The Dickinsonian reports that the Pan-Hellenic dance, chaired by Ellen Morrow, would be scaled back from previous years. According to the president of the Pan-Hellenic Council, Elinor G. Derr, they would not hire a professional interior decorator and would use records for music. The dance would be Pan-Hellenic Week's only all-College event.
An article printed in the Dickinsonian discusses the history of women at Dickinson College. From the first acceptance of a woman as a student and female professors being admitted under the faculty status, to the celebrations and workshops, "Voices of Today's Woman," taking place the weekend of October 6th, 1972 in celebrating the changes that have been made.
Virginia Weber (Class of 1946) claims in an interview to be the first female editor-in-chief of The Dickinsonian. Asked if she believed that she became the editor due to the shortage of students during the war, she responded affirmatively, saying that "there was a lot of competition" for the position: applicants submitted editorials and were judged by a faculty committee. Weber recalls that the newspaper ran stories related mostly to campus events and did not usually cover national or international events.
Joyce Rinehart Anderson (Class of 1945) describes in an interview how women began to publish the Dickinsonian when male students left for World War II. According to Anderson, male students ran and published the Dickinsonian prior to the start of the war. Anderson deems her experience as a copy editor for the newspaper as a "very valuable part of my education." Anderson recalls not only editing other students' articles but also writing articles herself. She worked for other publications post-graduation.
Mary Ames Raffensperger, M.D. and C. DeLores Tucker were main speakers at "Voices of Today's Woman," a special seminar devoted specifically to women. Dr.Raffensperger was a Coordinator of Rehabilative Services of Childrens' Hospital of Philadelphia and Associate Professor of Pediatrics of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Ms. Raffensperger was also a Trustee of the College, where she received the honorary Doctor of Science degree in 1965.
Honorable C. DeLores Tucker, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1972 was the main speaker in "Voices of Today's Women" Seminar. Her address was, "Where Do We Go From Here? An Appraisal of the Expanding Role of Women in the 1970's?" was given on Friday, October 6th in the Social Hall. Ms. Tucker was the first Black woman ever named to a Cabinet post in Pennsylvania and was the highest ranking Black woman in the state government in the country at the time. She was also the first Black vice-chairman of the Democratic State Party.
During the dedication of the Charles Nisbet Campus on September 15th, 1972, Dr. Martin Meyerson was one of the speakers invited. Dr. Meyerson who was a renowned educator,an authority on urban affairs and president of the University of Pennsylvania led a lecture on a topic of "The Proper Study of Womankind." He offered a brief history of the female in society from Eve's time through the 1970's, emphasizing the often passive role of a woman. Dr. Meyerson emphasized the question of whether or not colleges and universities have had a special responsibility to their female students.
During the weekend of October 5-8th of 1972, a College symposium entitle "Voices of Today's Woman" took place. The committee composed of the Dean of Women Mary Watson Carson, Pam McFarland, who was a graduate intern at the College, and a group of women students planned a diverse program consisting of a play, panel discussions, guest speakers and get-togethers.
Serving as Coordinator of Women's Programs, Pam McFarland was assigned a position as one of the two resident interns at Dickinson College. Working with several administrators during the day, McFarland also had an opportunity to attend graduate school at Shippensburg in the evenings. At Dickinson College her duties included arranging the schedule of speakers, workshops,as well as films for women on campus. Some of the events and ideas included:
-Showing and the discussing the movie "Growing Up Female," which traced the socialization of women.
This article, written by Marcy Feldman, describes the resources that will soon be available at the opening of the Women's Center on March 1, 1984. "The Women's Center, intended to provide a meeting place for women's groups on campus...will offer lectures and exhibits focusing on feminist issues. The Women's Center is also intended to raise women's consciousness of pertinent issues on and off campus."