(U-WIRE) AMES, Iowa — When Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique, defined feminism in the ’60s, women’s longing for more than just a husband and kids came into the spotlight.

Although Friedan died on Feb. 4, her philosophies and ideologies have impacted our society in vast and unmistakable ways. But slowly, it seems, there has been a shift away from Friedan’s line of thinking.

I am reminded of a time back in high school when this seemed especially apparent. A girl — a friend of mine, actually — was proudly telling everyone her future plans. Associate, bachelor and doctoral degrees all flew to the wind as she proudly proclaimed her plan to get a Mrs. degree and live happily ever after.

For those unfamiliar with the Mrs. degree, it is the degree a female scholar earns when she attends college primarily to meet Mr. — or Dr., preferably — Right. A girl in the Mrs. program has no intention of actually using the college degree she obtains, and instead hopes to marry, have children and live in quiet domesticity. Now maybe my friend was joking, but honestly, there must have been some truth to this declaration. According to an article in the New York Times, 60 percent of girls interviewed said they planned to decrease or simply stop working once they had children.

Could this really be true? In today’s society of freedom for all, equality and the drive for career, could teenage girls still long for nothing more than enticing a prosperous man into marriage?

A difference I must define lays between stay-at-home moms, or dads for that matter, and girls who choose to obtain their Mrs. degree. Stay-at-home parents have goals and ambitions outside marriage: They might work before or after having children or through volunteering and would rarely be found visiting the neighborhood spa. Girls obtaining their Mrs. degree, however, have no intention of working and instead live a life of leisure and luxury.

College is the prime stage of life for this behavior. Doctors, lawyers and engineers frequent every part of campus, ripe for the picking. Finding a spouse to support one’s non-working habits is absolutely necessary. And if a Mrs.-wannabe is able to snare one, her life is complete; her goals are fulfilled, once the pregnancy test reads blue.

I say snare as though the man is being trapped or forced into this lifestyle of supporting his wife. But certainly these men want or are oblivious to this role, otherwise why would they continually employ graduates of the Mrs. degree? Are husbands aware and understanding of the idea their wives’ goals are met with the presentation of a diamond ring? Why in society is this behavior praised as “supporting a wife and kids?” And why do these men not want more for their wives?

Men aside, the presence of girls who believe in receiving some sort of Mrs. degree is simply incomprehensible to me. How could someone grow up in today’s world and still want nothing more for herself than marriage? How can goals and ambitions be halted at the altar?

Maybe I should be praising these women; after all, they are investing a substantial amount of money into pursuing this intended lifestyle, but isn’t this the point? If someone is going to go to all of the work of maintaining good grades, being accepted into a school accomplished enough to produce a good candidate for marriage and possibly taking out loans and wasting money for this education, why would they not at least attempt to use some of the knowledge they have painstakingly received? After all, isn’t college about learning, about educating ourselves and about furthering ourselves and ourselves solely? Why, more than 60 years after women gained equal rights, has a sort of Miss degree not been created or at least discussed? Why can’t there be a degree in which independence is a requirement, employment essential and marriage a vow taken as a declaration of love instead of one as a necessity for survival? Friedan would be proud of that degree.