TEDxTU

For those of you who follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you may know that I gave a talk at the TEDxTU event last Thursday evening.

Photo courtesy of my cousin Hannah's Instagram 

The “TED” in that string of letters stands for “Technology, Entertainment, Design” and refers to the world-renowned nonprofit “devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading.” The most famous and accessible feature of TED is its TEDTalks—short talks by various people about their ideas—which can be viewed for free online.

The “x” means that this event was independently organized; that is, the actual TED organization did not help or monitor the planning or organization of this event beyond initial approval and instruction. And the TU, of course, stands for Tulane University. A group of highly dedicated Tulane students put on this entire event by themselves, and it was an incredible success.

I got an email at the beginning of the summer asking me to apply to speak at the TEDxTU event planned for the fall. I was excited for the chance to get involved even before I was actually a student at Tulane! In order to apply, I had to make a rough draft video generally about what I would include in my final talk. Shortly after receiving my invitation to apply to TEDxTU, the director of the program I was working at over the summer asked me to talk to the kids there about my video and what has come of it (some of you might remember this story from one of my previous blog posts). To kill two birds with one stone, I had that talk filmed, edited it, and submitted it to the TEDxTU organizers, explaining that I would tailor my actual talk to more closely fit the TED event.

It was a long wait before I heard back about my application, but about a month or so after school started, I finally received another email: I was in! I had to attend two rehearsals before the event so the organizers could check my progress, but besides that, I was on my own. I cut down my speech from the summer to about a third its original length and altered it to more appropriately fit the occasion. I went to two rehearsals and got some valuable feedback from the organizers as well as from other TEDxTU speakers. After cutting some here, changing some there, my speech was finally ready—now I just had to memorize it! 

http://tedxtu.com

Because I had given the speech several times (over the summer and in the TEDxTU rehearsals) and had read it to myself many more times than that, it wasn't too difficult to memorize. Still, when October 25 rolled around, I was nervous. The event was hosted in Dixon Hall on Tulane's campus, the main theatre for concerts, musicals and other large productions. I arrived early on the day to practice, and I was ready to go.

The event went swimmingly. Almost five hundred people from Tulane, New Orleans and elsewhere attended. I was the seventh of twelve speakers, with actual TED videos interspersed throughout. The other speakers were excellent, and as soon as the official videos of the event are posted online, I will put them on my blog so you all can see them. The man who spoke right after me said something that really rang true: “There have been so many interesting talks tonight, I forgot to get nervous!”

Overall, it was an amazing experience. I was speaking alongside men and women who had started their own businesses and non-profits, who had been a part of rebuilding post-Katrina New Orleans, who help New Orleans' homeless every day. I was so honored to share my story and everything I've learned from it with so many people. I hope to remain involved in the TEDxTU organizers on campus, so that I can help Tulane continue to share ideas worth spreading for years to come.

Update: You can view the unofficial video of my talk here. Sorry about the vertical format, it was taken with an iPhone! I will post the official video as soon as it is available.

Update Update: You can now view the OFFICIAL video of my talk here! (The link above will no longer work.)

Update

Hello all! It's been awhile since I've written (school has been pretty busy—but amazing!), so I thought I would post a quick update on what's going on with “It Only Takes a Girl” and me.

GeTM

Photo from www.getm.ch

A Swiss organization called “Genève Tiers-Monde” (GeTM) based in Geneva, Switzerland, emailed me a few days ago asking if they could show my video at a special event called “Step into Action organized by Euforia” on November 30. According to the GeTM, “the purpose of our non-profit association is to improve the living and health conditions of poor countries.” Step into Action is a project that “offers young people from 16 to 19 years old the opportunity to explore their responsibilities as global citizens during an interactive and playful track. The event also offers them an occasion to rethink their role in society by taking action in their local environment.” I am very honored that GeTM would like to show my video “so that young people can become aware also about children and women discriminations and treatments.” To learn more about it, please visit this website.

What's Your Brave?™

Several months back, I was interviewed for a book project called What's Your Brave?™ which “shares the insights and acts of everyday courage of teenage girls from across the United States.” I have kept in contact co-author Paula Grieco, who recently asked me for a few sentences in response to the question "What one piece of advice would you give your younger self regarding body image now that you are in college?" for the new e-guide for parents of daughters, “Body Brave: A Manifesto on How You Can Help Your Daughter Develop a Healthy Body Image.” If you are interested, you can find my quote and inspiring stories from several teen girls in this wonderful e-guide for free when you sign up for weekly updates here.

Newcomb Scholars

Some Newcomb Scholars and Linda Sax,
author of The Gender Gap in College

Tulane University and Newcomb College used to be two separate institutions, with the latter being a “women's coordinate college provided for a separate president and faculty who were given the power to determine policy and the course of study for Newcomb students as separate and distinct from the education of the men.” Josephine Louise Newcomb, the founder of Newcomb College, “first wrote to the Administrators of the Tulane University Educational Fund of her desire to establish a college in memory of her daughter, Harriot Sophie” on October 11 (which just so happens to be the International Day of the Girl—and my birthday!), 1886. Today, the two schools are consolidated into the Newcomb-Tulane College, “the home for all male and female undergraduates.” However, there remain some connections to Newcomb's female history; for example, the Newcomb Scholars Program. This program, according to its website, is “a unique opportunity for incoming women at Tulane who are interested in an academically enriching and shared four-year experience through undergraduate research, seminars, and experiential learning opportunities.” There are twenty Newcomb Scholars in each class at Tulane; twenty young women who encourage, support and inspire each other in their work, actions and ambitions. I applied to this competitive program at the beginning of the school year, and today I got a call saying I made it to the interview round of the selection process. I feel as though Newcomb Scholars is just the right fit for me here at Tulane. My interview is this Friday morning—wish me luck!

Giving Back in New Orleans

It is now the second official week of school and I have not attended a single class. No, I am not skipping. Thanks to Hurricane Isaac, Tulane was closed last week from Tuesday to Saturday. While many students enjoyed their “hurrication,” others languished in the heat and darkness of the dorms that lost power during the school-wide lockdown. I personally evacuated to my home, which also lost power during the storm. However, distance and lack of electricity could not keep me from writing for this week's issue of the Hullabaloo! While last week I wrote a story for news, this time I wrote a views story on volunteerism in Tulane students. You can find this and other Hullabaloo stories here.

Students have a responsibility to give back

As I filed into McAlister Auditorium alongside hundreds of my classmates for the president's convocation on Saturday, I was excited to get my first glimpse of an official Tulane ceremony. President Scott Cowen approached the podium to address the new freshman class.

“[New Orleans] has all the issues and problems that plague other great cities throughout our country,” Cowen said. “But now it has you, who have joined in the effort to tackle these problems and improve the lives of those in need.”

Cowen explained that as members of the Tulane community, students are expected to engage in community service and have new experiences that will help the student body grow.

“At Tulane, you will not live in an ivory tower,” Cowen said. “You will also live out there, in the city and sometimes farther afield, in foreign countries, clocking hours at community centers, drop-in clinics, urban gardens, construction sites, schools and churches, meeting unforgettable people, changing their lives, and having your own lives changed by them.”

As Tulane students, we are expected and required to participate in community service during our four years here. This philosophy of volunteering, however, extends beyond our time at Tulane. This university fosters the spirit of service in its students and expects that they will carry it with them for the rest of their lives.

In his address, Cowen spoke about Hurricane Katrina, the most devastating disaster in New Orleans' modern history.

“I’ve spoken many times about Hurricane Katrina and how it transformed Tulane, ushering in a new era of community service and experiential learning,” Cowen said. “Seven years later, we are still reimagining ourselves, but in a spirit that looks not backward to the disaster but ahead to the future.

”

Though the storm occurred seven years ago, the damaging and tragic effects of Katrina still linger in parts of New Orleans today.

Participating in the restoring of post-Katrina New Orleans is a fulfilling and meaningful experience, and many non-profit, New Orleans-based organizations still exist that build up areas torn apart by Katrina.

There are endless opportunities to give back to the community that has given us so much. We are among the most privileged young people in the world by virtue of the fact that we have the opportunity to receive a Tulane education. We have the responsibility to use this privilege to give back to the world around us, and New Orleans is a wonderful place to start.

A-One, a-Two, a Helluva Hullabaloo!

SJE Freshman hard at work in the Hullabaloo office

I've survived my first week of college! Okay... so I haven't even started classes yet. I came to Tulane campus a week early for the Summer Journalism Experience (SJE) with the Tulane Hullabaloo, the completely student-run newspaper on campus. Sixteen freshman were accepted to this program to try their skill as a Hullbaloo journalist before college life and classes really begin. The main reason I applied to this program is because I've been enjoying writing for my blog and can see myself in a career that requires writing for an audience. I figured, journalism is probably an excellent path to learning how to write for large groups of people in a concise yet interesting way. Anyway, I was put on the news team and assigned a story about the new LGBTIQA sorority that's coming to campus later this year. This is the first article I've ever written for a newspaper. Enjoy!

LGBTIQA sorority arriving in the fall

A group of LGBT students and allies have formed an interest group toward founding a chapter of Gamma Rho Lamba, an LGBTIQA sorority, which will become an official chapter of GRL in September.

Junior Courtney Amabile, president of the GRL sorority interest group, believes that a new sorority is necessary to provide a welcoming group for LGBTIQA women who felt excluded from traditional sorority life.

“We wanted the same experience, the same sisterhood,” Amabile said. “But at the same time, we can’t change who we are and we’re not going to for anybody.”

Amabile and two other students approached Liz Schafer, director of fraternity and sorority programs, with a proposal to form a new sorority for LGBTIQA students and allies.

Schafer said that the students were well-organized and clearly driven.

“I think Tulane has always had a pretty welcoming environment for LGBT students,” Schafer said. “So we said, ‘sure, why not? See what you can find out.’”

Supporters of the interest group believe that the anticipated sorority will provide LGBTIQA students with a more accepting atmosphere than a traditional Greek organization. Lauren Kwiatkowski, Former Student Women Embracing Equality at Tulane president believes GRL could provide an inclusive and secure group for these students who might not feel at home in another sorority.

“Greek life, at all universities, has traditionally been stigmatized for not being particularly inclusive of the LGBTQ community,” Kwiatkowski said. “Since there’s now an option, queer students - particularly queer females - now feel that they’re not a step back, behind or below their other students because of their sexual and/or gender identity. It’s definitely a great step for the queer community, and, honestly, female community overall.”

Schafer said she was surprised by the positive and encouraging reaction from other Greek organizations when they learned about the possibility of an LGBT sorority.

Amabile said she is still worried about negative feedback from other groups on campus. She is, however, optimistic that GRL would effectively spread tolerance throughout the Greek system and all of Tulane.

“My main concern going into this is the backlash from other sororities and other groups, fraternities especially,” Amabile said.

She believes, however, the sorority will make way for a new way of thinking.

“I believe it will provide a break in the stereotype of sororities and help facilitate conversation for other multicultural groups or Greek organizations to form as student want and need shows fit,” Amabile said.

The national organization is coming to campus in September to induct the leaders of the group. After that, the group will be considered an official chapter of Gamma Rho Lambda, and recruitment will be open to all students who identify themselves women. Amabile made it clear that GRL will not be exclusively for LGBTIQA students.

“Over half of our members are straight, or ally-identified,” Amabile said. “They also identify as feminists, progressive women, women who don't necessarily follow the grain of society.”

The GRL sorority interest group has several plans for the upcoming year after it reaches full chapter status, such as participating in Safe Zone training, hosting a Pride Prom, and working alongside the organization BreakOUT! to combat the criminalization of LGBTIQA youth in the New Orleans area.

Tulane will be welcoming two other new sororities to campus. Zeta Tau Alpha sorority will come in the spring, and depending on this year’s recruitment numbers, the next new sorority will arrive in either 2014 or 2015.

SJE took a boat tour through a Louisiana swamp--and the gators were not shy

To Whom Much is Given...

Hello! I hope everyone is having a great summer. I know I am! For the past two months, I have been working at a summer program for gifted children as the stage manager for the musical they are putting on, The Pajama Game. I attended the summer program myself from ages eleven to fourteen and absolutely loved it! So I knew I had to find a way to come back somehow.

Before I even got the job, the director of the program, who saw my video when I first posted it online, asked if I would speak to the students about how and why I made the video and what has come of it. The motto of this program is “Ab illo cui multum datur multum requiritur,” which is Latin for “To whom much is given, much is required.” The idea is that if you are gifted—if you have been given certain abilities and qualities that are special or unique—you are expected to use these abilities to help others and improve the world around you. It is roughly equivalent to the quote by the character Uncle Ben in Spiderman: “With great power comes great responsibility.” The director of the program wanted to expose the kids to the content of my video (child marriages, gender inequality, et cetera), but more than that, he wanted to show them an example of a gifted student using her intelligence and her gifts to create something unique and put good into the world. So when he asked me if I would give a small presentation about my video, I enthusiastically agreed.

Me posing in front of my Keynote presentation, wearing the t-shirt
the folks at GlobalGiving sent me after they first saw my video

In my presentation, which I gave to about 70 students, I talked about what it means to be a feminist, why I made my video, and the different kinds of attention my video received. I ended my speech by highlighting four basic “morals” to the story. I would like to share with you this portion of my speech, as I believe these morals are relevant to everyone, not just gifted children.

Number Four: The Internet is a Powerful Thing 

We are the Internet Generation. More than ever before in the history of mankind, people across the globe are interconnected and interdependent, and this is due in large part to the power of the internet. Information can spread through the internet to more people more quickly than ever before. I encourage you to take advantage of this technology to raise awareness, research charities, or just read about topics that interest you. You never know what article might catch your eye.

Number Three: Don't Let the Haters Bring You Down

Wherever you go and whatever you do, there will always be someone there behind you to tell you that you can't, that you're not good enough, that you'll never amount to anything. This person might be obnoxious YouTube users, your cranky old grandfather, or even the voice inside your own head. You have to learn when to listen to criticism and doubt, and when to trust yourself despite it.

Number Two: Find Your Passion

It is important to be passionate about something. Do not go through life passively; approach it with conviction, with purpose. My passion is for the health and education of girls around the world, but maybe you are passionate about something else. Maybe you care about saving the dolphins or reducing the consumption of plastic water bottles. Maybe your cause is preserving the rainforest or rebuilding Katrina-damaged homes in New Orleans. Whatever it is, you can do something about it. Don't think that you are too young, too small, too insignificant to make a difference. No one person can do everything, but every person can do something.

Number One: “Ab illo cui multum datur multum requiritur”

which means “To whom much is given, much is required.

I feel incredibly lucky that I was born here in the United States where opportunities are not denied me based on my gender. I wish every girl—every person—in the world had this luxury. And because I have been given every opportunity in my life, I am determined to use what I have to do my part to make this world a better place for everyone. Appreciate what gifts you have been given, and try to give back whatever you can to those less fortunate than yourself.

You really can make a difference, no matter how old you are or what you care about. One of my favorite quotes is by the famous British abolitionist William Wilberforce: “You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know.”

Bloggers for GOOD

Do you want to raise money for The Girl Effect but don't have any extra cash to give? Well, now you can! GOOD Maker, a website that “gives individuals and organizations the ability to tap into the public's creativity and energy to address an issue that's important to them,” is hosting a contest called Bloggers for GOOD in which bloggers submit entries describing their blogs and how they are using their blogs to promote a social cause. According to the contest's website, no matter what your blog is about, they think “it has the potential to catalyze social impact...Whatever your area of interest may be, we have $1,000 for a cause that your work supports.” I submitted my blog to the contest, and I named The Girl Effect as the recipient of the thousand-dollar reward. Voting opens today and stays open until August 1, 2012. If you like my blog, The Girl Effect, or social impact, please take a moment to vote for my entry here, and make sure to tell all your friends! The only way we can win this money for the Girl Effect is with a lot of votes—competition is pretty tough. So vote today, and spread the word on Facebook, Twitter, or by email! With just a click of the mouse, you can make a difference in the lives
of girls around the world.

UPDATE: It seems as though you CAN in fact vote more than once. I encourage you to check back a couple of times every day for the next week to see how often you can place a vote. Also, the contest guidelines recommend that you use either Firefox or Chrome browsers, but I know several people who have used Safari with no recognizable troubles. Tell your friends—every vote counts and we need your help!

UPDATE: I received an email saying voters can only vote once within the voting period (July 18-August 1).

Girls: A TV Show You Don't Wanna Miss

Summer is here! For some of you (if you are like me), this might mean something more than beach trips, lemonade, and sunglasses—it means no new episodes of our favorite TV shows for a few long months. While this is always a sad realization for me, it does give me an excuse to step away from the television (or, more likely, laptop) and go outside!

Lena Dunham, Creator of Girls

...Or to stay inside, on my computer, and write about the TV shows I am unable to watch. 

One of my absolute favorite TV shows this year is HBO's new series Girls. Created, written, and directed by its own leading actress Lena Dunham, Girls has attracted a lot of attention this year—and for good reason. This realistic and unapologetic show portrays the lives, struggles, and personalities of four post-graduate girls living in New York City. Girls addresses issues that face real-life girls every day: boyfriends, break-ups, being overweight, fighting with friends and parents, losing a job, being a virgin, getting an STD, and everything else. It's not so much the specific struggles these girls have that make the show so real; it's the characters themselves. They are not your typical stick-figure, Hollywood-beautiful people. They are not perfect, nor are they evil. They make mistakes, they're kind, they're arrogant, they're selfish, they're smart, they're rude. They're real. They're girls.

The show primarily follows the lives of four friends: the insecure yet vivacious aspiring writer Hannah (Lena Dunham), pretty and confident Marnie (Allison Williams), the free-spirited and eccentric Jessa (Jemima Kirke), and the silly but sweet Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet).

In a sense, each girl represents a different aspect of almost every girl's personality. Hannah is broke, overweight, and, for much of the first season, she is unemployed and in an unstable and confusing relationship with Adam (Adam Driver). Despite her insecurities and bad luck, Hannah is an artist who dreams of becoming an influential writer. Every girl alive has her own self-doubts, but every girl also has a dream. The important thing isn't to ignore or completely erase all worries and uncertainties; the important thing is for every girl to focus on what makes her special, and to use her unique abilities to pursue her passions and her dreams.

Marnie is probably the most stereotypically “pretty” girl on the show, and even she is a realistic-looking girl with a realistic-looking girl's body. Marnie has a stable job and a boyfriend who adores her (for most of the season, anyway). She knows she is prettier and smarter than a lot of people, and she assumes everybody else knows that, too. In Episode 7, she complains to an uninterested stranger at a party something along the lines of: I'm not a girl somebody just gets over, you know? Marnie's character shows the dangers of being too arrogant and self-absorbed. A lot of girls find themselves thinking that they are better than other people: richer, smarter, prettier, more athletic. While all girls should love themselves and appreciate their own unique qualities and abilities, no one girl is inherently better than another. Despite her pretty face and put-together life, Marnie ends up alienating those she is closest to with her overly-inflated ego. 

Marnie and Jessa

Jessa is a world-traveler from London who has seen and done it all. She is impulsive and independent, and she is always open to trying something new. She is highly charismatic—people are continually drawn to her confidence and unconventional charm. However, sometimes her rash decisions and carelessness produce unpleasant consequences. Jessa represents a girl's desire for independence—to be one's own person, to travel the world, to have sex shamelessly, to feel powerful and free. But independence comes at a price. With independence comes greater responsibility for one's actions and their consequences.

Finally, there is Shoshanna. Shoshanna is sweet, if somewhat ditzy and shallow. She can hold a full one-sided conversation about Sex and the City (which, coincidentally or no, also revolves around the lives of four female friends in New York City). Very different from her cousin Jessa, Shoshanna's most pressing concern in the first season is that she is 21 and still a virgin. Sex, sexuality and virginity can sometimes be sources of stress, doubt and confusion for girls and young women. Besides her chastity, however, Shoshanna's character also shows a sillier, more (for lack of a better word) “girlish” side of a girl's personality. Sometimes girls, like Shoshanna, just simply like to watch trashy TV shows, gossip with their friends, and wear too much makeup. 

From left to right: Marnie, Jessa, Hannah, and Shoshanna

Many of the actors of Girls are not big-names in the TV or movie industry; most of them are fresh faces. Some of the more well-known actors on the show include Zosia Mamet (Shoshanna) who played Peggy's lesbian friend Joyce in AMC's Mad Men; Kathryn Hahn (Katherine, the mother of the children Jessa babysits), who I most recently saw as Jennifer Barkley, the rival campaign manager in NBC's Parks and Recreation and the comically pregnant woman in Sacha Baron Cohen's The Dictator; The IT Crowd and Bridesmaids's Chris O'Dowd; Peter Scolari; and Freaks and Geeks's Becky Ann Baker. All of the the first season's ten full episodes can be viewed on HBO GO.

Great quotes from Girls:

“I don’t like women, telling other women, what to do, when to do it and how to do it. Every time I have sex, it’s my choice!” - Jessa

“I know and he’s always liking my Facebook statuses, it’s always such a weird, aggressive move, like, 'Oh I passed you an STD but I enjoy your quirky web presence!'” - Hannah

“I'm like the least virgin-y virgin ever!” - Shoshanna

“I pay all the bills in this apartment, does that not give me one night off from talking about you and your problems?” - Marnie

"You know what I'm gonna do from now on, I'm gonna ask people if they're gay before I have sex with them." - Hannah

"Jessa has HPV, like a couple of different strains of it. She says that all adventurous women do." - Shoshanna