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Speaker Quinn Addresses BC Students
Talks About New York Power, Politics
by Joy Resmovits
Dec. 8, 2006—Nearly a year after Christine Quinn became the first female member, the
first openly gay speaker, and the first Irish person to become speaker of
the New York City Council, she discussed her career on Thursday night at
Barnard at an event drawing about 100 audience members.
The event was presented by the Barnard College New York City Civic
Engagement Program in collaboration with the Alumnae Association of Barnard
College, the Barnard Leadership Initiative, and the Barnard Center for
Research on Women. It was moderated by Barnard President Judith Shapiro and
Barnard anthropology professor Maxine Weisgrau. The event focused on Quinn's
success as a prominent female politician.
"Women are still not leaders in business even though they make up a third of
business school graduates," said Rosalind Rosenberg, the Ann Whitney Olin
professor of history and a designer of BLI. The BLI, founded in 2006,
consists of academic courses, senior thesis seminars, and cocurricular
activities, such as Thursday night's speech. Its goal, according to the BLI
fact sheet, is "to fulfill its responsibility to strongly motivate young
women and the world they will eventually shape."
When Shapiro asked Quinn about the limitations of being a woman in politics,
Quinn replied, "You don't govern as a woman. There's no way to pick up
garbage a gay way or a straight way. It's your experiences that determine
who you are."
Quinn did not feel that gender or her sexuality were factors in the
election. "With my colleagues, it was certainly not an issue," she said.
Quinn discussed advocacy for libraries, funding for youth jobs, and the
campaign against hunger. "One million people in New York wake up not knowing
if they will have enough food the next day," Quinn said.
"Her speech wasn't so women-centric-she was just talking about her job,"
Lauren Garvey, BC '07, said. "I'm happy the entire lecture wasn't on it. I
think that's why I enjoyed the speech. She said that women should get
involved in leadership. She focused less on the specific problems of women,"
she added.
"She [Quinn] meant that you don't get bogged down in your identity, you just
go ahead and get involved in politics," Gina Marrone, BC '08, said.
Quinn's positive view of the glass ceiling facing women going into
high-powered careers comforted students.
"Quinn was right. It can be a barrier, but don't let it be. Just get
involved in politics," Garvey said.
Noelle Marcus contributed to this article.
Copyright © 2006 The Columbia Spectator |
