Women at St. Joe’s could take an example from Vivian Stringer

Don’t let adversity get in the way of your dreams.  That was the message of Rutgers women’s basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer’s talk in the Perch last Wednesday.

Stringer faced a lot of adversity in her life.  She grew up a poor coal miner’s daughter, had a daughter stricken with meningitis at the age of two, and then lost her husband Thanksgiving Day in 1992. But despite all of these tragedies, Stringer continued on with life and made no excuses.

Stringer was a great public speaker.  She engaged the whole crowd, not just the basketball players.  It was amazing to have an athlete that didn’t just speak about sports.  Stringer made a point to not just speak about basketball, but about life, and all of the challenges that we face. 

It was so refreshing to have a strong female presence on campus.  It was nice to know that a woman can face so many struggles, and still survive.  Listening to Stringer’s talk was one of the most inspirational speeches I have ever heard. She spoke to all the women, young and old.  Her message to all the fans in the crowd was don’t make excuses for the things that happen in your life, and that women need to stick up for themselves, or no one else will.

Every time something doesn’t go someone’s way, you hear excuses. You hear it all over campus: “Oh that test was so hard,” “I was up so late doing that research paper.”  But really, all of those things could have been prevented.  Instead of complaining the test was hard, students should have realized that if they studied more, it would have been easier, and realized that instead of pulling an all-nighter on a research paper, that they should have started earlier and been more prepared. 

It was refreshing to hear Stringer’s advice because it applies to everyday life. I wish that more students went to the Perch last Wednesday because a lot more people on campus could have benefited from it.  Many St. Joe’s students seem to make excuses when things do not go their way, and it is ridiculous. They should have heard Stringer’s speech, and then maybe they would think twice before complaining about why they did poorly on a test or paper.

The message that hit home the most for me was when Stringer told us that women need to stick up for themselves or no one else will.  She spoke about the ignorant remarks by the less-than-entertaining Don Imus. 

Right after Stringer took her Rutgers team to the national title game, they had no time to celebrate the great achievement because Imus made sexist and racist remarks and they had to deal with the controversy.  Stringer said that because women allow themselves to be called these derogatory names, men are going to think its okay.

In today’s society, every song has some derogatory remark towards women, but we think it’s okay.  Just because something is widespread doesn’t mean it’s acceptable.   All over campus you can hear girls singing the sexist lines in songs because it's all that is played on the radio, but if young women continue to allow men to say derogatory remarks, then everyone will think its okay, and nothing will change.

The most inspiring thing was that despite all of the adversity Stringer faced, she continued on with her life.  She knew that she could survive the adversity and knew that despite all of the terrible things that happened in her life that she was still blessed.  When her husband died, Stringer packed up and left her home in Iowa because she knew she would rely on her friends and family too much.   Stringer knew that she could face anything when she faced her fears. 

Stringer made it perfectly clear during her speech: “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” A lot of women at St. Joe's would do well to sit up and listen.
 

Kathleen Young is a freshman opinions writer and English major.  She can be reached at thehawk@sju.edu.