Linked with Women’s Action for New Directions WAND, and with Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom WILPF.
She is one of the 1000 women proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.
… Dorothy was born on a farm in Eastern Nebraska in 1926. Her father abandoned the family during the Great Depression. One of the most powerful influences in her life was her mother, who raised three children alone in very difficult circumstances. In the late 1930s her mother had to make the decision to place her children in a Children’s Home because there just wasn’t enough food for everyone to eat. Dorothy graduated from high school in 1944 and from Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln in 1948, and became an English teacher. After the war, she married Dick, a GI she met in college, and in 1950 moved to Denver, Colorado. Dorothy and her family settled in Boulder, Colorado in 1960, and she earned her Master’s Degree at the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1967. Dorothy had drug-free births and breastfed her son and daughter at a time when those things were not generally done. She read nutrition books and attended the free Emily Griffith Opportunity School in Denver, taking pre-natal classes to learn about birthing, baby care, etc. As a young mother she was one of few people she knew to write Congress about public health issues such as drugging chickens. She says that activism is “just IN me” … (full text).
She says: « My dream is for all of the world’s little girls to have access to a progressive education where their learning opens doors to whole new possibilities for them to live their dreams ». (1000peacewomen).
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Dorothy Rupert – USA
She works for Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom WILPF, United State’s section, and for Women’s Action for New Directions WAND.
Dorothy Rupert (born 1926) served 35 years as a public high school teacher and counselor, 14 more years in the Colorado House and Senate, and decades in the peace and women’s rights/human rights movements. She has consistently supported education, relentlessly and courageously tackled difficult legislative issues, and traveled the globe for peace. Dorothy embodies commitment, passion, vitality, caring, sincerity, never-give-up determination, and joy. As she nears 80 (on 2005), these traits shine more brightly than ever. (1000peacewomen).
WAND is thrilled to announce that two of our National Board members are among the 1000 women nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Alice Lynch and Dorothy Rupert have spent their lives working for peace and justice, and continue to contribute every day to improving the state of the world … (full text).
Find her on Google Group-search.
… In Colorado, Sen. Dorothy Rupert wants police to ticket and fine any adult seen smoking in a car with children in it … (full text).
She says also: … « I saw a single parent doing her absolute best and doing her all » … and: « My heart really always returns to kids, there is something about how I feel with them and they respond to me. It’s such a gift when it feels there is no break in the circle » … (full text, January 25, 2004).
The CAPITOL Report … The November 1998 election was the first in which a substantial number of lawmakers were prohibited from running for reelection. The November 2000 election will continue the process of jettisoning legislative knowledge and experience, due to term limits … Senator Dorothy Rupert (D-Boulder) has compiled an outstanding environmental record during her tenure in both the House and Senate. (This is not an exhaustive list of accomplishments, but merely a sample of what some experienced lawmakers have done) … (full text).
HEALTH CARE INTERIM STUDY, Senate Committee Room 352, October 5, 1998, 10.03 am: – Representative Morrison called the meeting to order and reviewed the agenda. Committee members present were Representatives Bob Hagedorn and Steve Johnson, and Senators Sally Hopper, Dorothy Rupert, and Dottie Wham. Staff in attendance were Whitney Gustin and Jim Hill from Legislative Council and Julie Hoerner from Legislative Legal Services … (full text).
She says also: « As an educator who has counseled hundreds of student who have gone on to CU, and as a legislator who worked tirelessly on their behalf, I know that Joe has what it takes to be a great Regent. Joe will be a Regent that both CU and the State of Colorado can count on, which is why I am supporting his candidacy » … (support for Joe Neguse for CU regent).
She writes: … Speaking of schools, where I spent many great years as an English teacher and counselor at both Fairview and Boulder high schools: I am troubled by the loss of neighborhood schools and by the constant struggle to keep the welfare of our children and of our democracy uppermost as we work unceasingly for investment in our public schools. Boulder does believe in education, and it shows. We cannot give up working for more access across the board. Education for all and a truly open press/media are essential for keeping our fragile democracy; yes, even in Boulder, as I see significant erosion since the ‘70s … (full text, not dated, but Copyright 2007).
… « Dorothy has a way of making students come to understand their own strengths and realize that they are special as individuals, » wrote former Boulder High School student and Lyons resident Ben Pearlman in a nominating letter. As a legislator, Rupert always had four to five interns even though she wasn’t supposed to have more than two. One of them was Christine Hurley, 27, who met Rupert while riding the bus. By the end of the ride, Rupert offered her an internship. « I learned a lot about effective communication and getting your voice heard and standing up for what you believe, » Hurley says. But she says she learned more from Rupert through their friendship. « Almost any tough decision I have to make I think about, how would Dorothy handle it?, » Hurley says … (full text of Former legislator, teacher changed lives).
… Dorothy Rupert represented Boulder in the state Legislature for 14 years, working most of that time to make health care more available to Colorado’s poor. She knew the state’s health-care system inside out and grew concerned when new residents of The Academy retirement community told her how hard it was to find a doctor. But it wasn’t until last year, on her last day as the term-limited Democratic leader of the state Senate, that she experienced firsthand the worsening Medicare doctor shortage. Her husband, then 79, suffered a severe stroke and, after the frantic 911 call, the emergency room and the intensive care unit, she began trying to reach his physician of more than 20 years. After days of repeated calls, the doctor’s office manager “finally called to say he wasn’t Dick’s doctor anymore,” recalled Rupert, still an activist at 76. “It was so hard to understand” … (full text).
links:
The book: Perpetual Prisoner Machine, By Joel Dyer;
The Google download book: Environmental Tobacco Smoke, By Ronald Ross Watson, Mark L. Witten, 2001, 400 pages;
The book: the School Counselor, By American School Counselor Association;