Boston Area High School Students Discuss Women's Issues at Lighthouse Conference

High school girls from the greater Boston area munched on pizza with Harvard women as they discussed issues ranging from body image in the media to women and AIDS, during the fourth annual Lighthouse Conference for Girls on Saturday.

Conference participants attended workshops and panels throughout the day at Radcliffe College. Organizers said the conference was an overwhelming success.

"The conference had four main purposes," said conference organizer Megan L. Peimer '97. "To expose the girls to new ideas, to give them a chance to discuss issues relating to women, to give them something they can take away with them, namely empowerment, and to give them a chance to make connections with other high school girls."

Several campus groups made presentations at the conference. Eating Concerns Hotline and Outreach (ECHO) and Response sponsored workshops, and Calling It Rape performed at the end of the day.

Organizers said the participants responded most enthusiastically to speaker Elizabeth Debold, author of Mother Daughter Revolution, and also to the conference's many workshops.

"The Women and Sexuality workshop got rave reviews. I think it's because it's something girls don't normally get a chance to talk about honestly," Peimer said.

One of the goals of the conference was to create a comfortable setting in which the participants could fully express their opinions and feelings, said organizers.

ECHO representative Nhi-ha Trinh '96, who led a workshop on eating disorders, said the discussion became very personal.

"It was quite emotional. These are issues which touch women of both high school and college age. They told stories about their friends, their family. We tried to give [participants] practical advice and increased awareness," Trinh said.

The conference drew a mix of public and private school students, mostly white and middle class. Peimer said organizers were "trying to reach a more diverse audience," and predicted that an expanded outreach program would do the trick.

"The girls were really excited, really terrific. I think they came out at the end of the day inspired to change things," she added.

In the past, conference participants have gone on to organize peer groups and student activism on behalf of women.

The conference was sponsored by the Radcliffe Union of Students and the Undergraduate Council.