Area Feminists Gather; GSE Hearings Begin

The three-day New England Congress to Unite Women began last night at Lowell Lecture Hall, where over 300 people heard speeches by prominent women's liberationists including Florence Luscomb, 84-year-old former suffragist and lifetime activist.

"I can remember when the law stated that 'husband and wife are one, and that one is the husband,'" Luscomb said. "And up until 1920 the only Americans denied a vote were criminals, the insane, and women. We didn't like the company we were in."

The Congress to Unite Women is sponsored by the 29 women's groups which comprise the New England Women's Coalition (NEWCO). The coalition, formed last January, is primarily a planning body which incorporates many ranges of view. The members' intent is to work together to accomplish goals which all women agree upon.

Last night's other speakers were Florynce Kennedy, black feminist and lawyer from New York, co-author of the book Abortion Rap; Myrna Hill from the Black and Third World Caucus; and Margaret Benston, a long-time feminist and professor at Simon Frazier University in Vancouver.

"By analyzing our situation in society," Benston said, "we realize that as women we must be revolutionary. We have to bring down the forces that control and cripple our humanity."

Today and Sunday there will be workshops on various subjects held at Sever Hall. The Congress as a whole is expected to endorse an April 17th Women's Liberation Day demonstration.

Ed School Hearings

The Ed School Committee on the Status of Women conducted the first of its two scheduled hearings on woman students yesterday. GSE administrators testified about admissions, recruitment, placement and financial aid policies before a group of 40 people.

This was the first hearing held by the committee, which was constituted last September under the chairmanship of Jeanne S. Chall, professor of Education. It is composed of faculty, staff and student women plus the assistant to the dean.

Margaret Marshall, a GSE student, chaired the hearing. Seven male administrators, including Francis H. Duehay, assistant dean of the Ed School, and the director of several graduate programs spoke.

The ration of men to women at the Ed School is close to 1:1. "Within the programs, though, percentages vary according to traditional sex roles-women are teachers and men are administrators," charged one woman.

The administrators admitted that this imbalance exists. Admission to some programs depends largely on administrative experience. Throughout the country, administrative posts are overwhelmingly male-dominated, which inevitably diminishes the number of qualified female applicants. The problem is aggravated when women graduate from the GSE and seek jobs in administration. A spokesman for the admissions office suggested that a certain amount of "self-selection" also takes place on the part of woman applicants.

The current decentralization of admissions and recruitment at the Ed School has resulted in uncertainty about who is responsible for initiative in these areas-the admissions and financial aid offices or the program directors and department chairmen. Although recruitment funds have been virtually eliminated, the first priority for whatever recruitment takes place on an informal or volunteer basis will be ethnic minorities. "We have no plans for recruitment of women," said Benjamin V. White III '63, assistant dean of Admissions.

A hearing on day care and opportunities for part-time study and work is scheduled for next Wednesday.