New book shows fashionable side of the White House

By Ashley Rook - General Assignment Reporter

Adjunct professor in the teacher education department Peggy Dunn held a signing for her new book, “Mrs. Lady President and the Women of Washington Society,” last Wednesday..
The signing was held in the UIS bookstore, where copies are now available for purchase at the counter and the book will soon be available in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum bookstore, among other places.
Around 30 people were present and the books there were almost sold out, said Dunn. The book sells for $11.95 and has been featured in St. Louis, the Old State Capitol and other places since its release last month.
Dunn said the book contains information on Mary Todd Lincoln and a detailed explanation of the fashion of Civil War-era America. Dunn said the book also includes some history on four other women exhibited in the museum, in response to questions posed by visitors to the museum. Dunn also said the book comes complete with a bibliography and a webliography of further information.
Dunn said she drew inspiration for the book from the many volunteers and visitors at the Lincoln Museum, who began to ask questions about the fashion of the times displayed in various museum exhibits.
Dunn had been visiting the museum for a couple times a week for a whole month when she said she was asked to write a book if a list of questions were presented to her. She said she expected to get a list of a few questions or so from the volunteers and thought, “Oh sure, right, they’re going to come up with five questions,” but when she got 100 questions she began to think seriously.
Dunn said initially the book was going to be “a resource for the volunteers, but it met the needs of a greater community,” as well. She said she wanted to give people something they would be able to use. Dunn also said, “we need to use the context of history and the time period when speaking on anything from the past.”
“Mrs. Lady President and the Women of Washington Society” is only one of Dunn’s literary creations. Dunn said she has also written a curriculum on Lincoln titled “The Young Lawyer at the Bar,” and a book on women in the civil war, “With Hearts on Fire.”
Dunn said each one of her books go beyond the purpose of just being a book and contributes to various causes. Part of the proceeds from the Mary Todd Lincoln book will be given to a fund for homeless women and a portion of the proceeds from her other book, a new project discussing the 114th Illinois volunteer regime from the Civil War to the present, will go to the regime for new flags that would cost the group $25,000 to replace.

'A comfortable place for everyone'

By Laura Camper - General Assignment Reporter

About 35 students and faculty gathered Friday for training to become a Safe Zone Ally, a program designed to make the campus “a comfortable place for everyone,” according to Lynn Price, co-chair of the Safe Zone Steering Committee.
Phase I of the training was about education – beginning with terms commonly used by or about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) community.
The attendees broke up into small groups to discuss what they thought different terms meant: terms like LGBTQ, heterosexism, transgender, queer.  After 15 minutes, the groups shared their definitions with the larger group. The exercise brought up some stereotypes and misinformation and also made it clear that some people were uncomfortable with some of the terms.
“Is it desirous to have labels?” one woman asked. Jeffrey Maras, co-chair of the Safe Zone steering committee, said that was an individual choice. “It really depends on the person and their development level,” he explained. Labels can make a person feel like they are part of a group, like they belong. Once the person is more comfortable with their identity, labels aren’t as important to them.
Holly Thompson, member of the Safe Zone steering committee, also led a discussion about how difficult it can be to “come out.” She said people considering “coming out” can be afraid of rejection or even the very real possibility of physical danger. “What if… can be scary. People battling these societal issues are at greater risk for suicide and risky behavior,” Thompson said. That makes having a safe, supportive person to talk to especially important.
The workshop also broached the subject of communicating support to the person confiding in you. Communication should be non-judgmental, honest and open. Let the person express him or herself and listen.
Freshman Julian Borjas attended the workshop and was a little surprised.  “Seeing that so many people who were supportive… didn’t know what problems are faced by people in the gay community,” he said was unexpected.
Borjas said he thought the workshop would open the eyes of the UIS community. “If you have safe allies, gay students will be more comfortable and let more bigoted students…see that it isn’t acceptable.”  He also said he was pleased to see the workshop addressed a diversity of communities. “As much as the gay community goes through,” he said, “the trans(gender) community goes through more.”
Junior Jimmy Brower also thought the workshop was worthwhile.  “It wasn’t what I expected, but I think it was good to have the information session first,” he said.  He attended the workshop because as a Student Ambassador, he felt being open-minded when dealing with students and prospective students is very important and he said he thinks that is something the UIS campus lacks.
Brower especially liked the small group sessions. “It’s always more positive when you hear other people’s views,” he said. 
Phase II Safe Zone Ally Training will be April 7. 

MUN hosts silent auction to afford New York trip

By Janee Mitchell - Feature Writer

About 35 students and faculty gathered Friday for training to become a Safe Zone Ally, a program designed to make the campus “a comfortable place for everyone,” according to Lynn Price, co-chair of the Safe Zone Steering Committee.
Phase I of the training was about education – beginning with terms commonly used by or about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) community.
The attendees broke up into small groups to discuss what they thought different terms meant: terms like LGBTQ, heterosexism, transgender, queer.  After 15 minutes, the groups shared their definitions with the larger group. The exercise brought up some stereotypes and misinformation and also made it clear that some people were uncomfortable with some of the terms.
“Is it desirous to have labels?” one woman asked. Jeffrey Maras, co-chair of the Safe Zone steering committee, said that was an individual choice. “It really depends on the person and their development level,” he explained. Labels can make a person feel like they are part of a group, like they belong. Once the person is more comfortable with their identity, labels aren’t as important to them.
Holly Thompson, member of the Safe Zone steering committee, also led a discussion about how difficult it can be to “come out.” She said people considering “coming out” can be afraid of rejection or even the very real possibility of physical danger. “What if… can be scary. People battling these societal issues are at greater risk for suicide and risky behavior,” Thompson said. That makes having a safe, supportive person to talk to especially important.
The workshop also broached the subject of communicating support to the person confiding in you. Communication should be non-judgmental, honest and open. Let the person express him or herself and listen.
Freshman Julian Borjas attended the workshop and was a little surprised.  “Seeing that so many people who were supportive… didn’t know what problems are faced by people in the gay community,” he said was unexpected.
Borjas said he thought the workshop would open the eyes of the UIS community. “If you have safe allies, gay students will be more comfortable and let more bigoted students…see that it isn’t acceptable.”  He also said he was pleased to see the workshop addressed a diversity of communities. “As much as the gay community goes through,” he said, “the trans(gender) community goes through more.”
Junior Jimmy Brower also thought the workshop was worthwhile.  “It wasn’t what I expected, but I think it was good to have the information session first,” he said.  He attended the workshop because as a Student Ambassador, he felt being open-minded when dealing with students and prospective students is very important and he said he thinks that is something the UIS campus lacks.
Brower especially liked the small group sessions. “It’s always more positive when you hear other people’s views,” he said. 
Phase II Safe Zone Ally Training will be April 7. 

New book shows fashionable side of the White House

'A comfortable place for everyone'

MUN hosts silent auction to afford New York trip