A Name of One’s Own
“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” William Shakespeare in “Romeo and Juliet” (this blog post was written in October of 2019) Legally changing one’s name after divorce requires persistence, money, patience, and more hours of labor than I would like to count. Today, two years (to the day) after my divorce was…
crisis pregnancy centers (not what you think they are)
(collectively written by the WSS staff and cross posted from WSS Zine) January 22, 2023 would have been the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Instead of celebrating nationwide reproductive freedom, today, we’re using our Zine Thought of the Day space to raise awareness about crisis pregnancy centers, and a specific organization, brought to our…
we can’t separate the art from the artist
(cross posted from WSS Zine) This is the question we are grappling with in W*SS: Can we separate the art from the artist? As the semester comes to a close, on behalf of the office of Women*s Student Services, I want to issue an apology and invite further conversation as we work to continue on…
feminist leadership in action
(cross posted from WSS Zine) Last week, I was interviewed by two students in EAD 315, described on the website as “a three-credit, pass/no pass course for undergraduate students. Curriculum topics include leadership theories, leadership skills, self-awareness and efficacy, communication, diversity, interculturalism, ethics, teamwork, and group dynamics.” The two women who reached out to me,…
afraid of the dark
(Cross posted from WSS Zine) Children of all genders are socialized to be afraid of the dark from a very young age. How many of us slept with a nightlight on? At some point, little boys become teenagers and it’s no longer as socially acceptable to outwardly express this fear; no longer “okay” for them…
endings and beginnings
“What we call the beginning is often the end And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.” ~ T.S. Eliott (cross posted from the WSS Zine) I’ve been thinking a lot about the process of closure or the development of meaningful activities that mark the end…
celebrating pride
(cross posted from WSS Zine) While Pride is typically celebrated in June to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall riots –more on that below– at MSU, we celebrate Pride in April, given that most students are away from East Lansing in June. Pride provides us all with an opportunity to reflect upon the history that sparked the…
what is love?
(cross posted from WSS Zine) ICYMI, today is Valentine’s Day (queue the sappy love song and bring in the overpriced red roses). I don’t know about you, but the commercialism of holidays in the U.S. just feels like a lot of things to buy – just check out the “seasonal” section in any grocery store…
about heather
Heather is a higher ed administrator with a passion for social justice and feminist activism. Her career in student affairs spans over two decades and five different campuses. Heather currently serves as the Director of Women*s Student Services at Michigan State University. Also at MSU, she’s worked with My Spartan Story–a co-curricular record, New Student…
Follow My Blog
Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.
Heather Shea, Ph.D. 