This year was supposed to be a turning point — having both Joyce and Ariel as the faces of Penn student government has been a testament to how far we have come in terms of diversity, gender and otherwise, on UA and Class Board. The pool of candidates for the Class of 2018 elections clearly shows there is still much work to be done. Of the over 50 candidates, only 13 are women. Of the 13 candidates running for the President, not one is female. I know that there are plenty of qualified and amazing women in the freshmen class; why have so few decided to run? This is a complicated question with complicated answers. Rebecca Heilweil also wrote an interesting piece for The Daily Pennsylvanian about the lack of women involved in political life on campus in general. We have a long way to go on many fronts. Our voices need to be heard on this campus and beyond. It is time to get off the sidelines. Run for UA. Apply for that board position or internship. Even if you yourself dont feel like running, it is time to encourage your friends to do so. Help them campaign and step outside their comfort zone. Be there when they have to deal with the rewarding but often rocky path that is political involvement. Enhancing the diversity of perspectives at all levels of government, Penn and otherwise, will benefit every one of us.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 21:47:10 +0000
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