July Royal Oak Book Club

Event: JULY Royal Oak Book Club

Date: July 16, 2017

Location: Amici's Pizza, 3249 12 Mile Rd, Berkley, Michigan

Cost: Everyone pays for themselves

Parking - Free (Located Behind parking lot)

Point of contact: Niesha - nieshaamos@gmail.com

 

We will be discussing Hidden Figures!!

 

Royal Oak Book Club - June!

Event: Royal Oak Book Club

Date: Sunday, June 11 Time: 4:00 - 6:00 PM

Location: Amici's Pizza, 3249 12 Mile Rd, Berkley, Michigan 48072

Cost: Year-End Event - SWE-DET pays for food

Parking: Free - located behind the restaurant

Point of contact: Irina Sullivan irina.n.sullivan@gmail.com

Other info: Discussing "A Study in Scarlet Women" by Sherry Thomas  Review of "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates Review by Irina Sullivan

I believe that mourning the outcome of the most recent presidential election, as well as, organizing and resisting a threatening political climate necessarily includes deepening our understanding of the problems before us. The issue, as I saw it on November 9th, was two-fold - I needed both, a way to articulate my despair and a thoughtful counsel on mining for energy and perseverance so that I can be of use to my community in the years ahead. And this is how I arrived at brilliant and, sadly, timeless writing of James Baldwin and his best modern literary incarnation, Ta-Nehisi Coates. Baldwin’s unwavering, steady dismantling of, what we nowadays often call, white privilege was recently brought to the top of mind by a fantastic film “I Am Not Your Negro” based on Baldwin’s work of the same name. Coates’ voice is just as steady, relentless, and unapologetic, with an additional personal gravity of writing “Between the World and Me” as a letter to his teenage son. In one of the most memorable passages Coates describes an encounter with a white woman, who pushed his, then 5-year-old, son out of the way in her rush to get off an escalator. Reading this, I gasped in horror and despair, because when you feel powerless to protect your own child, you, his sole provider and defender, his everything, what is there that’s left but the undeniable truth that they are as vulnerable to a racist, violent, and unjust world as you always knew you were. When the hopes of shielding them from the hate are thoroughly shattered, however, another hope must come along - a hope that they are more than strong to face whatever the world throws at them, and in this Coates' counsel is best.

 

Royal Oak Book Club - May event!

Event: Royal Oak Book Club
Date: May 21, 2017
Time: 4:30 - 6:30 PM ****NOTE NEW TIME****
Location: Amici's Pizza, 3249 12 Mile Rd, Berkley, Michigan 48072
Cost: Everyone pays for themselves
Parking: Free - located behind the restaurant
Point of contact: Irina Sullivan irina.n.sullivan@gmail.com

Other info:
Discussing "Pound Foolish: Exposing the Dark Side of the Personal Finance Industry" by Helaine Olen (book selection by Lisa Purvis) 

Review of My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem
Review by Heather Gruenewald 
Gloria Steinem has been a feminist icon for decades. However, I felt like I did not know anything about her personally and wanted to learn more about how she wound up where she is today. This autobiography helps to fill those gaps. It is easier to read than your stereotypical biography because it is more focused on her personal philosophy than itemizing every noteworthy date, so it does not feel like you are reading her resume. I found the section in which she discusses planning a women's conference very moving. She shows that you can hold independent views from another person but still work together for a common cause. I also liked her describing her friend and their friendship, and how her friend has influenced her life. We all have friends who have positively altered the course of our lives for the better, and she very eloquently drove that point home.

Girls' Engineering Exploration 2017 - Last Call for Volunteers

Last Call For Volunteers!!

The Society of Women in Engineering (SWE) Detroit Section is sponsoring their annual Girls' Engineering Exploration (GEE) Event on Saturday, March 4, 2017 and needs your help!

 

This full-day of interactive workshops and demonstrations will be held at the Michigan Science Center and aims to expose 4th-6th grade girls to various fields of engineering and technology.

There is one of two ways you can support...

1. GEE Mentor...the girls will be divided into groups of 4-5 to facilitate their engagement as well as maximize their workshop experience.  Each GEE Mentor is responsible for monitoring the group throughout the day, in addition to encouraging participation and enthusiasm as the girls learn about engineering. Mentors must be able commit to being present for the full event from 8AM - 4PM.

2. Flex-Volunteer...whether you have a few hours to spare or an entire day to share, flex-volunteering roles support and maintain the GEE event flow throughout the day.  Flex-ers help with registration check-in, coat check, lunch distribution, and room set-up/break-down, to name a few.  Flex-ers can opt to be present for any of the three time slots: the full day (8AM - 4PM), morning (8AM - 12PM), or afternoon (12PM - 4PM).

If you are interested in volunteering in either of these capacities, please contact Samantha Kallman (smkallma@mtu.edu) and Morgan Neal (morgan.neal@smithgroupjjr.com) with your complete name, contact information, preferred time of availability and which way you prefer to volunteer by February 22nd.

Royal Oak Book Club - February 2017

Event: Royal Oak Book Club **Find Us on Facebook! @ SWE-D Royal Oak Book Club**
Date: Sunday, February 19, 2017
Time: 4:00 - 6:00 PM
Location: Vinotecca, 417 S Main St, Royal Oak, Michigan 48067
Cost: Everyone pays for themselves
Parking: Free - located behind the restaurant
Point of contact: Irina Sullivan irina.n.sullivan@gmail.com

Other info:
Discussing "The Smart One" by Jennifer Close

Review of "Girl On The Train" by Paula Hawkins 

Reviewed by Taylor Browne

Paula Hawkins’s debut thriller was recommended to me since I enjoyed Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I appreciated Hawkins having an imperfect female protagonist. As well as addressing taboo subjects such as miscarriages and mental health. Her character Rachel is introduced to the reader as an alcoholic who rides the train daily to avoid her troubles. She rides past her old neighborhood and the house she used to share with her ex-husband. One day she wakes up with injuries from the night before but she can’t remember anything. Later that day she learns that a murder occurred in her old neighborhood. She remembers being there at the time but nothing due to the fact that she was once again drunk that night. The novel slowly unravels how Rachel got to her current state, her role in the murder, and she herself is the murderer. At times I think she goes a little too far for my liking. But overall the novel entertained me from beginning to end.

SWE-D High School Scholarship Application Judging

Volunteers are needed to help read SWE-D scholarship applications.  Help us award our outstanding high school girls as they start their engineering education!  

Times listed are open window.  Even if you can only make it for one hour, come and read a few applications.  

If you would like to participate, but are unable to attend in person, contact Lisa and you can read some applications on your own time!

Event: SWE-D High School Scholarship Application Judging Events
Dates: March 15, 2017 and March 21, 2017
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 PM (both dates)
Location:

March 15 - Panera Bread, 823 E. Big Beaver Road, Troy, MI 48083

March 21 - Panera Bread, 37091 W 6 Mile Rd, Livonia, MI 48152 (new location!)

Parking: Parking lot
Point of contact: Lisa Purvis lisa.c.purvis@gmail.com

RSVP: 2 days prior

SWE Next Mentor Needed at Birmingham Roper School

SWE Next (http://societyofwomenengineers.swe.org/swenext) is a program allowing Students under the age of 18 to be involved with the Society of Women Engineers.   The SWENext program is expanding to include the formation of clubs.  This is a very new program, and SWE as a whole currently has just 33 clubs across the country.  Every club must have a SWE member as an adviser.

 

An adviser is needed for a club at the Roeper School (https://www.roeper.org/) located in Birmingham (1051 Oakland Ave, Birmingham, MI 48009).  This would entail receiving correspondence each time the chapter meets and commenting on the perceived status of the group, as well as offering insights on how to improve programming and the group's overall function.

 

This would be a minimum time commitment but have a great impact on guiding the SWE Next group on engineering and STEM.  If you are interested, please email Jessica Swan (current SWE Detroit President) at jlengwis@gmail.com and she will get you in contact with the SWE Next group at Roper School.  Thanks!

Royal Oak Book Club - January 2017

Event: Royal Oak Book Club **Find Us on Facebook! @ SWE-D Royal Oak Book Club**
Date: January 22, 2017
Time: 4:00 - 6:00 PM
Location: Vinotecca, 417 S Main St, Royal Oak, Michigan 48067 
Cost: Everyone pays for themselves
Parking: Free - located behind the restaurant
Point of contact: Irina Sullivan irina.n.sullivan@gmail.com

Other info:
Discussing "Lafayette In The Somewhat United States" by Sarah Vowell 

Royal Oak Book Club - September

Event: Royal Oak Book Club - Find Us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/groups/SWEDROBookClub/

Date: Sunday, September 18, 2016

Time: 4:00 - 6:00 PM

Location: Vinotecca, 417 S Main St, Royal Oak, MI 48067 
Cost: Everyone pays for themselves
Parking: Free on Sundays
Point of contact: Irina Sullivan irina.n.sullivan@gmail.com

Other info:
Discussing My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem 

Review of The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan 
Review by Irina Sullivan

In-brief: A feminist classic (and deservedly so!), the book is a must-read, however, limitations apply.

When I recommended this classic work for us to read as a group I didn't do it because I thought it would be specifically relevant to the issues still plaguing women in the workplace and at home, nor because I thought it would stir much controversy within or among us. That, however, is exactly what I got. Just about everyone familiar with the title knows that the gist of this book first published in 1963 is a call for a change to the 1950's American model of womanhood that a woman's only rightful place is at home, doing housecleaning, and raising children. As many of us at the club are working mothers, we could hardly disagree, but I did find Friedan's tone and explanation far more unyielding and uncompromising than any logic may permit. Despite the many joys and sorrows of dividing my life between a home and a career, I wouldn't agree with Friedan that a stay-at-home mother, for instance, infantilizes her son, makes him a homosexual, causes her children to become autistic, promiscuous, or bored. While these uninformed assertions have long been discredited by others and are not central to the thesis of the book, today we understand the human experience far better than to view at-home parenting as unable to provide a wholesome upbringing. And may be this realization is for the better. Especially because, in all the ways a female experience of the 50's and 60's, described so eloquently by Friedan, still resonates with us, we have this and other hard-won progress to claim in the 50 years that passed.