FAQ for Conference Participants and Attendees
(last updated March 30, 2015)
| Q: When will I hear if my proposal was accepted? | |||||||||||||||||||||
| A: Notifications were recently issued. If you have not heard, please email SMCR2015@uws.edu.au | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Q: If my proposal is accepted, when will I know the timing of my presentation? | |||||||||||||||||||||
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A: The Program Committee plans to sort out the schedule during the month of April and will be in touch as soon as it is done. But we can tell you this right now: The POSTER SESSION (paired with our opening of our menstrual art exhibit: “Widening the Cycle”) is during the evening of the first day of the conference: Thursday, June 4th from 5pm – 7pm. There are 5 concurrent sessions for paper presentations, panels and workshops:
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| Q: When does the conference begin and end? | |||||||||||||||||||||
| A: The conference spans three full days — Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. The conference begins on Thursday, June 4th at 9am SHARP with our thrilling kick off plenary — a FLASH! series of short talks that make the menstrual connection. The conference ends with our Menstrual Poetry Open Mic and Raffle on Saturday, June 6th (7pm – 9pm). | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Q: Is there financial assistance available? | |||||||||||||||||||||
A: We have put in place these cost saving measures:
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| Q: Where can I stay in Boston? | |||||||||||||||||||||
| A: We’ve arranged for low cost housing for a limited number of conference registrants in Suffolk University residence halls – just steps from the Suffolk University Law School, our venue for the conference. Rooms are available ONLY on the nights of June 3, 4, 5 and 6 (and June 2 for SMCR Board members attending our board meeting on June 3). This is a great option as hotels in downtown Boston are expensive. But “limited” number means you should not delay once registration becomes available. VERY SOON, we will provide a form for you to download, fill out and send in to reserve your room. On the form, if you choose “double with shared bath” or “quad” you can either indicate your roommate OR state you interest in being matched with a roommate/s. | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Q: Where can I park in Boston? | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Q: How do I get to Suffolk University from the airport? | |||||||||||||||||||||
| A: Taxis are readily available from all terminals at Logan Airport. You should expect the ride to cost $35 or more. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| The Boston subway system (called the “T”) is also an easy way to travel, if you are able to carry all of your luggage. Here is a helpful link. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| You want to take the Red Line to Park Street Station and walk a short distance to Suffolk University. Our conference venue is at 120 Tremont Street Boston, MA 02108. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| If you are staying in Suffolk’s University Housing, you will get an address from them once you register. It, too, will be very close to the Park Street Station on the Red Line of the subway. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| If you must drive, here’s a listing of parking garages in the immediate area (you will need to contact each for rates – and confirm that they are still available – but plan on about $35-40/day on Thursday and Friday. Saturday will be cheaper. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| (See? You want to avoid parking if you can) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Government Center Garage | ||||
| Entrances on New Sudbury and New Chardon Streets | ||||
| 617-227-0385 | ||||
| Center Plaza Garage | ||||
| Entrances on Somerset and Tremont Streets | ||||
| 617-742-7807 | ||||
| Charles River Garage | ||||
| Entrance on Cambridge Street under the Charles River Shopping Plaza parking lot next to the Holiday Inn Hotel | ||||
| 617-742-2819 | ||||
| Boston Common Garage | ||||
| Entrance on Charles Street (between the parks) | ||||
| 617-954-2098 | ||||
| Central Parking System | ||||
| 6 Avery Street (adjacent to the Ritz Carlton) | ||||
| 617-574-7253 | ||||
| Laz Parking Ltd. | ||||
| 290 Commercial Street | ||||
| 617-367-6412 | ||||
| Kennedy’s Midtown | ||||
| 44 Province Street | ||||
| 617-426-3333 | ||||
| Pi Alley Garage | ||||
| 275 Washington Street | ||||
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617-720-2006 73 Tremont Street Garage |
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| Enter on Beacon Street across from One Beacon | ||||
| 617-742-5923 | ||||
| Laz Parking Ltd. | ||||
| 11 Kingston Street | ||||
| 617-350-0383 | ||||
| Laz Parking Ltd. | ||||
| 101 Merrimac Street | ||||
| 617-248-8861 | ||||
| Q. What hashtag should I use to tweet about the conference? | |
| A. #menstruationmatters and #SMCR2015. Spread the word! | |
| Q: I am giving a paper or workshop. How much time do I have? | |
| A: If you are doing a WORKSHOP, you have a full 90 minutes. | |
| If you are giving a paper during a PAPER SESSION, you will have between 15-20 minutes to give your paper with at least 10 minutes of Q and A at the end. | |
| Q: I am doing a POSTER PRESENTATION. When is the POSTER SESSION and what are the specs for my poster? | |
| A: The POSTER SESSION is Thursday, June 4th from 5-7pm, combined with the Opening of our Menstrual Art Exhibit: Widening the Cycle. We are still working out the hardware for the poster displays, but will post this info in this space ASAP. | |
| Q: I volunteered to serve as a PAPER SESSION CHAIR. What do I do? | |
| A: Once the draft program is issued, we will let you know. Find your name in the document to find out when, exactly, you are assigned. The role of session chairs is to: | |
| 1) greet all presenters when they arrive at their designated session | |
| 2) introduce each presenter | |
| 3) keep time so that each presenter takes only her/his alloted time (between 15-20 minutes each) | |
| 4) facilitate Q and A (no less than 10 minutes long) | |
| Q: What tech support is available for my PAPER or WORKSHOP presentation? | |
| A: Each session room is set up for projection (for PPT slides, video clips, etc.), but you will need to bring your own laptop and adapter (or arrange in advance to share with others in your session). There is WiFi throughout the building. A password for signing onto the university network will be provided at registration. | |
| Q: What about DISABILITY ACCOMMODATIONS? | |
| A: If you require accommodations for a disability please indicate this on the registration site. | |
| Q: Will there be a book vendor present at the conference? | |
| A: Yes. The Suffolk University Bookstore will be on site with books for sale. If you published a book that you would like sold at the conference, please complete this form and we will try to make the book available. We can’t promise that all requests will be filled, though, so you might want to bring some copies of your book or info about ordering. | |
| Q: Can I set up a table to display info about my organization/business/activism? | |
| A: Yes. We are offering tabling space for a nominal fee of $50.00 for FOR PROFIT vendors. Tabling is free for NON PROFIT organizations. Tables will be available all day Thursday and Friday and up to 11 am on Saturday (with after hours storage available in a nearby room). There is a place on the registration form to indicate your interest in tabling. Please email sherylmendlinger@gmail.com for MORE info. If you want only to set out a stack of brochures or handouts, we will have a separate table for that. So plan to bring info if you have it (of course, this info should be relevant to conference content). | |
| Q: I want to Participate in the MENSTRUAL POETRY OPEN MIC on Saturday evening (7pm-9pm). How do I do that? | |
| A: Great! The Open Mic is open to the public, so invite your friends and fans! Bring your piece and at the start of the event, the organizer will call out for participants and assign each a place on the program. The Open Mic is very friendly to newbies…so don’t be shy about reading for the first time (and you can read your own original material or a piece of someone else’s). If you have more questions about the Open Mic, email our Open Mic Coordinator, Porsha Olayiwola at polayiw2@gmail.com. | |
| Q: What meals are included in the conference? | |
| A: The conference venue is in the heart of downtown Boston so options abound (and we are working on a restaurant guide to help you find the perfect place!) so we are experimenting with providing LESS food to keep registration costs down. | |
| But some food is included. As part of your conference registration, we will provide: | |
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| You can add boxed lunches to your registration for Thursday and Saturday. The lunches will be boxed vegetarian lunches with vegan and gluten-free options plus beverage. The cost will be $10.00/lunch. | |
| All dinners are “on your own” but we will set up some group dinners (hosted by SMCR Board Members) for those who want to connect with other conference participants. We will list these options in the conference program (which you will get when you check in at registration) and we will post sign up sheets at conference registration. | |
| Q: What else should I know? | |
| A: SMCR confers several awards on Saturday at 2pm, including two awards for the best student presentations. If you did not identify yourself as a student when you submitted your proposal (though there is a spot for that on the submission form) please email SMCR2015@uws.edu.au and identify yourself AS a student (at any level). We want to be sure to give every student a shot at these awards. We are defining a student as anyone currently enrolled in an AA/AS, BA/BS/BSN/RN, MA/MS/MSN/APRN/MHS/MMSc, or PhD/ScD/EdD/PsyD/MD program (or their equivalents for those outside the US) at the time of the conference as well as anyone who graduated with an associate or bachelor’s degree (or equivalent for those outside the US) in May 2014 or later. | |
| Q: What if I have other questions? | |
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