Women in 'Male' Majors

Samantha Couture is only one of three women in her class to be majoring in atmospheric science.

Most atmospheric science classes are male-dominated, according to Couture. There are only ten junior students at LSC working toward this degree, and three are women. She believes that men and women are both pressured to succeed in any major but that in atmospheric science, "It may be a little harder for women to stand out."

Although women have been making strides in the fields of science and math for decades, there is still an inequality of gender. At Lyndon State College, women are still the minority in the atmospheric science field, according to statistics from Heather Ring, associate registrar. There are currently 84 students enrolled in the atmospheric science program at LSC. Of those 84, 20 are female.

Couture added that because her major is challenging, many students (both male and female) choose not to continue in the program. She said that the junior class started with 30 atmospheric science majors, and that number has dropped to ten. "Even now I feel like I am being questioned as to if I am serious about the major."

Amber Hartman is a junior exercise science major with a concentration in pre-professional physical therapy. There are currently 110 students in the program, with 71 males and 39 females.

Hartman feels that although the number of men far outweighs that of women, there is no struggle to compete against the opposite sex. "I feel that all Exercise Science Department students work hard towards what we do and accomplish," Hartman said.

One disadvantage to the major is the lack of female professors, according to Hartman. "It has improved with the addition of Coach Khairallah to our department," she said. "It's nice having a strong woman to look up to."