M.R.S. Degree (noun) : the outdated thinking that a woman enrolls in college not to get an education but rather to find a husband.

Outdated? Perhaps not. As one UMich journalist wisely noted: “there is still a decent contingency of women who are pursuing the MRS degree quite intently.”

You better believe I’ve encountered my share of these women in Florida, where historical southern culture and traditional gender roles exert a surprising influence over everything from course selection to Facebook groups (Trophy Wives in Training!).

More importantly, these attitudes also seem to shape dating behavior; I recently overheard a conversation between 2 undergraduate women walking down the stairs outside a building at the Estates:

“Well, his name is Patrick and his dad’s a dentist, so I’ll keep him around for a while, just for that.”

Implying that sons of DDS daddies are more viable suitors, this woman seemed to value men who could completely provide for her, even though she was pursuing a college education with certain opportunity.

I don’t want to hate on housewives: feminism is about choice. However, women certainly aren’t choosing to earn 75 cents to every dollar men make for the same work.

Collegiate women: we need to take ourselves more seriously.