1/9/2018 Women's and Gender Studies should be included in GenEd program | Opinion | breezejmu.

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http://www.breezejmu.org/opinion/women-s-and-gender-studies-should-be-included-in-gened/article_8d6b783c-ec39-11e4-8302-a739a6399600.html

Women's and Gender Studies should be included in GenEd program

Megan O'Neill | guest columnist Apr 26, 2015

Imagine starting JMU in a class full of material on diversity and an open discussion about real-life issues. Now imagine that this is happening in a
university mandated general education course.

Students of Women’s and Gender Studies 400 — Issues and Research in Women’s Studies — are working to reshape and reform campus
understanding of what feminism is. Through their social media campaign, Dukes for Feminism, they hope to debunk myths about feminism and
raise awareness about what the movement actually is, but also to broaden education by getting JMU to o er Introduction to Women’s and
Gender Studies (WGS 200) as an additional course in cluster ve of the general education program.

Feminism, which isn’t typically covered in schools prior to college, is a movement often misunderstood due to lack of education. Schools are
happy to cover topics like history, government, economics and so on, but seem simultaneously willing to gloss over social and gender inequality,
an issue that’s still prevalent and pervasive.

The GenEd program provides incoming freshmen with their rst glimpse at JMU’s broad range of majors and classes. It’s a vital component to a
JMU education, as well as one that creates a space for exploring the experiences of all students through diverse perspectives, topics and issues.
Adding WGS 200 would o er the student body a place to learn about women’s and gender issues in a comprehensive and safe space, free from
judgment.

I’m a second semester senior, graduating in less than two weeks, but it was only this current semester that I was able to sign up for and take WGS
200. I’ve considered myself a feminist for the past three or four years, but because WGS 200 only counts for the minor or elective credit, I didn’t
bother to take it until now. Even though I’ve used the feminist label for so long, I’m still learning new things about social justice and diversity
issues. If WGS 200 had been a GenEd course, I could’ve learned all of these things years ago.

We want WGS 200 to become a GenEd course so each student has the opportunity that wasn’t a orded to me until recently. Learning about
issues of social and gender inequality is essential for understanding the world we enter after leaving our small JMU bubble. If we go out into
society without this vital knowledge, we’ll continue allowing the ignorance that surrounds our global culture to persist.

Megan O’Neill is a senior English major. Contact Megan at oneillmr@dukes.jmu.edu.

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