1930-1939

Yates Snyder, class of ’39, was not only a bright scholar as a member of the Harman Literary Society, and heavily involved in extracurricular activities, including chorus, athletics, and Greek life, but was also noted as an extraordinary campus beauty.  Her senior year she was crowned Queen at the Midwinter Ball and during her four years at Dickinson, “graced the pages of the beauty section of the Microcosm,” perhaps setting an example for future female students that it is possible to have beauty and brains.

Long time contributor to the college, librarian, May Morris, earned the dedication of the 1939 edition of Dickinson’s Microcosm.  A woman who is praised as having contributed to the “advance and achievement of the college,” Morris helped to introduce to Dickinson’s library “a sufficiency of material and the efficiency of system unparalleled in its history.”

Elizabeth Carter, Virginia Heisey, and Jane Housman earned the prestigious honor of the Junior Blazer for the ‘38 academic year.  The Junior Blazer was the highest award given for participation in women’s athletics and only three are awarded each year to junior girls who possess the greatest “ability, interest and sportsmanship in their athletic activities.”

The Microcosm's 1937 edition documents the addition of the first co-ed addition to the cheerleading group.  Floyde Williams' addition to the group was said to have created a “well-balanced team” that “publicly earned recognition as a most desirable cheerleading unit.”

Women’s athletics at Dickinson underwent a shift with the coming of new athletic coordinator, Mary G, Rehfuss during the 1934-35 academic year.  Under her direction, women’s sports like basketball, tennis, hockey and archery continued with their popularity while new activities like tumbling, tap dancing, volleyball, hiking and bowling attracted interest.  She implemented a new athletic program where emphasis was “placed on the correction of physical defects or deficiencies among women.”  Despite how negative this may sound, female participation in athletics seemed to flourish during this ti

In addition to the noting of two male exchange students, the 1935 edition of the Microcosm documents Janine Morillot’s enrollment in the junior class at Dickinson College.  Morillot was a “valuable addition” to the student body and was “eager to learn everything she possibly could about this country and more especially about [the] College.”  The issue of the Microcosm also documents the date of her unfortunate passing, April 26, 1935, shortly after graduating from Lycee Fenelon.

Female student Minnie Zilch has a satirical article published in the 1934 edition of Dickinson’s Microcosm.  Zilch writes with a keen sarcastic wit and in her article, lists seven humorous reasons why she decided to attend Dickinson College.

Dickinson's all female Harman Literary Society actively studied prominent figures in the literary world during the 1933 academic year.  A great deal of their focus during the second semester was "devoted to famous women who had won world-wide recognition in literary and other fields."  The large number of female members in the group is significant in and of itself and mirrors the significance of their focus on and appreciation for the female presence in literature.

The Microcosm’s 1932 issue documents women’s athletics as “intramural only.”  In years past, women’s sports had been “intercollegiate competition between varsity teams,” yet it is noted that this particular system was changed to intramural several years prior to the ‘32 edition of the yearbook.  The sports were “organized along a recreational plan,” where women were “enabled” to chose one of the six athletic options to participate in.  Options included archery, basketball, clogging, riding, swimming, and hockey. 

Women's participation in the female chorus or Glee Club doubled between the years of 1930 and 1931.  The Microcosm documents a female chorus with only ten members in 1930.  The following year, however, women seemed to show a desire to branch out and express their musicality; the number of female singers in the group climbed to twenty-four.