:12:00 EST

The Independent Women's Forum is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2007-2008 college essay contest. Full-time, female undergraduate students were asked to answer the question: What role should "women's issues" play in the 2008 elections and how do you define women's issues? First prize is $5,000.

These outstanding essays have been forwarded to our prestigious panel of judges who will award the prizes among this group. Winners will be announced later this spring and the winning essays will be featured on IWF's website.

Ashley Amidon - George Mason University

Kyli Archibald - Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Cassidy Bugos - Christendom College

Marina Buryak - Stetson University

Laura Duszynski - Marquette University

Rachel Elsner - University of Houston

Caroline Gaorman - St. John's College

Catherine Helsley - Randolph College

Lora Hines - Friends University

Tiffany Lanham - University of South Florida

Melissa LeDue - University of Wisconsin

Jeanette Moll - University of Wisconsin

Lauren Migliore - Kalamazoo College

Courtney Parry - Saint Mary's College Notre Dame

Megan Proehl - Ohio State University

Jessica Richman - Stanford University

Courtney Silver - University of Florida

Sara Walter - Lafayette College

Carol Warner - New York Institute of Technology

Morgan Wilkins - Indiana University Southeast

Jiayi Zhou - University of California, Berkeley

Take Back the Date

info@iwf.org (Allison Kasic) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 12:14:00 EST

Townhall.com

Valentine's Day has something for everyone: elementary school children can exchange Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Winnie the Pooh valentines; couples plan romantic dates; flower sales surge; groups of friends get together to watch the latest romantic comedy on DVD; and, there is always candy. Everyone likes candy. Even cynics can rejoice in their hatred of Valentine's Day - there is a growing market for "anti-Valentine's Day" products, such as candy hearts and greeting cards with snarky messages about relationships.

On campus the holiday has become a more ominous occasion, serving as a striking reminder of just how dysfunctional the collegiate dating scene has become. Gone are candlelit dinners and a night out on the town. Dating, in general, is an endangered species on campus. In its stead is the hook-up: casual physical encounters, ranging from kissing to sex, with no expectation of commitment.

The hook-up culture has real harmful effects, especially on women. Women are more physically vulnerable to sex, running the risk of getting pregnancy and more likely to contract many sexually transmitted diseases. Many also face emotional distress associated with casual sex-women may tell themselves that it's no big deal, but their bodies and hormones signal otherwise. Many young women are left feeling confused and depressed.

Thanks in large part to several books on the subject, the negative effects of the hook-up culture are making their way into popular dialogue. Laura Sessions Steep, author of Unhooked: How Young Women Pursue Sex, Delay Love, and Lose at Both, sums up the hook-up scene in this way, "Love, while desired by some, is being put on hold or seen as impossible; sex is becoming the primary currency of social interaction. Some girls can handle this; others...are exhausted physically, emotionally and spiritually by it. They struggle largely outside the awareness of parents who either don't know what is going on or are vaguely aware but don't know what to do."

One would expect campus feminists to rally on this issue and protest a culture that could be properly cast as demeaning. But you'll be lucky to hear a peep from most campus feminists on the issue. They are too busy parading around campus with a 4-foot "living vagina" named "Joan" (That's at George Washington University), hosting a "Panty Drop Sock Hop: Benefiting Vagina's Everywhere" party (University of North Texas), selling "I love Vagina" t-shirts (Bucknell University), or playing a rousing game of "sex toy bingo" (University of Delaware). They might also be busy performing The Vagina Monologues (which visits hundreds of campuses each year) or hosting a performance of the Sex Workers Art Show (which is scheduled to visit at least 14 campuses this spring).

If it were men's groups that were promoting these events, no doubt they would be visited with sit-ins, protests, and would eventually be forced off campus. But it's women's group sponsoring these events that either play into the hook-up culture or blatantly promote it. The Sex Workers Art Show is a "celebration of whore culture." Performers (strippers, porn film stars, sex phone operators, etc.) parade around stage in little, if any, clothing engaging in a series of R-rated skits. The Vagina Monologues glorifies promiscuity and treats women as sex objects. Women should "embrace" their vaginas, "be" their vaginas. Women are literally defined by, and reduced to their genitalia. Women on campus deserve better from these so-called feminists.

Luckily, all is not lost. Students don't have to buy into a hyper-sexualized Valentine's Day and feminist movement. Students fed up with the hook-up culture can "take back the date." If you like someone, ask them out on a real date. Celebrate romance. Reject the notion that it is empowering to detach sex from emotion. The power to transform the hook-up culture rests with individual students, and there is no better time to start than Valentine's Day.

Allison Kasic is the director of R. Gaull Silberman Center for Collegiate Studies at the Independent Women's Forum.

Free Cupid

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:06:00 EST

Download IWF's "Free Cupid!" flyer in time for Valentine's Day.

For more information on IWF's Take Back the Date initiative, click here.

Student Activism Ideas

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:37:00 EST

Free Cupid:

Pass out IWF's "Free Cupid" flyers on your campus. The provocative ad is sure to cause debate on your campus. Simply print the flyer on bright paper and post it around campus on bulletin boards. Download the flyer here.

Write Something:

Send a letter to the editor to your school paper voicing your concern about the dangerous messages that V-Day promotes. More people read the letter to the editor section than any other section in the newspaper, so lots of people are bound to hear your ideas. If you write for the school paper, do a Valentine's Day themed op-ed. Encourage students to take back the date from radical feminists.

Raise Money:

Show radical feminists that it is possible to raise money to support women's charities without performing a vulgar and demeaning play. Several student groups have had success selling flowers (a romantic gesture!) as a fundraiser. See the "student stories" section for more details.

Teach Self-Defense:

V-Day's goal is to end violence against women, yet they do little to actually reach this goal. Show that you are committed to this important goal by actually doing something productive. Organize a self-defense class. Teach female students how to safely operate a firearm-by far the best method of self-defense. Invite V-Day members to participate. If they decline, point out their hypocrisy.

Host a Speaker:

Bring an expert to campus. Invite Christina Hoff Sommers or an IWF expert to campus to discuss V-Day, The Vagina Monologues, and radical feminism. If you can't bring in an outside speaker, organize a student debate. Invite two V-Day members to debate two V-Day opponents.

Talk to Your Friends:

Spark a debate with your friends. What do they think of V-Day? What do they think of the campus "hook-up" culture? These are important issues. Start the debate on your campus!

Take Back the Date: Student Stories

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:42:00 EST

Looking for inspiration to get ready for IWF's annual Valentine's Day campaign, Take Back the Date? Look no further than the following student stories from years past. If you want to get involved in this year's campaign, email Allison Kasic at campus@iwf.org.

Smith College-Northampton, Massachusetts

"Doesn't the issue of violence against women deserve better than this?" asked one of the many signs posted across Smith College's campus in response to the College's production of Eve Ensler's controversial play, The Vagina Monologues. For the first time in almost six years of Ensler's play appearing on campus a group of bold Smithies decided to finally question it.

"Although the cause these women are raising money for makes sense, the play doesn't. If a campus full of some of America's smartest women has to be shocked into donating money to women's violence prevention organizations I have to ask: where did we go wrong?" questioned Sara Gordon, chief-of-staff for the Smith College Republicans.

Members of the Smith College Republicans came together to oppose the play via posters and a debate, as well as talking to Smithies on campus about why this play is offensive and vulgar. "[The play] is advocating that women not use their minds, but their bodies," said Kirsten Steinke, a member of the Republicans who stepped up to the challenge of debating members of the Smith Feminists. But Kirsten and her fellow Republican comrade, Alexandra Ferrara, not only faced the feminists, but the College's administration as well. "Some questions posed by the administration made me wonder if the administration was actually being neutral in this debate, it seemed as if they had already chosen the side of the feminists," said Alexandra. Post-debate these two women faced a crowd of angry Smithies, a few of whom decided they would spit on the Republicans who spoke. "It was awful-but at the same time, if we don't question it, who will?" Alexandra concluded.

The ladies of the club received much publicity for their activism and were featured in the Smith College Sophian, the Maine College Republican's Pachyderm Press, and the Smith Alumnae Quarterly.

Bucknell University-Lewisburg, Pennsylvania

Each February at Bucknell University, unsuspecting students are caught off guard by the antics of the campus' radical feminists. These young women, who claim their goal is to prevent violence, litter the campus with feminist propaganda, including posters that read, "What does your vagina smell like?" They also print t-shirts with the slogan: "I ♥ Vagina," and loudly chant vulgar profanities about their intimate anatomy. Of course, the centerpiece of V-Day is Eve Ensler's play, The Vagina Monologues.

Last year, the Bucknell University Conservatives Club decided to take an active stance on this issue. During the V-Day festivities, members of the Conservatives Club purchased carnations from a local florist and sold them in the student center. Students, faculty, and staff bought the flowers and filled out a card with the recipient's name, residence, and a sweet message. Within a few hours, 150 carnations had been sold! To help bring back some of the romance the feminists tried to take away from Valentine's Day, the Conservatives Club hand delivered (in formal attire) the carnations to their recipients. All proceeds were donated to the Susquehanna Valley Women in Transition, a shelter for battered women.

The Bucknell Conservatives showed that there are nicer ways than a vulgar play to raise money to end violence against women.

Framingham State College-Framingham, Massachusetts

At Framingham State College a group of conservative students protested The Vagina Monologues. The school administration told the group that no more than five students could participate in the protest; otherwise they would have to pay for their own security. The students were provoked, yelled at, and threatened by Leftists throughout the protest. A group of liberal students even started a vagina chant: "I don't know what I've been told, vaginas are good as gold. I don't know what I've been told, I love vaginas young and old." When the protestors attempted to give Vagina Monologues cast members pink and red balloons to commemorate Valentine's Day, they were told to "go to hell."

Drake University-Des Moines, Iowa

The newly formed Network of enlightened Women (N.e.W.) chapter at Drake University decided something had to be done to counteract the three-day marathon of The Vagina Monologues on campus in the spring of 2006.

N.e.W. hosted a series of anti-V-Day activities, spanning three days. The festivities kicked off on Thursday night with a panel featuring Marlys Popma. Friday was a casual conservative girls' night out-dinner and a movie. Saturday afternoon the Iowa National Guard came and sponsored a self-defense workshop. The event was a big hit. The neon pink flyers printed for this event-the silhouette of a curvaceous woman next to the words "self defense: that's hott"-caused a lot of debate on campus, especially in women's studies classes. Though an open initiation was extended to every woman on campus, no "Vagina Warriors" attended.

The response to these alternative V-Day activities was not pretty. An exceptionally imperious Vagina Warrior/Womyn's Awareness Coalition (WAC) member crashed the N.e.W. meeting at which members were planning their activities and demanded to see all their materials. Many posters advertising the weekend's events were vandalized or town down.

"There is a reason we put ourselves on the line instead of standing idly," outgoing N.e.W. president Danielle Sturgis said. "Students-and women particularly-must see that these women so obsessed with male patriarchy and female genitalia do not have a monopoly on thought at Drake."

Michigan State University-East Lansing, Michigan

When Michigan State senior Katie Wilcox sent a letter to the editor to the school paper, she could hardly predict the controversy she would spark. Katie's letter sparked a weeklong firestorm in the State News.

"The only thing that bothered me about all of this is that I am totally against censorship and I never called for [the play] to end. I just felt that it shouldn't be funded and promoted by the university," said Wilcox. "The attacks got very personal. I even had professors mentioning how much people hate me in the paper."

But Katie didn't let the critics get to her. "I'm really glad I got my letter in the paper though, because that was the only public dissent with the Monologues. Unfortunately, it has become pretty accepted on campus," she said.

University of Delaware-Newark, Delaware

At the University of Delaware, radical feminists aren't content to merely poison Valentine's Day with The Vagina Monologues. In addition to the vulgar play, they also sponsor an annual "Sex Toy Bingo" event.

Get the Facts: Social Security

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 10:23:00 EST

Download the IWF Social Securtiy Fact Sheet below.

Many young adults do not understand the problems facing Social Security. Having just entered the workforce, retirement seems very far off so Social Security is not a pressing concern. However, Social Security affects you today and will affect your future. Social Security played a significant role in the debates during the 2000 and 2004 elections, and should continue to be an important issue in 2008.

Helping the Homeless through Mental Health Reform

info@iwf.org (Arrah Nielsen) — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 13:34:00 EST

The holidays are about caring and compassion, but despite the seasonal spirit, there is still a segment of society left out in the cold: the mentally ill and homeless. These are some of societies' most disenfranchised and are easy to overlook. They are the shabbily dressed hallucinating individuals who tote their worldly possessions in plastic bags and sleep on grates. Without adequate treatment, many of the mentally ill wind up homeless or in jail.

According to the Treatment Advocacy Center between 150,000 to 200,000 homeless individuals suffer from bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. In order to understand this problem, we need to identify not only who these street dwellers are, but how they got there. Psychotic street dwellers have not always been a part of city landscapes, and in bygone decades, greater efforts were made to house and take care of these vulnerable individuals.

Much of the increase in mentally ill homeless occurred as a result of a well-intentioned if ill-advised social experiment known as deinstitutionalization. Deinstitutionalization came on the coattails of the civil rights movement and sprang in part from the belief that everyone has a right to beat to their own drummer (no matter how psychotic or paranoid that drummer may be). Mental hospitals were closed in mass and the severely mentally ill were returned to the community, too often lacking the resources they needed to survive on their own.

President Kennedy authorized the building of community mental health centers, which were designed to provide treatment to seriously mentally ill individuals while they remained "in the community." The idea was that mental health workers would do community outreach and coax the severely mentally ill into treatment voluntarily. This idea is appealing, but not always practical. How is the mental health worker to reach out to the severely paranoid psychotic individual? How about: "I understand that the CIA has implanted a chip in your head, come to the local mental health center and we'll try to change the channel."

Another outgrowth of deinstitutionalization is a more narrow interpretation of commitment statutes. The predominant criteria for involuntary commitment today is dangerousness. "You can be as manic or psychotic as you want to be without being forced into treatment, as long as you are not a danger to yourself or others," explains Dr. Daniel Leggiadro PhD. of the Lancaster County Crisis Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. Leggiadro gives the example of an actively psychotic transient who was repeatedly jailed for sleeping where he was not supposed to sleep, specifically, in university stairwells. Recognizing that the man was mentally ill, the jail took him to a psychiatric hospital for treatment. The hospital was unable to keep him however, because while psychotic and unable to find a place to live, he was not an imminent danger. Says Leggiadro "I'm not against civil liberties, but sometimes people cannot appreciate their civil liberties."

Freedom from involuntary treatment has too often translated into the freedom to be a floridly psychotic homeless person periodically jailed for trespassing. This form of "freedom" is a mockery of the word. What the deinstitutionalization movement has shown is that despite the progress that has been made, there is still a lot of nuttiness in mental health.

To reverse the havoc that deinstitutionalization has wreaked, policymakers should expand the commitment criteria from dangerous to include gravely impaired. No one should have to deteriorate to the point of being a danger to themselves or others in order to receive help.

Closed down state hospitals should be reopened and remodeled recognizing the fact that there are too few inpatient facilities available. Medications aren't always taken and sometimes do not work, for that reason a need for inpatient facilities will continue to exist despite pharmaceutical breakthroughs. And some individuals are simply too sick for independent living to ever be a viable option.

If the measure of a society is how it treats its most helpless members how does ours stack up when it subjects the mentally ill to a justice system that unfairly punishes them and a mental health system that fails them? Mentally ill homeless people are not going away, but they need to go somewhere. Can we as a society find the solutions and compassion to give them a place?

IWF Policy Brief: The Young Woman's Guide to Financial Independence

info@iwf.org (Allison Maranuk) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:58:00 EST

Download Brief #10 below.

Executive Summary

This paper aims to educate young women about how small decisions made at young ages can affect their financial freedom for decades to come. Women are outnumbering men in universities and participating in increasing numbers in the work force, but a strong understanding of financial matters is also important for long-term financial stability.

The first section of this paper discusses what a FICO (Fair Isaac Corporation) score, or your credit rating, is, how it is determined, why it is important, and how to improve or keep a great FICO score. The second section covers compensation, outlining six easy steps for successfully negotiating a first job offer, and describing why this process is so important. Moving beyond salary negotiations, the paper will also discuss how other decisions women make, such as job selection and periods of leave, affect their pay throughout their careers. The third section speaks to the importance of saving for retirement at a young age and suggests ways in which young women can start preparing for their retirements now.

IWF Essay Contest 2007-2008

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:55:00 EST

IWF is proud to announce its third college essay contest! The essay contest is open to undergraduate women and offers a first prize of $5,000!

The following are the competition rules for the contest. Deadline for applications is December 1, 2007.
Applicants must be full-time, female students of any age enrolled as undergraduates in any four-year college or university during the 2007-2008 school year.

Applicants must submit a completed entry form.

Applicants must submit a typed, double-spaced essay of no longer than 750 words that address the following topic:

Applicants are asked to read the following articles and answer the question. Note: these articles are simply meant to inspire ideas, please do not reference them in your essay.

Kimberley Strassel, "What Women Want." The Wall Street Journal. August 31, 2007.

Michelle D. Bernard, "Securing the Female Vote." The Courier-Journal. April 12, 2007.

Question: What role should "women's issues" play in the 2008 elections and how to you define women's issues?

Applicant's name must appear in the top right-hand corner of each page of the submission. All pages must be numbered.

Entry forms must be post marked by December 1, 2007.

The decision of the judges is final. IWF reserves the right not to award a prize.

Send completed applications to:

Essay Competition
Independent Women's Forum
1726 M Street, NW, 10th Floor
Washington, DC 20036

Download the application below. Email essaycontest@iwf.org with any questions. To find out more about all of IWF's activities, sign up to become a student IWF member!

Thanksgiving a Time for Gratitude, Not Political Correctness

info@iwf.org (Arrah Nielsen) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 10:26:00 EST

It seems you can't even celebrate Thanksgiving anymore without offending someone. Protests are raised annually to what most people consider a day of turkey, family, and football. Each year around this season, there's the National Day of Mourning Activities held on Plymouth Rock to protest the perceived racism and oppression that still exists for Native peoples. Campus multicultural resource centers routinely host events such as "Thanks-taking: Thanksgiving through indigenous eyes." My personal favorite are the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals activists who don turkey costumes to demonstrate the cruelty of turkey eating.

These "pied pipers of political correctness," as author Thomas Sowell puts it, are not merely eccentric, they are wrong and do historical accuracy a real disservice. The view that Thanksgiving is really a celebration of genocide and oppression of Native Americans is simply false. There are many ways to promote better race relations: Dredging up resentment for grievances that are over 300 years old is not one of them.

It wasn't imperialism that enabled Europeans to triumph over the Indians, it was technology. Indians didn't have guns, horses, ships, or in most instances a written language when Christopher Columbus arrived. Europeans won despite being greatly outnumbered (initially) because their civil, mechanical, and naval engineering skills were superior. Competition between cultures is inevitable. The two cultures met and the technologically inferior one lost out.

There is much to admire and that we can learn from the Native American culture, but the belief that all Native Americans were peaceful nature lovers who were getting along just fine until Europeans came along is largely a myth. Cannibalism existed among the Iroquois, Caribs, Aztecs, and Guarani. Both the Incas of South America and the Aztecs of Mexico ritually murdered captives. Inca law dictated that anyone who showed grief during human sacrifices be punished. It is grossly inaccurate to portray the Europeans as vicious imperialists and the Native Americans as peace-loving pacifists.

Nor is it true that most of the Indians had environmentalist like concern for the land and its inhabitants. Running entire herds of buffalo off cliffs and taking only the nose or tongue of the buffalo, while leaving the unused carcass to rot, was just as likely to take place among Indian men as white ones. (Though white hunters preferred to take the buffalo's hide, not the nose or tongue.) This is well documented in Evan Connell's anti-Custer biography Sun of the Morning Star. When the Indians did make an exhaustive effort to leave no part of the buffalo unused, it was mainly because they were on the verge of starving to death, not because they were dedicated conservationists.

While it's true that many Indian lives were lost as a result of contact with Europeans, it is inaccurate to accuse the Europeans of committing genocide. The high death toll was due mainly to (unintentional) exposure to disease. Europeans brought small pox and measles to America, and because the Native Americans had no prior exposure to these diseases, they died in massive numbers. But disease transmission cut both ways. The Native Americans introduced Europeans to syphilis, tobacco, and cocaine. In Plagues and Peoples, William McNeill claims that bubonic plague was brought to Europe by contact with Mongolian traders. One-third of the European population died. Is it fair to charge Asians with committing genocide against Europeans? Hardly.

The multiculturalists overlook the sins of Native Americans culture because their purpose is to elevate all cultures-except of course for Western culture, which more often than not, they vilify. Consider the kinds of activities hosted by the multicultural resource centers that can be found on college campuses across the nation: the tunnel of oppression, the wall of hate, and thanks taking. These themes are all more likely to foster a better sense of victimology than understanding.

As historian and author Rick Shenckmen writes in Legends, Lies and Cherished Myths of American History, "The purpose of history is to understand why people did things, not to reduce the past to a series of moral lessons." The old myth of white innocence wasn't accurate. But neither is the new myth of white collective guilt.

The first official Thanksgiving holiday, commissioned by George Washington in1789 was a Christian one, designed to celebrate the providence of an Almighty God. That spirit of gratefulness is what we should remember with this and with every Thanksgiving in our free and profoundly blessed nation. Happy Thanksgiving.

IWF Tips: Hosting a Successful Campus Event

info@iwf.org (Allison Kasic) — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 16:06:00 EST

Here are some tips for hosting a successful campus speaking event. If you are interested in bringing an IWF speaker to your campus, email campus@iwf.org.

Selecting a venue:

Choose a building and room that are easily accessible on campus. A central location with ample parking is ideal.
Don't book a room that is too large. Instead, select a room that holds 80% of your expected turnout. This will ensure a crowed room. When a room is too large, the crowd will look small, even if a lot of people are there. You want a packed, excited atmosphere for your event.

Getting people to your event:

Publicize your event in every way you can (note: be sure to follow any rules that your campus might have). A few options include:
- Send an all-campus email announcing your event.
- Post flyers around campus (on every bulletin board you can find!).
- Hang large posters/banners in high traffic areas like the student union.
- Invite leaders of other campus organizations and encourage them to announce the event to members of their group.
- Invite campus administrators.
- Use sidewalk chalk to advertise your event on campus walkways.
- Have club members put the information about the event in their away messages and instant messenger profiles.
- Invite prominent members of the community and local groups (such as political parties) to attend the event.
- If the speech topic is relevant to a certain academic discipline, ask professors to announce the event to their classes.

At the event:

Play music before the event to get the crowd energized.
Have an information table and sign up sheet for your group. Also have relevant handouts (on either the speaker's organization and/or the speech topic) available for the audience.
If the speaker is an author, have his or her books on sale and have a book signing following the speech.
Have the president of your club welcome the crowd, then have someone else from the club introduce the speaker (this can serve as a great reward for active club members).
Take lots of pictures.
If possible, video tape the event.
Host a dinner with the speaker before the event. Invite club officers as well as a few outstanding club members (again, this is an excellent reward for hard work).
After the speech, host a reception with the speaker and invite all of your clubs members, as well as local supporters to attend. This will allow everyone to meet the speaker and feel involved in the event.

Getting press coverage:

Send out a press release to local and campus media before and after the event. The first press release announces the event. The second press release tells reporters how the event went. Email is usually the preferred method for sending press releases.
If possible, arrange for local reporters to interview the speaker in the afternoon leading up to the event.

Allison Kasic is director of the R. Gaull Silberman Center for Collegiate Studies at the Independent Women's Forum.

The Coming Academic Title Wave

info@iwf.org (Allison Kasic) — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 10:56:00 EDT

Originally published by Townhall.com

If the October 17^th House hearing is any indication, a full-scale assault on the academy is coming. The target: STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. The charge: wide scale discrimination against women.

Witnesses, Congressmen, and a crowd of over 100 people gathered last Wednesday on Capitol Hill for a hearing on women in academic science and engineering. No Committee Member or panelist challenged the presumption behind the hearing-that discrimination is the primary cause of women's underrepresentation among science and engineering academics-they turned right to consideration of government-mandated solutions to the perceived problem.

Several panelists, including former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, spoke of the need for massive "institutional transformation." Chairman Brian Baird (D-WA) asked what sort of "hammer" the government could use to enforce this transformation. A popular answer was Title IX.

Normally associated with gender equity in athletics, Title IX (and the strict gender quotas that come along with it) could also be used to increase female participation in STEM fields. Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), the ranking Republican on the subcommittee, went so far as to joke that the sciences should be designated as a sport. This would have two advantages: "NCAA rules would apply" and the sciences would "share in the football revenues."

Shalala complained that, as a university president, she hears from a variety of government agencies and organizations about gender equity in sports, but rarely hears anything about gender equity in science. She went on to stress the need for an organization similar to the NCAA to hold schools accountable for Title IX enforcement.

Another way to force change is pulling Congressional purse strings. The message from panelists was loud and clear: money talks and the government should leverage its funds to "ensure results."

Gretchen Ritter from the University of Texas at Austin also envisioned university provosts holding STEM department chairs accountable for their hiring practices with strict financial consequences, such as a year-long hiring freeze. Translation: hire more women or else.

But before Congress or universities embrace drastic measures to attempt to increase the percentage of women in these fields, they should begin with an unbiased look at the root causes.

A National Academies of Sciences report detailing bias in academic science is taken as gospel, but critics allege that the NAS report glosses over contrary findings and downplays alternative explanations for the discrepancies.

Unfortunately, in many circles, including the academy and apparently now Congressional committees, the topic is too taboo to challenge. You'll recall that not long ago, Harvard President Lawrence Summers was swiftly kicked out the door for asking if innate biological differences between the sexes might be a factor in the disproportional representation in the STEM disciplines.

Shalala may confidently conclude, "women opt out of careers in academic science because of the hostile environment," but what if Summers is right and other factors are at play? Leading experts go back and forth on the issue of innate differences between the sexes and the significance of stereotype threat as they relate to women and science. There is a very real possibility that biology, personality, ability, and several other factors are at play here. All of these deserve honest exploration.

Universities and colleges should examine their practices and consider ways that they can encourage talented women to explore and remain engaged in these fields. But they should do so not in a desire to reach some government quota, but because women have much to offer in terms of research and other contributions. We shouldn't assume that the optimal make up of any department or field will be equal numbers of men and women: our goal should be to ensure that men and women both are welcomed to pursue study and careers in any area they choose.

The October 17^th hearing was the first in a series. Hopefully the upcoming hearings will show more of a commitment to honest debate. It's foolhardy to jump straight to solutions without considering first if there's a problem and its nature. Let's hope that Congress gets back to the basics and takes a fresh, unbiased look at the subject at hand.

Allison Kasic is director of the R. Gaull Silberman Center for Collegiate Studies at the Independent Women's Forum.

When Policies Cry Wolf: A Look at Sexual Harassment Policies on Campus

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 15:45:00 EDT

Allison Kasic and Kate Schindler examine the sexual harassment policies on college campuses....

IWF Tips: Recruiting People to Your Cause

info@iwf.org (Allison Kasic) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 11:47:00 EDT

Have a campus organization? Here are some tips for recruiting new members and keeping them actively involved in your cause:

Set up a recruitment table for your organization. Do this at occasions such as student activities fairs (usually held at the beginning of the academic year) and accepted students weekend (usually late in the spring). You can also set up tables at Parent's weekend, homecoming, and reunion weekend. If your school doesn't have these events, set up a recruitment table in an area with high foot traffic (such as the student union) every day for a week. At the end of the week hold a meeting for all the new recruits so their interest won't lag. Here are some addition tips for running a successful recruitment table:
- Stand in front of the table and actively recruit people as they walk by.
- Never sit behind the table.
- Have a gimmick to attract people to your table (music, candy, etc.)
- If possible, have a guy and a girl at the table
At the beginning of each semester hold a recruitment drive. Post flyers around campus about your organization. Send out an all-campus email (if your school allows student groups to do that). Encourage existing members to bring a few friends to your next meeting. Have a prize for whoever can recruit the most new members for your organization.
Use Facebook.com to identify students to recruit. Facebook allows you to search by political views, so take advantage of that capability. Start a Facebook group for your organization. This can serve as a gateway to club participation - you will be able to communicate with students who are sympathetic to your cause but aren't active club members yet. It should be your goal to turn these likeminded students into active participants.
Always be in a recruiting mindset. You never know when you will meet someone who will be a perfect fit for your organization. Always be on the lookout for new students and faculty to work with.

Getting a new student to a meeting is only the first step. It is important to keep them engaged so they turn into an active club member (and maybe even a future club leader). Here are a few tips for getting people to the next level:

Give members real responsibilities. Put enthusiastic members in charge of small projects. If they "own" the project, they will be more likely to work hard and establish deep roots in the club. If they perform well, give them additional responsibility. This is a win-win: the club will be able to do more activities and club members will be more invested in the cause.
Ask for feedback from club members. What speakers do they want to bring to campus? What issues would they like the club to address this year? People want their opinion to count for something. Involving general club members in these brainstorming sessions will result in more interest than if only the club officers are involved.
Reward outstanding members with a title. If someone is helping out with event planning, make them an "assistant vice president."
Meet regularly and have a steady stream of activities so members stay active. Always have a club activity or event on the horizon. People want to be part of active organizations, not stagnant ones. Successful events will keep current members involved and will also serve as a recruiting mechanism for potential members.
Reward outstanding work. Have a "conservative of the month" or similar award to recognize important contributions to your club. The prize doesn't have to be fancy - most people will appreciate being publicly recognized for their hard work.

Allison Kasic is director of the R. Gaull Silberman Center for Collegiate Studies at the Independent Women's Forum.

Overlooking the Real Body Image Problem

info@iwf.org (Arrah Nielsen) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 12:31:00 EDT

Bust out the hankies and bring on the hysteria, it is the ten year anniversary of Love Your Body Day and it is coming to a university near you! To celebrate you can play body-image boosting computer games like "Feed the Model" on AdiosBarbie.com, rail about the virtues of being a "thick chick," and listen to testimonials from women who do not like their thighs.

The ostensible purpose of Love Your Body Day is laudable-to encourage acceptance of all body types, and raise awareness of anorexia and bulimia. But while no one is proposing a Loath Your Body Day, Love Your Body Day is problematic because while event sponsors fixate on eating disorders and thin models they overlook the far more common problem of obesity. And in a land of super-sized ambulances and toilets built to withstand up to 1,200 pounds, America's obesity problem is well, big.

The National Organization for Women recommends the following activities for Love Your Body Day: host an "indulgence party" and encourage friends to come over clad in pajamas and eat "silly snacks" and decadent foods without guilt. Or you could take a survey on body image in order to determine which "ads or images or characters most represent an oppressive beauty standard." Lastly, you should try to find time to host a mock beauty pageant in protest of dangerous beauty standards that pit women against each other. The key to Love Your Body Day is subverting the beauty institution.

Routinely trotted out at Love Your Body Day are scare statistics like the one from the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders claiming that 81 percent of ten year olds were dieters. However the survey defines dieting so broadly that essentially anyone refraining from eating anything is considered a dieter.

The extraordinary lengths we women got to in pursuit of a slim figure appear to stop short of eating fewer calories or exercise, given that nearly two thirds of American women meet the government's definition of being overweight or obese. "Am I Thin Enough Yet?" asks Sharlene Hesse-Biber in her book The Cult of Thinness and the Commercialization of Identity. Probably not. According to a 2002 Center for Disease Control report, the average American woman between 18 and 74 stands 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 164 pounds. This is nearly 25 pounds heavier than the average 1960s woman.

According to Harvard psychologist Nancy Etcoff, despite all of the feminist fuss over the beauty industry's harmful affect on women, thin fashion models are not responsible for anorexia. "With more than one-third of the United States population obese, there is no indication that the plethora of thin bodies around us is creating a society of thin people at all." If there is any relationship between the weight of fashion models and that of the average woman, it is in inverse proportion to what one would expect. While 1960s models were somewhat heavier than today's models, the average woman was thinner. Because thin fashion models are not the cause of anorexia, thicker ones are not the solution.

Despite assertions to the contrary, psychological research does not support the idea that exposure to fashion models makes women insecure about themselves for any lengthy duration. For the most part, people feel pressure to keep up with the Joneses, not the Rockefellers. Watching NFL games does not make men insecure about their athletic ability and too self-conscious to play football with their friends or family. Similarly, for most women, world-renowned beauties in fashion magazines are in a different league. Instead most women judge themselves according to the standards of the neighborhood beauty contest, not a world-wide one.

This isn't to say that many women don't put too much emphasis on their appearance and waste time obsessing about weight loss. Many women diet unsuccessfully, compare themselves unfavorably to models, and feel dissatisfied with their body. But feeling self-conscious about one's body should not be confused with a serious, potentially deadly, psychiatric disorder. The problem of anorexia is real, but so is the problem of obesity, and it is far more widespread and also deserves more attention and resources. Love Your Body Day places a disproportionate amount of attention on battling models and eating disorders. If healthy minds and bodies are our ultimate goal, the main focus should be the battle of the bulge.

Arrah Nielsen is a former junior fellow at the Independent Women's Forum.

IWF Tips: Getting Started on Campus

info@iwf.org (Allison Kasic) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 11:15:00 EDT

Want to make a difference on your campus? Here are some tips for getting started:

-Examine the current campus landscape. Are their existing campus groups that match up with what you want to do? If so, there is no reason to reinvent the wheel. Join the group and become an active member.

-If there is no existing campus group that is a good fit for your beliefs, start one. The first thing to do is to figure out what your goals are. What issues do you want to focus on? Is your group an activist organization? An educational organization? Think through what you want your group to become and write these goals and this vision as a succinct mission statement. A good mission statement will drive the actions of your organization and help ensure consistency over time. For example, here is the mission statement of the Bucknell University Conservatives Club:

The Bucknell University Conservatives Club is a non-partisan student organization dedicated to promoting the free exchange of ideas in an environment where meaningful debate and ideological diversity are often lacking. We, its members, seek to serve the Bucknell community by infusing it with the ingredients necessary for a balanced educational experience. These ingredients include conservative, libertarian, and classical liberal thought. We aim to find and describe logical solutions to issues big and small, while adhering to the Constitution of the United States and all its amendments. We believe that peace is best achieved through strength, that utopia is nowhere, and that true equality is blind to race, creed, sex, and sexuality. We take it as our mission to expose the inadequacies of the leftist ideas that dominate this University and to articulate an alternative viewpoint. We strive to inform, engage, and perhaps even amuse our fellow students in doing so.

-Establish a club constitution. What officer positions will your club have? How often will you hold elections? Who will be eligible to vote in club elections? Having a written procedure for these questions will help you avoid conflict and controversy and ensure consistency in the organization over time.

-Elect officers based on the calendar year, not the school year. This is helpful in two ways. First, it guarantees that a second semester senior cannot be a club officer (which is a common reason why clubs fizzle out - the leadership graduates and no one is ready to take over). This will give you the entire spring semester to train new leaders before any former leaders graduate. Second, it also allows officers to be active over the summer months, which is often a critical time for event planning and fundraising.

-Become a recognized student organization on campus. You may have to navigate lots of bureaucratic red tape to make this happen, but it will be worth it. Being a recognized student organization opens up the door to funding from the university, allows the club to book rooms on campus for meeting and events, access university activities fairs, and take advantage of other benefits. Start this process as soon as possible and keep track of any ongoing work you'll have to do to keep your university status (many schools require student groups to fill out paperwork annually to retain their status).

-Establish contact information for the group that won't change. An email address and mailing address are the most important. Select an email address based on the group's name that can be passed on from club president to club president. For an address, see if the school will provide your group with a campus mailbox that will not change from year to year. If that isn't possible, contact the local post office to see if you can afford a P.O. Box. Having a consistent address makes it easier to stay in touch with alumni, donors, and national organizations that may be able to help your group.

-If you have the time and resources, create a group website. Many schools provide free hosting for websites of students and/or student organizations. Look into that option if it's available. If not, consider private hosting. Be sure to choose a URL that is easy to remember-keep it short and sweet!

-Set up an email listserv so group members can easily communicate with each other. See if your school will provide this feature for you. If not, you can set up a free listserv through Yahoo Groups or a similar website.

-Meet regularly at a consistent time and location. This will keep group members actively involved in your organization and ensure that club members and potential club members know where and when they can find you.

-Work with national organizations that can help your cause. Keep IWF informed of what you're doing on campus and we may be able to help by providing materials or by having an IWF speaker visit your campus.

Allison Kasic is director of the R. Gaull Silberman Center for Collegiate Studies at the Independent Women's Forum.

The YouTube Generation

info@iwf.org (Princella Smith) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EDT

With issues like Social Security, healthcare, and the War on Terror in play, young Americans stand to gain, or lose the most from the 2008 presidential election.

1972 marked the first Presidential election in which 18 year olds could vote, and in that election cycle, 55 percent cast ballots. 2008 is shaping up in similar fashion, as politicians embrace technology previously known only to youth.

For the past 2 years, the YouTube craze has become a phenomenon beyond its original function as an entertainment outlet. With CNN hosting the first ever YouTube debate, the instant-upload video site is now a forum for political speeches and ads, and online polling.

There is no longer such a thing as a one-time political comment. Former U.S. Senator and one-time GOP presidential frontrunner George Allen learned this lesson in 2006 when a young DNC staffer caught his "maccaca" remarks on camera. The YouTube community guaranteed the public would not miss their chance to view it, over and over again.

Harris Interactive recently conducted the Harvard Institute of Politics' 12th Biannual Youth Survey on Politics and Public Service online among U.S. citizens aged 18 to 24 years old, both enrolled and not enrolled in 4-year colleges and universities. The survey confirms the increase in youth engagement in politics.

"In the seven years we have been conducting this national poll, we have seen a marked difference in political engagement and attitudes of young people," said IOP Polling Director John Della Volpe. "From the thirty-one percent increase in youth voter turnout from 2000 to 2004 to the 2006 upset victories of Senators Tester and Webb, younger voters are making a difference."

The online poll finds that more than three in ten likely 18 to 24 year-old Republican voters said their first choice for President in 2008 would be Rudy Giuliani (31%), followed by John McCain (18%) and Mitt Romney (8%).

More than one-third of likely 18 to 24 year-old Democratic voters say Barack Obama would be their first choice for President in 2008, followed by Hillary Clinton (29%) and John Edwards (9%).

Not only have this year's frontrunners been influenced by the energy of young people, but the issues important to young America have dominated 2008 presidential debates. According to Harvard's survey, fifty percent of young people say the Iraq War and domestic security are overwhelmingly their number one concerns today. Almost one-in-five young people say the Darfur genocide should be the next foreign policy priority for President Bush.

It is a mistake, therefore, to say that young adults don't care about politics. Some will look to past voter turnout numbers and conclude that apathy persists in youth. But in 2008 young people will once again have an opportunity to make an impact by actively engaging in the political process.

Young Americans must ask candidates in both parties to address them directly. 18 to 24 year olds must strive to make our voices heard. Write op-eds. Attend candidate forums. Ask questions, and most of all, vote.

Mahatma Ghandi once said: "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." I say, believe that you can make a difference, and you will. Your vote is your voice. Let it be heard.

Princella D. Smith is a visiting fellow at the Independent Women's Forum.

About Take Back the Date

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Who won the sexual revolution? Not young women who live in the world of "hooking up," the modern campus alternative to dating. Young women complain to us that dating has become an anachronism. Instead of chivalry and courtship, college relationships are more often nothing more than awkward drunken make-out sessions.

A nationwide survey of college students commissioned by the Independent Women's Forum called "Hooking Up, Hanging out, and Hoping for Mr. Right." found that 75% respondents agreed that a "hook up" is "when a girl and a guy get together for a physical encounter and don't necessarily expect anything further." A "physical encounter" can mean anything from kissing to having sex. Forty percent of women said they had experienced a hook up, and one in ten reported having done so more than six times. But with all the hooking up, dating has disappeared. College women say it is rare for college men to ask them on dates, or to acknowledge when they have become a couple. Only 50 percent of college women seniors reported having been asked on six or more dates by men since coming to college, and a third of women surveyed said they had been asked on two dates or fewer.

IWF encourages students to "Take Back the Date" on their campus. Guys - take women out. Open doors. Buy them flowers. Women - let guys take you out. If you like a guy, ask him out yourself. Pass out IWF's Cupid flyer on your campus as a way to restore chivalry and personal responsibility among students.

A Letter from the President on the Fifth Annual Sex and Dating Conference

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EDT

Dear IWF Supporter,

The reviews are in! This year's Sex and Dating Conference for Capitol Hill interns was the best ever. Not only did we garner an unprecedented amount of media coverage- including a major piece on page A2 of The Washington Post-we felt that the interns who showed up were eager for a serious discussion of sex and dating mores in a safe atmosphere.

We also received great coverage from National Review, and, interestingly enough, our sex and dating event triggered a debate between National Review and The Washington Post on what the IWF event actually meant. Here is how National Review began its account of the event:

"Are the culture wars over? The Washington Post's Dana Milbank would have his readers think so. After attending an event sponsored by the Independent Women's Forum (IWF) on Capitol Hill Monday, featuring Dr. Drew Pinsky of Loveline fame, Milbank concludes, 'A truce may be imminent [in the culture wars].' But Milbank's breezy sketch (a 'Washington Sketch,' one might say) of the IWF event is an inaccurate portrait of not only the event, but also of the state of the culture wars in general."

The Post's Dana Milbank had given quite a racy recap on our event, which National Review found inaccurate. National Review went on to report on our event in general:

[Dr. Drew] bemoaned the culture of hookups on college campuses. 'For the first time in human history, we're unhinged from our biology,' he said, 'and that's profound.'

He spoke of how a booze-fueled culture of hooking up on college campuses is unhealthy, for both men and women. The only reason alcohol is involved, Pinsky said, was because the situation was so 'unnaturally intense.' Men drink to suppress their anxiety in approaching women, he said, and women drink to abandon their tendency to associate emotions with physical relations.

But Dr. Drew is no Dr. James Dobson. He is a physician, not a politician or pastor, and made that abundantly clear throughout his speech. He repeatedly advised the audience of which points of his speech were expert medical opinions, and which were personal opinions. Milbank, however, makes him out to be a deeply entrenched cultural warrior masquerading as a doctor. Does this sound like 'Dr.' Dobson? 'Shortcoming or not, I'm careful not to make judgments,' Pinsky told National Review Online after his speech. 'I encourage young people to look at things and then make healthy decisions.'

And that is what IWF was trying to do, too. And we know we're hitting home runs when two important media outlets are debating our Sex and Dating Conference. We could not be more pleased, even if we didn't quite recognize ourselves in Mr. Milbank's coverage, we were delighted to have him there.

This was our fifth Sex and Dating Conference, and in the capable hands of Campus Director Allison Kasic, it was a success from soup to nuts. We must admit that this event has never quite received this much attention, and we are delighted.

At IWF, we have long believed that it is desirable to bring back the date---as opposed to the hook up. We felt that, without offering judgments, Dr. Drew Pinsky, led a thoughtful-and fun-discussion of campus mores. He repeatedly asked if hooking up is such a good idea, why is it that students find they must be intoxicated to hook up?

We have to admit that we were pleased that Dr. Drew praised IWF's work, citing in particular our ground- breaking study, Hooking Up, Hanging Out, and Hoping for Mr. Right---College Women on Mating and Dating Today. The interns listened with rapt attention, while munching on cookies and other refreshments. Over 50 attended and they all seemed to find the discussion meaningful.

But don't take our word for it. Read the rest of the reviews. The Washington Examiner published an excellent report. It quoted Dr. Drew telling the interns that with hooking up, "There's never a relationship, and it's always while intoxicated."

We all agreed that the Washington Times' Inside the Beltway column also understood the event. The article noted that questions posed to Dr. Drew "revealed an earnest interest in discussing the attitudes that lie behind the prevalent college hook-up culture." It was an excellent report, and we urge you to read it in its entirety.

Not to be outdone, Allison herself penned a lively report on the conference for Human Events. She sounded the theme of the conference, quoting Dr. Drew saying, "Emotional instincts run counter to the hook-up experience, so women medicate them away." Allison says that it's clear from the questions and conversations at the conference that college students know that hooking up isn't healthy and "yet they aren't sure how to change the culture."

With this year's conference officially a roaring success, we're already looking forward to IWF's sixth Sex and Dating Conference to be held this time next year!

As you know, IWF depends on the support of our friends like you to put on these events throughout the year. We hope you will consider a special tax-deductible contribution to support our campus program today.

Sincerely,

Michelle D. Bernard
President and CEO
Independent Women's Forum

Fifth Annual Sex and Dating Conference Re-Cap

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EDT

By Elise Viebeck

As DC lunch conferences go, Monday's two-hour discussion with Dr. Drew Pinsky was an anomaly. A sex talk in the Rayburn House Office Building? Those don't happen often, do they?

Then again, maybe not. IWF's annual Campus Sex and Dating Conference acknowledges an undercurrent present not only on the Hill, but around the water-cooler in most DC offices, one that is only intensified by the mass influx of college-aged interns.

This is the gossip that greases every work environment, and is now inextricably connected with the practice of "hooking up." The hook-up culture is a development that affects even the most high-achieving college students, like the 60 or so present at the conference, and is essential to understanding college social dynamics.

Having built a career on ignoring taboos ("It was my deepest instinct that someone needed to sit down and talk about these things"), Pinsky advocates for openness and careful consideration of these topics. He himself is most famous for his role as host of the radio program and former MTV segment, Loveline, where he answers callers' questions about sex, drugs and relationships. The popular show is heard in over 70 markets and began in 1983 with then-medical student Pinsky joining for the "Ask a Surgeon" segment in 1984. Outside of his radio personality, he is also the Program Medical Director of Chemical Dependency at Las Encinas Hospital and a professor of psychiatry at USC.

His premise for discussion was a study commissioned by IWF which examined the "attitudes and values of today's college women regarding sexuality, dating, courtship and marriage" (see Hooking Up below.) Results of over 1,000 interviews show that college women still prioritize marriage as a life goal and usually hope to find their spouse during college.

These interviews also yielded the admission that the college social scene tends to undermine the realization of this goal. Today's college students perceive three major options as a stand-in for a more traditional, monogamous relationship. Most common are the hook-up, an "intoxicated physical encounter with no commitment," the "friends with benefits" arrangement, and a "joined at the hip" relationship, where a commitment happens quickly and with "no real evaluative process."

A college campus is an "unnaturally intense social environment," Pinsky noted, where drugs and alcohol act as "medication" for these choices. Hooking-up, the most common solution, requires that men "medicate the anxiety associated with closeness and rejection," which are both inherent components of the experience. Women, on the other hand, find that their instinctive desire for commitment runs counter to the entire practice, so they "medicate them away."

In the past, women's spontaneous sexual behavior would have frequently led to pregnancy, disease and even death. Women are now literally "unhinged from previous biological constrictions," said Pinsky-- though this has not made their fundamental neurological reactions to sex the same as men's.

Addressing the emotion women instinctively attach to sex, Pinsky noted that "intimate dialogue is healthy for the human being, it's verifiable brain activity" as the right brain reacts to facial expressions during a conversation. Current cultural norms instead promote electronic interaction-- the "pseudo intimacy" of text messaging and online chatting.

Though Pinsky took care not to moralize the discussion, he did encourage students to create their own solutions and to keep in mind the emotional tension and attrition inherent in the hook-up culture. "We all have an internal voice that does not lead us wrong," he said, and that it is easier to hear "if you live with integrity."

For more accounts of the conference, see:
-Dana Milbank at the Washington Post
-Michael O'Brien at National Review Online
-John McCaslin at the Washington Times
-The Washington Examiner
-The Hill Newspaper
-Allison Kasic at Human Events Online