"I was a Co-ed": Housing for Early Female Students

Upon her arrival at Dickinson College in 1886, Elizabeth Low was shocked to find that no housing arrangements had been made for female students. Unlike their male counterparts, early female Dickinsonians were not permitted to live in dorms on campus. Moreover, the school had not found housing in town for the young women. Low explained that "There was absolutely no provision made for women students, which leads me to think that the undertaking was considered something of an experiment." Despite Dickinson's "lack of provisions" for early female students, Low eventually found a room in a local boarding house with the help of a professor.