NEWS
Guest speaker unravels issues ef
U.S.-Mexico herder and femicide
By Eleanor Coleman & Renee Leach
Staff Writers
In continuation of Hispanic Heritage Month, HUG
hosted Macrina Cardenas Alarcon to speak on Sept.
26. This was a collaborative event with help from the
Multicultural Education Department and financial
support from women's, gender and sexuality studies,
justice & policy studies, and the history department.
Alarcon is a former delegate for the Mexico
Solidarity Movement, but is currently on a speaking
tour. While at Guilford, she gave two presentations:
"Immigration at the U.S.-Mexico Border" and
"Femicides in Ciudad Juarez."
Immigration at the U.S.-Mexico Border
The issues concerning the U.S.-Mexico border are
front-and-center in our current political atmosphere.
Alarcon emphasized that the U.S. needs to take
responsibility for the serious afflictions Mexicans
are facing as a result of our policies. Together with
students, teachers, and those in attendance, she
discussed things that can be done to make progress in
this complex issue.
George Guo, associate professor of political science,
thinks everyone should educate themselves about
this chain of events.
"If you know the
and theory, you'll be
able to interpret the
correlations between
cause and effect," said
Guo. "Everyone needs to
understand policies so in
the future we can make a
wise decision."
Understanding policy
and how things have
happened helps us
understand the answers
to the serious questions
we face.
Jorge Zeballos, Latino
community program
coordinator, agrees with
this concept, which he
calls "understanding
the larger context."
Understanding the
bigger picture allows you
background, foundation.
Review of Latin America. "Even higher rates of
homicide exist among Juarez males: more than 200
men are murdered each year."
Even though the number of females murdered is
significantly less than that of males, these victims have
garnered special attention — mainly because, until
recently, they have hardly received any attention.
The story of these unnoticed victims, among other
issues, has encouraged Alarcon's work in the Mexico
Solidarity Movement.
"Many women (that are) out alone in public
disappear and are later found in fields with signs of
being attacked," said Alarcon.
These victims usually show evidence of sexual
assault as well.
Women in Cuidad Juarez easily find themselves in
vulnerable situations everyday.
"These are where there are free trade zones, there's
a lot of factories, there's a lot of low wage jobs," said
Assistant Professor of Justice and Policy Studies
Sanjay Marwah. "Women are going to work in these
factories ... they're single, they don't know anybody,
these are urban, highly dense areas, government
officials are considered corrupt."
In addition to the heinous nature of these crimes,
the lack of attention they receive is also a problem.
Mexican officials grant this issue little concern, barely
investigating cases if not completely ignoring them.
"This isn't happening in a vacuum," said Alarcon.
Mexico's strong
Former delegate for the Mexico Solidarity Movement
Macrina Cardenas Alarcon spoke in Bryan Jr.
Auditorium on Sept. 26. She discussed ^e issue of femicide
in Mexico and how it relates to the U.S.
patriarchal culture also
makes blaming the
victims easy.
"Culturally, the
government can almost,
in some sense, say, 'We
don't have to do anything
about it, because these
are women that should
have known better,
should be doing what
they’re supposed to be
doing,"' said Marwah.
"Patriarchal societies
definitely contribute to
femicide."
The Mexico Solidarity
Movement takes
inspiration from the
mother's of victims in
Ciudad Juarez, who
to be in the position where you can make a difference, work to publicize these events even amid threatening
This is significant because right now the next step is opposition.
taking responsibility and finding ways to help those
who our policies have harmed.
"We have our hands in the mess of the issue we're
facing now, we created it," said Zeballos. "(Yet) all
I see is immigrant-bashing. It's a toxic environment
when it comes to immigration right now."
"What strikes me the most is that we had both
hands on Mexico," said senior Hannah Early. "We
were in their economy and in their lives and dictating
what they needed to do in regards to economic policy.
Tf the mothers hadn't mounted this struggle things
would be worse than they are now," said Alarcon.
Doing what you can where you are
One of the biggest testaments of progress made
is that people like Alarcon are even speaking about
these issues.
"We're a group you might call idealists or
romantics," said Stuart Schussler, who works with
Now we are trying to remove ourselves from that Alarcon and served as translator for the presentation,
involvement and act like we haven't done anything Although Guilford is a small institution, the Mexico
wrong. Part of the reason people cross the border Solidarity Network believes that these intimate
undocumented is because we created a situation in
which they need to do so."
Femicide in Cuidad Juarez
grassroots interactions have large reverberations for
change.
Both presentations emphasized the importance of
being involved.
"Students need to be involved," said Early. "We
The Mexican city of Cuidad Juarez, located in the as students need to call for those things we see as
region of Chihuahua, is famous for hosting a myriad important and make our voices heard."
of crime. However, female victims in particular are However, the vital first step is simply being
becoming a topic of unique discussion. informed.
"Since 1993, about 30 women have been murdered "These things are happening in Mexico, but are
annually in the Juarez metropolitan area of more intimately related to the United States," said Alarcon,
than two million people," reports ReVista, Harvard's "Their lives are connected."
SEPTEMBER 30, 2011
EXPLORING
SEXUAL
Assault
Defining sexual assault: part
one of a three part series
By Victor Lopez
Staff Writer
Students are beginning to mobilize, questioning whether
Guilford College, like other colleges, is facing the nationwide
problem of sexual assault in effective ways.
Senior Taylor Starns, president of Guilford's Sexual Assault
Awareness, Support and Advocacy, said that she wanted to see
more accountability from the college where sexually charged
crimes were concerned.
Starns thinks that sexual assault is not clearly outlined or
understood on campus, which she thinks is problematic.
Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs Aaron Fetrow told
The Guilfordian that his office is eager to help those who need
assistance when offended, though many students do not report
assault for many reasons, usually because most cases of assault
have to do with drugs and alcohol.
Sexual assault means any unwanted touch or advances, not just
rape. Consider the following scenario:
You and someone you are attracted to meet up at a party. Later
in the night you end up making a sexual advance. You are both
drunk, and she or he did not indicate not wanting sex or to be
touched sexually, so you think they might be into you. You press
on. You might have just sexually assaulted someone.
Fetrow said that students should proactively learn what con
sent really means and dig a little deeper where sexual health is
concerned.
"As soon as you've taken one drink, consumed any drug, you
have just lost the right under the law to give legal consent to have
sex," said Fetrow.
According to the 2010-2011 Student Handbook: "Students rnust
confirm that mutual consent is given for all sexual acts within a
sexual interaction.
"A student can withdraw consent at any time during an encoun
ter. Non-communication is not consent. Consent can only be given
when a student is able to freely make an informed choice between
two options: yes and no.
"Consent cannot be given if someone is asleep, unconscious,
incapacitated, coerced, threatened, intimidated or forced, under
the age of 16, or impaired by alcohol / drugs."
Author and Associate Professor of women's, gender, and sexu
ality studies at California State University Shira Tarrant told The
Guilfordian that most students will not read the handbook cover
to cover and reporting after the fact only fixes parts of the prob
lem.
"The 100 percent effective solution is prevention," said Tarrant.
"It is not a matter of getting people to report after the crime is
committed. What needs to happen on campus is a very open con
versation about consent and sexual assault."
Tarrant said that having informed conversations about sexual
assault and getting the term "bystander intervention" on the table
was important.
"Doing this as a collective community will shift the cultural
conversation about what is acceptable and unacceptable," said
Tarrant.
"This is the institution's responsibility to put these conversa
tions on the table,." she added.
Senior Maddie Lambelet agreed with Tarrant, telling The
Guilfordian that she loves Guilford and feels that without account
ability and openness for sexual safety the institution will suffer.
"By opening the dialogue about sexual assault and date rape we
are bringing these issues to the forefront so we can protect people
from one another and making mistakes," said Lambelet.
Senior Justin Kirchner said that he is exhausted by the silence
behind sexual assault.
"This seems like a subject that is too often swept under the rug,"
said Kirchner. "Both by the student body and by the college."
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