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Show OPINION FORUMFORTNIGHTLY.COM Editor's column FEM0CRACY Limited government... unless it's my uterus We have everything we need Justina McCandless EDITOR-IN-CHIE- F Editor-in-Chi- ef JUSTINA MCCANDLESS j forumeditorwestminstercollege.edu f PRODUCTION MANAGER j KENDRA BLACK J forumproductionwestminstercollege.edu The pivotal tion: are we, as a i generation, altruistic and or materialistic and civic-mind- ed I 4 BUSINESS MANAGER j EMILIO CASILLAS j self-absorbe- ASSISTANT EDITORS Millennials ONLINE MANAGER PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER j TYSON OLCOTT ADVISER also as citizens and members of a na- STAFF REPORTERS 5 I IAN COPPOCK DOROTHANN DINAS , LAINE KRASSNER I DEVIN LANE AMANDA MCINTYRE KENI NELSON BRENDAN WASSER TAYLOR WHITE j j FORUM REPORTER j KATHERIN NELSON j j CONTRIBUTING WRITER EMILIO CASILLAS CONTACT I 1840 S. 1300 I E. SHAW L3 SLC, UTAH j EDITORIAL I PHONE: 801.832.2320 j forumeditorwestminstercollege.edu BUSINESS & ADVERTISING PHONE: 801.832.2319 j forumbusinesswestminstercollege.edu I LETTERS I j Submit letters to the editor and opin- - J ion pieces to forumeditorwestminster- - j college.edu with "Opinion" as the subject I line. Only letters received from a valid f email address signed with a first and j last name will be accepted. The Forum reserves the right to edit all submissions. The views and opinions expressed are those of the writers and are not to be considered those of The Forum, faculty, staff or administration of Westminster College. If published, letters and comments become sole property of The Forum. The Forum publishes 1,000 copies every other Wednesday. Initial copies are free of charge; additional copies may be purchased for $1. The Forum seeks to provide an unbiased, open media outlet for the Westminster campus and surrounding communities. Contact the editor at forumeditor westminstercollege.edu with suggestions, story ideas and feedback. The Forum is published and printed in Salt Lake City, Utah. All rights reserved. No reproduction, reprinting or mass redistribution of print or online material without express written consent of the editor. Copyright 201 1 . 0 of the Westminster community, but j ALECIA CENARUZABEITIA 1982-200- Coincidentally, I have been exploring that same idea in this column for 14 issues of The Forum. I have been asking: who are we? Not just as students and members DEVIN LANE BRIANABUENDIA bom might not be so special after all, study finds, asks just that. ; KIMZARKIN d? A recent article in USA Today, forumbusinesswestminstercollege.edu IAN COPPOCK LAURA WARD ques- tional and global community? Last Saturday, March 17, Westminster Involvement and the Diversity Center sponsored the first Diversity Union Summit focused on Women in Leadership. I was privileged to hear from two groundbreaking women at this conference. One, the Keynote Speaker, was Sabina Varela. Varela is an actress and the daughter of a political activist from the Civil Rights Era. Varela started her speech in an unexpected way. She stood in front of us and became another person. She became a woman from Guatemala in the mid-190who fought for human rights. She told us stories of the strikes she led and the hardships she fought. She told us about how she stood in front of the United States Congress and spoke so passionately about the rights of others that she was forced out of this country and back to her home of Guatemala. It isnt surprising to say the room was captivated by Varelas performance. She then went on to tell us how she has fought for the rights of others in her own life. She said that theater is a powerful way to open up discussion on difficult topics, and she proved that power by beginning her speech with 0s a performance. Varela talked to us about some of the current day issues that were important to her, and then she said during the day she was excited to ask us students what civic issues were important to us I wondered what we would say. Varela brought up the same USA Today article I mentioned, and she said she didnt believe what it said. She said the article was wrong: our generation does care. We are engaged. But Im, well, Im not so sure. I know that we as a generation can be apathetic. I know that we as a generation arent as engaged as we could be. But I also know what Varela knows: that on a Saturday morning the Gore Auditorium was full of students ready to learn and engage. And yes, while the offering of free Einsteins and Minis catering may have played a role in attendance, the point is the same. I cant say whether our generation is selfm or selfir because I dont think its one or the other. I think the decision to be either, or is constantly before us: every moment of every day we have to choose who we want to be.. Varela brought sharply to mind the idea that people throughout time have fought to let us, the Millenials, have a voice. But now that we have a voice we arent using it. Its not like that everywhere. Many and most places in this world dont offer its inhabitants the same freedoms we are allowed to enjoy. People are still fighting today to try and gain their voice. The other woman I heard from at the conference was Samira Hamish, the president of the refugee organization Women of the World. Did you know there are 25,000 refugees living in Utah, mostly in Salt Lake? And that number isnt even up-to-da- te. Did you know that those people have had to flee their homes, where things of unspeakable pain have happened to them and their families? At Westminster we are given every opportunity to engage: countless clubs; open student government Senate seats and other positions; a newspaper that is always ready and willing to accept contributions, and truly countless service opportunities and organizations to engage with. Programs like S.L.I.C.E. and the new Take Action Program actually give you money to make anything beneficial for the community and the cause you care about happen. So lets return to my question: who are we? And Varelas question: what issues do we care about? Varela quoted Ella Baker, African American human rights activist, who said Strong people dont need strong leaders in order to get stuff done. We are a strong people. We are a strong generation. And we have been given every single thing we would ever need in order to succeed. We live in America. We are gaining a Higher Education at Westminster. So I say, lets do it. Lets start reading the news, lets start engaging, lets stop hiding behind our computers and lets change our world. Because we cant forget. We cant forget that this is our world: were the only ones who can change it. Any student, faculty, staffor community member can contribute to this gender issues column. Sendyour contribution forumeditorwestminstercollege.edu with the subject line to Gender Issues Column. Katherin Nelson Forum Reporter A new Utah Law, H.B. 461, requires women to wait 72 hours after receiving mandatory abortion counseling to undergo the procedure. On the suffice, the bill doesnt sound like it makes much of an impact on a womans choice; however, the reality is, this bill plays a role in the bigger game of informed consent laws should really be called mandatory head nodding at information that discourages abortion. A lot of states require informed consent Information about surgical risks and possible outcomes is standard practice. In Utah But Utah takes this pile of paperwork and turns it into event where lawmakers force women to attend an in-pers- on mandatory counseling sessions three days before an abortion. They have to listen to a slew of tidbits discouraging abortion - even if its not medically accurate. Here are a few things Utah does in abortion clinics that maximize the presence of a male Utah lawmaker in a place especially reserved for a woman and her doctor. counseling is required. A woman cannot review sensitive materials in private with her thoughts and emotions. She must sit in a room with a group of others while a medical professional informs her on a list of topics lawmakers decided were necessary. Under Utah law, a woman must be given written materials about the procedure. Only nine states require this, 17 require the materials be offered, and the rest dont require the paper pushing at alL The verbal counseling a woman is given in Utah requires the medical professional to describe the gestational stages of an unborn child and to inform the woman of agencies that can assist her during her pregnancy, childbirth and adoption. Take note, the new Utah law refers to the fetus, only once, but to the unborn child eleven times. There is no requirement to inform the woman ofresources available postabortion if she is in need of counseling serIn-pers- on vices, but the descriptions of negative emotional responses to abortions are required. Again, theyll tell you where you can go to put your child up for adoption and who can help you stay pregnant, but not who can help you if you dont. The most odious example of the mandatory discouragement in counseling sessions is that the woman must be informed that she may have an anesthetic administered to the unborn child of 20 weeks (and older) during the abortion to alleviate pain the fetus may feel due to the procedure. This is a misleading and manipulative offering. Lawmakers are laying on guilt as thick as Brigham Youngs beard by inaccurately telling the woman she is physically hurting the fetus. This information is unproven, and likely untrue. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, it is unlikely that a fetus can perceive pain and interpret the information until at least 29 weeks gestation. Now, after a woman has been forced to listen, Utah lawmakers force her to wait She is not trusted to make her own choice. She must listen, she must think for three days, and only then is she allowed to make up her mind. Government representatives supporting the bill have said that it is not an abortion bill, but its about giving someone time to think about an important decision. If thats what this is really about, when will they be passing laws mandating a before dating period marriage or a marriage period before pregnancy? When a woman becomes pregnant, it changes her life regardless of the outcome. What happens between the plus sign on the test and the end of the pregnancy is discussion for the home, not Capitol Hill ear 5-y- ear |