Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 11, 1990 TAG: 9006110171
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BRIDGET PUZON
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The students closed down the college - surely an extreme measure. But effective: The decision has been reversed, conditionally. Why the reaction?
Primarily because the Mills women, as they've been taught, read the evidence of years of research. The data about women's second-class status in coed institutions is long and compelling. Who would want to be ignored or patronized in the same classroom where peers are encouraged?
Even Wheaton College, coed for only two years, has been studied. The results confirm earlier studies: Male students receive over twice the time and attention that women receive; women are discouraged from class participation; women's diminished self-expectations follow from these practices.
Post-college achievement, measured in terms of career advancement in diverse fields, is stronger proportionately for graduates of women's colleges. So, the Mills students saw the trustees' decision, however responsibly reached, as not only a loss but also as a personal and professional setback.
Women's colleges have traditionally been in the forefront of social change. Women's colleges have changed with the times, and they have changed the times. Women's colleges are responding to the frontiers of new opportunities for women, and they are opening new frontiers.
Hollins College has responded to the increasing numbers of older women who want to return to college by expanding programs for them, in recognition of the fact that balancing college, career, marriage and family is an added challenge that must be addressed. Hollins has created programs to encourage young minority women to attend college and to pursue careers in science and mathematics, fields still dominated by men.
As academic institutions, our collective goal should be to educate each individual well. We must and will continue to develop programs that challenge each student to reach his or her fullest potential, so that each student, in turn, can improve society as a whole.
The many differences among people mandate the retention and exploration of different approaches to educate them. If we are to produce imaginative, creative thinkers, if our society is to continue the forward momentum provided only by diverse ideas and talents, then we must encourage a broad range of perspectives.
That is what sparks new ideas. That is what creates the energy that is so vital to a new age.
Now is a time when each single-sex institute must re-examine its function and goals, reassess its value in a rapidly changing world, and determine if its existence is a valid one.
For Hollins, the answer is a resounding "Yes!" It will be until the day that women can expect as much for their educational dollar at a coed institution as men. The college for women is an important part of a new age. It will continue to have a very positive function in our society.
That troubling image of the Mills College women should indeed trouble us as a society. When a formula for building a strong society works, we are entrusted to preserve it.
by CNB