In his recent article, Odyssey author Jimmy Egan wrote about his experience as a first-year man at Chatham. The article, entitled "Equality and Diversity Is What Makes Us All Cougars," confronts the Chatham women who wrote of their sorrow regarding the university's decision to go co-ed.

As a senior-year woman at Chatham, whose brilliant professors taught me everything I know about social justice, I could hardly slug through a sentence of Egan's article without tripping over the many huge, glaring problems. Here, I respond to Jimmy Egan point by point.

Jimmy wrote, "[The women's] articles state that the men here are asking for special treatment, however, I cannot name one man here who believes he is above anyone or deserves more than others."

Of course you can't. You don't have to acknowledge your privilege to benefit from it. Patriarchy subtly conditions all genders to value men over women, which leads to the internalization of such values. That's why inequality between genders still occurs so frequently in daily life.

(Note: A fantastic film called Miss Representation expounds on this point by outlining how women and men are treated, evaluated, and represented in the government and the media.)

"Another argument is that the men here are held up on 'pedestals' but none of us know what pedestal that is."

That's exactly why I'm writing this article. Because men like Jimmy Egan don't understand what the pedestal is. So here it is: The pedestal is the privilege that accompanies being cis male. You are automatically granted access to social realms to which trans people and women are not. You are far more likely than women and trans people to be respected and taken seriously. Unlike all other genders, there are many, many safe spaces for you.

And here's the thing about privilege. No one is asking you to grovel. No one is saying you should hate yourself for being cis male. We want you to look at your privilege, to admit it's there. Acknowledging privilege is the first step to becoming a true ally to every social justice movement.

"There have been instances where women proclaim to have gotten 'cat-called' by the Rea House. However, coeducational schools always have stares and whistles coming from both sides of men and women [...] in other words, it is inevitable."

There is so, so much wrong with this. First of all, why is "cat-called" in quotes? I certainly hope that you're not dismissing these women's experiences. Next, I'm going to have to blatantly refute your claim that cat-calling occurs on "both sides of men and women." What nonsense. The number of men who cat-call women drastically, even comically, outweighs the number of women who cat-call men. Finally, as for the inevitability of cat-calling, all I can say is this: Where would women's rights be today if all women throughout history thought that way? By your rationale, inequality is inevitable, so why even try?

"All we are asking for is a, “Hello, how are you?” and a response such as, “I’m doing well, how are you?”

Women do not owe you their time. I don't generally greet strangers I pass while walking from building to building, so I'm not going to greet you. (Psst: It's this, Jimmy! This right here! This is what we mean by "special treatment," and this is your pedestal!)

So, basically, nice try kid, but no. Just...no. You are exactly the reason so many women at Chatham are struggling with the university's transition to co-ed. Stop making it about you. No one is pissed that you are on campus. We Chatham women are mourning the beloved community and tradition we knew so well. We are afraid that the legacy of generations of Chatham women will be forgotten, drowned out by your "pioneering." And we are upset about the huge suitcases of unacknowledged privilege you and many other men moved into your dorm with you.

Welcome to Chatham, where you are going to unpack those suitcases, whether you like it or not.