Back in September, The New York Times ran a story about women at Yale University who are eschewing a career path in favor of motherhood. The piece questioned the success of the feminist movement - why a generation after Helen Reddy sang "I Am Woman," girls were choosing to reject the foundation for equal rights that their mothers rallied for; and whether just having the choice available is enough for the women's movement to declare victory. It was a controversial story that made a contentious point, and was criticized by some for the lack of scientific data to come up with the article's conclusions. To an extent, though, there may be an underlying issue that is worth further delving into about the current state of feminism and the choices that women make at the crucial juncture of graduation and the post-college life.

It doesn't seem to me that Cornell has a similar issue. In fact, pretty much every girl I know at this school is just as hyper-ambitious about jump-starting their career after graduation as their male counterpart is. However, I do think the issue is playing out in another way here, and that is by the visible lack of prominent female leaders on campus.

I don't want to overstate my argument and I'm not saying that the view from the Clocktower in 2006 looks anything like it did in 1956: women clearly play a major role in the Cornell community in general. What I'm talking about are those campus leaders whose names appear in the news pages of The Sun each day and get skewered on the opinion pages - these students are overwhelmingly male. It appears that the female involvement in this capacity is sporadic, whereas the male involvement is constant. This problem is not unique to Cornell: just as the University is in many ways a microcosm of the outside world, we also mirror the clear skew in the ratio of male to female leaders. But on a progressive and liberal college campus, what does it mean that there is still an obvious difference in the sheer numbers of male and female participation? It goes without saying that girls at Cornell are more than capable of doing these jobs, so why aren't they? I've tried to come up with a definite reason for this problem and I can't. It could be because many of the most talented female leaders get tangled up in various opportunities in the Greek system, which - while they may be worthwhile - are somewhat limiting because they don't apply to the entire student body. It could also be because women don't do as good of a job reaching out to and mentoring other women, something that many men on this campus have proven they are good at. Or it could just be that girls would rather focus their attention on other endeavors available here.

On a grander scale, can it be considered a failure of the women's movement that girls still hold back from major leadership positions, or is it a success that they feel comfortable enough having options, and choose to avoid such visible posts? I don't really have the answers, but I think there is failure in the fact that we have stopped raising the questions.

I can only talk about my own experience, but over the past year I was extremely aware of my surroundings, of with whom I was interacting and of how I felt I needed to act in order to be taken seriously. I think it was a good lesson in realpolitik, and as I leave Cornell, I wish I could see more girls giving it a shot.

This is the final piece in my short-lived career as a columnist for The Sun. I've got no regrets or complaints, only great memories. There have been many people who have helped me over the past few years to make my Cornell experience as unique and unforgettable as it has been. I'm pretty lucky because this is my second goodbye column - I wrote a letter from the editor back in March when I ended my term as Editor in Chief. But I've got a lot of people who deserve a formal thank you, so bear with me.

Thanks to Erica Fink, Michael Morisy and Carlos Maycotte, who have already exceeded my expectations in their new jobs. The transition has been a lot easier for me because I know the paper is in great hands. Also, thanks for not getting annoyed with me and my inability to let go. You can kick me out of the office now if you'd like.

Zach Jones, Chris Mascaro, Will Evans and Josh Dugan, thank you for your unconditional support over the past year and a half, especially when the going got tough. You've also been worthy opponents with whom to argue and debate. I'm lucky to have such good friends.

I've been the beneficiary of outstanding advising over the past four years from Ross Brann, one of Cornell's treasures and the perfect model of what a university professor should be.

My friends, and especially my many roommates, Sheena, Rachel, Jen, Laura, Jillian, Sophie, Logan and Evan, have put up with my incessant Sun talk and obsession over the past four years. Thanks for your support and friendship. You are what college is really about.

My high school paper was a weekly called The Horace Mann Record. Every Thursday, my dad would pick me up from school at 2 a.m. when the paper was put to bed. He has been pushing me from the beginning to achieve my goals, and for that I am forever grateful. I'm also lucky to have a professional writer in the family who has been a fantastic editor as well: my mom has always been there to help me work out ideas for editorials and columns and critiqued my work when I needed it. I didn't know what it would be like having my sister experience her freshman year as I concluded my own college experience, but I have to say that having her here has been amazing. Laura, I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I have. Dan, you are an awesome little brother. Thanks for reading my articles and offering your advice, it has always been helpful.

Finally, thanks to the 123rd Editorial Board of The Sun. Especially to the seniors, Jean-Paul, Eric, Zach, Chris, Logan, Ali, Amy, Andrew, Yuval, Brian, Dave and Melissa - The Sun has been by far my most defining college experience, and I'm so glad that we went through it together. Also thanks to Nate, Freda, Andy and Marc. You guys are all an incredibly talented group of journalists, and I was fortunate to work with and learn from you.

In June, I will move from editor and columnist to faithful Sun reader, and I look forward to what's to come in the months ahead.

Erica Temel is The Sun's former Editor in Chief. She can be contacted at elt7@cornell.edu. On the Record appeared Thursdays.

Archived article by Erica Temel