Spring Break
Speaker debates feminism's progress, effects
Buchanan aims to show failures of topic, provide different perspective on conservative feminism
Timothy Langton
Issue date: 3/3/08 Section: News
Is feminism hurting women? That's going to be the question asked at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in Schneider 100, where Angela "Bay" Buchanan will be giving her presentation "The Failures of Feminism."
The Conservative Union is coordinating the event with its main sponsors being the Young America's Foundation, a conservative organization aimed at college students, and the Bradley Foundation, a private, grant-making organization based in Milwaukee.
Junior Bobby Hamill, who does public relations for the CU, said he and CU Vice President Katie Geary helped organize Buchanan's trip to Eau Claire.
"We wanted women to have a different view on feminism than what's normally seen on campus," he said. He also said Buchanan's speech will hopefully show students some of feminism's failures to go along with its successes.
Buchanan served as treasurer of the United States under Ronald Reagan, according to her profile on the Young America's Foundation Web site. She co-anchored the CNBC political talk show "Equal Time" and is currently a regular political analyst on CNN. She is also the president of The American Cause, a foundation aimed at advancing traditional conservative issues and the chair of Team America, a political action committee devoted to border security and immigration reform.
Hamill said the CU wants to have a normally unheard voice on the topic of feminism for National Women's History Month.
"She's been at the forefront of the issue for years," Hamill said. "It's a fresh perspective."
Geary said she and the CU thought the activities planned for Women's History Month were "leaning left," so they wanted to bring in a speaker to counterbalance that.
"It's an opportunity for students to hear the conservative side (on feminism)," she said.
WAGE Center coordinator Lisa Cooper-Murphy said while she isn't against Buchanan giving her talk on campus, she thinks she is mistaken in her views on feminism.
"She seems to be perpetuating myths about feminism without evidence," Cooper-Murphy said after reading news articles about Buchanan's "The Failures of Feminism."
She said she objected to how Buchanan believes that feminism is forcing women to choose between family and having a career. Buchanan's views on the pro-choice movement are also ill-informed, said Cooper-Murphy.
"What she's talking about doesn't seem to be an accurate depiction of what feminism is," she said.
Still, Cooper-Murphy said she has no reservations about Buchanan coming to give her talk. She said she hopes students will go to her speech and ask questions about her positions on feminism.
"(Our campus) should have access to different viewpoints in order to have meaningful debates," she said.
Geary echoed Cooper-Murphy's comments, which may turn out to be the only thing both sides can agree on.
"The university tries to build a diverse campus," Geary said. "Part of that is to hear both sides."
The Conservative Union is coordinating the event with its main sponsors being the Young America's Foundation, a conservative organization aimed at college students, and the Bradley Foundation, a private, grant-making organization based in Milwaukee.
Junior Bobby Hamill, who does public relations for the CU, said he and CU Vice President Katie Geary helped organize Buchanan's trip to Eau Claire.
"We wanted women to have a different view on feminism than what's normally seen on campus," he said. He also said Buchanan's speech will hopefully show students some of feminism's failures to go along with its successes.
Buchanan served as treasurer of the United States under Ronald Reagan, according to her profile on the Young America's Foundation Web site. She co-anchored the CNBC political talk show "Equal Time" and is currently a regular political analyst on CNN. She is also the president of The American Cause, a foundation aimed at advancing traditional conservative issues and the chair of Team America, a political action committee devoted to border security and immigration reform.
Hamill said the CU wants to have a normally unheard voice on the topic of feminism for National Women's History Month.
"She's been at the forefront of the issue for years," Hamill said. "It's a fresh perspective."
Geary said she and the CU thought the activities planned for Women's History Month were "leaning left," so they wanted to bring in a speaker to counterbalance that.
"It's an opportunity for students to hear the conservative side (on feminism)," she said.
WAGE Center coordinator Lisa Cooper-Murphy said while she isn't against Buchanan giving her talk on campus, she thinks she is mistaken in her views on feminism.
"She seems to be perpetuating myths about feminism without evidence," Cooper-Murphy said after reading news articles about Buchanan's "The Failures of Feminism."
She said she objected to how Buchanan believes that feminism is forcing women to choose between family and having a career. Buchanan's views on the pro-choice movement are also ill-informed, said Cooper-Murphy.
"What she's talking about doesn't seem to be an accurate depiction of what feminism is," she said.
Still, Cooper-Murphy said she has no reservations about Buchanan coming to give her talk. She said she hopes students will go to her speech and ask questions about her positions on feminism.
"(Our campus) should have access to different viewpoints in order to have meaningful debates," she said.
Geary echoed Cooper-Murphy's comments, which may turn out to be the only thing both sides can agree on.
"The university tries to build a diverse campus," Geary said. "Part of that is to hear both sides."
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Mary Sparrow
posted 3/16/08 @ 4:25 PM CST
How can getting women the vote, starting shelters for battered women and rape crisis centers, eliminating college quotas for women be hurtful to women? How can demanding an end to sex slavery, forced prostitution, portrayals of women as sexual OBJECTS, miscoginistic pornography,etc. (Continued…)
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