All posts filed under: News

Dr. Emerald Archer- An Ambassador for Unstoppable Women

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By Caitlyn Keeve   As the only women’s university in Los Angeles, and as our Unstoppable mission suggests, we are a community that persists towards the line of equality. In the past year, a number of Centers have been introduced with that same underlying spirit of daring advocacy. The Center for the Advancement of Women is a welcome addition to our campus-wide commitment to extend the conversation surrounding gender parity and activism. Dr. Emerald Archer, the Center Director, sees it as the first “outward and public-facing” space for both faculty and students at Mount Saint Mary’s University. In short, all the events and unique programming hosted by the Center for the Advancement of Women are meant to be both interactive and thought-provoking for students, faculty, staff, alumnae and community members. Although the message of empowerment is never far away from any one office or classroom, so far in her first year, Dr. Archer has worked with faculty and staff to produce our major gender equity initiatives on campus. Leadership, Research and Advocacy are the three …

5 Black Women Who Deserve Recognition

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By Simone Soriano February (the shortest month of the year) is known for being Black History Month, but it is also Women’s History Month as well. While numerous black women deserve mention in this article, here are just five black women that deserve recognition. 1) Ida B. Wells (1862 – 1931) Long before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus, Wells refused to give up her seat on the train. When a gang of men forcibly removed her from the compartment, she later sued the company and won. Her most significant achievement was her anti-lynching journalism- documenting lynches down in the south and exposed them for the horrors that they were. 2) Marsha P. Johnson (1945 – 1992) Johnson was transgender, a drag-queen, and a significant player in the LGBT rights movement. Johnson helped led the Stonewall Riots of 1969 in New York when police officers raid the Stonewall Inn to arrest people for the grand crime of being Gay(Tm). 3) Bessie Stringfield (1911 – 1993) Beginning in the 1920s, Stringfield …

Flying Through Life with ‘Lady Bird’

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Greta Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan in ‘Lady Bird’ (Photo Credit: LA Times) By Beatriz Garay Lady Bird deserves all four of its Golden Globe nominations and so much more. Lady Bird was released on November 3 and is the first film to get the highest score on Rotten Tomatoes – ever! It has been nominated for thirty-three awards across international platforms. I had the opportunity of attending a special screening of Lady Bird on Thursday, December 14 in Hollywood where the audience was able to converse with director Greta Gerwig and get an insight into her process for directing her film. Greta with her director of photography Sam Levy. (Photo Credit: Grace Hill Media)   The writing and the dialogue in the film are spectacular. This film is extremely relatable and authentic to the real, tough, and uncomfortable experiences teenagers go through in life. The film explores teenage struggles of fitting in and finding one’s identity, all while trying to keep a sane and moderately stable persona at home. Lady Bird is not your typical ‘Disney fairytale’ …

‘Equal Means Equal,’ Documentary About the ERA

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By Estefani Alarcon When women gather and work together, magic happens. On Saturday, February 25th, “Never Turn Away a Woman” presented EQUAL MEANS EQUAL, a film by Kamala Lopez that educates Americans on the importance of equal rights under federal law for women. The film touches on the different issues women face such as domestic violence, sexual assault, homelessness, wage discrimination, poverty and the list goes on. These issues are not protected by the constitution for women. In the film, she connects all of these issues with one another and explains how this affects the future of women in the United States and across the globe. Lopez shared the stories of different women who have been victims of different crimes but their abusers are still free. Some of the cases presented on trial were dismissed and were evidence that women are not protected by the constitution. “When you have all of your rights given to you by laws they can be overturned by whoever happens to be in control of the white house and as …

Fashion and Politics: Influencers Share Their Thoughts on Political Climate

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By Jessica Flores People visit fashion and lifestyle blogs to escape the realities of their lives but now people are curious in knowing what their influencers think about the political climate America is in. President Trump’s recent executive orders regarding immigration has inspired fashion influencers to speak out–many for the first time–about their political stance on their social media. Fashion blogger Indah Nur posted a photo on Instagram that said “I am the proud daughter of immigrants” with “Proud Indonesian #adaywithoutimmigrants #indonesian #javanese” as a caption. Marianna Hewitt from Life with Me blog also shared a post about her mother who came to America for a better life and if it weren’t for her, she wouldn’t be here. “I’m not even sure how to end this post or what to say, I just wanted to share the story of ONE immigrant who chose to come to this country with every good intention and love for the U.S. and how ONE person having the freedom and the chance to make a life here, here has changed …

Filmmakers Lack to Depict Women of Color as Business Owners

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By Kimberly Aguilar With over 9.4 million women-owned business in the United States, stories of female entrepreneurs are rarely portrayed in the media. Some stories that do come to mind are depicted in recent movies such as It’s Complicated, Joy and The Intern. However, all three movies depict the female protagonists in almost the same way. While their stories show women who are self made, these films only show the White women that are successful when statistically over half of California’s women owned firms are owned by minority women. Women are 11% less employed than men and Randijah Simmons was tired of it. In 2014 at the age of 18, Simmons started her own clothing company, Sybergurl, because she did not have a job and needed money. Being born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, starting up her own business was no piece of cake. She did not have a business plan, model to follow or any money to back it up. “Building a brand from the ground up as one person and no financial backing is definitely a …

FIFA Speaks for the World

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Written by Jessica Contreras Every four years, 32 countries zoom their attention in on one country and gather to watch 64 games for the worldwide dream, the FIFA World Cup. Carrying in an average of 3.5 billion viewers, the FIFA World Cup is the most viewed Sporting Event in the entire world. Brazil was the last host country for the World Cup in 2014, and it profited about 100 million dollars from the 4 billion dollars FIFA, the not-for-profit organization, made. The next World Cup is set to play out in 2018 and FIFA is constantly in search of and deciding host countries, schedules, and arrangements between countries. The United States is currently being considered for a bid as a host country for the FIFA World Cup in 2026. However, seven days into the new presidency, the new President of the United States implemented his fifth executive order. This order consists of a Travel Ban which prohibits “refugees from entering the country for 120 days and immigrants from seven Muslim-majority nations out for three months” …

U.S. abortion policy reenactment has global impact

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Written by Carsie Mendoza, Staff Writer Foreign non-governmental agencies will no longer receive US monetary support if they provide or support abortion-related services, now that President Donald Trump has reinstated the Mexico City Policy. This policy, also known as the “global gag rule,” was originally enacted by President Ronald Reagan in 1984. It prohibits non-governmental agencies (NGOs) from receiving U.S family planning assistance if they provide services related to abortion. This includes offering abortion procedures, providing counseling about abortion services, or lobbying to change abortion laws, even if these activities are financed with non-US funds. This policy has not always been in effect. It was first repealed by President Bill Clinton. Following his administration, President George W. Bush reinstated it, only for the following president Barack Obama to repeal it. Without the Mexico City Policy in place, the U.S gave funds to these organizations as long as they used funding that was not US-based for abortion services. The United States, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, is one of the largest donors in regards to …

A professor’s call to action to worried students post-election results

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Written by Jessica Flores, Editor-in-Chief After a week of receiving emails from frightened Latina students who are afraid for themselves and their families because of the new president-elect, Marcos McPeek-Villatoro, decided to write a letter to his students. He expressed his opinions about the new age of Trump and encouraged them to continue their education. “I’m tired of my fellow Latinos living in constant, unmitigated fear of the injustices waiting for them in the near future. We need to speak up, loud and clear, against the racism that’s made people of color, once again, the victims of pure hate,” Villatoro said. He presented his letters in class, in Spanish and English, on Tuesday, Nov 15. Not only does he want to bring this issue to students’ attention, but also the faculty and staff members to come together as a community to create change fearlessly. Students recorded his speech on their phones to share on their social media. “Professor Villatoro’s speech helped me feel safer as a Latina following the election results. Also, as a current …

Meet your new favorite Gelato truck in Santa Monica

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Written by Pauline Mikhail, Staff Writer Gelato may be the Italian word for ice cream, but it looks and tastes nothing like it. While ice cream, frozen yogurt, and other frozen treat shops are found in California, gelato shops usually aren’t, nonetheless gelato popsicles. Stickhouse Gelato is a new frozen treat shop that opened up in Santa Monica in 2015. The founders, the Sottile family, originally opened The Stickhouse Gelato in Torino, Italy, otherwise known as Turin in English, in 1972. The family began to make and serve the gelato out of a small storefront. As a little boy, Vincenzo Sottile never dreamed he would one day grow his family’s gelato empire and have more than 80 stores located in 16 countries. In 2006, Sottile did not want to sacrifice the freshness and quality of gelato, so he designed and developed La Ghiacciola, “The Icicle,” which is an innovative machine that uses micro-crystallization to produce an intensely flavorful gelato using only natural ingredients. Since opening a Stickhouse Gelato shop in America, they have offered the …