This year’s annual retreat, held in the beautiful setting of Dr. Angelika Pagel’s home, witnessed much profitable work by faculty and staff of Women’s Studies. Chief on the agenda were the creation of a mission statement and of a set of assessment goals for Women’s Studies that will impact classes beginning now. The faculty had a vigorous discussion about what knowledge and skills our courses should convey to students. The goals reflect and affirm what has historically been the aim of women’s studies on the Weber State campus.

Women’s Studies student association also had a lively first meeting, outlining its own short- and long-range goals including a trip to India. Concomitant with a more activist agenda in the coming year, including the recruitment of new members, the group has changed its name to FUN (Feminists’ United Network). Fliers describing the group and their goals have been placed in our new mail holder next to the Women’s Studies bulletin board and office. Students are encouraged to take the fliers and to attend the meetings.

The video series has been finalized--all films will deal with women in sports, including one about a wilderness trek. The films will be on Wednesdays at 1:15 pm starting on October 6. Check the fliers on campus for more details. All are invited. Bring your friends; give extra credit to your classes. Services for Women Students and the women’s sports teams are cosponsoring these with us.

Our big October event will be the annual book sale and potluck picnic. Breaking with the "first October weekend"tradition, this year’s picnic will be on October 24. Again, all are welcome. The picnic will be at the police academy building west of the Dee Events Center parking lot.

Anyone interested in the funding priorities we have decided to present to the development office is welcome to see the list in the Women’s Studies office. Suggestions from faculty and staff have been incorporated to make the list representative of the program’s perceived needs.

A reminder: if you believe a core or cross-listed course you are teaching meets diversity requirements (particularly a core course), please pick up a form in the WS office to fill out and submit with a copy of your syllabus that includes required readings.

The search for the new coordinator is underway. Messages have been sent to the WS faculty, the Deans, and department chairs. We hope to have the process concluded before Christmas.

Our usual FACULTY PROFILE is replaced this month with a tribute to someone who has been a member of the Women’s Studies family since before the program’s inception. On September 24, Dr. Daily Oliver completed his usual day’s work and said good-bye for the weekend to his colleagues on campus. Later that evening, he passed away unexpectedly at his home in Salt Lake City. We will all grieve Daily’s loss and remember him for a variety of reasons that include his constant reminders to challenge complacency and his low-key way of urging us to "think outside the box."

Daily served as Coordinator of the Bachelor of Integrated Studies Program and was a member of the Women’s Studies Executive Council. He was also a faculty member in our program, having taught a Fall 1998 course on "Power and Resistance in American Society: An Introduction to Ethnic and Women’s Studies" with Brenda Kowalewski and Thom Kuehls. In addition, he taught in the Honors Program and the History Department.

Born in Massachusetts, Daily had been a resident of Utah since 1946 when his father was transferred here with the military. He first came to WSU in 1970 and served in a number of positions, first on the staff and then, the faculty. His commitment to students was foremost in his career, and he wanted to see them all reach their goals (while being provided a few challenges along the way.) Daily was also active in community affairs, especially as an advocate for civil rights. Having faced a segregated airport waiting area on his return from military service in 1960, he committed his life to work toward a society in which race and gender don’t block entrance to any doors to opportunity. Lastly, but far from least, he was an avid skier and Harley enthusiast.

In 1978, Daily reached two important milestones in his life. He received his PhD from the University of Utah and he married Mary McConaughy. They have two grown children, Mona and Brennen, and a two-year old daughter, Elizabeth, whose ability to charm your socks off is legendary. Brennen and his wife, Amanda, gave Daily two voices to call him "Grandpa" as well. All the members of the program extend our most profound sympathy to his family.

Daily will be remembered at WSU by a scholarship, continuing to help the students who meant so much to him. Contributions can be made in his name to the WSU Development Office, Weber State University, Ogden, UT 84408-4018.

* * *

The videos, sponsored jointly by the Women’s Studies Program, the Athletic Department and Services for Women Students, begin at 1:15 PM in Room 338 of the Union Building on campus and will be accompanied by light refreshments (and probably some heavy conversation.) For more information, please call the office at 626-7632.

Remember to support the Women’s Realities Series, sponsored by Information Dissemination and held at Your Community Connection on alternate Wednesdays at 6 PM.

                    6 Oct. - Women’s Realities "Women Respond Around the World", 6 PM, YCC, Ogden.

20 Oct. - Women’s Realities "Reproductive Empowerment", 6 PM, YCC, Ogden.

22 Oct. - Exec. Council Mtg.; 3 PM;, SS115.

23 Oct. - Women’s Expo at Newgate Mall, call the office for information.

Vol. 1, No. I, October 1999

F.U.N. MISSION STATEMENT by Jason Hurd

The mission of the Feminist's United Network is to provide WSU feminists and community feminists a voice in matters affecting them; to influence the conditions under which members are prepared for their personal and professional roles in society; to advance the interest and welfare of WSU and community feminists; to combat oppression and bigotry in their many forms; to provide a forum for the plurality of feminist thought; to humanize the image of feminists; and to create a web of support for feminists within the campus and community.

F.U.N.'S TRIP TO INDIA by Emilie Turner

F.U.N. is planning a three-week trip to India, December of 2000 through January 2001. Our objectives in traveling to India will be to experience the operations of women's grassroots organizations, sit in on lectures at local universities, experience and appreciate the beauty of Indian culture, travel the countryside and hopefully meet a few famous women writers. We are open to other suggestions, as our schedule plans are far from complete. Dr. Priti Kumar is working with F.U.N. to make this trip a possibility. She is very familiar with India and is willing to use her connections to arrange some amazing experiences. We are lucky to have Dr. Kumar as our guide.

Funding will be the responsibility of each student interested in traveling to India. The approximate cost will be $4000 - $5000 per person. We are working hard on various fund raisers such as T-shirts and a cookbook filled with recipes, poems, prose and artwork (see the following article). We are also seeking grants from within the local community. College credit will be available, as well as financial aid for those who qualify via WSU's financial aid office. We are limited to 15 students and we have only eight spaces left. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, e-mail either Emilie Turner at or F.U.N. at fun30@yahoo.com.

COOKBOOK FUND RAISER by Michelle Stephens

As mentioned above, F.U.N. is putting together a cookbook to help fund the costs of our trip to India. The cookbook will include recipes for vegetarian dishes and desserts, as well as student poetry, prose and artwork. We are depending on students for the content of our cookbook and are hoping to have many contributions. The deadline for submissions is October 30, 1999. We plan to have the cookbook ready to sell for the holidays. If you are interested in purchasing one, you may pre-order before they are available. The estimated cost will be $12 each. More information will be given in the next newsletter. If you have any questions, comments, suggestions or submissions, please e-mail us at

WOMEN'S REALITIES by Jason Hurd

Last spring, Information Dissemination, another WSU student organization, began a project called Women's Realities. It consisted of six presentations, free and open to the public, made by a combination of WSU professors and community professionals on issues concerning women, such as sexual violence, women's history and women in the media.

This semester F.U.N. has decided to cosponsor Women's Realities with the theme, A Time for Empowerment. The series will kick off Wednesday, October 6 and will continue through December 1 with a total of five different presentations. The topic of the first will be Women Acting Up, with four local women activists discussing the relationship between their activism and empowerment. The second, which will be Wednesday, October 27, will have the topic Women Respond Around the World, where we will look at several different women's organizations in other countries.

The goal of these presentations, is not only to inspire us with strong, willful women, but to motivate us to become more active in the creation of our futures. Please join us for what promise to be exciting discussions and learning experiences. The presentations are at Your Community Connection (YCC on 2261 Adams Ave.) From 6 to 8 p.m.

EMPOWERMENT IN NONVIOLENT PEACEMAKING By Jason Hurd

On October 22 and 23, F.U.N. members, and anyone else interested, will be taking part in a nonviolent peacemaking training workshop offered by the Michigan Peace Team. It's purpose is to develop skills for personal growth, better communication, reducing violence in public situations and handling personal assault nonviolently. The workshop costs only $5 and will be held Friday, Oct. 22 from 7 to 10 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 23 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The deadline for registration is Oct. 17. Contact F.U.N. soon for registration forms. Don't miss this excellent opportunity.

STUDENT PROFILE by Carrie Wagner

We would like to introduce our fellow student and F.U.N. Co-President, Heather Harris. Heather is originally from Petaluma, California. She loves to spend time with her two very energetic and intelligent girls, Emily and Alexxanthe. Heather also enjoys snowboarding, which gives her the opportunity to be out in the wilderness. She is a dedicated feminist, environmentalist, passivist and vegetarian. Heather is a well known campus and community activist who donates her spare time to such organizations as F.U.N., Information Dissemination, Autonomy House, and Food Not Bombs. She hopes that F.U.N. will succeed in bringing an awareness to feminist issues and in creating a sense of solidarity among feminist students and the feminist community.

Heather chose psychology as her major, as the discipline offers insight on human behavior without claiming to have only one answer to human problems. She chose Women's Studies as her minor because once she became aware of feminist issues, she wanted to learn more about them. She feels the Women's Studies program has given her a vocabulary and a language for important issues. She says she always had a sense that these issues existed, but that she lacked the language with which to express and deal with them. After graduation, Heather plans to go on to graduate school outside Utah, but plans to return "because there is so much work do be done here."

We are grateful to Heather for her commitment and hard work and would like to express our thanks.

CALENDAR

Oct 4 F.U.N. Meeting @ Grounds for Coffee 5:30pm

Oct 6 Women’s Realities @ YCC 6:00pm

Oct 11 F.U.N. Meeting @ Grounds for Coffee, 5:30pm

Oct 18 F.U.N. Meeting @ Grounds for Coffee, 5:30pm

Oct 22 Nonviolence Workshop

Oct 23 Women’s Expo at the Newgate Mall, 9:00am - 9:00pm

Oct 25 F.U.N. Meeting @ WSU Lair, 1:00pm

Oct 27 Women’s Realities @ YCC, 6:00pm

Oct 28 Tori Amos Concert

Oct 30 Deadline for cookbook submissions

Heather Harris, Co-President; Michelle Stephens, Co- President; Jason Hurd, Contributor;