An alarming trend is emerging on college campuses around the country.
Men are disappearing!
The number of men on college campuses has been on the decline since 1979. Currently, the average college student body is 42% male and 58% female. On campuses such as the University of San Francisco, the numbers are even more shocking; only 37% male!
To make matters worse, educators and researchers alike believe the trend will continue based on the fact that young girls perform better in both elementary and high school, are more likely to be a member of an honors society, more likely to be valedictorian, and more likely to be accepted into top-tier colleges.
Boys, on the other hand, appear to be getting the message that college is not cool. Researchers speculate that the influence of sports and entertainment figures, many of whom skipped college and went on to become millionaires anyway, on young boys and men is to blame for fewer men choosing to attend college.
Other speculate that a lack of interest in scholarly subjects and parental expectations have also lead young men to opt out of college.
The influence of these and other factors on male college attendance is even greater in African-American and Hispanic communities; the ratio of women to men attending college is nearly 2 to 1!
Many sociologists are concerned about the societal implications of this imbalance. Others are concerned that colleges will establish covert affirmative action programs to admit more male applicants than female applicants, despite their relative qualifications. The latter fear is echoed by high-achieving young women and their parents.