Luncheon Chair Yaël Ksander invites you to Middle Way House’s 2020 Spring Luncheon:
Young Champions for Change: A Body-Positive Banquet

Support Middle Way House and enjoy speeches by these Young Champions for Change:

• Solveig Ksander Hicks: Solveig helped spearhead the successful Tri-North Middle
School dress code protest in 2017. Students asked that the dress code be changed because it
promoted rape culture, reinforced the idea that girls are sexual objects, discriminated against
certain body types, took away from learning time, and humiliated girls. Here’s a TV news
broadcast about the protest: https://www.theindychannel.com/news/local-news/monroe-county-
middle-schoolers-say-dress-code-shames-and-humiliates-girls

• Joelle Jackson: Joelle has for three years lead Project Middle Way at Bloomington High
School North. Project Middle Way is an annual benefit fashion show raising money for Middle
Way House while focusing on empowerment and inclusion, using fashion as a celebration of
self-expression and creating a positive space for students to explore style and identity. Joelle has
expanded Project Middle Way to become a year-round student organization, including
programming and workshops on teen domestic violence prevention.

• Ellise Smith: Ellise is an IU PhD student who has a blog, magazine, and radio show
dedicated to counter-storytelling pertaining to larger bodies, available on her site:
fatnessfiction.com. Ellise works to eradicate stereotypes about gender and body size, with special
understanding of how stigmas affect persons from marginalized communities. Here’s an article
about Ellise being the final keynote speaker at University of Portland’s Diversity Dialogues:
https://www.upbeacon.com/article/2019/01/ellise-smith-event

Cost: $30 per person, $270 for a table for 10

For more information contact:

Erin Hollinden
(812) 333-7404
[email protected]