BY: NICOLE VERNON
Brenau University was founded as the Georgia Baptist Female Seminary in 1878. Brenau prides itself in educating women for 137 years. Male students weren’t admitted until the early 1970s. The Brenau Academy was a school solely dedicated to educating female high school students with quality college prep classes until the Board of Trustees voted to close the school in 2010. However, the Women’s College is part of the Undergraduate school that is devoted to educating only women, or is it?
Many students and parents arrive on the campus of the Women’s College in the fall expecting to see nothing but women getting settled in through all of the hustle and bustle. That vision gets busted when they notice that there is a small percentage of males who not only take daytime classes, but they also have a meal plan and live on campus.
I have no problem with Brenau educating both men and women. I do have a problem with specifically the tradition of the Women’s College being threatened by the increasing attendance of males. In a time where the legacy of Women’s Colleges across the country are being shut down, the few that are left should be protected. They are sacred and full of tradition which should be preserved now more than ever. Why not expand and build a separate co-ed campus? Prospective students and their parents would understand that it is a separate campus that is designed to host and educate both men and women. Males being residential students at the Women’s College Campus contradicts what the Women’s College is all about.
Males attending the Women’s college also creates a gray area within the campus curfews for male visitors. The current visitor policy for males is that they must be out of the residential dorm rooms by midnight. They must also be off of the entire campus by 2 a.m. If the Women’s College allows male students to live on campus, one might argue that the policy for male visitors is not fair. Maybe the curfew should be changed to male guest being able to stay without curfew on the weekends. I understand that the policy was created based off of campus security, but is it fair for a male student to be in the dorm room of a colleague at 2 a.m. studying while someone else’s male guest has to leave the campus otherwise be escorted out by campus security?
I have nothing but good things to say about the guys that are currently living on campus. They are well-mannered gentlemen who are devoted to their studies. I am just pointing out that the natural attraction that they can cause with some of us females can lead to being a distraction from our studies. Some of us women came to Brenau simply so we could get away from the distractions of having male students inside of the classroom.
I hope discussions are sparked all across campus about this matter. After all, how do you envision Brenau 20 years from now? Do you see a campus that assembles and educates nothing less than extraordinary women by transforming them as gold refined by fire? Or do you see a campus that encourages men and women to excel within their career by pursuing their higher education?
Thank you for being a Brenau woman who is interested in the success of your alma mater. Brenau University is a community of “Forward-thinking Traditionalists.” This comment means that Brenau constantly looks to the future for educational, social and professional trends and modifying its core competencies to enable its students to compete successfully, personally and professionally in society. At the same time, we hold dear the traditions, history and heritage guiding Brenau for more than 137 years.
Brenau has openly enrolled men for decades in a narrowly specified group of undergraduate majors that offer classes during daytime hours on the Gainesville campus – a group that currently includes dance, theater, music, health science, pre-nursing and pre-physician assistant. Male students have been permitted to rent university-owned apartments adjacent to the campus for at least the past decade, and they are bound by university residence life policies. The university food services facilities on the campus are open to the public, including to male members of faculty, staff and student body, and anyone can buy a meal plan for use in those facilities. However, men are not permitted to reside in residence halls and sorority houses nor participate in residential activities (e.g. intercollegiate sports, sororities, etc.) that give Brenau Women’s College its unique identity and character.
Enrollment and accommodations for men have never been a secret. The university openly and actively recruits male students specifically for all Undergraduate School programs that are accessible to them but makes it clear to prospective applicants that they will not be enrolling in the Women’s College.
The Women’s College remains the heart and soul of Brenau University. University trustees and administrators believe that the long-standing policy of enriching the Women’s College experience by permitting men to participate in that well-publicized group of educational activities helps support our mission, generate additional tuition revenue, and preserve the integrity of the 137-year-old institution.
Thank you for the specific questions raised about possible changes in university residence life policies. None of what you mentioned is now under consideration. It is, however, always important to address social and residential issues to be certain we continue to serve our student population in a thoughtful and forward-thinking fashion. We can always discuss any proposals you may have at any of the numerous opportunities we have for exchanging ideas, like the SGA-sponsored Town Hall that occurred today.