January, 2017

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Joyce

Our branch certainly ended 2016 in a great way. The hard work paid off to be able to have raised enough funds to pay the way for two Tech Trek candidates. A big thank you to Tobi Balma for her hard work in making two candidates possible. Also a thank you in advance to Celia Spitzer, our Tech Trek Coordinator, for the work she will be doing this Spring to secure our Tech Trek candidates. All of us certainly did our part in 2016 to make our year a success and all of you deserve a pat on your back for your hard work. When we work together, much can be accomplished.

We ended the year with a fun holiday party at Carol Marsh’s house. Carol deserves another big thank you for opening up her lovely home and being a great hostess. Everyone that attended the party had an enjoyable time sharing the season in friendship and food.

January is the month we select the Nominating Committee. The election will be in April and the Installation in May. I hope that some of you will volunteer to help fill the many offices and Chairmanships. With everyone’s help our branch will continue to be a great team in service and friendship.

I am looking forward to working with all of you in 2017, and having some fun along the way.

In Friendship and Service,  Joyce Grohmann

Meeting/Program, Mary Ann & Nancy

Happy New Year, dear fellow AAUW members!

We are looking forward to our program for January with an interesting speaker from Road Scholar.  Jill Swaim, an ambassador and group leader, will be sharing and providing information that may lead to your participation in this unique travel program.

Please continue to save toiletries, as we’ll be collecting for Micah’s Way in February and March. Your generosity to the L.A. Union Rescue Mission last month was very much appreciated!

AAUW Fund  Barbara D, Tobi & Gail W

We are happy to report that we raised $1161.63 providing gift-wrapping at Barnes & Noble. Many thanks go to Thea who coordinated this effort and the many members (including Thea) who actually did the work.

On Feb18th at 11am, we will have our annual Funds Luncheon at Carol Marsh’s home. International Delight is our theme and selected members will provide various international dishes for our enjoyment.  The fee is $25.  Our speaker will be Andrea Milne who is an American Fellowship recipient working on her PhD in History at UC Irvine.  She is a senior pedagogical fellow and historian of HIV/AIDS activism.  Her dissertation examines the advocacy work performed by the nurses who founded the first AIDS ward.

We hope you can attend this exciting event.

Thank you so much for all your help!

From LACounty Inter-branch Council:

Let’s all turn out and share our support for  LAF Litigant Aileen Rizo.  Aileen filed suit against the Fresno County of Education under equal pay and gender discrimination laws after discovering she was paid less than her male colleague who had less experience and seniority. The event takes place on Sunday January 8, 2017, at Kellogg West Conference Center at Cal-Poly University Pomona.  LACIC has  received an LAF Travel Grant from AAUW National so all the profits from the luncheon will be donated to LAF. The flyer announcing the event is attached. (You can ignore the December 20 deadline mentioned on the flyer 🙂

Send an e-mail confirmation with your name/branch to hold your registration and pay by check at the door for the LACIC LAF Litigant Luncheon on January 8, 2017.

Membership, Sue S and Barbara S

Hello AAUW breakfast (current and and future) club members

A New Year and a NEW LOCATION. PLEASE NOTE:  Coco’s, for whatever reason, made some changes in their back room reservations that I couldn’t live with. More at Breakfast about this change. Thank you to our president Joyce for making the reservation.

Wednesday, January 25th, 2017 @ 9:00AM
Howard’s Coffee Shop
4780 Lincoln Ave  (Between Bloomfield and Moody on Lincoln)
Cypress, CA
714-827-8422

As always, new and prospective members are welcome, as well as well-behaved visiting grandchildren.

Celebrate Winter Graduates with a Free AAUW Membership 

Celebrate the success of a graduate this season with the Give a Grad a Gift campaign. Anyone who has graduated within the past two years is eligible, so don’t forget interns or student teachers you might know. A free one-year membership is a great way to celebrate their accomplishments! Give a Grad a Gift can also be applied to the Younger Women’s Task Force.

Take 50–75 Percent off National Dues for New Branch Members, Now through March!

Recruit new branch members with the half-price national dues rate of $24.50 between January 1 and March 15. You can even use the Shape the Future campaign to double the discount! That makes national dues for any new members joining at a public event just $12.25 — 75 percent off regular AAUW national dues! This offer applies to the 2016–17 fiscal year, so the membership will expire June 30, 2017. Student affiliate dues of $17 are also eligible for these discounts.

Local College News

Thank you to our branch member and Cerritos College representative, Norma Rodriguez, for her enlightening presentation at our November meeting. She explained about her work at the college and spoke passionately about her increasing concern for the many international and undocumented students that her office serves. These students are among the most dedicated and high performing on the campus. In our changing political climate, they are now fearful and feel threatened. Some have given personal information to the government for the promise of becoming “Dreamers” under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival act of President Obama. They fear this could soon lead to reprisals and even deportation for themselves or their families.

While California has the highest nationwide percentage of international students, it has put into effect a number of safeguards for them and their personal information, as well as legislation that grants some of them instate tuition rates at all state schools. On Tuesday, November 22^nd, Cerritos College students, joined by some trustees and staff, held a candlelight vigil on the campus to declare that it become a “sanctuary campus”. This is a similar philosophy to that adopted by over 30 “sanctuary cities” across the nation, including Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. Proposed policies on campuses, similar to those adopted by cities, would not allow ICE officers onto campus without a warrant, campus police would not enforce immigration law and student information would not be shared. A variety of support programs and services will be provided to threatened students at Cerritos College.

The future still remains uncertain, but these are important protective steps being taken in California’s higher education institutions for students pursuing education for their future success. On campus, the President, college staff, students and faculty are organizing awareness and support. The state of California is taking a proactive stance and the chancellors from the three largest educational sectors (UC, CSU, and Community Colleges) have written a letter of concern to president-elect Trump.

Please join in solidarity with AAUW national and state, as LACIC walks on behalf of women’s issues at the LA WOMEN’S MARCH on January 21, 2017. NOTE THIS IS NOT A PROTEST; it is a walk to ensure women’s rights continue to be addressed.

Information on the March is below; please contact Susan Negrete at susan.e.negrete@gmail.com  by 1/19/2017 if you or your branch members would like to join us to walk with the AAUW banner.

https://womensmarchla.org
https://twitter.com/womensmarchla
https://www.instagram.com/womensmarchla/

Women’s March LA

The march is open to everyone who stands for human rights, civil liberties, and compassion for our shared humanity.

We stand together in solidarity for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health, and our families — recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country.

OUR MISSION
In the spirit of democracy and honoring the champions of human rights, dignity, and justice who have come before us, we join in diversity to show our presence in numbers too great to ignore. We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us.

We support the advocacy and resistance movements that reflect our multiple and intersecting identities. We call on all defenders of human rights to join us. This march is the first step towards unifying our communities, grounded in new relationships, to create change from the grassroots level up. We work peacefully while recognizing there is no true peace without justice and equity for all.

HEAR OUR VOICE.

Getting to Women’s March LA:

We highly recommend using public transportation/ ride sharing services for transportation to the march, as there will be high congestion and street closures in the Downtown LA area.

METRO:
Ride the Red Line toward downtown Los Angeles and exit Pershing Square (5th Street). For alternate routes, visit MTA.

DRIVING:
Drive the 110 Freeway toward Downtown Los Angeles and exit 6th Street.

DASH:
From City Hall ride DASH “B” toward the Financial District and exit Olive at 6th Street. From the Garland Building ride DASH “E,” exit Olive at 7th Street, and walk north one block. For alternate routes, visit LADOT.

CHARTERED BUSES:
Chartered buses may drop off at the corner of 5th & Olive. Olive will be closed between 5th & 6th; event staff will be there to facilitate unloading. Buses are responsible for finding their own parking during the day.

PARKING:
Parking under Pershing Square will be available all day; many public lots in the surrounding areas will also be open to the public and charge anywhere from $10-$30.

Code of Conduct & FAQ:

Women’s March LA is meant to be a safe space for all of those attending and participating. Please be courteous, respectful to everyone, and keep the following in mind:

• No alcohol
• No weapons of any kind
• No dogs or pets (service animals only, please)

Be mindful of all attendees, this event is open to everyone and is inclusive to anyone who would like to participate.

Do I need a ticket to attend?
No. All the marches should be free and public. If someone asks you to buy a ticket, don’t do it! We do have an Eventbrite page, but we are using this to spread the word, it is not necessary to register.

What is the status with permits?
We have obtained all necessary permits for this event in Los Angeles, and have been working in conjunction with the LAPD and City of LA to make this a peaceful event for all. This is the official Women’s March of Los Angeles.

What about safety and security?
We are taking health and safety very seriously. There will be measures in place for this.

Is it just for women only?
No. The march is open to everyone who stands for human rights, civil liberties, tolerance of diversity, and compassion for our shared humanity.

Is anyone coordinating travel to DC?
If it’s hard for you to get to DC, consider attending a local march. We are not fundraising at this time to sponsor travel to DC for individuals.

Is this a protest, march, or rally?
This is not a protest. The Women’s March is a celebration of human rights. In some cities, there will be a march and rally, but it depends on the event and what organizers have planned.

I am organizing a bus for my group to attend the march, how do we coordinate pick/up drop off?
Please contact us directly via the website so we can work with you to coordinate the arrival/ departure of your transportation.

Order yourself a march t-shirt at http://www.aauw-ca.org/womens-march/. And you are free to distribute the attached flyer!

womens-march-flyer