Mostly Rolla Princess Syndrome is a joke. However, when you go to a school that has four guys for every girl, you are constantly reminded that in a STEM focused environment and girls are the minority. In my opinion, there are insecurities and entitlements that contribute to the ugly side of the Rolla ratio that are created by both guys and girls. Missouri S&T has a lot of potential to change the STEM field and it isn't just about the education we offer.

I recently witnessed a Missouri S&T student trying to explain to someone what exactly Rolla Princess Syndrome means. The Missouri S&T student described Rolla Princess syndrome as "when a girl that is a 6 at other schools thinks she is a ten in Rolla and can do whatever she wants." Ok, the idea that there is actually a university wide scale for women's looks is ridiculous and even more ridiculous is the idea that because it is a engineering and science dominated university the girls can't be attractive. Same thing goes for guys. It's such a old school idea that nerds have buck teeth and pocket protectors. Rolla has such a huge variety of people. Why are we capitalizing on this idea that smart people can't be attractive or like art or writing?

The sad thing is this isn't the only way the name Rolla Princess effects the Rolla community. When you are surrounded by guys, I find some Rolla girls suddenly find themselves only finding value in that they are women. Like the belief that if a guy talks to you, he is flirting with you. If a guy asks you to study with him, you have to tell him you have a boyfriend. Most of all, if a guy is flirting with us, you should assume they are just interested in you because you have boobs and may be the only girl they have seen in five minutes. I have seen girls value themselves in this way, granted sometimes it is phrased as a joke, but there still is this general stereotype that guys are settling for women on this campus because there aren't many of them and that means some girls don't even believe that they should be admired for their intelligence.

The worst parts of Rolla Princess syndrome isn't about insecurities that have to do with looks, but it does have to do with the environment we have at Missouri S&T. It is the idea that everything that someone says to a women in a STEM field should be taken with a grain of salt. The mindset that if a guy asks you if you want help, it is a attack on you as a engineer or science major. From the outside, this seems like old news but there is something about Rolla that brings out this idea that because you are surrounded by men, you have to call out everything they say in case it is offensive. And by doing that you let on the idea that the sentiment that women have no place here should still be around, when in fact it has no place here. I'm not saying Missouri S&T isn't intimidating but it is intimidating for everyone. So searching for guys to say the wrong thing just creates a Rolla Princess that guys feel like they have to walk on egg shells around. Be confident in your abilities and let those still stuck in ancient ideals find out they are wrong through you showing them, not by assuming every guy thinks the same.

You may think the statement of the Rolla ratio is innocent, but it also hints at this idea that if a girl rejects a guy she is a bitchy Rolla Princess. Sound familiar? It plays into this big ugly ideal that girls don't get to say no. Guys get the same pressure at Rolla. If a girl is interested in you, you don't get to say no because there aren't very many to choose from.

I want to be a Rolla Princess because I want it to mean that there are few of us but we dominate in our respective fields. We walk around campus with confidence and when a guy flirts with us we assume it is because we are beautiful and intelligent and we can say no without judgment. When a guy asks me to study I'm going to assume that it is because he values my abilities and he knows I will also value his. And if I want to go further, he can say no. We, as students at a Science and Technology University, have the ability to be innovators and playing into Rolla stereotypes is a waste of our time.