Here’s a story that is dedicated to the open-minded among us. I’m sure that the rest of us will appreciate the irony.

Harvard University has banned men from one of its gyms for a few hours as week to accommodate Muslim women. This is a bit misleading because Harvard obviously doesn’t have any men this would affect. Nope, just meek little eunuchs who accept a set of rules that favors one group over another. I believe the open-minded would call that discrimination with a taste of sexism thrown in for good measure.

The new rule states that no men are allowed in the gym between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Mondays, and between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Even the staff during those times is all women.

“The majority should be willing to compromise,” said Ola Aljawhary, a Muslim student. “I think that’s just basic courtesy. We must show tolerance and respect for all others.”

Nice philosophy and one that works well as long as you’re on the receiving end. What does it matter if the open-minded majority at Harvard must compromise? That would be “capitulate” to anyone without a Harvard education. Besides, who said tolerance and respect works both ways?

Harvard’s policy is no different from commercial gyms that cater partially or even exclusively to women, said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations.

“The Muslim bashers portray it as the world coming to end, but if women have a couple hours a week to work out in private, I don’t see it as a major issue,” he said.

Perhaps the parents that pay the ridiculous tuition costs to Harvard should be asked their opinion instead of a spokesman for CAIR.

“I think that it’s incorrect in a college setting to institute a policy in which half of the campus gets wronged or denied a resource that’s supposed to be for everyone,” said student Lucy Caldwell, who also wrote a column in The Harvard Crimson newspaper critical of the new hours.

I stand corrected; it looks like there’s a pair on campus after all. The irony is that they belong to a woman.

Okay, I’ll stop laughing now… well maybe.