Tag Archives: holly wood

Holly Wood on Hope, Feminism, Bernie, and Owl Shit

Barn Owl flying in winter sunlight Tyto albaIf you’ve been paying attention lately, especially if you’re a young woman who doesn’t support Hillary Clinton’s presidential candidacy, you may have noticed that your political choices apparently indicate complacency about your reproductive rights, good ol’ heterosexual boy-craziness, and that you’re headed straight for hell. While the arguments are somewhat more nuanced, you’re certainly not alone if you object to the idea that the right way to be a feminist (“right way to be a feminist”) requires voting for Hillary.

Wesleying’s very own co-founder, Holly Wood ’08, has voiced her own objections, explaining in the Village Voice Why One Millennial Woman Would Rather Go to Hell than Vote for Hillary. Check it out for an argument about hope in the face of “the Great American Trash Fire,” framed by an extended metaphor about barn owls swooping about and pooping on us delusional snake people young women.

Petition to Audit ResLife/Public Safety Reports of Sexual Harassment, Assault, and Rape

“No Wesleyan student should feel unsafe on campus.”

If you’ve glanced at Wesleying in the past week or so, then you’re already familiar with the federal lawsuit that refers to Beta as a ‘Rape Factory’ and accuses the University of failing to protect students from sexual assault and rape. (Since last weekend, the case has received national media coverage.) Vincent Vecchione ’07 and Holly Wood ’08 (yes, that Holly) have responded with an online petition calling on the Board of Trustees to require that ResLife analyze all other instances of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape and assess how well the office responded. According to Vecchione, every signature on the petition sends an email to the Board. The full text appears below.

In light of the recent allegations of the administration’s horrifying mistreatment and cruelty toward a rape victim in 2010, it is crucial that Wesleyan University analyze all other recorded charges of sexual crimes reported to the Offices of Residential Life and Public Safety. The best way to do this is for the Office of Residential Life to analyze every prior notice of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape, then review how the Office responded, and whether this response was effective. Special attention should be paid to cases of representatives of the administration “gaslighting” or otherwise diminishing the criminality of harassment, assault and rape to undergraduates.