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~Special Conference Issue~

THE OWL CALL

            The OWL Call is the newsletter of the Organization of Women Leaders of Princeton University.  OWL is rewriting the definition of feminism at Princeton.  As a student-founded, student-run, non-profit organization, OWL provides a network of support for women at Princeton. We are dedicated to embracing the diversity, transforming the perceptions, and challenging the conventions of women's roles in our campus, community and world.

THE YEAR IN OWL

September

Speaker: Eve Silver

                With the Princeton Against Cancer Together (PACT) club, OWL co-sponsored a speech by breast cancer survivor Eve Silver in early September.  It was Silver’s first speech since her surgery in April, and she commenced by saying, “I am my own illustration tonight.”    Silver explained that she was able to get through her treatment by "reconstructing her human support system.”  She stated, “Showing compassion to a loved one with cancer involves being present, available, dependable and active.  We cannot cure their cancer but we can help heal them emotionally.”

October

Speaker: Patricia Ireland

                OWL held a dinner for Patricia Ireland pior to her October 15 speech at Princeton University.  Ireland’s all-female dinner company of twenty-plus OWL members and affiliates gathered in the Women’s Center conference room.  She addressed the challenges of war for the feminist movement, and the ways in which it has challenged the context for discussions about the status of women, both domestically and abroad.  Ireland, the former President of the National Organization of Women, says, “Sometimes we get frustrated, but if we live long enough, we can start to look back and celebrate how far we’ve come.”   However, Ireland also stresses that feminists must continue to press issues, especially in a time of crisis.  Feminists must guarantee that national discourse involves more than one facet of issues, and ensure that the voice of women, both abroad and domestically, is represented.

Lunch with Faculty Member: Deborah Nord

                Deborah Nord, Professor of English and Director of the Women’s Studies Program at Princeton University, was the guest speaker at a luncheon sponsored by OWL and the Women’s Studies Program on October 17.  Her discussion focused on the question of why current activism appears less critical of social structures and more willing to compromise on issues than the early feminist movement.  Ultimately, Nord proposes that solutions cannot come from single individuals, but will emerge through collective questioning, through an examination of women’s roles in society, and through promoting ideas that may eventually become mainstream.

Community service: Apple picking

                A small group of OWL members and officers coordinated with our partner women’s shelter in Trenton, Womanspace, to plan an outing of fall fun picking apples and pumpkins at a local orchard.  The women of the shelter brought their children along to pick and paint pumpkins, experience a hay ride, enjoy fresh cider and doughnuts, navigate a maze through the hayfields, and of course, pick apples.  The weather was sunny and beautiful, and children and students alike were all smiles as they enjoyed the rustic pleasures of harvest-time.

November

Trip: Peggy Guggenheim speech in New York

On November 8, 2001, 12 OWL members attended a lecture on the influence of Peggy Guggenheim and Katherine Sophie Dreier on the world of modern art from the beginning of the century at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.  These women, completely different from one another, used the resources around them to promote art in both a general and specific sense.  Dreier was a catalyst in the growth of the Dadaist movement in America, and built her collection around the Societe Anonyme, a group pioneered by Marcel Duchamp.   Guggenheim, who said, “I am not an art collector, I am a museum,” collected works of some of the most influential modern artists of her time, including Laurence Vail and Max Erst, both of whom she married for brief spells.

Panel: Greek Life, Sex and Identity

                On November 18^th, OWL hosted a panel on “Greek Life, Sex and Identity” in an effort to foster dialogue about what effects Greek life has on campus.  In particular, discussion centered around member and non-member perception of the significance and pervasiveness of Greek life on campus.  Also the panelists attempted to address what role the sororities and fraternities have in reinforcing or breaking down typical gender roles.  Some of the questions raised were “What kind of behaviors do sorority and fraternity parties encourage?” “Is it the role of the fraternities and sororities to break down gender stereotypes?” and “Why do the negative perceptions of fraternities and sororities exist?”

December

Panel: Sexual Climate at the Street

In the first of two panels on sexual harassment, OWL co-sponsored “Sexual Climate at the Street” with the USG in December.  The panel was made up of eating club presidents, students, and administrators. In an innovative attempt to move the concept of panels from dialogue to action, much of the panel was devoted to brainstorming solutions to student-identified problems with the “Street”- the avenue of eating clubs that is Princeton’s major social scene.

January

Speaker: Amy Richards

                The feminist novel Manifesta, co-authored by Amy Richards and Jennifer Baumgartner, captures the essence of a new tide in our society, a movement the authors call “third-wave feminism.”  Since Richands and Baumgartner coined this term to encompass feminists of our generation, OWL wanted to know what all the buzz was about, and so invited Richards to speak to a small group of Princeton women over dinner at Prospect House on January 10th.  The long table was full of eager students, most of whom had read Manifesta and were anxious to ask Richard questions.  Amy Richards worked closely with , an true icon of the feminist movement, and the members of OWL were very pleased to rub elbows with the emerging icon of our generation.

March

Panel: Homophobia and the Street

OWL cosponsored a panel with the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) alliance on campus panel that addressed “Homophobia on the Street.”  The event took place in Frist's Multipurpose room.  Athletes, a capella singers, and eating club officers shared their experiences of being out and going out on Prospect Avenue. There were also stories shared by SHARE and the Drug and Alcohol offices on campus.  In between panel member's descriptions, members of the audience stood up and read anonymous tales of abuse that homosexual students had encountered in the eating clubs. After the presentations ended, the audience- led by the ICC president and a representative from the Alumni committe in charge of the clubs- began to discuss possible solutions to discrimination.

Conference: Women in Medicine

The Pre-Med Society hosted the “Women in Medicine Conference” at Frist on Saturday, March 2, from 1:30 until 4:30. “As a pre-med student, I found the panel immensely valuable and interesting,” said Becca Johnson ’03.  The conference consisted of four female doctors in various fields (plastic surgery, reproductive health, dermatology and psychiatry) who spoke about their experiences through medical school, training (residency) and in their professional lives. Topics that were addressed included the application process, combining family and career and handling stress. “What was most striking to me was that all four women stressed that they still feel women have to work harder than men to achieve the same level of professional success,” said Johnson.  “Often times, this added hurdle is because women are seen in light of the potential that they will become pregnancy, and not be able to work as much as a counterpart. Also surprising was a story of sexual harassment at a residency interview that one of the panelists experience. Overall, this was an extremely well-run panel that assuaged some of my anxieties about applying to medical school, and integrating a family with my career. Congratulations to the Pre-Med Society on a job well done.”

Performance: "Live Female Entertainment"

    To benefit Womanspace, OWL sponsored an evening of entertainment featuring the talented performers of some of Princeton's top performing arts groups in the Richardson Auditorium on Tuesday, March 5^th.  The Black Arts Company (BAC), Bodyhype, Culturally Yours, Disiac, Raks Odalisques, Sympoh, Tigerlilies, Tigressions and the Wildcats! all presented a female-centric program.  The evening was emceed by the actresses of "The Vagina Monologues!"  Over $250 was raised to benefit the women’s shelter in Trenton.

Faculty Lunch:  Elizabeth Bogan

On March 27, the Women’s Center held an informal luncheon with Professor Elizabeth Bogan of the Economics Department.  About 10 OWL members attended.  Topics ranged from the tenure system for professors at Princeton to how Professor Bogan balances family life with a successful career.  Professor Bogan also told several humorous anecdotes about her graduate studies in economics at Columbia.  At the time, the Columbia department contained very few women, and Bogan sometimes had to deal with gender stereotypes, such as when a professor asked her to get him coffee.  The male professor later felt very foolish when he saw that Bogan was there to present her research.  Professor Bogan is a devoted teacher and an excellent role model for undergraduate women. 

April

Panel:  Sexual Harassment at Princeton II

In keeping with the theme of National Sexual Harassment Month, OWL and the Sexual Health and Reproductive Education group (SHARE) co-sponsored a panel focused on the logistics of addressing sexual harassment at Princeton.  The head of Public Safety joined the Dean of Discipline, Director of SHARE, head nurse of Sexuality Education Counseling and Health Services (SECH), and a student SHARE advisor.  Audience members learned about the specific steps which are taken to address complaints about sexual harassment and violence.  During the last two years OWL has been very concerned with addressing issues of sexual violence at Princeton, and the success of these panels was a good sign that Princeton as a community can continue to work together to solve these problems.