Women's Week returns with panel on activism

In what coordinator Judy Neufeld called "a revival of the Women's Week tradition," professors, students and community members gathered in the Terrace Room of Paige Hall Monday night for a roundtable discussion on women and activism.

The discussion was moderated by Denise Riebman, the director of Boston Cares, a non-profit, volunteer-recruiting organization.

Almost a quarter of the approximately 30 students in attendance were men.

Sociology professor Susan Ostrander, Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning professor Molly Mead, local artist Myrna Balk, and author and Tufts graduate Judith Nies joined senior political science majors Ariana Flores and David Wu and former Tufts Republicans president Rachel Hoff on the panel of the program, called 'Causing a Commotion.'

Each panelist was asked how they defined activism, and why they perceived themselves as activists. The majority of panelists agreed they had become "accidental activists," a term used by Ostrander. She challenged the audience, asking how a person "could not be an activist" if they believe in a cause.

Similarly, Hoff said that "it's difficult to be a conservative on a liberal campus and not be an activist."

For Riebman, the decision to become an activist occurred after Sept. 11, 2001, when she "saw only middle-aged men making the decisions, and I realized that something needed to change."

According to Nies, activism involves the creation of a public voice. "Activism is seeing an issue -- any issue -- that needs to be changed and tackling it," Wu, the only male member of the panel, added.

The panelists agreed that activism does not necessarily have to be a mass movement. On the contrary, Balk said, activism can be "as simple as speaking up in an unfamiliar situation for what you believe in."

Riebman also asked the panel why some people do not become activists and if women have become more or less active than in the past.

People often avoid activism for the simple fact that they "fear that they will not be liked by the majority if they take an unpopular stance," Mead said.

Flores pointed out that minority groups and illegal immigrants sometimes refrain from activism "because they are afraid of the consequences."

Speaking of the discrepancies women face in the United States, Nies said that "only 200 women have served in the House of Representatives in the history of the nation" and that "the United States is ranked only the 40th nation in the world for women's rights."

Ostrander mentioned that women at Tufts were "forced to wear skirts until the early 1960s."

Many audience members asked the panelists about the future of feminist activism. One response was, "Getting more men involved in this endeavor...because true equality cannot work unless they're our partners." Other members of the panel mentioned pay equity and a decrease in violence against women.

Throughout Women's Week, Tufts Republicans are trying to emphasize what they consider to be a neglected side of women's issues on campus - conservatism. According to Hoff, "with campus culture centering around aspects of the liberal agenda such as radical feminism and political correctness, conservatives often get sidelined."

Women's Week ran continuously from the 1970s until 1998, and was restarted this year. Several speakers have been scheduled to attend, including State Senator Dianne Wilkerson and Susan Yanow, Executive Director of the Abortion Access Project, to discuss issues of health, balancing family and career, and domestic violence awareness.

Workshops, roundtables, and benefit events are all planned for the week-long campaign.