Volume 28 No 3 November December 2013
Impact American Association of University Women
IMPACT is published monthly
September through May (except Dec.)
by AAUW, Janesville Branch,
Wisconsin.
Editors –
Janet Dow 756-1370
Diane Adams 815-624-7773
Articles for the next issue are due:
December 11th to Janet Dow
AAUW values and seeks a diverse membership
Co-Presidents – Wendy Facinger 757-0603
Emily Scheuneman (608) 473-2998
VP Program - Deb Cross (608) 758-1659
VP Membership – Jan McCann 754-0116
Secretary – Jane McBride 563-4710
Finance VP – Lynn McVicar 754-5092
AAUW’s Mission: Advancing equity for women and girls
through advocacy, education and research.
Classroom at the End of the ‘Line’: Assembly Line Workers at Midwest Community and Technical Colleges
Sharon A. Kennedy
Tuesday, November 26 6:45 p.m. Social 7:00 p.m. Business meeting 7:15 p.m. Program -See below
During the years 2008-2011, Janesville experienced much media coverage about the GM plant closing
and its aftermath. Local media carried stories about former workers from GM and other plants attending
UW-Rock County and Blackhawk Technical College to prepare for a new occupation or work toward a
bachelor’s degree. Sharon Kennedy was the chief academic officer at Blackhawk Technical College
from October, 2007 through June, 2013. Between 2010 and 2012, she recorded 46 interviews with a Job
Services case manager, former assembly line workers, staff, and faculty at BTC. The book she has
written is based on those interviews and her own experience.
Additionally, other authors she consulted believed she would generate more interest and a wider
audience for the book if she recorded other college stories. Further, she was curious whether Blackhawk’s experience was unique. So, she expanded her interviews to include a community college in Michigan
and Indiana, both states that had significant job losses in manufacturing during the Recession.
Sharon came away from this experience understanding that former assembly line workers are
unique. They experience challenges and deficits different from other dislocated workers, but, they also
have great strengths. She wrote the book to inform others about all of this. Books will be available to
purchase-$10.
President’s Message: Oct, 2013
It was wonderful to see so many of our members and some interested
people from the community at our Branch program on Affordable Health
Care. Programs of that type fill an important role for our AAUW branch.
Thank you, Dawn Olson and Rich Gruber. Thank you to all the ladies that
brought cookies for our enjoyment displayed on a lovely autumn table.
Our Janesville branch of AAUW finds itself at a crossroads this Fall that requires us to look closely at
our focus. There is an article in this issue that seeks to compose an Ad Hoc Committee to look into the
question of continuing the financial support of 108 South Jackson. Historically it has been our home,
donated by a woman to be used by women. However, this beautiful old building is expensive. Our
Mission is “Advancing equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and
research.” We work very hard to achieve those goals. Should we divide our resources to support this
building? What are our options? Do we want to leave this historic tradition? Can we find a place that
works as well for us and is not so expensive. Some of our members have cancelled their memberships
in AAUW for financial reasons. It is something we will discuss and seek the best answer to this
question. If you want to be actively involved in this question, join the Ad Hoc Committee. Everyone
will be involved in the final decision.
Looking ahead we have Sharon Kennedy presenting her ideas to help women get out of the factory
and into college for training in better, more available jobs. This is certainly in line with our AAUW
mission. An inspirational and informative program, seeing old friends and making new during the
social time, as well as, enjoying delicious refreshments, makes for a well spent evening on November
26. We look forward to seeing everyone there.
Wendy and Emily
Learn More about the Affordable Care Act Open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act began October 1. Uninsured Americans can sign up for health care plans through the state exchanges, with coverage starting on January 1. Learn more about the health care market, and determine your individual eligibility and costs today.
AD HOC COMMITTEE
FORMING
Woman’s Club dues are on the rise and
we are forming an ad hoc committee of
interested branch members to analyze
the situation and explore available
options. Facts and costs will be
gathered and presented to the board,
which will then develop
recommendations for the membership
to vote on. If you are interested in
serving on this important committee,
please contact Emily at
[email protected] or Wendy at
IMPACT ARTICLES Articles for the January issue of Impact are due
to Janet Dow on December 11th
. Please note
the early date, this will help Janet fit it into her
holiday schedule.
Book Discussion
In October we met at the home of Sue Keeney.
Our book was Learning to Stay by Madison
author Erin Celello who was with us to lead the
discussion. About 15 of us enjoyed a lively
discussion about a very timely book dealing
with PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury. Many
thanks to Erin for joining us.
On November 19th
, we will meet at 7pm at the
home of Karen Winn, 4350 Hearthridge Dr. Our
book is Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Please
come with ideas for future book selections.
On December 17 we will have our annual
Christmas gathering at the home of Paula
DeRubeis, 909 E. Centerway. There will be a
sign up sheet at the November meeting.
I wanted to write and thank
you and the AAUW for
having me back to visit with
you all this week. It was so
enjoyable, as I've come to
expect. What a lovely,
vibrant group of women!
You truly are my favorite
group, and I wish each of
you the very best. I hope our
paths cross soon!
Yours in good books,
Erin
Miriam Feingold Siker,
Janesville, Wi
(1921-2013)
Miriam Feingold Siker died peacefully
Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2013, at Jewish Home Care
Center in Milwaukee. She was the first baby born
in 1921, at Mercy Hospital in Janesville, on
January 2nd. Miriam was a lifelong resident of
Janesville. She made many lifelong friends
graduating from Janesville High School Class of
1938. She received her bachelor degree from
UW-Madison in 1942. She married Arthur Siker
in September 1943, he preceded her in death.
Survivors are her four children: Judith (Zeb)
Kozlowski, Daniel (Linda) Siker, Larry
(Svetlana) Siker and David (Telma) Siker. She
adored her grandchildren: Jody, Max, Malika,
Sarah, Samantha, Sabrina, Alexa and Jonathan;
six great-grandchildren. She will be greatly
missed and always fondly remembered by friends
and family who had the privilege of being in her
company and sharing her vivacious personality
and inspiring spirit.
Miriam was a longtime member of AAUW, and
a loyal member of book discussion. We will
miss her.
We’re making ready for the next
Susan B. Anthony birthday party!
Mark your calendar now for Noon,
February 16, 2014.
Susan B., portrayed by Rose Stephenson,
will be speaking this year along with
Wisconsin LWV President,
Andrea Kaminski.
Janesville and Beloit League of Women
Voters
Impact Articles
Articles for the January issue are due to
Janet Dow on December 11th
. Please
note the early date. This is so that Janet
can work editing into her holiday
schedule, and so that you don’t forget to
send in an article during your busy holiday
schedule.
Diversity in our Business Community
Italian House, Farmers Insurance, Rose’s Soul Food Restaurant,
Shorewest Realtors, Chique Boutique
Free and Public is Welcome!
Date: Thursday, November 7, 2013
Time: 6:30-8:00 p.m.
Location: University of Wisconsin, Rock County
Hyatt Smith Meeting Room
2909 Kellogg Avenue, Janesville
Questions: Contact Jeanne Carfora
[email protected] or 608.756.1815
What is it like to open a business in Janesville or Beloit, especially when there is diversity in the
ownership: gender, race, ethnicity? What awareness is needed to open a business here? What myths
surround new immigrant businesses?
The program is open to the public and registration is not needed. “Diversity in our Business Community”
continues the fall program schedule of the Diversity Action Team of Rock County, whose goals are to
eliminate racism and to create an inclusive community of respect for all.
Upcoming events:
January 18, 2014 AAUW Open Brunch
Meeting at the Woman’s Club Building:
“Artistry in Portrait Photography”
Presented by Carolyn Tretina,
of Carolyn’s Portrait Studio
10:30 A.M. Brunch and Program: $12
11:45 A.M. Program only: $5
More information in the next issue of
Impact. Plan ahead, and think about who
you would like to invite to share in this
exciting program.
AAUW BOOK SALE
February 27 – March 2
Put these important dates on
your calendar, and start
cleaning out the book
shelves. More information
next month.
(Please note the November 2nd date, coming really soon!)
Year of the Dancing Snake Gala
The Janesville Multicultural Teacher Opportunities Scholarship Program (JMTOS) was created in 2008 to
provide a multicultural pool of teacher candidates for the School District of Janesville.
The program addresses the growing population of students of color in the District and the gap between non-
white students and non-white teachers. In the 2011-12 school year the percentage of non-white students in
the District was 23 percent. For the same period, non-white teachers comprised 1.7 percent of the faculty or
13 out of 763 teachers.
The JMTOS program offers an incentive for Janesville students of color to return to the community as
professional teachers and role models for all students.
Selected students receive a multi-year renewable college scholarship of up to $5,000/year for tuition, books
and fees. In return the student must pursue a degree in education, obtain Wisconsin state teacher
certification, and apply for a position with the School District of Janesville when they have completed their
degree. The School District is not obligated to hire the student, but, if hired, the student is obligated to work
for the District for a minimum of three years.
To apply for the program, the student must be a graduate of a Janesville high school or be a resident of
Janesville. The student also must be of African American, Latino, Asian or Native American descent as
required on school registration forms. To remain in the program, the student must be full time and hold a
minimum 2.75 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.
To make a tax-deductible donation to the JMTOS program, you may donate online, or mail a check to the
Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin, 26 S. Jackson St., Janesville, WI 53548.
For more information, visit the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin website.
From AAUW Washington Update
From the New York Times
Senate Women Lead
WASHINGTON — As the government shutdown dragged on, Senator Susan Collins of
Maine was spending another weekend on Capitol Hill, staring at C-Span on her Senate
office television as one colleague after another came to the floor to rail about the
shuttered government.
Frustrated with the lack of progress, Ms. Collins, a Republican, two Saturdays ago
quickly zipped out a three-point plan that she thought both parties could live with,
marched to the Senate floor and dared her colleagues to come up with something better.
A few days later, two other Republican female senators eagerly signed on — Lisa
Murkowski of Alaska, who overcame the Tea Party to win re-election in 2010, and Kelly
Ayotte of New Hampshire, who benefited from the Tea Party wave.
Together the three women started a bipartisan group whose negotiating framework
formed the centerpiece of a tentative Senate deal nearing completion Monday to reopen
the federal government and avert a disastrous default. “Before I went to the Senate floor,
no one was presenting any way out,” Ms. Collins said. “I think what our group did was
pave the way, and I’m really happy about that.” In a Senate still dominated by men,
women on both sides of the partisan divide proved to be the driving forces that shaped a
negotiated settlement. The three Republican women put aside threats from the right to
advance the interests of their shutdown-weary states and asserted their own political
independence. “I probably will have retribution in my state,” Ms. Murkowski said.
“That’s fine. That doesn’t bother me at all. If there is backlash, hey, that’s what goes on
in D.C., but in the meantime there is a government that is shut down. There are people
who are really hurting.” Two powerful women on the Democratic side of the aisle —
Senators Barbara A. Mikulski of Maryland and Patty Murray of Washington — took a
hard line and pressed their Republican counterparts to temper their demands, but they
also offered crucial points of compromise. Together, the five senators starkly showed off
the increasing power of women — even those who are not on the relevant committees —
as their numbers grow in the upper chamber. Of the 13 senators on a bipartisan
committee who worked on the deal framework, about half were women, even though
women make up only 20 percent of the Senate. Senator John McCain of Arizona joked at
several points in their meetings, “The women are taking over.”
Senator Joe Manchin III, Ms. Collins’s first Democratic collaborator, said: “That gender
mix was great. It helped tremendously.” He added: “Would it have worked as well if it
had been 12 women or 12 men? I can’t say for sure, but it worked pretty well with what
we had.” The women are hardly in lock step politically. But their practice of meeting
regularly and working on smaller bills together, even in a highly polarized Congress, set
the stage for more significant legislation. Ms. Ayotte and Senator Jeanne Shaheen,
Democrat of New Hampshire, hosted an informal get-together for women in the Senate
last Monday evening.
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that women were so heavily involved in trying to end this
stalemate,” Ms. Collins said. “Although we span the ideological spectrum, we are used to
working together in a collaborative way.” More than two weeks into a government
shutdown, Washington is now two short days from a possible default on federal
obligations. The women showed pragmatism as negotiators in the midst of fierce
partisanship and a level of frustration with the leaders of both parties that reflect their
constituents and the nation. “Where we find ourselves right now is unacceptable for
America,” Ms. Ayotte said on the Senate floor. “It’s unacceptable as leaders that have
been elected by the people of this country. We owe it to our constituents to resolve this
now.” The Republican women involved in the compromise represented three of their
party’s four female members. (Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska did not participate.) The
bipartisan negotiating group included three Democratic senators as well, Amy Klobuchar
of Minnesota, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Ms. Shaheen. The strongest
Democratic voices counseling a hard line were also women. Ms. Murray is chairwoman
of the Budget Committee and would have primary responsibility for turning any broad
agreement into a detailed plan for tax and spending policy over the next decade. Ms.
Mikulski, who leads the powerful Appropriations Committee, has been the most forceful
voice in efforts to blunt the impact of future budget cuts. “Patty and I were e-mailing all
weekend,” Ms. Collins said. “I was not off the phone for longer than 20 minutes
yesterday.” It was Ms. Murray who suggested language ordering an immediate start to
budget talks. That language tempered Democratic concerns that the emerging deal would
lock in across-the-board spending cuts for next year. In contrast, Ms. Mikulski’s
Republican counterpart on the Appropriations Committee, Senator Richard C. Shelby of
Alabama, and the ranking Republican on the Budget Committee, Senator Jeff Sessions of
Alabama, were notably absent from the talks. Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin,
chairman of the House Budget Committee, complained over the weekend that the Collins
negotiations had excluded House Republicans. The leader of the Republican trio, Ms.
Collins, has emerged as the most powerful moderate in the Senate, and like her fellow
Mainer and now-retired Senator Olympia J. Snowe, often shows her own flair for the
dramatic — the only Republican vote on several high-profile Democratic bills and the
must-have Republican. Ms. Ayotte, best known in the Senate for her hawkish foreign
policy associations with fellow Republican Senators McCain and Lindsey Graham of
South Carolina, is using the moment to pursue an issue she has mostly paid lip service to:
finding money for a military with its wings clipped by automatic spending cuts.
Brimming with frustration, Ms. Ayotte went to the Senate floor earlier this month to
deliver what her own staff now calls “the reality check” speech. Members of her own
party had embraced “an ill-conceived strategy” to tie further financing of the government
to gutting the president’s health care law, she said. The government shut down, yet the
health care law is moving forward. “I would say to my Republican colleagues in the
House and to some in this chamber, it’s time for a reality check,” she said.
Ms. Murkowski has been nursing wounds since the Republican establishment abandoned
her in the wake of her defeat by a Tea Party candidate in the 2010 primary. She won as a
write-in candidate and has seized the chance to assert her independence.
“Politics be damned,” she said Monday.
110 Harding Street
P.O. Box 427
Janesville, WI 53547-0427
(608) 754-7701
(608) 7548555 FAX
READY MIXED CONCRETE
Calendar
November
2 Year of the Snake
7 DAT Program
19 Book Discussion
26 Branch Meeting
December
11 Impact Articles to Janet
17 Book Discussion
January
6 Board Meeting
18 Saturday Branch Meeting
February 27th – March 2 AAUW BOOK SALE
American Association of University Women
Janesville, WI Branch Bulletin
P.O. Box 8033
Janesville, WI 53547-8033