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PHOTO COURTESY TERISA TURNER
Women take action
Leigh Brownhill, left, Ruth Wangari wa Thung’u and Prof. Terisa Turner in Kenya.
eigh Brownhill, MA ’95, is a writer, editor and researcher focused on social movements, feminism and the political economies of food and energy, globally and especially in Africa. She has taught in Kenya, where she conducted research on the social history of women for a PhD in international development. She has published several articles with sociology professor Terisa Turner, including an award-winning nine-page comic strip called Nakedness and Power, which features women’s naked political protests in Kenya in 1992 and in Nigeria in 2002.The cartoon was first published in World War Three Illustrated in 2004 and was chosen to appear in the inaugural edition of Best American Comics 2006, published by Boston-based Houghton Mifflin. It focuses on a 2002 revolt against petroleum pollution led by nearly 600 Nigerian women who staged mass protests against the petroleum industry using the “curse of nakedness” as their weapon. The curse refers to a cultural belief held by many Africans that purposefully exposing female genitalia to men who have caused anger results in the men’s “social death.” “No one will cook for them, marry them, enter into any kind of contract with them or buy anything from them,” says Turner, who notes that every statement in the comic is 100-per-cent accurate. She says the format of a comic strip enabled the two researchers to explain the struggle of these African women and the issues of survival they face in a way that’s easy for a wide and diverse audience to understand.To view the comic strip, visit Brownhill’s website at http://lbrownhill.com.
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1970 Peter Adrian,ADA ’70, lives in Rozelle, Australia. Last August, he retired from his job as an environmental planner with the New South Wales Department of Planning and travelled to England, Europe and the United States with his wife
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30 The Portico
to visit family and friends.When they returned home in the winter,Adrian went back to working for the department part time.“We’re looking forward to getting to Guelph on our next trip to Canada,” he says. ■ Laverne Arthur, ADA ’72, opened an independent med-
ical practice in Lakefield, Ont., in March 2008 in association with the Chemung Region Family Health Organization. Being a family physician is his third career. After graduating from U of G, he farmed full time for 15 years, then he and his wife, Anne, became high school teachers.The new doctor has five children, two of whom attended U of G. ■ Michael Brown, MA ’71, is a retired pastor and a professional dive instructor who lives from November to May in Aruba and the rest of the time in Muskoka. His website is www.arubawindsong.com. ■ Elizabeth “Liz” (Davis) Cunningham, B.A.Sc. ’78, has retired from 30 years of fulltime employment to stay at home with her children, Sean, 9, and Erin, 14. She also volunteers in the community and is a part-time student. ■ Jim Fischer, B.Sc. ’76 and M.Sc. ’92, and his wife, Donna, of Walkerton, Ont., recently retired after 30 years as dairy producers. In 2005, Jim received a B.Ed. degree at Lakehead University and is now an occasional teacher with the Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board. They have two children: Lindsay, B.A.Sc. ’02, and Aaron, ADA ’03. Lindsay went on to earn a B.Ed. degree from Nipissing University and is a core French teacher in Mildmay, Ont. Her husband, Jeff Brigden, BA ’02, is a cost accountant with Gay Lea Foods Co-operative in Teeswater. Aaron is apprenticing as an automotive technician in Lacombe,Alta. Jim and Donna are continuing with Fischer Lind Farms Ltd., growing hay, wheat, soybeans, corn and seedling conifers. They also operate Edge-of-Algonquin, an FSC-certified forest near Algonquin Park, and last year estab-
lished Westwind Woods B&B in a log home on their farm. ■ Dennis Fitzpatrick, B.Sc. ’75 and M.Sc. ’78, is vice-president (research) at the University of Lethbridge.When U of G’s women’s rugby team was in Lethbridge last fall for the national championships,“it was an occasion for celebration,” says Fitzpatrick, who cheered his own team to a gold medal and the Gryphons to bronze. He also had a reunion dinner with U of G animal science professor Jim Atkinson, PhD ’78, a longtime Gryphon rugby coach. ■ Patricia Foster, B.A.Sc ’72, and Michael Fitzgerald,ADA ’69, were married April 12, 2008, in Fergus, Ont., with several Guelph graduates in attendance. They are both recently retired and are enjoying their home in Guelph and their cottage in the Haliburton Highlands. ■ Raja Hadawi, B.Sc. ’75, worked with various federal departments for 33 years in environmental protection and environmental engineering before retiring to pursue other goals. But it wasn’t long before he was offered and accepted a position as a contract administrator with SNC-Lavalin Consulting in Edmonton, Alta., to oversee the construction of two large oil-pumping stations near Fort McMurray. ■ Bobby Hannah, B.Sc.(Agr.) ’71, was one of three honourees to receive a special award of distinction from ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema,Television and Radio Artists) for lifetime achievement in stunt work. Presented Feb. 19, the award celebrated his long career and significant contributions to the film industry. ■ Donna Hilditch, B.A.Sc. ’79, has worked for the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services for 30 years