RADWAC Activism Is Encouraging

Imagine the unease the typical final club member must have felt, sauntering through the yard with mom and dad during Junior Parents Weekend, only to come upon signs reading, "Support Your Local Bastion of Classist Patriarchal Elitism--Go to a Final Club Party."

The signs were put up by the Radcliffe Women's Action Coalition (RADWAC), a task force the Radcliffe Union of Students formed last spring to create a "visible feminist presence on campus," according to task force member Mia Bagneris '99.

But whatever RADWAC's motivations, its efforts to raise awareness about the clubs ought to be commended. Indeed, despite their discriminatory ethos, final clubs continue to enjoy a certain aura of prestige and power on campus. Efforts to expose their "patriarchal elitism" can only be encouraged.

Of course, some club members thought otherwise. Caleb A. Gibson '99, a member of the Spee Club, dubbed the poster campaign "childish" and argued that, "simply put, no harassing institution could keep women coming back."

Perhaps. But with the constant turnover of students and the secrecy of the clubs, it is quite plausible that questionable activities could persist for a long time before getting the publicity necessary to deter men from joining the clubs and women from attending parties sponsored by them. Hopefully the efforts of RADWAC, together with Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III's letter to the community about questionable activities performed on club premises, will help to put the clubs in the proper light.

We are encouraged by RADWAC's recent actions and are hopeful that such activism will invigorate the campus dialogue, and raise awareness among students. And we look forward to its "Swat the Fly Anti-Garden Party," to be held later this spring.