Washington Square Spring/Summer 2018: The movement toward equity

I was delighted to contribute to the spring/summer 2018 issue of Washington Square, San Jose State University's alumni magazine. The theme this spring was moving toward equity. San Jose State has quite the legacy of social justice and it was an honor to explore some of these topics with notable alumni, faculty and community members. I enjoyed writing a feature on SJSU's first Olympian, Margaret Jenkins, as well as profiles of alumna and speech pathologist Dr. Pamela Wiley, who developed a program that pairs young men with autism with law enforcement. I also learned a lot from SJSU Physics and Astronomy Professor Peter Beyersdorf, whose research on black holes contributed to a major discovery in 2015. Dr. Marilyn Easter of SJSU's Lucas College and Graduate School of Business has developed an amazing program for undergrads called Generation of Aspirational Learners--it was a pleasure chatting with her as well.

Other notable features written by fellow contributors include a great piece on the Silicon Valley housing crisis and an exploration of the impact of movements such as #MeToo, #TimesUp, #BlackLivesMatter and #NeverAgain.

I learn from every issue we create and from every person I interview. I hope their stories inspire.

Women in sport

This year I've enjoyed the incredible privilege of interviewing a number of woman athletes who graduated from San Jose State University. Over the past several months I have sought out women of different generations who have competed at the collegiate, national, Olympic and professional levels--women who have created opportunities for subsequent generations before, during and after the passage of Title IX. I'm proud to share their stories:

Margaret Jenkins, '25 Education, threw discus in the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam as a member of the first women's track and field team representing the United States. She pitched for her high school baseball team, which lost only one game, participated in two Olympic Games, collected more than 100 medals throughout her career and was inducted into three halls of fame before her death in 1996 at age 92. Read her story here.

"Small acts of defiance make change," says Carolyn Lewis, '70 Kinesiology, '70 Teaching Credential. The four-sport collegiate athlete became a coach and athletics administrator and helped create SJSU's Gender Equity Plan. Read her story here.

Record-setting gymnast Thomasina Wallace, '12 Kinesiology, says "20 percent of the sport is talent and 80 percent is how mentally prepared are you to perform your routines while others are judging you." Read her story here.

SJSU alumna and LPGA golfer Tracy Hanson supports athletes who face significant obstacles, including abuse and performance acceptance, in their pursuit of sport. Read her story here.

"To see women perform at high levels, and to hear those women speak and present themselves, I think changes a lot of people's opinions and outlook on women," says Gay MacLellan, '83 MA Kinesiology. Read her story here.

"Sport is a great equalizer," says Dana Dormann, '90 Finance. Now associate head coach of SJSU's women's golf team, Dormann competed on the team that took Spartan golf to victory in the 1987 NCAA Championships. Read her story here. 

"I came from a family that didn't put any boundaries on gender," says two-time Olympic medalist swimmer Lynn Vidali Gautschi '76 Kinesiology, '77 Teaching Credential. "I had no idea that only 25 percent of women in the United States were in sports at that time. Read her story here.

Olympic medalist Marti Malloy, '10 Advertising, '15 MS Mass Communications, says training with legendary judo coach and @SJSU alumnus Yoshihiro Uchida gave herperspective on social justice in athletics -- and helped her dismiss stereotypes about women in sports. Read her story here.

Champion fencer Stacey Johnson, '80 Public Relations, has made it her mission to “speak actively for women.” As the first woman president to hold a four-year term as president of the U.S. Fencing Association, it is thanks in part to her efforts that women fencers could finally compete in all three disciplines of the sport at the Olympic level. Read her story here.

I feel incredibly lucky to meet and learn from such talented and hardworking individuals here at San Jose State. I hope this is just the beginning!