UIS to hold third annual Take Back the Night march

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield will hold its third annual Take Back the Night rally and march on campus.

WHEN: Friday, April 30, 2010 at 7 p.m.

WHERE: UIS campus starting in the Lincoln Residence Hall (LRH) Greatroom, followed by a march around the campus quad.

DETAILS: Take Back the Night is a movement inclusive of all genders and sexual orientations that brings survivors, supporters and activists together in a call for the end of violence against women.

The Speak Out and March will start at the UIS Lincoln Residence Hall (LRH) in the Greatroom at 7:00 p.m. Musician Tom Irwin, a UIS student, will perform at the start and end of the rally. The keynote speaker for the Speak Out will be Candi Clouse, UIS alum and Prevention Coordinator for the Sojourn Shelter.

Around 7:30 p.m., the group will then march around the UIS Quad. Following the march, Tom Irwin will be playing and there will be hot chocolate available. There will also be informational booths and refreshments in the LRH Greatroom, as well as The Clothesline Project, a project to support victims of domestic violence.

The event is presented by the Women’s Issues Caucus club from UIS. Co-sponsors of the event include the UIS Women’s Center, UIS Diversity Center and LGBTQ Resource Office.

More information about Take Back the Night is available at www.takebackthenight.org/. For more information about the rally and march, contact womenscenter@uis.edu or 206-7173.

Women Candidates for the American Presidency: from Victoria Woodhull to Hillary Clinton

WHAT: University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series presents Women Candidates for the American Presidency: from Victoria Woodhull to Hillary Clinton. The featured speaker for this event is Sara Evans, a pioneer in the field of women’s history, who taught at the University of Minnesota from 1976-2008.

WHEN: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.

WHERE: Brookens Auditorium on the lower level of Brookens Library

(The event will be available via live webcast and video on demand at http://www.uis.edu/technology/uislive.html)

DETAILS: In celebration of 2010 marking the 90th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment granting voting privilege to all American women and in honor of Women’s History Month, this event examines women and the presidency.

Hillary Clinton may have been the first truly viable female candidate for the presidency, but she was far from the first to run. In fact, she is part of a very long line of women who have challenged cultural assumptions about gender and political power. Understanding the importance of her accomplishment – and the more than two centuries of linked struggles for gender and racial equality — requires a look back at the many women who broke the path and began to make the unthinkable, thinkable.

Sara Evans has been an active feminist since 1967 and chronicled the feminist movement in the late 20th century in several books including Personal Politics, Wage Justice, Born for Liberty, and Tidal Wave.

This event is produced by ECCE and the UIS Women’s Center, with financial support from the Student Government Association (SGA).

For more information and a list of other speakers series events visit http://illinois.edu/goto/speakerseries or contact Kimberly Craig at 217/206-6245 or craig.kimberly@uis.edu.

"Love Your Body Day" Fair teaches positive body image

The University of Illinois Springfield’s Women’s Center held a “Love Your Body Day” Fair on Wednesday, October 21, 2009 in the PAC Concourse to teach students about positive body image.

Women were able to create buttons with phrases such as “This is why I’m hot” and "I'm a big deal because..." to give them a sense of empowerment.

"In our culture we have so much attention and it grows all the time being paid to the outer person, to the body, to the image," said UIS Women's Center Director Lynn Otterson.

The UIS Women’s Issues Caucus also sold “This is what feminists look like” t-shirts and the Alpha Phi Omega club sold pink cupcakes as part of breast cancer awareness month.

UIS Recreational Sports taught participants about the effects of nutritional supplements and how to find your “happy weight”.

“Love Your Body Day” is part of a national annual event, which UIS celebrates each year.

UIS Women's Center Hosts "Love Your Body Day" Fair

WHAT: University of Illinois Springfield Women’s Center will hold a “Love Your Body Day” Fair as part of the national annual event

WHEN: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 from 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

WHERE: Public Affairs Center Concourse (PAC) on UIS campus

DETAILS: Everyone is welcome to participate in the fair and will have the opportunity to create buttons with phrases such as “This is why I’m hot” and “I’m kind of a big deal because…” all in an effort to promote healthy body image. The Women’s Center will also be handing out information highlighting “10 Steps to Positive Body Image.”

The UIS Women’s Issues Caucus (WIC) club will have a table at the event selling “This is what feminist look like” t-shirts and promoting their domestic violence cell phone “Light Vigil” on the UIS Quad taking place on October 28, 2009 at 9:30 p.m.

The UIS Alpha Phi Omega club will focus on breast cancer awareness by selling pink cupcakes. All the proceeds will go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for cancer research.

UIS Recreational Sports will be talking about the effects supplements have on the body. They’ll also have information about finding your “happy” weight.

Planned Parenthood Illinois Action will also have a table at the event where they’ll register voters for the upcoming primary and general elections.

For more information on the “Love Your Body Day” Fair contact Women’s Center Director Lynn Otterson at 217/206-7173 or lotte1@uis.edu.