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“The isolation of
every human soul and the necessity of self-dependence must give each individual
the right to choose his own surroundings. The strongest reason for giving woman
all the opportunities for higher education, for the full development of her
faculties, forces of mind and body; for giving her the most enlarged freedom of
thought and action; a complete emancipation from all forms of bondage, of
custom, dependence, superstition; from all the crippling influences of fear, is
the solitude and personal responsibility of her own individual life. The
strongest reason why we ask for woman a voice in the government under which she
lives; in the religion she is asked to believe; equality in social life, where
she is the chief factor; a place in the trades and professions, where she may
earn her bread, is because of her birthright to self-sovereignty; because, as an
individual, she must rely on herself. No matter how much women prefer to lean,
to be protected and supported, nor how much men desire to have them do so, they
must make the voyage of life alone, and for safety in an emergency they must
know something of the laws of navigation. To guide our own craft, we must be
captain, pilot, engineer; with chart and compass to stand at the wheel; to match
the wind and waves and know when to take in the sail, and to read the signs in
the firmament over all. It matters not whether the solitary voyager is man or
woman.”
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, from “The Solitude of Self,”
a speech given before
the United States Congress, 1892
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Elizabeth Cady Stanton stood before the U.S. Congress and
spoke these moving sentiments more than 150 years ago as part of her lifelong
effort to gain voting rights for women, and yet her words still resonate today,
despite increased political, social and economic opportunities for women.
A recent report on the status of women in Wisconsin (published by the
Women’s Fund of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and the Institute for
Women’s Policy Research), found that one third of single-mother families in Wisconsin
live in poverty, and that, “At 31 cents per dollar, the gap between women’s
and men’s wages falls among the worst third of the country.“ The report also
found that women in Wisconsin are less likely than women nationally to have a
college education and even less likely to be business owners, ranking 31st
and 33rd respectively. Despite
these rather depressing rankings, there exists an innovative and yet little
known program at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse that has worked to
address these inequities since 1988.
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The Self Sufficiency Program was founded in the Women’s
Studies Department by Sandra Krajewski, current Chair of the WS Department, Kay
Robinson, and Bets Reedy, retired former Director of the SSP. At the time, AFDC
was still in existence; they knew that although many women on AFDC had high
school educations, the reason they kept falling back on it was because without
additional education, they would never find work that would lift them and their
families out of poverty. It seemed
reasonable to think that such women would make good college students and that a
college education would go a long way toward changing their lives by allowing
them access to better jobs, higher income, health insurance, retirement and paid
vacations. Early on, the program
began to address the barriers that might exist for such women to access higher
education and succeed at it. Time,
location, and child care options were all considered carefully. The content of
the program began to take shape as Krajewski and Reedy defined the program’s
objectives: to encourage and enable low-income parents to return to or enter a
college or university in order to gain the education which will foster financial
independence for themselves and their families.
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Although the end of AFDC and the beginning of W2 created
new challenges for the program, it continues to serve women in much the same way
it did when it was founded. A program of the Women’s Studies Department, and
funded by the University, the SSP is also overseen by an Advisory Board of
knowledgeable and committed community leaders and volunteers. Students in the
two-semester program spend the first semester meeting once a week in the evening
with the program’s new Director, Amy Sullivan, to brush up and awaken critical
reading and writing skills and enjoy lively group discussions. They also learn
about the UW-L campus, Viterbo University, college admissions procedures,
financial aid, stress/time management skills, and meet other successful SSP
graduates. The class usually attends at least one special event on campus as
part of becoming familiar and excited by the opportunities university life has
to offer. The second semester is
divided into mini-courses to refresh math, computer, and writing skills.
Students have the opportunity to use services on campus that help identify
academic interests and related career paths.
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Most SSP students are single mothers, but the program is
open to men and women of all ages. The only criteria is that students are
low-income, do not already have a four-year college degree, and have a strong
interest in exploring the possibility of a college education. Excellent, free
child care is available during the class meeting time at the UW-L child care
facility. One of the program’s graduates is the current child care teacher
(she is studying to be a social worker).
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With more than seventy successful graduates, the Self
Sufficiency Program has many and varied success stories. In the summer of 2000,
an SSP graduate won a Gates Millennium Scholarship—she was one of 60,000
applicants nationwide. She is currently in graduate school studying
international law. Another is now a
junior, majoring in microbiology, and on the Dean’s list, with her eye on
medical school. The program also boasts teachers, nurses, academic staff, and
social workers.
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This past semester, the class of five women had the unique
opportunity to meet and share dinner conversation with well-known journalist
Barbara Ehrenreich. Ehrenreich was on a national tour for her book, Nickel
and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America (2001, Metropolitan Books).
Students in the Self Sufficiency Program have firsthand knowledge of the plight
of the working poor featured in Ehrenreich’s
three-month investigation. The dinner and lecture that followed
stimulated discussion and engagement with the content that went well beyond the
bounds of the book.
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For many, if not all, of the SSP students, life experience
turns out to be an incredible asset for them as they navigate the seemingly
inaccessible but easily obtained skills needed to succeed in a university
setting. This program simply provides access and practice before one ventures
into such a life-changing experience.
Amy Sullivan summed up her teaching philosophy for the first semester
portion of the program by relating a story she’s heard about Elizabeth Cady
Stanton. “She once wrote to her dear friend Susan B. Anthony that when
isolated and only occupied with daily chores and mindless work, she found that
she had a kind of ‘mind hunger’. It is this hunger that I hope our program
can satisfy and sustain for anyone with the interest and motivation to be so
fulfilled.”
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The next SSP class begins in September, 2004 at UW-L. There is currently
space in the class for more students. For more information about the program or
for a brochure and application materials, please call Amy Sullivan, Director, at
(608) 785-8733.
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Amy Sullivan, Director of the Self Sufficiency Program, has a master’s
in history from the University of Oklahoma, thus Elizabeth Cady Stanton and
other lively women from the past often grace her class meetings. Mother of two
young girls, Amy lives with her husband Robert in rural Viroqua, where “mind
hunger” is satiated daily
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The Journey
One day you
finally knew
what you had
to do, and began,
though the
voices around you
kept shouting
their bad
advice---
though the
whole house
began to
tremble
and you felt
the old tug
at your
ankles.
“Mend my
life!”
each voice
cried.
But you
didn’t stop.
You knew what
you had to do,
though the
wind pried
with its stiff
fingers
at the very
foundations,
though their
melancholy was terrible.
It was already
late
enough, and a
wild night,
and the road
full of fallen
branches and
stones.
But little by
little,
as you left
their voices behind,
the stars
began to burn
through the
sheets of clouds,
and there was
a new voice
which you
slowly
recognized as
your own,
that kept you
company
as you strode
deeper and deeper
into the
world,
determined to
do
the only thing
you could do---
determined to
save
the only life
you could save.
-- Mary Oliver
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