Students voice concern over gender disparities in spring U-Council elections

When Allison Arensman '04 ran for U-Council this spring, she did not expect she would be the only woman among 15 candidates campaigning for ten seats on the committee. Last year, all U-Councilors were male.

"I was kind of surprised and disappointed. I was actually expecting more females to run," said Arensman, who was elected and will serve as the only woman in the group. "U-Council is obviously male dominated."

Associate Dean of Undergraduate Students Thomas Dunne said that he believed a broad-based elected council should reflect the represented body. "One of the tricky aspects of the electoral assembly is it's not only who wins but [the] number of candidates of various backgrounds that choose to run," he noted.

Princeton's student body is roughly evenly divided between men and women.

In an e-mail, USG president Joe Kochan '02 said perhaps female students have not been encouraged to participate in the U-Council as much as they should be.

"Princeton does not have a history that is necessarily encouraging to women," he said. "While much of the overt discrimination here has been ended, there are still many situations in which women must expend more energy 'proving' themselves.

"There exists an initial skepticism regarding the abilities of a woman in a leadership position that is not present in her male counterparts," Kochan added. "Running for student government office is difficult as it is, and this added hurdle may still discourage potential female candidates."

Vice President for Campus Life Janet Dickerson suggested in an e-mail that women may have instead chosen to pursue other opportunities.

"Perhaps some women have decided that they don't want to stand in competitive elections, so they prefer to serve in other, more collegial roles instead," she said.

"I have noticed that many — perhaps a majority — of the RAs and MAAs are women and that there are some incredible women leaders of service activities and organizations," Dickerson explained.

To address women's issues on campus, Kochan recently created the USG Committee on Women's Issues to prepare a report for the new University president. The committee is investigating concerns of women on campus and will recommend ways to make the University a better place for women.

Vanessa Bartram '02, who chairs the committee, said in an e-mail that she noticed a perception that the USG is traditionally seen as a male institution — which might deter women from running for office.

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"I have seen that most women leaders choose to involve themselves in activities which are more personally important or fulfilling to them," she said. "I believe this is why we see more women leaders in social and political causes, as well as the arts."

Arensman noted, however, that while she was the only woman who ran for the U-Council, more women ran for positions as class officers. The recently elected slate of Class of 2003 officers is all women.

Nancy Ippolito '03, president of the Organization of Women Leaders — which works to help women candidates with publicity in order to increase the number of women elected — said, "I think that there's always room for improvement, but it is really exciting how many women were elected this spring."

Catherine Farmer '03, who was re-elected as class president, said in an e-mail, "I have never felt that the gender disparity in the USG presented a problem. There are cases where a greater diversity of opinions would have benefited the USG."

"As for whether this diversity would be achieved by integrating more women into the USG, [it] has yet to be seen," she added.

Dickerson said, "I have been very impressed by the quality, integrity and capacity of our male leaders.

"Most of the USG senators and representatives that I have gotten to know this year are 'feminist' in their origin and have been excellent advocates for issues such as safety that are of concern to all students."

However, Ippolito said, "No matter what the issue, a woman will bring a different perspective than even a man trying to bring a woman's view point."

Arensman agreed that with only one woman serving on the U-Council, "There's obviously not a balance of perspectives."

Dunne said gender representation was not the only issue.

"We are also looking for representations across socioeconomic lines, international and domestic students, different racial and ethnic groups so I wouldn't prioritize one over the other than just the common idea as many voices representative as possible."

Farmer said, "I encourage students who feel that they are not being represented adequately, whether they are women or men, to run for elected office themselves and make the changes they desire."