Here's a blurb from Slate magazine's The Week/The Spin column (dated 2-26-99, though I found it on 2-28):

Radical feminist scholar Mary Daly refused to let two male students enroll in her Boston College introductory course on feminist ethics. She says 1) she has offered to teach male students separately, but having them in a class with women would dampen debate among the women; and 2) one of the male students was a conservative who was just trying to score a political point. The college administration, citing gender equality law, told Daly to admit the male students or stop teaching. Daly is taking a leave of absence in the hope that the dispute will blow over. She accuses the college of "caving in to right-wing pressure and depriving me of my right to teach freely and depriving [female students] of the opportunity to study with me." (2/26/99)

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I suppose democracy is incompatible with feminism in Democrassachussetts. Ms. Daly (I don't know what her title is, nor do I care) apparently doesn't give a fig about that little thing called equal opportunity when it is applied against her. As long as that phrase is used to increase women's rights, it is fine with her. But the second someone else starts to demand equality for themselves, there's suddenly a double standard.

Here is a step by step refutation of everything this extremist has said:

1) "She has offered to teach male students separately": Does anyone remember the phrase 'separate but equal', and how it is not an acceptable concept in dealing with equality? You should read some Supreme Court decisions, Ms. Daly. These male students are not Iranian terrorists who want to blow you up for teaching Salmon Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses", but even if they were and they were also American citizens, they would be entitled to sit in the front row.

When I was in college, I never saw a class whose prerequisites could exclude any student based on anything other than a lack of previously, successfully-completed class experience. I had not once in my time in the institutions of higher education in America seen anything similar, until today.

2) "[H]aving them in a class with women would dampen debate among the women": To begin with, aren't men's views on the particular subject matter of Daly's course an important issue? Why should young men be excluded from presenting their points of view on feminism and feminist ethics? Their views are equally as valid as those of any of the women who are already enrolled in Daly's class.

I don't care if those male students are a mix of P.T. Barnum and Newt Gingrich; they have *every* right to take this class if they so desire. Perhaps Ms. Daly has the 'Mars/Venus' complex and doesn't want to give away too many feminist secrets to us evil men (not evil by choice, according to her apparent belief, but by nature).

Finally, there's the issue of a teacher being able to control her students. This experienced adult is suddenly so afraid of *two* much younger students that she must exclude them? If she can't maintain decorum in her own classroom, perhaps she should turn to research, where she can do something valuable for society and not waste time in pursuit of a profession she is not suited to.

3) 'She accuses the college of "caving in to right-wing pressure"': So defending the Constitution and individual rights are 'right-wing'? Thank you for the compliment! I guess this means that extremist, blaring, liberal feminists are threats to the national security. There's that Hillary buzzword again...a conspiracy for every pot!

4) "...depriving me of my right to teach freely and depriving [female students] of the opportunity to study with me." You have every right to teach freely, under the aegis of what the faculty of your university finds acceptable. This does *not* indicate that you have the right to teach anything you want in any way you want, believe it or not! If you want to espouse unpopular views, you can do so on your own time; do not expect your faculty to support you.

Ahhh, how the spin cycle continues! Now these male students are supposedly causing some women not to enroll in the class. It seems to me that the decision to enroll in the class is up to the individual student; if these women students do not want to enroll, they have no one to blame but themselves. The male students are depriving no one of anything; the men are the ones that Daly is trying to discriminate against, of whose rights *she* is trying to deprive!

Daly's tirade is classic kneejerk liberalism. Attack those who have different points of view than you do, and spew out all kinds of untrue propaganda to support your fallacious point of view. And trample on the Constitution as often as possible.

I am laughing at you now, Ms. Daly, just as most of your own colleagues at Boston College probably are.

-The Watcher (Militant feminism will work about as well as militant racism has, namely not at all. Why don't you go burn your beret, Ms. Daly?)