By Allison Stephens Mercersburg News Advisor
I grew up living the stereotypical 1960’s American childhood – mother, father, four kids, suburbs, only missing the picket fence. We went to church on Sundays, sat around the kitchen table for dinners, and had to complete chores before we could meet our friends to play. We took road trips, children and dog piled into the back of the station wagon. Truly, my childhood came straight out of a black and white family drama. What possibly could have turned this WASP-y Midwestern girl into a feminist and social justice warrior – both terms that I embrace with pride despite their rough treatment.
I remember, in high school, being mad about the disparities between the opportunities for girls and boys in sports, or realizing that my otherwise egalitarian family applied very different rules to their sons and daughters. Yet, it wasn’t until I went to college that I found words for my anger or an outlet in activism.
I attended a small, liberal arts college that had only recently begun to admit women when I enrolled. The school made accommodation for the new arrivals by simply declaring all aspects of programming coed, without taking into consideration the needs women would have or the adjustments that men would have to make to share space with women. To this day, my favorite oxymoron is “coed fraternity.” Yep, I’m a brother.
All I will say is that this approach didn’t go so well. However, in the tumult that accompanied my four years in college, I learned how to articulate my own sense of injustice surrounding experiences of sexism. I became alert to the ways in which the traditional school had not made space for other minority groups on campus: literal space, academic space, psychic space. This lack of inclusion compromised the learning conditions for all students.
When I first arrived at Mercersburg in the late 1980s, not a particularly touchy-feely, PC time in the US, I identified myself as a feminist, much to the wonder or even horror of many students. I wish that I could say that at twenty-three I became the champion of the overlooked or silenced students. No. My advocacy work has evolved over time.
Nevertheless, I see very clearly that Mercersburg Academy must be a place where all students can express themselves fully, with joy and validation. When we say, “Define yourself here,” we can’t say “but only within these boundaries.” For that reason, I am a proud feminist and ally. I know that I must stand up and speak out when I see silencing behavior or when I recognize ways of making our community more inclusive. I must be quiet and listen when the story is not mine to tell. Diversity when fully realized contributes to creativity and innovation – to education and growth. I am still learning from my colleagues and my students.