As one of my tennis competitors used to say when she blew an easy shot at the point of her victory, "I can't stand prosperity." While she meant to criticize her self-defeating style, as a woman she not only had to deal with her inner self-criticism but also with negative comments from others about her skills.
Take Jen Daum, our new student body president, as a case in point. While Jen did not sabotage her own campaign to the point of defeat and I have no idea about her inner self-doubts, she was met with several negative commentaries in The Daily Tar Heel after her election.
I am favorably impressed with Jen because she took the initiative to develop a mentorship proposal for undergraduate women with a couple of other students and then brought her ideas to the Carolina Women's Center for implementation. She also worked tirelessly with a group of employees and students to improve child-care options and actively participated in a press conference on the topic. Last Friday, during the Faculty Council meeting, the chairwoman, Sue Estroff, congratulated Jen on her election as student body president and said that Jen was the only candidate who had talked with Sue about faculty concerns prior to the election.
My hope is that Jen can celebrate her victory and then continue to reach out to her supporters and to her detractors to build coalitions that can provide the strongest student voice.
In this way, she will continue to win by incorporating the views of all into her game plan (including any nagging self-criticism she may have).
Congratulations, Jen!
Diane Kjervik
Professor and Director
Carolina Women's Center
