Hundreds of women activists from a variety of fields and academic backgrounds came from as far away as Chile, Italy, India and the Netherlands to take part in a four-day conference this weekend about "Women, Sexuality and Violence." More than 100 public activists, lawyers, journalists and policy planners from nonprofit organizations were asked to speak about their experiences dealing with women's issues. The speakers participated in 39 discussion panels which covered a range of issues confronting women -- including their role in the workplace, the family, the courts and society at large. The conference was sponsored by the Annenberg Public Policy Center. And according to Wharton senior Catherine Henry, who helped organize the conference, the weekend was a solid success. "I thought the conference went really well," she said. "We got great attendance and lots of positive feedback about it. Everything seemed to run smoothly." Nirva Kudyan, vice president of the University's chapter of the National Organization for Women, said she thought the conference's speakers helped make the conference an enjoyable experience. "I thought the conference was filled with very gifted, very talented panelists," she said. "I think they really mobilized the audience to look into the problems affecting women." College senior Alisha Berry, president of the University's NOW chapter, agreed. "It was a really good thing that the conference had so many people who were discussing women's issues and giving them weight," she said. Discussions identified social problems that participants said need more public policy intervention -- such as rape, domestic abuse, homophobia and sexual harassment. The conference's agenda also included poetry readings and a visit to a feminist museum exhibit. Besides theoretical discussions on the issues, the conference also explored practical ways for audience members to become activists and create change in the political arena. On Saturday night, two workshops were conducted to show how activists and academics can form relationships and pursue new strategies to improve the cause of women's issues. Kudyan said she thought the practical slant of the conference was useful to her in her work as a female activist. "I made a lot of good contacts, even with people who live across the country," she said. However, Graduate Student Association President Bronwyn Beistle was not impressed with the conference's attempts to encourage activism. "The problem with the conference was that it was long on talk, short on strategic planning," said the English graduate student. "I would prefer a conference that had provided more concrete political strategies. Still, it was a good-faith effort that allowed me to find out about resources and make connections." But Berry gave the University credit for holding the conference. "For too long, women's issues were seen as domestic problems that were not worthy of public discourse," she said. "It's great that now that so many people are now giving these issues the open discussion that they deserve."
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