[Renzy]

Ladies first? SMU prof wants classroom rule

Quote:

Women should be heard first in the classroom, a forum on misogyny at Dalhousie University heard Thursday.

“Men should not be allowed to monopolize these forums,” Saint Mary’s University management professor Judy Haiven said.

Seven panelists spoke to the crowd in the Dalhousie Student Union Building’s largest conference room on Thursday to discuss misogyny on university campuses.

Haiven suggested several ideas to combat misogyny, all of them centred on promoting female participation in events.

Her idea that women should always speak first in classroom discussions and at public events was brought up several times during the forum.

Haiven said she already tries to apply this idea in her own classroom.

“(In) the management department, women get to speak first. I think that that is a primary issue that we actually have to look at, how to do question and answer (periods). And we can start today.”

The misogyny forum was held on the same day that Halifax Regional Police said it would not pursue a criminal investigation in the Dalhousie dentistry scandal, after reviewing controversial Facebook posts.

Haiven’s idea was met by a round of applause, but not everyone agreed with her suggestion.

The panel fielded a question from Twitter asking whether the idea would just “perpetuate the problem the other way?”

“Yes, I suppose at some point that could happen,” Haiven said.

“But right now what we see is … women generally don’t come forward and speak up at meetings … we see women taking a backseat.

And the only way to get these Strong Empowered Women to speak is up is by silencing men?

Quote:

“We see that there has to be some kind of affirmative action so that women, I hope, take a more active role in the classroom, in running things, in various student affairs. We’ve got a real problem.”

More women are graduating with university degrees than ever before, and often take up the majority of classes, “yet you wouldn’t know that.”

Jacqueline Skiptunis, vice-president academic and external for the Dalhousie Student Union, said she personally has been hesitant to talk in group discussions. When she did speak up, her statements were often questioned, and believed only when a man agreed with her.

Jude Ashburn agreed with Haiven.

“I think that women of colour should speak first in class,” Ashburn said after the panel discussion.

Ashburn is an outreach co-ordinator for South House, a gender and sexual resource centre in Halifax, and identifies as a “non-binary trans person.”

Quote:

“When I do activist circles or workshops, I often say, ‘OK, if you’re white and you look like me and you raise your hand, I’m not going to pick on you before someone of colour.’ So I do give little disclaimers, like people of colour will have priority, or if you’re a person with a disability, you’re pushed to the front … I mean, you know, bros fall back,” Ashburn said with a laugh.

Ashburn said during the panel that they feel “burned out” when “what about the men?” is asked in “every conversation” about misogyny.

Ashburn said people can get upset with this approach, because they have to give up some privilege, a topic the forum discussed throughout the first panel of speakers.

Jacqueline Warwick said it’s not the first time she’s heard such a rule suggested.

Warwick is the former co-ordinator of the gender and women’s studies department at Dalhousie and one of the four Dal professors who filed a complaint against Dal’s restorative justice approach.

“That’ll be a difficult one for people to accept,” Warwick said.

“I do think, in general, there are a lot of studies that indicate women, girls are socialized not to speak first. … And so to make a conscious rule, a deliberate rule that is explicit, that ‘no, men are not allowed to speak first,’ is certainly a strong way of addressing that issue, but one that will at least get people thinking about it,” said Warwick.

“That’s already some progress, I believe.”

[samsamsam]

If they want to make it fair just spin a disco ball or something like that and if the light lands on a person that person speaks. But then they will argue about who spins the ball. Just get someone that has a penis and vagina to spin it. Or Brianna wu. Thanks to fucking gamer gate I now know that thing exists.

[TheWastelander]

Whatever, just talk over them like they don't even exist. What are they gonna do? Whine on a blog about it?

[Days of Broken Arrows]

So let's say I'm a black guy who comes from poverty and worked his ass off in high school to attend college against the odds.

I get to college to find...I am not allowed to speak first in class...that's reserved for privileged white women who also made that rule.

Yeah, this should work out great. I see no problem here.

[Grange]

Ah that misogynist paradise known as Canada, where the men routinely trample the women's rights.

Seriously, how the fuck is this woman a management professor? If this is the only way to get female comments, maybe you don't need female comments that badly.

[player]

One gender has overwhelmingly contributed to civilization - across the arts, sciences, business, politics and everything else - and so the best way to make the world better is to silence them?

[Foolsgo1d]

Wait, so women don't come forward to speak their mind?

Well fuck! Here is me having been in all sorts of meetings with women and more than just a crowd there and they never stopped to think; "hmm, I'm too much of a wuss to say anything".

Yeah, bullshit. May be the young pretty girls don't like speaking up but you need to face a few pissed off middle aged women and a lot of support before saying women don't speak up.

[Dr. Howard]

Fuck St. Mary's thats always been "one of those" schools

Also, I would love for women in my old college classes to always speak first...because then I'd raise my hand and destroy their answer afterwards.

[godfather dust]

I wouldn't attend this college because women are essentially simple and just parrot shit they've heard or read, contributing nothing to the debate.

[Sp5]

Let them have their forums and go to the gym or the bar.

[Glaucon]

I propose for 90% tax for all single white males as an added bonus

[Parlay44]

(01-16-2015 01:36 PM)Glaucon Wrote:  

I propose for 90% tax for all single white males as an added bonus

Totally worth it