Posted on 10/05/2004 3:27:24 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
Scroll down toward the bottom of this story, and you'll see that the TV news station has buried the lead.
Kristy Lee Hochenberger, the Chairman of the Wells College Republicans, has received a telephone threat in reaction to her support of the college's decision to go co-ed. Authorities are taking the threat sufficiently seriously as to arrange for her to be accompanied by security as she moves around campus.
This is not the first time that Kristy Lee has sparked controversy on campus. When the Wells Republicans published their study last year revealing that over 90% of the faculty are Dems, a professor circulated a campus-wide email calling Republicans "stupid" and calling for all Republicans to be "lobotomized."
Subsequently, the student government refused to recognize the Wells Republicans as a student club (the student govt. has since relented).
The story made national news, picked up by Fox News, among other outlets.
-----------------------------------------------
Protesters still camping out at Wells College 10/4/2004 6:23 PM By: Kristin Smith, News 10 Now Web Staff
Wells College was founded in 1868 as an all-girls school.
Starting in 2005, 137 years later, men will be admitted for the first time.
The decision to admit men came Saturday afternoon, but the all-female student body saw the decision coming. Now they are trying their best to get it overturned.
"Wells is a college that's very much committed to helping our students find their voices. And in fact, we have an active commitment to activism and student engagement, so I'm not surprised," said Wells College President Lisa Marsh Ryerson.
These students have been camped out on the lawn in front of the admissions building since Friday morning.
Ryerson said they're welcome to continue their protest as long as they need to.
But not all students feel the same way about the decision.
"I was very sad to see Wells go coed, I mean, it's a 136 year tradition. It was also very bittersweet. I'm going to be the last graduating class in which it's all women. But at the same time, I'm very supportive of the administration. I think it's the best thing for Wells to do. We really need to up the enrollment, up the tuition coming in, and going coed is the way that that's going to happen," said Senior Kristy Lee Hochenberger.
School officials said that's what they intend to do.
They say a higher enrollment will help the college financially.
But the protesters don't see it that way.
Their signs read: "Coeducation Silences Women," and "Here for the Sisterhood."
Kristy Lee Hochenberger said her support for the school has brought in threats from other students.
"The girl, whoever was on the phone, just said, ‘this is a message for Kristy Lee.’ And, ‘tell her not to return to campus, she's not welcome here.’"
Ryerson said while the school welcomes the protesters' message, they don't tolerate threats.
"For the student community, first and foremost, I am always concerned about student well being. Being sure that students are allowed to have their voice, whether it is pro this decision or against this decision or frankly, in between."
For now, Hochengberger said campus security will escort her around campus to avoid further harassment.
Wells College took research from other schools that made that transition to help them make their decision.
Several dozen all-female liberal arts colleges remain in the country.
Copyright © 2004 TWEAN d.b.a. News 10 Now
Sounds like threats coming from the militant diesel dyke faction.
Which is why the women invaded VMI and the Citadel - just so they could be silenced...
What sort of wretched child-hood could possibly make a young man consider going to this college?
I can understand that some people would prefer to attend an all-girls school - heck, I would have liked to when I was in college!
The students have every right to protest. Obviously using threats is completely unacceptable. I hope the culprit is found and arrested.
In any case, the hypocristy and double standards are striking. The same people who want to oppose the admission of men were demanding that women be admitted to VMI, The Citadel, Augusta National, etc.
Which is why the women invaded VMI and the Citadel - just so they could be silenced...
Great point!
Also, the feminists seem to want to have it both ways. On the one hand, they argue 'sisterhood is powerful,' women are strong and absolutely the equal of men in all ways.
On the other, they cower at the thought of men in the classroom, claiming that the males will dominate. Which is it?
"What sort of wretched child-hood could possibly make a young man consider going to this college?"
Metrosexuals will flock to this place in the hopes of scoring with the 10:1 gender ratio.
Ann Coulter coming up on GMA
Thanks for heads up. Looks like I'll have to switch from The Today Show this morning.
I'm only repeating what some threads are saying today.
Yep. The feminizts are against all-male schools but when guys seek to make an all-female school coed, they start squawking! And here I thought the Left believed in overtuning tradition for the sake of progress. I'd believe them if they hadn't forced women upon VMI. Hey, what's sauce for the good is equally sauce for the gander.
As a graduate of Wells college, I really enjoy liberals who believe that they are progressive and tolerant being anti change and intolerant of dissent.
In olden days, liberals would welcome different points of view and not take it personally that they didn't "convert" someone just by spouting off their own views.
Uh --why might a male go to Wells-- free tuition for male offspring of poorly paid Wells faculty maybe.
From what I can tell, it's not even that males are suing, yammering and carrying on to get in, unlike the feminazis at VMI or the Citadel. This seems to be a case of the school itself desiring the change (tuition revenue is down, don't you know).
How can people be such raucous hypocrites? I would blush red with shame if I were caught being so completely self-serving.
Bump
I wish the libs had done their complete 180 degree turn in philosophy before they demanded my school (VMI) change.
Tradition is worth keeping? Who knew?
The protests are coming because the trustees' vote was seen as coming at them "out-of-the-blue," from behind closed doors with the breakdown of the vote not made known. There were rumors of going coed for a long time, but nothing specific. Parents and young women who chose this school because of the way it has been promoted have felt betrayed, not so much by the decision, but because they were not informed it was coming imminently and could not provide input.
If revenue (as it often is), and enrollment were severe problems there could have been focus on improvement in these areas, especially in recruiting. At my daughters high school in a neighboring state Wells was not even in the radar as a possible school choice. One Wells student group is requesting a marketing study before the decision is enacted. This makes good sense.
Opening the doors to the few males who will enroll remains to be seen if this will improve financial status of the college. Also, Wells is now open to Cornell males who wish to take classes there, and how many of them are doing so? Very few.
As far as the comments about Wells being a school for "dykes", that's just plain stupid. From the posts here, a number of freepers are Wells graduates, or married to Wells graduates. We went the college search route for two years in a row, and ALL of the colleges we searched had prominent gay/lesbian organizations promoting "diversity." The purpose of an all-women's college is not lesbianism.
Then how do you explain the protesters' banners and chants proclaiming "Coeducation silences women"? It can't simply be a matter of having more people on campus. The protesters claim that Wells can and should increase enrollment through better marketing. If that were successful, and, say, the number of students doubled, than the statistical chance of being a leader would be reduced regardless of sex.
To identify "coeducation" as the problem clearly reflects a fear that men are likely to dominate.
As for lesbianism on campus: several Wells students have estimated to me that 75% of Wells students are lesbians.
I have no problem with that, nor do I have a problem with students wanting an all-girls school that is a safe haven for lesbians. I only ask that people not be hypocritical. Don't demand single-sex rights for yourselves, while seeking to deny them to men at their colleges and clubs.
When I went to Wells, I was persuaded by the faculty-- they all came from great schools and they all really wanted to be there. Another selling point was the student faculty ratio of 8 to 1, which is great for the classroom.
The school had its fanatics of whatever PC persuasion, but that wasn't the whole school. I had been in a mostly male high school and it was a nice change to go to an all female school. But it's more important to maintain the quality of the education than the memory of an all female school.
PS There were plenty of dates with fun guys. Cornellies, Hamilton guys came down regularly and there were some really nice guys that I met on campus. The drawback in going to their parties was that by the time we got there, many of the fun guys were already in advanced stages of inebriation :) It's kinda hard to have a conversation with someone who is sprawled over the table:)
My point is that there are limited number of leadership positions, and with more males who assume leadership, there are fewer females whose voices are heard. All student leadership positions at Wells are filled by women, and for those who never were in leadership roles in high school, this can be very empowering building confidence and self esteem. Many young women do not need this, others may discover leadership potential for the first time. This is just one point of view.
I thought "cowering" was not an appropriate word choice. The young women want a long standing tradition to be maintained, they are not afraid. This may be the time for change. Many Wells students believe the transition is just not being handled in the right way.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.