RUS Should Permit Men to Vote

The time has come for the Radcliffe Union of Students (RUS) to stop discriminating against men.

Last week, a group of students called for the admission of men as voting members of RUS. Currently, men are free to attend the meetings but cannot vote.

It is shocking that a group that ostensibly stands for breaking down barriers of gender bias is currently maintaining this one. This past week's proposals offer RUS the chance to right that wrong.

RUS can only gain by going co-ed. Male suffrage in RUS would dovetail nicely with the group's stated aims of strengthening Radcliffe's role as a major center for research on and by women. Men who are interested in women's issues would attend and contribute to meetings, potentially creating useful dialogue.

Currently, all women undergraduates are charged $5 on their term bills for their RUS membership. Men do not directly contribute to RUS' coffers.

We suggest that men who wish to vote in RUS be allowed to do so, conditional on their contributing the $5 fee.

The opposition to male suffrage in RUS is instructive of just how much work there is to be done if we are ever to achieve a gender-equal society. But the fact that the task is daunting should not stop us from taking up the challenge.

If RUS is to maintain its status and relevance in the 1990s, then it must adapt its methods to changing times. Male suffrage is a crucial first step.