<p>Here I am, Ashligee! A bonafide female EA admit.</p>
<p>I echo what others have said: Have you read the transcript from Summers' speech? Do us all a favor--don't make assertions if you have not done your research. Much of the recent Summers' debacle would have been avoidable had people simply investigated the issue for themselves from the beginning and not allowed themselves to be swept into the firestorm against President Summers. What Summers said was completely reasonable.</p>
<p>And as for this feminism business: I AM a feminist, in the sense that I strive for equality among genders, but I fail to see how feminism or equality is being threatened here. In accepting equality among the genders, we must also accept various gender differences. It is curious to me that the same women who celebrate the female presence in the workplace--citing how empathetic, cooperative women are--are angry that anyone would dare suggest that there could be downsides to double X.</p>
<p>Just for kicks, and because I like wasting my breath (or in this case, key-strokes), I will tell you, Ashligee and friends, what Summers said that was NOT offensive. Summers has been repeatedly misquoted as having said there are innate differences of intelligence between men and women that may cause a discrepancy in the genders in the science fields. However, what Summers ACTUALLY said was that there may be innate differences in the ways men and women learn, etc. I think that is perfectly reasonable, and I, for one, agree with him.</p>
<p>Okay, so now that that is out of the way, Ashligee, you owe us all an answer: What IS with the forward slashes?!?!?!?! :)</p>
<p>I am not a young woman, so I don't fit the profile from whom you were soliciting responses, and I did read the transcript.</p>
<p>I want to point out a distortion in the media coverage. The issue was not ONLY what he said, but his actions on other faculty issues since his arrival. The drop in tenure offers to women since he took office and the dismantling of the African American studies department put his comments about women in context. If he had shown, by his actions, support for women on the faculty, then his comments would have been ignored. The problem was that the fact of low substantive support for women on the faculty was then followed by a suggestion that they don't belong there at all. Then people got upset.</p>
<p>I hope young women, particularly those interested in science, do not abandon Harvard. My guess is that they will not. After all, African American enrollments have increased in spite of his evident hostility towards them. The president's thoughts and prejudices are simply not that important for an undergrad student. Few of you will ever meet the president if you go to a large university.</p>
<p>Getting rid of that fraud, Cornel West, does not translate into "evident hostility" towards blacks, any more than his remarks at MIT demonstrated "prejudice" towards women.</p>
<p>You are as big a phony as "ashligee" - who, since "she" posts on no other topic, seems to be an alias created for the purpose of Summers-baiting, just as your specialty (revealed by prior posts) is lawyer-baiting and looking down your nose at business school applicants.</p>
<p>Good to hear from you. And glad to see your comments responded to the points about drops in tenure offers to women and dismantling African American studies. Cornell West is not the only one who was hounded out. </p>
<p>"phony" what?</p>
<p>Given your activity on this board, you should know by now that these attacks have no effect since you cannot threaten anyone. Try staying on the subject at hand.</p>
<p>"Would you feel comfortable being in a classroom where the teacher, dean and president, already concluded, on the first day of classes, without having met you, that you had less abiltiy than the male sitting next to you?"</p>
<p>Unfortunately, if you are in science, some of your professors will have this opinion, and nothing the president says or does will change that. If you are a women in science, this is something with which you will have to contend. On the other hand, it really will not matter what the president thinks, since he will have no influence on your life. You will not take a course from him unless you really, really want to, you will probably never meet him, and many of your professors will have been appointed before he got there. Overall, the list of tenured faculty at Harvard looks very much the same as it did 5 years ago, and as it will 10 years from now. Professors stay on the faculty for a long time. </p>
<p>People overlook how limited the presiden'ts powers are. He can have some impact on faculty composition at the margin, by discouraging offers to certain people, denying tenure to others, and edging people out the door-but only if they are willing to go. The president of a university has a very different role than the principal of a high school or the boss of a company. He has some direct authority over faculty issues, but not that much. </p>
<p>If you are a women interested in science you should be concerned about how women are treated in science overall, but you should not let this incident influence your thinking about studying at Harvard. Do not assume that because the presidents of other top colleges are either more welcoming of women in science, or more careful about what they say, that this reflects differences in the attitudes of the faculty members who will be your instructors. They will cover the same range of opinions at Stanford, Princeton, and MIT as at Harvard. It was a good political move by these presidents to try to take advantage of the bad press to pick up some students and faculty from Harvard. The reality of your academic life as a student of science at these places will be identical to that at Harvard.</p>
<p>Why do people have to make disclaimers about not being feminists? Why can't people just embrace feminism as a movement that seeks for the equality of women, rather than disparage feminists and buy into the stereotype that we're all fat, unshaved, ugly, man hating dykes?</p>
<p>No, Ashliglee, I am not suggesting that the Harvard faculty and other Presidents of universities did not read the transcripts. I think you underestimate the power of hidden motives. Since the mainstream and mostly uninformed media has jumped on this Summers' bashing boat, the faculty of Harvard and others have found their opportunity to go after Summers for other things that make them angry. It is my guess that most of the Harvard faculty doesn't really care that much about Summers' speech--they are more concerned with other things he's done that have ticked them off, like getting rid of Cornel West (who, as Byerly said, is a complete fraud), and pushing for faculty to spend more time teaching classes (if that makes you upset, I don't know what wouldn't).</p>
<p>Fids--I don't think people who have posted on this thread believe feminists are all burly, gross women who don't care about being feminine and hate men. I, for one, love a good pair of Manolos. ;)</p>
<p>I was referring to the original poster and her comment about not being a feminist. Why do people feel the need to apologize for expressing pro-women sentiments? Why is being a feminist seen as such a negative thing?</p>
<p>I know--I'm not sure. I often find myself saying that I'm not a feminist, but what I mean is that I'm not a hard-line activist who values political correctness over progress. You are right that feminism has become a label for something it, at its core, is not. So, yeah.</p>
<p>Sunglasses is 100% right-on in everything she says, IMHO. Summers problem with the faculty has precious little to do with either females in science or with the widely (though privately)-ridiculed Cornel West. </p>
<p>Rather, it has to do with his aggressive move to involve himself in tenure decisions with an eye to obtaining better <em>teachers</em>. This, and his push to get current professers more involved in <em>teaching</em> has put him at odds with elements of the faculty. Understandably, the students are more supportive of Summer's goals than are fossilized faculty elements.</p>
<p>Its fine to have views, and being a "feminist" or being a Summers-hater, or being a "lawyer-basher" or a "Harvard-basher" is perfectly legal. Neither, however, is morally superior to being a Summers-booster or a Harvard-booster, IMHO. The OP's bias is no less obvious simply because she denies being a "feminist".</p>
<p>Nor is there anything wrong with pointing out that a poster may have a pretty clear agenda as disclosed by his or her previous posts.</p>
<p>Haha yeah, don't think I was directing anger at you, either, I was just annoyed by the original comment in this thread. ;)</p>
<p>I find myself doing it, too. Not really denying that I'm a feminist, but definitely denying all the negative implications that people have attached to feminism. </p>
<p>"Well...I read books about the beauty myth and patriarchy and identify with radical feminist philosophies but, um, I shave every day and I'm not ugly? I mean, I want to have kids! I like cooking, too! And I don't hate men at all, but, you know..." It's awful.</p>
<p>Edit: I don't dislike Larry Summers. I don't even think his comment seemed all that horrible.</p>
<p>The bottom line really is that Summers has been stepping on the toes of Harvard professors for a long time now, and that this issue is merely being used as an excuse to oust him.</p>
<p>Varied other offenses include alienating reputable professors whom he didnt think taught enough, and trying to initiate housing changes that those involved found inconvenient (nobody wanted to move across the river it seems). Summers went in with a mission to "fix" Harvard, and in pursuit of his mission hes been a bit tactless in general. Thats why there was a vote of no confidence, not because of his comments about how men and women may or may not learn differently.</p>
<p>Cornel West wasn't fired from Harvard, he left after he felt insulted by the President, despite persuasion to stay. A fraud or not, he's a big name and was sorely desired to stay on at Harvard. Just thought I'd volunteer that point.</p>
<p>I beg to differ. Summers and others wanted him gone. They thought Rudenstine made a huge mistake giving him a University Scholar slot. It was like the Yankees signing Giambi to a long-term deal. Dealing with the flack was something they were willing to do. That Princeton was willing to take him off their hands to remove the cancer was something of a lucky break.</p>