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Percentage of men in college
decreasing By Rusty Simmons While teaching at North Carolina State University, Anne Lucchetti conducted an experiment by limiting the enrollment of a speech communication class to an equal number of men and women. Lucchetti, who is now an assistant professor of speech communication at TCU, said the class was a disaster because the men dominated the class discussion. Take Lucchetti’s experiment and multiply it several hundred times, and it isn’t surprising that while women make up almost 60 percent of the TCU student body, men still control many class discussions. This sort of gender gap is glaring and growing at campuses across America. Until 1979, men made up the majority of college students. As women won increasing equality elsewhere in society, it was natural and expected that they would reach parity in college, which they did in the 1980s. But Lucchetti said the numbers don’t add up when it comes to class discussions. “We have to put it on the students to get everyone to speak out,” Lucchetti said. “We don’t accomplish anything by not talking about ethnicity or gender differences. We just need to do it in a sensitive manner.” Joanne Green, assistant professor of political science, said the idea of diversity is being able to share different life experiences. “Even with more women in classes, all points of view aren’t necessarily being heard,” Green said. “Women have been socialized to be concerned that if they look too intelligent in class, there will be social repercussions.” But repercussions in enrollment have continued to be felt by men as their admission in higher education has continued to decline since 1992. Males now make up just 44 percent of undergraduate students nationwide. And federal projections show their share shrinking to as little as 42 percent by 2010. This trend is among the hottest topics of debate among college admissions officers. While there is no definite information regarding why the lack of male students in college exists, anecdotal evidence for the trend is prolific. Some TCU professors say more high-tech jobs offer enough of a salary to support a family, but high-tech jobs employ only about 9 percent of the U.S. work force. Others say there are not enough male role models in the teaching profession. Still differing, some say American culture promotes anti-intellectualism among boys. Whatever the reason, U.S. government figures show that from 1970 to 1996, as the number of bachelor’s degrees earned by women increased 77 percent, the number earned by men rose 19 percent. Keith Whitworth, instructor of sociology, said the numbers are a sign of the procession women are making. “It’s an issue of the sexual stereotyping that begins at birth,” he said. “The Industrial Revolution precipitated women in the work place and their ability to gain economic independence. This is all based on the changes in gender roles.” But some private liberal arts colleges have quietly begun special efforts to recruit men, including admissions preferences for them. Green said private schools have more flexibility than public institutions when it comes to preferential admissions as illustrated at the University of Georgia, a public university. Last July, Georgia lost a lawsuit filed by female students who were denied admission because of affirmative-action policy that favored men. Whitworth said men should not be able to gain preferential admission to colleges. “We look at women as the majority, but we have to remember that female graduates still fill lower-status, lower-wage positions even when they have the same qualifications as a male in that position,” he said. “I’m the majority, but I realize men have been exploiting women in the work place forever.” Maybe the next step to women gaining full equality in college is affording them the opportunity and confidence to take part in class discussions. Rusty Simmons |