Staff Editorial: Discussing social issues at Lawrence

This week’s Op-Ed section is a kind of variations-on-a-theme: Each of the writers this week offers a unique perspective on feminism. Please excuse the break with tradition. What the goals of feminists should be and where the line should be drawn is up in the air, though.

This has been an interesting year for gender equality in the United States. The White House announced that women will soon be allowed to serve on the front lines for the United States Military. Sheryl Sandberg, CEO of Facebook, published her book, “Lean In” for ambitious women. At the same time, the Arkansas legislature passed the most restrictive abortion bill of any state. And for months now, news stations have speculated about whether or not Hillary Clinton will be making another go at the presidency, with all the wonderful comments about her gender that go with it.

In classes at Lawrence, from Freshman Studies to senior seminars, we’re taught to discuss and debate with one another on a variety of issues; and yet, outside of the classroom, we never get to experience these discussions in a public way.

While the stereotype exists that students at liberal arts colleges have their most profound dialogues with one another at three in the morning when stricken with exhaustion, academic inebriation or other unnamed substances, it’s nice to be able to break the mold and bring some of the topics we talk about in private into a more public setting, where opinions that wouldn’t normally appear on the same square foot of paper will do just that.

That’s why the Op-Ed section this week will be, in many ways, a celebration of these differing ideas when it comes to feminism, an issue about which I’m sure each of us has some opinion. Enjoy the differences between Christian and Rachel, Marika and Sarah, and something a little different from Nathan.

If you have any suggestions for future themes, please don’t hesitate to contact The Lawrentian.