By
Nicholas Zeckets
University of Arizona male students are lucky to attend an institution that boasts not only a top ten research university ranking, but also a top three attractive female ranking. While gorgeous women roam the campus, guys strut their groove things in pursuit of digits. How easy are they to get? Men's Health ranked schools on how male-friendly they were, and now the nation's university students are reacting. The report was not only offensive to females but debilitating to gender relations as well.
Laurence Ray Stains of Men's Health magazine ranked the 10 most male-friendly colleges and the 10 most anti-male campuses in the United States. Indicators ranged from on-line surveys of students, to professor interviews and even the strength of programs like women's studies.
Stains even attempted to measure whether given colleges afforded "A psychological climate in which men feel welcomed and relaxed, not silenced and besieged." Silenced and besieged? Exactly what kind of guy is Stains talking about?
Perhaps Stains grew up in a family of eight sons with him being the youngest, weakest and, evidently, dumbest. Daily beat downs from the Brothers Grim may have led him to have a weak image of himself and, somehow, of all men, but males nearly always dominate every facet of life. Right or wrong, his assertion that numerous university environments repress guys more than women is ludicrous.
Students here at UA had some strong feelings about the Men's Health article.
About the air of equality on this campus, freshman Sarah Allinson found that "It's equal. I haven't seen anything that goes to males or females. I don't think they should write that [the article]."
Freshman Sarah Glauser agreed finding that "I don't think a report like that serves any valid purpose." About gender relations at UA, Glauser continued that "I think our school has a good equilibrium."
Male students were in agreement. Freshman Brian Hall thought "a report like that would strain relationships on a university campus."
Creating divisions that don't already exist on campuses is detrimental to campus life and educational prospects. "I think it [the article] has to do with incoming freshman and how they perceive the university. If people don't see friendly faces it affects their performance in school," said junior Chidi Daniel.
Separating schools into those that are either pro or anti-male only fosters an air of gender tension. Considering how much sexual tension college students already wrestle with, it's unfair for Men's Health to exacerbate the situation by publishing a ranking of schools that treat men "well" or "badly."
Perhaps the most controversial indicator for the study was the size of the women's studies department. Brock Read of the Chronicle of Higher Education pulled a quote from Stains' article expanding on the idea of feminism. Stain pointed out about women's studies departments, "The bigger it is, the more angry young women it produces."
Julia Balen, Associate Director of the Women' Studies Department at the UA, when asked about the article, laughed loudly. "It's a specific male the study deals with; one that thinks the world revolves around them. Why is this guy so worried about it?"
Balen felt Stains was dissecting something that shouldn't be dissected. At least US News and World Report's college rankings have some tangible academic elements that factor in. Men's Health simply ignored tangibles and created a new ranking that will only hurt schools that allow women to fully express themselves.
While male beatings are a bit extreme, women are certainly entitled to speak their minds and have high standards in selecting "suitors." Students at "anti-male" schools like Antioch, Brown, Dartmouth, Georgetown and UC-Santa Cruz should be proud to have a student body composed of intellectual, independent, and assertive women.
There is a definitive difference between being a bitch and a feminist. Feminists on campuses nationwide are simply fighting for equality, not male oppression. The UA didn't make it into either the top or bottom, and Laurence "Wussy" Stains couldn't be reached for comment on our university, but feel lucky to know you're here. Every student, teacher, and faculty member here deserves the same rights to be themselves and speak out, whether male or female. Guys, be happy we've got a great middle ground of girls who let us be ourselves, and let's help women continue to be who they want to be.
