Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Harvard Testing Women-only Gym Hours

I just heard that Harvard University has banned men from one of its gyms for a few hours a week. The reason is to accommodate Muslim women who for religious and cultural reasons cannot exercise comfortably in the presence of men. Not surprising is the fact that the policy is already unpopular with many on campus, and that includes some women who consider it sexist. One student wrote a column in The Harvard Crimson newspaper and was critical of the new hours. She said she thought it was incorrect in a college setting to institute a policy in which half of the campus gets wronged or denied a resource that is supposed to be for everyone. Another student, who is Muslim but not one of the women who requested the change, rejected this argument. She works out elsewhere on campus.

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