Education: Male vs. Female

John Palmer Gavit,* grand inquisitor of American university life and reporter extraordinary, spoke again (in a special article in New York Evening Post). He had looked upon coeducation, said he, and it is good.

Of morals: Men and women of a certain age will think romantically wherever they are. In co-educational institutions minds are occupied by the thoughts of dalliance no more than elsewhere. Relationships are healthier where converse is frequent.

Of intellectual stimulus: Women, even in universities, get higher grades than men. Figures from the University of Michigan are typical:

All sororities (women) 79.4

All women 78.8

Professional sororities (women). .76.2

Professional fraternities (men)..75.3

All fraternities (men) 72.7

Entire university (men and women) 72.5

Athletes (men) 72.4

All men 72.1

The stimulus of the men’s mind is generally accepted as being good for women, as is shown by the fact that even such a feminist institution as Bryn Mawr habitually has a majority of men on its faculty.

Of matrimonial bureaus: It is true that co-education produces many marriages. But generally the marriages are successful, owing to the great opportunity given to the parties concerned to observe each other in work and play, in good and bad. One co-educational institution (unnamed) boasts “no divorces.” Another (Leland Stanford) submits a list of distinguished marriages, headed by Mr. and Mrs. Herbert C. Hoover.

Of leadership: Co-educational places offer women less chance for leadership. A man is usually ” president” and a woman “vice president ” of the co-educational organization. But, here again, co-education is not at fault; it is very like the big world, that’s all.

Of percentages: The preponderant opinion is that the ratio of men to women should be 6-4.

* John Palmer Gavit, after many years’ journalistic experience, was Superintendent of the Central Division of the Associated Press (1911-12), Managing Editor of the New York Evening Post, (1913-18), of which he is now a Director and Vice President. Within the past year he has written for his newspaper many articles on higher learning in America.