What do you do if too few men apply to your college? Do you create an affirmative action policy to close the gender gap?
Despite a gender imbalance in applicants, Fairfield University does not give men an advantage, according to Director of Admissions Judy Dobai. “Fairfield has no specific affirmative action policy for admission,” Dobai said.
The applications that Fairfield receives from high school students come from about 55.5 percent females and only 44.5 percent males, according to Dobai. The resulting student body at Fairfield is also 55 percent female and 45 percent male, as reported in the College Board’s “College Handbook 2002.”
The national average shows that women represent 55 percent of all people applying to colleges and universities, according to Fairfield University admissions consular Rick Hutchinson. “This is not just a Fairfield issue,” Hutchinson said. “This is something that other colleges are aware of.”
Schools like Fairfield, small to medium-sized comprehensive universities, seem to attract more women than men, more than many other schools. Other similar schools nearby have higher percentages of women than Fairfield. Providence College and Marist both have 58 percent women. Sacred Heart has 62 percent and Quinnipiac has 64 percent women, all according the “College Handbook 2002.”
Dobai does see the advantage of considering action to keep the gender ratio in check. “We’ll have a stronger community if we can keep it as balanced as possible,” she said.
Dobai also discussed the intricacy involved in considering a student application. “We are building a community by getting people with lots of different qualities,” she said.
For many years, colleges gave advantages to female applicants in order to increase the percentage of females in the student body, but in recent years it is men who need the advantages. According to the Washington Post, there have been more women than men enrolled in colleges or universities since 1978.
Schools that focus more on math and science as their specialties show the opposite trend. Carnegie Mellon University has long carried nearly 70 percent male students. In the nation as a whole, however, it is women who are the majority at colleges.
The issue provoked strong opinions among students at Fairfield University. The students felt that no one who is less qualified should be let into Fairfield above a more qualified person for any reason.
“I don’t think they should lower standards just to get gender equality,” said Melissa Sidor, ’04. “If you’re trying to build a reputation for the school as a good school, you have to get the best people.”
Others agreed. “Even at the expense of having a much higher female population, they should let people in only on merit, not gender,” said Ryan Zipp, 04.
Fewer students felt that accepting a greater percentage of men was the answer, but most agreed that it is a subject that needs to be seriously considered.
Joe Gervasio, ’04, said, “It should be done to a degree. It’s true that people should get in only based on merit, but it’s also true that Fairfield should try, to some extent, to control the female population.”
“It seems a little unfair to the girls who deserve to get in more than the guys, to have Fairfield accept the guys just because we need more men,” said Melissa Heinold, ’04. “But on the other hand, this used to be an all guys school and you can’t let it turn into an all girls school.”
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