By Cecily Squier

Staff Writer

Finally, the gender climate survey that started back in April has come to fruition. This is chock full of invaluable information about what our profs think about the school. Not that every faculty member filled out the questionnaire, but short of reading all the archives of Calvin Matters, this is about the only way the average student can find out what the faculty think is going on.

This survey seems to have two components: to see what the faculty think of Calvin College, and then to break it down by gender and status (referring here to tenure, tenure-track, and temporary or term employment). The thrust of the data suggests that the issues of Christian school requirements and worship requirements are far from closed, despite the recent crackdown by the administration on the subject.

A good deal of data regarding job satisfaction was also gathered. Questions were asked about productivity, institutional support, and how the gender climate at Calvin is compared to other schools they have experienced. The questions about productivity were a little out in left field.

A dialogue on gender issues could have a beneficial effect on campus productivity, but I fail to see how changing the Christian school requirement for the children of faculty would have a more productive effect. Having an on-campus daycare center would definitely increase productivity on campus, according to most of the female faculty surveyed, and was a frequent answer to the open-ended questions at the end regarding improvement.

At the end of the survey, a number of open-ended questions asked the professors what they think beyond the hundred or so ``Strongly Agree/Strongly Disagree'' statements. When asked `What advice do you have for decision-makers at Calvin that would improve your personal life?' the answers ranged from ``Stay out of it'' to four-point plans recommending in detail, among other things, the cessation of tuition assistance for CSI schools.

In fact, a full quarter of faculty answering this question mentioned the Christian schooling requirement or the mandatory CRC/RCA membership. Not all of these were negative; a couple called for more subsidies, and others saw that as CSI attendance is mandatory it constitutes a condition for employment, and therefore should be covered by the college. But most of the answers to this question that mentioned this topic were opposed to the requirements for education and worship.

As the college is owned the by the Christian Reformed Church, a certain respect for the tradition is...what? Enforced? Encouraged? Whatever you want to call it, the problem is not with President Byker, easy as he is to villainize. President Diekema didn't enforce it with a heavy hand, true. There could be factors about which we have not been told, or in some ways this could be the prerogative of the president.

The problem is with an isolationist, ethnocentric ideology that cloisters children and their families in homogenous enclaves and sees this as the plan for redeeming the world. Looking back at the history of the CRC, I can understand the usefulness of schools within a specific place in our history, but the continued shackling of the religious identity with an ethnic identity is appalling. Insisting children of faculty attend CSI schools does just that.

In the next few years, 28 percent of female faculty currently at Calvin College plan on leaving. Compare that to the 11 percent of male faculty who are planning to stay only a few years or less. For female faculty with tenure, it is a little under 1 in 3 planning to stay beyond the next few years; for female faculty on the tenure track it raises to 1 in 4. For male faculty with tenure the number looking to leave, or thinking about it seriously is 1 in 9, and for male faculty on the tenure track it is 1 in 14.

Why are so many female faculty looking to leave? When asked if the gender climate was affecting the decision to leave, 68 people answered, a much higher number than actually seemed intent on leaving from the question regarding future plans. 17 of those 68 say that the gender climate is the primary reason for wanting to leave.

In the question of gender climate at Calvin as compared to other CRC schools, 80 percent of the faculty said it is better at Calvin. Of course, for all of the questions of the comparable gender climate the respondents were only asked in reference to previous work/education experience. This stays the same for Calvin and the other schools in the CCCU, going up to 83 percent.

These positive numbers feel a little like winning a race against someone with a sprained ankle; or better yet someone who refuses to race with you. When up against other private liberal arts schools and state universities, the results are a little less glowing. Of the ones who felt able to respond, more of the respondents said the gender climate was better elsewhere.

There's a lot that needs tweaking, definitely. We need to keep in mind one of the mottoes of the Reformation: Always reforming. ``Because that's the way we've always done it'' is not a valid excuse for a group of people firmly convinced of total depravity. With Christ we will prevail, but that is no excuse for a lack of innovation in policies for faculty, or a deference to a tradition that has maybe run its course.

Finally, before angry emails are written about how negative this article is, 97 percent of faculty agree with the description of Calvin as a place where faith and scholarship entwine, and agree that description is a positive one. That' god, right?