How far is too far for political correctness? We think we’ve found a case that has taken it to the extreme at Harvard University.
University officials decided to ban men from an on-campus gym for six hours a week to accommodate a request from six Muslim women. The women said they could not exercise comfortably with men around them for cultural reasons.
With the support of the women’s center on campus, they convinced university officials to block out the gym for them from 3-5 p.m. on Mondays and 8-10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Imagine such a policy at our own Dedman Center.
The policy went into effect Feb. 4 and is starting to gain national attention after an uproar on campus. Editorials and op-ed submissions in The Harvard Crimson blasted the policy – and with good reason.
Catering to the needs of six people at the expense of the rest of the campus is ridiculous.
Student fees pay for the upkeep and operations of the student rec center. To restrict access for a small group is inherently unfair to the large majority of students.
Using this mindset in other requests would create chaos at Harvard or on any other campus across the nation.
University officials are defending the measure, saying it’s only being tested until the end of the spring semester. But that is too long for such a restrictive policy.
They also say that religious accommodations are made all the time for other groups. But there is a difference between allowing a group prayer meeting in an on-campus building and shutting down a facility for the use of a small group.
Frankly, there is a better way to accommodate the needs of the Muslim women without cutting off access to the rest of the student body.
How about creating an area of the gym where they can work out whenever they want? It would be a dedicated space that could have mats, a treadmill or two, and exercise bikes.
The space wouldn’t have to be huge, but it could be separate from the main area of the gym. That would allow for the cultural needs of these women to be met.
It would also open the gym back up for the rest of the students at Harvard.
It’s a common sense solution to this problem that we think all sides would agree with.
