Dissent at Wabash: Thoughts on Barreto’s Departure
When a person visits the web site of Professor Humberto Barreto, the first thing that they will see is not links to current work, a biography, or a curriculum vitae. Yes, these are on Professor Barreto’s website. But the first thing that a person will see is the following quotation at the top of the page:
“While I work at Wabash College, I most emphatically do NOT support single sex education. I believe Wabash College should offer its excellent educational opportunities to women as well as men. I hope that one day soon Wabash College will end its policy of gender discrimination in admission.”
Just a few weeks ago, Professor Barreto, who holds the title of DeVore Professor of Economics, announced at his Chapel Talk that he would be leaving Wabash College at the end of this academic year. He stated that he has long struggled with the fact that Wabash, as he puts it, discriminates against women in admissions.
Before delving into Professor Barreto’s positions, it is important to first provide some background information on Professor Barreto. He received his Bachelor of Arts from New College in 1981 and his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1985. He is distinguished as both a teacher of economics and a scholar of economics, having won numerous awards including two Lilly awards and a Fulbright, among others. He is also the author of The Entrepreneur in Microeconomic Theory: Disappearance and Explanation and is the co-author, with Professor Frank M. Howland, of Introductory Econometrics. He has also directed the summer “Opportunities for Learning About Business” program at Wabash since 1993.
Dr. Barreto announces that he will leave Wabash
At the heart of Professor Barreto’s Chapel Talk was his experience as a child of hearing Jose Feliciano’s rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner,” a different rendition that had never before been heard and one that outraged many Americans. Professor Barreto also played the Spanish version of “The Star Spangled Banner,” a version that has also been mired in controversy. The professor stated that he has always liked difference, that he has always enjoyed being non-conformist. And, in his view, “The Star Spangled Banner” being played in different languages and in different ways is good. It’s healthy for society. It allows us to include others in the great culture of the United States of America who might not otherwise be able to understand this country’s greatness. I agree with the professor in this regard. The greatness of America should not be something that is understood only by English-speaking, white people. It should be understood by all. And if that understanding is arrived at through different ways, such as playing the national anthem in Spanish, then I am all right with that. In fact, I respect those people who do such things. Those who don’t understand conservatism or conservatives might think it odd to be hearing a conservative such as myself advocating for the inclusion of other cultures, peoples, and ways of doing things in American society. But these are my beliefs, and I am not embarrassed by them in the least.
One might be wondering how all of this has anything to do with what we are doing here at Wabash College. And though it might seem strange, the example of the national anthem being sung in Spanish was a perfect segue into Professor Barreto’s announcement that he was leaving Wabash at the end of this year. He stated that, at first, it might seem like a good idea to replace him with a professor who is on board with the mission of Wabash as a liberal arts college for men. But, the professor stated that he thought that that was “dead wrong.” He stated that he thought that that was “like always singing the national anthem the same way.” He further emphasized the importance of people who challenge you and your beliefs and the importance of people who think differently and are not afraid to tell you that they think differently. And though I strongly disagree with Professor Barreto’s assertion that Wabash discriminates on the basis of gender in admissions, which will be discussed later, it is very difficult to argue against the importance of dissent and fostering opposing viewpoints in a community and in the greater world.
But to assert that here at Wabash College we do not foster dissenting viewpoints, I think, is, as Professor Barreto put it, “dead wrong.” Wabash men dissent. It is in our nature. We can question things about our college. We, especially at The Phoenix, do this on a regular basis. It is no secret that many of the faculty here at Wabash hold very different views on the state of our college than the students and alumni. And Professor Barreto has long been open, as seen from the quotation on his website, that he is opposed to the mission of Wabash as a college for men. These views have not affected his teaching or the job he does at Wabash. So, it seems odd to me that someone who advocates and emphasizes the importance of dissent from majority would simply leave a place where he, himself is one of the most vocal of dissenters.
It is also important to examine Professor Barreto’s views on why he believes that Wabash’s all-male policy is wrong. Professor Barreto declined an interview on this subject, citing a fractious relationship with a past conservative publication and saying that he was ready to move on past this issue. But Professor Barreto’s 2002 paper entitled “An Albatross Around Our Necks” outlines his views on single-sex education. In the paper, the professor describes single-sex education at Wabash as being “an insurmountable barrier” that will prevent the College “from assuming a position of leadership among liberal arts colleges.” He further states that the Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts will be stigmatized due to its relation with the all-male Wabash College. He writes that Wabash College, if it stays all-male, “may even claim to hold a leadership role, and with enough public relations and advertising convince a few that it is innovative, but no amount of marketing will mask the real truth that an all-male Wabash College is merely a reminder of a happily bygone era when women were denied access to education.”
To presume that a single-sex college cannot be a leader in education is a misguided presumption. Several all-female liberal arts colleges such as Wellesley College and Smith College have been able to maintain or even enhance their prestige all the while continuing to remain all-female even in the twenty-first century. Is that because there is a double standard? To be blunt, why is it okay for there to be all-female colleges, but not all-male colleges? In an era in which young men are falling behind young women in education, we should be doing everything we can to ensure that young men get quality education. We are living in a time that some are even suggesting affirmative action for men. In effect, this would give men a leg up in the admissions process for men over women at coeducational colleges and universities. It is becoming apparent that we need to do more things to educate young men effectively. As a high school senior, I remember hearing Wabash College President Andrew T. Ford state at a Top 10 Visit Day that “the pendulum has swung too far” in higher education. It used to be that women were extremely disadvantaged in higher education, and men had the advantage. But evidence now shows that young men are increasingly disadvantaged in higher education, and women have the advantage. For 175 years, Wabash College has educated young men to think critically, act responsibly, lead effectively, and live humanely. Our history is not perfect. But, on the whole, the College has done an excellent job educating young men, men who have gone on to be industry leaders, active in their communities, and good husbands, fathers, and grandfathers. So, in a time when women have plenty of opportunities to go to other colleges and universities, and especially at a time in which men are falling behind women in terms of education, it would be wrong to admit women at Wabash, and it would be wrong to do so simply because it is the politically correct thing to do.
It is important to make clear that I respect Professor Barreto and his views. I agree with him on the importance of dissent from majority. I even agree with him that it is okay, and, I think, patriotic, to play our national anthem in different ways and in different languages. But I, like many of my brothers at Wabash College, disagree strongly with his allegation that Wabash discriminates against women in admissions. Professor Barreto makes a valid point that Wabash should foster all points of view, even those that disagree with all-male character of our college. But I find it odd that someone who advocates so strongly about the importance of dissent from majority would leave a community in which he is one of the strongest and most vocal dissenters. But regardless of my disagreement with Professor Barreto’s views on the mission of the College as a liberal arts college for men, I believe that we at Wabash truly have lost a respected scholar and an effective teacher. Bueño suerte, profesor.
Related posts:
