Mensch, Winona M.

1945 Staff of the Dickinsonian

Date
1945

The 1945 Microcosm lists the editor-in-chief of the Dickinsonian as Nancy Person. Similar to 1944, the staff was dominated by female students in 1945 as the World War II continued to place strains on human resources at the college. Marjorie M. Arnold was the Business Manager for 1945.

In Bad Faith

Date
December 15, 1945

"Suggestions Considered Requisite by the Students of Dickinson College for the Improvement of the College," a document distributed to faculty and trustees on December 15, 1945, claims that the Dean of Women dealt with female students "in bad faith" by breaking promises. The document cites two cases in which the Dean of Women broke promises: in one case, the dean tried to discover who had disobeyed a ruling by promising to revoke disciplinary action for those who confessed.

Suggestions by Students for the Improvement of the College

Date
December 15, 1945

A document entitled "Suggestions Considered Requisite by the Students of Dickinson College for the Improvement of the College" was distributed to faculty and trustees on December 15, 1945. The first "suggestion" was the appointment of a "recognized educator" as president to replace the committee of three ruling the college at the time. According to the document, the "lack of individual authority prevents decisions." The second and longest suggestion asks for the appointment of a new dean of women. The document calls Dean Josephine B.

Dean Meredith's Resignation

Date
September 19, 1989

Winona Mensch Gray (Class of 1948) admits in an interview that she helped to instigate Dean of Women Josephine B. Meredith's resignation. Gray recalls that Meredith resigned during her sophomore year (1946). According to Gray, Dean Meredith was strict--her father and husband had both been Methodist ministers--and forbade female students from activities on Sunday.

Dorm Life during World War II

Date
September 19, 1998

Winona Mensch Gray (Class of 1948) describes female dormitory life during World War II in an interview. Gray lived in Metzger Hall during her freshman and sophomore years. She was only one of two sophomores who lived in the hall. She describes Metzger Hall as an "old building with high ceilings." There was a dining room in the basement and wash basins down the hall for laundry. The dean of women lived on the second floor in an apartment. She remembers the beds being uncomfortable.