Dean Meredith kept heavy hand on female student behavior...

Date
Fall 1990

Christine Crist (Class of 1946) describes the heavy-handedness of Dean Josephine Brunyate Meredith when the cadets arrived on campus. Although Crist remembers a date with a cadet from Texas, she says that the dean did not tolerate such fraternizing. The female students received an earlier curfew when the cadets arrived. Crist describes one female student who boldly said (in reference to the curfew), "If they're gonna rape you, they'll rape before eleven-thirty as well as after eleven-thirty." Dean Meredith is described by Crist as wanting to keep the Victorian Era alive and reportedly lectured the female students on appropriate dress for women, among other topics. She told the women not to wear patent leather shoes, which could reflect under a dress, or red shoes or nail polish, both of which sent "the wrong signal." Moreover, the dean opposed slacks for women, although Marion Bell, a friend of Crist's, wore slacks for long walks. She was not allowed into the dining hall or in classes in slacks, however.

Location of Document in Archives
World War II Oral History, Crist, Christine