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TechnographThe anatomy of true cooperation
By Margie Mathewson, Brenda Kay Zylstra
Posted: 5/1/08 Section: Opinion Columns
A few weeks ago, Brenda Kay Zylstra wrote a column explaining the Pregnancy Resource Forum, a project initiated by the Illini Collegians for Life (ICFL) and co-sponsored by UIUC campus National Organization for Women (NOW). Zylstra and Margie Mathewson, NOW's President, discuss what they learned from this improbable pairing.
Brenda: From the start, my group wanted a broad spectrum of campus units and organizations. We wanted to expand beyond the typical pro-life allies of Republicans, Catholics and Evangelicals. This project has a much broader scope. Furthermore, a genuine pro-life philosophy should necessarily entail caring for quality of life beyond birth. In my introductory e-mail to Margie, I asked for her and NOW's help as ICFL strove to make real progress on this campus for women, an underlying premise of both groups' philosophies.
Margie: When I received Brenda's e-mail, I discussed the possibility of working with ICFL with the rest of my group and we agreed to let her come speak at one of our meetings on behalf of ICFL. Since it was my first semester as president, I was especially tentative about making sure we were upholding the ideals of NOW. We weren't initially certain this project fit those ideals. Furthermore, this is almost certainly the first time campus NOW has worked with any pro-life group.
BKZ: I came to a NOW meeting. I spoke for an awkward five minutes, tried to smile a lot, and got a lot of blank stares. On my way out, I called ICFL's president and told her I had bombed.
MM: While Brenda was at the meeting, I tried to remain neutral, because I very much wanted to work by consensus with my group. But when she left, I advocated for working with ICFL. Though we were still slightly wary, ultimately this project seemed to be a worthwhile endeavor and a rare opportunity in finding common ground. The fact that ICFL was reaching out to us, and that Brenda had the guts to come to our meeting really impressed us.
Brenda: From the start, my group wanted a broad spectrum of campus units and organizations. We wanted to expand beyond the typical pro-life allies of Republicans, Catholics and Evangelicals. This project has a much broader scope. Furthermore, a genuine pro-life philosophy should necessarily entail caring for quality of life beyond birth. In my introductory e-mail to Margie, I asked for her and NOW's help as ICFL strove to make real progress on this campus for women, an underlying premise of both groups' philosophies.
Margie: When I received Brenda's e-mail, I discussed the possibility of working with ICFL with the rest of my group and we agreed to let her come speak at one of our meetings on behalf of ICFL. Since it was my first semester as president, I was especially tentative about making sure we were upholding the ideals of NOW. We weren't initially certain this project fit those ideals. Furthermore, this is almost certainly the first time campus NOW has worked with any pro-life group.
BKZ: I came to a NOW meeting. I spoke for an awkward five minutes, tried to smile a lot, and got a lot of blank stares. On my way out, I called ICFL's president and told her I had bombed.
MM: While Brenda was at the meeting, I tried to remain neutral, because I very much wanted to work by consensus with my group. But when she left, I advocated for working with ICFL. Though we were still slightly wary, ultimately this project seemed to be a worthwhile endeavor and a rare opportunity in finding common ground. The fact that ICFL was reaching out to us, and that Brenda had the guts to come to our meeting really impressed us.
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wtym
posted 5/01/08 @ 5:35 AM CST
I love it!
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