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Drop the Labels Campaign Do you want to end bullying and harassreotypes?

The Des Moines Register published an article about Drop the Labels at Cornell College & Iowa State University.

Did you want to bring Drop the Labels to your school but didn’t have time to pull it all together for this week? You can still participate – Drop the Labels has been extended!

Take action and raise awareness about bullying and harassment on your campus – look for your Action Kit in the mail & visit the Drop the Labels website for more information.

Students act against gender stereotyping: An effort begins at 24 campuses across the nation to end violence linked to labeling.

By NICOLE PASEKA REGISTER CORRESPONDENT September 23, 2004
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Sara Hoffman's shirt made more than a fashion statement Wednesday.

The Cornell College art student pinned to her clothes 120 sticky notes on which gender slurs such "goddess," "slut," "jock" and "girlie-man" were scrawled.

Hoffman asked students and faculty to write the words - which she said are often cast at students who don't live up to peers' gender expectations - on the notes.

Hoffman, 23, a senior at the Mount Vernon college, said she wants people to be more accepting.

She called the response positive. "Lots of people were really interested in why I was doing it and how I came up with it," she said.

Student groups at 24 campuses nationwide, including Cornell College and Iowa State University in the state, began a coordinated campaign this week to end bullying caused by gender stereotyping.

The campaign, called "Drop the Labels, Back to School," is sponsored by the Gender Public Advocacy Coalition, or GenderPAC, a nonprofit group based in Washington, D.C., working to end discrimination and violence linked to gender stereotyping.

Increased attention has been paid to bullying in Iowa in the past year. Gov. Tom Vilsack recently sent a letter to school districts asking officials to adopt policies to prohibit bullying based on "real or perceived race, sex, creed, color, national origin, religion, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, physical appearance, and/or personality characteristics."

Some at Cornell had trouble coming up with gender slurs, "unless it's something they're called frequently," Hoffman said.

A Cornell chemistry teacher, for example, added "girlie-man" to a sticky note, saying he's heard the term too much.

Hoffman said she also is asking students to sign postcards that will be sent to members of Congress, asking that they help protect students from bullying.

The campaign is the first of its kind to focus solely on gender as a cause of school bullying, said Riki Wilchins, GenderPAC's executive director.

Wilchins said that up to 80 percent of high school students will endure bullying or harassment at some point because of gender stereotyping, based on GenderPAC's research. "Those are terrible numbers, and they don't surprise anyone who's been in high school," she said.

The harassment doesn't just affect gay, lesbian and transgender students, Wilchins said. Males who aren't considered "manly" or females who aren't "ladylike" also face bullying from their peers.

"I think for the most part, ISU students are not aware of the importance of gender issues and the complexity of gender issues," said Patricia Coleman, an ISU graduate student.

Coleman said she would like to see more classes at ISU that educate students about sex and gender issues.

"The idea of feminism is still a very demonized idea on the ISU campus. I think that says a lot (about) students' understanding of the gender rights movements," Coleman said.

GenderPAC student activists' goals:

• Gather support for the Federal Anti-Bullying Bill (H.R. 4776), which would make school anti-bullying policies and training mandatory.

• Support colleges in adding gender identity and expression to Equal Employment Opportunity policies. Twenty-one colleges and universities have adopted such policies. Cornell College is in the final stages of adding the language to its policy; Iowa State University has not included gender identity and expression in its policy.

• Educate high school teachers, students and parents on how to recognize and prevent gender-based bullying and harassment.

ISU plans
WHAT : "Drop the Labels, Back to School," sponsored by the Gender Public Advocacy Coalition.
WHEN: 5 p.m. Saturday Sept 25 at Sloss House on the Iowa State University campus in Ames. Film clips addressing gender issues will be shown; conference call at 6 p.m. with other groups across the country.
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SOURCE: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2004409230371

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