Letter to the Barnard Bulletin, Zena Shapiro, December 14, 1971, page 1

           

Z64/A 5%/24P?KD
275 Central Pafiik West
New York, N. Y. 10024

December 14, 1971

To the Barnard Bulletin:

Even before the onslaught of wumen's liberation I had been
perplexed again and again by endless testimonials to partu
time motherhood and the enriching effects of women's careers
on the whole family's life; but it was reasonable to dismiee
this as the personal bias of those who chose to be articulate
in these pages. There was, on the other hand, a plaintive
note in response to a questionnaire quoted in a recent issue
expfessing the wish that Barnard would be more accepting o f
woman's role as wife and mother and admit that education can
be an and in itself. Now t«at the prevailing modes of our
culture are conspiring to downgrade motherhood I begin to feel
fincreasingly involved in the question of Bnrnnrd's role in

educating women.

Though, for a variety of reasons, I have never been active

in the college community, I surely value my years at Barnard as an
opportunity for growth, development, and exploring identity. I
am concerned that this atmosphoro be preserved and expanded

in directions which will truly meet the needs of new generations
of students ratheri than content itself with responding to

demands for an immediate sort of relevance.

In this context I would like to offer some excerpts from an d§hkfl@
by William V. Shannon which appeared in the New York Times
of July 14 and in which, to my mind, Mr. Shannon points

up some striking aspects of the problem: "Having no clear idea