RUS Is Not A 'Commodity'

We are writing in response to the pending decision about allowing men to become voting members of the Radcliffe Union of Students (RUS). We can't help but comment on the incredible timing of this issue. On the eve of Radcliffe's 100th anniversary, we wonder what we will really be celebrating under the big top this weekend.

Those lobbying for male suffrage cite the unfairness of men's exclusion from RUS. We must consider carefully the changes that the proposed policy would provoke. It seems to us that these groups seek only to exploit the financial resources the Radcliffe can offer, contributing little in return.

Their avaricious purpose is revealed by the proposal to divide RUS into one body for allocating grant monies and one for "social" purposes. This smells strongly of a case of choosing the fat over the bones. Once again the patriarchy chooses precipitously, without regard for the deeper issues. RUS gains its strength from its members, not its funds. It is women who create the force and energy necessary to see these projects through. What the lobbyists choose to classify and disregard as a "social" organization includes the discussion among RUS members who constitute RUS's human resources.

We are a Union, not a commodity to be haggled over, split by the powers of an outside group. If the men who would like to be voting members of RUS exhibit such ambivalence toward issues that concern women and the projects that support them, the very basis of Radcliffe's founding, then regardless of gender, these are not the kinds of members we, the Radcliffe Union of Students, should welcome with open arms. Virginia Loo '96   Alison Huang '96