The status of Asian women, Hurricane Katrina and breast cancer were the topics discussed by a diverse panel of campus professor, a hurricane survivor and a community organizer.

Around 22 people attended the meeting in the HSS building in room 362 to hear the thoughts of Assistant Professor of Economics Anoshua Chaudhuri, C.C. Campbell-Rock, the editor of SF Bay View National Black Newspaper, and Pauli Ojea, a member of Breast Cancer Action (BCA). The event, which started at 10 a.m., served as the third installment of the 7th Annual Public Lecture Series in honor of Women’s History Month.

“Each of these women gave a sense of community and connection,” said Melanni Bomersback, 22, international relations senior.

Chaudhuri led the panel discussion, focusing on the plight of Asian women.

According to Chaudhuri, the area of social sciences have been disturbed for the last decade that 60 million women are missing from China, India, and other Asian countries, meaning there are less than 100 million women in the world than there should be. Factors, such as abortion, female genocide, post-natal neglect, discrimination, and production patterns may serve as an explanation for the predicament of Asian women, she added, including an in-depth look at the sex ratios within these countries.

She also signified a woman's role as compared to a man's in Asia.

“Boys in these countries are needed to work the fields while girls aren’t needed for that,” Chaudhuri said. “Boys come back, bringing home resources whereas girls get married and leave the household, not bringing anything in.”

She said that female worth can be improved by economic status and through paid employment.

Campbell-Rock, a Katrina survivor, addressed the reconstruction of New Orleans by the Bring New Orleans Back Commission (BNOBC). She acknowledged their efforts, questioned their possible, greedy intentions.

“I went to one of their meetings and was disturbed,” Campbell-Rock said. “I saw people like bankers, political operatives, a former graduate-activist who sold out and out of nowhere, worked under a health clinic, and Halliburton.”

According to Campbell-Rock, the BNOBC are fixing areas with little or no flood damage concentrating on downtown and commercial areas. They want to create more “green space” or public-use open spaces that could also hold water after heavy flooding, she said.

“But what about the people who have houses there and want to go home?” asked Campbell-Rock.

She also mentioned the Bayview-Hunters Point Redevelopment and how their planning is similar to New Orleans. She advised the audience to get proactive and organize press conferences to inform how people should take precaution during natural disasters in San Francisco.

Ojea closed out the night, reminding women the severity of breast cancer and its connection to the environment. She is associated with the BCA, which is a national grassroots education and advocacy organization located in San Francisco.

Students found the meeting as a whole to be relevant to women's issues.

“Each one’s (speaker) facts were effective," said Yolanda Deleon, 33, anthropology major.

Moderator, Kathryn Johnson, revealed the purpose of such lectures.

“I guess the key (motive of each speaker) is the desire to both compliment the problems and present solutions,” said Johnson, a coordinator for Special Projects, college of Behavioral and Social Sciences.

There will be two more panels, "Women Resisting Militarism and Violence," on March 22 in room 362 of the HSS building, and "Women, Power and Representation," on March 29 in room 133 of the Humanities building.

More information on the BCA at www.bcaction.org/
For more information on the BNOBC, visit www.bringneworleansback.org/