McLean Area Branch AAUW of Virginia April 2012 Volume XLI Number 7 May Dinner Speaker tite for a future branch field trip. Johnnetta Cole Director After beginning her college studies at Fisk University and Smithsonian National completing her undergraduate studies at Oberlin College, Museum of African Art Johnnetta Cole earned a mas- ter’s degree and a doctoral degree in anthropology from Northwestern University. Cole has a long and distin- When was the last time guished career, making history as the first you visited the Muse- African American woman to serve as presi- um of African Art on dent of Spelman College in Georgia in the Mall? Even know where it is? Why is 1987. During her presidency Spelman was African art important to American culture named the number one liberal arts college in and especially to women? the South. Among her many awards is the AAUW Achievement Award, presented at It will be McLean branch’s great fortune the national convention in 1991. Recipient and honor to hear Johnnetta Cole, the muse- of 55 honorary degrees, she is Professor um’s director, at our May 15th dinner. She Emerita of Emory University where she was will tell us why the Smithsonian created this Presidential Distinguished Professor of museum, its important role in American art Anthropology. She was the first African and culture, and why we should all support (Continued on page 8) INSIDE its work. Her talk likely will whet our appe- Branch 2012–13 Officer Candidates 4 April Meeting goes viral in cyberspace. Public Policy 5 Bullying Bullying, including sexual harassment, has AAUW VA Conference 6 Not Just Fun and Games long been an unfortunate part of the climate Connections 6–7 in middle and high schools in the United MPA’s 50th 8 State, even in our own Fairfax County. junior high student is forced to sit on Formals for Five 8 the floor of the school bus because Just this month, the AAUW Action Network no one will let her on a seat. A sev- asked members to ask their senators to Spring Dinner enth grader is bullied, called names Reservations 9 A cosponsor the Student Non-Discrimination pushed into lockers and several boys slam Act (S.555). It will extend to sexual orienta- her hand into her locker and break her fin- And More! tion the same protections against harassment ger. A student is groped on the way to class; and discrimination that are already in place kids call a student ‘gay and just won’t quit; regarding race, gender or disability. We all a demeaning sexual rumor about a student (Continued on page 3) Page 2, McLean Area Branch NEWS: April 2012 McLean Area Branch wish all of you had been able to attend co-author of a national report on sexual our AAUW McLean Area Branch harassment in grades 7-12, Crossing the annual business meeting at the McLean Line: Sexual Harassment at School Community Center. We had a great (AAUW, 2011). We will also meet Leslie Iturnout, plenty of delicious food, and a Vandivere who will discuss the status of 2011–2012 chance to celebrate all of the wonderful and progress toward lessening bullying in EXECUTIVE members who volunteered to be nominees Fairfax County schools. It promises to be BOARD for the officer positions in our branch. I an interesting and informative evening. know the nominating committee, Sandy Co-Presidents Sieber, Sandee Lewis-Haskell, Ellie Carle, Another very special guest will be at our Mary Lou Melley Nan Finken, and Margaret Hines, put a AAUW McLean Area Branch dinner May 703/536-6498 good deal of effort into this and are so 15. She is Johnnetta Cole, the director of [email protected] appreciative of those who stepped up to the the Museum of African Art on the Mall. Nancy Patterson plate! Read all about this terrific slate of She is an accomplished woman and a pow- 703/847-3195 officers on page 4 of this newsletter. We erful speaker. [email protected] will vote on our officers for next year at our April branch meeting. Read more about these speakers in articles Program beginning on page one of this newsletter. Co-Vice President Dorothy Hassan We were also able to celebrate Margaret These are programs you will not want to 703/407-2828 Hines, Wen-Wen Yi, and Laurie Warhol miss! [email protected] who volunteered to co-chair our annual book sale. I know that many of our experi- AAUW of Virginia will vote on an Membership enced members will help these co-chairs; increase of state dues at the April state Co-Vice Presidents many have already signed up for book conference. If it passes, the increase in Sheila Fletcher management positions. state dues will take place with 2012-13 703/281-0398 dues collected July 1, 2012 or later. This [email protected] We also met some of our newest members means that any current member who pays Sandra Sieber who shared some of their background with 2012-2013 dues before July 1 will pay the 571/214-4006 us: Lala Johnson, Sarah Lu, Judy Page, current $8 state dues. This is a good incen- [email protected] Carol Stansfield, and Mary Ellen Weber. tive to pay your dues now. The dues may They are an interesting, accomplished, and be $15 after July 1. Treasurer enthusiastic addition to our membership Aroona Borpujari 703/556-9693 and have been active in AAUW in other Again, I want to thank our members who [email protected] areas. We welcome them and all new have volunteered to fill our officer slots members! and to chair our book sale. It makes me Board Secretary feel even more proud to be a member of Suzanne Hamilton I hope to see you at our branch meeting the AAUW McLean Area Branch. I will 703/759-6264 April 17 at the McLean Community Cen- see you all on April 17. I also hope to see [email protected] ter. Bullying and harassment are frequently you in Newport News at our state confer- in the news, so we are fortunate that we ence. Branch Secretary will hear from Holly Kearl who is an activ- Sandee Lewis-Haskell ist, writer, and nonprofit professional who Nancy 703/241-2221 works for AAUW. Her work focuses on [email protected] gender-based violence and gender equality. She has written the book Stop Street Har- assment: Making Public Places Safe and Welcoming for Women and was a McLean Area Branch NEWS: April 2012, Page 3 “Bullying” Advisory Committee last year, she edited (Continued from page 1) the 2011 Annual Report on Bullying that have heard of tragic suicides as a result of the committee produced in response to the harassment and bullying. school board’s charge. Springfield AAUW member, Judy Baldwin, represents AAUW We are fortunate to have two speakers, on the committee and contributed to the AAUW members in fact, to inform us about study. It is posted on the site bullying, especially in Fairfax www.fcps.edu/schlbd. County, at our branch’s April meeting. Leslie is co-president of the Fairfax City Leslie Vandivere will inform us of Fairfax Branch of AAUW. After majoring in Eng- County’s efforts regarding bullying in the lish at the College of William & Mary, she public schools. As co-chair of the Fairfax earned a master’s of business administra- County Public Schools Human Relations tion from the Florida Institute of Technology; she also has a degree from the U.S. Naval War College. She is currently Holly Kearl completing the last semester of an under- graduate degree in anthropology at George Mason University. Following a career as a Defense Department contracting officer, she worked for the Fairfax County Park Author- ity. Holly Kearl, an AAUW program manager in the Legal Advocacy Fund department, will review the results of her research and Leslie Vandivere writing on sexual harassment. She co-authored the AAUW report, Crossing the Line: Sexual Harassment at School. She also authored a book on street harassment. She has founded the website www.StopStreetHarassment.org. She From the Editor received a bachelor’s degree from Santa Clare University and master’s degree from The McLean Area Branch News is pub- George Washington University. lished monthly, September through June, except for a bimonthly issue for Decem- The meeting will be held, Tuesday, April ber and January. Articles are due the 17, 7 p.m., at the McLean Community Cen- 20th of the month preceding each issue. ter. Be sure to enjoy a spring evening with Articles should be in final form and us and bring a friend. Our presenters will identified as being for the newsletter. provide us not only with information but Guidelines for your articles are welcome opportunities to be part of the solution to as are suggestions for the newsletter. this problem. Please send your articles for the May News by April 20 via e-mail or postal Mary Lou Melley, Co-President mail. [email protected] Pam Bacher 1442 Towlston Rd., Vienna, VA 22182 Newsletter Editor: Pam Bacher, 703/281-2595 Mailing: Barbara Carr, 703/356-3127 Page 4, McLean Area Branch NEWS: April 2012 AAUW McLean Area Branch 2012-13 Officer Candidates Co-Vice Presidents Membership Co-Presidents Mary Ellen Keene — Mary Ellen is a Linda Regan — Linda retired from the state retired executive manager with 34 years of of California staff in 2004, and moved service in the Central Intelligence Agency. to McLean in October 2008. One of the first Education: bachelor’s degree in early child- things she did was to join the McLean hood education with honors from George The branch branch of AAUW; she looks forward to the Mason University and a master of public will vote on current events meetings (she is the point of administration from the Kennedy School of contact), and to the morning lit group.