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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 26, 1996)
The Battalion se we see a she said. * j residents eeds that need tu i the residents ol r upperclassmen,' used in a suite of; isher, with pernia- ed in the future, id Housing hopes ident director lor id Lechner Halls, isidence Life may be made ,ure if they are de which dorms rs and which only e part-time direc- wler-Hughes tor because of its will house more IELIFE EniTOO , Sports Enron no Editor jich, Graphics Editos aphics Edptor la Benson, Eleanor Colvin, lanielle Pontiff, Kendrai ry, Kristina Buffin, Ami*! Francis, Elbe Goad, |ere- s; Page Designers: Helti n Lemons, lennifer lynnt is Yung ay, Mandy Cater, Ami*! \&M University in dieDf lalism. >-3313; Fax: 845-2647 idorsement by The Baffi 1 845-2696. For classif® ed McDonald and ofc 78. student to pick up a per school year and W ress, call 845-2611. iday during the fall and imer sessions (exceplon :y. Second class postajt d Building, TexasAJM GGIE rea BARRIERS Historical, contemporary issues of equality are examined during Women's Week Kathryn Gunn, president of the A&M chapter of NOW and a senior political science major, said women simply want equal pay for equal work. . ,, . , “Women are given lots more opportunity,” Gunn OmOIl in tne ancient said. “Still, we want to get paid.” world led a life of equality with the men of the time. Under the Babylonian Code of Hammaurabi, women held titles to land and could hand that land over to their children. Legally, 1792-50 B.C. offered equalities that American women enjoy today. In the past century, women have won the right to be educated and to work outside the home. The 1920s brought women the right to vote and a liberation in fashion. And up to now, women have leapt into high- ranking jobs, economic freedoms and a voice in the nation. Women have more control over their health care. And women are learning how to fight back against domestic violence and sexual assault. To quote Virginia Slims, “You’ve come a long way baby.” Miles have been crossed, but some women be lieve many more are to come. Salary, health care, the Equal Rights Amend ment and attitudes about women recycle them selves through the government and conversations about a women’s movement. “Woman will be dependent until she hold a purse of her own. ” -Elizabeth Cady Stanton The salary that men and women rely on to sus tain life is constantly scrutinized in the public eye. Dr. Daniel Bomstein, an associate professor of history, said women working through the ranks of the job market have become more accepted and less threatening to their male colleagues. “Still, there’s the glass ceiling,” Bomstein said. The glass ceiling analogy describes the barriers women face when trying to climb the last steps on the corporate ladder. The analogy says that women can see the top but run into the “glass ceiling,” or negative atti tudes about women, when trying to get into the cor porate upper echelon. An article released last week by the Associated Press showed how the glass ceiling stands strong between women and executive positions. The article recorded the highest paid Texas col lege administrators. Women occupied three of the top-dollar jobs, earning a collective $19,995 less than the men. “We do as much, we eat as much, we work as much. ” -Sojourner Truth Many women are pushing to be treated equally in the legal sense. The Equal Rights Amendment, which would de clare women legally equal to men, has been reject ed by the government. Women in combat became the focus of the amendment, and it was set aside. Gunn said that if the amendment passed, the government would be officially saying that men and women carry equal weight. “Hopefully, that would force employers to pay equally,” she said. “It shows something that’s been right all along.” Matthews sees the ERA in a different light. She said people have lost their fervor for the amendment. “People decided that it wouldn’t make much dif ference to pass it anyway,” Matthews said. “Chang ing laws can only go so far.” “When a man gets up to speak, people listen, then look. When a woman gets up, people look; then, if they like what they see, they listen. ” -Pauline Frederick Gunn said she lives Frederick’s quote in the classroom. “In the class, it’s important being taken serious ly as a female,” she said. “Male classmates some times don’t give credibility to what I’m saying.” Bomstein said women also carry a stereotyping attitude about their gender. In his class, Bomstein asked how many hus bands would adopt the wife’s last name. “Nothing but laughter,” he said. Attitudes shape the roles that women take on, and the population carries a varied view of gender roles. Gunn said women decide their own future. “Whatever they want to be is the role they take on now,” Gunn said. The future for the women’s movement is un certain. Some think women will reach equality nirvana, and others think women can look forward to a dim future in women’s advancement. Matthews said people seem to be discouraged about the advancement of women. Instead of facing the difficult issues, women and men get stuck on trivial issues of who should open doors for whom and who should pick up the ticket for dinner. “The movement of time does not always mean going forward,” she said. “It can go away as easily as it came.” Page 3 Alpern teaches the significance of women leaders "Women's By James Francis The Battalion studies is an emerging academic discipline nationally." Wi N O AT ART! 'Aggie Bucks 1 ' 3est of our abilltK Amy Browning, The Battalion Dr. Sara Alpern teaches courses focusing on the history of American ivomen. omen were admitted to Texas A&M in 1963 on a limited basis. By 1971, all restrictions against them were offi cially removed. Dr. Sara Alpern, an associate professor of history, is a woman who has seen change, has been a part of it, and now teaches others on the subject. Hired to teach at A&M in 1977, Alpern considers it to be particular ly interesting, challenging and re warding to be one of the pioneer ing women at the University. At the same time that the first women marched in the Aggie Band and the first woman was named to Texas A&M’s Athletic Hall of Fame and others, Alpern fur- -Dr. Sara Alpern thered women’s roles at A&M by “j starting women’s studies in the associate professor history department. of history “Women’s studies is an emerging 7 academic discipline nationally,” she said, “but it is especially interesting to watch it grow here, at a universi ty that for much of its history has been all-male and all-military.” Alpern said the aim of women’s studies is to recover information in basic aspects of life and look at it in new ways. She said women who were promi nent in their time are forgotten, and it is an important job to fill in those empty spaces. “It’s the dynamics of seeing tradi tional life having a broader signifi cance,” she said. Alpern said the subject matter does not just touch women, but everyone. “Just as women are intercon nected with men, other women and children, it (women’s studies) is important in any university,” she said. Alpern teaches History 461, a general study course in the history of American women, and History 473, the history of modern Ameri can women. * Alpern said she wants her stu dents to understand what barriers women faced and the strategies they used, with the hope of learn ing from those mistakes to reach a better future. “The topics are valuable for men and women, relevant information for both sexes as we move into the 21st century,” she said. “I want them to appreciate the history of women before them of different races, religions, classes and see the impact of gender roles in the past with their contributions.” As for her professional life, in 1991, she became the first president of the Women’s Faculty Network, an organization with the intentions of improving support and communica tion through the administrative level. Alpern has also been a mentor for women entering the College of Lib eral Arts, where she gives general advice on papers and other research on women. Her stock of publications in cludes work in the area of biogra phies, 20th century United States history and United States women’s history with sub-specialties on women in business, journalism and eating disorders. Alpern said she looks forward to a time when being a woman will not matter and the question of whether a female president shall be elected will not have to be pondered. She also said she hopes informa tion on women’s achievements con tinues to grow. “Hopefully, we won’t have to have a Women’s Week,” Alpern said. “There will be enough information where that is not needed.”
