SABRINA NORRIS-TURIN: This rule does not 'work out'
Issue date: 3/20/08 Section: State of Mind
People in the United States are proud to live in a cultural "melting pot."
Our country is supposedly one in which all religious and ethnic groups are fully respected and represented.
This is a great concept, and in general, creates a better nation. However, occasionally people manipulate this concept and fail to become part of the bigger stew in the pot.
Recently, a group of six Muslim women managed to convince Harvard University to create women's-only hours in the on-campus gym so they could work out comfortably.
Women of the Muslim religion always wear the traditional Hijab, a veil that covers their hair and neck. However, this garb makes it impossible to work out.
Because they cannot be seen in front of men without the Hijab, they cannot exercise in front of them.
So Harvard has fixed this "problem" by banning men from the gym during specified hours.
Now men aren't allowed in the gym for 6 hours every week, Mondays between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. until 10 a.m.
This is wrong.
America can hardly be called a "melting pot" if its citizens aren't "melting" into the culture.
Immigrants of every color and religion come to the United States to find what they're searching for, and they are expected to adapt to U.S. laws as well as learn the country's customs. This is why we spend millions of dollars on programs to teach children English.
Whether or not these Muslim girls were first-generation immigrants, at some point their families immigrated from their home countries, which in effect is like signing a contract to integrate into American life.
A Harvard student defended the new law by saying that "the women-only hours are of minimal inconvenience because they are just six out of the 70 hours a week the gym is open," according to USA Today.
True, the law doesn't cause major problems for students because it only blocks six hours, but it's the principle behind the new law that angers Harvard students.
Our country is supposedly one in which all religious and ethnic groups are fully respected and represented.
This is a great concept, and in general, creates a better nation. However, occasionally people manipulate this concept and fail to become part of the bigger stew in the pot.
Recently, a group of six Muslim women managed to convince Harvard University to create women's-only hours in the on-campus gym so they could work out comfortably.
Women of the Muslim religion always wear the traditional Hijab, a veil that covers their hair and neck. However, this garb makes it impossible to work out.
Because they cannot be seen in front of men without the Hijab, they cannot exercise in front of them.
So Harvard has fixed this "problem" by banning men from the gym during specified hours.
Now men aren't allowed in the gym for 6 hours every week, Mondays between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., and Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 a.m. until 10 a.m.
This is wrong.
America can hardly be called a "melting pot" if its citizens aren't "melting" into the culture.
Immigrants of every color and religion come to the United States to find what they're searching for, and they are expected to adapt to U.S. laws as well as learn the country's customs. This is why we spend millions of dollars on programs to teach children English.
Whether or not these Muslim girls were first-generation immigrants, at some point their families immigrated from their home countries, which in effect is like signing a contract to integrate into American life.
A Harvard student defended the new law by saying that "the women-only hours are of minimal inconvenience because they are just six out of the 70 hours a week the gym is open," according to USA Today.
True, the law doesn't cause major problems for students because it only blocks six hours, but it's the principle behind the new law that angers Harvard students.
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 5
Jon Miranda
posted 3/20/08 @ 6:30 AM PST
When women are excluded, it's sexism. When men are excluded, it's defended.
Erin
posted 3/20/08 @ 1:00 PM PST
This article really upsets me. It seems ethnocentric and uncompromising in the extreme. First of all, Sabrina, you may not be first-generation, but unless you're a Native American, at some point your family came here and tacitly signed a contract that you integrate into the American system--which was founded on religious tolerance, incidentally. (Continued…)
Umm Yasmin
posted 3/23/08 @ 11:03 PM PST
Why do you assume that they are foreign women? There are plenty of American-born Muslim women who wish to workout without having men looking at their bodies. (Continued…)
Juliette Beaulieu
posted 4/14/08 @ 4:29 PM PST
(Found this article via UWIRE)
Sure, people who come to the U.S. should assimilate in many ways. But the U.S. does have a little constitutional requirement that no one be discriminated against because of his or her religion. (Continued…)
Concerned Citizen
posted 4/22/08 @ 2:11 PM PST
Sometimes, no, most of the time I wonder about your sanity Sabrina. Do you realize the blatant misconceptions you endlessly perpetuate with your columns?
I wish SDSU's gym had female-only hours; maybe then some girls would go to the gym. (Continued…)
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