By Lori Tarbett

Third year Yamikani Msosa describes volunteering as one of her main hobbies and that is evident given the myriad of activities she is involved in both on and off campus. Yamikani Msosa

Along with completing a double major in history and law, and a minor in women’s studies, Msosa is a peer helper with the Learning Support Services. As a peer, she is involved in presentations designed to help students improve time management and academic reading skills, and manage procrastination.

Msosa’s campus involvement doesn’t end there. She is also the administrative coordinator for the International Students’ Centre (a CUSA service centre), a volunteer for Womyn for Change and the National Society of Black Engineers campus clubs, along with being a Black History Month committee member for Race, Ethnicity and Cultural (REC) Hall, another CUSA service centre.

Msosa says she chose to come to Carleton because it has reputation for outstanding leadership in community service and she really wanted to take advantage of that.

“I believe that it is important for students to give back to the Carleton community. Participating in small initiatives not only help me as a student venture into activities that I might pursue in the future, but also helps build lifelong skills and allows me to meet new people,” says the twenty-year-old Ottawa native. “University is about building the leaders of tomorrow – I think it’s important to take advantage of opportunities that we are given.”

By Lori Tarbett

While many students will be basking in the sun on the beaches of warmer climates, Nana O. Yeboah will be one of the eight FASS students who will be donating their spring break time to help others in Mexico.

Known as Alternative Spring Break (ASB), the program is a Community Service Learning initiative aimed at challenging students to make connections between the service they provide to the community and the knowledge and skills they acquire in the classroom. This year, 25 students, one faculty member, two staff members and two student leaders will travel to Cuernavaca, Mexico during Reading Week where they will live and work with the Cuernavaca Centre for Intercultural Dialogue on Development.

Participants will partake in lectures, discussions, community visits and service in the community. While the focus is on Mexico, students are encouraged to consider these issues in relation to their own communities.

Yeboah, the twenty-four-year-old Brampton native of Ghanaian descent, joined ASB because she wanted to do something more productive with her time. “I am hoping to gain a renewed sense of community service and the different aspects it includes,” says Yeboah. “I am also hoping to make connections between the gender, racial and social inequalities in Canada to the inequalities abroad.”

While it is ultimately up to each student to pay for their trip, they are encouraged to raise money any way they can – from shoveling snow to selling chocolates explains Yeboah. Faculty and staff can also help by donating school supplies which will be brought to Cuernavaca and distributed to schools in need. Those interested can contact the First Year Experience Office.

“The world is in turmoil and as I grow in age, I see with my own two eyes that there is truth to this statement: I have always felt that it is my obligation to help out more than just within my immediate community,” says, Yeboah, an English major with a minor in women’s studies. “I think Alternative Spring Break will help me understand the severity of the problems our world faces today.”

By Nicole Findlay

Elisabeth Wilson, a third-year women’s studies and sociology major has been awarded the Pauline Jewett Institute of Women’s Studies’ Scholarship for 2006-07.

The award is especially noteworthy as Wilson has been working full-time while pursuing her studies. It was her job at a not-for-profit organization that advocates for legal and judicial reform that led Wilson to pursue research in women’s studies.

“Every government funded international development contract has to have a gender component and this is how I got interested in women’s studies,” said Wilson. “I wanted to understand the underlying mechanisms which are responsible for women’s subordinate status in society.”

Wilson says she is also interested in the role women play in international development in a variety of societies. The role women’s agencies play in articulating female voices and addressing gender equity within their particular communities is of especial interest.

“How can women’s participation in decision-making processes be increased?” asks Wilson. “What policies could be put in place to increase gender equity?”

Although Wilson will pursue these questions through graduate research, she is planning to take a year off to work… and “rest”.

The Pauline Jewett Institute of Women’s Studies scholarship is awarded based on excellence in third-year academic achievement.

by Nicole Findlay

Students are looking beyond the fizz of pop culture to examine the underlying messages conveyed by seemly innocuous entertainment media.

Using the popular television series Sex in the City to frame their discussion, students participating in Debra Graham’s First-year Seminar, will examine the relationships between gender, sex and popular culture.

“Sex and the City: Gender, Sex and Popular Culture” was developed by Graham, an instructor in the Pauline Jewett Institute of Women’s Studies, after the provocative title was advertised by the institute.

“My current research is within the broad area of media and gender, and the title suggested that the department encouraged a bold approach, a good sense of humour, and a willingness to explore provocative material,” said Graham.

Throughout the year, students will examine how boundaries of sex and gender are defined and articulated by television, film, books, magazines, music and the internet. They will also question whether or not our society’s gender identities and sexual values are conveyed through the media to reinforce conservative ideologies and maintain traditional power structures; and if these same media are used to upend traditional gender and power stereotypes.

“My intention is not only to offer the students a thorough grounding in the most current and salient debates, but also to launch them in an ongoing process of re-evaluation and critique of sex, gender and popular culture,” said Graham.

A recent class, entitled Cover Girl to coincide with an episode by the same name, began with a video clip in which the series’ protagonist, Carrie, expresses her shock at a proposed cover for her new book. In response to the engineered picture of herself naked striding the streets of New York City, she exclaims, “reading about sex is a lot different than seeing it.”

The quote sets the stage for the discussion that ensues about the print media. In groups, students read analyses of and critique the representations of gender found in both women’s and men’s magazines. Finally, oral presentations give class members an opportunity to address a topic of specific interest to them, such as a comparison of the images and texts in Cosmopolitan vs. Maxim magazines.

Graham hopes students will develop an ability to critically evaluate gender and sex messaging, and the extent to which these impact stereotypes, inequality or self-perception. Students will hone their analytical skills both from a consumer perspective, while also considering their own role and responsibilities in shaping the future.