Radcliffe Honors Work of Estrich, Edmonds

The former Campaign manager for Gov. Michael S. Dukakis' presidential bid and a noted Black history scholar were given awards "for distinguished achievement" by the Radcliffe College Alumni Association (RCAA) last night.

Former campaign manager Susan Estrich and former United Nations ambassador Helen G. Edmonds received medals and spoke briefly after the Radcliffe Graduate Society's annual dinner.

"One of the college's most important purposes is to honor women for their contributions," said RCAA president Renee M. Landers '77.

Law Professor Kathleen Sullivan, tenured several weeks ago, called Estrich "a distant and goddess-like celebrity," as well as a "colleague and very close friend." She gave Estrich the medal with the citation, "To Susan Estrich, as a scholar and political activist you have been deeply committed to social justice."

The citation praised her for first establishing rape as a serious crime and for her role in national politics.

Elizabeth McKinsey '70 then gave Edmonds her medal and citation, calling her "a renaissance woman of our times."

"You have served your community, country and all humanity generously," it concluded.

Edmonds, a former Bunting Institute scholar, has written about U.S. and European history.

Estrich also delivered a speech entitled "Politics, Women and the '90s." She said women should unite around the issue of reproductive freedom and cannot afford to "sit back and contemplate and take stock" of their achievements.

The issue of abortion is one of "privacy, autonomy and sexual equality," Estrichsaid. She chided the pro-choice movement forletting the anti-abortionists frame the questions,so the issue is one of being for or againstabortion, rather than choice.

"For too long we've stood a little quietly anda little to the side," she said.

Edmonds began her speech, "Come Down to KewGarden in Lilac Time; It Isn't Far from London,"with a poem about nineteenth century London. Shecompared the 1980s with the London of the poembecause this decade has seen a "twisting" ofvalues. The '80s have been years of excessivegreed, attacks on civil rights, increased racismand anti-intellectualism, she said.

Repeating the poem's refrain, "in London wherethe sun sinks low," she said, "This decade hastruly been a decade that can make the sun sink lowin the London of our time."

Americans should "sit on the edge of tomorrowcontemplating," she said, "let us find our own KewGarden."

The two were selected by a committee of six,which every year honors two women affiliated withRadcliffe