SIUC is looking for more female students. In fact, increasing the 43 percent of female students currently enrolled is one of Chancellor Walter Wendler's goals for Southern at 150, the University's long-term plan to improve SIUC by its 150th anniversary in 2019.
Of the 22,000 students enrolled at SIU, males represent 57 percent of on-campus enrollment. The gap between men and women has been as much as 60 to 40. SIU's image has emerged as a possible factor in keeping prospective female students away. There is some truth to that.
SIU continues to try to shake its "party school" image. Halloween riots in the past haven't helped that effort. A deeper analysis of the gender gap, however, will find that the few number of female enrollees has more to do with programs and services offered to them than rowdy rebel rousers on Halloween.
If SIUC wants more female students, the University should look at the most obvious issue for female students: campus safety. Female students enrolled in evening classes are sometimes walking through dimly lit areas, including through or near Thompson Woods and from student housing in Southern Hills.
Women's Services, a component of SIUC's Counseling Center, houses the Campus Safety Program, which offers self-defense classes and an after-hours escort service. Still, prospective female students may not worry about trekking through campus if some areas were better lit and had a more conspicuous police presence. Programs offered to female students could be more diversified.
Women's Services also offers assistance in educational and vocational decisions, but SIU's recruiting power lies in its curriculum. If the University wants more female students, it should make a conscious effort to recruit women for classes that fall outside what is traditionally thought of as "women's studies."
This is not a slight against the Women's Studies Program here on campus, which offers classes on Women in the Criminal Justice System and Women in Engineering, Science and Technology. The University has to attract women interested in exploring engineering, science or aspects of criminal justice as a discipline.
These particular disciplines offered at SIUC have been male- dominated through the years, but there are young women out there interested in these subjects. If they are not finding SIU, we have to do a better job of finding them. This again speaks to recruiting. Yet, recruiting women is not made easier with respect to poor housing - on and off campus.
If SIUC wants to attract more female students, many residence halls and off-campus apartments should be kept in better condition. Parents who visit the campus may think twice about sending their daughters here after viewing some of living facilities. The city is not free of criticism in this area.
Some students find off-campus housing less than satisfactory. Better living conditions off-campus could be an attractive tool luring more women here. These are just a few examples of where SIU can improve. Nationally, more women are enrolled in college than men. SIUC's numbers could reflect that trend with a little more dedication.
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
