The Chronicle

Ashley Meyer
Staff Writer

Beginning this Fall, CLC has given students the opportunity to enroll in three new classes geared toward the new  Gender and Sexuality Studies degree. The classes include: Introduction to Gender Studies (GXS 121), Sex, Gender, and Power (GXS 229), and Special Topics in Gender and Sexuality Studies (GXS 299).

With the new Associate’s Degree available, program advisors have noticed a somewhat equal turnout between men and women in the provided classes.

Although these classes are new to the school, related classes were  previously offered by CLC, which helped administration measure the students’ interest in the new degree. Current classes such as Human Sexuality (SWK 124), Communication and Gender (CMM125), and Philosophy of Gender (PHI 129) all provided staff with an estimate of the number of students interested in the classes and degree.

Although the program might commonly be found in four-year universities, CLC is one of the first community colleges to offer a Gender and Sexuality Studies degree, which proves to be an accomplishment for the community.

“It’s a very inclusive degree because of the interdisciplinary nature of it,”said Department Chair Suzanne Pryga. “Although the new classes are taught primarily from a social science perspective, [it is still possible] to pursue a wide variety of occupational areas.”

Some professions that might result from the degree include work in sociology, criminal justice, and social work.

Contrary to what one may think, Pryga states, “These classes are not only for women, though.”
A first-year male student, LaShawn Hubbard, decided to take the class because he thought it would be interesting.

“It will be useful in interacting with both women and men—hopefully we’ll be able to better understand their traits and phobias,” Hubbard said.

Coming into the class, Hubbard had specific expectations.

“I’m hoping this class covers sex, gender, and power in an international way,” Hubbard said. “I’d like to know the world view,  what’s happening now, [and] what happened in the past,”

Although gender studies are a newly-explored educational path for some students, Pryga said it has become a popular study in today’s major universities sinceits establishment in the 1970s.

In addition to Hubbard, another ambitious first-year studen, Brandi Buie, is also interested in gender studies.
Buie’s decision to pursue a career in Gender and Sexuality Studies was a spontaneous decision. According to Buie, she “stumbled across” the new degree while flipping through the CLC class catalogue and she enrolled from there.

After thinking it through, Buie said, “I hope to pursue a career as a sex therapist or relationship counselor. This class will help me to better understand both male and female thought patterns, emotions, and behaviors, allowing me to be able to give future clients a more well-rounded understanding of what they’re going through together and individually.”

Like other students in her Introduction to Gender Studies class, Buie hopes to gather a better understanding of both men and women, as she hopes she might be able to apply the things she learns in class to everyday situations to see what really works.

With such a high turnout, it seems that the new degree has high hopes in its future. It has been one of the few degrees in the school’s history with such a high enrollment in its first year, and almost all of its corresponding classes are full.