Dear FRONTLINE,
Hats off to Hillary's Class! I wish I could shake each one of their hands.
If only they were all in the white house! I wish all young college women
could have seen
this show. I have always been a Hillary fan and I enjoyed seeing
the college and the friends that helped mold her into the person she is.
From: Ann McQueen
ann@apollo.moonlight.net
Dear Frontline,
Your program about the Wellesley class of 1969 was a program that
left me in deep contemplation. I am a woman and a PhD candidate at the
University of Wisconsin. I face a future not too far removed from that
experienced by the women interviewed on your program.
The program was correctly summed up by one woman who said about the
feminist movement, "perhaps we were a little too self-centered." Although
there have been great advances made for women as a result of this movement,
I believe the new generation feels this movement has also given women a
negative image: overworked, frenzied, belligerent, and feeling the
overwhelming to need to "prove something". Perhaps this reflects the fact
that many women are our own enemies rather than our own support.
I am grateful for those women, such as those of the Wellesley Class
of '69, who set out to break the barriers. I hope that the next generation
of young working women will have the same confidence to achieve their dreams
of careers but will also have the integrity to support those who choose
differently. Milestones already achieved will crumble if women continue to
be self-centered - we need to work together, not against each other.
Sincerely,
A.E.
Madison, Wisconsin
Dear FRONTLINE:
What kind of college graduates women who compare themselves to others as a
measure of their success in life. I hope my daughter is confident in being
who she is and not a cookie cutter, carbon copy of someone else. I could
think of many reasons why I would not want to be a clone of Hillary Clinton.
If Wellesley College produces women afraid of following their own star, then
they will never see my daughter who has high personal and intellectual
expections that do not include fame. Doing something awfully interesting
does not always include high profile public recognition. Me thinks the
Wellesley students of the past take themselves too seriously.
From,
Hdech
Dear FRONTLINE:
I could only gag repeatedly at the self focus and introspection of this band of
spoiled children of the 60's. Imagine, actually wondering why you didn't do as
well as your most famous (certainly not "most successful") classmate. Welcome
to the world of equality ladies... but I wonder if any of you had a spouse
badgering you with the same demand?
Further, did anyone else notice that not a single one of these gifts to humanity
had to account for how they avoided any obligatory public service?
Such self focus should have gone more rewarded.
Sincerely,
G.H.
Bellevue, WA
Dear FRONTLINE:
Thanks for your informative show, "Hillary's Class". I was pleasantly
surprised to learn the past of our first lady and her classmates. I think
it is a valuable piece of history that the children of today should be
made aware of. The fact that these women had the opportunity to do and
have done almost anything that they could have imagined is relevant not
only to young women but young men as well of today who face similar choices.
Sincerely,
C.L., 8th Grade Teacher
Charlotte, NC.
Dear FRONTLINE,
I really enjoyed your story about the grauduating class
of Wellesley College that included Hilary Rodham Clinton.
The lives of the other members of her class illustrates
how well women can succeed with hard work and
determination whether they choose to work outside or
inside the home.
There is nothing shameful about choosing to devote
yourself to raising a family or having a career. That's
what I believe the womens movement was about, having
choices. Life is about choices and its not fair to
begruge other women about the choices we all make
concerning our families, careers, and our lives.
Sincerely,
V.R.
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Dear FRONTLINE:
I was deeply touched by this show. My friends and I
graduated from a women's college 15 years after Hillary's
class. We marvelled at the way the lives of these women
reflected our own experience. We are intimate with the
choices and compromises these women faced. It was somehow
reassuring to discover that our plight is shared by the best
and brightest of the generation preceding ours.
The only significant differences we noticed were the greater
opportunities available to Hillary's class because Corporate
America was much fatter and happier --more liklely to risk
adding a woman to the mix than the economic climate we faced
in Pittsburgh in the early 80s and other cities up to the
present.
Thank you for this portrait of women we felt as though we knew
and very strongly empathized with.
From,
A.M.Z.
Dear FRONTLINE,
As a professional woman in my mid-twenties, I was fascinated and enthralled
by your story "Hillary's Class". It was such a comfort to see that other
women have struggled with the same issues that I am struggling with now. I
appreciate the sacrifices that these women made to advance the future for
myself and my peers. While my education was not at an exclusive women's
college, many parallels ring true, especially the search for happiness and
contentment with one's choices.
K.S.
Las Vegas, NV
Dear FRONTLINE,
While channel surfing one early morning, I happened upon "Hilary's
Class". Being a member of a family that spans the Boomer years
(1948-63 for ours), your show stopped my channel wandering.
I ended up watching the whole show. I thought it was fascinating
the angst that was portrayed over life decisions, decisions that
were never revealed as entirely satisfactory, but rather like a
bridge suddenly arrived at, then crossed rapidly to the other side.
I enjoyed the show. Until I realized I must have missed the
opening credits, I didn't know the title was "Hillary's Class".
The only analogy I could think of that fit the moment for me upon
discovering that this was about Hillary; was a childhood memory my
sister and I shared. We used to but a nickel bag of peeled and
toasted pecans when they were in season, we always said a little
prayer chant before digging in, "Please God don't let the last one
be bitter".
Closing a really superb show about life choices with Hillary Rodham
Clinton was literally my bitter pecan.
Sincerely,
T.D.
Humble Texas
Dear FRONTLINE,
It was very sad to see these women justifying their lives after 25 years.
Where is Hilery? Where is national health care reform? How can it be
understandable when Newt calls Hilery a bitch? There is no justifying these
women's lives in the context of their ideal education at Wellesley. The
best the school can do is teach them to take their second class status with
charm and grace. From your presentation it seems that is all they have done
in the last quarter century.
G.P.
Huntington, MA