• TABLE OF CONTENTS
HIDE
 Independent and still free
 Radical ravings
 For myself, the woman in employment,...
 Our minds - shaped by school...
 A look at homebirth
 Woman sports - what do these women...
 Abortion
 Read the newspaper they tried to...














Group Title: WomaNews : Gainesville's Feminist Newspaper.
Title: WomaNews : Gainesville's Feminist Newspaper. February 1978.
ALL ISSUES CITATION THUMBNAILS ZOOMABLE PAGE IMAGE
Full Citation
STANDARD VIEW MARC VIEW
Permanent Link: http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00076708/00026
 Material Information
Title: WomaNews : Gainesville's Feminist Newspaper. February 1978.
Uniform Title: WomaNews : Gainesville's Feminist Newspaper
Physical Description: Newspaper
Language: English
Publisher: Women Unlimited, Inc
Publication Date: February 1978
 Subjects
Spatial Coverage: United States -- Florida -- Alachua -- Gainesville
Coordinates: 29.665245 x -82.336097 ( Place of Publication )
 Record Information
Bibliographic ID: UF00076708
Volume ID: VID00026
Source Institution: University of Florida
Rights Management: All rights reserved by the source institution and holding location.
Resource Identifier: oclc - 37184255

Table of Contents
    Independent and still free
        Cover 1
    Radical ravings
        Page 2
    For myself, the woman in employment, and for all of us - I write
        Page 3
    Our minds - shaped by school system
        Page 4
    A look at homebirth
        Page 5
    Woman sports - what do these women want ?
        Page 6
    Abortion
        Page 7
    Read the newspaper they tried to ban in Gainesville
        Cover 2
Full Text
*~~ ~ I


INDEPENDENT AND STILL

FREE


EARTH MOTHER GOSPEL
By Flash Silvermoon
Goddess Tunes 1977
I
She's been groanin' and moanin;
- for a long long time
Now She's getting' tired of just layin'
around
People walking' all over Her,
steppin' out of line
Yeah the Lady's getting' mighty
weary people can you hear me
II
You've ruined all Her rivers and
drained Her dry
Even pumping poisons up in the
sky
If we can't turn the tides better find
some higher ground
Cause the Lady's getting' weary,
She'll come without a sound
CHORUS
Just like me and you She's risin'
I can see Her smilin wild and wide
Just like me and you ya know


Nk%


She's risin'
Just like me and you She's gonna
break on through
III
The earth is dancing let the
darkness cease
The heavens are enclosing the
rising seas
. What you gonna do and where ya
gonna be
-When the earth opens up and
closes over you
IV
SNow we're sailing on over the open
seas
Nothing but the stars to guide me
We got to putt together til we
reach a safer land
Cause the Lady's getting weary
yeah She needs a helping' hand
Flash Silvermoon is a local
musician from the band Medusa
Muzic and this song is an excerpt
from her forthcoming book of
music and poetry called Medusa's
' Muzic.


/


ART BY SALLY SIDNER


The Largest Feminist Newspaper in the Southeastern United States.


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FEBRUARY 1978


GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA


VOLUME III, NUMBER 9


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PAGE 2, WOMANEWS, FEBRUARY 1978
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I Our New


WomaNews

It was not until the conservatives and the federal government
expressed their fear of WomaNews that we realized how
powerful of a weapon a newspaper is. And it was not until we
saw the lengths that people were willing to go to keep women
from reading WomaNews, that we realized how powerful our
newspaper is.
Did you know that approximately 2,000 copies of the
Motherhood issue (October, 1977) were stolen from their
distribution points? And did you know that of the ten
WomaNews boxed put on the streets, only three remain? All
of this sabotage occurred during the controversy of CETA
funding to Women Unlimited.
During this time WomaNews kept very still out of fear for
W.U.'s money. But we also looked at ourselves and our
newspaper and decided that WomaNews does not represent
W.U. or any other single organization. WomaNews
represents the combined efforts of the collective women who
put it out. WomaNews represents the consciousness of the
women who care enough to contribute their thoughts and
ideas.
In order to legitimize this change in self-image and impress it
upon our readers and the community we want to serve,
WomaNews had organized on its own. We want to come out
and stand up on our own. We want women to take us seriously
to consider us your newspaper. In order to operate
effectively as a newspaper and carry political clout, we need the
recognition and co-operation of organizations and individuals
in this community concerned with women's issues. Thus we
have established an advisory board.
In this time of right-wing back lash and conservatism, it is
very important for women to unite and use our power
collectively to win battles and make gains. A newspaper can be
a powerful weapon. "They" have taught us that lesson. Now, let
us take it a step further and use it wisely against "them." Let
WomaNews be your voice. Her success depends on you and
our success depends on her.
---------- *------*-- .I


04 f- 0 4I q-


.Sallie Ann Harrison
My friend David says that its
easier to suffer than it is to trust.
Well, this year I'm going to trust
myself and call a moratorium on
suffering.
I will not suffer unless my back is
to the wall and I have no choice.
This year the wolf will not
darken my door, for I will kick his
behind.
Indeed I will kick the behinds of
all who annoy and offend me. I will
stay busy.
This year I will run more,
especially if I do all the above.
This year I will not compliment
or apologize to anybody unless I
mean it.
Striving evermore toward true
humanism, this year I will reserve
the right to boo and hiss at anyone
regardless of sex, religion (even
"born again" Christians) age,
political opinion, ethnic
background, etc.
This year I will not be bound by
the past. I will shave my legs, wear
false eyelashes, and wear Big
Mama pantyhose if I want to.


This year I won't be defensive if I
haven't made more money or
written the Book yet.
This year when people ask me
how I am and what I've been doing,
I'll say I'm fine and I'm enjoying
being a mother and watching my
child grow. If I feel like it, I will rave
about the nutritional value of
whole wheat alphabet soup or the
way the toilet shines when it's
scrubbed (fat chance).
And if I feel like it, I'll talk about
the price of meat or soap opera
plots or what dishwashing liquid.
works best and I won't care who
hears it.
And if I feel like it, I'll dye my
eyebrows or paint my toenails or
buy a girdle.
And I'll even buy Brides
Magazine if I feel like it, and wear
pink foam curlers and cold cream
to bed even if nobody's there.
Maybe I'll become a Republican
or run for public office.
Maybe I'll clean off my desk.
Maybe I will kill the mouse that
ate my roommate's candy cane for
Christmas.


Maybe we'll have a candlelight
vigil for the roaches in the house
and then exterminate them.
Maybe I'll let men open doors
for me, change my flat tires, and
pay for my dinner.
Maybe I'll ask to lead the county
commission in prayer the next
time they try to sell women down
the river.
And if nothing else this may be
the year that I storm the capital
and tell them that I've served my
country by being a mother, and
then demand veteran's preference
and a job.
And this will be the season that I
take a vacation from this column.
It's time to do other things for
awhile maybe all of the above.
* Rest assured, I will continue to
gnash my teeth, privately if not
publicly. And it's not unlikely that
I'll continue to laugh a lot.
Should a message from on High
appear, I'll pass the word.
Otherwise I'll see you on the
streets.


Women Unlimited will Donations will be
be holding a rummage gratefully accepted. Don't
sale this spring. throw it out, give it to us!!


"OUR"

NEWSPAPER


WomaNHws


Editorial
Diana L. Ormond, co-editor
Marcia J. Belcher, co-editor
Sylvia Lehnen, news co-editor
Kat Powell, news co-editor
Kristy Ann Billhardt, sports editor

Advertising
Ellen Pratt, manager
Marlena Rupp
Fran Towk
Marcia J. Belcher
Kat Powell
Chris Bailey
Jerri Frisinger

Circulation and Promotion
Kayanna Pace, manager
Diana L. Ormond
Sallie Ann Harrison
Sylvia Lehnen


Art
Ellen Pratt
Tori Gianatasio
Sally Sidner
Jerri Frisinger

Columnists
Salli Ann Harrison
Janis Mara

Proofreading
Charlotte Stokes

Legal Advisor
Judith Benninger Brown

Photography
Abby Walters


Production
Jamie L. Kahn, manager
Lorre B. Cuzze
Donna M. Gurksy
Kristy Ann Billhardt
Sally Sidner
Stephanie Smith Weissinger


Opinions expressed in WomaNews are'solely of the
author and not necessarily those of the Staff of
WomaNews.


Subscriptions are $5.00 per year.


Dear Editor:
Some of the references to Ms.
Sharon Polk in the last two issues
of WomaNews are undeniably
funny to some people, and we
certainly can use some laughter in
this "battle." We do also need to sit
around and acknowledge how
angry we are.
But I would like to speak for
those of us who want to see "our"
newspaper used to fight for ideas
passing of the E.R.A., freedom
of oppression for gays, adequate
sex education in the schools,
meaningful jobs for all citizens,
etc. and see it used to expose
shortsightedness, misuse of
power, bigotry, and oppression, as
we see it. But not to attack or
ridicule people.

Marion Riekerk


(continued from page 1)

was waiting for the hearing it was
on the radio. I was afraid some
other kid might hear it and tell
Tommy about it. He's much too
young to understand."
Despite the anxiety and
embarrassment his actions caused
her, she said she held no grudges
against her husband. "Somehow
we have to cooperate as much as
possible to help the children
adjust," she said.
Financial worries contributed to
the problem as well. Nevertheless,
she said she was looking forward
to starting a new phase of her life.
"I'm just glad its all over," she
said. I was really pretty lucky
because I knew where to go for
help. Some other women might
not have had a choice."


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34th Street).


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Natural Food Store
604 N.W. 13th St. 378-5224
Mon.-Fri. 10-8 Sat. 10-6


I


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TP3~ll~t~j







FEBRUARY 1978, WOMANEWS, PAGE 3

FOR MYSELF, THE WOMAN IN EMPLOYMENT,


AND FOR ALL OF US I WRITE


Janis Mara
My relationship with the
environment reminds me of a
Superball. Throw it against the
wall and it ricochets across the
room. Bounce it on the floor and it
keeps bouncing endlessly, a
prisoner of gravity and its own
resilience.
Motivated by the outside world
- parents, friends, financial
worries I bounced from junior
college to upper division to my first
job. My successes came about
mainly by accident, not through
my own actions.
For example: a male friend
pressured me into joining my
junior college literary magazine
staff. Despite years of writing and
publications work, I lacked the
confidence and foresight to
consider going on my own.
Within six months, I was named
editor of the magazine. I was
dazed, happy and incredulous -
and still a little afraid I wasn't
qualified.
Compare this attitude to that of
Tony Lombardy. His sole claim to
fame was the presidency of UF
Young Democrats. Yet he told
me, "In ten years I plan to be
Governor of Florida."
With scant political experience
and no financial backing, this man
had the confidence to set his sights
on the Governorship! And I had to


be nagged into trying out for a job
so comparatively minor it was
ridiculous!
This demonstrates male
"initiating" versus female
"accepting" behavior. From
childhood, men are encouraged to
identify and pursue their goals.
They're taught to shape the
outside world to their wishes to
control, to act.
On the other hand, women are
supposed to accept to take
what's dished out. We're
supposed to shape our interior
world to fit the outside. For
instance, we're told, "Share your
boyfriend's interests," during our
teens; later, it's, "Be ready to
relocate if your husband is
transferred."
I never learned to look inside
myself and determine what I
wanted. I never even realized it
was possible! Until recently, I did
not actively determine the pattern
of my own life even to simple
details like planning each day.
Oh, I always made lists for the
day, like "Vaccum rug go to
exercise class." But these items
were in response to outside
circumstances; the rug was dirty,
the class began at 7:30.
Lately I've started thinking in
these terms: "Jogging wakes me
up, so I'll start out by going to the


track. Since I'm thinking of moving
to a new town, I'll practice bus
riding by taking the bus to there.
At last, I structure activities to fit
my inner needs instead of just
going along with the demands of
the outside world.
It took 26 years, climaxed by a
three-month period of frustrating
unemployment, for me to realize
how passive I was acting. Many
women never wake up. They
bounce from school to job to
marriage to motherhood, never
even recognizing the problem.
The other day, I noticed a young
Black woman filling out job
applications in Employment. The
jobs she was seeking: "Counter
help ... counter help ... counter
help."
She sat with head bowed,
odediently grasping the pencil,
totally defined by her environ-
ment.
When Tony Lombardy said, "I
want to be Governor," he defined
his activities, his lifestyle, himself.
This Black woman, around the
same age, in the same town,
defined herself as counter help.
"Counter help conditioning" is
my label for this phenomenon.
In my case, the complete
absence of attention to my career
goals is what sunk me. Like the
Black woman in the Employment


office, I had never thought about it.
Because I didn't initiate a plan of
ry own, I rebounded into a
"typically female" job. If you have
no place to go, society (the
environment) has one for you,
ready-made, safe and easy.
There's no risk, no fear, involved
in "counter help" work. You know
you can do it; anyone can.
The world has a slot for white
middle-class women, and that's
where I ended up "secretary." If
I were Black and lower-class, I
would be ricocheting from Mac's
Waffle Shop to Morrison's
Cafeteria as "counter help" at this
very minute.
When a man states, "I want to
be Governor of Florida," it may
seem like a terrific risk. But is it?
He's a bright, ambitious young
MAN, assured of support from
friends, family, the environment.
But what of the bright, ambitious
young WOMAN?
I would like to be editor of my
own feminist publication in 10
years. But who am I to think of
such a thing? I'm not used to this
kind of thinking. It feels like a
fantasy.
I've always accepted whatever
came along jobs I never would
have taken if I weren't hard up for
money; friends I never would have
chosen on my own, but who called


and came by often; a poverty-
stricken lifestyle I unwillingly
inherited when I quit my "counter-
help" job.
In beginning to fight for self-
determination, I'm breaking a
lifelong pattern of passivity. Not
only am I opposed by parents,
relatives, society a large part of
myself opposes it as well. It's the
enemy within me, the "counter-
help-conditioned" self, who poses
the biggest threat to my
independence.
I'm struggling to gain control of
my environment both inner and
outer. I'm learning to manage my
own time; I drag myself out of bed
and hit town by 8 a.m. I jog every
day, forcing myself to continue
even when my thighs feel like 1000-
pound weights.
Most important, every night I
write in my journal, asking, "Who
am I? What do I want?" It's
amazing that it's so hard to answer
that question!
Sometimes, when I lose my
concentration and get frustrated, I
think back to a quiet woman with
cornrowed hair holding a blue
pencil, carefully printing "Counter
Help" on a job application. When I
think of her, my work doesn't
seem so hard anymore. "This is for
me," I remember. And I keep on
writing. For myself, for the woman
in Employment, for all of us.


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WOMEN

WORKSHOPS
Sexuality Pap Smears
Massage Classes Abortions
SxYoga Vaginal Infections
Body Sex Birth Control
Menstruation Pregnancy Testing

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805 S.W. 4th Avenue 377-5055

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Branch Office: 1151 South First Street 752-8000
Lake City, Florida 32055


FEMINIST Tarot Card Readings
and Lessons by experienced and
ethical psychic. Also: Music
lessons. Guitar, Piano, Drums
and Flute. Call Flash Silvermoon
or Pandora Lightmoon. Phone
475-2432.






ERA:









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Experienced Real Estate Counselors on call
to serve you courteously Anytime.








PAGE 4, WOMANEWS, FEBRUARY 1978


PAGE 5, WOMANEWS, FEBRUARY 1978


FEMINIST






VIEWPOINTS


0


SVIIIII lll


WY/ I A INI


WORLD


OUR MINDS


- SHAPED BY SCHOOL SYSTEM


FREE SPACE


/


- WHERE IN THE WORLD?


Marcia J. Belcher
From early childhood through
at least mid- to late adolescence,
our minds are shaped by the
school system. During this time
over a third of our waking hours
are spent in the hands -of
educators. After we leave the
system, the number of years of
education is used to sort us into
occupational and salary levels.
Any look at the environment,
then. must include an inspection of
our educational system.
How much do you know about
women and education? Patricia
Sexton, in her 1976 report
Women and Education for Phi
Delta Kappa, brings to light some
interesting facts. Take the
following quiz based on her report,
and see how you stack up. Score
yourself as follows:
16-20 correct: Congratulations!
You get an "A" in feminism.
However, you must stay after
school for socafr-misconducr
11-15 correct: Very good. You
should, however, repeat
Feminism 650 for the finer points!
6-10 correct: An average
performance. Where are you
going from here?
0-5 correct: You failed Feminism
101, but the teacher thinks you're
real cute.
1. Female high school graduates
have outnumbered males
since:
a) 1929, b) 1908, c) 1956 d)
1869


2. At age 18 and 19, 48% of
females and 38% of males are
enrolled in school. At age 20-
21, what proportion of females
are enrolled in school? (340 of
males are)
a) 48o, b) 37%, c) 26%, d) 15%
3. What proportion of women
are college graduates?
a) 28%, b) 100, c) 51%, d) 65%
4. What proportion of women
have a grade school education
or less?
a) 1/4, b) 1/2, c) 1/3, d) 1/8
5. Worldwide, about 280o of all
adult males are illiterate. What
percentage of all adult women
are illiterate?
a) 270o, b) 400o, c) 60%, d) 1500
6. In 1930, men were twice as
numerous as women faculty in
higher education. Since then,
that proportion has:
a) decreased, b) increased, c)
remained stable
7. Which of the following
statements are true about
women during the Middle
Ages and Renaissance?
a) More women than men
were literate.
b) In Italy, women played an
important part in the revival of
humanist learning and the
classics.
c) Women both lectured at the
university level and were
awarded doctorates.
d) Women were admitted to
guilds and were active partici-
pants.


8. Females were admitted to
Boston's public schools in:
a) 1938, b) 1914, c) 1852, d)
1769
9. In Maine in the mid-nineteenth
century, male teachers
worked for $15 a month.
Women teachers worked for:
a) $1, b) $5, c) $11, d) $15
10. She refused to write a
graduation essay when she
graduated from Oberlin
College, the first coeducation-
al college in the U.S. Her
reason was that women were
not allowed to read aloud such
essays at graduation. A male
could, however, read aloud
the essays that women had
written. Who was she?
a) Catherine Beecher
b) Susan B. Anthony
c) Jane Adams
d) Lucy Stone
11. More than two-thirds of
elementary and secondary
school teachers are women.
What percentage of principals
and superintendents are
women?
a) 48"% principals; 25"o
superintendents, b) 38"0
principals; 10o superinten-
dents, c) 15% principals; of
1% superintendents, d) 10"o
principals; 10" superinrten-
dents
12. According to the 1970
Census, the mean earnings of
male superintendents were
$13,500. The mean earnings


I TAKE ALL THIS PERSONALLY


Sharon Callahan
The earth is a water planet with
S fire in her center, surrounded by a
clinging sky. Air, earth, fire and
water: the four elements. Ancient
knowledge. Eternal wisdom.
These four elements make up our
environment; everything has as its
nature one of these.
SYour relationship to the earth is
a very primal one. The way you
relate to your environment is
basically the way you relate to
your own body and your own
existence.
Three-fourths of the globe is
covered with water. Humans
cannot live in the oceans, unlike
our natural mammal cousins, the
dolphins and whales. Their
embryos are like human females at
a certain stage, and they carry
vestiges of fingers and toes,
reminders of the days before they
returned to the sea.
Our circulatory system is an
intricate liquid network, our own
ocean beneath the skin, carrying
life to every cell in our body.
Water has always been
symbolic of our emotions, which


are generated by and stored in our
bodies.
The fire at the center of the
earth, that great mass of molten
rock under tremendous pressure,
causes mountains to rise up out of
the sea and explode in fury. This
great unseen energy-seems to me
very like the life force the
mysterious propulsion that
animates a living creature. This
energy glow has been recorded by
Kirlian photography.
Our atmosphere is a great
protection, insulating us from both
the lifeless cold of space and the
lethal rays of the sun.
Air is breath. Our breathing is
automatic; after a few minutes of
trying to hold your breath the body
involuntarily gasps. We need to
breathe good, clean air. In this age
of industrial irresponsibility and
pollution indexes clean air cannot
be taken for granted. Plants help.
Each friendly green leaf is
manufacturing oxygen for us to
breathe.
Some aspects of this country's
multi-million dollar space program
bother me, like seeing a man's
footprints in the dust of the virgin


moon. It seemed so important to
get her before the Russians did.
But one thing really moved me -
seeing the NASA photographs of
the earth from a great distance.
We have a full-length portrait of a
fragile and beautiful sphere in the-
immensity of space. And I guess it
moved me because I knew that
here is my home. Timothy Leary
missed the point when he said that
gravity is the ultimate drug.
Gravity keeps me from whizzing
off into space, where I can't'
survive. Gravity is the earth's
claim that I am her child.
Earth is matter, cohesion, form,
body. Western technology has
been largely concerned with the
Faustian challenge of conquering
and manipulating the earth. And it
shows. Mankind is turning the
earth into a garbage dump.
Floating far out at sea are huge
slicks of slime and waste. The very
air we suck into our lungs is
tainted. I take all this personally; so
should you. It is personal. Those
who abuse the earth are literally
'motherfuckers.''And I believe in
rape prevention.


for females were:
a) $8,700, b) $12,500, c)
$10,200, d) $13,500
13. In public schools, the ratio of
spending on recreational and
athletic activity for males to
females is:
a) 2 to 1, b) 10 to 1, c)20to 1,
d) 5 to 1
14. Most students consult school
counselors about their career
plans, and often the counselor
suggests the vocational
choice. It has been found that
counselors:
a) have strong preference for
traditional male and female
occupations and recommend
further counseling when a
non-traditional career goal is
chosen.
b) have strong preferences for
traditional occupations but
accept non-traditional career
goals.
c) completely reject non-
traditional career goals..,--_- ,
d) are in the forefront in
advocating non-sexist
education.
15. What proportion of qualified
students who do not go to
college are women?
a) 2/3, b) 1.,, c) '2, d) 9/10
16. In Sweden, women are 24", of
the lawyers, and in Denmark
they are 70". of dentists. What
are the percentages for the
U.S.?
a) 45") are lawyers, 30"o are
dentists
In a room with
Spectrum flashing lights
I sit mesmerized
Drifting in time
From place to place
Century to century
Androgynously
Out of my element again
Yet still seeking
More and more each day I find
That time's leaving me behind
In this realm
And I must get deeper into
The new one
My future
Everything that shall be
The new world of women rising
The tide no longer
Ebbing peacefully to the shore
But not frantically
Destination fully determined
Replacing the opposition
Returning the world
To the free spirits
The era of the goddess reborn
Has arrived
In full power
Take me home
To the place I belong
The world where finally
My dreams have become reality
And the sun's shining
Bright and strong
And oh so very wonderful

Ruth A. Nielsen


b) 15% are lawyers, 10% are
dentists
c) 4"% are lawyers, 2"% are
dentists
d) 25"% are lawyers, 15% are
dentists
17. 9"% of male graduate students
drop out of school because of
pressures from their spouses.
What percentage of women
drop out for the same reason?
a) 21%", b) 10"%, c) 36'",, d) 49''%
18. In 1972, more than 37,000 men
were being trained as
plumbers. How many women
were being trained?
a) 1,500, b) 34, c) 811, d) 2
19. Males are twice as likely to be
tenured as women. What
percentage of women are full
professors?
a) 20",., b) 12",, c) 8",, d) 32"%
20. The following are exempted
from Title IX:
a) military schools
b) religious schools
-c)-iprivati.schlpol o
d) military and religious schools
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Kristy Ann Billhardt
Let me tell you how I feel. I'm a
turbulent swirling mass of
nebulous emotions, a swarming
grating collection of pain and rage,
explosively volatile or incredibly
fragile (it should go either way). I
hurt. I hurt from having to live in a
space where people cannot be free
to grow, to become the best, that
most fully human person each and
every one of us is in our own
unique ways. I hurt when I see the
way people do not look each other
in the eyes as they pass on the
street. I hurt when I see unique,
free children melted down and
poured into molds and stamped
into pink and blue prototypes. I
hurt because masculine or
feminine is more important than
human.


Pain is fuel for rage. Oh, how it
simmers. Even outward
complacency is often hard to
achieve and impossible to
maintain. Be patient. Be cool.
Don't let it bother you that man
must rape woman because it is so
strongly important to him to feel
powerful. Don't worry that that
beaten woman must stay with that
merciless, brutal man because she
has no money and can't leave the
children behind. Don't be
incensed that the 1980 Olympic
Games will not include a woman's
marathon even though women
have run distances of even 100
miles with no ill effects on their
delicate anatomies. Don't be angry
that an important point of inquiry
in determination of sanity and/or
humanness is who you choose to


NATURE -




GET IN


A..


'II
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- II-.. I L U-- -- i lz 0-4 ;: 1.


Sylvia Scudder
When I was a kid, my parents
used to pack me and my brother
into the old Chevy about a week
before Christmas and wheel us
around to all the YMCA
Christmas-tree lots in town,
looking for the Tree. We always
found it in the last lot, tall (always
too tall for the front door), spruce
-not fir with elegant, drooping
branches and the smell of winter
woods. We'd step it in one of those
Christmas-tree-stands that you
can pour water into (to humor
yourself) that usually leaks out
onto the floor and the fruitcake
and whatnot. After Christmas we
always burned the tree with a quiet
little ceremony: just a match and a
gathering around, touching
shoulders, to breathe in it's last
incense offering. To somehow
thank the tree.
Other families in our
neighborhood threw their after-
Christmas trees onto the
trashpiles by the street so that
walking home from school became
a sad trek between brown-
needled, still-tinselled, slowly
setting tree bones. (Like the dead
armadillo you drive by everyday,
everyday a little flatter and a little
less an animal.)
When I moved away from home
I decided not to buy a Christmas
tree each year. My parents did it
out of tradition and love and with a
great deal of sympathy, but the
treps were still dead, you see, like


love and sleep with.
If the importance of what is lost
as a result of these limits and these
forced values and these universal
truths (universal, bullshit!) could
be grasped the pain would spread.
We would all feel it when that man
kills himself because he hurts like
hell but ain't allowed to cry. We
would all care that that thirty-year-
old woman who used to outhit her
brother on the baseball field is
forty pounds overweight and
hasn't the energy to climb the
stairs. It would wrench all of our
stomachs to hear someone
declare that any person, for any
reason, is any less human than
anyone else, or deserves any less
regard. We would all see how
profoundly sad it is that we cannot
be ourselves because of what


people might think, that we can't
all reach our potential or even
strive for it because there are
things in our way, that we are split
and fragmented both as
individuals and as communities of
people.
What is lost is life. Human life.
Strip this world of externalities and
what do we have? People. Each
other. The world should be built to
accommodate people, all kinds of
people, all allowed to be free, all
regarded as valuable. We have
reversed our priorities. We force


TOURIP


A BIC


Emma Seestor
I bicycle to do something extra-
T O UH special for myself. Touring along

surrounding Gainesville I am
released: the sunlight flickers
cut flowers or stray cats through the trees, small animals
(eventually). Since I've always scurry in the foliage beside the
been able to see that plants road and the air filling my lungs is
been able to see that plant sweet and clean. I push hard on
respond just as actively as animals sweet and clean. I push hard on
do to kindness or its opposite, my the pedals strain my muscles, an
decision was a philosophically sail along the blacktop like an
comforting one. But I must admit earth-bound bird. My bicycle and I
that the first year of not buying a are beautiful and strong.
tree left me feeling ridiculously Bicycling puts me in touch with
insignificant. "One tree, hoo boy! my body and environment but
Just think of all the..." etc., etc there are other, more practical,
Crazy little human thoughts. But advantages. I can escape the city
with each year, each tree-not- for an afternoon in the country or
bought began to add something to experience an exciting vacation by
me, some small measure of power touring to some distant
and a growing sense of control destination.
over my space and my impact on Another plus is the fact that I
that space. use my own food for fuel. Bicycling
Go stand in front of a tree for is a fun and easy method to shed
awhile some sunny or cloudy or excess fat while being ecologically
cool/warm whatever day you economic.
choose. Touch its bark, smell its Soreness is rarely a problem the
leaves, look up through it to the next day because of the constant,
sky. That's not small, that's your smooth motion of the muscles
part in infinity. Getting to know used in bicycling. Even better,
even one tree can teach you all the muscles develop quickly and
kinds of things, like how to: ride a are "lean" (as opposed to the
bike or walk if you don't need the "bulky" muscles developed in
car, turn off the light every time 'weight-lifting).
you don't need it, recycle your The Overload Principle
garbage and grow your own food (applying more and more stress
(if the place is right), grow a until the body adapts) is easily
hanging basket of cherry tomatoes implemented by bicycling longer,
instead of begonias (if the place is harder and faster. The
an apartment). How to: carefully cardiovascular system responds
consider your impact on your immediately, clearing the lungs
immediate environment, how to and warming the very fingertips
relate that consideration to your with blood.
community and in a small, loving Bicylcing heals my head, too.
way, to your planet. How to grow The sense of accomplishment
toward the li ht. from touring thirty miles allows me


to take on a more positive atti de


v )
ol


people to accommodate(
themselves to the world, to fit intc
slots, to know their places and sta,
in them. And it's hard as hell where
you don't fit.
I hurt. And I'm mad. And I
resent the fact that I must throw
away so many moments of my life
and waste so much of my energy
on transcending the bullshit well
enough just to exist in this reality.
It wears me down, and I'm tired ol
it.
Er, well ., that's how I feel.
How do you feel?






VG ON



(CL E


- I feel great for the rest of the
day!
To begin exciting encounters
with your body and environment
all that you need is a bicycle and,
perhaps, a county map. The map
will help you plan routes and
distances and can be purchased
for sixty cents at almost any local
bookstore.
The preferred bicycles are those
that are light in weight and have at
least three speeds. A lower gear
(easiest to pedal) is used when
travelling uphill or against the wind
and will come in handy. I have
known people to tour on anything
from a ten-year-old Schwinn to a
bicycle with a titanium frame
worth hundreds of dollars.
Anything falling within this wide
range is perfectly acceptable so, if
it runs, you are ready!
A woman's seat (like the
"Brooks B-72") is definitely
recommended for the woman
planning to tour seriously. The
seat is wider in the back to shift the
center of gravity off the pelvic
bone and provide comfort.
Bicycling, like any sport,
requires discipline. The discipline
is a part of the enlightenment
process and, for this reason, I
relate bicycling to Zen. The
experience of Zen transcends all
categories of thought yet requires
active participation from all
aspects of the being. I yearn for the
spontaneous, effortless moment
when my mind, clear and
refreshed, melts into the constant
rhythm of my body. Through
bicycling, 1 have discovered this
experience of release and pleasure
and, through me, I hope that you
discover bicycling!


X


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PAGE 6, WOMANEWS, FEBRUARY 1978


A LOOK AT HOMEBIRTH


Stephanie Smith Weissinger
The Homebirth Movement is
alive and well and thriving in
Gainesville.
The decision to have a
homebirth is not always an easy
one for couples. One hears horror
stories from other parents that are
morbidly concluded with "If I
hadn't had my baby in a hospital
s;he wouldn't be alive today."
Those who support homebirths
will probably not be found among
the professionals in the
Gainesville medical community.
Several obstetrician/gynecolo-
gists, local to this area, have
published letters and articles
opposing the issue. In a recent
issue of a national woman's
magazine one well-known
pediatrician labelled homebirth as
"the most severe form of child
abuse."
Statements such as these are
radical, indeed. I'm sure we have
all heard of last minute life or death
complications or emergency
Ceasarian sections during a birth
to the extent that we believe them
to happen in the majority of births.
Statistics show us, however, that
approximately 93o of all births are
normal/or uneventful. The
remaining 7o are mostly births
whose complications or high risk
factors are predictable. Often
times the mother is known to
have, for example, toxemia,
diabetes or negative Rh blood, to
name a few, which would
necessitate a hospital. It must also
h-fon-t i" mind that man hirthino
complications are directly
correlated to various instrumental
and pharmocological interven-
tions found to be common hospital
practices. A trained birth
attendant or midwife is always in
tune with whether or not a labor is


progressing normally and how to
manage rare complications,
should they arise, that require a
physicians skills until the laboring
woman can be brought to a
hospital. It cannot be emphasized
enough that severe complications
during a birth are rare and very
often have definite precursors.
Why then do people fear
homebirths and view the hospitals
and doctors as God-sent?
Obstetrics in the last 50 years has
become extremely mechanized.
There are monitors, instruments,
drugs and you-name-it to
intervene with a normal labor. In a
mysterious and gallant manner
doctors appear as knights in shiny
armour to rescue a woman from
her pain, her emotions and her
experience. Women over the past
three generations have become
extremely alienated from their
bodies and physical feelings. They
have given control to the
physicians. Physicians have
readily taken the responsibility
and transformed a natural event
into a highly elaborate medical
procedure.
Couples who opt for homebirth
are, for the most part, quite frank
about the realities of birthing. One
woman I know has a six-month-old
son born at home. She says, "We
had no reason to believe we would
require a hospital. And I did not
want to deny myself the full
experience of birth. My pregnancy
was normal, the baby was
correctly positioned, my nutrition
andr nhiral health were the best.
We always knew that we would go
to a hospital if required, but we are
really in favor of the home."
When questioned about
common hospital practices, Lynn,
a lay-midwife, was concerned with
the unnatural procedures. "The


woman is subjected to regimented
and calloused practices for the
convenience of those working in
the hospital. It if often humiliating.
Perhaps she has a good
relationship with her doctor, but
s/he is often not there. The
laboring woman must adapt to a
totally new environment, certain
'acceptable' positions, strangers
for attendants, machines, preps,
tests, monitors and unfamiliarity.
She is sometimes separated from
her husband and always separated
from her child while it is examined,
washed, dressed and put in a
plastic box-like bed to sleep. Even
hospitals with'rooming-in' policies
are not for around-the-clock in this
community. The mother is left
empty, void and alone. Her baby is
subjected to unnatural physical
isolation. I believe it is a crime
against nature."
When 1 think of my own
homebirth I am convinced it is the
wisest decision I have ever made.
When questioned about it, usually
in a challenging way, I explain that
giving the responsibility of
"delivering" my child to someone
else would be denying myself and
my husband the right to a full and
complete experience as parents.
Given that we are well educated as
to birthing and want that
responsibility, our experience can
be, and was, positive. Denying
oneself the responsibility of
birthing is going only halfway after
assuming total responsibility for a
healthy pregnancy. Homebirth
can be a very positive experience
and a sensible alternative to
standard hospital births.


SMW& afL1JJM*L TIK LW CQJJJAIt

377-TALK
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FEBRUARY 1978, WOMANEWS, PAGE 7


WHAT DO THESE


WOMEN WANT?


Kristy Ann Billhardt
Rugby, the tough, tradition-
laden contact sport known for
generations to virtually every
English schoolboy, has been
successfully imported to the
United States. The game is being
embraced with snow-balling
enthusiasm, and teams and clubs
are springing up throughout the
country.
For two years, Nana Lopez
watched and supported as her
boyfriend participated on just such
a team. But two years was long
enough, for Nana wanted more
than to watch. She wanted to play.
Like many sports-minded
women, Nana had been limited to
playing "girls sports:" softball,
gymnastics, and others
considered appropriate and
acceptable outlets for female
athlaiW-urges. She found herself
wonderiffg:what it would be like if
she carried that rugby ball.
Nana's not wondering anymore.
In 1975 a group of rugby
enthusiasts formed the Florida
Women's Rugby Club. The club is
not supported by University
athletic department funds, and the
pioneer players found themselves
footing the bills for all of their
expenses. Now the team receives
some equipment funds from the
intramural department, and
Student Government has been
persuaded to cbver the cost of
traveling to some out-of-state
matches, necessitated by the
scanty local competition.


Although it contains elements of
several sports, including soccer
and basketball, rugby is most often
compared to football. Players
scramble for the ball, pass, run,
and tackle, all without the benefit
of padding, which opens wide the
door to the possibility of injury. It is
this aspect more than any other
which attracts critical attention to
rugby and stigmatizes its players.
Armchair experts postulate all
kinds of aggressive instincts and
sadistic tendencies and otherwise
question the mental health of
people who would voluntarily
partake of such madness.
The Florida team feels the
emphasis on bodily injury is
misdirected and considers the
roughness an incidental rather
than integral part of the sport.
Injury is minimized by passing to
avoid being tackled, and tackles
are aimed at not creaming the
player but at gaining possession of
the ball. Head-busting and bone-
crunching are not the reasons
behind the enthusiasm which
characterizes the Florida team.
What is the reason? Quite
simply, it is love. These women
love the game.
Rugby is a sport surrounded by
a unique atmosphere, an aura
which is almost disarming in its
intensity. Its players possess a
deep respect for the game and
display overwhelming team spirit,.
togetherness which goes beyond
that found in other sports, beyond
the sharing of a common will to
win.


The nature of the game itself
promotes an incredible cohesive-
ness among rugby players, with
opponents as well as with
teammates. There is the stiff
physical challenge of the game,
whose rules do not allow time-outs
or substitution of players.
(women's games consist of two 35-
minute halves of continuous play).
There is the ever-present potential
for personal injury; facing such
adversity together seems to
generalize self-concern for fellow
players. There is the actual
physical bonding of the scrum (a
formation with a purpose similar to
the jump-ball in basketball) in
which players on both teams
interlock arms, heads, and bodies
and struggle for control of the ball.
The Florida team's concern
seems to be not with the victory,
but with the chance to play, as
evidenced in the post-contest
parties which follow each loss as
well as each win. These rowdy, let-
it-all-hang-out celebrations are
considered as much a part of
rugby as anything that happens on
the field and serve to continue the
game's tradition (the first rugby
games in England were always
held near pubs, to which players
would retire after playing) as well
as furthering feelings of fellowship
and solidarity among ruggers.
The Florida team must deal with
certain conditions precipitated by
the fact that they are a women's
team in a male-dominated sport.
With only two other women's
clubs in Florida they must travel in


P-


order to be exposed to more
teams, new and different
competition. They are without
consistent coaching; there are no
qualified women in the area for the
position and a parade of male
coaches has proven ineffective.
Many of the players have histories
of limited involvement in sports
and almost none in contact sports,
and they are faced with an
undeveloped "game sense" which
can only come with experience.
The Florida men's team appears
to be having some difficulty
accepting the women's team, and
more than one uncomfortable
verbal exchange has taken place.
The men seem to feel that the
women's game is a lesser version
of their own. America is the only
rugby-playing country in the world
which does not exclude women
from the sport. Apparently some
male ruggers find it difficult to
divorce themselves from the
mistaken belief that the game may


owa


GAINESVILLE RECREATION DEPARTMENT

WOMEN LEAGUE BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

1978


*ALL GAMES WILL BE PLAYED AT SUNLAND GYM

ON WEDNESDAY ONLY.


6:30 Eagles
7:30 Liberty Bells
8:30 Sante Fe

6:30 Joans
7:30 Leather Luggage
8:30 Eagles

6:30 Liberty Bells
7:30 Santa Fe
8:30 Owls

6:30 Santa Fe
7:30 Owls
8:30 May Co. Lions


vs Joans
vs May Co. Lions
vs Owls

vs Owls
vs Santa Fe
vs Liberty Bells

vs Leather Luggage
vs Joans
vs May Co. Lions

vs Eagles
vs Leather Luggage
vs Joans


*A tournament will be played at the end of the season.


Wednesday, January 11, marked the tip-off of the Gainesville
Recreation Department's basketball season. Seven spirited teams are
competing for the title, and it is proving an interesting contest. The teams
involve over 80 women, of various ages, motivations, and levels of
basketball virtuosity, all out on the courts doing their best and enjoying
themselves in the process. The atmosphere is promotive and the energy
is high; the competition is not exploitive but cooperative. WOMANEWS
is closely following the season and will cover the action in our next issue.


Cuong Nhu Karate Center

is now offering a

Self Defense Course


Wednesday and Friday 5:30-7:00
First Class Free Starts February 8th
7 weeks for $25.00

809 West University 378-4172
i :H*: :* :<^+00;-4*::

Wednesday
February 1

Wednesday
February 8

Wednesday
February 15

Wednesday
February 22


I


rig
PIS





















HOTO BY JAMIE L. KAHN

be played only by super-tough
macho heroes. Perhaps they
resent having to share the prestige
and admiration bestowed upon
them; excellence at a sport seems
to lose its value in male eyes when
women prove they may become
just as capable. The women's team
is disappointed by this attitude and
expresses hope that this division
will fuse so that the club may
become united and the two teams
mutually supportive.
No doubt at this very moment
somewhere in the world at least
one concerned psychologist is
attempting to isolate a cause, an
explanation for this madness
which is rugby. Such attempts are
misguided and unnecessary.
Rugby is a special game. The
Florida Women's Rugby team is a
special group of people.
What do these women want?
They want to play rugby. And that
is reason enough.











WomaNews' Independence


WomaNews, reputed to be the
Southeast's largest feminist
newspaper, has struck out on its
own.
"As soon as the papers get to
Tallahassee, WomaNews will be
formally published by Southern
Women's Press, Inc.," said Diana
Ormond, Co-Editor ofWoma-
News.
The name, Southern Women's
Press, was chosen to demonstrate
the general make-up of the staff as
well as to provide for the future
possibility of handling all types of
printed women's literature.
"This is basically an attempt to
broaden not only the scope of
WomaNews but its political base
as well," said Ormond. "In the past
we were the "house organ" of
Women Unlimited while trying to
serve the entire community. We
believe this change will enable use
to better serve the whole
community."
For those subscribers who are
also members of Women
Unlimited, it means they will no
longer get a free subscription to


the paper with their membership.
For the staff, three months of
intensive training on all aspects of
the paper will be required.
"We feel very strongly that to
best serve our readers, advertisers
and ourselves we must constantly
be in tune with the community at
large as well as constantly
upgrading our skills," said Co-
Editor Marcia Belcher.
To accomplish these goals, the
staff is in the process of forming an
advisory board composed of
women in the community who
have expertise in the fields of
business, journalism and in the
political arena. The Board's
function will be to advise the staff
on both the technical matters of
running a newspaper as well as to
provide input concerning the
content of the paper.
"We believe the concept of an
advisory board is essential to us in
our initial stages of indepen-
dence," said Belcher. "Not only
will we be better able to keep in
tune with other organizations but
we will be able to report on matters


which staff limitations now
prohibit."
Future plans for the Southern
Women's Press call for the
publishing, printing and
distributing of all types of women's
literature.
"That means books, magazines,
pamphlets and any other kind of
printed matter which is relevant to
today's woman," said Ormond.
"However, those plans depend on
the success of WomaNews and
the ability to branch out without
harming the paper."
More women are expected to
join the staff since for the first time
they will be offered structured
training. Commitment and time
are all that is needed from new
staff members.
WomaNews was founded in
March of 1975 as the official
newspaper of Women Unlimited,
Gainesville's Women Center. It
later expanded into a tabloid
monthly newspaper and was
recently the target of attacks by
local conservatives who protested
CETA funding for Women
Unlimited.


Kat Powell

Byssinosis. The word is derived
from byssuss," the Greek word for
cotton dust. It is more commonly
known as "brown lung" and is
caused by the inhalation of fine
cotton dust over a period of years.
Brown lung victims have a
'eaIthigq ji~pity of about a third
of that of an average person.
A short walk, or the climbing of
a few steps leaves a brown lung
sufferer wheezing and gasping for
breath.
Julian Bond, president of the
Southern Poverty Law Center,
calls cotton mill workers "the
lowest paid, least organized
industrial employees in the United
States."
For years the textile industry in
America has denied the existence
of brown lung, even though it has
been discussed in medical
literature since the 1700s.
In England the disease has been
compensable since 1941. Here,
almost all disabled brown lunq
victims have been denied benefits
from Workers' Compensation
Insurance, even though the
disease is clearly related to
employment.
The Carolina Brown Lung
Association is an organization
formed by disabled mill workers.





WomanStore


WomanStore, Gainesville's first
and only feminist bookstore, is up
for sale after providing its services
to the community for three years.
"Women Unlimited is unable to
pay the salary of a business
manager for the store," explained
Linda Bassham, the bookstore
chairperson on Women Jnrlimi-
ted's Steering Cormmittee.
As a stopgap measure,
volunteers are keeping the store's
doors open to the public until the
business is sold.


Lacy Wright, one of the
organization's leaders, has
worked in the mills since
childhood, for a total of 44 years.
Wright has said he "definitely
felt women in the mills were
treated worse."
The Southern Poverty Law
Center has decided to assist the
Carolina Brown Lung Association
in its efforts to achieve better
working conditions for cotton mill
workers.
One company that the law
center will be dealing with has
been found guilty of labor law
violations 15 times since 1963. Last
year, the same company was
found guilty of systematic racial
discrimination in a North Carolina
mill.
"Although the industry's
strangle-hold on the economic and
social life of mill towns is not as
total as it used to be," says Bond,
"Its power is still unrivaled in states
like North and South Carolina."
One of every five industrial jobs
in the South is in the textile


industry. In South Carolina, three
out of four industrial jobs are in
textiles.
There are medical panels in
North and South Carolina which
review claims for compensation
for brown lung.. In both states,
some members of these boards
are paid consultants and
researchers for the textile mills.
Outside researchers have been
refused inside the mills.
In 1976, only one South
Carolina mill was found to meet
the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA)
standard for dust control.
Robert P. Timmerman is
president of the American Textile
Manufacturers Institute, a leading
textile trade association.
"We favor health standards,"
Timmerman was quoted as saying
in the New York Times. "But,"
he added, "we don't favor
unjustifiably expensive standards.
.. we don't want to have to raise
prices or shut down plants or lay
off lots of workers."


Wom.aHIws


ABORTION


Sylvia Lehnen

Circuit Court Judge Benjamin
Tench issued a temporary
restraining order early in January
to prevent Linda Crittenden, 26,
from having an abortion scheduled
for that day. The order came as a
result of a lawsuit filed by her
husband. It was lifted the next day
as the judge quotedfour cases that
established a woman's right to
decide if she would have an
abortion.

Linda was playing with her
seven-year-old son when the
police car pulled up to their curb.
Curious at first, then puzzled she
opened the door. A policeman
handed her the order and made his
little speech.
"I just remember feeling numb
and shocked," she recalled. "I
wasn't even notified of the hearing.
Later I got angry at my husband
and upset because Tommy was
right there."
She'd known something was
wrong since that morning, she
said, when she called the doctor's
office to see if her appointment
could be rescheduled for an earlier
time. The receptionist told her that
"someone" had cancelled her
appointment.
"I didn't know what was going
on, but I thought he might be
behind it. I just never thought he'd
go that far."
The court action was the last of
many attempts to prevent her
from having the abortion. Two
weeks earlier, after much
discussion, he took her to the
doctor's office for the abortion.
She said she was being readied for
the procedure when he stormed
from the office in a fit of anger. The
doctor refused to continue the
operation under the circum-
stances.
"He did everything he could,"
she said. "He even told my
relatives over Christmas even
though I asked him not to. I felt he
was trying to trap me in the
marriage with this pregnancy."


-------- ------- ------- m m.III II


The couple separated on
SJanuary 1. During their eight years
of marriage they separated three
times before, but Crittenden said
she always returned because she
felt it was easier for her to cope
than for her son and two-year-old
daughter to adjust to the change of
a divorce.
Her decision to have the
abortion was very difficult, she
said. Not only was she pressured
by her husband and her relatives,
but had to come to terms with her
own ambivalence as well.
"There were only two
alternatives and neither felt right.
But I just couldn't justify bringing
another child into an unhappy
marriage. The two kids I have now
will need all the time and attention I
Scan give them during this change."
While she said she understood
his feelings, she added: "It just
wasn't something you can
compromise on. It might have
beendifferent if he was a good
father to the kids we now have, but
I think it was mostly an ego thing
for him, a way to control me."
"I knew it was my life that would
be changed by this pregnancy, not
his," she continued. I want to have
control over my life and I want to
be happy. I don't want any more
ties with this man."
While the judge lifted the order
the next day, the problems and
anxieties it had caused continued.
Her physician warned her to
take precautions because of her
husband's state of mind. Her
attorney requested a restraining
order to keep him away from her
and the children. Afraid he would
try to take the children from her
anyway, she took them out of
town. She stayed with a friend.
She said the publicity was also
very' embarrassing for her, and
expressed concern that it might be
used against her in the future.
More specifically, she feared that
her son might be harmed if he
found out.
"My name was in the
newspaper." she said. "When I
(continued on page 2)
mImmmmmmmmm la


NEWS BRIEFS: U o F
l VIO LAT ES
Anne Cawthown Booth was
Sworn in January 3 as the state's
first woman Appeals Court Judge. Thirty two years later, the U.S.T IT I LE-
The Tallahassee lawyer was Senate has voted to extend
named by Governor Reubin veteran's benefits to the 850
Askew to succeed retiring Judge women pilots who flew during
John Rawls on the First District World War Two. The House,
Court of Appeals. however, makes no mention of
these women in their veterans'
legislation proposal. A joint-
ori c te committee is scheduled to h -
Floridians may also for the first consider final amendments which
time find a woman on the may include benefits for these -
gubernatorial slate in the next womenclude benefits for these
Selection. Dr. Eileen Sullivan, a 52- Foreign men who fought for the
year-old assistant professor of allies and later became U.S.
logic at the University of Florida citizens were able to study '
I has announced her candidacy. through the G.I. Bill after the war.
* Her strategy, she told the t
Gainesville Sun, would include
reaching those people who ... 1
don't vote, and have never heard
of the well known contenders. Pickets protest treatment of
Lady Gators and their fans.
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