[imc-st.louis] Protest Phyllis Schlafly's honorary degree

Sat May 10 10:31:21 PDT 2008

Hi, I'm forwarding this from another list.  Many of you have heard  
that a committee at WashU has decided bestow anti-feminist Phyllis  
Schlafly with WashU's highest honor, an honorary doctorate.  Below is  
some information about what you can do to protest and hopefully stop  
this ridiculousness...

(also, you can find the facebook groups at  
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=13016742698 and  
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=13101492771)

----- Forwarded message from tarahdemant at hotmail.com -----
     Date: Sat, 10 May 2008 01:48:54 -0700
     From: Tarah Demant <tarahdemant at hotmail.com>
Reply-To: Tarah Demant <tarahdemant at hotmail.com>

As many of you know, I’m a graduate student at Washington University  
in St. Louis, where I also teach in English and Women and Gender  
Studies.  Wash U has decided to bestow an honorary doctorate to  
anti-feminist Phyllis Schlafly.

Other than infamously leading the charge to defeat the Equal Rights  
Amendment, Ms. Schlafly has made more recent claims that "Sexual  
harassment on the job is not a problem for virtuous women" and "By  
getting married, the woman has consented to sex, and I don't think you  
can call it rape."

I hope you’ll consider sending an email to Wash U expressing your  
dismay at this decision and calling on them to rescind the invitation.  
  I’ve pasted a copy of my letter (which also ran in the St. Louis  
Post-Dispatch), FYI.

Please write to Chancellor Wrighton: wrighton at wustl.edu and cc the  
Board of Trustees Secretary ida_early at wustl.edu and coordinator  
Jane_Stone at wustl.edu

All best,
Tarah Demant
*****************Stop Violence Against Women Campaign, Missouri  
Co-Coordinatorhttp://www.amnestyusa.org/women 314-863-4548  
tarahdemant at hotmail.com

May 2, 2008

Dear Chancellor Wrighton and members of the Board of Trustees:

I am deeply dismayed to learn that Washington University has announced  
that an honorary doctorate will be given to self-proclaimed  
anti-feminist and anti-humanist Phyllis Schlafly at this year’s Spring  
Commencement.

Schlafly has devoted her life to demagogical grandstanding that is not  
interested in free speech, intellectual inquiry, debate, or  
truth-seeking based in reason or research and her work represents an  
ideological project that stands in direct opposition to the  
educational mission of Washington University.  Schlafly’s demagogical  
project neither warrants nor deserves recognition by the University.   
Awarding her an honorary doctorate awards a life that has striven to  
be contrary to the very work we purport to do here at our university.   
Naming Schlafly an honorary Doctorate compromises our reputation as an  
institution that stands upon reason, research, debate, and  
intellectual inquiry.

Further, as an instructor to countless young women here at Washington  
University, and as a female graduate student myself, I am disgusted at  
our honoring Schlafly whose consistent message to and about women has  
been one of denigration and oppression.  Would we honor someone whose  
life work had been to put African-American students in “their place”?   
I can only hope not, but, honestly, am no longer sure because I must  
wonder what type of message the university is sending to its own  
students, 51% of whom are women, by honoring someone who has makes it  
her mission to do that very thing to women.  Schalfly’s insistence  
that women have no business in higher education except if they have  
failed to get married and have children, that women should and must be  
second-class citizens to men, her claims that women themselves are to  
blame for sexual harassment, that women who are raped in marriage were  
asking for it by getting married, that English departments breed  
murderers… these things are so rationally, not to mention morally,  
appalling I hardly know what to say but to express my deepest  
disappointment and embarrassment that Phyllis Schlafly will have an  
honorary degree from the same institution at which I have worked so  
hard to earn my doctorate and that I am at an institution that  
seemingly values women and the tenants of higher education so little.

I urge you to rescind this invitation to Ms. Schalfly.

Sincerely,

Tarah Demant
_________________________________________________________________
Get Free (PRODUCT) RED™  Emoticons, Winks and Display Pics.
http://joinred.spaces.live.com?ocid=TXT_HMTG_prodredemoticons_052008

----- End forwarded message -----

-------------- next part --------------

I hope you will all forgive the related-in-spirit posting to our list-serve.  As many of you know, I’m a graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis, where I also teach in English and Women and Gender Studies.  Wash U has decided to bestow an honorary doctorate to anti-feminist Phyllis Schlafly.

Other than infamously leading the charge to defeat the Equal Rights Amendment, Ms. Schlafly has made more recent claims that "Sexual harassment on the job is not a problem for virtuous women" and "By getting married, the woman has consented to sex, and I don't think you can call it rape." 

I hope you’ll consider sending an email to Wash U expressing your dismay at this decision and calling on them to rescind the invitation.  I’ve pasted a copy of my letter (which also ran in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch), FYI.

Please write to Chancellor Wrighton: wrighton at wustl.edu and cc the Board of Trustees Secretary ida_early at wustl.edu and coordinator Jane_Stone at wustl.edu

All best,
Tarah Demant
*****************Stop Violence Against Women Campaign, Missouri Co-Coordinatorhttp://www.amnestyusa.org/women 314-863-4548 tarahdemant at hotmail.com 

May 2, 2008

Dear Chancellor Wrighton and members of the Board of Trustees:

I am deeply dismayed to learn that Washington University has announced that an honorary doctorate will be given to self-proclaimed anti-feminist and anti-humanist Phyllis Schlafly at this year’s Spring Commencement.

Schlafly has devoted her life to demagogical grandstanding that is not interested in free speech, intellectual inquiry, debate, or truth-seeking based in reason or research and her work represents an ideological project that stands in direct opposition to the educational mission of Washington University.  Schlafly’s demagogical project neither warrants nor deserves recognition by the University.  Awarding her an honorary doctorate awards a life that has striven to be contrary to the very work we purport to do here at our university.  Naming Schlafly an honorary Doctorate compromises our reputation as an institution that stands upon reason, research, debate, and intellectual inquiry.

Further, as an instructor to countless young women here at Washington University, and as a female graduate student myself, I am disgusted at our honoring Schlafly whose consistent message to and about women has been one of denigration and oppression.  Would we honor someone whose life work had been to put African-American students in “their place”?  I can only hope not, but, honestly, am no longer sure because I must wonder what type of message the university is sending to its own students, 51% of whom are women, by honoring someone who has makes it her mission to do that very thing to women.  Schalfly’s insistence that women have no business in higher education except if they have failed to get married and have children, that women should and must be second-class citizens to men, her claims that women themselves are to blame for sexual harassment, that women who are raped in marriage were asking for it by getting married, that English departments breed murderers… these things are so rationally, not to mention morally, appalling I hardly know what to say but to express my deepest disappointment and embarrassment that Phyllis Schlafly will have an honorary degree from the same institution at which I have worked so hard to earn my doctorate and that I am at an institution that seemingly values women and the tenants of higher education so little.

I urge you to rescind this invitation to Ms. Schalfly.

Sincerely,

Tarah Demant
_________________________________________________________________
Get Free (PRODUCT) RED™  Emoticons, Winks and Display Pics.
http://joinred.spaces.live.com?ocid=TXT_HMTG_prodredemoticons_052008
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