Where are the Boys in College?

In 2021, enrollment of undergraduate men fell by nearly 7 percent -- nearly three times lower than female enrollment, according to a Chronicle of Higher Education report called “Missing Males.” The National Student Clearinghouse recorded the decline was the steepest — and the gender gap the largest — among students of color attending community colleges. One of the main causes cited was rejection of remote learning after entire faculties put their curriculums online for almost two years, for the most part without any training to make it effective. The pandemic also “put pressure on many boys” to take jobs to help family members who had lost theirs.

According to the report, however, what seems to be new, is the increasing belief by college leaders that the decrease is because “men are the problem.” “Anti-maleness” is embedded in school-discipline policies that disproportionately net boys, and in sexual-assault prevention programs that sometimes treat incoming students as threats. ‘I was welcomed to college by being told that I’m a potential rapist,” one male student was quoted as stating. It starts early in grade schools when boys lag in literacy skills and are overrepresented in special education. Boys are also more likely to be punished for misbehaving — an experience that can sour them on school. Boys are also less likely than girls to seek or accept help for their academic and emotional struggles.

Some schools are adding sports teams and majors in fields that tend to attract more men, such as criminal justice and information science, according to the Chronicle. Federal relief funds, emergency grants and debt relief programs were suggested to help male dropouts re-enroll. Also to be considered are shorter degree programs leading to careers that would get men from college into the workforce more quickly. Frequent mentoring sessions with older students from the same socio-economic-cultural background -- including discussions about “toxic” masculinity, dysfunctional relationships and policing -  were also recommended. Discussing “what are your challenges?” works better with males than “problem-confessing,” it was pointed out.

But it really starts with convincing men that college is, indeed, “worth it.”

Are College Students “Covid Sheep?”

“Why have Harvard students like me – young, fully-vaccinated, healthy and intelligent – responded, tolerated and yielded zombie-like to the Harvard administration’s heavy handed irrational pandemic restrictions?” a Harvard Senior student, Julie Hartmann, demanded in her Wall Street Journal top-of-the-page opinion piece on February 23. “Most of my classmates lost nearly a third of their time on campus – two years” (while still paying well over $50,000 a year in tuition). “We have been cheated by a long list of administration-imposed COVID restrictions from traditional events, communal dining and social events. We were made to wear face-covering masks at all times.” But more concerning than the administration’s heavy handedness, Hartman writes, is our ” zombie-like response.” We acknowledged the excess by shrugging it off, bowing to the prevailing mood on campus: helplessness and reluctance to dissent.

Is it the same everywhere? Even as schools and colleges throughout the nation have ended masking? On March 24 in DC, college students walking alone or in their cars could be seen wearing masks. Yet the ban had been lifted on March 21. The popular Saxbys café just a block east of the historic Georgetown University campus, still displayed a large orange sign next to the entrance: “Do Your Part: Wear A Mask.”  Students wearing Georgetown sweatshirts plodded dutifully all masked up from campus, adjusting their masks tightly as they entered the shop. It appears that these students still believe masks are important to prevent the possible transmission of Covid, even though there is debate regarding the degree to which masking should still be a requirement in the current scenario.

What is Happening with the Hispanic Vote?

Latino voters (loosely defined as voters with Hispanic names in the census and self-identified Hispanic heritage) are suddenly the focus of every identity-focused politics analyst in DC. It seems the mantra that those in the know have been repeating ad nauseum – Latinos are not a monolithic think group! – has finally stuck. And it appears that political analysts are shocked with the objective reality: you mean Latinos don’t vote the same? Behind a single issue – open immigration?

A comprehensive panel of Latino scholars, activists and journalists met virtually at Georgetown University on February 15 to discuss “What’s Going On With the Latino Vote?” Their conclusion: It’s time for political activists to get flexible and move beyond the “mythical Latino (monolithic) voter.”

It all boils down to issues, not a definitive single Latino identity. The panel itself was split on what issues mattered – and that, of course, also depended on the socio-economic-cultural-generational and geographic affiliations and loyalties of the Hispanic voter, their friends and family. One panelist said, considering all that, “It’s not a surprise or shock that Latinos vote Republican.”

One big issue that unites Republican Latinos is abortion,” it was pointed out. Protecting Roe Vs. Wade is a red-line default issue for progressive and liberal Democrats. In 2016, many “Latinos for Trump” adherents told this reporter at the Republican nomination convention that abortion and unenforced borders were their two biggest issues. Since 2020, those two issues have become more fraught.

In 2020 Democrats expected a “one size fits all” appeal to the Latino voter, panelists said. They made minimal appeals and campaign stops in Hispanic communities, even those where they knew their nominee Hillary Clinton had lost Latino voters in South Texas, Florida and some of the (Mormon dominated) South West. “Now it will cost more to court the Latino vote,” panelists agreed. “It’s not neat.” They will have to be less oriented towards college graduates (a small proportion of the Hispanic population) and more to the working middle class, church going (not all Catholic) ambitious population. Most don’t like to be labeled – “campaign cards with Latino” don’t go over well, one Democratic strategist said. “As the electorate increasingly sorts by education levels, watch that working Hispanic families increasingly trend toward Republicans,” notes Mike Madrid in a New York Times opinion piece on March 23.

In sum, both parties need to be more aware of the diversity within the Hispanic voter demographic, and concentrate on informing the community about the issues and getting eligible voters registered.