Spring 2007 by Artemis

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COVER PHOTO BY: Jill Kinkus COVER PAINTING BY: Rachel Jernigan ABOUT THE ARTIST: Rachel Jernigan, 33, of Kent has lived and worked in this city for the last 15 years. After college, when she no longer had space to work on ceramics, Jernigan began painting. She said she was initially inspired by a collection of pornography from the ’60s and ’70s she got from an auction. Jernigan’s paintings can be seen on display at The Office and The Lime Spider in Akron and the Zephyr Pub in Kent. For more information, visit her Web site at www.nakedladypaintings.net. Jernigan’s paintings celebrate the beauty of womens’ bodies, and I am thrilled she let me publish her work on the cover. Jernigan is an extraordinary woman of Kent, and her painting illustrates the theme of this issue beautifully. — Erica Crist

Artemis spring 2007

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Contents

I’m just Whitney

The Boss

10 A Power from the Pulpit

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Having a benign tumor, called a fibroadenoma, surgically removed from my right breast at 20 years old wasn’t exactly the way I wanted to start my summer vacation. But I learned what an important issue breast cancer should be for young women. Read about what Whitney has gone through. Fiona Apple. Gwen Stefani. Karen O. Women rock. Read about them. My mother has been a firefighter since I was 5 years old. She is also a paramedic, a confined-space rescuer, a rope rescuer and a hazardous-materials technician. And as if the physical and mental strains weren’t enough, she works with men in high stress situations. Read about women who can stand the heat. This issue of Artemis is all about extraordinary women, from a local rabbi leading her congregation to our favorite 10 from the Forbes list of the 100 Most Powerful Women. Check out the Artemis Web edition for more women’s organizations, photo galleries, links, and, of course, more extraordinary women. I hope you are inspired by these stories to break through your own glass ceilings, whatever they may be, and I hope you deem yourself a feminist, whether you’re a man or a woman.

Erica Crist

33 29

The Glass Ceiling

Mind & Body

Women who Rock

Blazing a Trail

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The Staff

findout donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stay in your room

Editor

Adviser

Managing Editor

Sales Manager

Photo Editor

Advertising Manager

Copy Editor

Production Manager

Web Designer

Business Manager

Erica Crist (top center)

Sara Macho (top left)

Jill Kinkus (bottom right)

Trevor Ivan (bottom center)

Lauren Buckosh (top right)

Jan Leach

Tessa Miracle

Michele Azer

Evan Bailey

Lori Cantor

what2doatksu.com

Art Director

Alisha Williams (bottom left)

STAFF PHOTO BY AMANDA SOWARDS

Artemis is produced by students at Kent State University twice per academic year. The publication is supported by Kent State University Student Media and advertising. No part of Artemis may be reprinted without permission. Subscriptions to Artemis can be purchased for $7 per issue. If you are interested, please call the Student Media Business Office at (330) 672-2586 or send a request and a check or money order, payable to Artemis.

Designers

Rebekah Mosora Trent Pheifer

Graphic Designer Trent Pheifer

Photographers

whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going on.

Writers

Kate Bigam Kristen Kotz Brittany Moseley Madelyn Otcasek Ellie Piper Alyssa Sparacino Erica Strauss

Jill Byerly Leslie Cusano Jill Kinkus

Readers are also encouraged to send comments, suggestions and feature articles to: Artemis Magazine 205 Franklin Hall PO Box 5190 Kent State University Kent, OH 44242

artemis.kent.edu

Swap Anything.

flashswap.com

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I’m just

Whitney

hitney Swesey, sophomore psychology major, was like every other 18year-old when she entered her freshman year at Kent State in the Fall of 2005. She was excited about what was to come, but she could never be prepared for what was about to happen next. During winter break that year, she had to face one of her biggest fears head on: cancer. She was diagnosed with skin cancer after a mole was removed from the back of her right, upper thigh. She had first noticed it while swimming and thought it looked strange. After getting it removed, she waited for the biopsy results to come back. Cancer runs heavily through Whitney’s family, and the idea that she would one day die from cancer was imprinted in the back of her mind during the wait. It was Melanoma.

Story · Alyssa Sparaci

She had surgery to remove the cancerous tissue, and the very next day, against doctors’ wishes, she returned to school to start spring semester. She was thinking, “I’m not ready to deal with this yet.” The surgery, which left a 4-inch wide, pear-shaped opening on the back of Whitney’s leg, prevented her from doing simple, everyday activities like walking up the steps. In Verder Hall, where she lived, she had to use the service elevator to get up and down floors. She used a handicapped parking pass, and when all of her friends would walk next door to Prentice to eat, she had to embarrassingly explain that she would have to drive. Whitney was used to fending for herself. She is the youngest of her siblings and is fiercely independent. The drastic change of now needing to rely on people to get through her day was taking a toll on her spirit. “I felt like a 3-year-old all over again,” she says.

Entering college she was an active young woman who loved to work out. Now she couldn’t even climb stairs, let alone go to the Rec. This was not the Whitney she knew herself to be, and it shocked her. One of the few people Whitney felt comfortable enough to lean on was her boyfriend Justin Baker, senior aeronautics major. When Whitney found out about her Melanoma, they had only been dating for two months. She called him to explain what was happening and to give him an easy-out from the relationship. Justin’s reply was, “You need me now more than ever,” she says, and four hours later he was at her doorstep in Latrobe, Penn. He has yet to miss one doctor appointment. —————— Whitney’s leg was healing from surgery, and she was starting to feel like a normal student again. She wanted to be involved and find a family of friends in

Photo · Jill Kinkus

Kent. Justin is a Delta Chi and through him, she met girls from Delta Zeta. Although hesitant at first, she quickly saw these girls were the friends she had been searching for and soon became an official Delta Zeta. When a sister began to notice Whitney acting oddly, she asked her if there was something on her mind. Whitney knew she had to tell her. Once she did, the sister admitted that she already knew. Justin had told her so she could be prepared. Whitney was surprised, saying, “You knew and you still wanted to be my friend?” —————— For many reasons, April 29, 2006 was a day Whitney will never forget. Not only was it her 19th birthday, it was also the day of Kent State’s annual Relay for Life. Whitney signed up as a survivor and was given a bright yellow shirt to wear during the first lap.

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BREAST SELF EXAMINATION:

“I am here today, but will I be here tomorrow?” “I’m not ready to deal with this yet.”

At the same time each month, check for any changes in the look or feel of your breasts. Report any changes to your doctor immediately. Step 1 With your arms at your sides, look in a mirror for changes in the shape, size and appearance of your breasts. Look for changes in skin texture, such as dimpling or puckering. Look for unusual nipple discharge. Repeat with your arms over your head. Step 2 In the shower, heat causes your skin to relax, making it easier to feel the texture underneath. Put your right arm behind your head. Use the pads of your fingers on your left hand to examine your right breast. Feel for lumps, thickenings or any irregularities in your breast tissue.

CIRCLE

“I can’t do this,” she said to herself before the lap began. She was shaking. The survivors began to walk, and a woman told Whitney that she should be walking with them. “No, I’ll just walk with my sisters,” Whitney replied. “You’ve paid your life debt to take this lap,” the woman said, and pulled her onto the track. Whitney was embarrassed. She couldn’t compare herself to these women; she had no interest in discussing her personal illness with any of them. She felt she didn’t fit into the category of a “survivor.” “Not me. I’m just a normal person; just Whitney. I want to be just Whitney,” she says. Later that night she could only cry and sleep, until Justin and some friends dragged her out of bed to grab a bite to eat. Afterward, Justin took her to the spot where they had their first date, the Ice Arena. The next thing Whitney knew, he proposed. “I’m sure he hated me being in bed,

UP & DOWN

but he loved me anyways. He never pushed me. Many WEDGE people would have gotten frustrated,” she says. “I thought, if he could wait and sit and be with me now, then he could wait and sit and be with me forever.” That April was more intense and frightening than a rollercoaster for Whitney. She fought her inner demons and became engaged and cancer-free. In May, she noticed some irregularities on her breasts and returned to the Hillman Cancer Center without telling anyone. —————— Whitney was watching a movie with friends in her dorm when the phone rang. She noticed from the caller ID that it was her doctor, and she excused herself from the room. “Whitney, you have breast cancer and need to come home immediately,” he said. She panicked. She was hysterical, but all she could say was, “Let me finish school.” She only had four weeks left.

Step 3 Examine your entire breast, collarbone area and armpit area. Press using light, medium and firm pressure. Use one of the three patterns shown that your doctor recommends. Repeat steps on your left breast.

That night she got in her car and started to drive home. Half-way there Whitney turned around. She had her mind set on finishing the semester. For that last month she barely went to class but managed to stay above a 2.5 grade point average. She was alone. It was summer time now, but Whitney still hadn’t called her doctors and gone in for treatment like they had asked. Toward the end of June, Justin was out of town and she decided that when he returned, she would tell him. She would tell everyone. Suddenly, Whitney’s mother called her at work and demanded she come home because of a family emergency. Whitney walked in the house and saw her mother crying. Whitney’s doctors had called and explained everything. It was all out now. She had no choice but to face it. Whitney knew she would need surgery

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again. She knew she would be awake for the procedure, everything going on in front of her face. She was prepared and brought her iPod for distraction. When the surgery was over, she was left with a golfball-size indentation in her right breast. Again she was told to be practically immobile. No exercise, not even any sweating, the doctors told her. For the rest of the summer, Whitney dealt with her new body, until August when she had minor plastic surgery to reshape her breast. Before returning to school for her sophomore year, she decided to e-mail her Delta Zeta sisters to let them know what she had been through. She would be living in the sorority house, and she felt they could all better understand her moods if she explained that she would be recovering from breast cancer. Even though the cancerous tissue was

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removed, her doctors suggested chemotherapy as a precaution. Whitney’s chemo was called Xeloda and came in a pill form. She was required to take two cycles of the medicine, which she took every other week. She would be finished by January 2007. —————— This year, about 178,380 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Whitney knows the struggle these women will be facing. She has battled cancer twice already. Her hope is that she will not need to face cancer again. But, she recently noticed some swollen lymph nodes under her arms. Her lymph nodes had never been tested because of the immediate need to treat her breast cancer. Unfortunately, this could mean anything from an infec-

tion to Leukemia. The results have not been determined. She says she sometimes thinks, “I am here today, but will I be here tomorrow?” Perhaps this is partly her reason for getting married younger than most women, or perhaps this is why she is so involved in her sorority — but the reasons for Whitney being who she is don’t really matter. She has experienced more in her 19 years then some women will ever experience in an entire lifetime. She has the strength and courage of women triple her age. So maybe Whitney will never have the normal life she has been craving, but she is much more than normal and much more than average. She’s just Whitney. She is a survivor. A

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Power Pulpit

from the

Hudson’s Rabbi Susan Stone leads her congregation through weddings, conversion ceremonies and personal crises with a mix of assertiveness and compassion. Story · Kate Bigam

Photos · Leslie Cusano

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n the pulpit, Rabbi Susan Stone is a picture of elegance, draped in an ornate prayer shawl, her self-proclaimed “Julia Roberts hair” a mass of curls atop her head. Her passion for Judaism is obvious in her eloquent sermons and the inflections in her voice. Somehow, she appears both hardened and feminine, stony but sensitive. These contrasts are the basis of Stone’s professional and personal life. As a woman in a male-dominated profession, she struggles to assert herself while retaining traditionally feminine qualities like compassion and empathy. Stone balances her family, career, personal life and sometimes-controversial ideas, all of which often conflict with traditional Judaic beliefs, even within the liberal Reform Judaism community. “There’s no question that she is a strong woman, that she is confident, that she knows from what she speaks,” says Laurie Frankino, a longtime congregant of Stone’s Temple Beth Shalom. “I’ve always felt about her that there’s a strength there.” Stone says she once considered the idea that women weren’t meant to be rabbis — after all, Orthodox Judaism still doesn’t allow women to serve. “Then I asked myself, ‘Is breaking with 5,000 years of tradition good for the Jewish people?’” says Stone, one of the first 50 female rabbis in the country. “And the answer I came up with was yes.” —————— The congregation Stone serves is small — about 140 families. The congregation inhabits an old building with a sanctuary that struggles to handle holiday crowds, holding Shabbat services biweekly because its board of trustees cannot afford weekly ones. Stone says she earns about 60 percent of newly ordained rabbis’ salaries. Adele Blazey, who attended Stone’s interview for the position, said Stone was qualified to become a rabbi at a more prominent synagogue but seemed to be interested in Temple Beth Shalom because she wanted to make time for her family. “She just struck me as a very positive

person, strong, and I felt like she really knew herself and where she wanted to be,” Blazey says. “She had very young kids at the time, and I just knew that she probably could do a lot more with her career but knew that she could work here and be a rabbi but do more with her family.” Now, 13 years into her career, Stone admits she is sometimes envious of expensive synagogues and the rabbis who serve them. “Then I think about all they have to put up with,” she says, “and I get over it.” —————— Because she only preaches a few times per month, she relishes the time she’s able to spend with her sons and husband. The family doesn’t attend Shabbat services every Friday, but on the nights they do, her husband and sons never attend Temple Beth Shalom. Instead, they are congregants of the synagogue where her husband grew up. It is a choice that hasn’t been well-received by congregants. Frankino says many have been offended by Stone’s decision to send her sons to another synagogue’s Hebrew school. “It has definitely been an issue,” Frankino says. “What it said to a lot of people was, ‘Our school is not good enough to you,’ and that’s a problem.” Stone contends her decision has nothing to do with the quality of Temple Beth Shalom’s education and everything to do with her relationship with her family. Her desire to keep her family and congregation separated stems, in part, from years ago when she officiated at her cousin’s funeral. While mourning for her cousin, she was distraught to discover that acting as rabbi kept her from being able to turn to her mother for emotional help. “We were all grieving,” she says. “I needed my mother to be my mother, and she saw me as the rabbi.” Since then, she has taken precautions to ensure that her family views her as their mother, wife and daughter before they see her as a rabbi. It is too hard on her, she says, when the lines blur. —————— Her choice of the family’s synagogue is not the only decision for which Stone has been

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criticized. “You either really love her or you don’t,” Frankino says. “You have to like and be comfortable with strong women.” Stone has often butted heads with the synagogue’s board of trustees, and she calls her relationship with the congregation a “multi-level” one. She blames any tension on the dynamics of a small organization — too many administrators, too many opinions, and too little room to work things out. Blazey wonders if Stone is sometimes more defensive than necessary. “Sometimes, and this might be because she is a female rabbi and has had to fight for a lot things a lot of times, she comes into a defensive mode more than she has to, making sure no one takes advantage of her,” Blazey says, questioning whether Stone thinks the board would treat her differently if she were male. But Stone says nothing of the maledominated profession, saying only that she cannot be all things to all people. “What you think of me is none of my business,” she says. “It used to, when I was young, but the good thing about getting old is that if you’re lucky, you get over it.” —————— Despite any misgivings about Stone’s character, few would call her anything short of a capable, compassionate rabbi, and many congregants attend services solely for her sermons. “I don’t think anybody does a better service than she does,” Frankino says. “When you go to a bar and bat mitzvah service and you’re a guest, you come away just thinking she walks on water.” Stone’s sermons address Judaism both in her congregants’ everyday lives and on a broader scale, frequently tackling religious peace both abroad and nationally. And although her sermons undertake expansive topics, she is also attuned to her congregants’ individual lives. “It’s a unique position,” Stone says of the situations she has helped congregants’ through. “There are people who have become real friends, entrusting part of their spiritual life to my care.” When Frankino’s husband was diag-

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nosed with multiple sclerosis, Stone was a rabbi and a friend, a source of comfort and clarity. “There’s this poor man laying there who couldn’t talk to me, and I just fell apart,” Frankino says of the moment she watched her husband being wheeled into surgery. “So there I am, at 7 in the morning, and the only thing I did was take my 50 cents and put it in a pay phone and call the rabbi.” Stone told Frankino she needed to think rationally instead of emotionally — no “poor me” attitudes. And although she had no idea whether her husband would survive, Frankino didn’t cry for the rest of the day. “I can’t tell you what that meant to me,” she recalls. “If I’d still had a mother, I would’ve called my mother, but instead, I called her.” Stone has buried children, spouses and siblings, and seen congregants through illnesses and personal crises, but when she doesn’t know the answers, she never bluffs — just listens. “I don’t know where God is in all of

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this,” she says. “But I do know that God is, and my presence attests to that.” —————— Stone talks about children who have grown up in Temple Beth Shalom with pride and a hint of fascination. Blazey’s daughter Alyson is one such former child — both bat mitzvahed and confirmed at Temple Beth Shalom, she and her fiancé will be married by Stone in September. “It means a lot to us that there has been the same rabbi for all of these life cycle events,” Blazey says, recalling her own wedding, when she and her Gentile husband couldn’t find a rabbi to officiate. Alyson is lucky, she says, to marry in an era when rabbis will preside over interreligious ceremonies. Through the years, Stone’s opinion on interreligious marriages has changed to fit the needs of the Jewish people. And although fellow rabbis have expressed distaste at her views, she remains convinced that turning interreligious couples away is damaging to Judaism.

“My colleagues objections didn’t make sense,” she says. “They say it’s outside the scope of Jewish law — so is eating cheeseburgers, and I never seemed to have had a problem with that. I don’t eat cheeseburgers, but I never denied my services to people who eat cheeseburgers.” —————— And although her views on both Judaism and the world differ greatly from her colleagues’, Stone maintains that she is nothing but average. “I don’t think there’s anything special (about me),” she says. “I’m a very average preacher, an average counselor, an average administrator. I have a particular personality. I don’t think it’s anything particularly extraordinary. It’s just mine.” But it is clear to the congregants whose lives she has affected, Susan Stone is much more. “For me,” Frankino says, “she has been everything I’ve needed spiritually and personally. I feel bad for people who don’t have that relationship with her.” A

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Women Who

ROCK

Story · Madelyn Otcasek Photos · Leslie Cusano

“I can inspire other girls to do anything they want to. It’s a tough road, but you can accomplish it.”

he lights dim in a jammed-pack pub and the crowd goes wild. Several people, masked by the darkness, enter the stage and go to their instruments to blast out their opening notes. Most audiences would expect a brash front man to explode on stage, but tonight it is a front woman. “You have to work harder to win over an audience,” says Kira Leyden of Jaded Era. She is the lead singer of the rock outfit and the only woman in the band. The group started several years ago when Leyden met Jeff Andrea, Marco Hilj and Eric Ortopan in grade school. Leyden realizes that her performances vary if she is performing to a mostly male or mostly female crowd. “Girls are pickier, but you deal with it and move on,” she says.

The Akron band Peep performs at Musica in Akron.

She also says she has moments where she wished she were male, “because people don’t realize you’re the singer, and people don’t take you seriously.” Leyden appreciates the things she can get away with on stage that a male lead singer could not. “I can dress more interestingly, where guys draw more lines on what they can and can’t wear. And I do spend more time getting

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“It seems there was always that pop girl dancing on stage and then there was a bitter songwriting woman,” Voegele says. “There’s a double standard in the industry. My girl friends listen to guy and girl bands, but my guy friends don’t like to admit they’re into girl singers. It’s kind of expected, but I’ve come to terms with it. I like the challenge.” Voegele expresses how much she feels the industry has improved in allowing females to take center stage. “There’s a place for everyone to express themselves, and people are surprised to see a girl playing her own music. There are talented girls out there who aren’t fake or manufactured,” she says. Leyden appreciates the fact that she is on the front lines of Cleveland’s music scene. “I can inspire other girls to do anything they want to,” she says. “It’s a tough road, but you can accomplish it.”

Linda Lee Harrison confidently plays her bass guitar on stage.

ready before a show,” she admits. She cites Gwen Stefani as “the only female I wanted to emulate. When I got older, I picked some different influences, like Eddie Vedder, and I went on an AC/ DC kick.” Unfortunately for Leyden, she didn’t have a bevy of role models to emulate her sound to. “I wish there were more women out there,” she says. Singer/songwriter Kate Voegele found it a little bit easier to find women to admire. She claims Patty Griffin influenced her lyrically, and she finds her song style is similar

“There are talented girls out there who aren’t fake or manufactured.” to classic artists such as Joni Mitchell and Carly Simon. However, one of her biggest influences is someone who is a bit closer to her generation. “Michelle Branch was huge for me,” she says. “She was big when I started playing, when I was in high school.” The Miami University student learned guitar from her father in her early teens and has been playing in coffee shops in

the suburbs of Cleveland. Her dad also knew folks at Clear Channel Communications, so she found herself on the side stages for big concerts such as John Mayer and Counting Crows. Never the less, she says she always found herself disappointed by the female role models in the music scene, especially the girls on MTV and VH1, while she was growing up.

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Jennifer Emmons sings behind the mic.

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Jennifer Emmons and Linda Lee Harrison perform.

Women have been rocking out ever since the birth of rock ‘n’ roll. Recent years have brought us Melissa Etheridge, Sheryl Crow and the aforementioned Michelle Branch. Some of the biggest names from way-back-when include Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin and Patsy Cline, who all made huge contributions to the music scene. Even Akron native and former Kent State student Chrissie Hynde formed the hit band Pretenders, and she has remained an important woman in the rock business. Jennifer Emmons, vocals and guitar, and Linda Lee Harrison, bass, of the Akron band Peep have different perspectives on being female in the music scene. “I’ve never tried to model myself after anyone,” Emmons says. However, it has been a dream of hers to play music. Joining the band “just happened,” according to Emmons. She is a good friend of Harrison and guitarist James Millar, both of whom were between bands when it dawned on them they should form a band with Emmons. Harrison was part of several bands including The Subterraneans and the Raw Beats

before forming Peep, which also features drummer Eric Baltrinic. Harrison laughs saying Millar forced her to learn bass. It was never a dream of hers to play music either. “People are surprised,” Emmons says. “They’re more used to a female singer/ songwriter.” Not a rocker. In the past, they booked all-girl nights at bars and concert spots, but Peep wasn’t comfortable with those lineups, Emmons says. Having a female vocalist sets them far apart from the rest of the bands, but “we try not to set ourselves apart,” Harrison says. Also unlike other bands, Peep isn’t trying to reach fame fast. “We have families; we’re not 19 anymore. We missed some opportunities, so right now, this is just fun,” Harrison says. A woman rocker isn’t a fading trend. Luckily for young girls, there are many idols burning paths for them to follow. From Janis and Chrissie, women have established themselves in the music scene and will continue to rock, even when audiences least expect it. A

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Linda Lee Harrison performs for fun, not fame.

Blazing Trail

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Story · Ellie Piper Photos · Jill Byerly

ost young girls, surrounded by Barbie dolls and pink frills, first dream of growing up to become ballerinas or princesses. Lt. Lisa Santiago, however, says she always wanted to be a firewoman. She did just that, starting her full-time career at the Youngstown Fire Department in 1989 as the second woman at the department. She has faced her share of critics in a career in which women make up only a small fraction of the workforce. But with 17 years and the status of lieutenant under her belt, she has proven herself just as capable as the guys. Farther west in Ohio, Amanda Matheny works at the Solon Fire Department. Her decision to become a firewoman was not so straightforward. “I never planned on being a firefighter,” she says. She originally planned to go into musical therapy, but after taking an EMT class, her career goals turned to

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firefighting. Matheny has been working as a firefighter and a paramedic at the Solon Fire Department for the past five years. She describes her job as awesome. “You get to help people when they need help the most,” she says. Firefighting is a demanding job, requiring both bravery and compassion. Firefighters must work busy schedules and be willing to put their lives on the line with every emergency call. Firewomen sometimes find themselves faced with additional issues such as sexual harassment, skepticism about their ability and even unfair hair and grooming policies, such as forcing firewomen to cut their hair short. Fortunately, both Santiago and Matheny say they have found themselves in supportive environments with minimal problems. For these women, a typical day at the station starts out with roll call, continues with checking and washing trucks, and cleaning and cooking. At the Youngstown station, the firefighters take turns cooking for the crew. In Solon, the engine driver from each station also cooks for the crew. Matheny is the engine driver at her station, so she always does the cooking. She explains that, in addition to everything else, they also complete ladder, pump and EMS drills to stay sharp. Oh yes, and then there are the three emergency calls they get during an average day when they must drop ev-

erything else and go, go, go! Most of the calls in Solon are EMS-related, meaning the firefighters respond to medical emergencies such as heart attacks, difficulty breathing and seizures, or traumatic injuries such as fractures, dislocations and lacerations, Matheny says. In Youngstown, firefighters respond mainly to structure fires, car fires, alarm systems, car accidents and carbon monoxide calls, Santiago says. And those are just the usual days. There are also the days when something out of the ordinary happens. Sometimes bad, sometimes amazing. Santiago remembers bad car accidents and burned bodies. Matheny can relate saying, “There are pictures in your head that you can’t get out.” Despite this, there are good memories to counteract the bad. Santiago describes the joy in seeing “the looks on people’s faces when you help them.” Matheny recalls her most enjoyable experience when she delivered a baby in the front seat of an SUV. In the evening, when Santiago returns to the station, she sleeps in a large dorm room that she shares with two full-time male firefighters. Matheny says she and her three male coworkers each have their own separate rooms. All full-time firefighters repeat this schedule in shifts of 24 hours on the clock and 48 hours off the clock. This may seem like a

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“Don’t worry too much about what other people think… it is not for everybody, but if you want to do it, go for it 100 percent.”

TOP

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Condolezza Rice (2)

Ruth Ginsburg (32)

She made history as the first African American woman to become secretary of state. She is one of the president’s closest aides, playing a key role in many of his decisions. She also served under Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

“It is the best job you will ever have.” tough schedule, with long hours and stressful situations, but these women wouldn’t have it any other way. They both say they love their jobs, and describe the men they work with as “family.” Dave Otten is a 32-year firefighter/paramedic who works with Matheny. He sings her praises saying she is “extremely competent” and “really good at her job.” Otten says he has no problem with women being firefighters. “Nowadays I would say 95 percent (of male firefighters) are fine with it,” he says. “Twenty or 30 years ago, it would have been different.” With all of the progress women have made, why is this still a barely trodden field?

“Women don’t realize they can do the job. They don’t consider it,” Matheny says. Santiago speculates women are intimidated by the physical agility test everyone must pass in order to become a full-time firefighter but insists that women are entirely capable of working side by side with men. When asked if she can do anything her male coworkers can do, Santiago answers yes without a second of hesitation. In addition to the physical agility test, those wishing to become firefighters must pass a written civil service test. Anyone who is hired must also take 240 hours of classes to receive firefighter level two certification.

For young women who are interested in a firefighting career, Matheny recommends, “Know you can do it, don’t worry too much about what other people think…it is not for everybody, but if you want to do it, go for it 100 percent.” Having to jump out of bed in the middle of the night or run from the kitchen table midmeal and into a burning building may seem less than desirable to some, but to these extraordinary women, it is worth it. Santiago says the best part “is to actually be able to help people.” Matheny echoes her enthusiasm saying, “It is the best job you will ever have.” A

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She is the only female on the Supreme Court, but she makes her presence known. At the age of 76, Ginsburg is a firm supporter of women’s rights and is considered one of the progressive members of the Court.

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Our picks from Forbes list of the 100 Most Powerful Women

Melinda Gates (12)

Amy Pascal (59)

She’s more than the wife of a billionaire. She co-founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has raised more than $28.8 billion. They use the money to fight for better health care and education for the poor around the world.

After working for Sony Pictures for 20 years, Pascal was made co-chairwoman in September 2006. She has also served as Chairwoman of the Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group. In her past, Pascal has overseen the production of films like “A League of Their Own.”

Susan Arnold (24)

Hillary Clinton (18)

She started as a brand assistant at Proctor & Gamble 25 years ago. Today Arnold is the vice chairwoman and highestranking female official in the history of Procter & Gamble. She has helped P&G turn its global beauty division into the second biggest beauty powerhouse in the world.

As a senator from New York, Clinton is the only first lady ever elected to office. In 2004, she sponsored legislation to expand health benefits to members of the National Guard. Recently, Clinton announced her bid for the 2008 presidential election.

Anne Sweeney (15)

Her position on the Forbes List is sure to rise in the next year. She made history in November when she became the first female Speaker of the House, putting her close behind the president. Pelosi is known for making her views against the Bush administration loud and clear.

She is the co-chairwoman of Disney Media Networks and president of the DisneyABC Television group. Sweeney oversees some of the most important media properties in the world and is responsible for hits like “Desperate Housewives” and “Lost.”

Compiled by Brittany Moseley Photos courtesy of www.forbes.com

Nancy Pelosi (48)

Oprah Winfrey (9)

Katie Couric (54)

She has a hit television show, successful magazine and a cable channel. That brings her total net worth to more than $1 billion. Winfrey started the Oprah Winfrey Foundation, which promotes the education and well-being of women and children around the world.

She usually tells the news, but last year she made the news when she switched from the “Today” show on NBC to the “CBS Evening News.” Some worried that Couric, with her big smile and blond hair, wouldn’t be able to handle hard news.

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Mind Mind

Body

Story · Ellie Piper Photo · Jill Byerly Trying to get college students to come to class can be a difficult task for professors. Trying to teach them about gender and racial issues — now that can take some skill. Challenging as it may be, Professor Christina McVay has made a career of doing just that. McVay is a faculty affiliate of the women’s studies program from the Pan-African department. Professors can become affiliates of the women’s studies program by submitting an application explaining their interest or experience in the field. McVay has taught Literature by African American Women and Literature of Black Women, she says. She began teaching at Kent State in the English department in 1981 while in graduate school and was offered a job in the Pan-African department in 1984, she says.

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Body Story · Madelyn Otcasek Photo · Jill Byerly

McVay says she has spent a great deal of time working with female African American students, in particular. She also helps supervise the final projects every women studies minor must complete, she says. She once worked with a student on a documentary for an honors thesis about Ida B. Wells, a woman who started a national campaign against lynching in the late 19th century. McVay has since built a class around the campaign. Each semester she takes students to clear out the graveyard where the three lynching victims are buried. As dedicated as McVay is to the big issues, she is just as dedicated to her students. “I’ll go a long way to help students succeed,” she says. For more than 20 years, that is exactly what she has done. A

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Pan African Professor Christina McVay talks to her class about a video.

Judy Watkins sits in her office, glowing from the fluorescent lights of Kent State’s Recreation and Wellness Center. She is the group fitness and instructional program manager for the department of recreational services. This semester she teaches Spinning as well as Total Body Toning. She says she helped develop the classes into their current format. “They’re good classes for women because we don’t lift heavy weights, and it’s all about toning the whole body,” she says. Other classes geared toward women taught at the Rec are Modern Dance and Hip-Hop, Belly Dancing and Burlesque. Watkins says in the summer or fall the center will bring back Working

Women’s Lunch, an hourlong program designed for women who don’t normally have time during the week to work out. “It’s to target the university community, and it’s just for women,” she says. Watkins believes it’s extremely important for women to stay healthy with exercise. “Women are more prone to diseases like osteoporosis, and it’s important to keep bones and muscles active,” she says. Beth Patton, wellness educator, agrees with Watkins. “Women show different symptoms of diseases like heart disease,” she says. “Working out helps with proper stress management, delays certain cancers as well as the onset of depression.” A

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Amanda Darrah, fitness instructor at the Kent State Student Recreation and Wellness Center, warms up her morning class by doing step ups on the bosu ball.

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THE

Glass CEILING Story · Erica Strauss Photo · Jill Kinkus

P Her large desk is adorned with photos of bright-eyed children and a gold name plate proudly displaying her title, “Chief Executive Officer.”

icture this: A tall woman with long, dark hair secures the last button on her tailored suit, slides on her black flats and waltzes her way into the corner office, nodding at people as she passes. Her large desk is adorned with photos of bright-eyed children and a gold name plate proudly displaying her title, “Chief Executive Officer.” Women have come a long way during the past century: They’ve flown solo across the Atlantic, they’ve been given the right to vote, they’ve rocketed into space and they’ve even been elected to Congress. Despite these achievements, women have not been given the opportunities they deserve in one important aspect of their lives: at work. Sure, a woman can compile important business reports and give presentations just as well as any man. However, women are under-represented in upper-level management in many U.S. companies. The Federal Glass Ceiling Commission released a report in 2003 that stated women only make up 7-9 percent of senior managers at Fortune 1000 firms.

Women also make less than men for performing the same types of jobs. On average, a woman who works full time is making 77 cents to the full-time working man’s one dollar. She will also only earn 44 cents to the working man’s one dollar during the course of her entire lifetime. What gives? The wage gap and promotion issues are often explained away by several factors. Warren Farrell, who was elected three times as Board of Director of the National Organization for Women, describes these factors in his intenselyresearched book, “Why Men Earn More: The Startling Truth Behind the Pay Gap — and What Women Can Do About It.” Farrell’s book has set the standards for comparison when discussing the glass ceiling. According to Farrell, men are more likely to accept higher-risk jobs than women, the “death and exposure professions.” Logging, firefighting, truck driving — these professions are 95 percent male. Similarly, low-risk professions, such as secretarial work are 95 percent female. High-risk professions

generally provide superior wages, and men are willing to sacrifice more in order to reap the financial benefits provided by these jobs. What stops women from pursuing these high-risk careers? Home and family life. A clear double standard exists when it comes to raising a family while having a fulltime career. This isn’t the ’50s and women are no longer expected to exist solely as housewives in blue-checkered aprons. This is both good and bad because although a married woman can simultaneously work and raise a family, she is typically viewed as less stable when performing both roles. She’s a briefcase-carrying worker bee by day and is often a babysitter, maid and cook by night. Her responsibilities seem endless. These responsibilities can definitely take a toll on many aspects of her life, including the inability

to work long hours and advance in a company. What if a woman can and does work long hours? According to John H. Johnson, in 2004, when he reviewed data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, he concluded that gender has a large influence on work hours and increases the probability of divorce. He stated that the amount of hours a woman works influences the probability of divorce, while the amount of hours a man works has no statistical effect. So if a woman does decide to put in those few extra hours at work, it could take a negative toll on her marriage and consequently, her life as a whole.

However, it goes without saying that if a woman does decide to work the extra hours, the benefits can be tremendous. Farrell says by working 44 hours a week versus 34 it is possible to earn twice as much. Those extra hours can also lead to other job opportunities and promotions that can be used as a stepping-stone to that CEO title. Another factor to be considered is that the goals of men and women differ significantly. A survey of business owners who possessed MBAs conducted by the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2001 announced findings that money was the primary motivator of only 29

Education may be the key... A woman with a bachelor’s degree earns 75 percent more than one with a high school education.

Here in a Personal Selling and Sales Management class at Kent State there are 13 males in a class of 60.

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PHOTOS.COM

percent of women and a muchgreater 76 percent of men. So, the question many college-aged women may be asking is: What can I do to ensure that I, too, can lead a lucrative and happy life? Farrell states in his book there are 25 life choices men make that ultimately lead them to more lucrative lives than women. One choice he suggests is picking a career in one of the 80 fields in which women already earn more than men. For example, a female speech pathologist earns an average $45,000 while a man earns only $35,000. A female nurse can also earn more money by simply being a female because she can examine unclothed patients of both sexes, which is something men can not. Other female-dominated fields include advertising, dental hygiene, pharmaceuticals and technology and computer-related industries. Another option for many women is to take matters into their own perfectly manicured hands. Terry DiRusso, professor at the University of Connecticut, has conducted extensive research on the glass ceiling. “Many women looking at retirement in the not-so-distant future are starting businesses of their own. In other words: ‘If you build it, she will come,’” DiRusso says. But starting her own company obviously is not an option for every woman, especially those fresh out of college who are living paycheck to paycheck to pay off student loans. Education may be the

key to unlock the doors to higher-paying careers. Women who complete a degree are already ahead of the game as soon as they print out that first resume. A woman with a two-year associate’s degree earns 28 percent more than one with a high school education, and a woman with a bachelor’s degree earns 75 percent more than one with a high school education, according to Women Employed, “a leading national advocate for women’s economic advancement.” But a college degree doesn’t guarantee a high-paying job. There are other issues women need to address, DiRusso says. “Learning more about the power of money and negotiation skills would be a start,” she explains. “Women need to know how to navigate the waters.” Some argue the responsibility not only rests with women workers, but that some obligation should also be placed in the hands of companies that employ women. If more companies were pressured to provide familyoriented services to employees, such as on-site daycare, women might be able to achieve equilibrium between family and career life. So what are these companies losing by not hiring women or providing them with such services? When companies actively discriminate against women, they are only hurting themselves. Gender differences can be positive. According to the Center for Women’s Business Research,

women and men have different managerial styles. Women tend to place an emphasis on building relationships and fact-gathering. They are more likely to consult with fellow business owners about a situation. Women are productive and influential workers, but with extra help from companies, the business world could benefit tremendously. —————— The “glass ceiling” is a controversial subject that’s constantly in hot pursuit. So many statistics and theories come into play that many find it hard to reach a solid conclusion. Does the glass ceiling really exist, or is it all a matter of how the

facts are skewed either for or against it? After all the statistics are stripped away, though, one naked truth persists: Women are just as capable as men. “Great ideas have no gender, race, ethnic background or age,” DiRusso says. Women may have to work a little harder to reach the top, but it can and does happen. In the not-so-distant future, with a little extra effort on everyone’s part, more women could be buttoning up their suits and heading into that corner office, or at least making as much money as the man who does now. A

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PHOTOS.COM

Boss

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The

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Jenny Arthur is not a typical boss. She does not wear high-end designer suits to work.

“I wouldn’t

ever get a desk job or anything that could make me happy and be as much fun as this.”

Story · Kristen Kotz Photos · Leslie Cusano

Comfortably dressed in a sweater and jeans, Jenny Arthur greets her costumers at The Works with a smile on her face and a friendly “hello.” She helps her customers find a Valentine’s Day gift for their loved ones and starts casual conversations with them as they browse the store. Thirty-seven-year-old Arthur has worked at the business for 23 years. She began working part time at the store after school and on weekends when her mother, Natalie, opened it in 1984. “At that time, when I was working part-time and going to college and stuff, it seemed like a lot of fun,” Arthur says. “I wouldn’t ever get a desk job or anything that could make me happy and be as much fun as this.” The Works is a “crate and barrel” store. It carries a variety of artistic and house ware items, including jewelry, candles and picture frames. The store’s inventory constantly changes. “It’s not going to be the same thing every time you come in,” she says. “I have certain people who come in at Christmastime and they’ll say, ‘Oh, this is totally different; you have totally different things than before.’” Arthur graduated from Miami University of Ohio in 1991, where she

The Works in Kent features jewlery, candles, picture frames and pottery.

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moving to its current location on Main Street about 12 years ago. Arthur says she has not faced any unique challenges being a female entrepreneur. “I think it’s more if you’re small business owner and if you can make it or you can’t,” she says. “It’s not so much of are you a man or are you a woman type of thing. It’s just hard to be a small business owner.” One shared problem all small business owners face is competition from larger chain stores like Target or Wal-Mart.

“The store is successful because there is nothing else like it.”

Jenny Arthur stands outside her store located in downtown Kent.

majored in finance. Arthur has worked full time at the store since she graduated. Her degree has helped her manage the business more efficiently, she says. She learned how to do payroll, how to work with clients and how to do taxes at college, Arthur says. Arthur completely took over the business about two years ago. The hardest part of running her own company has been finding employees, she says. “I get a lot of them from the university, a lot of the students for part time,” she says. “Just when they can run the store

themselves, then they end up graduating. Then I have to start with a whole new group.” Liz Roberts is one of Arthur’s three part-time employees. She has worked for Arthur for about a year. She says she likes working at the store because the hours are flexible and it is close by. “The store is successful because there is nothing else like it,” Roberts says. “She goes to a lot of shows in the area and buys unique things.” She also says that Arthur is easy to get along with and keeps customers coming

back with her outgoing personality. Arthur works every day, except Sundays, when the store is closed, she says. She comes in every morning at 9 a.m. and works until the early afternoon. She then returns later in the evening to work on books and straighten up the store. The hours don’t affect her family life because she is not married and does not have any kids. The biggest change the store has undergone since it opened is its move to a new site, Arthur says. The store used to be located above Einstein’s Attic before

“They can buy such mass quantities of products,” Arthur says. The store has been successful because of hard work, Arthur says. She has not taken a week of vacation for about five years. Arthur’s family and all-around support from the community have helped her to get to where she is today, she says. Aspiring entrepreneurs should not expect to make a profit for a long time and should not expect to take any time off, Arthur says. “A lot of people think you get to make up your own hours, you get to do whatever you want, but you really don’t,” she says. “You’re the one who has to come in when everyone is sick. You’re the one who has to work through all the holidays because everyone else you have working for you wants off.” This makes it hard to travel, which Arthur says she wishes she could do more. Arthur plans to continue to run the store in the future and, despite the suggestions of others, does not want to expand it, she says. She is dedicated to the business and loves what she does. “I really put my heart into this store,” Arthur says. A

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Jenny Arthur rings out a customer during her shift.

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ORGANIZATIONS FOR WOMEN with local chapters National Council of Negro Women

The NCNW was formed in 1935 with a mission to lead, develop and advocate for women of African descent as they support their families. NCNW provides educational support to young people, promotes healthy lifestyles and supports economic development. Janice Taylor, president of the Cuyahoga County section, said the section prepares meals for City Mission and provides personal care for young women and their children at the Domestic Violence Abuse Center. www.nwv.org

Code Pink

It’s a fairly new organization but it comes with a strong mission: working to end the war in Iraq. Code Pink started on Nov. 17, 2002, with a march through Washington. Then its 100 members set up a four-month vigil in front of the White House. There are more than 200 Code Pink communities across the country. Code Pink believes the government should stop spending money on war and redirect resources to affordable health care and quality education. www.codepink4peace.org

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence

The mission of NCADV is to eliminate violence against women and children. After coming together in 1978, NCADV remains the only national organization of grassroots shelters and service programs for battered women. NCADV has also worked on public policies such as The Victims of Crime Act and The Violence Against Women Act. www.ncadv.org

National Organization for Women

With more than 500,000 members, it’s no surprise that most women know what NOW stands for. It started in 1966 with a plan to promote equality, and now it’s the largest organization of female activists in the United States. NOW’s biggest issues are reproductive rights, preventing domestic abuse and economic justice. There are 550 chapters across the country, which makes getting involved easy. www.now.org

League of Women Voters

After the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote, the LWV was formed to educate women about their voting rights. The LWV is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization that encourages participation of citizens in all levels of government. The LWV also registers people to vote, sponsors candidate debates and public issue forums, and teaches citizens and noncitizens about their rights. Barbara Sones, president of the Cleveland area LWV, said the league is proud of its work, but there is still much to do. “Voter confidence in our democratic system must be restored and voter turnout increased,” Sones said. “The well-being of our nation depends on it.” www.lwv.org

NCWO started after the Equal Rights Amendment failed in 1983. Today it represents 10 million women across the country. Some of the issues that NCWO addresses are workplace equality, Social Security, child care, reproductive rights and affirmative action. www.womensorganizations.org

Feminist Majority Foundation

Founded in 1987, the foundation supports women’s equality, reproductive health and non-violence. One of the foundation’s main goals is to recruit and train young feminists to encourage future leadership. FMF offers internships for anyone interested in women’s issues, which range from education to government relations. www.feminist.org

Emily’s List

The organization started in 1985 when 25 women, who were frustrated by the lack of democratic women in government, met to raise money for female democratic candidates. Today Emily’s List is the largest grassroots political network. www.emilyslist.org

1849 Amelia Bloomer

National Women’s Political Caucus

NWPC recruits, trains and supports pro-choice women candidates of any party for elected and appointed offices at all levels of government. The caucus offers campaign managers, training and technical assistance for candidates. NWPC’s Web site features a list of candidates it has helped elect and current candidates the caucus supports. www.nwpc.org

Catalyst

Catalyst was formed in 1962 when more women began entering the workforce. Today the organization works with companies to expand opportunities for women. Catalyst offers advising services to businesses and holds a speakers’ bureau to inform companies on how to attract and retain women. The group believes that if companies don’t begin to open up more doors to women, their competitors will. In 2004 the group released data that said 55 percent of women aspire to have a CEO job. www.catalyst.org

— Compiled by Brittany Moseley

1872 Victoria Woodhull

Before Gloria Steinman co-founded Ms. and before Lisa Jervis and Andi Zeisler created Bitch, there was The Lily. Bloomer founded The Lily, a newspaper targeted toward women’s rights, in 1849. She was the first woman to own, operate and edit a newspaper. Bloomer’s writings inspired women to question social inequalities.

The possibility of a female president is in the news, but one woman has already made history for her try at the White House. In 1872, Woodhull became the first woman to run for president. She campaigned for equal rights for women, changes in the divorce law and working people’s rights. Her views were seen as radical, but Woodhull’s views set the stage for many issues today.

1968

1974

— Compiled by Brittany Moseley

ORGANIZATIONS FOR WOMEN without local chapters National Council of Women’s Organizations

Extraordinary Women throughout history

Gloria Steinman

Thousands of women read Ms. magazine, and they can all thank Steinman. She’s much more than one of the creators of Ms. though. Steinman was a major feminist leader during the late 1960s and early 1970s. She has been a writer since 1968 when she co-founded New York Magazine.

Gloria Yerkovich

When her daughter was kidnapped in 1974, she realized there was no program designed to find missing children. This led her to form CHILD FIND, which became the prototype for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Yerkovich’s contributions created an awareness that led to the Missing Children Act of 1982.

1916 Jeannette Rankin

She proved women belong in the House and the Senate when was elected to Congress in 1916. When her home state of Montana gave women the right to vote, she campaigned for election to Congress. Rankin is known for opposing U.S. entry into both world wars. After she left Congress, she continued her activism, and at age 86, she participated in the march on Washington.

1981 Sandra Day O’ Connor

She showed the nation that women could do much more than serve dinner — they could serve on the Supreme Court. She formed her own law firm after an Arizona law firm refused to hire her because of her gender. Ronald Reagan appointed O’Connor to the Court in 1981, making her the first female to serve.

1938

1966

Dorothy Andersen

Betty Friedan

There have been many advancements in the treatment of cystic fibrosis since 1938, the year that Andersen discovered the disease. Through her research, she developed a diagnostic test to check for the disease. After this, doctors were able to start treating cystic fibrosis earlier. Andersen turned a life-threatening disease into a treatable disorder.

Her book “The Feminist Mystique” impacted the lives of women who were tired of only being viewed as a good wife and mother. In 1966 she co-founded the National Organization for Women. Friedan died last year, but she will be remembered as one of society’s most famous leaders.

1993

1995

Antonia Novello

In 1993 Novello accomplished two firsts: She became the first female and first Hispanic U.S. Surgeon General. Novello has worked for U.S. Public Health Services and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. She was also one of the first to focus attention on women with AIDS.

Eileen Collins

It was one small step for a woman and one giant leap for womankind in 1995 when Collins became the first American woman to pilot a spacecraft. She has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics from Syracuse and a master’s from Stanford University. She became an astronaut in July 1991.

— Compiled by Brittany Moseley Photos courtesy of www.greatwomen.org