courtship in 20th century America: greek side

[IowaStatePhiPsi]

So I'm reading From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship in Twentieth-Century America for one of my classes. Here are a few of the greek references in the book:


At Massachusetts State (soon to become the University of Massachusetts, Amherst), where the ratio of men to women was one to eight (it had been one ot five the other way in the "Golden Age" of the 1930s), "morale hit the dirt as dungaree sales soared." Women turned to one another for companionship, forming six sororities (the first in the school's history) between 1941 and 1945.


A survey at Northwestern found that most women were attending college to find a husband. Joanne Sykora, class of 1950, told the Daily Northwestern: "My mother told me that if I went to college I might meet a boy who would be able to provide me with the things to which I would like to becoem accustomed." NU's chapter of A E Phi advertised in their sorority newspaper, Chez E Phi , for "Husbands for all A E Phi seniors so they will not graduate and disgrace their sorority."


In the 1930s the President's Council at Ohio State reported that some fraternities were spending $1000 per formal.


At the University of Michigan, in the 1920s, a humor columnist cataloged the "tragic incidents," the "moans and discords" of serenades- a ritual in which fraternity men paid tribute to the lady love of one of the brothers- and in his punchline, speculated that the administration might be forced to regulate serenading to prevent "serious injuries." By 1962, the student handbook listed almost a page of regulations governing serenades.
At Northwestern, the first regulations of serenades appeared in the student handbook of 1951-52. Serenades could be held only on Monday evenings before 9:00PM and had to be registered in advance with the Student Affairs Calendar Office.

[LightBulb]

Cute snippets! Thanks!

Originally posted by IowaStatePhiPsi

At Northwestern, the first regulations of serenades appeared in the student handbook of 1951-52. Serenades could be held only on Monday evenings before 9:00PM and had to be registered in advance with the Student Affairs Calendar Office.

What? Administrative dorks.

[IowaStatePhiPsi]

To be popular, men needed outward, material signs: an automobile, the right clothing, fraternity membership, money. Women's popularity depended on building and maintaining a reputation for popularity. They had to be seen with popular men in the "right" places, indignantly turn down requests for dates made at the "last minute" (which could be weeks in advance), and cultivate the impression that they were greatly in demand.

[IowaStatePhiPsi]

Originally posted by LightBulb
What? Administrative dorks.

You'd like this one then:

In another unpopular move at the University of Michigan, the dean's office announced in 1947 that any "mixed" group (of more than two people) listening to the Michigan-Northwestern football game on the radio must have registered as a "party" before noon the preceding Thursday and must have secured the requisite number of approved chaperones.

[LightBulb]

Originally posted by IowaStatePhiPsi
In another unpopular move at the University of Michigan, the dean's office announced in 1947 that any "mixed" group (of more than two people) listening to the Michigan-Northwestern football game on the radio must have registered as a "party" before noon the preceding Thursday and must have secured the requisite number of approved chaperones.

Wow. Hard to imagine.

[IvySpice]

I'm always amazed at the remnants of those times, because college culture has changed so much. At my alma mater, girls could only have boys in their rooms during certain hours, and the door had to remain open a certain amount (12 inches, I think). Some of the old women's dorms still have the hooks that hold the doors open the required distance. Those dorms also have 3-way mirrors in the hallway, which the old men's dorms don't.

[RUASTgrrl]

yeah I came across some old handbooks when I worked in the library. The women needed a permission note from their parents to the Dean of women, to go to the movies, to go off campus, to go on dates or ride in an automobile. No men were allowed in the dorms except in the lounge, and women weren't allowed to wear pants unless they were going to a gym class or on a picnic. Also they got a grade on how clean they kept their room. And anyone found to have a "secret" marriage would be expelled. Also couldn't wear rollers in your hair outside of the dorm room. Strange.

[roqueemae]

Originally posted by IowaStatePhiPsi
At Northwestern, the first regulations of serenades appeared in the student handbook of 1951-52. Serenades could be held only on Monday evenings before 9:00PM and had to be registered in advance with the Student Affairs Calendar Office.

Sorta takes the romance out of the whole thing to have it listed on a calendar.

[Taualumna]

Originally posted by RUASTgrrl
yeah I came across some old handbooks when I worked in the library. The women needed a permission note from their parents to the Dean of women, to go to the movies, to go off campus, to go on dates or ride in an automobile. No men were allowed in the dorms except in the lounge, and women weren't allowed to wear pants unless they were going to a gym class or on a picnic. Also they got a grade on how clean they kept their room. And anyone found to have a "secret" marriage would be expelled. Also couldn't wear rollers in your hair outside of the dorm room. Strange.

This isn't college, but in a couple of Toronto boarding schools back in the 60s (and earlier), girls were only allowed to have a certain number of dates per year (depending on grade level), and the boy had to be "approved" by the family. The other times they get to see men were at dances arranged by the schools. They probably got to see men like 10 times a year tops. They had mandatory extracurricular activities and were not allowed to watch television.

[alphaalpha]

Originally posted by Taualumna
This isn't college, but in a couple of Toronto boarding schools back in the 60s (and earlier), girls were only allowed to have a certain number of dates per year (depending on grade level), and the boy had to be "approved" by the family. The other times they get to see men were at dances arranged by the schools. They probably got to see men like 10 times a year tops. They had mandatory extracurricular activities and were not allowed to watch television.

If this were High School age i could understand. But all these statements about college students is lame. A friend of my grandparents was telling me about all the rules during the 60's (or mayby early 70's) about how men had to have women back to the dorms at a certain time, like 11pm and how guys were only allowed in the dorms in the lobby until a certain time. It shocks me how universities, well i guess society, think that adult women are not able to make choices for them selves. Also, i have to say that if you treat women like they can't make choices for themselves then more than not they wont be able to make choices for themselves cause they were never taught/encouraged to do so. Self fulfilling, i guess.

[Sister Havana]

Until the late 60s, IU had "women's hours." Female undergraduates had to be in their rooms or sorority houses by 11pm weekdays and 1am weeknights. Some of the dorms still have doorbells by the hall entrances: the doors were locked after curfew and any woman who got to the dorm after that time had to ring the doorbell to get in (thus letting everyone know that she had missed curfew.) There was no visitation allowed in the dorms. Nobody was allowed to have a car on campus. ROTC was mandatory for male freshmen and sophomores. It was very different back then!

[lyrica9]

I was reading a book on the history of UNT, and there were some letters written by our president in the early 1900s. one letter shocked me, it was to the parents of one girl explaining that she was expelled and would not retain any of her credits, because she went on a date with a man the president considered to be of bad character.

this same president kicked some poor guy out right before his graduation for his continued use of foul language.


but i also read on some curfew stuff, and how if a woman lived in a sort of boarding house off campus she was not allowed to be on the porch with a man on sundays, and any other day after 6 or something equally bizarre.


i was just amazed at how involved in the student's personal business the president of the university was until the 1930s or 40s.

[LXA SE285]

My alma mater, the University of Montevallo, was a women's school until the mid-'60s and had similar rules for quite a few years even after men were admitted. One of the funnier regulations (which I admit could be an urban legend) was that when a male student visited a female in the downstairs sitting area of her dorm, they had to sit a specific number of inches apart; supposedly, the dorm mother would check in from time to time and, if she thought they were getting too close, whip out a ruler to verify the distance between them.

[alphaalpha]

Originally posted by LXA SE285
the dorm mother would check in from time to time and, if she thought they were getting too close, whip out a ruler to verify the distance between them.

I really don't think that it is an urban ledgened. I have heard of public high school dances were shapperoned and the shapperones were there to inforce distance rules, ie girls and guys had to dance a certain distance apart. I am not really sure what would happen but i have heard my relatives talking about this when they went to school in the 60's. Also, there was length of skirts, they would be measured and if a girls skirt was too short she would be sent home because she was being indecent.

SOOOO glad that i live now and not back then.

[roqueemae]

Originally posted by alphaalpha
I really don't think that it is an urban ledgened. I have heard of public high school dances were shapperoned and the shapperones were there to inforce distance rules, ie girls and guys had to dance a certain distance apart. I am not really sure what would happen but i have heard my relatives talking about this when they went to school in the 60's. Also, there was length of skirts, they would be measured and if a girls skirt was too short she would be sent home because she was being indecent.

SOOOO glad that i live now and not back then.

We had the skirt rule when I was in High School '95-'99. It applied to shorts and skirts.