NOW president to speak on feminists' role

Patricia Ireland's road to political and feminist activism began in the 1960s while she was working as a flight attendant for PanAmerican Airlines. When her husband was denied dependent health benefits, she called her local chapter of the National Organization of Women and the Department of Labor to acquire the needed health coverage.

Forty years later, Ireland has completed a 10-year term as president of NOW and is widely known as one of the nation's leading feminists. She will speak at 8 p.m. tonight in McCormick 101.

Her talk is part of a series of events that the student-run Organization of Women Leaders is holding this month in celebration of feminism.

Ireland will address issues raised by the Sept. 11 attacks and examine the role of feminists and students in the aftermath of the events. In an interview with the 'Prince' yesterday, she stressed the important role students can play in the community, even if it is to be a "dissenting voice."

Two of the most important problems stemming from the current situation, she said, are the domestic impacts on the service industry and insufficient hate crime laws. Ireland said she hopes for legislation that will protect displaced workers who are suddenly unemployed because of the decline in the tourism industry.

"The hotel industry is the first to be laid off," she noted. "Poor, displaced workers need unemployment benefits."

She also supports a bill to expand current hate crime laws to include coverage of women and minorities, such as individuals of Middle Eastern descent who are facing increased discrimination in the aftermath of the attacks. She said the United States faces a "responsibility to stop hate crimes."

Ireland suggested that the University campus respond to the attacks by holding discussions and becoming more politically active. She said she has observed during her college campus speech tours that there is a "greater willingness to be active on campuses."

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She added that she believes that "students don't want to be complicit with injustice."

At Princeton, OWL enlisted 200 new members in September's activities fair and now boasts 600 members.

"There is a common miconception among women of our generation that feminism equals radicalism or man-hating," OWL president Nancy Ippolito '02 said "OWL exists, in part, to change that stereotype, providing a network for women with all interests, backgrounds, and talents.""Patricia Ireland is coming to explain the 'new wave of feminism,' in which both men and women of all types can be feminists merely by supporting equality between the sexes," she added, expressing excitement for Ireland's speech.

When asked what kind of an effect she thinks a war will have on the status of women in the armed forces, Ireland said it could be a positive change if it increases public attention for women.

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"There must be a greater awareness and respect for the roles we play," she said.

In an article entitled "Feminism Goes to Battle" in this Sunday's Washington Post, writer Amy Holmes criticized NOW "for carefully sidestep[ping] the 'war question' " and for limiting its attack on the armed forces to gay and lesbian policy.

In response to these allegations, Ireland said, "The core question is whether to judge individuals or make sweeping generalizations based on sex. Are all women unqualified?" Other criteria should be used to judge who can fight, she noted.

Ireland promised to expand on these and other topics in today's lecture.