So I finished my last class in my undergraduate career today at 3:15PM, and I find myself currently full of thoughtful reflection and introspection.  Sitting on my deck in the sun looking out on my beautiful backyard (and desperately trying to forget that my room in the basement is flooded), I'm thinking back to all of the different people I've met, places I've been, and things I've done over the past four years.  Without a doubt, my entire worldview has changed and developed in a way that I never could have anticipated.  I've met some tremendous teachers who have steered me in the direction of a deepened understanding of the world, but also always seemed to let me find my own way.  I've met other faculty who have opened doors for me and pushed me to involve myself in opportunities that have truly opened my eyes.  And how could I forget all the amazing students I've met here?  I've always held a somewhat cynical belief about my generation, but the spectrum of people I've met at UMD - their range of interests, diversity in opinion, excitement to be involved, and dedication to creating a better world - these things have instilled in me a new hope for what we can accomplish. 

What would I say to those who still have so time left here at UMD?  This is a good question, and probably the most relevant one.  If you happened to catch Ali Adler's column in the Diamondback today (Like a Kid in a Candy Store), I think she really got it right.  This is interesting since she's a freshman...no condescension intended, I'm just surprised at how insightful she seems to be in her first year.  Basically, she (and I) encourages students to find balance in their time here at the university.  This is a simple enough concept: not too much play, not too much work right?  But truly striking a balance is a thing of beauty in one's life.  For me honestly, I've come full circle with the idea of balance in my life...over the past four years sometimes it's been a little to much yin and sometime a little too much yang.  So, while you're here make an effort to find that balance and you'll be sitting in my position reflecting on what a wealth of opportunity we have here at Maryland.  Go get rowdy at a UMD football game and then find some peace within the confines of the meditation club.  Check out Art Attack and then go see the jazz ensemble.  Go get some exercise at the free rock climbing wall at CRC and then cap it off with a good book and a nap on the mall.  Sit in on a faculty lecture about peace in the Middle East, or climate change adaptation, or new interpretations of Marxism in the 21st century.  See a movie at Hoff Theater.   Attend a meeting for Maryland Students for Fair Trade.  Go see your professors at their office hours...if you don't think they seem to be very interesting just type their names in to Wikipedia and you'll be surprised.  

The possibilities are truly limitless.  As cliche as it might sound, your time here at college is very much what you make of it.  Don't let yourself be sitting in my position with the heavy burden of regret perched on your shoulder.  I'm extremely grateful for the people I've met and experiences I've had, and I wish you the same feeling upon graduation.

 "Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable." - Sydney Smith

Peace,

Pat 

It's been a little while since I've provided an update focusing on the election.  This is because since the last time I wrote on the election, nothing has really changed.  John McCain is still the presumptive Rebublican nominee,  Obama is still slightly in the lead in the democratic race and Hillary just won't seem to go away.  She coincedentally seems to be winning by the exact percentage that the media says she needs to win by in order to realistically stay in the race.

An article in today's New York Times explained a difference between the two democratic candidates on their policy regarding high oil prices.  Hillary Clinton supports a gas tax break in order to alleviate the 60 dollar fill-ups for the struggling middle class.  Barack Obama opposes this idea saying it proposes a minor temporary solution that will not actually fix anything and at most will save consumers 30 dollars over 3 months of a tax break.  "A half a tank," is what Obama said would save people regarding the tax break.

Conservative TV and radio show hosts who support John McCain have been overwhelmingly claiming to support Clinton in the democratic race.  Many, such as Rush Limbaugh and Pat Robertson even go as far as advocating republican voters to switch parties and vote for Clinton.  There's political strategy behind this proposal.  You cannot honestly suggest that these conservative Republicans really want to elect Clinton.  She stands for essentially nothing that they believe in.  Could it be possible however, that they see Clinton as the weaker link and feel like their best chance of winning in 08 will be against Clinton instead of Obama?  Clinton is getting a pretty decent percentage of votes from voters who switched parties.  This won't help her cause if she becomes the democratic nominee and her voters start switching back to voting Republican. 

I cannot see Obama losing this race if it is decided based solely on issues.  He takes the stance for American people's well-being.  But it gets difficult to demonstrate that when he is constantly being forced to defend himself against repeated attacks made by the Clinton campaign.  It's discouraging for someone to even desire to get involved with the game of politics when there is so much corruption and special interest with so much control on the system.  If you want to change the game you first have to beat it the way it is. 

Just as a quick follow up to my last blog entitled, "Creating a Sweatfree Campus", I wanted to mention a few things.

Daniela (my sweatfree guru...refer back to the last blog) has asked me to mention her affiliated campus group in an effort to reinvigorate some new membership.  Feminism Without Borders is the campus group that is associated with the big push to end sweat shop involvement here at the university.  Daniela and the other members meet each Wednesday in Jiminez Hall at 6:00PM in room 1124.  She has advised me that the group has a bunch of events coming up that are currently in the works, so if you'd like to be a part get yourself to Jiminez on Wednesdays.  In the past, Daniela and her group members have done several things associated with the sweatfree campaign, among other things.  Most recently, they brought two women from the Dominican Republic to campus to discuss the realities of working in sweat shop conditions.  It's important for all of us to realize the nexus between the sweat shop industry and the women who generally fill the jobs.  The sweatfree movement and the feminist movement are linked closely in the context of the interconnectedness of women and these specific labor markets.

Also, just as a quick disclaimer, and this goes out to the men that are reading: don't let your testosterone trick you into perceiving the word "feminism" with a negative connotation...this is a trap that many men have been trained to fall into since birth.  I'm being slightly sarcastic here, but seriously...how many times do we see men begin to moan and groan when the "f" word (not that one) is thrown around?  I challenge our male readers to go out and read some feminist writing.  Feminism truly encompasses something much greater than its nomenclature may suggest.  Feminism is about equity, equality, and, above all, social justice.  Many would say that the ideals of feminism preceded (and helped grow) the ideals of the civil rights movement.  There are countless similarities here, yet the way we frame our thinking locks a lot of people out of the feminist movement for what it truly is.  Anyway, thinking more concretely, we still live in a society in which the wage differential has women earning only about 70-75 cents for each dollar that the opposite sex makes.  In contrast with previous generations, though, we are now seeing women enrolled in higher education at higher rates than men.  And, so, my fellow males, women are on the rise; our generation will see traditional power structures smashed, and wage differentials diminished.  Let's begin thinking about what the feminist movement truly means, and where we, as men, fit into it all.   

If you're looking for some provocative feminist thinkers to read, check out: 

http://www.marxists.org/subject/women/feminists.htm

From Mary Wollstonecraft to Alexandra Kollontai to Betty Friedan this website outlines some of the most interesting work from some of the most radical (in every sense of the word) women to ever walk the face of this Earth.  Challenge you're thinking about traditional gender roles...at the very least, an intelligent, broad-minded, well-read man seems a lot more attractive to that cute girl who sits in front of you in your English class than a dimwit.

That's all for now...don't forget to check out Feminism Without Borders on Wednesdays at 6PM in Jiminez. 

"This is no simple reform. It really is a revolution. Sex and race because they are easy and visible differences have been the primary ways of organizing human beings into superior and inferior groups and into the cheap labour in which this system still depends. We are talking about a society in which there will be no roles other than those chosen or those earned. We are really talking about humanism." - Gloria Steinem

In Peace,

Pat 

After a very interesting presentation in my Social Advocacy class last week by my classmate, Daniela Vann, I am moved to write about a topic that I honestly never considered before: sweat shops and the proximity with which they affect our campus.  Sure, I've followed some of the big sweat shop "busts" throughout the years...Gap, Kathy Lee's abysmal clothing line failure, etc., but not until I heard Daniela speak did I realize the ubiquity of sweat shop labor practices.  Also, I guess in my naivity I didn't realize that all the clothes that we buy here from the University at the Book Center or wherever else are stained with the sweat and agony of underpaid, overworked, abused, and mistreated workers.  It got me to thinking...geez, how many hoodies, pairs of shorts, and t-shirts have I bought with the UMD logo from these stores over my four years here?  It's also interesting to consider that some of the sweat shop factories are located here in the U.S. in towns in California and New Mexico...who would have thought? 

So, what is to be done (to quote Vladimir Lenin)?  This is the one million dollar question...what can we truly do about this?  It's daunting to think what it would mean to campaign against all of the sweat shop producers in the world because, in reality, that's pretty much everyone.  Most people aren't willing to sacrifice the ease at which we can stroll into a store in the mall and pick out a t-shirt for an increase in wages and welfare for people they will never meet.  Also, let's consider the unintended consequences of a mass boycott.  Yes, the producers would eventually have to change their corporate practices, but we'd also be putting thousands of low income earners out of work and into a situation of even more misery.  

So, Terps, let's start small.  Daniela has informed me about a movement taking place on campuses all across the United States entitled the "United Students Against Sweatshops", with an aim to force our universities to stop carrying sweat-stained clothing.  The Worker's Rights Consortium is endorsing the Designated Supplier's Program (DSP).  If we got the University of Maryland to sign onto the DSP, this would effectively mean that all of our clothing for sale would be coming through sweat-free suppliers (hence, the "designated suppliers").  "Sweat-free" insinuates 1) a fair living wage, which means the brand names suppliers have to pay the factories more for their products and 2) the right to unionization and promotion of worker's rights by the workers themselves.  Please visit www.studentsagainstsweatshops.org and check out all kinds of information about the movement...it's a great website and a great resource if you're interested in finding out about how you can get involved locally.  Currently, students at Appalachian State University have organized a sit-in in their administrator's office and they aren't leaving until the DSP has been signed.

So, again, what is to be done here on the UMD campus?  Let's think about ways that we can influence our university to sign on to the DSP.  Maybe sitting in President Mote's office is not the way to go (or maybe it is...who knows?).  Maybe we need to start petitioning.  Maybe we need to look for some leadership from the athletes who have a large stake in UMD apparel.  Maybe we each need to sit back and think for a minute about how the buying choices we make are affecting a larger population of people than we realize.  These are all maybe's, but the one definite is that we need some type of change.  I'd love to hear back from some of our readers on some ideas for how we can get these issues to the forefront on our campus again.  Please feel free to guest blog at any time.

In the meantime, check out www.workersrights.org and www.studentsagainstsweatshops.org and educate yourself about what is really going on.  You'll be surprised...knowledge is power, and power is responsibility...

"Years ago I recognized my kinship with all living things, and I made up my mind that I was not one bit better than the meanest on Earth.  I said then, and I say now, that while there is a lower class, I am in it; while there is a criminal element, I am of it; while there is a soul in prison, I am not free." - Eugene V. Debs

In peace,

Pat 

Spring is finally here.  Weather is finally getting nice on a consistent basis and the best place to be right now is outside.  For the duration of last week, the mall was packed with students either lounging in the grass or doing various other hobbies and activities such as playing frizbee, hacky sack, skateboarding, bycicling, throwing balls around and just enjoying the great weather and beautiful campus we live on.  I urge you to get out there and meet people.  Just ask anyone if you can join in whatever activity they are doing and I guarentee people will welcome you. 

With such great weather and so much energy and enthusiasm to be outside, there will be ample opportunities of civic engagement and community service. 

Later tonight at 7pm in 1102 South Campus Commons there will be a screening of academy award winning documentary "Born into Brothels" (2004).  It is an uplifting film about children growing up in Calcutta's red light disctrict. 

Maryland Reads Day on April 18th, is an excellent service opportunity to work with 200 PG county first and second grade students for a day of reading, writing, fun and entertainment.  There are 200-250 volunteers needed for this event so come out to Reckord Armory and make a difference.

On April 25th, you can come out to Cole Field House for Maryland Counts Day, where more than 230 more students from PG County will be here for a day of math related activites.  Volunteers are needed, Register at http://www.arac.umd.edu/volunteer.

April 26th, marks Maryland Day, a complete day of fun all over campus.  Every department will have setups and activities taking place all over.  This will also be a great opportunity to volunteer.

There are only a few more weeks before finals start where everyone will still be in a relaxed mode.  This is the time to get out and help people in need.  Get out, make a difference and see the world.

Peace.