The News Argus, April 2003
GENDER,
from page 1
this is much bigger than just
WSSU. This is much bigger
than even college.
High school graduation rates
for men are now slightly lower
than those for women, and
male students make up the vast
majority of those enrolled in
special education classes. TTiere
are more women in college
than men, and there are more
black men in jail than college.
Where are our black men? Last
year at colleges and universi
ties across the United States,
the proportion of bachelor's
degrees reached an ultimate
high at an estimated 57 per
cent. Men account for 51 per
cent of the nation's college-age
population, so this growing
inconsistency between the
sexes reflects not only the
increasing success of women,
but also the educational prob
lems of men. African-
Americans are now seeing two
women earn bachelor's degrees
for every man. The late 1970s is
when female enrollment in
institutions of higher learning
overtook male enrollment, and
by the early 1980s women
began outnumbering men
among four-year college gradu
ates. Since then, the number of
female bachelor's degree recip
ients has risen to 698,000 this
year, according to U.S.
Department of Education esti
mates. The number of male col
lege graduates has increased
much more slowly, to 529,000.
Why is this phenomenon
occurring so readily in the
black society? Some say
women in general have better
learning styles. Others say
black men are more vulnerable
to the lures of popular culture.
Even others say there are finan
cial hindrances and black men
typically are from poorer fami
lies than whites and feel more
pressure than women to work
while in school, forcing some to
have problems keeping their
grades up. Something else to
consider is the harsh fact that
black women have recently suf
fered from a high rate of teen
pregnancy. This puts some into
a mentality that they have no
choice but to go into higher
education and beyond because
they can't depend on anyone
else, especially a man, to sup
port them. This unkind truth
brings focus to women who
would otherwise lack it.
It used to be that women
went to college and eventually
found their lifelong mate there,
but records are showing that
these women are now having a
hard time finding men of equal
educational backgrounds,
which is causing social prob
lems. In the long run, who is
going to suffer from women
being significantly more literate
and educated than their coun
terparts? Despite all the
progress black women have
made, they still seem to be the
least satisfied.
The reality that women are
making more money is not
making it easier, but harder, for
them to find mates. So, should
women settle for a man who
doesn't live up to their educa
tional or financial standards?
Because black women are
making more than their male
counterparts, it seems that the
choices are slim and few. Black
men seem to be threatened or
intimidated by the success of
women. Surveys have showed
that black women are much
more likely than white women
to have husbands who earn
less. Divorce is twice as likely
among black couples where the
man is making less, than
among white couples.
Knowing this, in the long run,
will black women be penalized
for marrying less successful
men?
Heading back to the root of
the black gender gap dilemma,
if black men aren't graduating
from high school or college,
what are they doing?
Twenty-five percent of young
bbxk men go to college; 35 per
cent of women do.
Only 13.5 percent of young
black females are high-school
dropouts; more than 17 percent
of young black men are. It
seems that in high school, most
black males were encouraged
to be athletes, not intellectuals.
The leadership roles in high
school were most often held by
women, also. This has contin
ued to follow black men into
college. Does the educational
system favor girls over boys?
There is $184 million more
spent on male athletics than
female athletics.
The National Collegiate
Athletic Association (NCAA)
issued a report in September
that focused on the graduating
class of athletes who entered
college as freshmen during the
1995-96 school year. Black
males graduated at a rate of 43
percent, 11 percent less than the
overall rate for male athletes.
African-American women did
better at 60 percent, but still fell
9 percent short of the overall
national rate for female ath
letes.
Your freshmen year lays the
foundation for the next few
years in college; it is where stu
dents get their start. So is not
getting off to a good start pre
dicting what's to come in the
future? This seems to be true
for some, but while they are
struggling, there is a more
independent, self-governing,
single black woman out there
who is progressively making
her way to the top (whatever
that is).
This fresh, new, innovative
appearance may not be busting
through, but is persistently
chipping through the high-
class, professional glass ceil
ings. Once mandated by occu
pations requiring little or no
skill, black women have
ascended to the professional-
managerial class and it seems
they will continue to excel with
or without their male counter
parts.
SPEAKER,
from page 1
Most Fascinating Women in
Politics" by George magazine,
and "One of the 50 Smartest
Women in the Money
Business" by Money magazine.
Herman also received the pres
tigious Tribute to a Black
American Award from the
National Conference of Black
Mayors. Since leaving the U.S.
Department of Labor, Herman
has continued to lend her
expertise to corporate enter
prises and nonprofit organiza
tions. Presently, she serves on
the board of her alma mater,
Xavier University. She is the
chair of the Coca-Cola Co.'s
Diversity Task Force, a senior
advisor to Toyota Motor Sales,
USA, Inc., a member of the
Board of Directors of the
Cummins Engine Co., director
of MGA/Mirage, Inc. and
Presidential Life Insurance
Corp.
She is president and CEO of
New Ventures, an independent
consulting firm, in Washington,
D.C.
WAKEMBA
Wake Forest University
Top-ranked school
Looking for top-ranked
undergraduates
Application deadline May 1,2003
Apply online at
www.princetonrevlew.com or
www.mba.wfu.edu
THIS IS YOUR WAKE-UP CALL
Contact us at 800.722.1622 or
admissions@mba.wfu.edu
WAKE FOREST
Babcock Graduate
School of Management
Internationally Ranked
Internationally Recognized
Internationally Respected
www.mba.wfu.edu
Corrections
In the March issue of The News
Argus, we inadvertently cut of
the ending to the story "High
school athletics on bad course."
The article should have ended;
"It has to be made whole again,
and we have to see it as an ama
teur sport that preps young
minds to become good people
instead of great athletes."
Also, in Stephanie Price's
sorority story, we misspelled
Lambda in our headline.
The News Argus
Keith Caesar Editor-in-Chief
Nicole Ferguson Managing Editor
Janell J. Lewis News Editor
Maria Singleton Features Editor
George Croom Sports Editor
Reporters
Safari Jefferies, Georgina Wilson, Kimberly
McPherson, Ashley Jones, William Dobbs, Denise
Simmons, Stephanie Price, Mary-Anne Joseph,
Regan Starkie, Lisa Boone, Shellina Woods and
Marquita Best
* The News Argus is a monthly campus newspa
per for the students, faculty and staff of WSSU
* Opinions expressed in The News Argus are not
necessarily those of the faculty or staff at WSSU.
* For advertising information, please call
(336) 750-2327.
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