Rally on College Green opens celebration

In conjunction with similar celebrations throughout the country, the University began its own "Year of the Woman" campaign with a rally on College Green yesterday afternoon. The rally, which lasted almost one and one half hours, featured more than 20 short speeches, mostly by prominent women at the University. It was hosted by History Professor Caroll Smith-Rosenberg, who is the director of the women's studies program. Smith-Rosenberg spoke of the "glorious difference women have made at Penn," but urged audience members that "Penn can never stand still." While Smith-Rosenberg praised the University for having more women academic deans than any other Ivy League school, she also asked that more minority women personnel be hired. Provost Michael Aiken, who spoke after Smith-Rosenberg, was also proud of having four women deans at the University. "We didn't hire four women to make them deans," he said. "We hired four deans who happened to be women." Director of Victim Support and Special Services Ruth Wells praised the efforts of many people who helped to establish the recognition of women at the University. "We are at a great moment in the history of Penn. We're here to celebrate 20 years of scholarship, activism and leadership by women," she said. "We are the benefactors of the women who worked so hard from 1973 until 1976." Wells also mentioned that it was the 20th anniversary of a sit-in by University women to protest the overall treatment of women, but especially on campus. "The women felt that the administration was not addressing the safety needs of the community," she said after the rally. "There were not services available for advocacy and support." Wells added that these allegations came after several nursing students were raped and then told by the administration to keep quiet about the incidents. Wells also praised the University for drastically changing due to past incidents. "Penn has [now] become a recognized leader in providing services," she said. Elena DiLapi, director of the Penn Women's Center, spoke on relevant women's issues and the role of the Women's Center. She said that people need to ask themselves questions such as why rape is so prevalent in society, and why there are so few other campuses with four women deans. "The events of 1973 tore the community apart," she said. "We see the anniversary as a chance to bring the community together." DiLapi noted that the Women's Center, despite its title, it not solely for women. "Crime and violence does not only attack women," she said. "The support to men [by the Women's Center] has also been critical." Carla Armbrister, a first-year graduate student in the School of Education, spoke about Sister Sister, an organization to which she belonged when she was an undergraduate student at the University. "[It is] an organization that promotes activities among African American and Latino women on campus," she said, adding that the club also provides support groups, lectures and seminars. Armbrister called for increased awareness of both gender and racial issues by "promoting the beauty and essence of being a woman, and especially a woman of color." She said that gender is a chief determinant of how one is treated by others. "When I came to Penn, the only thing I knew was that I was black," she said. "No one ever told me that I was a woman." Other people who spoke at the rally included Sharon Stiefel, assistant director of Hillel Foundation and Beverly Dale, executive director of the Christian Association. Several students, both male and female, representing various student organizations. Many of the speakers called for the increased visibility of women's issues on campus, and several asked that the words to some school songs be changed to be "gender inclusive."

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