Young Men Dissapearing From College Campuses

An alarming trend has been growing on college campuses. Women are outnumbering men,some estimates are that 60% of undergraduate students are women. This should cause us to ask more than a few questions. First, is this significant, should we care if our young men are not seeking higher education? Second, why are our young men not going to college? Third, what will be the long term significance of this growing trend? Of course there are no easy answers to any of these questions. However, what is clear is that there is a pervasive growing trend across our society where young men are simply not engaging.

Albert Mohler writes insightfully on this subject here, following are highlights from his article:

"Biblical manhood requires that young men grow up, assume adult responsibilities, and prepare for leadership and service in the home, in the church, and in the larger society.

This much is clear -- if this trend is not reversed, the college campus will not be the only place these young men are found missing."

"The numbers point to the problem, but do not explain it. Explanations for the phenomenon of missing young men point to the fact that girls outperform boys at every level in grades K-12, and are thus more ready for the college experience than the boys"

"Christian parents and all concerned with the coming generation should look closely at this phenomenon and ask the hard question -- why is it that so many young men are falling behind in educational attainment? What are we doing that allows or encourages boys to exit formal education at their earliest opportunity? Why do we accept at face value the fact that boys fall behind girls of the same age in maturity and educational level? Why is college now an aspiration for far more young women than young men?

These are hard questions, but the answers will be even harder. We have allowed the development of an elongated boyhood and delayed adulthood. We frustrate them in school and then wonder why they bolt at the first exit from the classroom. We allow boys and young men to forfeit their futures."