by Kate Turner '21
October 22, 2018
[Taken down for site construction and re-uploaded 5.24.19]
what are the dems up to?
From the Dems E-board: The Mount Holyoke College Democrats stand with survivors, now and always.
Mount Holyoke students will be gathering on Skinner Green at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday to rally in support of Ruth D’Eredita and other MHC survivors and to call on the administration for a sufficient response to this and similar issues. The event is open to students, faculty, staff, alumnae, and all other Mount Holyoke community members. Participants are encouraged to wear all black. (Note: please be aware that the content of the rally is sensitive and potentially triggering.)
Following the rally, Kijua Sanders-McMurtry will be facilitating a second open dialogue regarding Title IX and the issue of #MeToo cases at Mount Holyoke. The dialogue will be held at 9 p.m. in the Unity Space of Blanchard Campus Center.
Meanwhile, the midterms are sooner than ever, and we’re continuing our efforts to get out the vote.
Last Sunday, we phonebanked with Mount Holyoke alum Jennifer Craig from Brand New Congress working in swing states to get out the vote.
Next week, we’ll be joined at our meeting by Jo Comerford, the Democratic candidate for state Senate in our district!
Also, we’re continuing our weekly tabling schedule in the lobby of Blanch (Mondays and Thursdays during dinner). Come to us with any questions about voting or your ballot!
The Dems are offering rides to the polls leading up to Nov. 6! If you’re registered to vote in South Hadley or any other town in the area, sign up here and we’ll take you out to vote! If none of the times offered work for you, PLEASE contact us! Your vote is essential and we’ll make sure you can cast it.
in the pioneer valley
Mount Holyoke alumna Ruth D’Eredita ’84 recently came forward to report her assault at the hands of one of her professors during her time at the College. Her case is one of at least three that have emerged from the 1980s at Mount Holyoke. Meanwhile, the professor in question still teaches at Mount Holyoke, although according to a campus-wide email from President Stephens on Sunday, he is not on campus at this time.
A former aide in the Massachusetts Statehouse dropped assault charges this week against former MA Senate president Stan Rosenberg and his husband. The aide had claimed that Rosenberg’s husband assaulted him and Rosenberg “knew or was aware” that his husband posed a threat to staffers.
The Northampton health board has proposed a ban on smoking in two downtown business districts.
The town of Amherst has increased the minimum wage for part-time workers to keep their laws consistent with the state’s.
state-wide
Question 1, the ballot measure that would limit the number of patients assigned per nurse in Massachusetts, is supported by most of the state’s major Democrats, but nurses’ opinions on it are mixed.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren released the results of a DNA test this week that proved her claims of Native American ancestry, although it is as far as 6 to 10 generations back. Warren claims she took the test to put an end to Trump’s harassment of her; the Cherokee Nation responded that “a DNA test is useless to determine tribal citizenship.” According to Twyla Baker, a Native American educator, these “types of claims can damage the validity and work of indigenous people who are living their identities every day.”
Gov. Charlie Baker (R) has been endorsed by Everytown for Gun Safety and the Massachusetts chapter of Moms Demand Action.
national news
The Trump administration is considering narrowing the definition of gender to “a biological, immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth” under Title IX, a rule which would eradicate government recognition of and endanger millions of transgender and nonbinary Americans.
There are a record number of migrant families crossing the border in the three months since the Trump administration lifted their family separation policy.
In related news, the Trump administration is considering terminating the Flores settlement, which protects detained children by regulating the length and conditions of their detention.
Sign this petition by the ACLU to protect immigrant children.
In a rally on Friday, Trump praised a Republican candidate for assaulting a reporter; “That’s my kind of guy,” he said. This comes at a time when the government is facing intense criticism for their defense of Saudi prince Mohammad Bin Salman even as evidence increasingly points to the murder of dissident journalist and US resident Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of the Saudi government.
At least 36 have been confirmed dead as a result of Hurricane Michael as survivors struggle to face the aftermath of the storm.
From PBS: A list of ways to help those affected by the storm.
about elections
This week in voter suppression:
A study by the ACLU found that if you vote by mail in Florida, the state is ten times more likely to reject your ballot than otherwise. Ballots cast by black, Hispanic, and younger voters are also more likely to be rejected than male ballots cast by older white voters.
Something to be conscious of — the main reason ballots are rejected are that voters didn’t sign the ballot envelope or that the signature on the envelope did not match the signature on file.
To check in, you can call your town hall to make sure your absentee ballot was received after you sent it.
The North Carolina GOP has placed a ballot measure on the NC ballot that would constitutionally require voters to present some form of identification at the polls, to be determined by lawmakers after the ballot measure is passed. According to the US Court of Appeals for the 4th circuit, this is one of a larger set of voter restrictions that targets African American voters “with almost surgical precision.”
If you’re a voter in North Carolina or know any voters in North Carolina, ask them to vote NO the Voter Identification Amendment.
With 15 days to go until the midterms, here’s where the country stands according to the New York Times.
get involved!
Do you have a plan to vote? Check out Vote Save America to make sure you’re registered to vote and take a look at your ballot as it will appear on election day. (Pay special attention to your state’s ballot measures!)
Reminder that if you’re a Mount Holyoke student and need a ride to the polls, the Dems can help with that!
If not, Uber and Lyft are offering free rides to the polls on election day.
If early voting is something your state offers, feel free to hop on that opportunity, too!
Great! Now that you’re all set, time to make sure others are, too. Here are two easy ways you can help from home.
Send postcards to get out the vote in key races with Postcards to Voters, a grassroots progressive organization that has already sent over 3 million postcards to Democratic voters across the country.
Phonebank with Brand New Congress to help get out the vote for progressive Congressional candidates.
Two weeks to the midterms! Until then, here’s another Americans of Conscience checklist.