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RadPsyNet held its 1996 business meeting at APA's August convention in Toronto. Other popular sessions scheduled at the same time kept our attendance down, but those who met discussed a variety of issues. This report on what happened is supplemented by additional information about later developments.
Among the positive developments, Isaac Prilleltensky reported on his successful efforts to raise money and books for colleagues in Cuba.
Melissa Warren reported on APA's planning efforts for the "Miniconvention on Racism" at next year's APA convention in Chicago. The planners rejected our efforts to expand the miniconvention's focus to include Oppression in general rather than only Racism. However, there remains an important role for RadPsyNet: we can try to ensure that the convention focus on racism goes beyond mainstream approaches.
In discussing RadPsyNews, the members agreed that Jackie Klosek did a great job editing the newsletter last year, and also expressed appreciation for John Lawrence's help in newsletter production and distribution. But there was a consensus that we should try to expand the newsletter once again to its earlier length and focus.
Last year's short newsletters--a result of our perilously low bank account--remain useful.
But the newsletter's compilation of announcements and brief letters was not as engaging as the longer book reviews, opinion pieces, reading lists, and so on that we printed during our first two years. (Remember, all past newsletters are archived on our original web site [now moved right here!}). So we agreed to try to raise enough money to return to the longer, more substantive format.
We decided to do two things:
First, to again remind readers to renew your annual due. (However, we now need to reassess our dues policy in light of the the other changes noted below.
Second, to approach potentially sympathetic psychologists who might act as "benefactors" and donate larger sums of money. Half a dozen donations of $100 or more would get us through the year. Keith Curry agreed to approach potential donors.
[HOWEVER: Since then, Jackie Klosek has been out of the US and we're left without an editor. And our bank account is just about empty.
So at this point, it looks like we've evolved (or devolved) to an Internet-only Network, using the World Wide Web to replace much of the newsletter's function. And don't forget our email discussion list, still maintained in the UK by David Nightingale.
Focusing our efforts primarily on the Interent has an advantage: it's cheaper and easier than putting everything on paper. On the other hand, we lose an essential audience of people who are either not computer-equipped or not motivated to search us out on the Web. Don't forget, you can download material from the web site and email list to distribute to students and colleagues! We have a one-page leaflet you can easily print out.]
We briefly discussed the possiblity of a RadPsyNet meeting separate from the annual APA convention. The advantage? Members who do not attend APA might attend a lower-cost, smaller meeting to one another, exchange information, work together on projects, and set RadPsyNet's direction. But most felt we are not yet equipped to organize such a meeting, and we don't know how much interest there would be.
Please let us know what you think! If we organized a separate weekend meeting, probably somewhere between Boston and Washington DC, would you attend? Contact [the coordinators] with your feedback.
Alternatively, if we planned a meeting a day or so before or after the next APA convention (in Chicago), would you likely attend that?
That's the update. It was good to see RadPsy Members in Toronto, where the Network began three years ago. See you in Chicago?
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