At the first Black Students' Association party Friday night, first-year women were introduced to a social phenomenon they will soon be familiar with--a room full of black Harvard women among only a few handful of black Harvard men.

In the class of 2002, 79 black men were admitted, compared to 128 women, meaning males should comprise a little less than 40 percent of the class--an admitted class that was overall 52 percent male. (Figures on matriculated students are not yet available.)

These ratios are roughly in line with those of recent years. In fact, the number of black males is up significantly from the class of 1996, in which fewer than 25 percent of black students were male, the lowest figure since the 1960s.

These numbers reflect a nationwide gender gap in higher education, where black women make up the majority--63 percent--of black student enrollment at colleges and universities, according to The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education.

Over the past 20 years, the number of blacks in higher education has increased by 40 percent--and women have accounted for 75 percent of those gains, according to The Journal.

While this is encouraging to women, it raises the question of what happened to the men--and, conversely, what does it means for the women? Here at Harvard, many black women say they are aware that something is missing as soon as they arrive.

"I was unaware of the gap before coming here, although I definitely see it now," says Naomi F. Coquillon '02. "I'm not sure how it will affect me yet; I guess in the same way as it affects the rest of the school. We'll lack the experiences and opinions that a larger variety of black men would provide."

In the Company of My Sisters

For years, many black women have been frustrated with the social effects of the gender gap. Their frustration has been made into books (most notably, Waiting to Exhale), talk shows and movies. Like all women who have lived in a place under-populated by men, many black women at Harvard struggle with developing relationships and a strong community without enough men to go around.

"The gender gap makes it really problematic tohave a relationship," says Alisha R. Alleyne '01."I think the males tend to exploit theiradvantage."

For Jessica M. Reid '00, the social scene atHarvard has been very different than what sheexpected.

"Dating existed before I came here, and Iexpected it to continue, but people actdifferently here than they do where I come from,"Reid says. "Obviously people date--not everyone'salone--but a lot of us are unable to findsomebody, and it's hard, because all of us want tofind somebody. You just have to focus on otherthings."

The majority of black women interviewed saythey would rather date someone of their same race,even if it means a long search.

Reid says the dating scene is just as harsh--ifnot more so--at other schools.

"I know in the Ivy Leagues the numbers are bad,and the guys take advantage of that," Reid says."And even at the historically black institutionsthere's a lot more females than males, and thecompetitiveness is crazy there."

Explaining the Gap