Fall ll-1999 Newsletter

IN THIS ISSUE:

Winner of the 1999 Women's Caucus Essay Award
News
Announcements and Events
At UWO
In the Community at Large
December 6 Memorial Activities
Contact Your Caucus
Caucus Membership

Women's Caucus Essay Award Winner
The Role Of Female Musicians In Islamic Societies: Are They Really Bound By The Dictates of Religion?

By: Vanessa Nicole Martin

It is a widespread belief that the true liberation of women has occurred in the West. Most people are also prone to the belief that this period of revolution was a phenomenon of the twentieth century. Followers of Islam, however, believe that the women's liberation movement was revealed by God to a man in the seventh century by the name of Prophet Mohammed
(Peace Be Upon Him). The Quran and the traditions of the Prophet (Hadith or Sunnah) are the sources from which every Muslim woman derives her rights and duties. As casual Western observers, though, it can be quite difficult to fathom that Islamic societies do indeed establish a woman's equality with her male
counterpart.(1)

Another ambivalent point in Islam is its attitude towards music. For centuries its legalists have argued the question whether listening to music (Al Sama) is lawful or not. It is not easy to comprehend how the question arose, seeing that there is not a
word of direct censure against music in the Quran. The problem of a Muslim woman's rights has very often been the focus of many debates. However, a Muslim woman's right to express herself through the medium of music is another area of Islamic law that is a breeding ground for much contradiction.(2)

In Islam, certain sounds have more "musicness" about them than others do and there are different levels of acceptance to these sounds. First, there is the category of music that is halal, legitimate or allowed from the point of view of religious law.
Secondly there is the category of music that ismubah. Types of music in this category are allowed but they are not looked upon with great favour and are somewhat circumspect; they may be performed, but they are not halal and are therefore in a lower category. There are also the kinds of music called Makruh which are improper and which are disapproved by the religion but not totally forbidden by Islamic law. Finally, there is that which is haram: forbidden or illicit. It is important to state that these rulings are not unanimous and there are differences of interpretation among various religious scholars as
to where the distinctions between categories lie. The divisions therefore are not absolute and a crucial distinction has to be drawn between music that is non- Musiqa (which cannot be called "music" in the Western sense) and music that is called Musiqa or "music".(3) Thus in Islamic societies, the character of the entire musical culture seems to be the result of this ambivalence.

Of the genres that are non-Musiqa is the chanting of the sacred text or the Quran. It is considered blasphemous for a Muslim to use the word "singing" in reference to a recitation of the Holy Quran. The one who presents the Quran is never referred to as Mughanni (singer) (although he of course actually does sing) but as Murqi, Fali, Muratul or Mujawid (reader or reciter). A Quran performance requires a beautiful singing voice and great musical skill. Good Quran singers are engaged at the larger mosques in the cities and receive their religious and musical education at one of the many Quran schools. The Quran
reading generally takes place on Fridays in the mosque and recently also on the radio and television in front of a microphone and camera.(4) It is ironic then that women are not allowed to lead public worship in the chanting of the sacred text, although Islam, fourteen centuries ago, made women equally accountable to God in glorifying and worshipping Him.(5) Although women are allowed to attend public worship at the local mosque, the right to chant the sacred text of the Quran is reserved for men. Even though Islam believes that men and women come from the same essence and are equal in their humanity, its
actual adherence seems to be overlooked in this quintessential practice of Islamic culture. The only approved way for women to express their musicality in a religious setting is the celebration of the Milad to commemorate the birth of the Prophet Mohammed (Peace Be Upon Him). This is an event especially for women, but some legalists are opposed to the
celebration of the birth of the Prophet (P.B.U.H), which may appear strange, but which marks a point of difference within the Sunni world. This is why in Medina, the city of the Prophet (P.B.U.H), you will not see performed or chanted in public this category of eulogy poems concerning the Prophet (P.B.U.H).(6)

The Prophet Mohammed (P.B.U.H), we know, not only accepted but encouraged music at the time of weddings, which is why the genre is considered to be halal or legitimate. There are very few people, even the staunchest opponents of music, who have objected to this category of music. Music has a very important role in the wedding celebrations. One of the things
that have to be agreed on by the two fathers long before the event (along with speaking about the price to be paid for the bride and her dowry) is the ordering of musicians.(7) It would seem correct to assume, then, that it is this genre of music which finally allows women to express their musical desires. However, societal wedding practices in many Islamic communities work contrary to this belief. Although it is unfair to say that the women are entirely suppressed in their musical expression, they are not entirely regarded as equal to the male musicians. A Muslim woman has the privilege to earn
money and run her own business in which no one has the right to claim on her earnings - including her husband.(8) However, in Turkish communities professional women musicians are found very rarely. While male musicians are engaged according to their ability, price, and availability, female musicians, usually close relatives of the male musicians, are not engaged separately, but are just included in the bargain.

In a more rural, conservative Islamic community it is still regarded as ayip (shameful) if women perform in public. Women who fail to follow this custom are treated as outcasts. Gypsy women are the only women who may perform in public as they already have the status of outcasts and therefore have nothing to lose. The Gypsies are not regarded in practice as full members of the rural population. Therefore the Gypsy women are not bound by the restrictions which Islamic custom and laws impose upon them, as they are much freer and express this in their musical activities. Female Gypsy musicians in southwestern Turkey, for example, possess the status of professional musicians. For ceremonial purposes such as weddings, they are engaged to sing and dance where they perform for the party of the women and also in front of men. The status and position of the Gypsy women in rural Turkish society is ambiguous. They are respected because of their experience and knowledge of women's affairs, and their personal income allows them an independence and freedom which is considered
unconventional. On the other hand they are Gypsies, who usually live outside towns and are never regarded as full members of society. Their role as musicians is closely connected with the flavour of indecency and Turkish men often regard them as the village prostitutes. Whether this is implying an accusation, which underlies the ambiguous status of these women, or presents some degree of truth remains to be established.(9) To the Western music academic, the idea of equating a woman's musical performance with her moral standing can be seen as ludicrous, if not outlandish.

During a wedding celebration in the countryside or small towns, men and women play different instruments; the women use the delbek frame drum to accompany their songs and the men the double drum duval and a shawm. These instruments cannot be exchanged as they are gender restricted. It would be possible for a man to play the delbek, but he would not be apt to do so and everyone would laugh at him. On the other hand it would not be acceptable for a woman to play the duval or the shawm.(10) Whereas in previous centuries it was "unfeminine" for a Western woman to play the cello, the idea of restricting
genders to certain Western musical instruments today would be balked at it and would in all probability cause a public outcry!

Abu Hamid Al Ghazzali (1058-1111), religious reformer and mystic, defines seven purposes for which music can be used. In this list, he states that music may be used to "arouse joy".(11) However, a woman's ability to express herself musically is socially restrained. Women musicians in wedding celebrations do not play instruments and so their style is closely connected with song performance. The only instrument that is acceptable for women is the frame drum. The women, usually two or three, all do the same: they sing and accompany their songs on the delbek. Thus the women have a mostly collective style, so one has to obey the rules of the collective, which does not allow individual elements. The music performed by these women is not loud and contains a very private character, permitting them to only perform inside the house or in a place that is somehow closed, such as a tent. Women are not expected to show their feelings, and so they seem to be uninvolved when singing these wedding songs. In researching the integration of the female musicians among the wedding guests, ethnographers noticed that women, by singing in a strict and monotonous way, perform as though they are excluded from the rest of the party.(12)

In contrast to the women's sedate style, the men perform loud instrumental music. Because of the loudness of the instruments and the public character, the music is performed only outside under the sky. The male musicians play in an ensemble where everybody is free to execute the piece in his own personal manner. Thus, the men's style includes melodic and rhythmic variations that display their virtuosity. Unlike the women, the men are involved in the situation and they are required to play their best, because their next engagement depends on it. The men's style is characteristically individualistic and is more developed, varied and brilliant in comparison to the women's musicianship.

In urban Islamic areas one can sense a certain European influence in the social position of women, and, more than that, an aftereffect of the reforms of Atarurk, who strove for equal rights and the cooperation of men and women. In the 1920's, among other things, he forbade women to wear the veil, under penalty of death. But the law unfortunately could not be carried into effect. As for music, there is a restraint in general, even in the towns, but not so much today as earlier.(13) Aside from bridal and wedding songs, two song genres are never prohibited to women. These are lullabies (ninni) and laments for the dead (agit). To be sure, the former must not be heard by strange men, and, as an overall rule, not by strangers. Here no doubt an ancient superstition plays a role, one that is still widespread, according to which spirits and demons can cause something evil to happen to the child in its sleep. For the second song genre, the lament for the dead (agit), the women are allowed to appear in public; indeed they are even begged to do so. If someone dies, an agit singer is charged to compose a text and melody according to the particular individual events. Then, using traditional graphic images and turns of speech, the merits of the deceased are delineated, the conditions of the death described, and the sorrow of the relatives portrayed.(14) The women who sing such songs of lament do not come from the socially elevated classes. Yet they are esteemed throughout and their
creative ability is recognized, even though they work only within the framework of melodic and poetic models. Depending on their beauty and power of conviction, such songs may be spread more widely, so that some of these laments are famous within a narrow radius. Quite often men will sing the songs later, but outside the context.

Aside from this musical activity, there is no opportunity for women to make music anywhere except in the narrowest sphere. But professional women singers, of course, constitute an exception. In both the large cities of Ankara and Istanbul there are
Western oriented women musicians active in the opera, the concert halls and the conservatories. There are also women artists who perform the traditional so- called classical music, be it Western or Oriental. These singers are truly respected only when they are famous and appear in glittering splendour on the stage and on television, and have the ability to charm the audience. The others, less qualified or less promoted, are looked down upon and considered immoral. In order to protect the reputation of their wives, husbands sit in the restaurants or nightclubs where their wives appear until closing time. They
often play cards at such times, and their wives must share the financial losses. The women are frequently crushed, for because of their profession they no longer enjoy the protection of the extended family, being excluded from the community.(15)

As mentioned before, the Quran preaches the equality of both sexes and does not have any words of direct censure against music. However, the religious idiom of Islamic society has permeated even the freedom of musical expression by women in the community. As a music academic and an eighteen year resident in the Middle East, I have often found myself trying to distinguish between the dictates of Islam and the restriction the community imposes upon itself under the pretext of Islamic law. It seems to be the societal dictates that have tightened the freedom or the possibility of musical development of these
women. They are restricted to the limits their family and society impose on them. This is also valid for the Gypsy women, whose scope is evidently wide but nevertheless restricted.

The constraints of living in an Islamic community are even more evident when one compares the lifestyle of women musicians residing abroad. It is at this point that one questions to what extent these communities practice the dictates of the Holy Quran. When living abroad, many women become earners, along with their husbands, and are forced to become more independent. Their self-confidence rises too and it is no longer possible to curtail their freedom as much as before.
The men gradually take on a different relationship with their wives. Also contributing to the loosening of constraint is the absence abroad of the extended family, who observe and control everything in the name of religion and morality. The situation just described, however, applies only to a small minority of the women. The more conservative women and their
families take pains to carry on their accustomed ways of life according to the strict traditions. They despise the women just described, who see themselves as modern people and act more self-confidently than they would in their homeland. So the latter sing at festivals, family celebrations, and in larger gatherings together with the men and without reservation. These women are also accustomed to performing in groups. In Berlin there are two choruses for art music in which not only girls but also married women participate, and have the chance to sing as soloists. Very recently the female singer Sema Guler (who was for a long time soloist in an ensemble which aspired to a synthesis of Turkish and Western music) has even founded a women's chorus which performs folk music. A number of schoolgirls and young girls are working with school-age boys and men in folklore groups which dance and make music. The aspirations of these young girls often conflict with their parents' ideals, as the latter are afraid that their daughters could have sexual relations too early, that is before marriage. This is regarded as a monstrous disgrace (ayip) and in the village or small town community, the whole family would lose its good
reputation.

In comparing the songs that Muslim women sing abroad, one is struck by the fact that the singing style here is completely different from that of the women in their motherland. These women in conservative Islamic societies perform the songs more simply and with more restraint. In contrast to the men who sing with a pinched voice and with many ornamental flourishes,
the songs of the women sound simpler. The singing style changes increasingly in the foreign country where the women have the freedom to sing out more and more freely, according to their mood. They let their voices resound as a matter of course and self- confidence, and they take pains to weave decorations and ornaments into the songs like the men. In addition to the voice quality, the music itself changes abroad and this happens as much among women as among men. It moves away from the traditional tonal system (even though only in small steps) and comes closer to our Western tonal system.(16)

While Islamic Culture around the world is evolving, and the religion itself is spreading in the western world through evangelization, we can only hope to witness the breaking down of barriers that have shackled the Muslim woman for centuries. Perhaps then, she will be able to give vent to all the myriad musical abilities that must surely be lurking just
beneath the facade of religious and social propriety.

Endnotes
1 Website, "http://www.qucis.queensu.ca/home/fevens/21.html".
2 Henry George Farmer, "A History of Arabian Music" (Luzac and Company Ltd.), 22.
3 Lawrence E. Sullivan, "Enchanting Powers: Music in the World's Religions" (Harvard University Press) 220-235.
4 Habib Hassan Touma, "The Music of the Arabs" (Amadeus Press), 153.
5 Website, "http://www.qucis.queensu.ca/home/fevens/21.html".
6 Lawrence E. Sullivan, "Enchanting Powers: Music in the World's Religions" (Harvard University Press) 220-235.
7 Marcia Herndon and Susanne Ziegler, "Music, Gender and Culture" (Florian Noetzel Verlag Wilhelmshaven), 86-88.
8 Website, "http://www.qucis.queensu.ca/home/fevens/21.html".
9 Marcia Herndona and Susanne Ziegler, "Music, Gender and Culture" (Florian Noetzel Verlag Wilhelmshaven), 86-88.
10 Ibid.
11 Lawrence E. Sullivan, "Enchanting Powers: Music in the World's Religions" (Harvard University Press) 220-235.
12 Marcia Herndon and Susanne Ziegler, "Music, Gender and Culture" (Florian Noetzel Verlag Wilhelmshaven), 86-88.
13 Ibid.
14 Ibid.
15 Ibid.
16 Ibid.

The Caucus would like to thank all those who submitted papers to the Essay Award committee.

NEWS

1. Caucus joins The Circle at Brescia College

1. At our October meeting the Caucus executive decided to support The Circle at Brescia College by becoming a member. Patricia McLean, an active leader for The Circle, claims that not unlike many women's projects at this time, The Circle is struggling financially and is now concerned about raising funds. Membership is an important source of revenue and will
help to sustain The Circle as it celebrates its 10th year of togetherness in the year 2000. The Circle is a feminist forum for women in the university and the larger community to share personal and collective experience. The Circle also links with other women's groups, locally, nationally and internationally.

Membership to The Circle includes a subscription to The Circle Newsletter, free admission to Open Circles (gatherings are held on the last Wednesday of the month -- open circle is the opportunity for women to recognize the sacred in their lives), preferred access and reduced fees for all Circle events, borrowing privileges from the Centre Resources and Brescia College Library. The annual membership fee is $20.00. The Circle membership is passionate about women's issues and appreciates the link with the Caucus to keep alive the hope for change for women.

ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EVENTS

At UWO:

1. See "A Modern Tragedy", a play by Barbara Metcalf, November 23.
2. OCUFA Status of Women Committee is looking for a faculty member.
3. Homecoming 2000 dates have been announced.
4. The Pride Library Celebrates its new collection and integration into OPAC.
1. The Women's Caucus is proud to be sponsoring an on campus presentation of "A Modern Tragedy", a new play by Barbara Metcalf. The play will be shown at 4:30 p.m. on November 23 in the McKeller Room. Admission is free and all are welcome. Refreshments will be served before the show, from 4 p.m. on, and we are hoping to have a question period following the performance.

The play will be performed by Playhouse, a part of the London Community Players. Playhouse offers new actors a place to hone their skills and a chance to practice their craft. The play is based on Barbara's Master's Thesis in which she looked at sexual harassment in an intimate relationship. Plan to join us at this Caucus event and spread the word!

2. Help Wanted! The OCUFA Status of Women Committee is looking for a faculty member to join the
committee. For details please see http://www.ocufa.on.ca. Closer to home... the UWO Faculty Association wants and needs your help on committees, including Status of Women and Rights, among others. For further information please contact
UWOFA Past President Aniko Varpalotai at aniko@julian.uwo.ca.

3. The UWO Alumni Association is pleased to announce the dates for HOMECOMING 2000 September 22- 24, 2000. With a new millennium and a new stadium to celebrate, Homecoming 2000 promises to be Western's biggest and best yet. We expect record numbers of alumni to return to London for this celebratory
weekend. Special events and activities are now being planned, including lectures, musical presentations, workshops, gala dinners, Mustang football (Western vs. York), children's programs, and much more. The following classes are the official reunion years that will be holding celebrations in the fall of 2000: 1925, 1930, 1935, 1940, 1945, 1950, 1955, 1960, 1965,
1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995. If you:

know of a significant anniversary/ passage which should be celebrated in 2000
wish to nominate an outstanding alumna/alumnus for an Alumni Award of Merit
have a great idea for a Homecoming event showcasing your faculty/department
we'd love to hear from you!
Please contact:
Suzanne Edmondson, Homecoming Coordinator
The University of Western Ontario
Department of Alumni Relations and Development
PH. (519) 661-2111 ext. 88464 FX. (519) 661-3948
E-mail smedmond@julian.uwo.ca

4. The Pride Library invites all Caucus members to a celebration

to announce the integration of the Pride Library into the Online Public Access Catalogue of the University Library System;
to mark the completion of the cataloguing of the Lesbian Safety Collection;
to thank the President's Committee on the Safety of Women on Campus for their generous support of the Lesbian Safety Collection and Integration Projects.
This event will be held at the Pride Library, University College 355 (3rd floor of the Modern Languages wing), Monday, December 6, 12 p.m. - 1 p.m. Although this is not an event explicitly focussed around the National Day of Remembrance and Action or Violence Against Women, there, naturally, will be recognition of women who are victims of violence, in keeping with December 6 observances. For more information contact Professor James Miller, Director, UWO Research Facility for Gay and Lesbian Studies, 661-21 ex 85828, jmiller@julian.uwo.ca.
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In the Community at Large:

1. Volunteer opportunities at Womanpower.
2. Events at the Forest City Gallery for the month of November.
3. NAC's Campaign 5000 is looking for supporters.

1. Womanpower is a community-based career resource centre for women that has served the local community for 25 years. The agency is currently looking for additional volunteers to serve specifically on the Board of Directors, both to guide
and direct services and to develop resources to implement those services most effectively. If you have an interest in women's economic well-being, employment equity and women's workplace issues, this opportunity may be of interest. For more information, please contact the agency office at (519) 438-1782.

2. Events at the Forest City Gallery for the month of November 99

Main Gallery:

d.a.r.e. (daring artists reveal everything)
SANDRA HAAR - BEVERLEY MCNAUGHTON - RENE PRICE -
OLEXANDER WLASENK
November 12 - December 20, 1999
Exhibition organized by London artist Jewel Goodwyn.

In d.a.r.e, the participating artists address what is often referred to as challenging subject matter. With varying approaches these artists address difficult, or taboo issues directly and boldly, using humour, trickster personas, and critical reflection. Among the themes investigated in this exhibition are identity, gender, sexuality/ desire, consumer values,and ownership/authorship. Toronto-based artist and writer Sandra Haar's work concerns textual and visual representations of sexuality, ethnicity and gender. In SNAPSHOTS, Haar draws upon the languages of pornography, autobiography and critical visual methods. London-based artist Olexander Wlasenko's conceptual work KLEPTO raises a gamut of criminal, cultural and moral issues. These range from theft, defacement, ownership/authorship...veracity and authenticity. London-based artist Bev McNaughton alludes to modern surgical techniques and their role in redefining bodies. Through a variety of media,
McNaughton cuts, melts, sews and sutures objects to alter, modify, mutilate and transform their original form. In Alchemy: Blown Glass Sex Change, McNaughton describes the process "The blown glass, once a solid becomes molten, then shaped and turns solid again. This enables me to create my own sex change operation. The vessels are shaped into phalli then transformed and shaped into bizarre genitalia, referencing plastic surgery and its role in recreating body parts." Cornwall Ontario artist René Price describes himself as an Idea Guy/Inventor, Quirky Mockartist, Scribbler and Rascal. D.a.r.e.
will feature works from Price's eclectic Suburbiaart, Minorityart, and Crossart series. With a "Bambie meets Godzilla" approach to his work, Price uses humour like a whip, and shares his critical perspective of consumer values and conditions in contemporary life.

d.a.r.e is being held in conjunction with a parallel project at the McIntosh Gallery, Re:Presenting a Cultural View, November 4- December 12, 1999 with artists Michael Czupryna, Sue- Ellen Gerritsen, Greg Hill and William Zierhofer.

Events
Foreign Film Night : Thursday, Nov. 18, 8:00 p.m.
"Picnic at Hanging Rock" (1975) Dir. Peter Weir
Admission is free.

3. Campaign 5000! Building a Viable Future for NAC. Coming out of last year's funding crisis, and in the spirit of the decisions made by NAC's membership, it was imperative that NAC undertake the task of ensuring its sustainability for both the short and the long term.

This task has translated itself into one of NAC's most important campaigns yet: The Campaign 5000! The goal is to reach 5000 women and supporters of NAC committed to donating $100 per year. The Executive Committee is working hard in each and every region to shore up NAC's viability and asks those who can to help.

By participating in this Campaign - either by donating yourself, or by helping to solicit the yearly donations - you will be part of the solution to the present funding crisis confronting the Canadian women's movement. You will be ensuring that women's groups are working on the political, social and economic questions of the day and not only scrambling to fundraise for their daily survival.

December 6 Memorial Activities

1. CHRW to feature women's voices all day on December 6 and is looking for input.
2. Brescia College will be holding its annual "Ritual of Re-membering" in the Brescia College Auditorium at noon.
3. The London Community observes the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women.

1. December 6 on CHRW

Hello Everyone, I'm one of the producers of "Broadly Speaking", CHRW's (Radio Western) weekly half hour radio show on issues of interest and concern to women. Again this year, CHRW will feature "all women's voices, all day" on Monday December 6 to commemorate the Montreal Massacre. As it's the tenth anniversary of this tragic event that changed forever
how we think about men's violence against women, many of this year's events focus on hope, and a new millennium free from violence. In that spirit, we want to have as many positive, affirming, hopeful and celebratory women's voices on the air as possible - and (because it's been 10 years) we have a theme -

Top Ten lists - and we need your voice! All you need to do is come up with a theme for your Top Ten list and then list the top ten items. Here are some examples of potential Top Ten list themes:

Top Ten wishes for women in the new millennium
Top Ten ways to improve safety for women on campus
Top Ten reasons it's great to be a feminist
Top Ten ways we (men, governments, communities...) can end violence against women
Top Ten books (poems, shows, web-sites) about women
Top Ten revolutionary ideas brought to us by women
Top Ten great women of this century
Top Ten women to watch for in the next
Top Ten ways to promote (equity, justice, social change...) for women
You get the idea. Be creative, inspirational, witty, serious ... it's up to you. All you need to do is e- mail me when your list is ready and I will contact you to set up a time at your convenience to record you voicing your Top Ten list. Please pass this
message along to colleagues, friends and students. And please contact me if you have any questions.

Thanks, Pam Hanington

"Broadly Speaking" can be heard every Monday at 6:30
a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on CHRW, 94.7 FM
Broadly Speaking - "radio that matters"

2. Brescia College is making plans to commemorate the tragic event of December 6, 1989, the deaths of fourteen women at the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal. At the annual Ritual of Re-membering, the people gathered take time to remember these young women and acts of violence against all women. As part of the 10th anniversary this year, we are dedicating a special ritual vase and candlesticks honouring the memory of the fourteen women in Montreal and U.W.O. Engineering student Lynda Shaw.

The Ritual is attended by a diverse representation of people from the University and the broader London community and musters the energy of the community to continue to work toward ending violence against women in its myriad forms. The participants take that energy into their lives and back into their homes and workplaces - promoting change.

All are welcome to join in the Ritual of Re-membering at noon on Monday, December 6. At this time a commemorative vase and ritual candlesticks, created by Rheta Jeffrey, will be dedicated.

3. The London Community observes the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Womenon December 6 at 5:15 p.m. in Victoria Park by the Women's monument. The programme will include speakers and the showing of the Clothesline Project.

The Clothesline Project encourages women who have been abused, and any individual who cares about a woman who has been injured or killed by their intimate partner, to personalize a mitten and donate it to the project. A message can be painted, knitted or glued with such things as a first name, age, year, or symbol. Each mitten will represent an abused woman in our community.

The mittens will be collected and strung on a clothesline in London on December 6, the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. Please drop off a mitten at the London Battered Women's Advocacy Centre, 69 Wellington Street or the London Free Press Lobby, 369 York Street before December 1. For more information, please call the London Battered Women's Advocacy Centre, 432-2204.

CONTACT YOUR CAUCUS
Margaret Kellow, President...mmkellow@julian.uwo.ca
Angela Schneider, Vice President... aschneid@julian.uwo.ca
Sara Steers, Past President...ssteers@julian.uwo.ca
Adeline Falk Rafael, Secretary... arfalkra@julian.uwo.ca
Stephanie MacLeod, Treasuer...smacleod@julian.uwo.ca
Janice Wallace, Membership...jwallace@julian.uwo.ca
Alison Lee, Essay Award...alee@julian.uwo.ca
Tracy Isaacs, Safety Committee Rep...tisaacs@julian.uwo.ca
Letitia Meynell, Newsletter, Publicity and Grad Student Rep....lmmeynel@julian.uwo.ca
Susan Abercromby, Publicity and Grad Student Rep. ...sabercromby@odyssey.on.ca

The position of Programs Executive is still open and we invite all interested parties to get in touch with Margaret Kellow at mmkellow@julian.uwo.ca.

CAUCUS MEMBERSHIP

Anyone employed either part-time or full-time by the university or its affiliates is eligible for membership. The current membership includes staff, graduate students and faculty members representing most academic and non-academic departments.

Membership fees are annual and the Caucus membership year begins in September each year. If you would like to join the Caucus or have let your Caucus membership lapse, here are the fees for membership:

Graduate student $5.00
Modest income $10.00
Regular member $20.00
Sustaining member $30.00
Charter member $50.00

The membership fees are used to support Caucus programmes and special initiatives, such as student awards and Caucus events.

If you have questions or would like to join, please contact Janice Wallace.

Janice Wallace, Membership Co-ordinator
Faculty of Education
661-2087 Xt. 8608
jwallace@julian.uwo.ca

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