Menlo Prepares Students for the World They are Entering Forty-four years after Menlo College was founded to educate men, and men alone, the first class of women walked onto campus. That was 1971, and those women brought profound changes to the classrooms and playing fields of the College. Fast forward fifty years to 2021; American colleges and universities now enroll almost six women for every four men – the largest female-male gender gap in the history of higher education. Here at Menlo, men still outnumber women, but the gap is small and growing smaller. Women in our society still play catch-up in the labor force and in leadership positions, but education may be the wellspring for a welcome change in the labor force in the decades ahead. Fifty years ago, the debate in the halls of Menlo was about opening our doors to women. In the succeeding decades, the conversation has become much more nuanced and more expansive. Reflecting societal changes, our students – and others of their generation – embrace the fluidity of gender in ways that would have left people gawping in 1971. Campus life reflects the times (a reality that speaks to the fallacy of colleges being ivory towers!). As captured so masterfully by Editor-in-Chief Pamela Gullard in her book Through the Gates, Eighty-Five Years of Menlo College and its Times, world events permeate campus life, and here at Menlo we accept the responsibility to engage our students with the world as it evolves. We’re hardly the first to appreciate our role in reflecting –and shaping society; the educator and astronaut Christa McAuliffe once observed, “I touch the future. I teach.” A growing number of people are moving beyond the idea that we live in a world where sexuality and gender come in only two forms: gay/straight, male/female – which were the only labels I and others of my generation knew for most of our lives. Some of our students of today tell us that they aren’t one or the other, but perhaps neither. Or maybe both. The words we use to capture this fluidity can be discomfiting, prompting many to shy away from participating in important conversations. Cis, transgender, transsexual, queer, intersex, and asexual are freighted terms. And that’s today. Our societal norms continue to evolve. Colleges have an important role to play in going beyond grappling with labels, to further understanding and equity for all. To ensure we support all our students, we must engage in this vital conversation. Let the journey continue.
A postscript: We celebrated the fact that our campus was free of Covid-19 for most of the fall semester, despite full residence halls and in-person classroom instruction. Our community was virtually 100% vaccinated, we tested weekly, and we mandated masks indoors – and it paid off. As we look forward to the start of the spring semester, though, omicron looms large, and concerns about future variants vie for our attention, along with the medical innovations that we trust will eventually allow us to ratchet down our anxiety about the pandemic. I look forward to celebrating that fine day soon! Steven Weiner Menlo College President
Photo by Crystal Cebedo ’19: 1 WINTER 2022
