Letters to the Editor

Marriage not end-all in college

I am writing in response to Professor Morley-Mower’s article entitled, "Women’s high expectations cause heartbreak," which ran in the Oct. 11 issue of The Breeze. Morley-Mower missed the mark completely with his claims about the sexual revolution. The social barriers held in place before the sexual revolution were certainly not there to "protect" women as Morley-Mower claims but, rather, served to perpetuate traditional gender role ideologies dominating society. Barriers more often prove to be obstacles rather than protections, and no woman I know wants to be "protected" from sexual equality.

To insinuate that a woman’s only worth is her ability to find a husband while she is at the "peak of her attractiveness" is an outrage. Not only does this imply that a woman’s only hope of "catching" a man is through her (temporary) physical appeal, but suggests that college women simply are biding their time in search of a man to marry them, knock them up and make them "happy." Contrary to Morley-Mower’s outdated and heterosexist narrative, most women today enjoy their independence; women and men no longer are taught that sex is a means to secure a marriage.

Because not all women are damsels in distress and not all men are ignorant sexual predators incapable of experiencing love, it is possible for two people to share in a loving, equal relationship. Moreover, two people can engage in a healthy, committed relationship without feeling the need to legally or socially legitimate their feelings through the (failed) institution of marriage.

Jenna Jerman
senior, SMAD/sociology major

Column’s assumptions of women offensive

I was very angry to see the article entitled "Husband search not point of college" printed in the Oct. 14 copy of The Breeze. I can’t tell if Brian Goodman was trying to be funny or trying to make a point, but either way, he only succeeded in sounding very uneducated and chauvinistic. When talking about the male to female ratio, he assumes that all JMU students are heterosexual and searching for a partner, which is most definitely not true. Making the statement that "very little has changed" regarding women’s role in college shows that he has not paid any attention to feminist history. He discredits all that has been done for women’s rights. I don’t know where he gets the notion that there is "significant societal pressure" on college-age girls to be married because people today are getting married at much later ages with no pressure from their parents. How would he, as a college-age male, know so much about this "graduation prerequisite" Goodman flatters himself to believe that a woman chooses her clothes with the sole intention of attracting a man. Women do not "denigrate themselves." All people have the right to dress in a way that makes them feel comfortable without being subject to others’ criticism. Frankly, I am disgusted that there still are people making these assumptions during the 21st century and even more disgusted that a female editor would let this go to print.

Erin McSorley
senior, studio art major

Column reduces women to objects

I was utterly enraged after reading Brain Goodman’s opinion piece, "Husband search not point of college" in the Oct. 14 edition of The Breeze. Goodman’s article and the derogatory cartoon that accompanied it are nothing more than chauvinistic drivel that has no place in a college newspaper. His rhetoric objectifies women in such a way that they are reduced to nothing more than "slabs of beef" that "dress like prostitutes" in order to secure a husband while at college. To insinuate that the way a woman dresses determines the way she should be treated by men is a subtle attempt to absolve men of responsibility for their actions and to justify violence against women — whether the author intended this or not. His article reduces the educational experience of the entire female population at JMU to the desperate search for a husband. The fact that there are two women on campus to every man is not a statistic that should prompt a misogynistic article about women and college marriages, but, rather, it represents a worrying trend that reflects the under-performance of boys in American high schools.

Jane McCracken
senior, english major

Column biased, unresearched

Wow. That is the only word I can think of to describe how appalled I am at Brian Goodman’s column, "Husband search not point of college" in the Oct. 14 edition of The Breeze. If biased, unresearched writing is allowed to be printed, can I please submit an article on how immature JMU boys — not men — are? I’ve had my window urinated on 43 times in my two years and three months here — maybe things like that are the reason women date outside JMU? How many women are actually here to find a husband? I was under the impression that we were here for an education. As a woman who also has enjoyed a salad at Hooters, I also find the comparison of black pants and a halter top to the Hooters uniform to be slightly off. And really, is it all that surprising that women are showing off their bodies when we’ve learned through our society that to men, that’s all that matters?

Helen McKisson
junior, psychology major

Present best time to enjoy college

Freshmen, if things haven’t changed much, I know that many of you spend most of your free time downloading MP3s, reading away messages, or surfing collegehumor.com.

Now jump ahead three years. You will hear almost every day, "Have all the fun you can now because when the real world starts…". People say this as if the first three years aren’t as important.

Well, freshmen, don’t wait until August or January of your senior year to make the most of every day. Does the first paragraph describe how you want to spend your final precious weeks at JMU? If not, why spend your time that way now?

Take advantage of your time here. Go to the arboretum. Take a bus downtown to a new restaurant. Meet someone new on your hall. Take pictures like it’s your last day with all your new friends. Stay out till 4 a.m. Put together an intramural team with your hall mates. Join a sports club. Go to a program just because it interests you — take each day and spend it like it’s your last!

For you seniors, take it from Dr. Mark Warner — "Don’t let college be the best four years of your life; let them be the best four years of your life so far." I know you all are scared that life after May 7 will be nothing but rush hour traffic and situations similar to the movie "Office Space." Remember, a year from now that with each day, you can choose to be miserable or risk being happy.

Jamie Specht
senior, finance/accounting major