We all should be a little concerned that there are no female eating club presidents and that no female students ran for freshman class president this year. Having a lack of women in these positions of power doesn’t match what we believe. Our campus believes — and, broadly speaking, our nation believes — that men and women should have equal rights and equal opportunities.
The recent Shriver Report, produced by Maria Shriver in conjunction with the Center for American Progress, celebrates how far our society has come in embracing women in a wide variety of societal roles. Women still face discrimination, unequal pay and institutional barriers that keep us down, but that’s a topic for another column. Today, I proceed with the assumption that in general, in the abstract and especially here on campus, we support the idea of equality between the genders. As a result, I think we all had trouble explaining why, here on campus, no women ran for freshman class president and no eating clubs have female presidents. We continue to be puzzled by the lack of female class and USG presidents, though they clearly hold positions of power elsewhere on campus.
We agree that it doesn’t feel right. It makes men on campus feel like somehow they’ve done something wrong, and it makes women on campus frustrated. Since it’s hard to pinpoint the root of the problem, it’s hard to propose a clear solution. But we can do a number of things to make sure that our everyday actions reflect our ideological commitments to women as equal participants in campus life. Ensuring that our individual actions reflect our beliefs as a community will help produce a more equal campus, and perhaps, in turn, a more equal society.
First, guys and girls alike: Encourage your female friends. When they reach for that second slice of pizza or consider running for president of an organization, empower them by supporting their decisions (not the bad decisions, of course — not the eighth slice of pizza). A lot of women don’t have as much self-esteem as they’d like. What causes this is extremely complicated. Fortunately, it’s easy for you, right now, to validate a woman you care about.
Second: Ask them. Ask your female friends if they’ve considered running for a position of power on campus. Ask them to do so. Jennifer Brunner, the Ohio Secretary of State (who I hope will be the next U.S. Senator from Ohio) is an active proponent of women running for public office. As someone with a lot of experience in this department, she believes that a lot of what determines whether or not a woman will run for office is whether or not she is asked by the powers that be. Let’s be honest: A lot of leadership positions in student groups here are handed down. Sure, elections may occur, but for the most part, there is an informal process through which the outgoing leader implicitly or explicitly designates his or her successor. This is probably less true for eating clubs and USG, but it would still make a difference if these officeholders encouraged women to replace them.
Third: Respect female space. This one’s for the guys. Don’t go number two in the women’s bathroom on your floor because you’re too lazy to go downstairs to your own bathroom. I’m talking to you, guys that live above me. Seriously. But that’s an obvious one. There are a number of ways men infiltrate the physical and symbolic space of women without fully realizing it. A lot of them take root in basic manners, but they take on particularly gendered meanings when men do them to women. For example, remember not to interrupt your female friends. If you’re just friends, don’t rest your arm on her chair next to you. Don’t wear so much Axe cologne that everyone and their mom has to smell you. All of these things connote a belief that you are more deserving of the world’s space than she is. That’s not what you believe.
Fourth, for the ladies: Stop apologizing so much! You’re doing fine, really. You’re allowed to take up space on this earth. You’re allowed to grab a plate by reaching past someone without apologizing four times. It’s really okay. If you and another person walk through a door at nearly the same time, this is not cause for apologies. Maybe an “excuse me,” but only when warranted to be polite. You’re doing great. Just keep going.
Last, a simple plea: Think of these things. Be a conscious supporter of equality. Small individual changes can have a huge impact. To all the men and women in my life who have supported, encouraged and respected me: thanks.
Molly Alarcon is a Wilson School major from Mill Valley, Calif. She can be reached at malarcon@princeton.edu.
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