an looks like: Sexism in the School of Engineering

On Dec. 5, 2022, the official Instagram account of Shippensburg University shared a photo featuring two male-presenting students in the newly named Milton and Doreen Morgan Engineering School with the caption “This is what an #engineer looks like.” The caption was then changed roughly 22 hours later to say, “Hands-on learning at the Milton and Doreen Engineering Lab!” with no comment or apology publicly made.

For a university that, according to its own website, “celebrates diversity” to make such a claim about engineers is insensitive and discrediting to the students at Shippensburg who do not fall into the stereotype perpetuated at the beginning of fall finals’ week by Shippensburg University’s Instagram account. This brings forth the societal notion that engineering is unfriendly to women and other non-male identifying individuals.

Harvard Business Review states that engineering is the most male-dominated field in all of STEM, and it may be the most male-dominated profession in the United

States. Engineering and STEM in general are unwelcoming to female students. Female students experience higher bias, unequal access to resources and mentoring and harassment and assault, all barriers to one becoming and staying a woman in engineering. The story is similar at Shippensburg University.

Lilly Merrell, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, recounted her experience so far at SU. While she very much enjoys mechanical engineering, she finds it very difficult to fit in and make friends, since the majority of her classes are male-dominated.

“I’ve had professors make sexist jokes in class and had to sit quietly and say nothing as my male peers laughed,” Merrell said. Another time, her professor joked about his wife and about how men and women will never understand each other or be able to work together. In a different instance, a professor described the ideal engineer, consistently using he/him pronouns to describe this paragon.

“These situations made me feel powerless and as if I were nothing but a joke to my peers,” Merrell said.

To be clear, I am far from being a female engineering student here at Shippensburg; in about a year and a half I will be graduating from Shippensburg University with a bachelor’s degree in communication, journalism and media and sociology with a minor in women’s and gender studies. I am about as liberal arts as they get. However, it is through what I have learned in my classes at SU that I am willing and able to amplify the voices and experiences of injustice for women and others in the engineering school at Shippensburg University.

When Merrell saw the post on Shippensburg University’s Instagram detailing what an engineer looks like, she said it was very disheartening. “I was very disappointed that Shippensburg would be so careless as to post that caption without a second thought as to how unrepresented non-masculine presenting people in engineering would feel.”

One of the first things students in the communication department learn is to think of one’s audience. As an institution of higher education that prides itself on its dedication to diversity and inclusion, Shippensburg University must present itself with this value in mind, especially on social media where

It is evident that nowadays, everyone loves to voice their opinions on certain media they either like or dislike. I know that is rich coming from someone like myself, who’s practically made it their job to let everyone know what they thought of the latest movies to hit streaming, but my point still stands. Criticism is nothing new; the internet has allowed everyone to voice their feelings toward something they are passionate about. However, I want to focus on a particular part of those who watch the media with a passion of pure anger. Why do people love to “hate watch”?

It is essential first to explain what exactly is “hate-watching.” The way I see it, those who partake in this practice can be divided into two categories: those who watch something knowing it’s terrible but find joy in it and those who care about it more out of bitterness.

Now you’re thinking, “Well, you can- posts can be seen instantly by people. The official Instagram account of SU has more than 10,000 followers, many of these being alumni, students and prospective students. What is posted on this account vastly reflects Shippensburg University’s values. Simply changing the caption and hiding under the pretense of false diversity and inclusion does not help SU’s students but rather harms them.

Merrell suggested some changes she would like to see in the engineering department at Shippensburg University including discrimination training for professors and a support system for women and other nonmen in STEM at the university. “It’s hard enough to gain respect from my male peers as it is, so it would be very helpful if my professors did not encourage discrimination in the classroom.” not just watch things that you like all the time.” That is true. It is important to step outside your comfort zone and try new shows and movies, or else you close yourself off from ever finding your new thing to enjoy. Reviews are subjective, after all.

I would also urge Shippensburg University to be more cognizant of what they share on social media and how they promote their values. If an offensive post is made, such as the one focused on in this article, an apology should be made. Simply changing the caption is like putting a bandage on the situation. People notice. I notice.

I enjoyed the movie “Moonfall” (Rotten Tomatoes score of 36%) but hated the recent film “M3GAN” (Rotten Tomatoes score of 95%). While reviews can indicate quality, a review should not decide whether you should intake art.

While movies are familiar sources for “hate-watching,” television is the natural home to angrily sitting through hours of content. The most prominent example of this phenomenon is the new HBO Max series “Velma.” The series has been panned across the board by critics and fans, with many calling it one of the worst shows they’ve ever seen. Naturally, you have a vocal minority hating on the series for being “too woke,” but it’s clear that looking past these individuals, the response has been overwhelmingly negative. Despite these criticisms, though, the show has broken records and currently sits as the most-watched animated series of all time on the platform, so clearly, people are watching it. I will admit that I heard how bad the reviews were and wanted to see for myself if it was as awful as everyone said, and to be honest, I’m enjoying it. It is not great, but I’m finding some enjoyment from it.

While I disagree with people who watch stuff just so they can talk about how much they hated it, I think there is value in “hate-watching.” Everyone has that guilty pleasure show or movie that they know is terrible, but they watch it because it gives them the joy to do so. Do you think I watched seven seasons of “Riverdale” because I believe it is a wellmade show? Of course not. I watch it because it’s a train wreck we can all laugh at it together. Negative reviews can be just as important as positive ones because in a sea of people ranting about how much they despise some new series, there could be one individual in all of it who truly finds something of value.