Fewer Men Graduate College: Obama says it's a "Great Accomplishment."

A reader (thanks!) sent me a link to the CNS News article on fewer men graduating from college than women:

In an op-ed published Saturday in Newsweek, President Barack Obama marked the 40th anniversary of the enactment of Title IX–which bars gender discrimination in education—and noted that more women in the United States are now graduating from college than men, which he characterized as “a great accomplishment” for the nation.

“In fact, more women as a whole now graduate from college than men,” Obama wrote. “This is a great accomplishment—not just for one sport or one college or even just for women but for America. And this is what Title IX is all about.”

According to the Census Bureau, 685,000 men and 916,000 women graduated from college in 2009 (the latest year for which statistics have been published). That means 25 percent fewer men received college degrees than women.

The article notes that in 1975 before Title IX was implemented, there were 17% fewer women graduating from college than men. Commenter Mark Simmons points out the obvious:

So if a 17% deficit was a catastrophe requiring federal intervention, what are we to conclude when that same federal intervention has created a 25% level of inequality?

Now, Obama says it’s an accomplishment that men don’t go to college now that he and his ilk have made it an inhospitable place for men. Men are bailing out of college and going elsewhere. But the hostility towards men (what’s left of them) still exists. We must fight to change this.