Equality has always been a primary issue in the United States, and over the years we have worked to make the world we live in as equal as possible. However, the push for equality between the genders has come to a standstill in recent years.

Exact numbers are debated, but women are making about 75 to 80 cents to every man’s dollar. The fact that that this inequality still exists is ridiculous. Women are every bit as hard working as men, and there, to me, seems to be no reasonable or plausible argument to prove women shouldn’t have equal pay.

Look at it this way: conservative standpoints throughout history on issues of equality are now all looked at as unpopular. At one point conservative viewpoints favored slavery and lack of civil rights; women were not able to vote and only land-owning males could vote.

So really it ends up as a choice. When they write the history books 40 years from now, which side do you want to be on? The side that time looks upon favorably or the side that is constantly frowned upon?

While pay inequality between the genders may be the most important issue regarding  gender inequality, another is quickly becoming apparent. Men are falling behind in education. And without some sort of action it seems that the trend is likely to continue. At one point, education, particularly college and other higher education, was dominated by males. Over time women evened out the system and an appropriate balance was obtained.

But now, in a trend that has continued in recent years men, according to New York Times, only consist of a little more than 40 percent of the college population. This change is due to a multitude of factors, some of which are still not yet known at this time. However, if I had to attribute it to anything, I’d say lack of effort.

Many years ago, it was once considered common knowledge that mens’ brains were intellectually superior to womens’. In countries all around the world, facts backed this up as men scored higher on IQ tests. Then, as the world became more modern; women improved their IQ scores at drastic rate. They were working harder than men so that they could learn more. Now, as far as IQ tests go, the division between men and women is marginal, but in favor of women.

Sure, IQ tests aren’t a measure of real education. They don’t show us how people do in a school environment. So take LT for example, or, more specifically, LT’s National Honor Society. After a long and strenuous tally count of the NHS e-mail list, the division between men and women at LT alone is shocking. Women make up 57 percent the National Honor Society, which seems like a marginal percentage at first, but when you consider that that makes up the top 20 percent of our a thousand person student body, the percentage should seem more significant. The reality of the fact is that men and women are, or should be, intellectual equals. Both genders should thrive equally in the battle royale that is higher education.

Ultimately, I’m not that worried about women never getting equal pay as men. It’s something that will eventually be corrected over time, just like every other inequality America has experienced. Men falling behind in education scares me, because it’s not something that legislation can correct. Young men everywhere have to realize how important their education is and apply the correct amount of effort so that they can get everything they need out of school.