Anyone who couldn’t or didn’t attend Gloria Steinem’s discussion Tuesday missed one of the most engaging and thoughtful speakers ever invited to the MSU campus.
In what felt like an intimate dialogue between the speaker and her audience, Steinem explored the concept of “human history” as the ultimate, shared goal of feminism and other civil rights movements. Judging from the hearty applause that punctuated her speaking, Steinem’s audience felt itself an integral aspect of the many ideas she shared.
The fact that Steinem’s ideas were holistic and her manner inclusive made Provost Peter Rabideau’s glib introduction of the feminist icon nearly forgettable.
As a woman and as a composition instructor, Rabideau’s remarks struck me as thoughtless, offensive and ignorant. Saying that he “googled” Steinem before providing a dictionary definition of activist belittled not only the importance and duration of Steinem’s work, but the work of feminists in general, the audience, the university and even Rabideau’s own education and work.
As an English instructor, I strive to teach students that worthwhile scholarship rarely begins in the most readily accessible sources, sources like Google.com and the dictionary. Googled sources and Webster’s definitions may be acceptable beginnings in elementary and middle school reports about important issues and historical figures, but university students and teachers assumingly hold themselves to higher, more respected standards of scholarship.
Rabideau’s thoughtless introduction of Steinem reflected poorly on the provost himself, as well as the institution and the people of MSU.