ON CAMPUS: NATIONAL DENIM DAY, TREE DEDICATION, ETHNIC NOTIONS, ADVERTISING AND BODY IMAGE, HALLOWEEN PARTY IN GUILD

Dressing Down for the Cure. On Friday, Oct. 22, a $5 donation to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation will entitle staff to wear jeans to the office. Since 1996, Bryn Mawr College has raised more than $5, 000 in aid for the Foundation through participation in Denim Day. If you are interested in participating, please send a $5 check (payable to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation) or bring cash to Human Resources. You will also be given a pink ribbon to wear. Additionally, community members who participate receive a coupon for a 20-ounce fountain soda from Uncommon Grounds. Contact Deborah Harley at x5261 for more information.

Tree and Bench to Memorialize GSSWSR Professor. On Monday, Oct. 25, the Bryn Mawr Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research will dedicate an oak sapling and a bench in honor of Jean Haring, a professor at the Graduate School from 1959 to 1976 and an accomplished scholar of psychology. The tree and the bench, which will be placed in front of the Graduate School, are funded by Barbara Grossman, a lifelong friend and protégé of Haring's. The dedication will take place at 10 a.m. Contact socialwork@brynmawr.edu for further information.

Critical Media Literacy Series Opens with Ethnic Notions. A new film series sponsored by the Office of Intercultural Affairs will open Wednesday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m at the Multicultural Center, with the Emmy-winning documentary Ethnic Notions, which traces the history of "the deep-rooted stereotypes that have fueled anti-black prejudice," says Director of Intercultural Affairs Christopher MacDonald-Dennis. MacDonald-Dennis hopes the film will provide some insight into a controversy that arose last year when guests at a Halloween party on campus appeared in costumes that offended many members of the community.

Directed by Marlon Riggs and narrated by Esther Rolle, Ethnic Notions investigates and chronicles stereotypes of African Americans in film, cartoons, songs, literature, advertisements and popular consciousness, tracing pop-culture representations from the 1820s to the Civil Rights period. Commentary by scholars probes the historical origins of these caricatures and their effect on race relations in the United States. The film challenges viewers to examine cultural representations with a critical eye.

According to MacDonald-Dennis, increasing awareness of the social and political issues raised by cultural representations is an overall goal of the series. "The old adage is right — knowledge is power — and without it, we are defenseless against the misinformation we receive every day," he says.

Body Image Council Presents Award-Winning Lecturer. The Bryn Mawr Body Image Councill will present a talk by Jean Kilbourne, titled "Slim Hopes: Advertising, Relationships and the Obsession with Thinness," on Wednesday, Oct. 27, at 8 p.m. in Thomas Great Hall. Kilbourne, a visiting research scholar at the Wellesley Centers for Women, is the author of Killing Us Softly, a 2000 documentary about gender in advertising that was shown last February as part of Eating Disorders and Body Image Awareness Month. The National Association of Campus Activities has twice awarded her the title "Lecturer of the Year." Her latest book, Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel, won the Distinguished Publication Award from the Association for Women in Psychology.

Kilbourne's talk is offered by the BIC as "a passionate and witty presentation on how advertisers undermine female self-esteem and exploit disconnection in women's lives and then offer food as a route to connection and even sometimes as a substitute for relationships." This free event is open to all students and faculty as well as the general public. Contact mollyheart@aol.com for more information.

Guild Ghouls Open Doors. Information Services will hold its annual open house and Halloween party in Guild on Thursday, Oct. 28, from 3 to 5 p.m. Costumes and families are encouraged but not required. The hosts promise friends, games, treats and tricks.

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