Panelists Debate Role of Feminism on Campus

Six student panelists struggled to define feminism and pinpoint its role at Harvard in a debate last night at 2 Divinity Ave.

Increasing debate has surrounded feminism and the experience of undergraduate women following rape allegations against Joshua K. Elster '00 last spring and his guilty plea this fall. Questions about the future of Radcliffe have also been a focal point for contention.

Last night's panel--titled "Is Feminism Dead?"--attracted about 40 undergraduates.

Although the panelists--who represented a range of political backgrounds--did not agree on the definition of feminism or its role on campus, they all agreed that feminism is changing.

"Feminism is the radical notion that women are equal," said Kamil E. Redmond '00, a member of the Undergraduate Council.

Redmond, who is also a Crimson editor, said contemporary feminism has nothing to do with bra-burning and man-hating.

"It's the notion that women should see themselves as an integrated whole. Everyone here is a feminist if they think women are equal," Redmond said.

Panelist Hugh P. Liebert '01, a writer for the conservative publication The Harvard Salient, disagreed with Redmond's definition.

"Modern feminism--the academic and radical feminism--has identified society as patriarchal, phallocentric...all society is a male construction to keep women down," Liebert said.

Liebert cited a 1992 study by Time magazine in which 63 percent of women refused to define themselves as feminists.

While the debate remained amiable, panelists' disagreement over the definition of feminism extended to the status of women on campus.

Redmond, along with panelists Mia Bagneris '99 and Kathleen E. Campbell '00, co-chair of the Women's Leadership Project, said the women's experience at Harvard is vastly different from that of male students.

"I think there's a problem when you can go through your entire Harvard career and not be taught by a single tenured woman professor," said Bagneris, who is co-chair of Radcliffe Union of Students.

But Liebert said he believes another group is also underrepresented on the Faculty.

"I think there's a greater need for Republican tenured professors than for women tenured professors," Liebert said, adding that there are only a few Republicans in Harvard's major academic departments.

Panelist Noah D. Oppenheim '00, who is also a Crimson executive, said gender inequality on campus is not a problem.

"I think feminism has been victorious on this campus and there's a fundamental disjunction between what the average female undergraduate experiences and what the leaders of feminist movements on campus say they do," Oppenheim said.

Panelist Beth A. Stewart '00, president of the Undergraduate Council, who defined herself as a feminist, said she has not experienced gender inequality at Harvard.

"I feel advantaged because of my gender on this campus," Stewart said.

Members of the audience, which tended to support Redmond and Bagneris, said the debate was constructive.

"I thought it was a great debate," said Jeffrey P. Yarbro '99, chair of the Student Advisory Committee at the Institute of Politics. "I'm leaving here with the idea that feminism on campus is not dead, but it's more implicit than explicit."

Robin M. Wasserman '00 said she was pleased with the variety of opinion on the panel.

"I like the way different views were brought together to discuss this," Wasserman said.

Yarbro also noted Redmond's definition of feminism. "I think there are very few people on campus who feel women should not have equal rights, including me. I guess that means there are a lot of feminists here at Harvard."

Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III, who attended the debate, said he found it helpful.

"These debates help me establish a policy of things to work on," Epps said.