Saudi men and women learn separately at Virginia Tech
Roanoke Times:
At first glance, Virginia Tech's decision to provide sex-segregated faculty development classes for 60 visiting Saudi academics is disturbing. It improves only slightly under closer scrutiny.
Tech's rationale -- these settings are the teaching norm at home, and the university wanted to respect their culture "rather than impress our culture on them" -- suggests a benign accommodation to the Saudis' ultraconservative Muslim society. Outside the classroom, it is presumed, they will still be exposed to the freedom and equality that are mainstays of American academia.
Yet such segregation still rankles -- as an affront to U.S. law and ideals, as a capitulation to Saudi Arabia's oppression of women, as a Saudi failure to reciprocate American academics' efforts to honor local customs when abroad and as a missed opportunity.
The Saudis are shunning classroom experience with practices integral to the university's success, to the society in which it thrives and to the discovery of the advanced knowledge they seek to acquire: openness, adaptability and sexual, racial and religious equality.
Saudi men, women learn separately in courses at Virginia Tech
Tech Tit for Tat?
Where's the ACLU When You Need Them
posted by Adam Lawson @ 3:43 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
"disturbing"
Not to me: it seems logical that once VTU decided to host the Saudis, a decision that was probably more financial than anything else, it's only reasonable that they'd also try to accommodate them in this way. The time to question this sort of thing is before agreeing to their presence -- so that the whole thing can be evaluated as a package.
"cheap and cowardly"
Hardly. In this circumstance, i.e. presumably a temporary one, it seems more respectful and practical. (In fact, it might end up being 'expensive' to VTU if they were to refuse to do this.)
By the way, how do the people involved feel about it? For example, the female Saudi students? You might be surprised to know that there are, indeed, observant muslim women who do not object at all to covering themselves, or to such a separation. In fact, exactly the opposite: it is a part of their religion, and they embrace it. In this circumstance, i.e. their hiatus at VTU, do you really want to force them to live under your cultural model?
Look, I think you are a little OTT on this. Like I said, if VTU is going to enter into this sort of venture, and I imagine this arrangement can be described as a venture, i.e. a special arrangement to train these Saudis, then it is only reasonable they would also agree to something like this. Which like I suggested no doubt is in accordance with the wishes of the Saudis, including the women (a big majority of them, anyway).
What should be a concern is installed multiculturalism at a national level and on a permanent basis, which threatens national cohesion. This is what I do not want to see: importation of a large number of muslims to form yet another identifiable
'minority' within the US. But this situation at VTU has nothing to do with that.
In fact I have no problem with Saudi/muslim culture -- they can organize their societies and live their lives as they choose; I'm not interested in changing them, or forcing them to live like we do. Just don't bring all of that permanently to the US via immigration.
The August 10 "Roanoke (VA) Times" says that a VT professor (Eloise Coupey) has filed a complaint with VT's OEO against VT for holding separate classes. VT noted that this separation by sex was not in keeping with VT's policies and procedures and wouldn't happen again.
It also noted that the Saudi faculty (that is, the students being taught at VT) preferred it that way.
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