Wellesley Class Sees ‘One of Us’ Bearing Standard

[DeepModem Mom]

Wellesley Class Sees ‘One of Us’ Bearing Standard
By TAMAR LEWIN
Published: April 14, 2007


Hillary Rodham in 1969 as a student at Wellesley, where she drew attention for her fiery commencement address.
(Lee Balterman/Time Life Pictures, via Getty Images)

For her Wellesley classmates, Hillary Clinton’s quest to become the first female president is a generational mirror. Some like what they see; others are less certain.

They were there for her fiery commencement speech, delivered at the height of the Vietnam War, when she described her class’s search for a “more immediate, ecstatic and penetrating mode of living” and said that every protest was “unabashedly an attempt to forge an identity in this particular age.” The speech landed Hillary Rodham in the spotlight as a celebrated archetype of a new generation of women.

“We were very proud of her: she was a feminist; she was outspoken,” said Jane Moss, a classmate who now teaches French at Colby College. “Hillary was speaking for all of us, for a generation that felt we weren’t being heard.”

From their days at Wellesley, where they attended Wednesday teas and fought to end parietal hours and curfews, to their pioneering careers in law, academia and science, the 400 members of that Class of 1969 have been marked by the profound shift in women’s roles that accompanied their coming of age.

Throughout their journey, Hillary Rodham Clinton has been both a standard-bearer and a touchstone to measure themselves against.

They have winced at her struggles over how to be a modern first lady and her marital humiliations, rejoiced with her election to the Senate, puzzled over how her guarded and cool political persona is so different from the warm, funny and outspoken woman they know.They still see her as the thoughtful friend who called every week after a husband died, or wrote a charming note about the birth of a grandson.

And some are raising money or volunteering in Mrs. Clinton’s effort to become the first woman elected to the White House....

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/14/us/politics/14wellesley.html?hp=&pagewanted=all

[KingofNewOrleans]

1. Those are the pants

of a radical.

[DeepModem Mom]

2. GREAT reply! nt

[Alamom]

4. I had pants like that in the late 60's.

:)

[JohnnyLib2]

3. These are voices of the women of my generation;

I expect to hear a great deal more along this line in this election cycle.
It is telling that they speak specifically about the woman, past and present, and not "the wife of...." IMO, the type of perspective voiced
in this article will rally toward HRC in much more active ways in months ahead. The times, they are a changin'.....

[DeepModem Mom]

6. I found this article about Hillary, and these women...

who've known her since her college days, fascinating.

[DFW]

5. How very accurate:

"...her guarded and cool political persona is so different from the warm, funny and outspoken woman they know"

I don't know Hillary well, but I have met and spoken with her a couple of times, and this
describes her perfectly. She has a sense of humor and such great timing, she could replace
Letterman or Leno if she wanted, and make ten times the money she makes as an elected official.

[DeepModem Mom]

7. Thanks for your observations, DFW. I found that line intriguing also. nt

[spooky3]

8. I really enjoyed this. Thanks for posting.

A few bricks in the remaining sexism wall have started to loosen, but we have a long way to go.

[JohnnyLib2]

9. I've heard basically the same

from women who have attended child care-oriented conferences with her back to White House days. If the thousands of people (especially women) who have this impression begin to speak up........

[DFW]

10. Back when Bill Clinton was in the White House.......

My parents had a meeting with Hillary in the White House. It was supposed
to last 5 minutes. After five minutes, and aide came in to remind her. She
said she was enjoying herself, and stayed with my folks for half an hour.
My parents confirmed what the rest have said about her.

Republican Senators have also confounded supporters expecting to hear what
a horror she was. Instead they say how well prepared she is and how easy she
is to work with as a major member of the opposition party (help, could Hillary
be the uniter?? well, maybe that goes a bit far--the Seante is not the country).
She gave a private party for Texas Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson
once. I mean, she really is not the devil her detractors want her to be. Her
politics may not be on a par with my own, but she just isn't the horrible
witch so many people want her to be and hope she is.

[DFW]

11. Another footnote:

I was at the Gridiron dinner in March of 1995. She was in Pakistan, but left
a video. It was off the record, so no one outside of the room got to see it,
but it was a spoof on herself with Hillary playing a hokey "Hillary Gump."
She was on a bench, like in the Forrest Gump movie, and it was in front of
the White House. She pointed to it and said in her best Arkansas hillbilly:
"That's the White House. It's like a box of chocolates. It's pretty on the
outside, but inside, it's full of NUTS!" The whole room was on the floor in
hysterics, from the Canadian Ambassador to Newt Ginrich.

They probably couldn't release it due to copyright infringement, but that short
video would sell a million copies, it was THAT funny!

[ElizabethDC]

12. That video is actually available on DVD

the Clinton Museum store sells it (the DVD is called "A Time to Laugh: The Clinton's Humor". I have it - very funny. Despite what many people say, Hillary does appear to have both a personality and a sense of humor.

[DFW]

13. Wow, I had no idea!

I tried to get copies back right after I saw it, and both the White House
and Gridiron said no way José. I'll have to get a copy of that. Thanks for the info!

[kath]

14. Does anyone know if the text of Senator Clinton's controversial commencement address is available

online anywhere?