Staben’s feminist T-shirt portrays UI well
University of Idaho President Chuck Staben appeared at last week’s Staff Appreciation Fair in an outfit that certainly caught people’s eyes.
Staben voluntarily identified himself as a feminist, clad in one of the black T-shirts from the UI Women’s Center, which proclaim in big pink block letters, “This is what a feminist looks like.”
Erin Bamer
Argonaut
The UI president’s ensemble didn’t just make a strong fashion statement. Staben openly supported our university’s Women’s Center, as well as women’s rights movements everywhere by wearing his support almost literally on his sleeve.
Many students and faculty may not appreciate how important of a statement this was. The president acts as a direct reflection of UI as a whole. Identifying oneself as a feminist is a brave enough thing to do on your own. Doing that while representing an entire university is a different story. Through one T-shirt, President Staben showed UI’s stance on issues involving women’s rights.
Although Staben’s time at UI is only just beginning, by wearing his feminism proudly, he is showing students that being a feminist doesn’t have to be such a negative thing. The state of Idaho isn’t known for being full of avid supporters for women’s rights, and acts like these — though seemingly insignificant — sets us on the path of progress.
Unfortunately, not all university presidents and faculty members share the same beliefs as Staben. Many university faculty, including people at UI, do not support feminist activism.
In fact, just last semester Jon Miller, a UI economics professor, said, “Women are hard-wired, on average, toward children.” Miller also said the U.S. gender-wage gaps make sense, because women generally have less skill and experience for their occupations, due to the time taken to raise children.
Whether you agree with that assessment or not, it portrays UI in a negative light. When it comes to a sensitive subject such as women’s rights, many different things can reflect badly on any given group of people. For example, in the past two weeks, there have been seven reports of sexual assault on Washington State University campus. This has the potential to give WSU a bad reputation and damage their enrollment rates.
Luckily for UI, Staben has a huge influence when it comes to representing our university and his statement outfit definitely represents UI in a more positive light. People underestimate how brave it is to publicly identify yourself as a feminist as well, especially when you hold a position that involves being under almost constant scrutiny.
Students and faculty at UI, who are in favor of women’s rights, should all recognize the impact President Staben has when representing the university on social issues like this. We all must applaud his efforts, and not ignore them, because it isn’t as easy as it looks. Staben didn’t simply put the UI Women’s Center shirt on last week without thinking about it. He knew what he was doing and what he would be saying to the people who saw him wearing it.
Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected]