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(cid:0)(cid:0) UUAARRTTEERRLLYY Summer 2001 | Volume 73 | No. 2 The College of New Rochelle Alumnae/i Magazine MMOOVVIINNGG BBEEYYOONNDD BBOORRDDEERRSS Alumnae/i Helping Others Around the World MOVING BEYOND BORDERS Alumnae/i Helping Others Around the World A t The College of We are proud to say New Rochelle, that our students have where our guide is clearly taken that mes- the wonderful example sage to heart and as set by our Ursuline alumnae/i are carrying found resses, it is easy out that devotion to to understand why service in communities education-for-service in both the United is so deeply rooted in States and those far our mission. For nearly beyond its borders. a century, we have Within this issue, we encouraged our stu- hope to share with our dents to not just readers the varied accept the world as it experiences and per- is but to delve deeper, sonal perspectives of question more, and our alumnae/i as they stand up for what they commit their lives to believe in. And most providing service of all, we have urged around the world. From them to put their val- Mexico, to Bolivia, to ues into action by the Dominican Re - making a difference public, to Guyana, to in the lives of others. Africa, the alumnae/i featured on the follow- ing pages are fitting examples of that devo- tion to service, but they are certainly far from alone among the College’s alumnae/i.... (cid:0) (cid:0) UARTERLY UARTERLY EDITORIAL STAFF Executive Editor Deborah W. Thomas Managing Editor Lenore Boytim Carpinelli SAS’89 The College of New Rochelle Alumnae/i Magazine Class Notes Editor Summer 2001 | Volume 73 | Number 2 Irene Villaverde Graphic Design Kim Barron/IKON Class Notes Design 2 Colleen Ho Contributing Writers COVER STORY Maureen Casey SAS’75 John Coyne In the Borderlands Kathleen Cravero Kristoffersson SAS’76 Nancy Quirk Keefe ’56 Laudelina Martinez ’63 Barbra Murray Photographs Johnna Paladino Roca SAS’88, GS’91 & ’94 8 John Vecchiolla EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Graduates in Service Eileen Gallagher Harrington ’62, Chair to the World Judith Balfe SNR’89, GS’91 Melody Barreiros SAS’00 Renee Blackwell SAS’95 Madeleine Blais ’69 Julie Connelly ’65 Eileen Denver ’64 Dr. Mimi Donius Dorothy Fleming GS’99 Kathleen Fredrick ’59 Mary Plitsas Hesdorffer SN’95 Nancy Quirk Keefe ’56 Patricia Keegan Abels SAS’73 Camille Marchetta ’62 13 Maria Mercader SAS’88 Martha Reddington SAS’76 Dying to Letters to the Editor and editorial correspondence should be directed to: Help the Lenore Boytim Carpinelli SAS’89 Poor (914) 654-5272 E-mail: [email protected] Class Notes Columns and correspondence should be directed to: Irene Villaverde (914) 654-5235 E-mail: [email protected] 10 DEPARTMENTS What They Did 15 for Their Country CNR Alumnae in Along Castle Place the Peace Corps 16 23 Alumnae/i Branching Out with SNR College 2001 25 Rejuvenating Class Spirit On the Student Scene 26 From the Board Room 14 27 Leading the Way Alumnae/i News in Service 28 The Ursulines Alumnae/i on the Move 14 Cover: A maquiladoraworker’s child in the doorway of her home in Matamoros, Mexico. Though a blanket serves as the door to the house, her family is luckier (follows page) than most because the house is made of wood instead of cardboard. Photo by Class Notes Marie Triller, courtesy of the NYS Labor-Religion Coalition. Y R O By Maureen Casey SAS’75 T S R E V O C II NN TT HH EE T Ten years ago, globalization was touted as a sure way to bring the world together. I remember he conversations become hushed as we drive through neighbor- the word being invoked as a utopia. hoods with rutted dirt streets Doing away with frontiers to benefit markets, the argument went, would level the playing lined with shacks made of cardboard field for countries. The concept of developing countries would eventually disappear because and scraps of wood. Children stare as the big white van pulls into someone’s these nations would have a chance to compete with developed countries under new rules. yard: the “gringos” have arrived for a Market place forces would bring prosperity to large segments of the population in these coun- prearranged lunch and meeting. tries (if they applied themselves) and our own economy would be stronger as a result. Shining eyes, soft hands, gentle small voices reach shyly to greet us. The shy- Most important, the lessons of democracy would be learned by a wider audience. In democ- ness on both sides lasts about three sec- ratizing the world, new freedoms, rights, and opportunities would be discovered by an ever onds—long enough for a gracious wel- increasing number of people. come to be offered and little ones to ask for hugs. Communication barriers melt; Well, globalization is here, and its reality is an account not wholly supported by its the universal language of laughter fills arguments. the air. We are ready once more to listen – Introduction by Laudelina Martinez ’63 and learn about life among the workers 2 QUARTERLY BB OO RR DD EE RR LL AA NN DD SS of Mexico’s maquiladoras, the factories actively pursued social and economic for export that line the Border. justice on issues important to the reli- My job takes me to the Border towns gious and labor communities. By 1997, of Matamoros and Rio Bravo, not far a major concern of mutual interest to from Texas, several times a year. As I both communities was the effect of clamber down from the van, I am treat- globalization on our local economies ed as an old friend, even a family mem- and on the lives of people around the ber by my godson Ivan’s parents. After world. As workers in the North as well eight trips, the Border region has as those in Mexico (and in other coun- become an extension of my heart and tries, too) lost ground, we wanted to home. find ways to build alliances to deal with My work on the Border started four the power of corporations. We decided years ago when I was asked by the New that our chief strategy would be to York State Labor-Religion Coalition to enable people to meet face to face across Maureen Casey (center with glasses) during the February develop an international focus as part of our borders and that we would do this 2001 delegation to Mexico’s border with Texas. Above: A maquiladora workers’ neighborhood, Colonia the organization’s mission. Since its in partnership with organizations that Cambio, in Matamoros, where there is no running inception in 1980, the Coalition has are familiar with the Border and its water, electricity, or other urban services. QUARTERLY 3 to 50 dollars a week. Food, housing, and transportation costs are comparable to those in Texas. In fact, workers, who can, cross the Border to shop for groceries in Texas where bargains may be found for chicken, toilet paper, rice, and beans. I have seen the effects of NAFTA on the millions of people migrating to the Border to work in the maquiladoras. They migrate because the rural economy is in even greater shambles than on the Border. NAFTA stipulated that Mexico eradicate many of its constitutional land reform laws, so small farmers are now finding it impossible to live on their tra- ditional plots of land. They are being squeezed out by agribusiness and food exports, and their children go hungry. Members of the group from the February 2001 delegation playing with the children of the maquiladora workers in I have seen what NAFTA and free Matamoros. trade has done to the environment. I realities. Our first delegation traveled to have walked in neighborhoods around a the Border in November 1997. canal that drains toxic effluent from a From the beginning, the keystone of nearby industrial park. I have choked on this work has been people meeting peo- the fumes of burning garbage while chil- ple, listening to each others’ stories, dren played nearby. I have seen children (cid:0) learning the facts about the North playing in streets paved with slag that is American Free Trade Agreement the byproduct of the production of I have been welcomed (NAFTA) and free trade, and building Freon (banned in the United States relationships over the long term. Our because of its effect on the ozone layer). into the homes of work- agenda is to put a human face on the Those children suffer from skin ail- global economy. The Coalition insists ments and complain that when it rains, ers who produce the that economic decisions include ethical the dust burns their skin. principles; that workers be treated with I have been welcomed into the things I use every day. dignity and receive a living wage; that homes of workers who produce the working conditions be as safe as possi- things I use every day. They live in dirt- They live in dirt-floored ble; and that the environment be pro- floored shacks made of cardboard and tected for present and future genera- wood shipping pallets in colonias(neigh- shacks made of card- tions. We have chosen to do this in a borhoods) with no sanitation, electrici- microcosmic way, in partnership with a ty, or potable water. I have left these board and wood shipping few communities in the northeastern homes in tears, full of anger that people corner of Mexico. have to live like this, and full of admira- pallets in colonias From my travels to the Border, I have tion for the women I have met there seen and learned many things. who work full-time and more in the fac- (neighborhoods) with no I have learned that NAFTA isn’t tories and maintain these modest homes working in the way it was presented. in dignity. During the debate about it (and now in I have been accepted as a friend and sanitation, electricity, or information about the Free Trade of the colleague by some remarkable people, Americas Agreement), the public was including women like: potable water. told that living standards on both sides Consuelo, who worked for a compa- of the Border would improve. Mexicans ny making paper bags for Hallmark: (cid:0) would have better paying jobs that 2500 bags a day, ten or twelve hours would enable them to purchase U.S.- each day, six days a week, in an unventi- made goods, and our economy would lated, hot warehouse where she endured benefit from increased trade. The sexual harassment and petty vindictive- Mexican workers I meet are not able to ness from managers. She earned $25 a purchase U.S. consumer goods. Their week until she and co-workers went on average wage at the maquiladoras is 35 strike a year ago to demand better pay 4QUARTERLY and conditions. The strike was broken Teachers (NYSUT) who pledged that in February 2001, but not Consuelo’s his union would help build that school. spirit or determination. She says, “I The brand new, clean rooms now hold don’t want my daughter to have to go classes for 150 children, kindergarten through this. I will continue to fight.” through sixth grade. Rosa and her Rosa, whose determination has built kitchen have produced wonderful meals a school. In presentations to several del- for our delegations and the whole com- egations, Rosa and other mothers in her munity. community explained that they worried Alma who led a community to trans- about their kids having to walk great form a garbage dump into a neighbor- distances, crossing dangerous highways hood. She has confronted state gover- to get to an overcrowded school. One nors and presidents to demand justice group who heard the story included the and title to the land for the poor people president of the New York State United (Continued on page 6) Parched land in the borderlands and no shoes are part of the way of life for the children of the maquiladora workers in Matamoros. NAFTA and Globalization When the North American Free However, with the successes of Labor Cooperation, each of the three Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was NAFTA and the opening of national countries may advance labor issues passed in 1993, the agreement between economies worldwide, critical global and monitor enforcement of labor the U.S., Canada, and Mexico set out issues have come to the fore, including laws in the trading partners. to open new opportunities for trade human rights, labor standards, and pro- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi and investment, bringing more bene- tecting the environment — issues that Annan has formed the U.N. Global fits to companies, workers, and con- though for the most part existed prior to Compact, a voluntary initiative ask- sumers across North America. Today, the growth of free trade, are, neverthe- ing businesses to take corporate though the debate among govern- less, in need of address. action to upgrade human rights, ment, corporate, and public groups “...Globalization is not an immutable labor, and environmental conditions continues, according to the Office of force, moving in one inevitable direc- and to bring the benefits of globaliza- the U.S. Trade Representative, NAFTA tion,” said U.N. Deputy Secretary- tion to more people worldwide. has been very successful. Trade be - General Louise Frèchette in an address Already, leading companies from tween the three countries has in - to the Ottawa Leadership Forum in every industry and every continent creased by 96 percent, and the em - February. “It is a human creation, and are supporting the Compact through ployment rates have risen dramatical- as such it is subject to human agency. their own initiatives. For example, ly – by 7 percent in the U.S., by 10 We may not be able to control it. But DaimlerChrysler has enacted a com- percent in Canada, and by 22 percent we can steer it and shape it into some- prehensive AIDS treatment plan for in Mexico. The U.S. manufacturing thing more beneficial, for more of the its South African employees and their sector has grown by over 66 percent world’s people, than it is today.” families and introduced a project to and agricultural exports to the two Several efforts are currently under- encourage small communities in the NAFTA markets by 48 percent. way to do just that. As part of NAFTA, Brazilian rain forest to farm their land NAFTA is also credited with keeping the Commission for Environmental in a sustainable manner. British the Mexican market open despite the Cooperation has undertaken numerous American Tobacco has launched a worst economic crisis in Mexico’s projects including the conservation of program to combat child labor and to modern history, cushioning the down- the Monarch butterfly and the initia- ensure that children under 16 receive turn, and helping speed the recovery. tion of a North American Biodiversity a proper education, and Ericsson has “NAFTA was always about much Information Network. Through Border undertaken a humanitarian offensive more than trade,” said U.S. Trade XXI, U.S./Mexico border states are to donate expertise and hardware to Representative Robert Zoellick in a developing strategic plans to address assist victims of disaster. speech to the Council of the Amer - degradation of the border environment, Clearly, just a beginning but vital, icas in May. “It was key to the politi- the EPA has committed $22 million to for in the words of Kofi Annan, “If we cal transformation of modernizing border tribes for waste water and water cannot make globalization work for Mexico. It is not a coincidence that system improve ments, and Mexico has all, in the end, it will work for none.” after NAFTA’s implementation, Mexico enacted and begun to enforce more – Lenore Carpinelli elected its first president from the oppo - stringent environmental laws. Under sition since that nation’s revolution.” the North American Agreement on QUARTERLY 5 In the Borderlands G L O B A L I Z A (Continued from page 5) who have no where else to live. And Marta, my partner in all this By Laudelina Martinez ’63 work, who introduced me to the Border On the plus side of globalization, one and teaches me about its culture, people, might count the way global communi- and reality. Marta began work in a facto- cation has indeed made the world seem ry when she was 15 and worked for var- smaller. Images generated in one part of ious companies for 25 years. She has a the globe can be seen immediately in vision of a world where workers are another part. Messaging is just as fast treated with dignity and people can join and ubiquitous. hands across borders and cultures to United States popular culture informs fight for that dignity together. Her pas- the culture of most countries. Among sion and dedication are awe-inspiring. Maura Welch, a sixth grader from Syracuse and one young people, there is increasingly a kind of several youngsters who took part in the delegation, I am learning every day. At CNR, I of cultural Esperanto. The iconography embraces one of the children of the maquiladora workers. majored in religious studies and was of jeans and sneakers has been en - inspired by the work of liberation the- trenched the world over. Coca-Cola is ologians and educators like Leonardo is the gift I am given every day in my found everywhere, even in the Amazon Boff and Paolo Freire. In one of those work on the Border, a gift I have been region. The use of English as the lingua life twists, my work on the Border and able to share with more than 100 people francais growing and so is rock and roll. “ethical economics” brings me back to so far. Yet globalization’s negative aspects those teachings. I see liberation happen- entangle this and other countries. Trade Delegations to the Border are planned for November ing on strike lines, in educational work- policies insisting on globalized struc- 2001 and February 2002. For further information shops, and in simple shared meals where tures, instead of leading to a better about them, or about the NYS Labor-Religion people celebrate their humanity. I am Coalition, contact Maureen Casey by phone at world, are creating conditions from seeing concrete examples of the way in 518-272-8275 or by email at maureenc@labor- which it may be difficult to recover. religion.org. which hope can triumph over the power Hard to ignore, these conditions include of money and fear. Maureen Casey, a CNR alumna, is the Director of the the hasty increase in injuries to the envi- A 16-year-old delegation member International Program for the NYS Labor-Religion ronment; the weakening of the ideas of wrote in her journal during her trip this Coalition, a human rights organization focusing on sovereignty and the nation-state; an workplace issues affecting low-wage workers and their February, “It’s only the first day, and my alarming vulnerability to pan-epidemics; families. Maureen also teaches at The Sage Colleges and life is already changed.” Mine too. That lives in Troy, NY. and a resurrection of work patterns we thought were close to being eliminated. Prominent among the patterns mak- ing a comeback are sweatshops, child labor, trafficking in humans and human parts, work in bondage, and slave labor. They are accompanied by an appalling array of subsidiary conditions such as low pay or no pay; physical and sexual abuse; 12 to 18 hour work-days; cram - ped conditions without temperature control or ventilation; tight restrictions regarding use of sanitary facilities, if there are any; exposure to and use of toxic materials casually sharing space with workers; a required work week of six or seven days; and dangerous machinery that maims or kills workers without recourse by them or their families. These circumstances have been well-document- ed by mainstream media such as The New York Timesand 60 Minutes. Just as they flourish in many parts of the world, so are these patterns making a strong reappearance in the United States. Maureen Casey (with microphone) has led nine trips to Mexico to enable people to meet face to face across our borders. 6QUARTERLY T I O N : E T H I C A L D I M E N S I O N S In this new world order, the labor of difference between that and its in-store interests of our country when one con- children and younger women is often price is a story of profits taken at three siders these facts: the increases in our preferred, for their size and small motor or four stops on the way. trade deficits, the trailing of wages coordination. I was astonished to hear a One of those who went on a delega- behind a median high in 1989, the speaker at a conference in Washington, tion organized by Maureen Casey for poverty of elderly women and children D.C., say that many medical instru- the New York State Labor-Religion (around 40% of Blacks and Hispanic ments are made by children in Pakistan. Coalition to Mexico’s border region children), the fragility of a system of Among other things, I knew about child with the U.S. tells that he was wearing self-determination when politically labor in rugs, soccer balls, and sneakers, pants with the brand of a manufacturer competing with big-monied interests, but not in medical instruments. Of who specializes in ads that longingly and the widening income inequality (in course, children’s pay, when there is any, look back to Long Island summer hous- the 1990’s, the top one percent grew in is minuscule. Since schooling is out of es of the 1920’s or manor houses in the after-tax income by 157% and incomes the question, they grow up illiterate; English style. The Mexican workers for the middle increased by 10%, while since medical attention is non-existent, immediately recognized the pants as Americans in the bottom one-fifth saw they may develop chronic conditions ones they had made. When told by the no gain). Even a popular business mag- associated with the work they do. Their wearer what he had paid for the pants, azine recently wrote that the global bodies and minds are used up by the the workers were dumb-struck: he had economy has not been good for individ- time they reach mid-adolescence. paid the equivalent of several weeks pay ual workers here and abroad. Employers and consumers gain from for any of them. In the final analysis, these considera- these children’s labor, but what do the The lure of cheap labor has pushed tions—economic, social, political—may children gain? the apparel industry, and others, to lead us to different conclusions about In the apparel industry in Mexico abandon the U.S. and move elsewhere. trade globalization. But, the fundamental and Central America, young women Continually seeking lower wage costs, test is in the moral sphere. Although a start working in their early teens. companies are involved in a process of prominent businessman says that all Because they are of child-bearing age, quickly moving from one country to business is “amoral,” how one makes their employers use intrusive physical another for cheaper labor. This process money is not a morally neutral activity. It tactics and intimidation to discourage has unleashed forces that destabilize involves making decisions that have pregnancies. By their early thirties, these developing countries as they compete effects beyond oneself. It is making women are spent. Sitting for most of the for multinationals with incentives that choices—sometimes small, sometimes day in front of a sewing machine takes may be at odds with the interests of large—informed by one’s values. Because its toll on the eyes, the back, the hands, their people and, ultimately, their own the labor patterns that trade globalization the spirit. This is, after all, a world with- sustainability. has reestablished are callous at best and out days of rest or vacations. They are In losing its manufacturing base, the harmful at worst, we must ask if we are dismissed, in this world without pen- U.S. is still unable to handle the result- going to accept labor conditions of sions or benefits, when their speed is ing labor shifts. Lots of service jobs lead enslavement or exploitation for the bene- gone or they become ill. Most of the nowhere and pay minimum wage, not fit of a high return on investment. major U.S. retailers and the most popu- enough to be self-sufficient. Few jobs My interest is not so much in disman- lar U.S. clothes brands will have benefit- provide skill growth in an industry. tling the concept of a shrinking world as ted from these women’s labor, but what Knowledge jobs have temporary or it is in ensuring that ethical dimensions benefit will these women take? independent contractor status. White are probed. How can ordinary individu- Around the world, a comparison of collar workers continue to be dispensa- als work to protect the human rights of wages in the apparel industry shows that ble with ongoing corporate layoffs and workers here and abroad? In a ground - one hour’s work is often less than a dol- mergers. Certain job categories are swell of a social movement on this issue, lar in pay. This is why, while most of the becoming deprofessionalized—physi- college and high school students are let- clothes we wore in the 1980’s were made cians, lawyers, nurses, teachers. ting the nation know that in building in the U.S., the majority of these goods The politicians’ drive for globalizing strong economies and communities, we now come from abroad. One might trade is not so much to strengthen U.S. must keep what’s right for workers at think that low wages elsewhere might social and economic sectors as it is for center stage. mean less expensive prices here, but that helping the trade interests of multina- is not the case, especially with major tionals, whose financial support gets Laudelina Martinez, a CNR alumna, owns the Martinez Gallery in Troy, NY, which specializes in brands. An item such as a $150 shirt or politicians elected. The short-term goals Latino and Latin American art. Laudelina has a con- a $100 pair of sneakers may have cost at of the multinationals and politicians sulting practice, and one of her clients is the NYS most a couple of dollars to make. The appear to run against the long-term Labor-Religion Coalition. QUARTERLY 7 E C I G r a d u V R E S N I S S e r v i c e E T in A U D A R G the early age, she knew she wanted to do mental organization, Pilar says FIE is something for the people of Bolivia — “the pioneer program in microcredit in to help make a difference. Bolivia, and we began our work offering Poverty was not the only situation loans — mostly to women — as well as surrounding her. Examples of people skills training and technical assistance helping people were part of her environ- for their microenterprises.” The small ment as well. With her aunt, who was a companies range in type and include social worker, Pilar visited many orphan- clothing factories, furniture manufac- ages and hospitals growing up, and it turers, prepared food enterprises, and was there, she says, that she “decided I even some street vendors. wanted to be like her.” It was also that Then in 1998 — after having provid- Pilar Ramirez with one of FIE’s clients who sells experience that prompted Pilar to study ed more than $70 million dollars to cheese and eggs from a market in La Paz, Bolivia psychology when she came to the United businesses that, for the most part, have States to complete her education. After grown and remained successful — FIE Pilar Ramirez SAS’72 graduating from CNR in 1972, she went evolved into a commercial for-profit on to acquire a master’s degree in psy- organization in order to provide their To anyone who knew her growing chology from the New School for Social clients with a savings program. Today, up in Bolivia or during her years at The Research and a master’s in public admin- “FIE has more than 200 employees and College of New Rochelle, Pilar istration from Harvard’s John F. a client portfolio of 25,000 persons — Ramirez’s benevolent works today Kennedy School of Government. 60 percent of whom are women and all would come as no surprise. As the exec- Of her experience at CNR, she says low-income.” utive president and cofounder of the education served as a launching pad “We have been very successful in our Centro de Fomento a Iniciativas for tremendous professional satisfaction. goal,” she notes. “There are many simi- Economicas (FIE) — or Center for the But most importantly, the all-women lar programs in Bolivia now, and all of Development of Economic Initiatives atmosphere at the College, “made me these programs are an example in the — Pilar provides loans to low-income conscious of who women are, how world of microfinance for other regions. entrepreneurial hopefuls in Bolivia, forceful and strong we can be, and also Lack of access to credit is no longer an individuals who without her organiza- how much fun.” She adds, “That expe- issue in the Bolivian cities; any low- tion would have little chance of obtain- rience made me a ‘feminist,’ and in the income person with economic activity, ing financial assistance. period of 1979 to 1984, I was one of the no matter how small, can visit one of Pilar credits her long-standing leaders of the feminist movement here the microcredit programs and obtain a dedication to community service to in Bolivia.” On this note, she also loan for his or her business.” both her Catholic upbringing and proudly points out that the now very But success constitutes no reason for her experiences watching family successful FIE was created by five complacency in Pilar Ramirez’s world. members as a child. In a country women. She and FIE are expanding their pro- where 70 percent of the population gram model beyond Bolivia. “We will lives beneath the poverty line, Pilar Making use of her education and fol- soon open offices in Buenos Aires, grew up in a privileged home — but lowing her strong commitment to help Argentina, where a large Bolivian mig - she never took it for granted. “I others, Pilar has enjoyed working as a rant population lives and one that, once became aware of [the surrounding consultant, psychologist, and university more, has no access to financial servic- poverty] very early as a little girl, and professor. However, establishing FIE is es,” she says. “FIE will cross borders and it has always bothered me very her crowning achievement. Founded in begin there as we did in Bolivia in 1985.” much,” she explains. So from an 1985 as a non-profit and non-govern- B Y B A R B R A 8 QUARTERLY

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