In the wake of Harvard University’s recent decision to designate six hours a week for women-only in a campus gym, students are speaking out with cries of injustice.

The hours were instituted at the request of six Muslim students who said exercising in front of men offends them and is against their religious beliefs of modesty.  Several students, both male and female, have written opinion pieces in the Harvard Crimson calling the policy sexist and inconvenient.
The women-only hours occur three days a week, between 3 and 5 p.m. on Mondays, and between 8 and 10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  While male students may find the exclusion to be inconvenient, the new policy is far from unjust or sexist.
Campus spokesman Robert Mitchell said this gym is the university’s “least used” and is located at the edge of campus.  Harvard has multiple gyms and the new policy only affects one of them.  Male students wishing to exercise during the six hours they are denied use of one gym need only choose a different treadmill to meet their workout needs.
Even though all students pay the same fees to use campus facilities, it is not unreasonable to expect religious accommodations.  Mitchell said the university routinely receives requests from religious groups and tries “to honor them whenever possible.”  In this case, student objections neglect the rights of Muslim students to enjoy the freedom to exercise in a manner consistent with their beliefs.
In a progressive institute of higher learning, it should be expected that students of all beliefs have the right to express themselves in a reasonable manner.  These women were not asking for men to be banned from every gym or even for certain hours each day.
Junior Nick Wells suggested in an opinion column that one room should be designated for women only rather than using the entire facility for several hours.  This argument neglects the fact that female students would still interact with males in the workout environment when entering and exiting, which is part of the complaint.  Under the current policy, even the staff during the designated hours is female only.
Furthermore, limiting Muslim students to one room shows little compassion for an already marginalized segment of society.  In a post-Sept. 11 world, American Muslims have a difficult enough time expressing their faith without fear of offending others.  This policy allows female Muslim students to be part of the university scene without compromising their faith.
Their request was sensitive to other students’ need to exercise, and the policy is minimally disturbing of the campus as a whole.
Since Harvard aspires to attract the best and the brightest from all over the world, it is logical that it would enact policies that meet the needs of all its students.

Reprinted with permission of The Baylor Lariat.