Friendship Rooted in Social Justice

Margarida (“Guida”) Pyles West ’50 and Rebecca Lubetkin ’60 never crossed paths on the Barnard campus. But a serendipitous meeting at a New Jersey supermarket in the 1970s led to a friendship that lasted nearly half a century and a professional bond that reflected their passions for social justice, equality, and opportunities for those left behind.

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West and Lubetkin died within six months of each other in 2023. Lubetkin was the first speaker at the September 30 memorial for West, who’d passed away on May 25. She eulogized her friend and mentor as “one of the loveliest, most wonderful people I’ve ever met” and lauded West’s “pursuit of social justice.” Lubetkin died just seven weeks later, on November 19.

“Guida was my mother’s mentor,” says Erica Lubetkin, Rebecca’s daughter, adding that West encouraged Lubetkin to seek out grants needed to move forward in her career. Eventually, both women would go on to hold academic appointments at Rutgers University. 

As a sociologist and activist, West worked in civil rights and welfare reform. The author of The National Welfare Rights Movement, West was instrumental in making welfare reform a national movement. She was an organizer of Friends of Welfare Rights in Newark and played a pivotal role in organizing the Presbyterian Church’s work with the civil rights movement. She even did her part for fair housing issues — not the least of which was advocating for integration in her own suburban community.

West also established Rutgers’ Continuing Education for Women initiative, making it possible for women to continue their education and return to the workforce during or after raising their families, as well as providing support for those experiencing domestic abuse. The initiative also encouraged women to enter politics.

West’s relentless dedication and her impact led her to being honored with Barnard’s AABC Woman of Achievement Award in 2020.

Lubetkin was equally passionate and persuasive. As an advocate for gender equity, she joined the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1971 and chaired NOW-NJ’s Task Force on Education. Under her leadership, the task force filed hundreds of complaints with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights to allow students to take courses — at a time when home economics was for girls and shop was for boys — denied to them because of their gender. Lubetkin also worked to implement the 1972 Title IX decision offering equal sports opportunities for girls and published numerous books, articles, and videos on policy and best practice manuals for curriculum work in STEM, social studies, language arts, and athletics.

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In 1975, Lubetkin founded Rutgers’ Consortium for Educational Equity with a $250,000 national grant facilitated by West to help launch the initiative. She served as its executive director, leading educators toward equal education opportunities for their students. Even after retirement, Lubetkin remained committed to issues such as international women’s rights, specifically the struggles against sex trafficking, rape as a weapon of war, honor killing, and genocide.

West and Lubetkin’s mutual dedication to making the world a better place, solidified by their Barnard connection, made their enduring friendship inevitable.

“Barnard had a major impact on my mother’s life — she loved it, was very proud to be a Barnard graduate, and always spoke very highly of the academics,” Laura West wrote in an email. She added that as a math major, her mother appreciated the support she received at a time when few women majored in mathematics. “She appreciated not having been pressured to follow a different academic path.”

In her video comments produced for the 2020 Awards ceremony at Reunion, West said, “Barnard encouraged me to resist and challenge myths.” At Barnard, she learned to “speak out, ask questions, debate issues and get involved. I found my voice for social justice.”

For Lubetkin, it was a similar story. “She always had an eye to help the underdog. If someone was wronged, she’d want to help,” said Erica Lubetkin. “Barnard shaped her outlook for advocacy and social justice.”