This is a really interesting article having just finished training on Title IX and other discrimination/harrassment policies. 

On one hand the student's refusal to work with female students potentially creates a hostile environment for those students; on the other hand, does forcing participation violate the student's right to religious freedom? I would assume that when a student enrolls in a coeducational college or university, they are inherently agreeing to work with students of all genders however I don't know if this is a binding/legal policy.

Thanks for posting!
Nadia
 
Nadia M. Anderson
Assistant Professor, Architecture
Co-Director, ISU Community Design Lab
Iowa State University
515-294-0339
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From: Jim Sibley <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: Jim Sibley <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thursday, January 9, 2014 9:10 AM
To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: Student refuses to meet with females

Hi

There needs to be an institution response to this

We had something similar when turn it in came to town....and a few students refused to play along

Our institutional response was that is your right...BUT we use turn it in....if you want a degree from our institution....you need to as well....or go find another school

Jim

Sent from my iPad

On Jan 9, 2014, at 5:37 AM, Lion Gardiner <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Good Morning, Colleagues,

As you may have noted in this morning's Inside Higher Ed, the Globe and Mail reports that a male student protested having to meet with a learning group containing females in a course he was taking.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/religious-accommodation-or-accessory-to-sexism-york-students-case-stirs-debate/article16246401/

Suppose you had such a student, male or female, who was a regular, full-time on-campus student, in your TBL course, but refused to meet with peers of the other gender. How would you handle this? How would your institution react to this potentially legally fraught situation? What are the implications for a TBL course as a whole of granting this kind of request? Would the situation be any different for objections to meeting with gays? transsexual students? members of other ethnicities?

Lion Gardiner
-- 
Lion F. Gardiner, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, Zoology
Rutgers University
212.226.2749
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