wellesleyweek news
film discussions examine civil liberties and voting issues
playwright explores the cuban experience
opera institute to perform mid-day concert
food drive aims to help neighbors in need
one-woman play looks at terrorism and war
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25 oct -
1 november
2004
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film discussions examine civil liberties and voting issues
Two film discussions will be held this week that feature documentaries by highly acclaimed filmmaker Robert Greenwald.Greenwald’s Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties, will be presented Wednesday, Oct. 27, from 12:30-2 pm in Collins Cinema, followed by commentary by Susan Reverby, women’s studies and member, board of directors, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts; and Lori Johnson, political science.
Johnson will talk about the political context that led to these changes. Reverby will discuss the ACLU’s position and other topics. “The ACLU has made its slogan since 9/11 ‘safe and free,’” said Reverby. “I want to talk about how we don’t have to give up our civil liberties to achieve some modicum of freedom. I will discuss why a strategy that demonizes people and leads to arbitrary lists has not worked in the past, and I will talk about my own experiences with these kinds of lists in the political movements of the 1960s and 1970s.”
Another Greenwald film, Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election, will be shown Friday, Oct. 29, from 4-6 pm in Pendleton East 239. Marion Just, political science, will then lead a question-and-answer session, “Counting the Vote in 2000 (and 2004?)” In a recent New Yorker article, Jeffrey Toobin writes, “The spectre of the vote-counting controversy in Florida after the 2000 election still haunts most discussions of voting rights law and gives everything about voting rights a partisan slant.”“Many of the issues that the film discusses, from voter intimidation, discriminatory registration lists, faulty voting machines, questionable absentee and military ballots, continue to threaten confidence in the Florida balloting this year,” Just said. “These same questions have unsettled voters in many other states. With another close presidential election only a few days away, vigilance is the ballot watchword. Activists on both sides are already planning their legal strategies for the potential recounts and challenges to the results.”
The first event is sponsored by Women’s Studies; for more information, call x2535. The second event is sponsored by the Sociology Department, x2137.
playwright explores the cuban experience
Rum & Coke, a moving one-person play written and performed by Carmen Peláez, will be presented Friday, Oct. 29, at 7:30 pm in Jewett Auditorium. The play explores the Cuban experience and the search for identity through the eyes of several women, some living in exile in Miami, others in Cuba with the Castro government.
Born in Miami to Cuban parents, Peláez graduated from the American Academy for the Dramatic Arts in New York. She began the development of Rum & Coke with help from her 1997 New York Foundation of the Arts Fellowship, which allowed her to launch her first production in New York City. The show proved to be a great success, not only attracting the attention of other theater groups, but of high profile broadcasters.
Rum & Coke has played to rave reviews at Area Stage in Miami, Chicago’s Pegasus Theatre, HBO workspace in Los Angeles, the PS NBC space in New York and at the Coconut Grove Playhouses. The show has also been optioned by Fox Theatricals and caught the attention of Ted Koppel, who featured Peláez and her family on “Nightline.”
Peláez has starred in three independent films: Stroll, Houseguest and Last Hand Standing, which was a finalist in the Chrysler Extreme Filmmaking competition at the Tribeca Film Festival. The event is sponsored by Mezcla, Alianza and other campus groups. Raul Rubio, Spanish, will introduce Peláez and her play. For more information, call x2421.
U.S. Congressman Barney Frank will speak at Wellesley on Tuesday, Oct. 26, at 4:15 pm in Pendleton Atrium. A member of Congress since 1981, he is the senior Democrat on the Financial Services Committee and a member of the Select Committee on Homeland Security.
“Congressman Frank will be speaking about how being Jewish has influenced his life in public service,” said Leah Segall, a member of Wellesley Hillel, which is sponsoring the event. “There will be a question-and-answer period where he will address issues in the upcoming election.” For more information, e-mail lsegall@wellesley.edu.
opera institute to perform mid-day concert
Share the excitement of a performance from the artists’ point of view, minus the stage fright. Hear some of the area’s most promising young singers and speak with them in a post-concert discussion.
On Monday, Nov. 1, at 12:30 pm in Jewett Auditorium, students in Boston University’s elite Opera Institute will give two performances of Samuel Barber’s chamber opera, “A Hand of Bridge,” each in a different setting.
To fill out the hour, the singers will discuss the program, and each performer will sing an aria from the standard repertoire.
The audience will be seated onstage, surrounding the four singers and creating an intimate atmosphere for the hand of bridge.
The opera, with text by Gian Carlo Menotti, will be directed by Lynn Torgove, with musical direction by Jeffrey Stevens. The program is part of the Boston University College of Fine Arts “Fringe Festival,” now in its eighth year, which is presented by the Boston University School of Music Opera Institute and School of Theatre Arts. For more information, call x2028.
food drive aims to help neighbors in need
Since November is Hunger and Homeless Awareness Month, the Center for Work and Service is sponsoring a food drive through Nov. 8. The food will be delivered to A Place to Turn in Natick, which will distribute donations to the Metrowest community.If you would like to make a contribution, drop-off boxes can be found in Green Hall, on 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors; Jewett entrance; campus police; Pendleton, on 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors; Alumnae Hall near the Theatre Department; Schneider Center; Founders, on 1st and 2nd floors; Science Center lounge and entrance; and Knapp Library. Suggested items include tuna, peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, pasta, cereal, soup, canned pasta, beef stew, crackers, lunchbox snacks, canned vegetables and fruits, juice, rice, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, macaroni and cheese, beans (canned or bagged). Please avoid glass items. For more information, call x3789.
one-woman play looks at terrorism and war
A one-woman dramatic performance, The Afghan Woman, by award-winning Pakistani-American actor/director Bina Sharif will be presented Thursday, Oct. 28, at 7 pm in Jewett Auditorium. It is sponsored by the Committee Against Racism & Discrimination and Departments of Women’s Studies, History and English.
The play, written and performed by Sharif, is a response to the tragic aftermath of Sept. 11 and the devastation of the war in Afghanistan. “Having watched the tragedy of Sept. 11 from her own rooftop in Manhattan, where she has lived for more than 20 years, Ms. Sharif has an intensely personal connection with the events of that day,” said Elena Tajima Creef, women’s studies. “She draws on these to create one of the most compelling pieces of theater likely to be seen at Wellesley College this year—performing the entire show while wearing a blue burqua—the head-to-toe garb of Afghan women.”
Sharif will host a discussion after the play, which has been performed across the United States and abroad to critical acclaim. For more information, call x2199.
“Tres Vidas,” a chamber music ensemble work featuring the lives of three extraordinary Latin American women, has recently been performed at the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Wisconsin. The work was written by marjorie agosín, Spanish, who was recently named a fellow to the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University. Actress Georgina Corbo portrays all three roles: Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, Salvadoran peasant activist Rufina Amaya and Argentine poet Alfonsina Storni.
william cain, English, reviewed Stephen Greenblatt’s biography of Shakespeare, Will in the World, in the Boston Sunday Globe. While calling the book “vividly written, richly detailed and insightful from first chapter to last,” he noted that it is “a disquieting book, because ultimately it is based less on hard fact than on conjecture and speculation, much of it credible and convincing, much of it not.” Other than a last will and testament, no personal papers of Shakespeare exist, leading to problems for any researcher. “So why even attempt a biography of Shakespeare?” Cain asks. “Because we crave contact with the person whose powers of perception, representations of consciousness and uses of language exceed those of which any mortal seems capable. But, as a person, Shakespeare is beyond our grasp.”
The environmentally friendly home of carla verschoor, chemistry, including its solar panels, won a spot in a local Green Buildings Open House event, part of the American Solar Energy Society’s National Solar Tour. The home includes 18 solar panels installed on the south-facing side of the roof, which capture 98 percent of the sunlight that hits them. The solar power is converted to the electric current used in the home.
administrative council meeting. 11 am-noon, Academic Council Room. Info: x2036.
cws workshop. “First-Years’ Lunch.” 12:30 pm, Severance living room. Info: x2352.
cws workshop. “BC: M.S. in Accounting, Computer Science, Graduate School of Management.” 12:30 pm, PNE 349. Info: x2352.
italian table. 12:30-1:30 pm, Tower Court private dining hall. Info: x2616.
discussion. “Meditations on Diaspora: Cuba Today.” Speakers: Yanitzia Canetti, Cuban author; Angel Esteban, Spanish, University of Granada, Spain; Isabel Alvarez Borland, Spanish, Holy Cross; and Antonio Benitez Rojo, Spanish, Amherst. 4:15 pm, Library Lecture Room. Sponsors: Spanish, Religion. Info: x2402.
concert. Japanese Koto with Pamela Pontius ’01. 4:15-5:15 pm, Slater Center. Info: x3226.
google recruitment seminar. 4:15-6 pm, SCI 278. Sponsor: Computer Science; CWS. Info: x3147.
lecture. “Blue Photography: Anna Atkins and the Photogenic Drawing.” Speaker: Carol Armstrong, women’s studies, Princeton. 5 pm, Collins Cinema. Reception follows. Sponsor: Art. Info: x2042.
cws workshop. “Alumnae/Student Mock Interviews.” 6 pm, GRH 441. Info: x2352.
meeting. College Government Senate. 6 pm, Academic Council Room. GRH. Info: x1181.
esl tutoring. 6-8:30 pm, PLTC small conference room. Info: x2480.
cws workshop. “Using the Wellesley Network.” 6:30 pm, GRH 442. Info: x2352.
meditation. 7-8:15 pm, Meditation Room, lower chapel. Sponsor: Buddhist Community. Info: x2793.
cws workshop. “Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.” 12:30 pm, PNE 349. Info: x2352.
gallery talk. “Where Daughters Fear Becoming Their Mothers.” Speaker: Elaine Mehalakes, curatorial fellow. 12:30-1 pm, DMCC. Info: x2051.
field hockey vs. MIT. 3 pm. Info: x2003.
walk with spirit. 4 pm, Chapel lawn. Sponsor: Religious and Spiritual Life. Info: x2687.
discussion. Speaker: Congressman Barney Frank. 4:15 pm, Pendleton Atrium. (See story) Sponsor: Wellesley Hillel. Info: x2687.
meeting. “Travel Talk in the Hoop: Wellesley College Exchanges.” 4:15 pm, Café Hoop. Sponsor: International Study. Info: x2320.
lecture. “Inspiration from Instruments: The Symbiotic Relationship Between Composers and Their Fortepianos.” Speaker: Sandra Rosenblum, author. 4:15 pm, PNE 220. Sponsor: Music. Info: 617-484-9005.
apt workshop. “Test Survival.” 7 pm, Severance living room. Info: x2641.
volleyball vs. Springfield. 7 pm. Info: x2003.
sharing circle. 7-8 pm, Little Chapel. Sponsor: Unitarian Universalist. Info: x3484.
german table. 7:30-8:30 pm, Schneider loft. Info: x2584.
cws workshop. “Law School Admissions.” 7-9 pm, PNE 139. Info: x2352
meditation. 12:30-1 pm, meditation room, lower chapel. Sponsor: Buddhist Community. Info: x2793.
cws workshop. “First-Years’ Lunch.” 12:30-1:30 pm, Freeman living room. Info: x2352.
spanish table. 12:30-1:30 pm, Tower Court small dining room. Info: x3571.
concert. Doug Johnson Jazz Trio. 12:30-1:30 pm, Jewett Auditorium. Sponsor: Music. Info: x2077.disability discussion. 12:30-1:30 pm, FND 305. Sponsor: Disability Services. Info: x2434.
academic council meeting. 12:30-2 pm, Academic Council Room, Green Hall.
film/discussion. “Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties.” 12:30-2 pm, Collins Cinema. Speakers: Lori Johnson, political science; Susan Reverby, women’s studies. (See story) Info: x2535.
russian table. 1-2 pm, FND 416. Info: x3584.
lecture. “Women, Citizenship and Suffrage with a French Twist (1798–1993).” Speaker: Karen Offen, Stanford. 5 pm, French House. Info: x7272.
apt workshop. “Procrastination Tips.” 5-6 pm, Tower Great Hall. Info: x2641.
meeting. “Good Book Club.” 6:30 pm, BIL 202. Sponsor: Protestant Christian Chaplaincy. Info: x2655.
apt workshop. “One Test, Two Test…Are You Ready for Your Next Test?” 7 pm, McAfee. Info: x2641.
film. Casablanca. 7 pm, Collins Cinema. Info: x2051.
slide show. Images of Women. Speaker: Catherine Collins, health education. 7 pm, Tower Court Great Hall. Info: x2821.
film. Cradle Will Rock. In conjunction with American Identities: Nancy Gray Sherrill Collection. 7-9 pm, Collins Cinema. Sponsor: DMCC. Info: x2051.
film. A Voice for Choice. 7-10 pm, PNW 212. Info: WomenforChoicemail@wellesley.edu.
concert. Blue Notes. 8 pm, Pendleton Atrium Lounge. Info: BlueNotesmail@wellesley.edu.
cws workshop. “Job Strategies.” 12:30 pm, FND 120. Info: x2352.
wcw seminar. “Rosie’s Girls: Acquiring Tools for Leadership and Learning.” Speaker: Fern Marx, CRW. 12:30-1:30 pm, Cheever House. Info: x2500.
lecture. “The Movement That Deconstructed McDonald’s José Bové and the Peasants of Larzac.” Speaker: Herman Lebovics, SUNY, Stony Brook. 4:30-6 pm, Collins Cinema. Sponsors: History; French. Info: x2914.
apt workshop. “Got Time?” 5 pm, Beebe living room. Info: x2641.
esl tutoring. 6-8:30 pm, PLTC small conference room. Info: x2480.
play. The Afghan Woman with Bina Sharif. 7 pm, Jewett Auditorium. Sponsor: Women’s Studies; CARD. (See story) Info: x2199.
walk with spirit. 7:30 am, Chapel lawn. Sponsor: Religious and Spiritual Life. Info: x2687.
prayer/discussion. Muslim communal (Jummah). 12:45-1:30 pm, lower chapel. Info: x2025.
film/discussion. “Unprecedented: Counting the Vote in 2000 (and 2004?)” Speaker: Marion Just, political science. 4-6 pm, PNE 239. (See story) Info: x2137.
bible study. 7 pm, lower chapel. Sponsor: Asian Baptist Student Koinonia. Info: x4692.
play. Rum & Coke with Carmen Peláez. 7:30 pm, Jewett Auditorium. Sponsors: Alianza, MEZCLA. (See story) Info: x2958.
samhain. Pagan tradition.
film festival. “Producing the Public Sphere: Documentaries” with Rakesh Sharma. (See story) 4-6 pm, PNW 212. Sponsor: Women’s Studies. Info: x3335.
sunday october 31halloween.
worship service. 11:15 am-12:30 pm, Houghton Chapel. Sponsor: Protestant Christian Chaplaincy. Info: x2655.
catholic mass. 4 pm, Houghton Chapel. Sponsor: Newman Catholic Ministry. Info: x2688.
meeting. Darshana. 5 pm, meditation room, Houghton Chapel. Sponsor: Hindu Community. Info: x2794.
concert. “Oktoberfest.” Oboe students. 7-9 pm, PNW 220. Info: x2077.
halloween films. 7-11 pm, Collins Cinema. Japanese Club. Info: JapanClubmail@wellesley.edu.
monday november 1
all saints day. Christian tradition.dia de los muertos. (Day of the Dead.)
cws workshop. “Luce Internships in Asia.” 12:30 pm, PNE 239. Info: x2352.
opera/discussion. “The Hand of Bridge.” 12:30 pm, Jewett Auditorium. (See story, page 2.) Sponsor: Music. Info: x2028.italian table. 12:30-1:30 pm, Tower Court private dining hall. Info: x2616.
cws workshop. “First-Years’ Lunch.” 12:30-1:30 pm, Stone-Davis living room. Info: x2352.
workshop. “Edible and Useful Plants in the Margaret C. Ferguson Greenhouses.” Speaker: Richard Stromberg, glasshouse manager, Harvard. 1:30 pm, Botanic Gardens Visitor Center. Members: $10; Non-members: $13. Sponsor: FOH. Info: x3094.
cws workshop. “Junior Internship Recruiting.” 4:30-6 pm, SCI 277. Info: x2352.
lecture. “El aprendizaje de la lenguas y la consciencia intercultural.” Speaker: Andreu Van Hoft. 5-7 pm, PNE 239. Sponsor: Spanish. Info: x2744.
meeting. College Government Senate. 6 pm, Academic Council Room. Info: x1181.
esl tutoring. 6-8:30 pm, PLTC small conference room. Info: x2480.
cws workshop. “Navigating the CWS Library.” 6:30 pm, GRH 442. Info: x2352.
meditation. 7-8:15 pm, Meditation Room, lower chapel. Sponsor: Buddhist Community. Info: x2793.
exhibit. Mayling and Emma: A Chinese-American Friendship. Clapp Reference Room, through Dec. 31. Info: x2128.
exhibit. Inspired by Flowers. Botanic Gardens Visitor Center. Info: x3094.
exhibit. Presidential Elections at Wellesley College. Archives, Clapp Library, through December. Info: x2127.
exhibit. Infinite Possibilities. Through Dec. 12. Sponsor: DMCC. Info: x2051.
exhibit. American Identities. Through Dec. 14. Sponsor: DMCC. Info: x2051.
book sale. Clapp Library. Donations: 50 cents-$2. Info: x2894.
11/9/04: Tanner Conference. All-day event features student presentations of off-campus experiences. Info: www.wellesley.edu/CWS/Tanner2004/tannertop.html
don't miss...indian filmmaker looks at violence and the public sphere
A film, lecture, discussion and reception will be offered at “Producing the Public Sphere: Documentaries,” on Saturday, Oct. 30, from 4-6 pm in Pendleton West 212. Award-winning filmmaker Rakesh Sharma will speak and host a discussion following the showing of his film, Final Solution, which investigates the ethnic and religious violence that occurred in India from February 2002 through September 2003. Sharma filmed interviews with people on every side of the violence that affected thousands of people.
“Documentaries are beginning to be treated as places where audiences expect to participate in a public sphere—alongside news media, Web-based information systems and other visual media,” said Geeta Patel, women’s studies. The film will raise a number of questions: What are the political, social and economic conditions under which violence emerges as a response to problems? How do ethnicity, race, class, gender and other kinds of differences play into violence, and the reasons given for conflict? How can the public sphere address violence to bring about peaceful solutions? The event is sponsored by Women’s Studies and other college departments and groups. For more information, call x3335.
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WellesleyWeek is published each Monday during the academic year by the Office for Public Information. All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Phone numbers are dialed 781-283-xxxx. For paid subscription information, call 781-283-2373.
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Contact: Office for Public Information
Last Modified: October 28, 2004
