A group composed mostly of Dartmouth women gathered at Casque and Gauntlet senior society Monday night to discuss an article that appeared last Sunday in The New York Times, focusing on the pressures of college admissions and high school women.
The article -- "For Girls, It's Be Yourself, and Be Perfect, Too" by Sara Rimer -- follows the daily life of 17-year-old Esther Mobley, a top student at a top public high school in the Boston suburb of Newton. It catalogues the high expectations Mobley faces in an environment that encourages women to achieve perfection.
Alexandra Garrison '07 organized the discussion in conjunction with the women of Casque and Gauntlet.
"We have a lot of motivating, inspiring and informal discussions here at C and G, and we thought this would be a great way to engage a lot of underclassmen and others in an article that's being discussed a lot on campus," Garrison said.
The discussion related the article to the pressure that many Dartmouth women face to be perfect in their many roles on campus.
"The article talks about high school students interested in schools in the Ivy League and other top elite schools," Garrison said. "I think a lot of women at Dartmouth come from these backgrounds."
Discussion participants connected themes from the article to personal experiences.
"You have to be smart and do it in stiletto heels and play a varsity sport," Samantha Sheppard '07 said. "If you go up against someone who's smart and beautiful, and you're just smart, they have an advantage."
Anna Dev '09 also touched on how intelligence is perceived in women.
"When women have the option of being intelligent, they have to own their sexuality and femininity and feel the added pressure of showing that off to men," Dev said, adding, "Intelligence is secondary at Dartmouth because everyone here has it."
Discussion members addressed the issue of female identity crisis beyond the high school and college settings discussed in the article.
"Employers are more likely to hire women well-dressed and educated," Alex DiBranco '09 said.
Discussion members talked about the female-centered thrust of the article that overlooked similar stresses that men face.
"Guys do just as many activities," Leah Weisman '10 said. "The pressure is there for men and women."
A discussion on class at Dartmouth revealed common misunderstandings about the financial situations of students on campus.
"At Dartmouth I always assume, She's here so she's probably wealthy and comes from a married-parent family," Laura Cherkas '08 said. "But I talk to people and realize that everyone's not like that. People assume everyone else meets that standard, but they really don't."
While several discussion members felt that they did not fit into the achievement-driven mold conveyed in the article, most related to Mobley's struggle to excel.
"I'm a student athlete on campus," ultimate frisbee team member Nora Johnson '08 said. "All of us at Dartmouth were especially driven in high school, and I'm glad to see it articulated in The New York Times."
