My Dream College Won't Accept Me Because I'm a Woman | Hacker News Reader

My Dream College Won't Accept Me Because I'm a Woman

m.theatlantic.com

12 pointssk2code16 comments

Mens only colleges are not acceptable, but these are okay?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_colleges_in_the_Unite...

It's explained in the post, at the end, that the difference is that for most if not all of women's only colleges there are other universities that are similar that accept men. Not only was the author not referring to ALL men's only colleges, but she was talking about a unique opportunity that women do not have just because of their gender.

And there are "historically black universities". But if someone even mentioned the idea of a "historically white university", they would get laughed at and immediately branded a racist.

HBUs accept people of all races. And, certainly, no one would argue that Harvard or Yale were NOT historically white, unless they were blind to history.

The "H" in "HBCU" is the important part, and everybody already knows what the HWCU's are: everything else.

The intent is different. "historically black universities" were created to give opportunities to disenfranchised people, "historically white universities" are the reasons these other schools exist.

One shouldn't place so much of their identity/desires on getting into a school; if you want to learn, knowledge is always there.

Agree with this 100% - we need to get past the consumer-oriented "dream school" thinking.

Diversity of academic institutions is accomplished by being unique on a huge number of axes. I sympathize with this woman, but at the same time, the same-sex restrictions at Deep Springs probably deeply influence the culture there--there's probably not nearly as much point in getting drunk and partying every night if there's no chance of hooking up with someone at the end of it.

It's not "fair" that no similar all-girl or co-ed institutions exist. But I think some level of status-quo bias and knee-jerk conservatism is actually necessary to preserve the uniqueness of an institution like this.

No, it's not "fair", but ya know.. none of us were ever promised that life would be totally "fair" and clearly it would be unreasonable to expect it to be. It's not fair that we all have to die at some point, that some of us come down with crippling health problems in the middle of our lives, that we weren't born into great wealth, or born with better genetics, etc., etc., etc. It's not "fair" that we can't find the perfect mate, get married, settle down and live a fairy-tale ending. It's not "fair" that I can't have a career in the NBA because I was cursed by fate to be white, short, fat, slow and lack anything resembling ball-handling skills.

All I could think in reading this was "Brokeback College". Going to an all male college as a straight guy sounds just awful. Plus, cowboy hats.

I'm sympathetic to her plight to a degree, but I can't help but think that organizations should be able to set themselves up as "all male", "all female", "all black", "all white", "all gay", "all straight" or whatever. As long as it's a private institution that's not funded using public dollars, that is.

I'm no fan of racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia or any other form of bigotry, but free individuals should be free to form groups where they choose to interact with - or not interact with - others on whatever basis they choose, as long as they aren't initiating force or using violence to violate someone else's rights in the process.

Of course, people should also be (and are free) to use public pressure, shame, and all their other free-speech rights, as well as market forces, to try and effect change when they are unhappy with the status quo. Again, as long as they aren't using force or violence to achieve their end, it is fine.

I'm just going to put this here, re: trust law:

"I set out on this ground which I suppose to be self evident, "_that the earth belongs in usufruct to the living_;" that the dead have neither powers nor rights over it. The portion occupied by an individual ceases to be his when himself ceases to be, and reverts to the society."

(Letter from Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1789, http://lachlan.bluehaze.com.au/lit/jeff03.htm)

Wow, Deep Springs sounds pretty awesome. I would've applied if I'd known about it when I was in high school.

Deep Springs is an awesome college. They should reconsider.

What a horrifying reflection of anti-affirmative action screeds.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com