Crimson Ignores Feminist Issues

To the editors:

I was thoroughly disgusted to open The Crimson on Jan. 22, the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and discover a complete dearth of coverage on the event. In an undergraduate community of 3,200 women, I did expect to find at least one woman-centered article today, a milestone for feminist rights in this country.

The Crimson of Jan. 22 included several Associated Press articles; of these, one concerned marijuana’s effect as a gateway drug, and another described a Vermont festival called the Strolling of the Heifers. How is it possible that a campus with the world-renowned Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and thousands of female students has a paper that covers the actions of 75 cows rather than the anniversary of the establishment of women’s reproductive freedom?

The Crimson’s negligence should offend everyone on this campus. Feminists come from a wide range of backgrounds and beliefs; we are united in our striving for an egalitarian society in which men and women interact as equals. A 1998 poll showed that women’s rights were second only to AIDS as the issue about which young women were most concerned; forty-six percent of young women called women’s rights their “very biggest concern” (Harrison Hickman, Jan. 1998; Feminist Majority Foundation). Clearly, The women of Harvard University care about women’s rights, and The Crimson’s lack of coverage indicates a sad lack of attention to their concerns.

I sincerely hope that the Crimson shows its dedication to feminism by increasing its coverage so that intensely biased and misleading ads are not its sole coverage of women’s issues. The Crimson needs to provide a forum for the voices of modern feminism and prove its dedication to women’s rights on this campus.

Heidi Bruggink ’04

Jan. 29, 2003