As a proud writer for Her Campus Duke, let me explain why I value Her Campus and the experiences it has provided me. For one, our writers span a wide spectrum of interests and affiliations, and as such, our pieces reflect that. Secondly, Her Campus by no means proclaims to be a high-browed publication, but it is a great way for relatively inexperienced writers to become confident in developing their voices, as well as for veteran journalists to further hone their skills. Thirdly, all of the writers are Duke students. That means we are receptive to what is going on around campus, and while we do not claim to be the definitive voice on issues and events, these articles serve as springboards to conversations that may sometimes be overlooked. Lastly, girls nowadays seem to be shamed for a multitude of things: being too sexually active, being too prudish, caring too much about relationships, ignoring friends for said relationships, going out too much, not going out at all, putting too much effort into looking good all the time, looking like slobs and not upholding their ladylike images, etc. Granted, any of those extremes are usually not great stances to take, but finding that balance between these demands while staying true to one’s values requires time and effort. In the meantime, Her Campus provides articles written by girls who feel your struggle(s) and want to share how they personally handle these struggles.

In short, these comments were taken out of context and distorted to mean things that their writers, who are also enlightened and driven girls, did not intend. It’s my hope that one day in the near future, improved public policy and better social awareness can change the attitudes and social structures that enable these types of problems to manifest themselves in our daily lives. In the meantime, there’s nothing wrong with building a support system to get through it all. Props to the author for voicing her own perspective so confidently, but she by no means speaks for the entire female population at Duke. There’s more than one way to be a female rights activist, and I plan on doing it while wearing my VS bra and eyeliner too.

Christina Lee

Trinity ’15