This photograph depicts students attending the Doll Show Party, an
annual charitiable event on Dickinson's campus. Many of the women in the photo are clad in men's clothing.
 This photograph depicts female students attending the Doll Show Party, an
annual charitiable event on Dickinson's campus. Many of the women in the photo are clad in men's clothing.
Esther Popel, the first known African American woman to graduate from Dickinson College, was listed in the 1919-1920 yearbook. Described as quiet and "a true scholar," Popel commuted from Harrisburg to Dickinson every day. The Microcosm wrote, "We see her but we seldom hear her." Popel went on to become a poet of the Harlem Renaissance movement.
On motion of. W. L. Woodcock seconded by C. W. Prettyman, the Board of Trustees decided to repair and "put in tenatable condition" the old women's dormitory, Lloyd Hall. The motion was authorized.
On June 21, 1919, Trustee Boyd Lee Spahr moved that, "beginning with the academic year 1919-1920, the number of women students admitted to each incoming Freshman Class shall not exceed 25% of the total number of Freshman of the preceding year." Trustess L.W. Johnson and E.M. Biddle Jr. moved to amend the motion by waiting until the 1920-1921 school year. James H Morgan and Frank. B. Lynch moved to table the whole matter. After a vote, the resolution was tabled.
On motion of Trustee Frank Lynch in 1918, the president of the College was allowed to hire female faculty members. The president was allowed to do so if, "it seems to the President of the College that better service can be secured by the employment of one or more women as instructors."
On motion of Frank C. Bolser, the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees was authorized to sell Lloyd Hall, the former women's dormitory. The Trustees wanted at least $5000 for the building. Â Â Â Â
In 1914, on motion of Issac McCurley, the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees secured the lease of Metzger College. Metzge College was to be the new dormitory for female students. The motion was seconded by Charles K. Zug.
On June 9, 1913, the Board of Trustees received a letter from the "girls of Lloyd Hall," demanding the Trustees acknowledge the poor conditions in which the women lived. In particular, the women mentioned the unsanitary conditions, the crowding, and the poor ventilation. Moreover, the women assert that the, "absence of fire escapes make Lloyd Hall a veritable death trap." The women asked that the building be renovated for the next school year.
The object of "The Student Government Association of the women of Dickinson College" (as refered to in the student handbook of 1919) was to "enact and enforce laws in accordance with the charter granted to the association by the President and Dean of Dickinson; to transact business pertaining to the whole body of women students in so far as it lies within its power." This association was comprised of officers and an executive board that made all final decisions.