Parsing Police Use of Tasers
An all-star panel of local experts discusses the Cincinnati Police Department's use of Tasers from 6:30-8:30 May 25 at Rockdale Elementary School, 305 Rockdale Ave., Avondale. The panel features Lt. Col. Richard Janke, the city's assistant police chief; Scott Greenwood, volunteer attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio; Wendell France, head of the Citizen Complaint Authority; a cardiologist from University Hospital; a Mental Health Association trainer who works with CPD's new Mental Health Response Team; and a representative from Taser, International, the company that manufactures the stun guns. The discussion, which is free and open to the public, is hosted by the ACLU of Ohio's Cincinnati Police Reform Project. RSPV to [email protected] or call 216-472-2220.
Taking Action for Darfur
Students Taking Action Now: Darfur (STAND) continue their "Week of Conscience" at the University of Cincinnati in hopes of raising campus awareness about the genocide currently taking place in Darfur, Sudan. At noon May 26, a panel discussion on genocide, the history of conflict in Africa and the current situation in Darfur follows a showing of the documentary Darfur Destroyed in UC's MainStreet Cinema. The week culminates in a benefit concert starting at 7 p.m. Friday in UC's Great Hall. For more info, visit www.geocities.com/ucSTAND or contact Aaron Desatnik at [email protected] or 216-408-6586.
Be All You Can Be: Nonviolent
Learn how to be an effective nonviolent warrior through a program that place May 27-28 at the Peaslee Neighborhood Center in Over-the-Rhine.
Activists often turn to nonviolent agitation when all other channels of social change seem blocked, but many don't achieve the full value of the action because it's not connected to a strategy or to a richer understanding of how nonviolent action works. George Lakey, director of Training for Change, seeks to rectify that. A $98 fee includes all meals. Scholarships are available but space is limited, so contact 513-579-8547 or [email protected] as soon as possible to register. For more info, check out www.trainingforchange.org. The program is presented by Training For Change and sponsored by Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center.
Advocate for Victims of Sexual Assault
Train to be an advocate for victims of sexual assault. Rape Crisis & Abuse Center of Hamilton County (formerly Women Helping Women) holds training sessions for volunteers who respond to victims of sexual assault at the hospital, accompany victims to court, help with the hotline and perform general office work. Volunteers must be 21, and training is mandatory. Sessions take place 5:30-9 p.m. June 13-15 and 20-22 and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. June 18 and 25. For more info, call volunteer coordinator Ann Schlueter at 513-977-5548 or email [email protected].
Political Education, Mastication
The Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council has lined up U.S. Sen. Joe Biden (D-Delaware) to speak at this year's COPE (Committee on Political Education) Dinner. The dinner, which starts at 6 p.m. June 18 at the Westin Hotel, costs $125 per person or $1,250 for a table. For more info, call 421-1846.
Beer and Justice
Drinking Liberally, an informal, an inclusive Democratic drinking club, meets at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays. You don't have to be a policy expert and this isn't a book club; just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it's not taboo to talk politics. After roaming the first Tuesday of every month, the group regularly settles back into The Comet in Northside. For more info, contact Chris Berger at [email protected] .