To the Editor:
Danielle Moore '95's resignation from the presidency of the Student Assembly both saddens and inspires me. I am sad because I know how difficult it has been and will be for her and many other members of the Student Assembly to confront the unequal expectations harbored and disproportionate respect accorded women and men leaders, here at Dartmouth as elsewhere.
Since arriving on campus less than three months ago I have discussed the issue of women's leadership in various forums, often in the context of how women leaders can confront and transform the barriers which face them in organizations and one-on-one.
Although particular men may face similar barriers as leaders, the very fact of their gender does not often compel others to disregard and disrespect them. Unfortunately, gender-based disdain too often shapes resistance to new forms of leadership.
If Assembly members' inability or refusal to work productively with Moore reflects an inability or refusal to respect the leadership of a Native American woman, it is incumbent upon us to name such discrimination, to call it sexism, and to name its other face in this context, racism. While women are routinely dismissed and disregarded, women of color are doubly ignored, erased and excluded.
The sadness that such conflicts creates also has another face, and it is the face of anger. Righteous anger leads to activism and change, and that is why I am also inspired by Moore's stand.
As she has so eloquently made clear, her resignation is an act of protest. As a woman, and particularly as a Native American woman, she provides us with a model for resistance that includes as one of its most empowering elements the refusal to be discounted. All of us can learn from her example.
