A Precedent for Presidents

On Wednesday, March 26, 2014, the final votes were cast at Phillips Academy to elect their second pair of co-presidents in Andover’s history. David Gutierrez ‘15 and Rebecca Somer ‘15 were the winners out of the ten pairs that ran this year, six of which were boy-girl pairs. The school’s co-presidency model was first implemented last year to address the growing concern over the lack of female leaders in school since its co-ed integration in 1973. Last year, however, two males, Clark Perkins and Junius Onome Williams, won the top positions. This further fueled the debate that raged through the campus and made the issue the subject of a New York Times article by Katharine Q. Seelye.Although Andover’s co-presidency model did indeed bring a female leader into power this year, it has been debated whether or not the model is a viable solution to the gender inequality problem. Many students have argued that Andover’s new system only addresses the surface of the problem and gives the impression that female students are not capable of leading on their own. In essence, Andover’s model does not fix the root of gender imbalance in the school but rather superficially hides the appearance of it.At Exeter, there have only been two female StuCo presidents while Andover has only had four. There has also been a notably small number of females even running for the position in the first place. This year, Andover successfully increased its number of female candidates. Out of the twenty students running for the position, half were female. Perhaps the model is successful in that it fosters an environment where females are more comfortable running for top positions. A problem that many females face today is that they simply do not see women in leadership positions and are discouraged by the lack of powerful female role models. Andover’s new system brings forth more female candidates and leaders and thereby encourages the next generation of female students to be more comfortable in running. Andover’s model is not sustainable and cannot be a permanent solution to gender inequality, but it still establishes a stable foundation for future female leaders.There is definitely no easy solution to gender inequality, and it is worth noting that racial inequality exists in leadership positions as well, something Junius Williams, one of last year’s co-presidents at Andover, pointed out. Gender inequality is only one of the many issues our schools and society face, but the effort that Andover and Exeter put into changing the status quo demonstrates how progressive our schools have become. It is not a question of whether gender inequality exists, but how we can fix it. Maybe Andover’s co-presidency model was not the best way to “fix” a problem so deeply ingrained in our society, but the radical change displays the school’s concern for equality and fairness.It has only been about forty years since Andover and Exeter have gone coeducational. Just last year, Exeter elected a female president and vice-president duo for the first time in its history. While our schools are rapidly changing, so are the mindsets of the students and faculty. We are only at the beginning of a long road to equality. Exonians and Phillipians have the power to be part of monumental changes and set standards for society in our quest for equality and justice.