The Dickinsonian reports the responses of five students to the question: "How do you view the Women's Center?"

An opinion piece responding to many of the issues raised by the College's status of women report, incorporating discussion of the recent confirmation hearings of Clarence Thomas.

“Professor Kim Rogers, assistant
professor of history and chairperson of the Commission on the Status of Women,
recently submitted the committee’s final report to Steven McDonald, Associate
Dean of the College and President Fritschler.

This article by Features Editor Ken Ross comments that “Although
the campus itself continues to improve with age, now is the time for ‘real’
social change at the College.” Ross brings up such issues as the lack of availability
of condoms on campus (except when the Health Center is open), the scarcity of ‘alternative’
(alcohol-free) activities on campus and the situation of women on campus. He
says:

The Dickinsonian discusses the changes resulting from having a sophomore (rather than freshman) year sorority and fraternity rush. 250 women rushed the five on-campus sororities.

 

Following up on the story from the previous week, The Dickinsonian discussed the continued controversy from the anonymous, anti-Greek publication "Stop the Violence" that accused Dickinson fraternities and sororities of crimes including hazing and even rape. 

The College Club and Peace Action co-sponsored an open forum in ATS to discuss the situation that was attended by over 400 members of the Dickinson community.  

The members of the student feminist organization, E.F.F.O.R.T. (Equality for Females: Our Rights Today), planned to hold the Second Annual Women's Party in the Drayer Lounge on Friday, April 15.  The purpose of the party was "to create more unity among women" at Dickinson. The program included a reading about the unity of women and music provided by students Lori McCreary and Melanie Lowe.  According to this Dickinsonian article, E.F.F.O.R.T. was a student group established in the Fall of 1981 by Pat Carter as "an activist group that would investigate the role of women . . .

This article in the Dickinsonian names Esther Chambers '32 as the new editor of the student newspaper.  Although the article describes her as the "first woman to hold the editorship for many years," earlier female editors have yet to be identified.  The other woman on the newspaper staff at the time was Marie Formad '34.  According to this article, Chambers was to hold a meeting on February 19, 1931 at which she would announce who she had chosen to serve as sports editor, associate editor, and desk editor.  A banquet for the members of the staff was also planned for March 6 at the

In a lengthy letter to President Morgan, Dean Meredith discussed chaperons, the inadequacy of Metzger Hall Staff, the running of Metzger Hall, and her family's situation. Most interestingly, Meredith wrote about a woman she met in Harrisburg named Dr. Taylor. According to the letter, Dr. Taylor is willing to give "six to eight talks" to Female Dickinsonians on "the care of the health and sex hygiene." Dean Meredith explained that "Our girls here are very much in need of such instruction.

This article, published in the March 31, 1988 Dickinsonian, documents the first meeting of Gays and Lesbians at Dickinson College (GLAD). Headed by Karen Ruocco, the organization held its first meeting at the Women's Center on March 30th. The group provided "support for gays and lesbians" at Dickinson College. The organization also worked to educate the campus on issues effecting the gay/lesbian community.

The 1888 January Dickinsonian starts off the New Year with a brief article about the "advantages" of co-education. Apparently, the president of the class of 1889 deviated from his speech because he had caught the eye of a particular co-ed that he was found of, in front of everyone. The Dickinsonian further comments upon the scene that if only the 1890 class president had glanced in the same direction, his speech might have been more inspired.

The newly-formed Women's Group issued the "Social Opinion Survey" in the hopes of learning "the opinions of students concerning the social atmosphere, the academic situation, and housing" as well as "the relationships between the sexes." The Group claimed to be issuing the survey in conjunction with Dean Mary Francis Carson. Some examples of questions in the survey include:

All other things being equal, would you prefer your present dorm to be coed in some form?

Do you feel there is a set standard or pattern for relationships with the opposite sex at Dickinson?

In her 1979 Women as Leaders Survey sent out by Dickinson College, a graduate of 1923 remembers her days at Dickinson. When asked about the issues of the day, the alum remembers, "our topic of debate was the Equal Rights Amendment."

She goes on to recall the anger at there being two senates: a women's and a school senate run by men. To protest the issue, a group of women attended the men's senate.

In her 1984 research paper "The Presence of the Black American at Dickinson College from 1773 to the Present," Elaine Vivian Watson researched the influence of "Black America" upon Dickinson College. Her paper includes information on "unfamous firsts" at Dickinson as well as information on the Black Alumni Questionaire.

 

Some "Unfamous Firsts" Include:

 

1901: John Robert Paul Brock is the first black male student to graduate from Dickinson College.

 

This image depicts a female Dickinsonian enjoying an athletic event. The image was found in the 1906 yearbook and was printed with color.

The 1905 Microcosm includes a story abour what Dickinson College would be fifty years in the future: 1955. The Dickinson of 1955 is much different than the Dickinson of 1905. The author highlights the difference in housing for women. He wrote, "There isn't a hen coop any more. We call it the "gilded cage". The college bought the deer park you used to tell me about, enlarged the house, built a gymansium adjoining, and made everything so lovely for the girls that the fellows had to change the name."

This excerpt from the Microcosm discusses the beauty of the co-ed. Each woman of the class of 1905  is named and her most striking feature is listed. The identity of the woman in the portrait is not known.

The image depicts a female Dickinsonian in the 1913 Microcosm. The caption reads "Coy-ed."

This photo depicts a group of female students eating pickles on the steps of Lloyd Hall. The women are from the class of 1902.