Michael H. Feldman '67 Social Justice Day

Each spring, CSW holds an annual school-wide event known as the Michael H. Feldman Social Justice Day. Formerly known as Law Day, the event was established in 1975 by Shirley and Roger Feldman in memory of their son, Michael Feldman ’67. The event explores various viewpoints on important legal and social issues of the day, creating opportunities for student discussion and debate, as well as guest speakers and presentations. 

Reproductive Justice

Reproductive justice is an important contemporary issue for emerging young adults to explore as we are witnessing more and more states debating legislation that impacts reproductive rights. Through this program, we hope to explore the implications of this legislation, dispel misconceptions, spread awareness about, and destigmatize aspects of reproductive health, while also examining disparities across populations.

Students will be able to choose workshops to attend. Workshops will be led by individuals and organizations in the medical, public health, education, and advocacy fields. Some of the topics include: raising awareness of our biological reproductive systems, learning about disparities in reproductive health care across populations, exploring unethical medical practices like the involuntary sterilization of women, the importance of sex education, disparities in access to safe abortions, and more.

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Ruth E. Berggren, M.D.

The daughter of public health physicians, Ruth spent her childhood in Haiti, where she grew up on the grounds of the Albert Schweitzer Hospital, speaking French and Creole. She studied biology and humanities at Oberlin College, later attending Harvard Medical School and training at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Now a medical school professor and infectious disease specialist, Ruth has extensive experience in clinical AIDS and viral hepatitis care and research, as well as HIV care in resource-limited settings ranging from Haiti to post-Katrina New Orleans. As an educator, she creates transformational learning opportunities through community engagement for health equity, globally and locally. She has collaborated in South Texas, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Ethiopia and Dominican Republic to advance health equity working with students, community health workers, and community health clubs.


Presenters

List of 8 items.

  • Fabienne Eliacin

    Fabienne Eliacin is a parent advocate and a mother of a disabled teenager who is dedicated to ensuring that all children have access to a holistic, high-quality, reading access, mentally prepared and equitable education experience. Through her own experience and in depth research on the causes and consequences of education inequality in urban school communities, I understood that parents need to be in the center and to learn about this issue and to work alongside education stakeholders in order to truly make change. Fabienne is one of the Program Coordinator in Boston for LYM and has been a key leader to make sure every young person, schools and community centers have access to free organic products available and to flow through life unapologetically and to be seen and heard in every space.

  • Jackson Fuller

    Jackson Fuller is a Program Coordinator at Love Your Menses dedicated to improving health outcomes for underserved communities, With his background in school health, opioid prevention, and HIV/AIDS awareness, Jackson supports Love Your Menses's mission through research and health education.

  • Meredith Mikell

    CSW Faculty Meredith Mikell is a science teacher, dorm parent, and cross country coach at CSW. She has been teaching and coaching for 18 years, and is a competitive athlete (marathon runner). Meredith is part of a sub-elite running team sponsored by the women-run running apparel company, Oiselle, and in 2015 she published a book on competitive running post-pregnancy called Faster After Baby.

  • Salma Mohamed

    Love Your Menses

    Salma Mohamed MPA is a trained Full-Spectrum Doula and Sexual & Reproductive Health Researcher. Currently, she is Program Manager with Love Your Menses where she supports the organization's program development and coordination. She earned a BA in Public Health & Policy and an MPA with a concentration in Maternal & Child Health from Brown University and Brown's Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.

  • Ilyssa Otto

    lIyssa Otto is a public health professional, specializing in Global Reproductive Health and Maternal and Child Health. She received her B.A in International Studies with concentrations in Global Health and Latin America from Saint Louis University Madrid. She is obtaining her MPH from Boston University School of Public Health and currently works as the Global Menstrual Equity Research coordinator for Love Your Menses. She is passionate about addressing health inequities in LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities and helping those who live in low resource settings  gain access to healthcare around the globe.

  • Dr. Stephanie Ros

    Dr. Stephanie Ros is a Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. Her professional interests include serving pregnant patients with a variety of high risk conditions including recurrent miscarriage or stillbirth, maternal medical complications, and the study of genetics. She is also highly involved in medical education, and is currently the Obstetrics and Gynecology residency program director at USF. She is involved in multiple national committees including the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology Committee on Obstetric Practice, which writes the guidelines by which obstetric providers in the US practice. Dr. Ros is Cuban-American, and providing high quality medical care to the Latinx population is a passion she has always pursued. Before medical school, she was a high school biology teacher and cheerleading coach. 

  • Dr. Bridgette Wamakima

    Dr. Wamakima is a fourth year OB/GYN resident at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard Teaching Hospital. She completed her undergraduate at Rutgers University and medical school at University of Southern California. She is passionate about Black Maternal Health and plans to complete a fellowship in Global Women's Health at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

  • Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts

    Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts (PPLM) is a nonprofit with health care centers and educational offerings across Massachusetts. Our mission is to ensure every person in the state has access to sexual and reproductive health care and education no matter who they are, where they live, or who they love. Our work is informed by research, powered by advocacy, and conducted with compassion and respect. The Get Real Teen Council (GRTC), a program of PPLM, empowers teenagers to educate their peers, families, and communities about human sexuality and healthy decision making and inspires teens to use their voices to advocate for just and positive sexual attitudes and policies.  The vision of the GRTC is to provide accurate, unbiased, and useful sexuality education; to end ignorance, promote acceptance, and improve communication between teens and the important people in their lives. 

    Presenters:
    Fraser Kim is a senior at Cambridge School of Weston and a first year GRTC member.

    Poppy Needham is a senior at Newton North High School and a second year GRTC member.

    Sasha Fine is a senior at Newton South High School and a first year GRTC member.

    Naomi Goldstein is a senior at Newton North High School and a first year GRTC member.

    Leigh Carroll is the Manager of Youth Education at Planned Parenthood League of MA and oversees all aspects of youth sexuality education programming.

    Rachel Davis is the Metro Boston based Get Real Educator at Planned Parenthood League of MA and facilitates the Get Real Teen Council.

Workshop Descriptions

Keynote Address: Whose bodies, whose laws, whose health? - Reproductive justice from a global health perspective.
Dr. Ruth Berggren

In the keynote presentation I will give an overview of trends and root causes of maternal mortality around the world, with individual stories, as well as examples of programs in countries that are seeing improvements. We will compare these positive examples to countries and populations that are seeing declines in maternal health and examine the root causes as well as downstream consequences on people's lives and communities.
Morning and Afternoon Workshops
From Awareness to Advocacy: How Can We Share Our Voices?
Dr. Ruth Berggren
In the workshop, we will establish a safe-space environment for participatory learning. A text to screen application may be employed, in which individuals use their smartphones to respond to prompts  (anonymously if they so desire), through which we will explore our collective and individual responses to topics in the keynote address. Using an exercise called SHOWED, we will elicit the participants' creative ideas to explore diverse opportunities for Reproductive Justice Advocacy.
Consequences of the Dobbs Decision In the Care of Pregnant Patients
 Dr. Stephanie Ros
 In this workshop we will discuss ways in which the Dobbs decision has altered typical medical care for pregnant patients, highlight impact on patients from diverse backgrounds/emphasize disparities, and allow opportunity for questions from attendees.
Beyond Title IX: Reproductive Justice for Female Athletes
Meredith Mikell
Female athletes, in particular endurance athletes, accept a fundamental amount of gender-based injustice by participating in competitive sport. Even though Title IX made it possible for women and girls to have equal access to athletic opportunities as men and boys, it has not made athletic participation equal regarding the cost to women's health, with dire long-term consequences. This presentation will address the key areas in which female athletes are forced to compromise their long-term physical and reproductive health, encouraged into eating disorders to maintain a cultural aesthetic that satisfies "the male gaze", and financially punished for giving birth.
Black Maternal Health
Dr. Bridgette Wamakima 
Join Dr. Wamakima for an in-depth Discussion on Health Disparities, Social Determinants of Health, Maternal Mortality and Reproductive Justice.
Abortion Access Post-Roe
Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts (PPLM) 
The Abortion Access Post-Roe workshop addresses the landscape of abortion access in the USA after the Dobbs Decision, the Supreme Court decision that overturned federal protection for abortion care. Participants will learn what these Supreme Court decisions mean and they will learn about barriers that stand in the way of people accessing abortion care. Participants will also develop their understanding of how abortion access is related to oppression and power as well as identify steps they can take to reduce barriers around abortion care.
IN•clued for Youth
Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts (PPLM) 
The IN•clued Program addresses the unjust sexual health outcomes for LGBTQ young people by providing accurate and nonjudgmental information about pregnancy and STI prevention options for members of the LGBTQ community. This program will help participants develop their understanding of the unique sexual and reproductive health risks LGBTQ people can experience, why it is important to stay sexually healthy, and what actions they can take to advocate for their own sexual healthcare needs or those of another person as an ally/coconspirator.
Men For Menstruation
Love Your Menses
Men For Menstruation is a course for men and non menstruators to help them better understand menstruation, get access to tangible resources and gain confidence to support menstruators in their lives and break the period taboo. Participants will learn the basics of menstruation and menstrual hygiene management, understand the importance of addressing period poverty and other forms of period trauma, and participate in group discussions and activities to practice how to effectively communicate and support people in their lives who have periods. At the end of the training, participants will have the knowledge and skills they need to support menstruators and feel comfortable sharing information about menstruation with others.
Menstrual Equity 101 
Love Your Menses
Menstrual Equity 101 is a course designed to cover everything about menstrual equity. Menstruation is increasingly recognized as an issue in domestic and global public health. Menstrual cycles have not stopped during the coronavirus pandemic. In fact, period poverty — the inability to afford menstrual products — has increased as job insecurity, homelessness, and food insecurity continue to rise. There is a growing menstrual equity movement to not only end period poverty but to address menstruation education and stigma, and to ensure that people have access to health care resources, empowering a generation of unapologetic menstruators. Participants will learn the basics of reproductive health (specifically menstruation and menstrual hygiene management), understand the importance of addressing period poverty and other forms of period trauma, examine the existing methods of menstrual hygiene management and identify tools for supporting youth and adults who menstruate. At the end of the training, participants will have the knowledge to address period taboos and be empowered to make a difference in the lives of those who menstruate.
Period. End of Sentence
In rural India, where the stigma of menstruation persists, women make low-cost sanitary pads on a new machine and stride toward financial independence. This film from director Rayka Zehtabchi and producer Melissa Berton won an Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject.
The Racial Politics of Abortion
Acclaimed filmmaker Dawn Porter's intimate and personal view of the often-overlooked stories of Black women who seek out reproductive services in America. This documentary gives a snapshot into the lives of Black healthcare providers, mothers and pro-choice and pro-life activists and shows how laws that restrict abortion access impact Black women and their families.
The Philippines' Baby Factory 
They call it the "baby factory". At the Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in the Philippines' capital, Manila, an infant is born every 12 minutes. Many of the new mothers are teenagers, some just 13. This devoutly Catholic nation, where abortion is illegal, is the only Asian country where teenage pregnancy has increased in the last two decades. Authorities say they want to reduce the birth rate, but the fight to make contraception readily available has been plagued by setbacks. 101 East investigates why children are having babies in the Philippines and meets some of the country's youngest mothers.
What It’s Like To Have A Second-Trimester Abortion
In May 2019, Georgia passed its version of a “heartbeat bill,” legislation that bans abortion after six weeks of gestation. The bill — like other anti-abortion bills that cleared statehouses across the South and the Midwest this year — sparked protests, condemnation from doctors and advocates, and legal challenges. But for some women in Georgia, the abortion debate hasn’t included a key voice: women who have undergone the procedure themselves.
Women Are Being Sterilized in American Prisons
Eugenics is a concept so universally despised it is hard to imagine its existence in the Western world. But in California the forced sterilization of women in prisons is a terrifying, cruel reality.

Photos

Workshops

  • Abortion Access Post-Roe
  • Black Maternal Health
  • Consequences of the Dobbs decision
  • From Awareness to Advocacy: How Can We Share Our Voices?
  • IN•clued for Youth
  • Men for Menstruation
  • Menstrual Equity 101
  • Reproductive Justice for Female Athletes
  • Period. End of Sentence
  • The Philippines Baby Factory 
  • The Racial Politics of Abortion
  • Women Are Being Sterilized In American Prisons

Schedule

8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. A Block
10:15 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Keynote
11:15 a.m. - 12:00  p.m. Morning Workshop
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.  Lunch
1:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. Afternoon Workshop
2:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Advisory debrief

Continued Reading

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CSW's Library created a special display in support of this year's Social Justice Day, with recommended books for students interested in continuing their learning after the event concludes. 

Click here to take a look at the online collection!
45 Georgian Road | Weston, MA 02493 | 781-642-8600

The Cambridge School of Weston is a progressive high school for day and boarding students in grades 9–12 and PG. CSW's mission is to provide a progressive education that emphasizes deep learning, meaningful relationships, and a dynamic program that inspires students to discover who they are and what their contribution is to their school, their community and the world.