Five women affiliated with different parts of the University community spoke in the Duke Chapel Thursday evening about what it is like to be a female on campus.
The panel discussion, which was sponsored by the Panhellenic Association and targeted new sorority members, focused on female students' need to take initiative and seek out unique leadership opportunities at the University.
"The female experience at Duke is very multifaceted," said panel member Alison Perlberg, a junior. "The Women's Initiative brought to light a lot of the things that aren't great about Duke, but at the same time a lot of us are here and love it.... It's time to figure out what you want to do about the issues that women have at Duke."
Perlberg, Kathryn Laidlaw, Trinity '04, Jacqueline Looney, senior associate dean for graduate programs, senior Jessica Palacios, and Judith Ruderman, vice provost for academic and administrative services, spoke on the panel.
Looney opened the discussion by describing the Duke women with whom she has worked as born leaders who are motivated and comfortable with themselves. She added that some women on campus still feel the need to achieve "effortless perfection"-a phrase linked with Duke's current Women's Initiative.
Ruderman, Graduate School '76, spoke about her undergraduate experience during the social rights movement.
"I expected to find my future husband in college and to get my 'Mrs.' degree when I graduated, which I did," said Ruderman, who came to Duke as a mother of two.
Ruderman said that although attitudes of the administration toward women today are much different than they were in the past, many of the challenges she faced in the early '70s are still prevalent for college women today.
Palacios said that female students need to find their own niche at Duke and vision for the future.
"I just accepted a job in corporate America, but I fully intend to have a family and be a wife," Palacios said. "That's my definition of success."
Laidlaw spoke about her experience as president of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority during her senior year at Duke, noting that many women choose to find leadership opportunities within their sororities instead of other positions on campus.
"One of the best benefits of a sorority is that you're in an organization that is multi-tiered across Duke," Laidlaw said.
Senior Zach Bencan, one of a handful of men who attended the discussion, said he has become increasingly interested in women's issues at Duke over the past few years and that it was a great idea to have the discussion.
"I kind of wish that we had the opportunity to delve further into some questions," Bencan said. "But I think it was good as an introduction for first-year students."
Looney encouraged women in the audience to make the Duke experience their own. "You have to take ownership. It's yours," she said. "This is your university. If you're here, you belong here and you can always be the force that drives it."
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