THE TWIG
VOL. XLX N0.5
Newspaper of the Students of Meredith College
MEREDITH COLLEGE, RALEIGH, N.C.
OCTOBER 9, 1975
Friedan delivers keynote address
IWY Celebration begins
Betty Friedan entertains questions after delivering address on
first day of Meredith IWY Celebration.
According to one of its
early leaders, the women’s
movement has after ten years
crested in a new stage. Betty
Friedan, a psychologist and
nationally known founder of
the National Organization for
Women (NOW) and the
National Political Caucusi
addressed Meredith students!
and Raleigh area visitors at
Student input encouraged
Tor SGA activities
student involvement in
Student Government
Association (SGA) activities
is a major goal of this year’s
Student Government
Association Executive
Committee.
For students to be in
volved in student government,
SGA president Rebecca
Askew notes, the SGA must
deal with issues which are of
“current interest’’ to the
students.
The Executive Committee
has chosen this year to focus
its activities upon three basic
objectives; those of studying
the effectiveness of the honor
code, assessing the strengths
and weaknesses of academics,
and promoting an awareness
among students about the
importance of health care.
These three issues are
matters, Ms. Askew says,
which concern every student
at Meredith.
Sub-committees of the
SGA Executive Committee
have been formed to consider
each of the three objectives
chosen for emphasis this year.
In an effort to “get people
other than SGA officers in
volved” in student govern
ment activities, members of
these subcommittees are
drawn from the faculty, the
Executive Committee and the
student body at large.
Through these and other
committees SGA, Ms. Askew
notes, tries to seek answers to
questions which students raise
but don’t know where to go to
ask. The Student Rights
Committee of the Legislative
Board has for example been
studying campus parking
problems. The Executive
Committee sub-committees
have, Ms. Askew said,
“already gotten off to a great
start.” The health care sub
committee arranged a
program on childbirth at the
Friday October 3 SGA
meeting. This sub-committee
has also coordinated the
selling of women’s health care
book Our Bodies, Ourselves.
Ms. Askew and Phyllis Smith,
subcommittee chairwoman
anticipate more health care
programs at SGA meetings.
Ms. Smith says that the
sub-committee is planning a
pap smear clinic in the spring,
and health care programs in
the dorms led by LaVeme
Reed of the Wake County
Health Department.
The subcommittee hopes
also, according to Ms. Askew,
to sponsor a forum or panel
discussion on abortion. The
group is planning in addition
to buy and distribute pam
phlets on health care for
women.
This subcommittee has
also scheduled meetings with
the infirmary staff to plan
ways in which that staff and
the SGA can work together to
make the delivery of campus
health care service better.
A second subcommittee,
chaired by Executive
Committee member Cindy
Truelove, will serve as a
liasson between the students
and the standing college in
struction and curriculum
committees. This group will,
according to Ms. Askew,
“channel (student) discussion
on new additions to the
curriculum” to these com
mittees. The subcommittee
will also, she said, study the
conclusions of and be a
resource to the college
President’s Task Force on
Curriculum Reform. The
subcommittee is also working
on a study of the instructor
and course evaluations done
last spring. On the basis of this
study, the subcommittee will
make recommendations on
the future use of such
evaluations at Meredith.
When queried about the
effectiveness of SGA
recommendations and ac
tions, Ms. Askew responded “I
don’t think that people realize
how strong SGA is.” Much of
this strength derives, she said,
from administrative respect
for SGA action: Normally, she
said, if SGA “acts responsibly
and asks for cooperation”
from tbe administration, “it
gets it.”
The college ad
ministrators work actively as
SGA resources, she said, “we
haven’t run into any apathy”
in the administration or the
Board of Trustees about SGA
concerns.
Shear on Roberts, SGA
executive vice-president,
heads a third subcommittee
dealing with the honor code.
This subcommittee will, Ms.
Askew said, consider the
effectiveness of the honor
code. She notes that the
subcommittee was formed in
response to a campus wide
concern about the usefullness
of the existing honor code; a
concern that “came to a head
over cheating during self
scheduling exams.”
SGA, Ms. Askew said,
decided to approach the honor
code with the determination
that it must “make the honor
code work or get rid of it.”
This year’s honor code related
programs, she said, are
founded on the premise that
the honor code can work.
Ms. Robert’s sub
committee has already
presented an honor code
service to the freshman class
before freshman honor code
pledges were signed. SGA
officers and college President
Dr. Weems presented a
program which stressed the
importance of personal in
tegrity to making the honor
code effective.
In the hope of “generating
discussion on the honor code”
and on personal integrity, the
subcommittee recommended
that the convocation com
mittee sponsor a program on
the honor code which will
feature Dr. Charles
Whitebread of the University
of Virginia Law School.
In addition to considering
programming activities, the
(Continued on page 4)
the 10:00 a.m., October 6
convocation. With her speech,
“The Women’s Movement:
Where are We Now and Where
are We Going” Ms. Friedan
opened Meredith’s In
ternational Women’s Year
(IWY) 1975 Celebration.
She defined the women’s
movement in America as a
“massive revolution.” It was
first characterized by a
“revolution in consciousness”
then developed programs of
action to “transform the
political power base” and to
change institutions.
Now she said, women
“have to move out to their
isolation.” They need, she
said, to strive to “restructure
jobs” and to “restructure the
family” on “human terms.” A
transformation to a “human
politics” and the com
plimentary goal of the
liberating the femaleness of
men and the maleness of
women are major aims, she
said, of the women’s
movement today.
Any with the Women’s
movement, she said, did
women in the 60’s begin to
define themselves in human
terms; they had to “confront
their own sieves.” The women
in the early women’s
movement was Ibsen’s Nora
coming out of the doll house
saying “I am first a person,”
and then saying “I am entitled
to (American democratic)
rights.”
The goals of the women’s
movement could not be
achieved “rhetorically or in
the abstract, every institution
had to be confronted,” she
said. Ms. Friedan at a
question and answer meeting
in the Cate Center, responded
to questions after her speech.
Her visit was sponsored
by the Convocation Com
mittee with the cooperation of
the IWY Committee and the
Raising the Sights of Women
Committee.
The IWY Celebration will
continue through October 10.
Dr. Lisa Sergio and Maryjane
Snyder will speak in IWY
convocations.
Targets chosen for
RSW programs
At a weekend retreat at
Quail Roost Convention
Center, September 27-28, the
Advisory Council of the
Program for Raising the
Sights of Women (RSW)
reviewed the proposal funded
by the Mellon foundation and
considered ways of im
plementing it.
Two objectives — Self-
Understanding and Goal
Orientation — were selected
as the first targets by the
twelve faculty administrators
and six students present,
according to program
director. Dr. Sarah Lemmon.
The Council, she said,
recommended that both
students and faculty members
enroll in the Life Directions
Seminar this spring, and that
a faculty seminar led by
outside consultants be
planned as soon as possible.
The Council also ex
pressed interest, Dr. Lemmon
said, in supporting SGA in
plans for a student sym
posium on human sexuality
and it also invited the In
terdormitory Board to
develop dormitory discussion
groups related to the ob
jectives of the program.
Rebecca Askew, a
member of the Council, said
that one of the aims of the
Council is to “plug” Raising
the Sights of Women activities
and programs into existing
groups.
Three students were
named to the Raising the
Sights of Women Executive
Committee. Sophomore,
Cindy Truelove and freshman
Lauren Adams were selected.
In addition, a vacancy was left
open to be filled by the fresh
man class president upon her
election. Since the Raising the
Sights of Women retreat,
Belinda Smith has been
elected freshman class
president. She will fill the
third student Executive
Committee post.
Mollie Hall, a freshman,
was appointed reporter.
TWIG newsbriefs
Oak Leaves
The shipment of the 1975
edition of THE OAK LEAVES,
the Meredith CoUege annual
will arrive at Meredith no
later than November 1st says
annual editor, Linda Green.
The books may be picked up
by students at a specified
place immediately upon
arrival.
Freshman Elections
In the freshman class
elections held Sept. 29th and
Oct. 1, Belinda Smith was
elected class president. In
addition to serving as
President of the Freshman
class, Belinda will be a
member of the Student Life
Committee and the Raising
the Sights of Women Advisory
Committee.
Other elected officials are
Carol Edmiston — Vice-
President, Debbie Peele —
Secretary, and Lou Graham
— Treasurer.
Freshman members to
Judicial Board will be Anne
Farley and Nancy Walker.
Elected to Legislative Board
were Jane Easley Long and
Robin Mayberry.
Representatives to Elections
Board will be April Dean and
Denise E. Byrd.
Cornhuskin’ Co-Chairmen
for the Freshman class are
Beth Wheless and Denise
Ingram. Nancy Abies and
Kathy Keith were elected
Stunt Co-Chairman. Elected
to the M.C.A. was Wanda
Henderson.
SGA
In SGA Friday, a bill was
introduced by Leg. Board to
change the titles of hall
proctor to hall advisor and
dorm president to residence
hall coordinator. The bill was
defeated.
Announcement was made
that any solicitation at
Meredith College now must be
approved through the Dean of
Students office.
Betty Harris, an in
structor of the Lamaze
method of childbirth
presented a program on
prepared childbirth. Her
program was sponsored by
the SGA subcommittee of
health care. (See related
story, page 3).