R-Week 2013 in Review

R-Week aims to promote awareness of gender and sexuality issues on campus. The "R" in R-Week symbolizes diversity, as it includes "rainbow," "rights," "race," "religion," and "(child) rearing." I will first review our program of lectures, workshops, and other events this year, before discussing my outlook for future R-Weeks.

3 June (Mon.) "Our Human Rights: Gender, Sexuality, and Ethnicity Issues and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights"
Speaker: Yasuko Morooka, Research Fellow, Center for Asia Pacific Partnership, Osaka University of Economic and Law

ICU students are all familiar with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as they must sign a pledge of allegiance to it at their matriculation ceremony. We invited human rights lawyer and academic Yasuko Morooka to speak to students about the history and social significance of human rights. The lecture also touched on the escalating problem of hate-speech rallies in Shin Okubo and stimulated spirited debate among the participants.

4 June (Tues.) Bakayama Picnic!
Organizer: Sumposion, CGS
This picnic, initiated and organized by the LGBIT student club Sumposion, was blessed with uncharacteristically fine weather for the rainy season. It brought us all down from our study and research "towers" for a social afternoon on the liberating grass of our beloved campus hilltop, Bakayama. We even painted our own big rainbow flag, which particularly attracted the attention of other students passing by.

5 June (Wed.) "A Workable Workplace? The LGBT Workplace Environment Questionnaire"
Speaker: Maki Muraki, Nijiiro Diversity
Maki Muraki discussed Nijiiro Diversity's online questionnaire on the workplace environment, which received responses from over 1,000 LGBTs. It was a very meaningful lecture for ICU students who are thinking about their career paths and engaged in job hunting. The number of non-ICU participants also indicated the high level of interest in this topic.

6 June (Thurs.) Film Screening and Discussion of Coming Out: "Torch Song Trilogy"
(1988, New Line Cinema, USA, directed by Paul Bogart)
There was much lively discussion over tea and snacks after this popular film screening. We will be organizing more film screenings throughout the year.

7 June (Fri.) "Reach Out! Take Action! My Real Experience: Seeing ICU Topics through the Lens of Re:Bit Activities"
Workshop Presenters: Natsuki Ogawa and Chinami Sasahara, Re:Bit student organization, Waseda University
To present this two-part workshop, we invited members of Re:Bit, a student organization that organizes coming-of-age ceremonies for LGBTs and holds special classes at various educational institutions. They started the workshop with a talk on Re:Bit's activities over the years. This was followed by small group discussions to identify and explore gender and sexuality issues in the ICU context and propose potential solutions.

In addition, the ICU library held a book festival in conjunction with these R-Week events.

Finally, I wish to raise one topic in particular for future R-Weeks. CGS initially intended to use R-Week as a means of helping students to shape their awareness into ideas for concrete projects and carry them out. However, gathering student ideas was more difficult than we had expected this year, so most of the events were conceived and organized by CGS. For future R-Weeks, we plan to hold regular study groups in advance to gauge the needs and aspirations of ICU students and those who frequent CGS with a view toward event planning. We invite students to come to CGS about any issues in their student life. Let's think about what we can do and what we can change together!