University Criticized on Women's Week

Graduate student organizers of this week's Women's History Week yesterday called it an "overwhelming success," but strongly criticized the University--and Radcliffe in particular--for its lack of enthusiasm in financing and publicizing the event

Graduate Women in History, the group that organized the event said the large turnouts at lectures and events this week showed a great interest in women's history. But I onda Schiebinger, one of the organizers, warned that Harvard was again "lagging behind" in its support for women's issues.

The students said Harvard's policy shows an unwillingness to support Women's Studies Week, since a similar group of student volunteers might not arise every year. "We think it should be institutionalized at Harvard," Joan E. Cashin, another graduate student organizer, said yesterday she added that the week "should be recognized as something they take seriously."

Although the University financed the week, students organized and ran the entire Lecture Series, Cashin said, adding that without the graduate students efforts, Women's History Week at Harvard "would have been virtually nothing."

The students criticized Radcliffe in particular for its lack of support "We asked for several specific things that Radcliffe didn't want to supply us with," Schichinger said Radcliffe refused a request for 2000 publicity fliers and would not allow Radcliffe House interns to distribute the fliers the group finally produced, she added

"I think it's true that they've done a lot of the work." Philippa A. Bovet, associate dean of Radcliffe College, said yesterday, adding that Radcliffe donated about $750 toward the events.

Many individual department organized speakers for the week, Judith A. Kates, coordinator of the Committee on Women's Studies, said yesterday adding that her committee helped fund and publicize some of the events.

But Sharon J. Orr '83, president of the Radcliffe union of Students, said she "thought it was really sad that Radcliffe did not sponsor any events this year."

Orr said Radclffe printed up 200 of its own posters, though it did not help distribute them.

"But clearly any in who's done any publicity at all knows to 200 posters is not sufficient." she added