Six senior women shared their lessons from four years at the College last night in a panel discussion that dealt with topics ranging from athletics and priorities to motherhood and fitting in.
The panel discussion, titled "Will the Real Women of Dartmouth Please Stand Up?," was created by women in the Class of 1989. It honors six seniors who agree to discuss their experiences as female students.
This year's panelists were seniors Nicole Nelson, Marianne Chamberlain, Courtney Cook, Laura Iwon, Renee Reed and Julia Whitworth, who all boast impressive and diverse resumes.
Nelson, who coordinates the Women of Color support group, spoke about her experiences as a black woman at the College.
"I've been made to feel like I don't belong in the Dartmouth Experience," she said. Nelson cited confrontations with a student who was distributing The Dartmouth Review and an encounter with a professor who made sexist remarks as evidence of exclusion at the College.
Chamberlain, a track athlete and active member of Native Americans at Dartmouth, also spoke of her experience as a woman of color.
"I made it hard for myself. I opened my mouth, and said 'this is what I believe'," she said.
Whitworth, who is active in music, drama and women's issues, said too many women at the College tailor their actions to fit in with what social pressures demand.
"Too many women on this campus hold back their energy and vitality to make people comfortable. I'm sick of it," she said.
Reed said women need to pin-point their priorities. "Decide what's important to you. There's not time to do everything."
Reed yesterday received a $6,000 NCAA postgraduate scholarship.
Cook, who is the mother of a two-year-old boy, said men and women have misconceived impressions of students who are parents.
"People think if you're a mother, you're not intellectual and you're compromising something," she said. "I came here with the same expectations as everyone else and they haven't changed."
Cook had a baby during her sophomore winter, but said her GPA rose to a 3.8 in the Spring term.
