September 21, 1999 | OPINION Over The Edge Page 3 The Uncool “F” Word by Laurie Dawson ANTIGONISH, NS (CUP) - Right now being a feminist, much like listening to Ace of Base, is not cool. | was intro- duced to the ropes of being cool in grade 7. | quickly learned that a nec- essary part of being cool is coming across like you have your shit togeth- er, especially when you don’t, and acting different without claiming to be anything at all. On my grade 7 yard- stick of coolness, feminism does not rank too high. You see, feminism doesn’t have it’s shit together - far from it. It is diverse and different, certain feminist per- spectives contradict others and most times they are entirely incompatible. This incongruity requires a feminist to declare where they stand within the chaotic realm of feminism. This is no easy task. | know enough about femi- nism now to declare that | really don’t know much at all. It amuses me, whereas before it hurt my feelings, to watch and hear people bitch about feminism and feminists as though we are one huge, stupid, unionized claw, ready and able to rip their large intestines out of their body centimetre by centimetre. The reason | find this funny is that | am a feminist and am not part of any union. Actually, there is no one “ultimate” union within femi- nism to be a part of. Feminists are often grouped off into different categories, such as 2nd Wave, 3rd Wave, Socialist, Marxist, Liberal, Environmental, Artist, Lesbian, Maternal, and so on. These subgroups work within their own par- ticular perspective to make social and olitical changes towards the better- ment of women’s lives. Therefore my point: Feminism as a whole is hard to understand. There is no whole, no common sisterhood. This in turn means that there are no neatly defined boundaries or one- size-fits-all statements. It is so simple to make fun of femi- nism. What isn’t so simple is figuring out why. | have been asked why | don’t call myself a humanist if | am unclear of which part of feminism | believe in. After all, | am striving for human rights and freedoms. My answer: | will proudly wear a pin emblazoned with flashing neon pink letters that spell out HUMANIST when women in our world are all seen and treated as humans. What | mean: | don’t believe it is human for a middle-class, nine- year-old girl to starve herself and waste her childhood so she can look like her idol who is a model. By now we all know that even Cindy Crawford doesn’t look like Cindy Crawford. | don’t see where freedom exists in poverty. What is human about moth- ers starving, struggling to feed their kids? And what human rights do third world women have when they are North America’s medical test pro- jects, when they want water and we want Internet banking? Yes, it’s not cool to fixate on the neg- ative, but | already came to the con- clusion - using my grade 7 mentality - that being a feminist is not cool any- way. But | believe we need feminism to change things such as sweatshops, rape, eating disorders, medication- therapy, wife beating, pollution and poverty. Feminism recognizes these things as social problems that can be resolved. And that it is very cool. By Nicholas Bradley VANCOUVER (CUP) - At the last minute, the Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) has decided to stay away from the University of British Columbia - for now. Brian Sullivan, UBC vice-president (students), said the university received word that the Center for Bio- Ethical Reform (CBR), the radical US- based anti-abortion group that organ- ises GAP, had chosen to stay off cam- pus. “We got a very clear assurance that they will not be trespassing,” said Sullivan. Consequently, the university has NEWS US anti-abortion group backs off from visiting UBC backed off from a legal request, issued last week, for a court injunc- tion prohibiting the CBR from cam- pus. The anti-abortion group, howev- er, still plans to launch a lawsuit against UBC, and possibly the school’s Alma Mater Society. Last week, UBC requested that CBR pay for its own security, at a maximum cost of $15,000 per day, and insisted it set up its display beside the school’s recreation centre. The anti-abortion refused these demands and called them unfair. GAP originally planned to bring its display of large, graphic pictures that equate abortion with acts of genocide to UBC this week. The American- based group and UBC are currently negotiating the conditions for GAP’s arrival on campus in the future. Gregg Cunningham, executive direc- tor of CBR, said in an interview last week that “these images will be dis- played at campus.” And he may still be right. Stephanie Gray, president of Lifeline, the cam- pus pro-life club who invited the CBR to UBC, said that although the display will not proceed this week as planned, the GAP signs would still be shown. “There will not be a display as planned this week, but the signs will be here,” she said. Gray added that pro-life students will carry anti-abortion signs around cam- pus. She pointed out that these stu- dents would not be acting on behalf of Lifeline, and that they would not be here today. Meanwhile, opposition to GAP has been mounting on campus. This week, UBC’s pro-choice group Students for Choice held a rally with roughly 200 people to demonsirate opposition towards GAP. The group also says it will picket any future GAP display that comes to campus. CBR lawyers did not return calls to confirm their plans by press time. UNBC Meets Golden Key By Whitney Weikum The University of Northern British Columbia is proud to announce the chartering of one of the most dynam- ic honours associations. the Golden Key National Honour Society is an interanationa organization committed to the recognition, encouragement and promotion of scholastic excel- lence. Since its inception in 1977, the society has chartered more than 250 chapters in Canada, the U.S.A., Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Australia. Golden Key chapters are active, stu- dent run organizations on campuses. They energetically create, organize, and manage projects which promote academic achievement, serve the community and provide valuable social interaction. Recently, invitations were mailed to those students eligible to join the UNBC chapter. The admission requirements, whcih are completely objective, are a minimum of 30 credit hours and cumulatiove GPA of 3.67. Once you have paid your membership fee, you recieve a lifetime member- ship in the society and don’t worry, maintenance of a 3.67 GPA is not mandatory to keep your membership. Even if you don’t qualify this year, or are in your first year, you may still become eligible in following years. Other benifits include the opportuni- ty to receive scholarships, corporate contacts, CONCEPTS, an award-win- ning annual magazine, and regontion as one of the top 15% academically on you campus and internationally. Those interested in joining the soci- ety or who want more information about Golden Key are encouraged to attend the information meetings on Tuesday, October 12 from 6:00-7:30 pm in room 7-150 and Wednesday, October 13 from 12:30-2:30pm in room 5-125. The regional director, Kari Anne Wharton, will be presenting the benefits, objectives, and goals of the Golden Key Society. Be sure also to approach the Golden Key display in the WinterGarden on October 12 and 13 to pick up informative brochures and have one of the executives answer your questions about the Society.