College Admission: Tough Times For Girls?

More Female Applicants Miss Out As Schools Try To Maintain Gender Equilibrium

(U.S. News & World Report)  The University of Richmond, like many small liberal arts colleges, has its roots in single-sex education. The campus, which sits on a picturesque 350 acres of woodland a few miles outside the Virginia state capital, was once two schools: Westhampton and Richmond colleges, on opposite sides of a small lake.

The campuses merged around the turn of the 20th century, creating the coed institution that exists today. The delicate balance between men and women at Richmond has always been a tricky thing to manage.

These days, the student body is 49 percent male and 51 percent female, a ratio that the college insists is determined by the availability of on-campus housing. Maintaining that equilibrium, however, means rejecting many more female applicants than male ones. In the past decade, female applicants have faced an admissions rate that averages 13 percentage points lower than that of their male peers just for the sake of keeping that girl-boy balance.

"From a philosophical standpoint, we've really discussed the benefits of keeping it about equal," says Marilyn Hesser, a senior associate director of admissions at Richmond. "The board of trustees has said that the admissions office can go as far as 55-45 [women to men]." Male and female applicants have test scores that are virtually the same, she says. "Was [the male applicant's] high school GPA a little lower? Perhaps."

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A Guide To 'Best Colleges'
Critics 'Really Off Base'
Road Trip: State Schools in Texas
Road Trip: Liberal Arts in the Midwest
Road Trip: Science in the Northeast

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A thumb on the scale. The University of Richmond is not unique in its effort to keep the number of men and women enrolled roughly equal in the face of a dramatically changing pool of applicants. Nor is it the school where the gap in admissions rates is the most pronounced. Using undergraduate admissions rate data from more than 1,400 four-year colleges and universities that participate in its rankings, U.S. News has found that over the past 10 years many schools have maintained their gender balance by admitting men and women at drastically different rates.

The schools that are most selective - think Harvard and Princeton - have so many applicants and so many high achievers that they maintain balanced student bodies naturally by skimming the cream of the crop. But at other colleges, maintaining gender equity on some campuses appears to require a thumb on the scale in favor of boys. It's at these schools, including Pomona, Boston College, Wesleyan University, Tufts, and the College of William and Mary, that the gap in admit rates is particularly acute.

What does this mean for applicants? For girls, making the cut might come down to something as simple as the expected field of study. As an admissions officer from a small Midwestern liberal arts college puts it: "God help the female English majors who apply to this school." On the other hand, women hoping to study engineering will find themselves at an advantage at schools like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which over the past decade has admitted women at a rate that is 17 percentage points higher than the rate for men.

Boys will be boys. Male applicants, meanwhile, are often at an advantage-so much so that college counselors have begun advising some boys to "emphasize their maleness," says Steve Goodman, a longtime independent college counselor. He encourages male students to submit pictures or trumpet their sports activities "anything to catch an admissions officer's eye."

Some colleges, like Lake Erie College in Ohio and Husson College in Maine, are making extra efforts to attract male applicants by creating football teams. Others are emphasizing hands-on learning and reaching out to all-male high schools. Common recruiting practices like writing personalized notes or having alumni call interested students are not as effective at landing students with a Y chromosome, schools have found.

A word of caution, however: Trying to second-guess which aspect of your application will most appeal is risky. What if the school needs students just like you? What's especially dangerous is trying to game the system by showing interest in a major only for the better admit rate-feigning interest in the physical sciences if you're a woman, say. At some schools, if you're accepted into the engineering school, for example, it's almost impossible to transfer into the liberal arts college. In the end, counselors and admissions officers say it's better to be honest on your application and get into a school that wants you rather than conceal your true intentions.

[blazercoach1]

How ironic. I wonder if feminine advocacy groups will argue to abolish the quotas because highly qualified women are being rejected in favor of less qualified men.

I guess Equal Opportunity has now come full circle in the case of gender. How ironci.

[oleander8]

"I guess Equal Opportunity has now come full circle in the case of gender. How ironci."
[Posted by blazercoach1]

The problem with Equal Opportunity without the Equal Rights Amendment is that our patriarchal society gets to choose which opportunities to give. We can open our own doors, and pay for our own meals - but we can''t get equal pay, or education based on talent. It''s all still about the plumbing. How ironic.

[sy2502]

Ok here is a revolutionary idea: let''s admit to college the most talented, gifted, highest achieving students without getting race and gender into the equation. Wow, what a concept!

[blazercoach1]

sy2502...that''s exactly what I''m advocating.

Oleander, by the tone of your message, I''m wondering how far you would take things. I''m sure you''re intelligent enough to see the long range effects here. More women getting higher education means more women earning powerful positions in companies and more women dictating salaries.

The GOOD news is that modern feminized education (I am a teacher) has worked so well, women have succeeded to the points mentioned in the article. I believe this will result in the points I mentioned above.

To use the language of the times, however, the question is what to do now with our "disenfranchised" male youths. Surely you don''t advocate continuing practices that result in placing one set of people at a disadvantage? Especially when it has become measurably clear (through the article) that they are unable to overcome that disadvantage.....

My point had nothing to do with what happens beyond college. I believe those things will now take care of themselves....unless you believe that all old white men in power will go on living forever. Perhaps they''re in cahoots with little green men.......ahh conspiracies!

[djpowles]

More women in college doesn''t necessarily mean more equality for women down the road. You have to look at what fields they''re going into after college. There are still far too few women in Computer Science, Math and Engineering. As we move more and more into the information age these are going to be the growth industries.

[shanev137]

In most major cities throughout the US, women make more money than men now.

[tbuccelli]

After many years of favoring girls over boys in grade schools, what do people expect. Years ago, when boys were doing better in math/science it was ''decided'' that changes needed to be made to help girls, without care that the changes hurt boys. Now boys are accademically handicaped because of it.

As for the equal pay argument, recent studies have shown that single women (don''t remember if married women w/o children were also included) and single men of the same age working in the same (not _equivalent_) job, earn the same amount of money. In engineering, because the number of women is lower, starting salaries were actually a bit higher than those for men.

[standlee5]

It is essential that women get a college education. Men are more likely to get into high paying skilled trades than women.

[bthrasher102]

"There are still far too few women in Computer Science, Math and Engineering."
[Posted by djpowles]

How so? Women aren''t being denied entry into these fields. At least at the schools I''ve attended, no one pushed or denied people into fields, you were free to choose the classes you wanted. I understand that diversity is good, but having everything in the world being exactly proportional isn''t always best or at least practical. Anyway, I would be willing to bet that if in the future the exact opposite is true, you would not state that there are too few men in a field.

[Syndicate]

I just had to replace the engine in my wifes car. I bought a rebuilt crate engine and changed it myself. I have never been to school for that kind of stuff but I''m pretty good at it. I know what every peice is and what it does and why its their. I have never met a women with those skills. I did meet a girl one time who could changed her cars oil. I married her.

[rational_1]

This could be a pretty serious societal problem in a few years. I know I''m generalizing but I think men are more tolerant than women of marrying ''down'' in educational attainment; you''ll see a male manager marrying his secretary, but women are less likely to do the same. So, will we see female physicians marrying car mechanics, or are there going to be a lot of well-educated women hanging out with their cats on Saturday nights?

[oakishpines]

'' ... eternal story boards swimming in oceans of eternal story boards ... ''


'' ... the u.s. civil war was a wierd ironiy, a civil war fought to save the slaves of a few folk that invested all their money to be treated to non-charity and all their votes so as to be treated to taxation at gunpoint ... they should have chased through gardens and criticised naked lazy ignorant profane blemished kids to screaming and crying and behaving and danced get well feed world songs and medical you are here map song dance skit kits rallied around the sick beds drifting th e tens millions spore bloome weed dragon trail fikle first aid lunch farm cottage studio trail groups ... ''

'' ... to float above poverty, each in the county must take in around sixty dollars per work day, and each must pay out around sixty dollars per work day ... ''


'' ... i had a million dollars and i wanted to return on investment ten million dollars, so i started to make a movie and then decided i''''d make 10 $100,000 movies and then decided 100 $10,000 and then 1000 $1,000 and eventually went to a million kids and said: here kid is a penny, dance me a get well feed world song, a medical you are here map song dance skit kit ... and each kid said ''keep the penny, dancing get well feed world songs, and medical you are here map song dance skit kits, is free'' ... and i made ten million dollars for free ... ''

[agnim]

This pussification of the culture can only be the source of confusion and social decay.

The females who should be taking care of the children, who unfortunately continue to be born, are out pursuing more artificial ''careers''.

So the children are left to raise themselves on the ''affection'' of drugs.

And what is the use of getting all this mis-education for females?
The females can now become better workers for the more DOMINANT males, who in the end will continue to run things in this man''s world, education or not!

The children are the BIG LOSERS as the females are mislead to become more and more lost to ''woman power'', and in trying to be more ''male-like''.

[oakishpines]

'' ... girls did it

girls do everything

in the eighties, if there was a flood or a forest fire: girls with horns on thier heads did it

in the ninetys, it was girls with wings and halos

now it''s girls with bumble bees in their britches

i sneeze and i sneeze up girls

i get out of bed and i rollover girls and fall into a pile of them on the floor

i open my mouth to clean my teeth and find their girls

they''re in my hair and in my pockets

i fix some food and find all over the plate: girls

i''ve had it with them

a man got arrested for having *** with some girls and they started screaming at the girls that arrested him: imagine yourself in a forest on a invisible leash spanked all over with feathers

then they started singing get well soon and you are here and why why why and feed the world and first aid on the trail

somebody should do something about all these girls

chase them through the garden and criticize them till they''re screaming and crying and behaving like they weren''t born naked and lazy and ignorant and profane and blemished and all over


after all the muslim men starved to death by the baby girls waring in iraq and afghanistan: the men of the u.s. will never be liberated because the cost of so many christian men dead is too much ... ''

[shanev137]

Great post Agnim.

The things that make them feminine (femininity) died in women about 20 years....now it''s "uncool" for them to not be masculine.

[drivelphobe]

Women who feel the need to work in a "career" should voluntarily be sterilized so the can''t "change their minds" when it suits them. I ran a business for many years, and the one significant difference between male and female employees is that men knew they had to work for the rest of their lives, and women knew they could bail out anytime they wanted. Several female employees over the years became pregnant, took temporary leave, extended their leave with BS medical issues like headaches, fatigue, etc., and then, after promising to return, decides at the last minute that they were going to stay home with the papoose. This created untold havoc in employee asignment until, after the third time. I refused to give females any responsilbity and gave them menial work, clerical, phones, etc. I have had poor performing male employees, but every one of them was straight forward about their situation and resigned or improved their performance. I would never hire a female again for anything. I refuse to go to female physicians, attorneys, bankers or any other career-seeking, child-intolerant woman.

I would hope that in the near future, women will realize that they are instrumental in child development and need to tend to that until their clildren are at least in middle school. There is plenty of time after that to become a "whole person" and dedicate themselves to a career. Otherwise, if they want to work in a career, sterilization is a must. Make the commitment a male is born with.

[rudy654-2009]

The children are the BIG LOSERS as the females are mislead to become more and more lost to ''''woman power'''', and in trying to be more ''''male-like''''.
Posted by Agnim at 02:45 PM : Aug 17, 2007

Since less than 20 percent of the population ever goes to college, you may want to reassess your generalization of the so-called "pusification of the culture" and all that is wrong with it, starting with yourself.

[agnim]

"Since less than 20 percent of the population ever goes to college, you may want to reassess your generalization of the so-called "pusification of the culture"
Posted by rudy654 at 03:17 PM : Aug 17, 2007"

Obviously the WRONG ''20 percent'' is going to college.

Education is being wasted on females relatively speaking.

Those females will wind up being SLAVES/SERVANTS for the MORE DOMINANT males, when the education could have been better utilized to create more males who can be masters of the nation.

There is a NATURAL IMPERATIVE that will not be denied: MALES ARE DOMINANT. FEMALES ARE ''SUBMISSIVE''.

So wasting education on female is a net NEGATIVE for the native.

Fortunately, the college learning is not much more than mis-education anyway. Otherwise, someone would have been awake to the folly of wasting education on a gender that is NATURALLY submissive to a dominant male one.

[ozone-baby]

I can not beleive the anti-working woman dribble i am reading here. Woman can be educated, employed and be a great parent. We can have it all. I do!
My husband and I have been married for 18 years, we have 8 wonderful childre and I have a career. I am in a male dominated field and my co-workers all respect me and my work ethics.
My children are not being raised "on the "affection" of drugs" but rather the affection of two loving, careing, working parents. They are all honor students and our oldest will be graduating next spring in the top ten of the class and the SHE is off to college to prepare for a career in architecture. She often tells me that I am her greatest role model. So now prove woman can''t do it all!!!

[ozone-baby]

There is a NATURAL IMPERATIVE that will not be denied: MALES ARE DOMINANT. FEMALES ARE ''''SUBMISSIVE''''.
Posted by Agnim at 03:33 PM : Aug 17, 2007


Hmmm... I have never been called "submissive" because I am not and most woman are not.
I am a construction project manager, which means I supervise engeneers,architects, and general contractors. I may be 5''4 and 110 lbs, but not one of them ever doubt my knowledge or my authority!

[xxmorosxx]

Agnim, I wasn''t aware that they had computers in Redneck, inbred, hippy-bashing, gay-hating, sister-marrying parts of the deep south.

[olebd]

Great post Agnim.
The things that make them feminine (femininity) died in women about 20 years....now it''s "uncool" for them to not be masculine.
Posted by shanev137 at 02:56 PM : Aug 17, 2007

I agree. I saw it while my son was playing soccer on a camp league over the summer. The girls played with their shirts hiked up/stomachs exposed along with the boys and they looked so masculine. Why must everything be co-ed these days?

On the other hand, my wife makes more than me now. It wasn''t always that way and I have since cut back to spend more time being the main parent home. It''s fine with me if she wants the majority of the work stress.

[rational_1]

There is a NATURAL IMPERATIVE that will not be denied: MALES ARE DOMINANT. FEMALES ARE ''''SUBMISSIVE''''.
Posted by Agnim at 03:33 PM : Aug 17, 2007

Ever considered the possibility that maybe these are the only kind of women that will bother speaking to you?

[olebd]

Ahh, the good ole days when everything was in order, the women were soft, the men were tough and rough , there was a place for everything and everything had it''s place. The music was softer and spoke of romance. Slippers and a pipe; read the paper in the den. Neat and tidy. Relax and enjoy the quiet. One income; comfortable life. Family vacations.

Whoa, I''m starting to post like oakishpines! LOL

[starleo146]

Oh I see , what too many female CEO''s and that is pissing the male upper worker off. Go ahead and discriminate in the colleges so these females cannot advance in the business world. The women of this country get it all the time and they get less pay and it sucks. Maybe a women president will make a difference in these stupid equal adjustments in college. Everyone should have the right to attend college.

[starleo146]

Posted by ozone-baby at 04:07 PM : Aug 17, 2007
+ report abuse

Way to go Ozone-baby. More POWER to you

[michellem99-2009]

I will not let the men belittle women. I do not buy your song and dance. Heard before. I am 52. I am legally blind with other handicaps. The bloody boy got a good education in thw schools. He came first as he was worshipped as being male. MALE..WHITE MALE. The good olde boys. What are bunch of c r a p. I felt that way growing up and still do. Men you sure want yer cake and eat it too. I think the biggest fear is yer scared a woman might just do a better job than you. Yet there are men who become women.They are just men in a dress..nasty..So it would be nice if a boy is told he can''t..I would love it..You want babies do you. It would be great if he stayed home to the Mum role 24/7. I was denied a proper education. I stared school at 10. in special ed and never learnt the basics that never was taught me. I was a girl..GIRL. not a boy. I had no desire to bear children. Never married. They felt an education was wasted on a girl and the blind at that. Boys are dumb to like football,cars,greed,power and control. I don''t care for the way men are..P U N K S.

[starleo146]

Posted by sy2502 at 12:47 PM : Aug 17, 2007

Exactly, what a concept, but I believe they are going through the applications and weaning out females which is wrong. Do you remember at Michigan they were trying to admit blacks to equal the percentage Blacks and whites should be and whites were discriminated against even if there SAT was higher well to me this is the same concept.

[starleo146]

Posted by drivelphobe at 03:13 PM : Aug 17, 2007

WHAT!!!!!!Are you from the middle east or something.

[agnim]

"I may be 5''''4 and 110 lbs, but not one of them ever doubt my knowledge or my authority!
Posted by ozone-baby at 04:07 PM : Aug 17, 2007"

LOL

But at the end of the day, you do surrender under a MALE; don''t you? LOL

We need to stop playing games of delusion.

Females only have roles over males AS MALES ALLOW; especially since females have no naturally way of imposing themselves.

The fact that a male may allow a female to ''be on top'' occasionally, is fundamentally at the male say so.

The NATURAL male dominance can only be overridden by male allowance.
And it is killing America, as evidence by the children who continue to grow up being a problem for themselves and for the society; because they are missing NECESSARY female affection during their formative years!

[agnim]

"Woman can be educated, employed and be a great parent. We can have it all. I do!

Posted by ozone-baby at 03:57 PM : Aug 17, 2007"

No they CANNOT be; and the overwhelming horrible state of America''s children suggests that they are being short changed of mothering.

And when it is truly the case, a occasional exception means NOTHING!

In ever test of knowledge, there is always going to be the ''odd ball'', the outliers, that are only fit for the garbage.

Women are becoming more and more lost to their most vital roles in the society. And the children are paying the price and sending the society into the abyss for the future.

There can be, and SHOULD NOT BE, any career for a woman more vital/fulfilling than to nurture to successful maturity adult the most complex entity in the Solar System -- the Nervous System of a child!

[ourtomorrows]

Wow, some of the posts on this topic are mind boggling!

I a teacher at a college in the Northeast and I relish any class where my female students outnumber the men. Given the nature of what I teach, it virtually never happens. It is always hard to talk in generalized terms, no one view can reflect that multiplicity of student talents and personalities. However, overall, my female students are more committed, harder working, more responsible, and overall, more enjoyable to teach. I have had some absolutely superb male students over the years that it has been my privelege to teach, but overall, it is the women who as a group seem to demonstrate the most determination and dedication to their education.

It is really reprehensible that some colleges are admitting what are probably less qualified men to keep the percentages in line and, regardless of what they say, you know the real reason is money. They don''t want to become less appealing to applicants. Very sad that this is what education has become.

[sy2502]

Agnim do they still make losers like you? I thought the cast idiots like you came from had been thrown in the garbage long ago, I guess not...

Wow where do I begin? Oh yeah, my favorite: male are naturally dominant. Actually from your posts rather than dominant you sound like an insecure, whining child. If you had any kind of self-esteem you wouldn''t feel threatened by women that are your equal (or better) in education, career and earning power.
Next: working women are the roots of all evil, they should stay at home with the kids. Well dude, if you don''t like it, you are welcome to be the one that stays at home, surely you''ll do a better job at it than the average working woman! Oh I see, you don''t LIKE to do crappy, unappreciated work, spend your time picking up after everybody else, be treated like a servant, and have no saying in financial decisions. Then how about you shut the f.ck up when women don''t like it either?
Last: women suck at work. Oh that''s a nice one! If men picked up the slack and took the kids to and from schools and doctors, if they stayed home when the kids are sick, this wouldn''t be a problem right? And thankfully I see more and more decent men stepping up to the plate. But that goes right back to what I just said: you don''t like to pick up the slack, you want stuff to be done FOR you. Oh well, your kind will go extinct very soon thankfully.

[michellem99-2009]

I am not for that s e x i s t talk as not every womao is a baby machine. So all I Heard'' Barbara you can''t''or ''Barbara that is not becoming/ladylike'' I hated it. And yes my bithname is Barbara. I told that mormon foster mother to take a hike.So a gent has a problem with women..I have a problem with men who think they are god''s gift to the world and live that lie. It may surprise you that males need to learn clean up their mess,cook their meal,wash their clothes,in stort as I say the man I care about when he whines...shut it..I do to..been toghether 24 years as room mates..There are men who wear dresses,make up,and they try to pass as women..ha-ha. A guy. So dear ,they look awful and some want to feel superior..and they are not.

[sandy19731]

just had to replace the engine in my wifes car. I bought a rebuilt crate engine and changed it myself. I have never been to school for that kind of stuff but I''''m pretty good at it. I know what every peice is and what it does and why its their. I have never met a women with those skills. I did meet a girl one time who could changed her cars oil. I married her.
Posted by cbscrash07 at 02:26 PM : Aug 17, 2007

You didn''t have to tell us you didn''t go to school, we could tell. Two mispellings(wifes for wife''s, peice for piece) , two wrong words used (their for there, changed for change), and your grammar is pretty bad, too. So, what''s your point?

[michellem99-2009]

I think most girls want to learn. In my day the teachers said no you can''t as that is for boys. So they tryed to shut it down. So Girls can and should. I boned with my fafher and not my cold mother who was 17 when I came into this world. She hated me as I was born too early and disabled. So she walked. So my life qas foster homes and poor education. I was the only blind child at school and foster home. So it was law that I sat in school even tho the teachers would not teach me ....the girl vs boy,the sighted vs the blind. So it never ends as long as the boy wants his cake and eat it too. A man helpped me with computer. Men yer manners..

[sy2502]

MichelleM99,
don''t get worked up with some of the comments. With what you had to overcome in your life, you are much stronger than some of these whining children that call themselves "dominant male". They should be learning from you what true strength is. You are an example for both men and women.

[keithle1]

Most of the things that we enjoy today were invented by men: computer, phone, car, airplane, light bulb, etc.

Nuff said.

[michellem99-2009]

I don''t buy the controling male as he wants it his way or all hell breaks loose. I don''t ,as I see a funny side. But must point out that maybe you ladies need to educate Mr. WHO EVER get it yerself I am not yer maid.. ha-ha., I need to get my white cane go for a walk. Thanks for yer words lass.

[wangbang]

Agnim, what you are saying doesn''t make any sense. The kids who are troublemakers are boys who have absent fathers.

[sverre5-2009]

What some people fail to understand is that the view of the relationship between male and female is rapidly changing. And, that perhaps it might be a good thing. First, I believe equal education is a right that everyone deserves. Second, in this day in age, it is very difficult to support a family financially with only one working parent. Not everyone is satisfied being a stay-at-home mom, and they should be allowed to follow the career they want to. Women are eager to learn, and they should receive every opportunity to do so. And at this point, if women were no longer allowed to get an education and work, our economy would shut down. America''s work force relies on both genders equally, and is a key component that helps us compete globally.

[agnim]

"Agnim, what you are saying doesn''''t make any sense. The kids who are troublemakers are boys who have absent fathers.
Posted by wangbang747 at 10:29 PM : Aug 17, 2007"

And the females who are getting more aggressive while drugging and prostituting themselves are ''absent'' whom? LOL

The fact is that boys are likely to become very rough/aggressive and seek the soothing influence of drugs due to a LACK OF ADEQUATE MOTHERING AFFECTION in early years. The same is true for girls.

American mothers just don''t devote enough time, attention and AFFECTION to the children; and so the children grow up becoming a problem for themselves and for the society as a whole!

The females are getting ''tough'', more male-like freaks.
The females of course will never be ''tough'' enough to equal or overcome the natural male dominance; but that doesn''t prevent them from deluding themselves with the feminist follies.

[sverre5-2009]

Drug use can be attributed to many more factors than just inadequate mothering. Absent fathers, peer pressure, certain neurological and psychological processes, and many other factors can contribute to drug use in a child. Also, getting a career does not necessarily make a woman ''masculine'', it can be a maturing experience that allows them to understand themselves more than if they were confined doing something they did not wish to do.

[vancouverboo]

Welcome to the world of Quotas - oops, I mean Cultural Diversity - ladies.

[agnim]

"Oh well, your kind will go extinct very soon thankfully.
Posted by sy2502 at 06:33 PM : Aug 17, 2007"

LOL

I''m not sure what is your beef?
However, you must not have spent any time looking at the history of humanity and the NATURAL roles of males vs females?

Freakish societies where the females abandon their primary roles of being good mates and moms are the exception; and such few and far between societies never last.

Of course the whole blame goes back to the lost and confused males; since they are the ones naturally endowed with the responsibility and the POWER to determine a healthy and efficient society.

[agnim]

"Also, getting a career does not necessarily make a woman ''''masculine'''', it can be a maturing experience that allows them to understand themselves more than if they were confined doing something they did not wish to do.
Posted by Sverre5 at 10:47 PM : Aug 17, 2007"

Ever thought that the reason that women would feel ''confined doing something they did not wish to do" relates to the fact that women do not "understand themselves", which is one of my point? LOL
Women are becoming truly lost! Pity the children.

And there is no escaping that drug use can be traced back to lack of parenting, which causes the children to grow up mentally weak and more susceptible to peer pressure and the like.

If parents spend more time with their children than their dumb peers do, then how could the peers succeed in having more influence than the ADULT PARENTS?

It makes no sense that DISORGANIZED children can have more impact on other children than MORE ORGANIZED ADULTS can.

If the relatively dumb peers are having more influence, it can only mean that the ADULTS aren''t spending as much quality time with the children!

There is no way that a younger mind is going to have more influence on another than a more mature/adult mind can!

Peer pressure is an adult/parent cop out!
The parents don''t want to acknowledge that they are not spending the time to have influence on their children over other mere children

[sverre5-2009]

It is possible for a family with two working parents to adequately cope with peer pressure. The most effective way to debunk the possibility of kids experimenting with drugs is to raise them in an environment where they understand the dangers of drug abuse. This can be done with two working parents. Not all men are fortunate enough to receive an income that can support an entire family on their own. Financially, the world is becoming more and more complex, and in many situations, it is more logistically reasonable to have two working parents. Also, not all women are the same. While some may enjoy being a stay-at-home mom, others need to find out and "understand" what makes them happy. Some women don''t feel that staying at home is satisfying enough, and feel trapped when in a stay-at-home situation. An organized household can be established even if both parents are working. Also, you speak of "natural male dominance". Is it not the wonder of the human species that we are able to overcome natural urges, and adapt to fit the times?

[michellem99-2009]

This battle has been going on for years. I recken you think children who end up in abusage foster homes and poorly school are not worth it. So men don''t want to do the jobs that he thinks is too good for him,well he will learn things the hard way. Each gender has to do. So you men think a female is not a whole person unless a baby is born to her. Well not true. It hurts their male pride to be put in their place which need to be done .I feel men make to many messes. Time to clean house. So are you prond of the ladies who so unselfishly do the thankless jobs,in combat now that did shock me as they went. We should not have prove anything to a man. I was told that childbirth would kill a man,I really don''t know. They like to be babied.

[sverre5-2009]

Posted by MichelleM99 at 12:05 AM : Aug 18, 2007

Very well said, many people don''t understand what women have to go through at childbirth, and keeping a house. Men can easily say that it is their purpose to do so, when they have not experienced it themselves.

[michellem99-2009]

I have never had children but it is worth the ladies who have to shave this. Also men can''t multi task. They just can''t plus they don''t understand us as we don''t them. We are wired differently if that makes any sense. I am older so hope the young ones are not trapped in a life that don''t fit them. Men must not force them to be this/that way. The dark ages are gone hopely for good.