Glenn Aucoin and Lyndsay Kimball first met in their theatre class one year ago. And, coincidentally, they lived in the same apartment complex. Kimball, a graduating theatre senior, and Aucoin, a theatre sophomore, plans to remain together after each graduates despite their age difference. Kimball wants to move to Chicago or New York City, and Aucoin plans to go with her after he graduates. Aucoin is an example of a majority of men who would rather follow their hearts over anything else. The antiquated standard has been that men focus on their careers while women concentrate on their relationships. A recent study shows men are going against this stereotype. About 51 percent of women and 61.3 percent of men placed the pursuit of a relationship as a higher priority than achieving other goals such as establishing a career or getting an education. The findings suggest that college men and women have strong desires for their goals or their relationships. Catherine Mosher, Duke University Medical Center health psychology intern, and Sharon Danoff-Burg, University of Albany assistant professor, conducted the study. The study involved 237 undergraduate students – 80 men and 157 women – and asked them to rate various goals in order of importance. These included physical fitness, financial stability, homeownership, contributions to society, career and education. Of seven goals, career and education were the top-rated priorities. After each goal was rated, researchers asked students if they would choose a relationship over their goals. The research had limitations. The sample of students was taken from the northeastern part of the United States, and the authors did not assess socioeconomic status, which may greatly influence life priorities. Rita Culross, interim director of Women and Gender Studies, said the split in women’s priorities correlate with college statistics. More than half of college graduates are women. Culross said she thinks the increasing number of female college graduates shows women are more prepared to balance their careers and relationships. Culross said another factor affecting the trend is the rising divorce rate in the United States. It has created a group of individuals, both male and female, who have had to live as single parents and must support their children. Several students were surprised by the results of the study. Jessi Mangun, pre-veterinary sophomore, said she is astounded by the results. Mangun thought women would have placed relationships as their top priority. Colin Ryan, political science sophomore, thinks the split in women’s priorities is a rejection of expectations women have for making relationships their top priority. Mangun and Ryan are in a steady one-year relationship and both place relationships as their highest priority. “It is surprising,” said Bryan Alford, biological engineering senior. “However, I am glad to see that so many men value a good relationship.” Kimball said she isn’t surprised by the results. She knows men who have quit whatever they were doing to keep a relationship and women who wouldn’t change their plans for a man. “It is a good trend when society as a whole, regardless of their gender, thinks about both their work and relationship roles,” Culross said. “People are better balanced when they have both components in their lives and when they are able to choose what it is they want to do and not feel forced to do one or the other.”
—-Contact J.J. Alcantara at [email protected]