There is nothing more pretentious and mis-guided than these coordinated responses I always see on the DP. Regardless of the issue, I think the DP should move away from publishing these response articles with 10 authors/signatories. It creates a mystique that the entire community agrees with “Your Voice” and really just comes across as a bully tactic. “Your Voice” should be a publication of voices not just a single letter signed by many. If it’s frowned upon to publish a single opinion article by 10 authors, it should be frowned upon to respond in that manner.

While your observation may be applicable in many circumstances, in this case it is not. Many of the women who signed off on this particular opinion were cited by original author to make a point that they, the responders, clearly do not entirely agree with.

Beautifully said! I’m glad someone responded to Ariel Koren appropriately.

I think it is a bit excessive for so many upperclasswomen to have to write an article like this in response to such an optimistic article. Ariel was trying to be optimistic and humorous, and she should not be scolded. She was not saying that the feminist movement should be tossed aside or that women do not have a long way to go in our quest for equality, but rather that we should focus our energies on making strides instead of complaining, which is why men are so apt to judge us in the first place. Look at all these women leaders who wrote this article. You have all overcome obstacles and have done a fabulous job making a positive impact on Penn. Do you really want to highlight the fact that women are not treated as equals? Ariel was simply trying to say that women are already doing great things, and we should celebrate that, not whine about how we are not treated fairly. Women still have a long way to go in terms of attaining equality in society, but we aren’t going to get anywhere by accusing our coworkers of sexual harassment or not treating women equally. Women would go a lot further in society if we ignored any rude comments that our male counterparts make and just kept a smile on and our great ideas coming, as Ariel rightly suggested.

I think you misinterpreted the point of Ms. Koren’s article. Her main idea is that the women’s movement is quite alive and it does not need help, because women with tenacity have stepped up and are effecting the change toward a true sense of equality, while still retaining their femininity. In short, we should not worry about the women’s movement because women themselves are handling it.

So the best idea that the female “leaders” of the Penn campus could come up with is a public humiliation of a new fellow female leader? On top of that, they hide behind a “wall” of 13 signatures as a bully tactic. You should be proud of yourselves ladies… stay classy.

I personally feel that the women on this wall just wanted to address the campus at large that what Ariel said does not reflect their views. Ariel dug a whole for herself by not only taking shots at Ernest’s column, (which she had been originally in support of) but also went out and cited numerous female leaders on campus, some of which are featured on the signatures. Therefore, I think it was necessary that their was a response lined up because there are problems still out there for women and Ariel trivialized it due to her lack of experience.

Why on earth are the authors of this rebuttal being accused of bullying? They begin and end their piece by praising Ariel and nowhere do they “scold” her. Their response is calm and measured. There simply is no bullying here. It is frightening to see how people read only what they want to read, not what is actually on the page in front of them. I guess we can thank Fox news for helping create a world in which facts no longer matter.
Fact: the authors of this rebuttal have every right to disagree with Ariel that all is well when it comes to gender and leadership at Penn.
Fact: they make their point fairly and reasonably and do not “humiliate” Ariel
That women uniting to voice a reasonable point about gender discrimination sparks such hostile and hyperbolic judgments ironically serves only to strengthen their case: sexism is apparently alive and well!

It’s sort of ironic to hear the leaders of female-centric and female-only organizations (Panhel, Women in Leadership, etc.) complain about being subjected to discrimination. Until you give specific examples (who discriminated? when?), it’s pretty hard to have sympathy. You are in leadership positions of organizations that promote women’s issues, after all!

It’s also worth noting that females occupy a number of leadership positions across campus. Aside from the groups mentioned above, the President of the University and the head of public safety are both females, as are numerous trustees (too many to count).

When there are specific instances of discrimination, they should be confronted. But at a liberal university like Penn that bends over backwards to give females an advantage—e.g. focusing on hiring female profs rather than recruiting good profs regardless of gender—it’s a little hard to believe without specifics.

I’m sorry, but I think that you girls are simply shooting yourselves in the foot with this patronizing rebuttal you chose to write. Overall, your arguments hit me like white noise; a deafening, monotonous moan I have heard over and over again…and my reaction, simply put: UGH. In your response, you complain about the lack of women in leadership positions at Penn and then whine about the disrespect you receive when you have attained those roles…Yet, here you are committing the same injustice you speak so passionately against. You are belittling and ganging up on a young women who has become president of her class; a feat you seem to believe is quite the dignified rarity at Penn. So why are you, 13 smart and powerful young women, joining forces to shoot down an ally? And if the overwhelming amount of obstacles you speak of are true, why are you adding to the chaos by giving Ariel a hard time? It just seems all too hypocritical for me. If I didn’t know any better, I would think you girls are actually content with the ‘status quo’, because you don’t seem to appreciate Ariel’s tribute for change.

CLEARLY some people (Faye, Isabel, Madeline, Meg, Cynthia, Michelle, Pallavi, Corinne, Melissa, Shana, Aya, Lakshmi, and Jillian, in particular) have problems with simple reading comprehension. Ariel was not implying that we should forget about the feminist issue, but rather was trying to call attention to the great strides women have been taking at Penn as well as everywhere else. And the fact that these thirteen “leadership women” felt the need to call her out after she took the time to congratulate each one of them in her article, makes me question whether they are in fact good leaders at all. Instead of supporting her as a fellow woman pushing the same boundaries that they are, they chose to band against her and isolate her. Shame on you ladies.

If you thought this response was bullying, calling extreme shame on these ladies is somewhat hypocritical.

On another note, I didn’t get the sense at all that these leaders were trying to tear Ariel down or bully her in any way. They saw some issues with what she said and wanted to address it. This is not a dichotomous debate; it is not for or against Ariel. It is more complex than that, and its unfortunate that more can’t see that.

While it is true that gender discrimination and gender inequity does very well exist here at Penn and elsewhere around the world, I contend that Ariel’s article was not denying this existence but rather making a conscious, and might I add, wise decision to look past it. Emphasizing and harping on the unfairness and mistreatment due to this uneven “playing field” seems to attract self-pity and highlight the very reason why such an “issue” even exists. Perhaps seeing this as a challenge, staying optimistic, choosing to fight against it by continuing to exercise leadership skills, making the most of every opportunity, and making strides towards change might be alternative ways of dealing with this apparent issue.

“self-pity,” “whining,” “complaining…” “Women would go a lot further in society if we ignored any rude comments that our male counterparts make and just kept a smile on and our great ideas coming.” Just turn your head the other way to sexual harassment, rock your fuckme pumps, smile real big, and toss back those wind stricken luscious curls while you take notes and strides right underneath the noses of male leaders who are are treated with dignity and respect and are accredited for their voices and the work they put forth. you’ve GOT to be kidding me. wait until you get into the real world and deal with that shit in the work place; when you come to realize that your male counterparts are moving up the ladder at a much faster pace and when you begin to see your pay steadily falling behind that of your male co-workers. Wait till the mother effer across from you in the board room calls you “honey,” or “babe” during that official meeting and embarrasses the shit out of you. Wait until you begin to realize your voice is taken a a joke, or serious claims you make become automatically attributed to you being “bitch.” Sexism is alive and breathing down our necks, further perpetuated by females feeding into the misogynistic bullshit. unless you’re going for the full on switcheroo, you’ll never be a man. stop buying into it smh. and grow up, no one is bullying ariel. she misrepresented the circumstances under which the women she spoke on behalf have come to find their experiences in leadership positions on campus. it’s due time their voices came together in unison to address a larger issue at hand, debunking the fantasy of of a “broken” glass ceiling. the coined term is “enlightened sexism.” read about it.

I agree that Ariel’s article is definitely misrepresented in this rebuttal. She was not trying to tell us to ignore the issue and nowhere did she say that Penn was “completely free” from problems regarding female leadership. Her intent was merely to bring forth an optimistic perspective of the issue at hand, a perspective that is all too often suppressed and ignored in our society today. How can we work to establish an even playing field if we cannot be optimistic about its existence in the first place? Ariel’s article shows how many women on this campus and beyond have already achieved influential leadership positions, and gives bright and encouraging hope to other aspiring female leaders that they are very capable of doing the same. I found that this response, in contrast, characterizes such a path in a highly dispiriting and negative manner that does nothing but add yet another article to an already extensive and timeworn pile of those bemoaning gender inequalities.