Some Things for College Students to Think About
- The U.S. college-age population is 51% male / 49% female, but college undergraduates are 43% male / 57% female. The percentage of male students continues to decrease. Colleges and universities are doing little or nothing to correct this worsening gender disparity.
- What are colleges and universities doing? They are following a misguided interpretation of Title Nine of the Education Amendments of 1972, the law which prohibited gender discrimination in any educational program or activity which receives federal funding. Title Nine was intended to expand college athletic opportunities for women, and those opportunities have greatly increased. But following an obscure, hastily prepared bureaucratic action which was never reviewed or approved by Congress – now known as the 1979 Policy Interpretation – the number of athletes in each college’s athletic programs must reflect within a few percentage points the proportion of male and female students on campus. The U.S. Department of Education allows colleges only two ways to comply with Title Nine: create more women’s teams, or eliminate men’s teams. Since fewer women than men are interested in playing organized sports (as studies have shown), and since women outnumber men on campus 57% to 43%, many colleges have been forced to cut men’s athletics. Hundreds of men’s teams have been eliminated. Title Nine was intended to increase athletic opportunities for women, but it has been twisted to decrease athletic opportunities for men.
- What else are colleges and universities doing? Speech codes — or anti-harassment codes that function in the same manner — are rampant on campuses. Since women are a group offered protection against “offense”, the codes especially restrict the speech of men. Students accused of “sexual misconduct” – anything from rape to telling off-color jokes – can face a secret proceeding in which they have no judicial rights even though the outcome could ruin their academic careers. There is rarely any punishment for false accusations.
- Anti-male feminism has made many college campuses into hostile environments for men, places where men feel unwanted and unwelcome. Sensationalized lies about men (sometimes called “hate statistics”), drastically exaggerating the occurrence of date rape and domestic violence, are often an integral part of campus culture. Women’s Studies departments commonly teach contempt toward and fear of men, while Men’s Studies departments are virtually nonexistent. Female-perpetrated sexual coercion and domestic violence are completely ignored.
- There are 65 women’s colleges and universities in the United States.
There are 5 men’s colleges and universities.
- All young men must register with Selective Service for a possible military draft. Even physically or mentally handicapped young men must register. Penalties for failing to register include five years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and permanent ineligibility for government benefits, including student financial aid. In some states, a man cannot renew his driver license if he has not registered.
- Women are exempt from registration for a military draft. Even women who are Olympic athletes are exempt from registration, simply because they are women. Women who choose to serve in the military are exempt from combat. Women who choose to serve in combat may take only the safest combat roles. Women can attend U.S. military academies, and many become officers in command of men, but women still have no obligation to share with men the risk of being drafted to serve the nation in a future war.
- A military draft does not have to be for combat troops only; Congress has the authority to impose a draft for other military purposes which it deems necessary. In 1945 during the Second World War, Congress was about to authorize the drafting of women to serve as military nurses, but then the war in Europe ended and the shortage of nurses was no longer critical.