Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

Page 27 text:

Women ' s liberation: a road to human liberation? By Karla Brockman What do you do when you ' re dis- satisfied with life? What do you do when the boss pays Sam twice as much to do the same Job you do even better? What do you do when it ' s not enough to clean house, cook dinner and wash dishes? Increasing on both the national and local levels are groups of women, unhappy with their status in life and willing to work to change it. Even as conservative a campus as K-State has sympathetic and active workers in women ' s awareness movements. It Is really growing here, one soft-voiced advocate observed. The time Is ripe. Under the free university system, a series of women ' s groups have been established to discuss various aspects of the status of women. Ranging from high school age to 62, women from Manhattan gather to fulfill different needs — political, emotional, and spiritual. Most of the women are older college students who are married or have been married. Growing from two of these groups is the Women ' s Political Caucus which was in the planning stage last fall. A NOW (National Organization for Women) chapter Is also being es- tablished as a result of one of the consciousness-raising groups. The words women ' s liberation evoke a wide spectrum of responses at K-State. I don ' t agree with the ideology that fosters hate, a student organizer of the consciousness- raising groups explained. I agree with the rest of the philosophy for those who want it. I think society places too much emphasis on the patriarchal situa- tion. We need to look at the struc- ture and change It, she said. She said she has found K-State students to be, in general, apathetic and confused about the groups and women ' s lib as a whole. The media has played up the bad aspects of women ' s lib, she con- tinued. The majority of coeds who agree with the basic goals of women ' s lib are not active in an organization as such. I believe the abilities of males and females are equal but not iden- tical, one girl commented. I think they should get the same pay for the same Job, but I don ' t agree with the radical lib movement. A coed who is one of five girls in the sophomore class of 85 veterinary school students said her situation has changed since her freshman year. Last year I felt self-conscious, she explained. I tend to be shy, and I was scared of making a bad im- pression. I thought some of the guys felt I was taking their buddies ' place. Now, I think I probably had a chip on my shoulder then. We ' re like a fami- ly. Now, if someone doesn ' t like me I know It ' s because of who I am and not because I ' m female. A coed who is in the predominant- ly female curriculum of home economics said women ' s lib is something to which everyone should relate. I ' m not really radical, she explained. I ' m mainly concerned with getting everybody to realize there is something to It. Although she is not active in an organized movement, she said she felt some of the radical women ' s groups were necessary in order to gain attention. I don ' t feel like I ' ve really had any problems with discrimination, she said, but sometimes I really get mad. Whenever someone brings up women ' s lib, most of the guys laugh and treat it like a big joke. Some girls said they feel the un- iversity system is fair to both sexes, but after graduation the situation changes. I have a semi-skilled job and am being paid less than half of what a guy doing the same job at the same place is getting, a senior coed said. This is the kind of thing that makes me pro-women ' s lib. A married student who Is close to earning her degree said she feels relatives are expecting her to finish school so she can start a family. They don ' t consider it important for me to have a career, she explained. Some definite results of the women ' s awareness movement have been seen at K-State. Several classes, Including Sociology of Women and Sex and Politics, are now being offered. A newly- established women ' s center in Fairchild Hall offers a reading area and resource material. Last year, a week was devoted to women ' s awareness which included speakers and panels on subjects ranging from zero population growth to women in politics. Things are still slow here, a women ' s liberation organizer observed. There are still people who are happy with traditional sex roles. There are many students who haven ' t gotten into the working world yet, so they don ' t feel it involves them — although it should. I feel the whole goal of women ' s liberation is human liberation. Women ' s liberation-31

Page 26 text:

SECOND OFFICE S EC HER P. S. ALT HOFF RICHARD BORN L • H. DOUGLAS SCIENCE FLOOR 217 217A 206 206A 203 M.D. GUSTAFSON 221 J J. HAJDA 220 S. IYENGAR 2191 W. WEISBERG T.A. WILLIAMS 219A 202 916 GT A ' S D. D. T Virw EY • sifELL 201 • 30—Women ' s liberation

Page 28 text:

32—Open house