It was Mom's Weekend last week at Washington State University, and University of Idaho will follow with their own "act like a co-ed" weekend beginning today. It's funny-- the universities also sponsor a Dad's Weekend, but it seems to me as though this is a time for the whole family to come to campus (mom, dad and younger siblings). But on Mom's Weekend it is mostly just the moms.

I call them "act like a co-ed" weekends for a reason.

Many moms who attend often try to relive their college years (or the ones they never had) during the two days they are on campus. They sleep in the dorms with their kids, wear skirts that are too short, shirts that are too tight and drink more in two days then they do all year at home. The university towns don't help either-- to some extent they encourage it. There are several wine tastings scheduled and the bars advertise that no mom stands in line for a drink.

But really, they don't need much encouragement. At last year's UI men's lacrosse game during Mom's Weekend, the moms brought their own wine glasses and bottles of wine to the sidelines. I hadn't realized lacrosse was such an upscale sport, but I guess it is the Northwest's polo.

What makes women act like children during this university weekend? Is it being away from their partner, their jobs, their regular lives? Are their kids embarrassed by them and for them? I know I would be embarrassed if my mom came to visit me on campus and got inebriated and out of control. Frankly, that would not have been an issue with my mom, but I can imagine if it was how embarrassing and uncool it would have been.

To all the moms out there, there are a few simple ways you can make your visit special without the drinking and debauchery. 
Take your student grocery shopping. Take them out for a nice meal that doesn't involve ramen noodles and mac and cheese. Buy a University of Idaho Mom sweatshirt and wear it proudly all weekend to show support.

Be a real mom.

                   

Well, this week Jon accepted Washington State University's offer of grad. school. We are NOT moving to Ohio after all. It is quite a relief, and I hope WSU will be good to Jon. If they're not good to him, they'll have me to contend with, and I can get pretty nasty when I'm angry.

Jon and I both have been loyal University of Idaho fans and alumni, so this transition will be a little hard to swallow. (Thank goodness it isn't BSU.) Jon said this weekend, "I guess I'll have to buy a WSU sweatshirt now." He sounded a little gloomy. Good thing our alma mater and Jon's new home for the next two years are only 8 miles from one another.

This is definitely not a sport’s blog, but I feel the need to talk about lacrosse. Lacrosse is a great sport. People get to catch balls in small handheld nets and toss them back and forth. They get to go behind the goal, which is unheard of in other goal sports, and they get to hit the opposing team with sticks. Sounds fun, right? It is. Saturday I attended the University of Idaho lacrosse game against Boise State University. Unfortunately, UI lost in sudden death but that’s beside the point.

What really interested me was the crowd. Here is a sport, that to be honest, isn’t always well attended. Saturday the sidelines were packed. It was packed with mom’s here for Mom’s Weekend along with their spouses and children, other UI students and Moscow community members. All in all, this was not the usual lacrosse match crowd. Many of the spectators were not lacrosse enthusiasts, having attended their first match for the first time that day, and others assumed lacrosse at UI was an upscale event. Let me explain.

One girl in the crowd asked her friend what the point of the game was. When told it was to get the little white ball into the net she asked which net. She is definitely not a regular attendee.

Then there was the alcohol. I expected to see the usual red plastic cups, but what I didn’t expect was the wine. One group of women brought their own bottle of wine and stemmed wine glasses. Talk about classy. They were sipping Bordeaux on the sidelines while the team was practically knocking their opponents unconscious.

Next game I am bringing a tea set (in real china) complete with tea cozy and enough cups to share with surrounding spectators. And instead of screaming at the top of my lungs and abusing the refs I will wave a flag daintily and hold up a supportive and tastefully decorated sign encouraging my team to victory.

This is one of my recent opinion columns in which I try to create a riot. Okay, not a riot really, but at least a silent protest. I don't think bra burning is coming back anytime soon, but let me tell you, I sure have some that could use it. Maybe I will host a special bra burning ceremony when we move into our new house. It could be fun.

Be Active in showing support

Erin Harty

Women have fought for equal rights for decades. From voting to birth control to equal pay, women brought attention to these inequalities by burning their bras, carrying signs, publishing magazines and now overcharging men for baked goods.

On April 20, the National Committee on Pay Equity and Latin sorority Lambda Theta Alpha will sponsor a bake sale at University of Idaho where men will be charged 22 cents more for items than women. The date is significant because this is how far into this year that women would have to work to earn what men did through 2009. This event is meant to bring public awareness to a very real issue, but is it really effective?

First of all, bake sales, by their very nature, are associated with women. Even in these more enlightened times, when people think of baking they tend to think of women in aprons preparing cakes and cookies to raise money for the PTA, Boy Scouts, soccer teams and church organizations. So maybe having women in front of the Idaho Commons selling cookies and brownies in a historically traditional female role isn’t the way to go. It also isn’t the way to command attention. Remember, women used to burn their bras for this sort of thing.

In case those running the event haven’t noticed, many students at UI are apathetic. They see a table selling sweets and they may fork over the money, but the idea behind the event will be lost in moments as they receive their next text message, post their status to Facebook or turn up their music. So how do you get this idea to reach students like these? You make noise. You place things in their way that interrupt the chatter of their electronics. What happened to carrying signs and rallying support through public protests?

This campus has been far too quiet on many issues. Bake sales, chalk writing on sidewalks and homemade posters placed where students can’t see them are not doing the job. Make some noise, force people out of their trance-like states and call attention to a cause. Whether it is equal pay for women, increased student fees, intolerance or health care reform, subtle messages don’t cut it anymore. Those messages have to compete with all the other things holding people’s attention, and the way to do that is to command more attention. Gonzaga students did this recently to protest the banning of “The Vagina Monologues.” This was a silent protest, but the sit-in got in people’s way and forced them to acknowledge the problem.

People shouldn’t be afraid to stand up, or sit down for that matter, to bring attention to important issues. This campus has been far too silent in the past few years.

Susan Orlean is coming to the university tomorrow as a visiting author. I am very excited to hear her speak. I love the pieces she does for The New Yorker and I just bought her book The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup. One of my favorite pieces of hers is "The American Man, Age Ten." (The name of this article varies depending on where you find the text.)

I'll blog after the presentation and let you know if she lives up to the hype.

I did some research this past week on the veterinary science research being done at the University of Idaho — specifically with cattle. My mom was here visiting so I took her along and we were given the full tour by a very handsome gentlemen. While it was a hardship to tear my eyes away from our guide, I did learn some interesting stuff and got some fantastic pictures.

I've decided I really like cows. When I was young our family had a cow named Dodger that grew up to be beef for dinner, but before that my siblings and I loved to be around her. Touring the dairy and Steer-A-Year facilities kind of brought all that back. I think it did for my mom as well.

We were able to see all the beautiful new calves that have been born and pet and be licked by some other gorgeous cows. Their noses are so soft and velvety. All in all it was a great experience and I think will make a wonderful article. We will see how it pans out after I transcribe all my notes.

Mom getting her jacket licked by a research cow.

My mom decided this cow had markings on its face that would look at home during Dia de los Muertos.

A mom with her new calf hiding behind her.

One of the huskier new calves at the barn.