Rebecca Hajiloucas ’11
Earlier this month, the Mountain Lakes League of Women Voters held the third Running and Winning workshop, dedicated to arousing political ambition in our sophomore, junior, and senior girls. Over sixty female students attended, looking to gain new insight into the world of women in politics.
One of the main themes of the workshop was the lack of female involvement in our government. Only seventeen of the one hundred current senators are women, and only seventy five of the four hundred and thirty five congressmen are women. Attending politicians, including Blair MacInnes, former New Jersey State Senate candidate, Annelise Catanzaro, former Parsippany council candidate, and the deputy mayor of Mountain Lakes, Louise Davis, all elucidated to the female students the need for women politicians. Perhaps is it is the societal role of women still preventing female involvement in politics, or perhaps, it is women themselves. Many politicians alluded to the idea that women are their own biggest critics.
After the students had a chance to interview the politicians, teams of female students compiled campaigns for governor, created posters, slogans, and speeches. This activity showed students what being a politician is all about, and gave them a feel of what a campaign is like. Hopefully, the workshop inspired female students to become politically active and lessen the gap between men and women in American politics.
Photo courtesy of Mrs. McCabe