Sister Ortiz's talk "Blindfolds: Not in Our Name" is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Baird Lounge of the Alumni Building and is free and open to the public. Her appearance is co-sponsored by the College's Office of Women's Studies and the International Center,

Born in Colorado and raised in New Mexico, Sister Ortiz' earned her bachelor's degree in elementary education at Brescia College. She had been in Guatemala since 1987, working as a missionary teaching young children, when her abduction occurred. Taken to a clandestine prison where she was interrogated, tortured and raped, Sister Ortiz eventually managed to escape and return to the U.S.

A member of the Ursuline Community in Maple Mount, Ky., Sister Ortiz has, in the years since her ordeal, spoken to members of Congress and groups of private citizens about torture in the world and the need for concerted action to bring it to an end. She has been interviewed on television and radio and been the subject of newspaper and magazine features. Recently, she was invited to participate in a working group on torture formed by the National Institute of Mental Health. Her chapter, "The Survivors Speak: Voices from the Center," will be published in the forthcoming book "Mental Health Consequences of Torture and Related Violence and Trauma."

Through her work as a staff member of the Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA, based in Washington, D.C., Sister Ortiz has founded or been active in several organizations working to end torture and political violence and to provide support for the survivors of torture, including the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Committee which planned and conducted the commemoration of the first annual U.N. International Day in Support of Victims/Survivors of Torture in June, 1998.

For more information, contact the Office of Women's Studies, Dr. Peggy Rivage-Seul, director, at (859) 985-3931.