The 1897 Microcosm shows that even more women are being initiated in the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Based on their scholarly merits, Mary L. Billings, Mary A. Wilcox, and Anna E. Isenberg were inducted into the society.
The 1897 Microcosm displays another women's sorority on campus, Gamma Zeta. It was a local sorority founded in 1896 and this is the only time it appears in Dickinson College's records. Its members are as follows: Anna M. Geiger and Helen R. Horn from the class of 1897, Marie E. Lloyd from the class of 1898, Bertha Clough and Lucia C. Hargis from the class of 1899, and finally Jessie W. Hargis from the class of 1900.
In the History of the Sophomore Class of 1899, they mention their fellow female students as adding a certain quality to the class. The class of '99 felt that theirs would be the class to surpass "all previous ones in number, strength and manliness." Remembering the "co-eds," they then realized that they should "change that quality to womanliness." The writer remarks that about one-third of the sophomore class is comprised of women and they had even "taken possession" of the class.
The 1896 Microcosm tried to predict what the future would be like in 1921, even though these predictions are not without some teasing of the co-eds. Among the "advancements of the college during the past year" apparently the female students will have outnumbered the male students. The essay pokes further fun at the females by declaring, "Who would have dreamed of this twenty-five years ago?
In the 1896 Microcosm, a student writes a poem about what is the Dickinson co-ed. This poem pokes fun at the women who study at Dickinson, and about how much they study. The author teases that the co-eds are well-versed in about every single type of subject imaginable, and yet those subjects are only a taste of everything they study at Dickinson.
In the 1896 Microcosm two women from the class of 1895 were initiated into the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Emma V. Harry and Amy Fisher were two of the first women initiated in this fraternity based on overall academic excellence. Membership to this fraternity was determined by the resident members of the chapter.
The pivotal events of the Vietnam War, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. as well as that of Robert Kennedy, was the foreground to the world events that welcomed the lives of Dickinson students during the decade of the 1960's. Having been an era of social, sexual and civil revolution, did not hinder the development and the rise of women as leaders on this campus. On the contrary the grand majority of women surveyed by Martha C.
The 1958 Microcosm entry on Sui Generis, a new local sorority established in 1956, noted that the group "formed a close bond of friendship and have made this the 'coming out' year." The women worked with their faculty advisor, Miss Christian Royer, to create their pin, decorate their new rooms in the basement of Biddle, draw up their constitution, and choose their official colors of dark blue and light blue. Sui Generis was also became a voting member of the college Pan-Hellenic Council this year. Like other women's fraternities on campus, Sui Generis supported various campus philanthrop
Zeta Tau Alpha's members maintained an active schedule of social and philanthropic activities in 1958. They continued to support their traditional philanthropy dedicated to cerebral palsy through the annual Songfest and they additionally held Christmas party with Phi Delta Theta for underprivileged children. Social activities included a bazaar called "Santa's Workshop," Big and Little Sisterhood events, as well as teas and formals for the seniors and pledges. The Beta Beta chapter also entertained a national officer during her week-long visit to the college.
Members of Pi Beta Phi continued to support and participate in traditional social and philanthropic activities. This included supporting the Settlement School in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and underprivileged children who were local to the Carlisle area. Additionally, members were expected to "achieve a high level of scholarship and to serve the college by participating in most campus activities." The social calendar included traditional formals and teas as well as bridge and dessert parties with fraternities.