Smith Club of San Francisco
and Marin
Events
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2005 |
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Film Screening |
The San Francisco and Marin Club is co-sponsoring with the World Affairs Council an evening with Sharmeen Obaid '02, award-winning Pakistani filmmaker. Sharmeen will show her film "Women of the Holy Kingdom" and have a conversation with the audience. Interested alumnae will repair to a nearby watering hole with Sharmeen for further conversation and socializing (no-host event). "Women of the Holy Kingdom" is Sharmeen's third compelling and personal documentary film for the Discovery Times Channel (a joint venture of The New York Times and Discovery Communications). This film is a rare look at the everyday struggles of Saudi women and their uphill battle to be treated as equals. A growing number of Saudi women are challenging the traditional suppression and segregation of women in Muslim's holiest land, clamoring for more rights through an emerging women's movement. In addition to seeing the faces behind this movement, we meet religious clerics and young working mothers who denounce change and label the movement as immoral. Two years ago, after completing a double Masters at Stanford, Sharmeen showed a previous film, "Re-inventing the Taliban", at a Club event. She is the first woman in her Pakistani family to receive a Western education. Smith helped finance her first film about the plight of Afghani refugee children in Pakistan. |
| FOOD!! A Discussion April 21, 2005 |
The Smith College Alumnae Clubs of the East Bay, Peninsula, San Francisco and Marin invite all Smith alumnae of the Bay Area and their guests to join in an event surrounding everyone's favorite subject... FOOD! We will learn about food, Talk about food, and of course EAT. Join our guest speakers as they share the paths they took from the college to the kitchen and beyond.
The ways we approach food, its manufacture, and presentation in this country are profoundly important to each of us and to the rest of the world. The panelists will address these issues as well as their experiences in the food industry. Evening events: |
Dr. Laurie Shaffner AC '95
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Focus on the international politics of sex: Dr. Laurie Schaffner AC '95, with her co-editor and contributors, will be reading from & signing her book, Regulating Sex: The Politics of Intimacy and Identity, in San Francisco. Watch www.mtbs.com for details to be posted soon. Location: Modern Times Bookstore Date: Tuesday, May 10th Time: 7:30 PM Regulating Sex derives from an international conference organized by the editors at the International Institute for the Sociology of Law in Spain in 2000. Both the contributors and the substantive foci of the volume are multinational and interdisciplinary; individual chapters explore topics such as European sex tourism to the Caribbean, the treatment of sexual delinquency in Norway, debates around child prostitution in Australia and Latin America, and sexual politics in the Netherlands. Contributors critically interrogate the discursive and material role of national boundaries, state sovereignty, and transnational migration. Laurie is in the Criminal Justice Department at the University of Illinois at Chicago. |
2004 |
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| Prof. Donna Divine -- "America Votes: Will Iraq Matter or Will it Matter to Iraq?" Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2004 6pm - cocktails 6:30pm - discussion Home of Katie Cardinal '56 San Francisco |
On the evening of October 12, Donna Divine, the Smith’s Morningstar Family Professor of Jewish Studies and Professor of Government, captured the complete attention of more than 15 alumnae for several hours, as she detailed her take on the background and current situation in Iraq. After laying groundwork for an hour, Professor Divine opened the floor for discussion. The group didn't hold back, asking everything from whether or not it mattered, in terms of the Iraq "conflict," whether Kerry or Bush was elected; to what political activism looks like on campus these days; to what she thought the future of the two-party system might be, and how our goals in Iraq meshed with the stated goals of the administration...and much more. We finally had to call time out as 9 o’clock neared, and alums continued their discussions more casually before departing. Our club’s president, Liz Polk, thought the evening was very thought-provoking. “This discussion made me think about the war differently in some ways than I had before, and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in that,” she commented. “Being able to have access to Smith, to professors like Donna Divine, and to each other, is a large part of our mission as a club. I hope we see even more of you at next year's lecture, continuing your Smith education and bringing your own views to the table." Katie Cardinal ‘56 generously opened her home for this year's faculty lecture, providing treats from cucumber sandwiches to Halloween candy to make sure everyone was well fortified. Her help made this evening possible and we are thankful for that and for her ongoing active participation in the club. |
Mission Murals Tour
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On the cool fall morning of September 18th, twelve Smith alums and friends gathered in the Mission District to tour the area's famous murals. The Precita Eyes Project has kept the community's murals alive and growing, and one of their muralists provided us with an informative tour. It all began in 1977 as a community workshop to paint a portable mural for the Bernal Heights community. From there, the Precita Eyes project has blossomed into more than 80 murals throughout San Francisco's Mission District.
"Hope for a World Cure" Mural |
| An Afternoon Dialogue with Ann Crittenden Sunday, Sept. 12, 2004 2 - 4pm Home of Marsha Cohen '68 Pacific Heights, SF |
The San Francisco/Marin Smith Alumnae Book Club has a special afternoon lined up with a special author. Ann Crittenden, author of the national bestseller The Price of Motherhood, will talk with us about her work and new book, If You've Raised Kids, You Can Manage Anything. The talk and discussion will be engaging for mothers of all persuasions -- those choosing to stay at home, those remaining on professional career tracks, and those trying to re-enter the job market after raising their children. We hope you will join us for an afternoon of energizing and productive dialogue on issues of concern for women. |
Young Alumnae &
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Thirty-three grilling aficionados showed up at our Young Alum barbecue August 15, at Crissy Field. One and all had a good time, despite the task to keep fingers and apparel barbecue sauce-free. Seven new Smithies and their families attended (including a few people from the South Bay Club). The new students were really excited about getting ready for school, and exchanged email addresses so they could talk more about buying coats and thermal underwear. The parents were very impressed with how organized alumnae are in the Bay Area and reiterated their admiration for Smith. The current students and recent alums did a great job of talking to the new students and their parents, imparting their wisdom and serving very ably as goodwill ambassadors for Smith. In short, it was a great event! |
| "The Immortal Heart" A Play by Amy Tan July 29, 2004 8:30pm Magic Theater Fort Mason, Building D San Francisco |
Join fellow Smithies for a wonderful night of theatre! We've reserved a block of tickets for Word for Word's production of Amy Tan's "The Immortal Heart." Tan originally published this short story in the New Yorker and later developed it into her novel, The Bonesetter's Daughter. Word for Word is a highly acclaimed theatre troupe that stages original productions based on works of fiction, performing them (literally) word for word. Their productions are known for their creativity and superb acting. |
| Bay Area Smith Lawyers Dinner July 27, 2004 E&O Trading Company 314 Sutter Street (@ Grant) |
Are you a lawyer? Meet with other alumnae attorneys to chat, swap ideas, network, and eat some good food! The Bay Area Smith Lawyers will be meeting over dinner at the E&O Trading Company in San Francisco on Tuesday, July 27th. |
Giants Tailgate and Game
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Take me out to the ballpark... Yes -- it's time! Our 4th annual tailgate and Giants game at SBC Park. Our seats this year are in View Reserve section 304, rows 10-13. This is a rare opportunity to watch our National League West champions battle the American League Red Sox! There's a twist this year -- June 19 is Giants book drive day. The first 10,000 fans who bring a book to donate to charity will get a Giants souvenir. We'll start tailgating at 11:30 in Parking Lot B. Look for the truck with yellow balloons on the antenna, parked along the fence. We'll serve drinks and snacks. Seats are $25 each for members/$30 each for non-members. Parking is available in Giants Lot B on 4th Street for $18 per vehicle. CalTrain's weekend service is scheduled to resume on June 4th. |
Joint Mentorship Forum
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Several bay area alumni clubs are working together to develop a mentoring program that reaches across several Bay Area alumni clubs Participants will meet their matches at the Joint Mentorship Forum on Wednesday, June 9th, from 7:30 to 8:30pm. Wendy Tokuda, an anchor for KRON-4 TV, will speak at the forum. Ms. Tokuda has a strong background in mentoring. She is a jouranlism mentor for many students in the Bay Area, and founded "Students Rising Above," an ongoing television series and scholarship program that recognizes Bay Area students who have overcome tremendous odds to pursue educational goals. The mentor matching process will include matches within and between several different alumni clubs in the Bay Area, including MIT, Princeton, Smith, Harvard, Mount Holyoke, Vassar, Bryn Mawr, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, Barnard, Cornell, Princeton, and Yale. Casting a broad net has helped the organizers find mentors and mentees in a broad diversity of fields and at different stages in their careers. |
"Reinventing the Taliban"
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We can count an intrepid documentarian in our ranks! "Reinventing the Taliban" brings a uniquely personal perspective to the disturbing rise of radical Islamic fundamentalism within Pakistan. It follows Sharmeen Obaid '02, a young Pakistani woman, who despite warnings of the dangers decides to travel into North West Pakistan, a stronghold of Islamic fundamentalism. She has heard of frightening changes underway there in the wake of recent elections. Landslide election victories have placed fundamentalist clerics in majority control of the Provincial government. Their leadership includes some of the very same people who mentored the Taliban's leaders on Pakistani soil, and even joined with Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. Now duly elected to office in North West Pakistan, Taliban-like edicts have followed: the banning of music performances, of painting cinema murals with images of any people on them; the public burning of video cassettes and CDs; calls for an end to co-education and other restrictions on women. Award-winning journalist Obaid is determined to find out what is happening first hand. And, to see how far this movement's influence might reach into mainstream Pakistan. We're hosting a special screening of the documentary, "Reinventing the Taliban" -- and Sharmeen will be on hand to answer questions. Sharmeen recently won 2 awards for her first documentary, "Terror's Children," chronicled the lives of Afghan children in a Pakistani refugee camp in the months after 9/11: * The American Women in Television & Radio award for Individual Achievement for Best Reporter That documentary * The Overseas Press Club Award for best international reporting in any medium showing a concern for the human condition Come see Sharmeen's fascinating and timely second film, "Reinventing the Taliban," which has aired on the Times Discovery Channel, and meet Sharmeen. |
| Smith Does Bay to Breakers! May 16, 2004 8am San Francisco |
Pull out that old Smith T-Shirt and join a group of Smithies as we do Bay To Breakers! This is one of San Francisco's most colorful festivities and what better way to participate than by running or walking with fellow alumnae. Please email Barbara Knott (bknott@smith.alumnae.net) if you're interested in joining the team. She'll coordinate Smithie runners and walkers according to interest. Click here for more info on the infamous footrace. |
| Theater Night Viewing "The Master and Margarita" February 27, 2004 8pm Zeum Theater, SF Tickets $15 |
The Book Club is very pleased to announce that we have reserved a group of seats, open to all, to the ACT MFA Class of 2004's product of "The Master and Margarita," directed and adapted by Adrian Giurgea from Mikhail Bulgakov's novel. The book is our book club's February selection. The Master and Margarita is a highly theatrical and brutally satirical vision of Soviet life in 1930’s, that could not be published until several decades after it was written. Weaving together the stories of Faust and Pontius Pilate, "The Master and Margarita" is a powerful parable on the nature of good and evil, human frailty, and the redeeming potential of love. It features characters including Satan, a fast-talking, vodka-swilling tom cat named Behemoth, Pontius Pilate, Jesus Christ, and a lovely and mysterious woman named Margarita. The Smith Book Club invites you to join us to watch this tale boldly reinterpreted by the very talented Adrian Giurgea. The Zeum theatre is a modern 140-seat performance space in Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco. Tickets are $15. Theater night is open to all. |
