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To Exclude Man

From CNN:

Amid boos and shouts of “traitors” Randolph-Macon Woman’s College officials announced Saturday that men would be admitted to the 115-year-old institution starting in 2007.

The board determined coeducation was the best way to preserve the school’s mission of high academic standards for undergraduate students…

“I’m sad. I’m really sad,” said Gabriella Medina, a freshman from Puerto Rico . “If we can’t reverse this, I guess I’m going to transfer.”

I feel for those students. If I had chosen to go to a women’s college and found out they were going to allow men, I’d be depressed, too. Others are not so empathetic:

This vote has outraged many of the female students. Where is the feminist crying out against what was discrimination against men, and why such outrage over the admission of men?

I support an egalitarian society, however, have never supported the feminist movement. Their interest has always been in making men second class citizens and an agenda of hypocrisy.

From Admitting Men Is Treason? By Mr. Justice.

Let’s take this one stupid statement at a time. A college that only admits women is not discriminating against men. At least, not in the sense that he means. (In the sense of ‘to make a distinction’, I suppose that might be true.) The difference between a college that only admits women and a country club that excludes black people is that the former is an institution created for those who are historically at a disadvantage and the latter is an example of the kind of institution that disadvantages groups. This would be why feminists aren’t ‘crying out’ about men not being admitted to women’s colleges.

White men have always had the advantage in America . Women had to fight for the right to vote, to fight for the right to attend good colleges and universities, and continue to fight to be treated as equals in the workplace. White men don’t have to deal with these kinds of struggles. Yet they’re the first to whine and complain when they can’t have something other people get. I’m going to take a wild guess that Mr. Justice is a white man.

Why such outrage over the admission of men? Several reasons:

“My experience at a women’s college was great,” says Kelly Righton, a graduate of Saint Mary’s College. “A lot of people talk about how it makes you more assertive and confident – and it’s really true. It’s not like I was lacking in those traits, but at St. Mary’s they really came out.”

Many students at women’s colleges attest that they are taken more seriously in the classroom and feel more inclined to participate in class discussions. Says Righton, “There were many strong role models within the school. It was just a special environment that fostered learning and positive thinking.” [Source]

Recent studies by the Women’s College Coalition in Washington, D.C., have concluded that by attending women’s colleges, women…

  • participate more fully in and out of class;
  • have more opportunities to hold leadership positions and are able to observe women functioning in top jobs;
  • report greater satisfaction than their coed counterparts with their college experience in almost all measures – academically, developmentally and personally.
  • score higher on standardized achievements tests;
  • develop measurably higher levels of self-esteem than other achieving women in coeducational institutions who have been shown to have lower levels of self-esteem than when they entered college;
  • are more successful in careers- that is, they tend to hold higher positions, are happier, and earn more money;
  • are more likely to graduate.

[Source]

Those are the positive reasons to choose a women’s college, here are some negative reasons to not choose a coed institution:

Date and acquaintance rape is quite prevalent on campuses. One in four college women has been raped; that is, has been forced, physically or verbally, actively or implicitly, to engage in sexual activity. A 1985 study revealed that ninety percent of college rape survivors knew their attacker before the incident. Another survey found that one in fifteen college men admitted to having forced a woman into sex. [Source]

More on Acquaintance Rape on College and University Campuses.

Dean Foster… still thought [women’s colleges] were necessary because “We [women] still do live in a men’s world”, and “the fact is that women are second class citizens.” She argues that since women are at a disadvantage in society, “it is better for the development of the young woman that she be a first-class citizen at least temporarily.” Many women, including alumna Eileen Chorborda ’65, agreed with this position, “Ours being a predominantly male-run society, we need to maintain facilities specifically for the benefit of producing educated women who can then take responsible positions in society both alongside and in competition with men.” [Source]

Now to address the second stupid comment. It’s always very interesting to me how many people who are not feminists insist on telling feminists what their ‘agenda’ is, or what it means to be a feminist, or what we believe in. Mr. Justice says that we want to make men second-class citizens, a charge which is laughable to the point that it probably shouldn’t even be addressed. The only reason I’m taking the time is to point out the rampant privilege on display here.

I’m not sure what he’s basing this assertion on, but considering his response to the women’s college thing, I’m going to guess that he thinks feminists want to make him a second-class citizen because they don’t want to let him have his white male privilege anymore. They are trying to take away his unfair advantage. Since white males make a business of keeping advantages away from non-white males, it’s easy to see why they think that the removal of privilege = being as low down as you baby-makers and darkies.

My guess is that when he says he wants an egalitarian society it means that he wants a society where women can do some stuff but don’t get too uppity about it. So, who’s the hypocrite now?

I think guys like him are an excellent reason to go to a women’s college.

ETA: Awww.. I was having a lovely exchange with Mr. Justice (wherein he committed #s 2 and 4 of “How to suppress dicussions of racism” as well as trying to use the words of Dr. King against me) when he up and deleted all of the comments we made at each other. Because I’m you know, racist.  And sexist.  I am the Blog Police, hear me roar?

4 thoughts on “To Exclude Man”

  1. al says:

    i read in school long ago that girls do better in single-sex education and boys do better in mixed-gender education, which is a pretty clear example of one person’s priveledge creating a disadvantage for others.

    i’d imagine this decision has more to do with money than anything else, but that’s the opinion i have of higher education.

  2. the angry black woman says:

    Yes, unfortunately the decision is based on enrolement, which is down. Why I understand their need for income, I still think it’s sad that this is the only thing they could come up with.

  3. Pingback: Wednesday Quick Linking « Save Randolph-Macon Woman’s College
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  5. MAC says:

    I heart you ABW!!!

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