i
Volume XWIII, Issue 2
'hHe
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Educating Women To Excel
September 8,2004
ON THE
INSIDE:
Political
News
Page 2
Political
News
Page 3
Campus
News
Page 4
Campus
Features
Page 6
Fashion
Column
Page 7
Letter to
the Editor
Pace 8
Meredith^s
Weekly
Weather
Frances Pounds Florida Over Holiday
WEDNESDAY
Rain and Wind
High 79/ L«w 70
THURSDAY
Scattered Stonns
High 83/ Low 69
FRIDAY
Chance Sumu
High 83/ Low
SATURDAY
Panly Cloudy
High S4/ Low «S
SUNDAY
Partly Cloudy
High 84/ Low 65
MONDAY
Partly Cloudy
High81/Low6«
TUESDAY
Partly Cloudy
High 82/ Low 65
IVfiDionsLeft^^lthout
Power; Mm fcq)ec(ed
to Take Same Path
BRANDI BOWEN
Layout Editor
Over the weekend, Hurricane
Frances pounded the Florida
coast and drenched some areas
with almost 20 inches of rain. The
storm also knocked out power to 5
million Floridians. Damage
included fallen palm trees in
Okeechobee, Florida( bottom-
right). Cocoa Beach’s First
Baptist Church’s steeple fell
through the roof Sunday (top
right).
Although Frances will be mov
ing northward and away from the
damage she has caused, another
hurricane, Ivan, is moving closer
towards the United States and is
feared to take the same path as
Frances along the Florida panKan-
dle coast.
Asatellite image of Frances taken on Labor Day morning as she continued to move aaoss Florida..
More Public Single Sex Schools Open
CHRISTY KIMBALL
StafFWriter
Traditionally single sex
schools only existed in pri
vate institutions.
Approximately 10 single sex
public schools will open this
fall in five states: Texas,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, New
York, and South Carolina.
The motivation behind creat
ing single sex public schools
is to accommodate the dif
ferent ways, boys and girls
learn.
Research shows that girls
learn belter in quiet environ
ments where they are on a
first name basis with their
teachers. Boys learn better
when teachers ask them a
barrage of questions that
require immediate respons
es, and on a last name basis.
Girls are found to take more
closes that contradict gen
der stereotypes such as
advanced math and physics,
Boys are also found to take
classes that contradict gender
stereotypes such as art,
drama, music, and foreign
languages.
Studies show that girls are
found to leam best when
information is put in context.
In a music class, girls would
appreciate the history, rea
son, and maybe a personal
anecdote of the piece before
they learned it. Research
shows that beys would rather
memorize the piece and skip
all the supplementary infor
mation. Girls also leam bet
ter with small groups or part
nerships.
Single sex schools are
found to eliminate gender
stereotypes by removing a
point of reference. If there
are not any girls in the art
class, then one does not have
to assume art to be strictly
feminine. If there are not any
beys in physics class, the one
does not have to assume
physics to be strictly mascu
line. This would permit a
female student from taking
the physics course without
the fear of being out of her
element. It would also per
mit a male student from tak
ing the art course without
being emasculated.
Single sex schools would
be especially beneficial to
girls because classrooms are
typically male dominated. It
often seems there is a stigma
attached to intelligence in
girls. Girls perhaps are
intimidated to ask questions
or answer a- question the
teacher might present to the
class. Despite this, girls per
form better academically
than boys according to report
card grades. Unfortunately
girls are more critical than
boys which contributes to the
self esteem issues. A girl
that is a straight-A student
may still perceive herself to
be lacking and consequently
lower her self esteem. Boys
often exaggerate their level
of achievement, Single sex
schools hope to encourage
girls to take pride in their
achievement while giving
beys a "reality check".
Single sex schools are not
appealing to everyone.
Some women's groups and
the American Civil Liberties
Union feel it may too closely
resemble segregation. The
federal law Title IX bars dis
crimination in public schools
based on sex. Public schools
must offer nearly identical
courses in same sex class
rooms. Some new rules have
Continued On Page 2