Inside Higher Ed has a story on recruiting problems at an all male college, and efforts to understand and deal with those problems. To paraphrase Jonah Goldberg, I find their puzzlement puzzling.
For many colleges, dwindling male enrollment has become a source of some concern. But at Saint John’s University, recruiting men is a matter of survival.
Saint John’s, an all-male Roman Catholic university in Collegeville, Minn., has been in the business of recruiting men since it was founded by Benedictines in the mid 1800s. So as some colleges across the country report declines in male enrollment, it is perhaps of little surprise that Saint John’s faculty members and administrators have stepped up to grapple with what some view as growing problem in higher education.
...
To address these concerns, Saint John’s has created a task force to look at male enrollment issues, and has been collecting data among the university’s students to find out what makes men tick. The university also helps organize annual conferences for men’s colleges, placing the onus on all-male institutions to confront issues like enrollment decline.
To draw more men the college is paints a picture of itself as an ideal location for all sorts of manly activities like skiing, fishing, and such. But then we get this...
It may seem a bit perplexing that Saint John’s lures male students to campus by appealing to their perceived machismo and love of football, only to challenge those stereotypes during the course of students’ academic careers. The Center for Men’s Leadership and Service, which reaches about 2,000 students each year through activities, is designed in part to break down students’ traditional notions of masculinity.
Imagine that! It's hard to find men who want to spend several years being turned into women.
This is not to criticize the the methods or goals of the Center for Men’s Leadership and Service. Students who choose to participate probably get a lot out of it. But should it really be surprising that most men find this sort of thing off-putting?
No surprise to me, that's for sure. How about reconsidering traditional notions of femininity? It might be useful for male students to realize that females can be every bit as vindictive and power crazy as that nastiest men ... that would really equip them for the real world where they're normally taught that female bosses will be all so nurturing and team building. One study I read a couple of years ago says that majorities of both males and females prefer to have male bosses.
Comment by Filthy Stinking No.9 — March 22, 2009 @ 7:59 pm
I found this one hilarious. Also from the Corner.
After years of dealing with men who had been trained to behave like women, she found herself more attracted to a woman who behaved like a man. This is given as an example of the way gender roles are changing.
Comment by Dr. Strangelove — March 25, 2009 @ 8:47 am