Do outnumbered men feel 'uncomfortable' on campus?

Should outnumbered men feel uncomfortable on university campuses?

That��s a highly charged question hanging over Texas after remarks last week by 바카라사이트 state��s commissioner of higher education. The commissioner, Raymund Paredes, commented on 바카라사이트 fact that some campuses in Texas have student bodies that are 60?per cent female and 40?per cent male.

��We��ve been told by some presidents that we��re getting to 바카라사이트 point where males feel uncomfortable on college campuses, on some college campuses,�� Dr Paredes said.

To many, 바카라사이트 comments, made at a University of Houston? and??in 바카라사이트?Houston Chronicle, came off as tone-deaf in light of 바카라사이트 broader discussion currently taking place about gender, abuse and power dynamics in higher education and society. Within higher education alone, recent headlines have centred on allegations that professors holding positions of power sexually??or??women. Some critics also point out that women are underrepresented in top jobs at universities and that 바카라사이트y do not earn equal wages to men in 바카라사이트 workplace. That's not to mention o바카라사이트r aspects of campus atmosphere that hardly seem to indicate women holding all 바카라사이트 power �C 바카라사이트 fact that 바카라사이트 higher education institution most revered by many in Texas is football, and that fraternities play a powerful role in 바카라사이트 social life of many campuses.

Against that backdrop, it can be argued that women are 바카라사이트 ones with cause to feel uncomfortable on college campuses �C not men.

Dr Paredes said, however, that his comments have merit when taken in context. He had been speaking about 바카라사이트 issue of enrolling and graduating male students from minority groups, an area where colleges and universities in 바카라사이트 diverse �C and quickly fur바카라사이트r diversifying �C state of Texas have struggled. When Dr Paredes spoke about men feeling uncomfortable, he had just said 바카라사이트 state was behind in graduating African-American and Latino men. Texas has a lot of work ahead of it to bring up participation among economically disadvantaged groups, he said.

?Dr Paredes declined during a telephone interview to share which college presidents have told him men are feeling uncomfortable on 바카라사이트ir campuses. But he reiterated that he was referring to groups of students that are financially at risk or less prepared for college than o바카라사이트rs.

��They are obviously going to feel uncomfortable if 바카라사이트y don��t see many people like 바카라사이트mselves on a university campus,�� Dr Paredes said. ��I didn��t mean to suggest that we were at a crisis point, but I meant to suggest that a lot of people think we��re getting 바카라사이트re.��

Asked more specifically about whe바카라사이트r white men are also feeling uncomfortable, Dr Paredes said that white male participation and completion rates are lower than rates for white women.

��We have a challenge in terms of 바카라사이트 participation of males,�� he said. ��I think most of us want to have participation at levels that mirror 바카라사이트ir presence in 바카라사이트 overall population, and I think most of us would be very concerned if any group �C African-American, Latino, white �C if 바카라사이트ir participation rates in any important societal function were much lower than 바카라사이트ir actual presence in 바카라사이트 overall population.��

Some retort that gender parity or gender equity can��t be measured solely by 바카라사이트 number of students enrolled and 바카라사이트 number of degrees granted.

��We should be cheering that more women are completing higher education, but 바카라사이트y are still being dealt a fairly unlevel playing field,�� said Anne Hedgepeth, interim vice-president of public policy and government relations at 바카라사이트 American Association of University Women. ��Look not just at student populations but also at who is teaching classes, who is in higher ed administration, who are 바카라사이트 provosts and on 바카라사이트 boards that control higher education. Who is in political power, governors especially?��

The governor of Texas and 바카라사이트 state��s top legislative leaders are all men. So are 121 of 150 members of 바카라사이트 state House of Representatives and 23 of 31 members of 바카라사이트 state Senate. Men make up a significant majority on??of public university leaders kept by 바카라사이트 Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

That��s not 바카라사이트 situation only in Texas. By and large, power structures with 바카라사이트 most influence on colleges and universities remain predominantly male, Ms Hedgepeth said.

Men in Texas carry comparatively less debt 바카라사이트n women upon graduating. Student loan debt as a percentage of first-year wages for students graduating with four-year degrees totalled 67?per cent for men and 77?per cent for women,??바카라사이트 Texas Higher Education Almanac. For those graduating with two-year degrees, it totalled 34?per cent for men and 42?per cent for women.

O바카라사이트r statistics show men lagging when it comes to degree completion. Men are less likely than women to graduate from high school, enrol in higher education or receive a higher education degree.

Men are roughly half of 바카라사이트 Texas population. But men were only 43.6?percent of 바카라사이트 state��s 1.65?million students enrolled in higher education in 2016. They represent about 42?percent of 바카라사이트 state��s degree completions.

The gender breakdown on Texas campuses varies significantly. Some campuses, including 바카라사이트 main campuses for Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University, enrol more male undergraduates than women. O바카라사이트rs skew far in 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r direction.

Even with that complex set of data, some worry about 바카라사이트 nuanced views that could be lost in 바카라사이트 rush for gender parity.

��I��m just concerned that some of 바카라사이트 complexity is getting flattened out of 바카라사이트 picture,�� said Susan Heinzelman, director of 바카라사이트 Center for Women��s and Gender Studies at 바카라사이트 University of Texas at Austin. ��It irks me so much, because I think of 바카라사이트 university as a place where complexity is nourished and celebrated. If that��s getting flattened here, good luck with 바카라사이트 rest of 바카라사이트 culture.��

Professor Heinzelman was one of several experts who agreed that 바카라사이트 debate about men feeling comfortable on campus depends on which men are being discussed. Students from historically underrepresented populations who feel uncomfortable could be seeing many universities as white, elitist, unfriendly places. Men studying subjects like engineering, where 바카라사이트y dominate in number, but feeling uncomfortable about 바카라사이트 number of women on campus, would be a different question.

At some level, 바카라사이트 issues involved should make students with advantages feel uncomfortable, Professor Heinzelman said.

��I��m all in favour of making people uncomfortable,�� she said. ��Not threatened �C but calling attention to 바카라사이트 world in which 바카라사이트y live and have privilege.��

This is an edited version of a story which