Women's Group

In his response to Dean of Women Mary Watson Carson, Alumni Trustee Vincent Schafmeister says of the Social Opinion Survey of the Women's Group, "sort of shakes up an old, stuffy conservative such as I." He declines the dean's offer to put him into contact with members of the group in order to determine their objectives, saying he is more interested in the role of the Office of Student Services in encouraging this organization. He references the "frightful negatives" and the suffering of the college as consequences of this kind of encouragement.

Responding to Vincent Schafmeister's request for a clearer copy of the Social Opinion Survey distributed by the Women's Group, Dean of Women Mary Watson Carson procures a copy from the Women's Group and encloses it in her letter to Schafmeister.

Alumni Trustee Vincent J. Schafmeister, Jr. wrote to Dean of Women Mary Francis Carson requesting a clearer copy of the Social Opinion Survey distributed by the Women's Group. Schafmeister expresses his concern over some of the questions in the survey, claiming that he would be "compelled to speak to this business at the Commencement Weekend meeting of the Board of Trustees."

Dean of Women Mary Watson Carson sends a memo to Dr. Rubendall regarding the "Social Opinion Survey" of the Women's Group. She explains that she did not give permission for them to attach her name to the survey. According to the dean, the Women's Group distributed the questionnaire in residence halls and mail boxes. Dean Carson reports that the group formed early in the fall and invited some faculty women to meet with them. The same week that Carson wrote this letter, Student Senate officially recognized the group as an organization.

The members of the Women's Group composed a letter to professors calling for more female faculty at Dickinson College. The Women's Group writes that the foundation of coeducation  presupposes that it is valuable to have both men and women students participate in the educational experience. They explain that this concept should be applied to faculty as well and cite the ratio of male to female faculty of 10:1. The male to female student ratio, by contrast, was 4:3.

The Women's Group submitted a statement of purpose, criteria for memberships, rules, and list of officers to the Student Senate Committee in order to receive recognition as an official group on campus. Their purpose statement explained that they wanted to serve as a consciousness-raising group; to present films, speakers, and hold conferences that dealt with women in education or the Women's Movement; and to investigate potential discrimination at Dickinson. Any member of the Dickinson College Community could become a member, and the Women's Group would hold weekly meetings.