|
Harvard tries women-only gym hours
Harvard University has banned men from one of its gyms for a few hours a week, a move to accomodate Muslim women who, for religious and cultural reasons, cannot exercise comfortably in their presence.Spineless worms. The policy is already unpopular with many on campus, however, including some women who consider it sexist. "I think that it's incorrect in a college setting to institute a policy in which half of the campus gets wronged or denied a resource that's supposed to be for everyone," said student Lucy Caldwell, who also wrote a column in The Harvard Crimson newspaper critical of the new hours. Student Ola Aljawhary, who is Muslim and works out elsewhere on campus but is not one of the women who requested the change, rejected that argument. "The majority should be willing to compromise," she said. "I think that's just basic courtesy. We must show tolerance and respect for all others." The "compromise" is you get a membership in a private womens only gym. Then other women can point and make laugh at you without the presence of men. The trial policy went into effect Feb. 4, about a month after a group of six Muslim women, with the support of the Harvard College Women's Center, asked the university for the special hours, spokesman Robert Mitchell said. "We get special requests from religious groups all the time and we try to honor them whenever possible," he said, noting that the school has designated spaces for Muslim and Hindu students to pray. No men are allowed in the gym between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Mondays, and between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Even the staff during those times is all women. Rest at link. Posted by: ed 2008-03-04 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=231849 |