Most newspaper connoisseurs would deem the Cheers and Jeers section as something worthy of a high school or neighborhood newspaper – not a reputable university paper such as the one we know as the Daily Skiff. But in the days of songs that proclaim “chivalry is dead, but you’re still kind of cute,” I feel the responsibility to qualify this statement with a cheer to the TCU men and to say that chivalry isn’t dead.That’s right, girls. For once I am going to commend them rather than get mad they didn’t bring more of their male friends to school with them. Everyone knows about the women-to-men ratio at TCU – you either hate it or love it.

TCU’s ratio reputation is definitely one that precedes them. In reading past Skiff opinion articles, I found one from 2001 with this quote: “They’re out of lettuce in the salad bar? It’s because there’s a 50-1 ratio of girls to guys here, you know, and girls eat a lot of lettuce.” And every day, before I came to TCU, all my friends could say is “TCU: where the girls are girls and the boys are, too.”

But during my first month here on campus, I have found the above quote to be only half true. The TCU men certainly aren’t boys; they’re gentlemen. There is no shortage of guys willing to hold the door open, strike up a conversation or flash a quick smile as they sprint across University Drive.

I love the fact that, in almost every building I go to, there is a guy offering to hold open the door – even if he is more preoccupied than I am. They, of course, offer this courtesy to everyone, including each other, not just women. And most of the guys are friendly, willing to take the time to ask casual, friendly questions instead of rushing past and ignoring you. Granted much of this behavior can be attributed to TCU’s Southern location and the Texas charm that accompanies a lot of our students.

I bet a lot of it can also be attributed to the male population’s awareness of its advantage with the ratio. I’m no statistician, but with a 14-2 ratio as an example from one of my classes, I’d say they work with generally good odds. Their courtesy may just come from their desire to advance their chances, but as a woman who won’t fall for that, I am not complaining.

Don’t get me wrong, my purpose isn’t to inflate the egos of our guys. After all, becoming big-headed would not fall under the praises of being a gentleman. And I am also not saying that they are perfect angels by any means. Sometimes they burp, stuff their faces like pigs and can go a little overboard at football games and create a domino falling effect down the stands. But since everyone is entitled to a little rowdiness, they can be momentarily forgiven because they do deserve to be thanked for the little things they do to prove to the classy women of TCU, and the general population, that chivalry isn’t dead.

I want to say thank you to all the men for making me feel lucky and special.

Anahita Kalianivala is a freshman English and psychology major from Fort Worth. Her column appears every Wednesday.