You may not agree with him, and you’re probably far from alone.

But Harvey Mansfield’s trip to campus this week was still a good thing. It’s not a matter of agreeing with his ideas, but rather a matter of learning something from them.

Mansfield spoke on Tuesday night in Nelson Hall and on Wednesday in a political science class about the differences between men and women. Mansfield said society in America is doing a troubling thing in trying to redefine the roles of the opposite genders.

Well, he may not have made any friends in saying so. After all, aren’t we in 2006? Haven’t we bridged the gender gap?

If nothing else, we have bridged the gap mentally. Society now acknowledges men and women can do the same jobs and should get the same payment for it.

Progress is surely being made in the practical sense, too, but not as fast as you might think or hope.

Sure, women are allowed to apply for the same jobs as men in the market and enter the same areas of study in college as men. But the chance has not always matched with the desire to take advantage of it.

Whether it is because women are uncomfortable entering fields historically dominated by men or because they are uninterested in these fields, women are still not flooding into engineering and science career paths. Otherwise, why would there be a need for the Women in Science & Engineering group on campus?

WISE serves as a support group for women studying science, engineering, math and statistics. The goal is to help them deal with classes in which they are often an extreme minority.

Why is there no such group for men? Because they still make up the majority of students in these curricula.

Why would a man feel uncomfortable around a bunch of other men? Sure, he might wish there were a greater number of attractive young ladies in the room, but he won’t need a support group for that.

So while people’s minds have changed to accept women in to these areas, there is still work to do in making them feel welcome in these programs.

Mansfield may not have captured your heart through what he said, but he certainly sparked some tough conversations on this campus. And with those tough discussions can come the realization of the areas we still need to improve in.