Men at MWC: Second Class?
Dublin Core
Title
Men at MWC: Second Class?
Subject
Discrimination
Description
Students argue the state of gender equality among the students at MWC seven years after it was made coed.
Creator
Rodriguez, Chico
Webb, Gary
Source
Rodriguez, Chico and Gary Webb, "Men at MWC: Second Class?" Prometheus, Volume 1, Issue 2, pages 2 and 11, October 17, 1977, News Clippings, Box 1, April 19, 1976-October, 1979, Michael A. Mello Papers, 1957-2008, Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington.
Publisher
HIST 298, University of Mary Washington
Date
1977-10-17
Rights
The materials in this online collection are held by Special Collections, Simpson Library, University of Mary Washington and are available for educational use. For this purpose only, you may reproduce materials without prior permission on the condition that you provide attribution of the source.
Format
1 JPG
300 dpi
Language
English
Coverage
Fredericksburg, VA
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
Men at MWC: Second Class?
Male students at Mary Washington College are faced with the problem of trying to overcome their status as second-class citizens. There are several areas in which female favoritism is obvious; in other areas the problem may be one more of attitude than provable discrimination. Nonetheless, the “place” of the male student at Mary Washington College remains a problem today, seven years after the College opened its’ doors to men.
Some female students will cling to the finishing-school image of Mary Washington. They seem to long for the days when MWC was an exclusive, upper-crust, women’s school. Fortunately, the number of these backward-thinking students is small, and ever-decreasing.
Concrete examples of female favoritism do exist, however. The French and Spanish houses are closed to qualified males who might wish to live there, as is males are thus being denied an equal opportunity for intense study in the subject of their choice. Does the College wish to say that women have more of a right than men to study French and Spanish?
Dormitories provide another situation in which females are favored over males. Upperclassmen have no choice but to live in coed dorms if they live on campus. Women, however may live in either coed or single-sex dorms. Most men do not seem to mind coed dorms; however, in the interest of fairness, they should have a choice. The question of what would happen to Anne Fairfax annex in the unlikely event that a male were elected to a high SA office arouses ones curiosity. Would he be allowed to live there amongst-gasp!-women? Not Likely!
Athletics presents another problem. Males are excluded from tennis, swimming and volleyball teams, among others. The College should stand by its’ claim that it “does not discriminate on the basis of…sex.” All qualified athletes should be given an equal chance to earn a position on an athletic team (including soccer, currently an all-male sport a MWC), complete and total fairness must be practiced.
Males at Mary Washington are still a numerical minority. This is no excuse, however, for tradition or policy to stand in the way of a qualified male wishing to participate in the school-sponsored activity of his choice. Mary Washington College is supported by the taxpayers of Virginia, both male and female. The students of MWC, both male and female, deserve equal opportunity and fair competition for each position. If Mary Washington is to succeed in its’ mission to serve all student, fairness is a must.
“Our republic and its press will rise or fail together.” Joseph Pulitzer.
Male students at Mary Washington College are faced with the problem of trying to overcome their status as second-class citizens. There are several areas in which female favoritism is obvious; in other areas the problem may be one more of attitude than provable discrimination. Nonetheless, the “place” of the male student at Mary Washington College remains a problem today, seven years after the College opened its’ doors to men.
Some female students will cling to the finishing-school image of Mary Washington. They seem to long for the days when MWC was an exclusive, upper-crust, women’s school. Fortunately, the number of these backward-thinking students is small, and ever-decreasing.
Concrete examples of female favoritism do exist, however. The French and Spanish houses are closed to qualified males who might wish to live there, as is males are thus being denied an equal opportunity for intense study in the subject of their choice. Does the College wish to say that women have more of a right than men to study French and Spanish?
Dormitories provide another situation in which females are favored over males. Upperclassmen have no choice but to live in coed dorms if they live on campus. Women, however may live in either coed or single-sex dorms. Most men do not seem to mind coed dorms; however, in the interest of fairness, they should have a choice. The question of what would happen to Anne Fairfax annex in the unlikely event that a male were elected to a high SA office arouses ones curiosity. Would he be allowed to live there amongst-gasp!-women? Not Likely!
Athletics presents another problem. Males are excluded from tennis, swimming and volleyball teams, among others. The College should stand by its’ claim that it “does not discriminate on the basis of…sex.” All qualified athletes should be given an equal chance to earn a position on an athletic team (including soccer, currently an all-male sport a MWC), complete and total fairness must be practiced.
Males at Mary Washington are still a numerical minority. This is no excuse, however, for tradition or policy to stand in the way of a qualified male wishing to participate in the school-sponsored activity of his choice. Mary Washington College is supported by the taxpayers of Virginia, both male and female. The students of MWC, both male and female, deserve equal opportunity and fair competition for each position. If Mary Washington is to succeed in its’ mission to serve all student, fairness is a must.
“Our republic and its press will rise or fail together.” Joseph Pulitzer.
Original Format
Newspaper
Vol. No./Issue No.
Vol. 1, Issue 2
Contributor of the Digital Item
Loughery, Nate
Student Editor of the Digital Item
Williams, Megan
Files
Citation
Rodriguez, Chico and Webb, Gary, “Men at MWC: Second Class?,” HIST299, accessed July 12, 2026, https://hist299.umwhistory.org/items/show/38.