[Peace-discuss] Just Say No to Harvard

[Susan Davis]

 From Uni High's David Boyle, on Counterpunch




Never a Very Hospitable Place for Women


Just Say "No" to Harvard

By DAVID BOYLE

Harvard President Larry Summer's comment questioning the "intrinsic 
aptitude" of women in engineering has garnered a reaction from Uni students 
and teachers alike. Math teacher Elizabeth Jockusch and senior Lauri 
Feldman both have very unique reactions to the statement. Jockusch 
disagrees with the emphasis that Summers put on intrinsic aptitude, and 
Feldman withdrew her Harvard application citing the comments by Summers as 
her reasoning.

Larry Summers listed three reasons for why women are underrepresented in 
math and science fields. Summers first said that women were not willing 
always willing to sacrifice their domestic lives for a career. Second, 
Summers claimed that women lack "intrinsic aptitude" to excel in these 
fields. Finally, Summers pointed towards discrimination. Following this 
list, Summers stated "their importance ranks in exactly the order I just 
described." Summers was speaking at a diversity conference, and explicably 
received a negative response.

This statement shocked many across the country. There has been a wide range 
of responses, including a recent reaction by Harvard itself. The arts and 
sciences department at Harvard made a resolution of "lack of confidence" 
regarding Larry Summers.

Feldman saw Summer's comments as "malevolent and unfounded", which in part 
is why she withdrew her application to Harvard. She wonders what 
"professional or expert knowledge an economist (Summers) would have 
regarding the inherent aptitude of women." Feldman also disagrees with the 
statement by Summers that women can't handle high-powered jobs.

"My mother works up to 80 hours per week as an attorney, and never has she 
lacked the determination to balance a professional and home life. I think I 
had a great childhood, and the fact that she was working never made me feel 
neglected," Feldman said.

Feldman withdrew her application to Harvard this winter, based primarily on 
the comments by Summers. "Harvard never seemed like an incredibly 
hospitable place for women," she said. Feldman felt that not only was 
Harvard was not a great place for female students, but also for professors. 
"Statements made by the president trickle down to hiring and the awarding 
of tenure," said Feldman.

 From another perspective, Uni math teacher Elizabeth Jockusch showed 
disagreement with Summer's ordering of the issues. "I think that the fact 
that he put (intrinsic aptitude) second is a big problem. We can't point to 
any differences in aptitude until we get rid of discrimination," Jockusch said.

Jockusch began college at Swarthmore as a physics major, where she says 
"there was at most one other girl in my classes." She continued her studies 
at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was amongst a small 
minority of women at the time. Jockusch said about MIT: "when you are at a 
university, and you don't have any other female colleagues, it makes it 
much more difficult to learn."

Jockusch agrees that there may be differences in the aptitudes of men and 
women, but she certainly feels that it would be such a minute difference, 
that it would play an almost nonexistent role in the representation of 
women in math and science fields. Feldman and Jockusch both believe that 
pointing to the aptitudes of women overlooks the factors of discrimination 
that continue to prevent a larger number of women from succeeding in math 
and science fields.

David Boyle, son of law professor and CounterPunch contributor Francis 
Boyle, is 16 and attends University of Illinois High School in Urbana