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Page 7 • Tuesday, March 9, 1999
econd-class citizens?
\oston College professor’s ‘no males allowed’ policy example of reverse discrimination
M any A&M students have
taken a class where
they were one of a few
men or women in that class,
but a Boston College professor
has been teaching a class for
the past 20 years in which only
women are allowed.
Mary Daly, a feminist theolo- '^ ACH
gy professor, has been given an
ultimatum by Boston College
officials to allow men into her feminist ethics class
or be forced to stop teaching, according to an As
sociated Press report.
Daly has conveniently taken a leave of absence
this semester in hopes that the problem will blow
over, a move she has pulled many time in the past
when her views have been challenged.
She recently denied admittance to her class to
two Boston College males. Daly claims that “open
ing her classes to men would compromise her be
lief that women tend to defer to a man whenever
one is in the room.”
One of the male students is being represented
by the Center for Individual Rights, a conservative
Washington law firm that represented the Hop-
wood plaintiffs.
It is interesting to note that a conservative
group has come to the aid of these male students.
Where is the American Civil Liberties Union?
Where are the feminists who believe that men and
women should be treated equally?
They were certainly present when the Citadel
was forced to admit Shannon Faulkner five years
ago into the, then, all-male military academy. They
claimed a women could do a job as good as a man,
and they sued the school on grounds of sexual dis
crimination.
It seems Daly and her feminist colleagues’
agenda is one with a double standard. If the gen
der roles here were reversed and a male professor
was only admitting males to his class, the feminist
and every left-wing, equality-to-all-creatures orga
nization would be crying sexism, misogynism and
all out bloody murder in an effort to nail that
“male chauvinist.”
Boston College spokesperson Jack Dunn con
curred.“We’d be run out of town.”
The same Associated Press report stated that
early on in her career, Daly noticed that co-ed
classes created problems between men and
women.
“Even if there were only one or two men with
20 women, the young women would be constantly
on an overt or a subliminal level giving their atten
tion to the men because they’ve been socialized to
nurse men,” she said.
Daly, in her power to women thinking, does not
give credit to her own kind. It really appears to be
no more than an elitist, anti-male view that is be
ing espoused by this extremist.
However misdirected Daly’s views on men are,
her statement that there are benefits to single sex
learning is not without merit. Single sex learning
or training, whether it be in the classroom, mili
tary, fraternity or sorority, can be beneficial.
But the recent trend of equal access to every
thing by everyone has made this thinking a thing
of the past; just look at the forced integration of
Corps of Cadet units and the decision by Dart
mouth to de-genderize fraternities and sororities.
Perhaps Daly would have a better chance of
keeping her class all female if she did not have a
“men vs. women” mentality. More importantly, if
this is a common view held by feminist groups and
civil rights organizations, then they need to think
twice before they bring down organizations they
disagree with such as the Citadel and Virginia Mili
tary Institute.
Daly and her feminist brethren ( need to realize
that men are not the enemy and are not trying to
“keep women down.” Most men and women are
capable of interacting, conversing and being re
spectful of the opposite gender; it is time that Daly
and feminists who share her views learn to do the
same.
Zach Hall is a senior philosophy major.
arc
dged,
look
Worship without sacrifice
equals no worship at all
thr°{
Vhen In August 1998,
it’s ml the San Antonio
mExpress-News
Clipwducted a survey
ed in lout the spirituali-
p area teenagers
Id received some
her surprising re
uses.
iDenise Gomez,
CAI£B
MCDANIEL
Lit C 8. said having a re-
and ®on does not mean having to practice
essor*“i n a way,” she said, “I do have my
it Owigion, but it is my own.”
NBA WNadia Lopez, 17, said she came to
Bps with questions about God when
look he went through a suicidal depression,
we’re ’he teenager said she now believes
?saki Hd j s a woman who is her friend. “I
we ®k to God and tell her my problems,”
^ Jpez said.
re ^’ mlenny Dial, 16, said in a self-congrat-
ollt '; iljtory way, “Believing in [God] has
nade me the confident and loving per-
. ■) that I am.”
■The impression given by such re-
"fpbnses is that God is not much more
ftn a motivational speaker. For these
Atjeens, worship was mainly a route to
IV ^elf-esteem and personal improvement.
It was largely a salve for their stress,
igion was not even God’s to claim,
, Gomez: it was her “own.”
'(The headline of the Express-News
Jtory perhaps said it best: “Teens inter-
0 hsjed in faith, but not rules, religion.”
leal'Bin too many ways, such is the twist-
mieW theology of our time. For the “me”
jyi generation, finding God means looking
PN' it for number one. It means keeping
faith without keeping the rules.
■ Pop religion replaces the Ten Com-
Imdments with the Ten Habits of
hly Effective People. Or as Gandhi
isapprovingly would have said, it
ounts to “worship without sacri-
ide.”
[People of faith should regard such
orship as hardly worship at all.
[One faith in particular could defi-
iitely use constant reminders of this
Tt.
In a world where fishes can be fad-
pi and crosses can be commercial-
pi, Christians must work especially
|rd to avoid a worship without sacri-
Je. Christianity must constantly re-
Ifgn itself to its first principles.
Followers of Jesus cannot think the
t of answers offered by the surveyed
ns were satisfactory.
The religion Jesus preached, after
has never been about faith without
tiles. On the contrary, Christ does not
all Christians to recline on couches
ut to take up crosses.
And Jesus’ own example proves the
cost could be high.
One does not have to know much
about him to realize his life was not ex
actly a Sunday stroll in the park.
He did not live a life of luxury or
even one of ease. He endured indecen
cy and indigence, rejection and
ridicule.
Every slander imaginable was hurled
in his direction, and he was satisfied
with turning the other cheek. Finally,
he died on a stake in the ground by
drowning in his own blood.
His life, in short, was one big sacri
fice. It was a shocking sacrifice, and
faith in him must be no less shocking.
Christians must offer their bodies as
“living sacrifices.” This is their “spiritu
al act of worship” (Romans 12:1). To
take the sacrifice out of worship would
take the Christ out of Christianity.
This is so important precisely be
cause it is often not the first thing some
people think about being a Christian.
The world at large often criticizes
Christians for their supposed failure to
practice what they preach, to sing
God’s praises without sacrificing for
God’s priorities.
However, the best and only way to es
cape this criticism is to not be guilty of
it. With all the sin and sorrow in the
world, believers cannot think it is
enough to put on a “Jesus Whoop” T-
shirt and stride on down the glory-land
way.
Instead, the work of the spirit can
only be done with a spirit of sacrifice.
This means Aggies who follow Jesus
must be as willing to roll up their
sleeves as they are to open their
Bibles.
They must hold out a helping hand
as readily as they hold up a sign of
protest. They must wear Christ’s suffer
ing attitude as much as they wear his
name on their clothes.
For worship is more than Sunday
clothes and a wooden pew. Worship
means daily, complete and total sacrifice.
Given the prevalence of the kinds of
ideas found in the San Antonio teen
survey, worshippers must constantly
remind themselves of the dangers of
“worship without sacrifice.”
God cannot become just a 911 hot
line to be called upon only in times of
distress or depression. To the Christian,
coming to God means dying to the
world, and his plan for his followers
has as much to do with the cross we
must carry as the splintered cross he
bore.
Christians cannot afford to forget it.
Caleb McDaniel is a sophomore
history major.
America should not
enter Kosovo conflict
In response to Luke Saugier's Mar. 5
opinion column.
The mission in Kosovo, like the ongo
ing mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina, is a
peacekeeping mission, not a war. Two
years ago, we sent several “kill peo
ple/break things" Marines to a little
town called Bedford, Texas.
These well-meaning Marines shot an
eighteen-year-old boy who was walking
around his own property. Once they real
ized their error, the Marines were not
equipped or trained with the proper
medical tools to keep the boy alive. Why
MAIL CALL
did our troops kill him?
Because that is what Marines and all
Active-duty troops are trained to do.
They are not trained in the nuances of
operations other than war.
It will take years of training to proper
ly change that - it’s not as easy as just
“making it abundantly clear."
And thank you for pointing out that
“casualties would be fairly light." Those
are my friends whose lives you are so
casually throwing away so you can sleep
well at night knowing the almighty USA
has made a difference in a developing
country.
But it is all worth it, right? After all, if
our way of life is the best, we should
force it on other nations. They will be
sure to thank us by providing plenty of
cheap child labor so we can all wear
Gap jeans for lower prices.
Chris Bolliger
Class of ’01
The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters
must be 300 words or less and include the author’s
name, class and phone number.
The opinion editor reserves the right to edit letters for
length, style, and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in
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Letters may also be mailed to:
The Battalion - Mail Call
013 Reed McDonald
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX
77843-1111
Campus Mail: 1111
Fax: (409) 845-2647
E-mail: batt@tamvml.tamu.edu
Home-schooled students should be held
to same standards as other students
Brandon
MULLEN
I t is that time of
year when high
school seniors be
gin to decide where
they will go to fur
ther their educations.
Many are worrying
about whether they
will be accepted to
Texas A&M. But for
those students who
have been home-schooled or have non-
traditional high school credentials the
worry is not as great.
This lack of anxiety is because the
admissions requirements for these
prospective students are not as strict as
they are for students who obtained a
traditional education. Regardless of
whether home-schooled students are re
quired to take the SAT I and II, the ad
missions criteria for these students are
not fair because they are allowed into
A&M with lower SAT and ACT scores
than most students who went to tradi
tional schools.
The Texas A&M Undergraduate Cata
log lists the following admission criteria:
for those students in the top 10 percent
of their graduating class there is no min
imum test score required for admission;
for those in the top quarter of their class
a SAT total of 920 or ACT composite of
19 is required; those students in the sec
ond quarter need a 1050 or a 23; and
anyone in the second half of their grad
uating class needs a 1180 or a 26.
But, someone who was home-
schooled, in addition to taking the SAT
II, is only required to have a 1000 point
total on the SAT I or an ACT composite
of 20. This discrepancy is absurd for a
number of reasons.
First, the practice of home-schooling
does not give these students the same
statistical attributes that students from
high school have. Students who have
been home schooled and lack a class
rank.
They also lack the scholastic reputa
tion of a traditional high school. Where
with other students the admissions de
partment can consider the quality of the
high school, both good and bad, they at
tended.
Home-schooled students also do not
have a standardized method of grading.
Thus, the people reviewing their appli
cations are required to place an awk
ward amount of weight on home graded
test scores.
The ironic thing about this practice is
that these students, who have ignored
such traditional education measures as
rank and grade point, are admitted with
lower standards than students who have
a rank and a grade point.
By giving home-schooled students
this advantage, the admissions depart
ment is penalizing a large number of
students. Anyone who graduated in the
second quarter of their high school is re
quired to do better on their test than a
home-schooled student.
It does not matter how competitive
this student’s high school was or what
his grade point average is, they are
placed below home-schooled students.
This does not mean that home-
schooled students are not qualified to
attend A&M, but they should at least be
held to more competitive standards. A
reasonable solution would be to hold
these students to the same standard as
applicants who are not from Texas.
These students need a total SAT of 1080
or ACT composite of 23.
This would be logical because both
non-residents and home-schooled stu
dents are applying without a diploma
from a Texas high school. Both home
schooled and non-residents have high-
school educations which cannot be
compared to students who graduated
from a Texas high school.
Just as important as ranking and test
scores is the way a young person can in
teract with their peers. This reason has
caused Michael Shearer, who was home-
schooled as a child, to become a major
opponent to home schooling.
Shearer points to the social skills he
could not develop in home schools.
“I can’t tell you how terrible it is to
be an adult and unable to communicate
to home-school parents how these chil
dren not only suffer from their isolation,
but are shortchanged for life.”
The book. Children’s Social Networks
and Social Supports, argues that “Chil
dren’s social networks with peers is vi
tally important social skills development
home schooled rarely have opportunity
to experience the same as they would if
they attended classroom schools.”
This should be important to the ad
mission of these students, because of
the importance this university puts on
“the other education.”
Home-schooled students apparently
will come to school without the necessary
prerequisites for “the other education.”
The admissions department should
reevaluate their criteria for home-
schooled students, because they are al
lowing giving student with less to offer
on paper a better chance than students
who may be well rounded but do not do
well on big tests.
Brandon Mullen is a senior history
and English major.