By Melissa Florer-Bixler
One of my favorite Civil Rights Plunge memories is three female students gnawing on long strips of roasted rattlesnake, a treat provided by one of our hosts on a farm in rural southwest Georgia.
Moreau Center immersion programs conjure up all sorts of rough and tumble images like this one: students wading waste-deep in cave water in Nicaragua, chain sawing boards in the muggy Louisiana summer, and riding in a jeep along the Border fence in Tijuana.
While these seem like activities that would attract men, the majority of students who participate in UP service-immersion travel programs are women. Three-quarters of immersion applicants this year were women. All the coordinators for programs are women and, save one, only women applied to be coordinators.
A recent study by the American Education Council finds this to be a nationwide trend. Not only are women more involved at college but their GPAs are higher (even in science and math), they leave campus with more honors and graduate at a higher rate. Likewise, at UP women are more likely to study abroad, participate in summer service and volunteer in the community.
Upon hearing this, my all-female staff proffered their explanations. Maybe women are more mature at this age, maybe men are more interested in securing good jobs than working with the poor, maybe they think service just mean nurturing ("girl stuff"), maybe male students in ROTC or engineering are too busy for our programs.
Whatever the explanation, there are important reasons men need to be trained in social justice and service. Much to my chagrin, despite their overwhelming achievement as undergrads, women at UP will find themselves making 75 cents on their male counterpart's dollar after graduation day. Women will find it harder to get promoted as they get older while men get more promotable with time. As long as men are the top decision-makers on issues like trade policy, minimum wage, military involvement and education it is essential that they are formed by a global perspective that seeks the good of all people, especially the vulnerable.
While the deadline for applications is now passed for the 2007-08 immersion programs, there are plenty of ways UP men can get involved. Mentor a male student at a local elementary school. Work on a riparian restoration project at the coast. Spend the summer working on a farm in North Carolina. Apply for post-grad service to Alaska, Africa or Colorado.
The ways to be involved are endless. It's easy to access us through our Web site (www.up.edu/moreaucenter) or to stop by our office in St. Mary's.
Melissa Florer-Bixler is the assistant director of the Moreau Center for Service and Leadership.
