You've seen them around before.
They sit next to you in class. They find ways to cross their legs even while sitting in the McCosh 50 desks. They account for most of the X-chromosomes on campus. They make up 47 percent of the undergraduate student body. They are women and they are everywhere.
Except on the U-Council.
Though 20 students ran in the recent undergraduate U-Council elections — including five women — the 10 winners were all male. USG members, and the new U-Councilors in particular, should be deeply concerned by these election results. Because the U-Council is now entirely without a female voice, it will be hard for many students to accept the U-Council as a representative body. After all, an all-male U-Council fails to include almost half of the University community.
The ongoing evolution of campus — from the opening of the Frist Campus Center to the new student body size increase — will raise numerous quality-of-life issues next year. Adequately soliciting and representing the opinions of the student body regarding these and other major changes to the University will be a difficult challenge for the USG in the coming months. Without a single woman in the U-Council or the USG Senate, this task will be that much harder.
While female students may not have a specific agenda that is entirely separate from men's, they often do bring different perspectives and priorities to campus-wide issues. Sexual harassment at the 'Street,' the overall safety of the campus at night and the important role of Sexual Education Counseling and Health at McCosh Health Center are just a few issues to which women can make unique contributions. Despite the all-male U-Council, it is important that women's concerns and ideas continue to be heard by other students and administrators.
In the future, USG members should encourage additional interested women to run for elected positions. While the dearth of female candidates and victors is obviously not a phenomenon unique to Princeton, it is certainly one that our student government should be trying to redress. In the meantime, the newly elected U-Council members should be aware of the group's gender inequity and make every effort to solicit the opinions and advice of their female peers.
Though the history of women at Princeton is relatively short, it is exceedingly rich. Undergraduate women have always been — and continue to be — a source of leadership and talent. We hope that in the future, the USG and the University community as a whole will be able to benefit from their active participation.
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