CalTech Sees Record Numbers in Women's Matriculation
Forty-two percent of the incoming class at the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) will be women, marking an all-time high since women were first admitted in 1970. Though more women than men are enrolling in college, schools that specialize in science, technology, and engineering have higher percentages of men in their student bodies.
At CalTech, 87 of the 206 first-year students are women. Thirty-seven years ago, when women were first admitted, they comprised 14 percent of the first-year students. Six years ago, that number grew to 36 percent, but then fell to as low as 28.5 percent last year.
The school says that the numbers have not been growing as a result of lower admission standards or affirmative action, but because of CalTech's active recruitment of women. "The more women we have on this campus, the better it is for everybody," CalTech Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Erica O'Neal told the Los Angeles Times. "It is better for women to not feel so isolated." In addition to advancing women in the field, the school also aims to achieve a better gender balance for students' "emotional learning," the Los Angeles Times reports.
Media Resources: Los Angeles Times 8/6/07; AP 8/6/07; Chronicle of Higher Education 8/6/07
5/22/2013 Immigration Reform Bill Advances In Senate - Last night, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a sweeping immigration reform bill in a bipartisan vote of 13 to 5. . . .
5/22/2013 Afghan Women Arrested for 'Moral Crimes' Increases 50% - A new report by the Human Rights Watch shows that in the past 18 months the number of women in Afghanistan incarcerated for 'moral crimes' has increased from 400 to 600, a 50% growth.
Many of the women imprisoned for moral crimes were arrested running away from forced or abusive marriages and families, even though there is no law against leaving. . . .
5/22/2013 Army Commander Suspended for Adultery Amid Wave of Sexual Assaults - On Tuesday, Brigadier General Bryan T Roberts was suspended from his position as commander of the Fort Jackson, South Carolina training camp which trains approximately 60% of incoming female recruits pending an investigation into allegations of adultery.
Roberts was suspended following allegations of "adultery and a physical altercation." Colonel Christian Kubik, an Army spokesperson for the Training and Doctrine Command, told reporters "We don't have any evidence of any sexual assault. . . .
