Women's Groups Healthy But More Low-Key

Even though their activist days of rallying and petitioning may be waning, new and old undergraduate women's groups are still enjoying healthy memberships.

The health of both the groups and their ranks may come as much from their new, more low-key approaches to feminist issues as from increased student interest stemming from last year's high profile challenges.

Last spring the Radcliffe Union of Students (RUS) shot down a request from male undergraduates for full voting rights in the women's group.

And Women Appealing for Change (WAC) unsuccessfully battled for Final Club inclusion throughout last year.

The last hope for WAC--The Fly Club--recently decided not to admit women. This means WAC's potential impact is seriously diminished, along with student interest as momentum slows from last year's initial push.

"With this decision it's going to take a lot longer than we had hoped, but it has made us more inspired to convince other women to stay away from the finals clubs or make them go coed," said Rebecca H. Ewing '95, a co-president of WAC. "It made us angry enough to keep working."

"The first year you get a bunch of motivated people and the second year you go down for a few years until you get both the tradition and motivation," Ewing said.

Sarah Winters '95, another co-president, said many women aren't committed enough to boycott the clubs again.

New Women's Group

Students for Equality Feminism, a women's issues discussion group, was founded last spring in response to radical feminists who believe women are continually oppressed by men, said co-founder Rebecca Boggs '95.

"People don't want to be told that there's only one authentic or feminist way of looking at things," Boggs said as she emphasized that her group considers men and women as individuals before members of a gender.

Boggs said 30 people came to Equality Feminism's introductory meeting in September, while 15 attended their latest dinner-discussion on pornography and women's rights Tuesday.

Boggs said the feminist climate on campus is not as protest-oriented as in the past. It usually takes an event like the Clarence Thomas hearings or the final clubs debacle to galvanize women, she says.

"It's very exciting to be vocal and active and outraged, but outrage isn't always the best catalyst to find helpful solutions," Boggs said. "[Right now] the important thing is to discuss issues and...have people consider what they believe."

Established Groups

The more established women's organizations seemed to have settled into a post-conflict lull.

Last spring, students questioned RUS's future impact after its decision to stop taking active political stands.

But co-President Megan Lewis '95 said RUS has an active agenda set for this year, in addition to its regular grants process.

Lewis said members will work with three outside organizations: a Violence Against Women task force which will observe court trials on domestic violence, an alumnae committee working to get more tenured women faculty and a conference with the Kennedy and Law Schools on child care for poor women.

"It's big," Lewis said of RUS. "It's very active."

Fifty members turned out at RUS's introductory meetings this fall--about the same as last year, said Lewis.

Lighthouse Magazine, a quarterly women's issues publication, has even been attracting new members, coor- dinator Jennifer Soriano '95 said. "Things are going strong this year," she said. "We've had a lot of response to our publications."

In addition to leading discussion groups for high school girls, Lighthouse is planning to sponsor a new series of weekly dinner-discussions.

Women in Science also holds panel discussions, study breaks, and runs a big sister program for first-year girls. They hope to put together a resume and jobs presentation, and hold a conference for high school students, said co-chair Sandrita Bendeck '96.

"There's just a need for women in science to get to know each other and network," she said.

Bendeck said the club will benefits from more active leadership this year. Forty students came to the introductory meeting.

And a revitalized Latinas Unidas, a Latino women's group, is training its members to volunteer at a battered women's shelter in Boston. Study breaks and discussions are also on the agenda, said co-chair Elvira M. Villasuerte '96

In addition to leading discussion groups for high school girls, Lighthouse is planning to sponsor a new series of weekly dinner-discussions.

Women in Science also holds panel discussions, study breaks, and runs a big sister program for first-year girls. They hope to put together a resume and jobs presentation, and hold a conference for high school students, said co-chair Sandrita Bendeck '96.

"There's just a need for women in science to get to know each other and network," she said.

Bendeck said the club will benefits from more active leadership this year. Forty students came to the introductory meeting.

And a revitalized Latinas Unidas, a Latino women's group, is training its members to volunteer at a battered women's shelter in Boston. Study breaks and discussions are also on the agenda, said co-chair Elvira M. Villasuerte '96