I see where Georgia State University with 28,000 students is finally going to field a football team in 2010. It's about a year too late for either one of my kids. They both looked elsewhere because of the lack of student involvement at Georgia State. The GSU president, Carl Patton, agrees:
"We quickly received pledges of more than $1 million to support the new program. Our students said the addition of football would make Georgia State a "real university." And, we're located in the heart of the South where baby clothes and coffins come emblazoned with team mascots."
What the president doesn't say is that over 60% of his student body is female. For females this isn't too big of a deal (except there is more competition for eligible college educated males) but to males it's a big deal:
"College matters because workers with bachelor's degrees earn salaries that average 62% higher than full-time employees with only high school diplomas. More important, in a global economy a bachelor's degree just gets you to the starting gate. The blue-collar jobs that once supported families are drying up, affecting males more than females. So if a focused effort isn't made to address boys' needs, as was done successfully a generation ago for girls, many boys' futures will be grim, and the nation's ability to compete will slide."
This gender gap isn't confined to Georgia State by any means. Most state colleges have gender gaps where women are 60% or more of the student body. So by all means start a football team to interest the guys. Too late for my kids, though, who both took a sniff at Georgia State but both said they wanted a football atmosphere and the relationships cheering for a team can build.
Anyway, in 2010, Go Panthers!
