NB men rally to impress girls by rallying to save Mount A’s women and gender studies program

Sackville — Men all over New Brunswick have been decrying Mount Allison University’s recent decision to quash its popular women and gender studies program.

“I can’t believe they would shut down such an important program,” said Sackville man James Keating, 25, while looking around to make sure several women were overhearing his comments. “As a feminist, this is an outrage for me! Maybe Mount A should allocate a little less money for men’s football and basketball, and a little more for women’s rights. This is 2016!”

Others like Keating have taken to social media to express their rage.

“It’s a sad day for women everywhere, but especially those at Mount A,” posted Greg Hart, 21, on Facebook. “But we’re not going down without a fight! — feeling disheartened.” Hart admitted he was pleased to see that 47 girls ‘liked’ his status, 7 commented on it congratulating him for his empathy, and 3 even shared it.

On Twitter, using the hashtag #WGSTcuts, Josh Driscoll tweeted: “How can WGST be cut with zero consultation? Is $0 funding fair? Think again, Mount A.” Driscoll said he didn’t know Mount A had a women and gender studies program until he saw the CBC story, but now that he knows, he’s going to fight tooth and nail to save it. “Did I know the program existed? No,” he said. “Does that mean I care any less about saving it? Of course not!”

Driscoll added that he is single and actively looking, and he hopes women take note of his passion for gender equality. “I even updated the ‘about’ section of my Tinder profile about it. I think I’ll be getting a lot more matches.”

Mount A student Andrew Ferguson shared a sarcastic BuzzFeed article this morning that mocked the small university’s out-of-whack priorities. “This field of study is now more relevant than ever, with scandals and stories of abuse like with Cosby and Ghomeshi,” he wrote. Ferguson, who lives on campus, told our reporter that should any women affected by the loss of the program wish to talk, he’s there to help. “My door is always open,” he said sincerely. “Unless there’s a sock on the handle — that means I’ve already got company.”

Fredericton man Brent Fox, 31, went so far as to start a Change.org petition to save the program, and he said he has been overwhelmed by the sheer number of signatures. “I just ask that the girls who sign it add their phone number too,” said Fox. “That way I can, you know… follow up with them.”