Masthead
November 2010
Vote!
Vote

Remember to vote Nov. 2nd
If you or anyone you know needs a ride to the polls, contact Susan Holland. We'll get you there!
In This Issue
Address Updates
KAAUW Calendar
Potluck & a Film
Address Updates
Branch Officers
AAUW Member Benefits
Oct. Branch Meeting
Book Club
Iron Jawed Angels
Staying In Place
Book Club
News



Join Our Mailing List!

Kingston AAUW Calendar
Kingston AAUW Calendar

Tues., Oct. 26, 5:30 pm
Public Policy: Film Blue Gold - see article

Note date change:
Sunday, Nov. 7, 5pm, Potluck & a film

Tuesday, November 9,
3:00pm, AAUW board meeting

  Sat., Nov. 13,  10:00 AM
12:00 pm, Nov. Branch Meeting: Diana Chesnell, Latin Quarter showgirl

Tuesday, Nov. 16
1:00pm, Book Group: Howard's End - see article

Tues., Nov. 30, 5:30 pm
Public Policy Book Discussion: Half the Sky & My Sisters' Keeper


Tues. Dec. 7, 3 pm
AAUW Board Meeting

Sunday, Dec. 12, 5pm
Potluck & a Film

Tues. Dec. 14
2pm - Book Group
4pm - Holiday Party



Trips for Scholarships

For details on the fall trips, except Barcelona, click here.

Sunday, Oct. 17
Pepsico Gardens & the Neuberger Museum

Nov. 11-18 Barcelona Check out the details!

Sunday, Dec. 5th
BAM: Kafka's Metamorphosis

Saturday, Dec. 18
Museum of Arts & Design, NYC

Make the KAAUW google calendar a favorite and you'll always know what's happening. Integrate it with your own google calendar. Print it.
Potluck and a Film
Intimate Strangers
Please note also that the November film is scheduled for November 7th--ONE WEEK EARLIER THAN USUAL.  (I'll be away on the 14th.)  

On Sunday, November 7th, we'll watch Intimate Strangers, a 2004 film directed by Patrice Leconte and starring Fabrice Luchini, Beno�t P�tr�, Ludovic Berthillot:

   
A Frenchwoman tells her marital troubles to a man she mistakes for a psychiatrist, and soon they form an unusual relationship.
 
I hope you can join us. Best wishes--ViVi

Branch Member Address Updates
Branch Directory

Hooray!
The new directory is "in the mail." Watch for it.
Thanks,
 Sheila Beall, [email protected]
Quick Web Links
2010-2011 Kingston Branch Officers
Leadership

President - Bette Nitzky
VP, Programming - Beverly Sloane
VP Membership - Ruth Bean
Treasurer - Jane Riley
Recording Secretary
- Carol Leib
Corresponding Secretary - Joan Reis

Committees
Bus Trips - ViVi Hlavsa
Communications - Ruth Wahtera
Directory - Sheila Beall
Diversity - Arlene Bruck
Educational Foundation - Doris Goldberg & Gloria Sender
Historian - Virginia Kohli
Hospitality - Pat Stedge and Ginger Yaple
International - Vacant
Legal Advocacy Fund
- Dolores LaChance
Publicity - Rosalie Zimmerman
Public Policy - Susan Holland
Telephone Tree - Dorothy Henry

See your directory for phone numbers and email addresses.

Click here for links to leadership profiles.

Kingston AAUW Communication Committee
Ruth Bean
ViVi Hlavsa
Susan Holland
Doris Licht
Ruth Wahtera, Editor

If you have something you would like posted on either the Kingston AAUW or the Unofficial Passions site, e-mail the information to a committee member.

About AAUW

AAUW's Value Promise
By joining AAUW, you belong to a community that breaks through educational and economic barriers so that all women have a fair chance.

AAUW's Mission
AAUW advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research.

AAUW Member Benefits
Smart, Daring, Adventurous Girls!
We highlight a benefit in each issue, but you can view them here.  Most benefits are free for you, your family, and friends. And, the companies make a contribution to AAUW funds for scholarships and legal action. This month:

Holiday Shopping for Girls?
Pigtail Pals

Pigtail Pals is a mom-created, mom-run apparel company with a mission to Redefine Girly. Our empowering tees for girls offer hand-drawn designs and messages that show girls being smart, daring, and adventurous.


When our Pigtail Pals girls "Wish upon a star..." they don't wait for a prince to come, they climb into a rocket ship and find that star on their own!


Our tees are carried in sizes Infant through Girls XL, with several designs offering Ladies sizes up to 3XL. Pigtail Pals believes we need to change the way we think about our girls.


We are proud to offer AAUW members a 15% discount every time you order from Pigtail Pals. At checkout, please enter code: AAUW15. www.pigtailpals.com

 

Greetings!
Bette Fall is finally here and putting on a vivid show of colors. It makes me feel that I am in the front row of the Latin Quarter with each tree a chorus girl flouncing her skirt of many colors.

Thanks so much to Beverly Sloane for arranging for a real chorus girl for our November meeting and the wonderful speakers each month. Our branch is really at the forefront of new ideas. And, at last month's meeting, we welcomed Melissa Guardaro,  AAUW  Rockland County and NYS International Affairs Director who introduced My Sister's Keeper. (See Public Policy below.) 

I must also thank Ginger Yaple for organizing the luncheon at Deisings. Good Job, Ginger. Due to the waitstaff snafu at the restaurant, Deisings reimbursed us the $25 room fee.

Don't forget to vote and bring a friend with you when you go.

On a personal note, my mother celebrated her 102nd birthday on October 16th. She still plays bingo but had to give up bridge when she turned 100.

Enjoy the season. I hope to see you at the next meeting with your dancing shoes on!
Your president,
Bette Nitzky

P.S.  our branch meeting comes very early this month -- Saturday morning, Nov. 13th. It should be great fun.

November Branch Meeting
My Life as a Latin Quarter Showgirl

Rhinebeck HS Interact Club
Life Magazine
Branch Meeting
Saturday Morning, November 13, 2010
Kingston Library
10 am - 12:45 pm
It's where the famous and infamous hung out in the '40's, '50's and '60's - the Latin Quarter. Do you remember the press clips and stories about Lew Walters' famous Latin Quarter Night Club in NYC?
Diana Chesmel lived it. At our November meeting, Chesmel will speak about her life as a Latin Quarter dancer. She will describe the glamour and the difficulties of the job, and the ties that bring the dancers back for their reunions each year.
What happened to the original team of dancers? What are they doing now? How did the emerging women's movement affect the trajectory of their lives.
Sharing our creativity
E Mail From a Stranger
Robera Gould

E Mail From a Stranger

Ashley Popplington
writes to me
and a voice recognition robot
reads her fervent message
over the phone
which is my morning
reception of word

I forget what she's said
but I try not to forage
the morass of my mind
to harvest her plenty
for I am clearing out all
but the sky
I will not touch

Still, an ounce of curiosity remains
After all, I'm human

Roberta Gould, a former member of the AAUW Kingston Branch, has had her poetry published in many journals and periodicals. You can purchase any of her eight books of poetry from Amazon.com or read more of her poetry on her website.

Public Policy Committee
Film and Book Series
Half the Sky book cover
Nicholas Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn
5:30 to 8pm
Kingston Area Library

This is a must-read book for AAUW members interested in the plight of women worldwide. The authors compare emancipating women to the abolition of slavery and one of the most important movements of the century. Find out more about Gendercide, the millions of missing girls and what you can do both personally and as an AAUW branch to help.

AAUW-NYS' initiative My Sisters' Keeper encourages everyone to read Half the Sky, but it's only a starting point. Joan Monk, half the team organizing My Sisters' Keeper, will join us to guide our discussion.

Do you have your copy of the book yet? AAUW's partnership with Barnes and Noble provides discounts when you buy books through the AAUW portal.


UPDATE: Nicholas Kristof, author of Half The Sky, will be the keynote speaker for the next CTAUN Conference on January 14, 2011 at the United Nations. Register early! Continue to visit the website:  www.teachun.org for more details.


Reminder, tonight!
Blue Gold: World Water Wars 
Tuesday, 10/26, 5:30 to 8:00 PM,
Kingston Area Library Craft Room

For more information, contact Public Policy Chair Susan Holland.

Anne Gordon reflects on the Suffragettes and the E.R.A.
Equal Rights Ammendment Parade
Equal Rights Ammendment Parade
Watching the most recent film screened at our AAUW meeting, "Iron Jawed Angels," I was enthralled and moved by the story of the bravery of Alice Paul and her friends in their struggle to get voting rights for women.

It is so irritating to hear young women today saying "I'm no Feminist - I don't have to fight for my rights." No, they don't, because someone else did it for them and are repaid by being forgotten.

The scene in the film, showing the Suffragettes' march in New York, with their beautiful banners and costumed contingents of women's organizations, brought back a cherished memory to me. I remember standing on Fifth Ave. and 53rd St in 1973, watching the first ERA march. Row after row of women, proud of their unity and numbers coming out in this important effort.

Looking back on the two marches, I can't help but think that victories are rare and seldom complete. Just when you think you have won the struggle, you have to start all over again. Our representation in government is pitiful and we still don't have Equal Rights legislation.

Want to march, anyone?
Book Discussion Group
Howard's End
Book CoverNov. 16, Howard's End by E.M. Foster. Considered by many to be E. M. Forster's greatest novel, Howards End is a beautifully subtle tale of two very different families brought together by an unusual event. When the elder Mrs. Wilcox dies and her family discovers she has left their country home-Howards End-to one of the Schlegel sisters, a crisis between the two families is precipitated that takes years to resolve.

Next Up:

Dec 14  We will read and discuss poetry selections assembled by Vivi Hlvasa. Please note we are meeting on the 2nd Tuesday to accommodate the Holiday Schedule.--Judee Irwin

AAUW member benefit: 10% off thousands of titles at Barnes & Noble AAUW on-line site

News and Celebrations
 Paycheck Fairness Act Call Campaign

The Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 182) sits poised on the cusp of action in the Senate.  Having cleared the House in January of 2009, final passage is long overdue.  When recently polled, 84 percent of American voters expressed support for a new law to create more avenues for women to receive fair wages. This critical bill will provide greater safeguards against pay discrimination, which would be a fitting way to recognize the value of every American worker every day.

Take Action! ...Even if you've already called, call again.  Call toll-free at 1-877-667-6650 and ask our senators to use their influence to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act this month. 

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We want your opinion:
Essay Contest: Marjorie Regan would like AAUW to  once again sponsor a Black History Month February 2011 Essay Contest for the Hodges Center in Kingston. The movie to be shown could be Freedom Writers. Then the young people would write an essay based on their thoughts. AAUW would offer prizes for the  best efforts.

AAUW for All: Watch for a special mailing to solicit your opinion about deleting the AAUW by-law that requires a degree requirement for membership.

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Current Trips: Did you get the announcement of our fall trips? If not, you can read about them here. Not on the internet? Call Vivi Hlavsa for information. And Bon Voyage to those of you flying off to Barcelona -- our first AAUW trip abroad.
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Special thanks this month to Susan Holland who has kept us well informed on local candidate debates, hydrofracKing, redistricting, and other critical issues. Thanks Susan!

And, also to Sheila Beall who assembles our handy, well-used directory. Love the florescent blue cover, Sheila. So easy to find on the messy desk.
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Blog Posts You May Have Missed

How to Raise Powerful Women by Poughkeepsie Branch President Geeta Desai, reprinted with permission
Hilda Solis: June Cleaver, meet Juana Solis

Water, water everywhere by Susan Holland