Letter to the Editor: Gender pay gap!
I remember this day vividly. It was early
April, the semester was just winding down
and students were hustling through the hallways
faster than usual. I was on my way to
my economics class when I walked by the
bookstore and to my dismay, I noticed that
there was a booth offering information regarding
the gender pay gap. I, along with
many of my peers, am under the belief that
the gender pay gap is largely overstated
and most pay differences between men and
women can be chalked up to women taking
more time off then men, choosing less risky
professions and choosing to stay at home
with their children more often then men.
However, I digress. The point of this letter
is not to argue what I, as well as many other
men and women of all backgrounds and
walks of life think about the gender pay gap.
The point is that neither our school, nor our
student union (both of which are funded almost
entirely through tuition and taxpayers)
should be taking sides on major, controversial
social issues of our time. Our school is
not an advocacy group, nor is the student
union. Their primary function is to assist
students in achieving a fulfilling educational
experience. I fail to see how advocating for
a far-left social movement within our school
achieves those functions. Let’s put the shoe
on the other foot here. Let’s just say someone
at the Student Union was Pro-Life and advocated
for the criminalization of abortion.
Let’s say this person decided to have the
FSU, as well as the school sponsor a booth
intended to spread this person’s opinions on
abortion. Would there be outrage? Would
students be shouting and screaming for
the school to apologize and to refrain from
spending their tuition dollars promoting
ideas that they disagree with? You bet they
would. But somehow, when it is an opinion
that is mainstream, an opinion that makes
people feel virtuous and is widely accepted
by young people and in popular culture, it’s
somehow okay..? Why? Why is it okay for
our school to publicly take a side on major
social issues of our time? Why should my tuition
dollars be spent promoting these opinions
without my consent? Again, our school
is not an advocacy group. Regardless of what
you think of the gender pay gap, or any other
social issue for that matter, we should all
agree that our college, as well as our student
union, should remain neutral when it comes
to controversial social and political issues.
Our students shouldn’t be force-fed a particular
narrative and they certainly should not
be forced to fund things that go against their
values and world-views.
Christopher Colby
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
Christopher Colby
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.