The Benefits of Men’s Colleges

In today’s society, being a male can be a challenge within itself. Statistics prove that males occupy jails more than women, are less likely to graduate from college, and are prone to find themselves in more predicaments than women. With all of these trials facing a man the issue then is, “What can be done to help our males conquer these mishaps?”

How to handle the issue is answered in many ways, but some resort to sending their young men to all-male institutions.

“A positive aspect of going to an all men’s college is that the environment is more open to telling of the truth about the role of men – especially Black men – in today’s society,” Morehouse Business Association member Winzell Steele Jr. said.

Being comfortable when discussing controversial topics is a must if something is going to get accomplished. If a class is filled with both males and females, any topics that may cause a division will be “sugar coated” or even avoided. This is not good when the goal of educating students should not be to please everyone, but to give them facts as they are.

“Coed schools have to tip-toe around gender sensitive topics,” Steele said. “All men’s colleges still have to be careful not to offend others, but they have more freedom to discuss the male role in those gender sensitive topics.”

The grooming of men does not only exist inside of the classroom. Being well rounded is essential for any male to accomplish great things in this life.

To further support this claim, Steele said, “Morehouse College is an institution that has two main goals. 1) To make sure that all of its students are able and prepared to excel in the industry of their choice upon graduation. 2) To make sure that all of its students graduate as Renaissance Men (well read, well spoken, well traveled, well dressed and well balanced) with a social conscious and a global perspective upon graduation from the institution.”

Attending a co-ed institution is not as likely to teach life values.

Building friendships that will last a lifetime is a top reason many men choose to enter all male institutions. A man knowing that he will always have a brother to love and support him may seem strange to some, but is not foreign to men who attend all-male schools. Affection that is usually seen between a female and her girls can easily be seen when walking on the campus of an all-male college.

Take Wabash College, an integrated all-male college in Indiana, for example. Daniel King, the president of Psi Chi (honors psychology club) there, vividly remembers what inspired him to choose Wabash.

“I felt it was the best decision for me after visiting the campus and staying in a fraternity house… It was like one big family!” he said. “Also, when I attended a football game I saw how enthusiastic the student body was, which made me love it even more!”

Morehouse freshman Ronnie Mosley said, “Morehouse is a refinery, whose process educates, inspires, and transforms the essence of who we are,” “It calls us to excellence!”

These words are ones that you would hear come out of any man who has made the decision to go to an all-male college or university. The experience is one that is undoubtedly unforgettable and often molds the men into our future leaders.

Some of the young men come to these schools from broken homes, fatherless lives, or with no male role models. But once they enter the doors of Morehouse, Wabash, or Hampden-Sydney College, they know these absences will be fulfilled by their fellow brothers and staff.

“Making the choice to attend Morehouse, I was well aware of it being an all-male school, yet that didn’t matter to me,” Mosley said. “I overlooked it because I saw it offered more. Now I’ve come to appreciate its exclusiveness to males and count it among its privileges.”

Sierra Stokes

Staff Writer

sstokes6@scmail.spelman.edu