Randolph-Macon Woman's going co-ed...Many Students and Alumnae not happy

[alum]

I certainly can't speak for the success of any women's colleges but as usual I have a couple of opinions.

I think part of the success of Wellesley is that it has always been loosely connected with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Wellesley College (a stunning campus in its own right) is in a gorgeous Boston suburb with easy access to other colleges in the greater Boston area.

In terms of Mt. Holyoke and Smith, they are both member of the 5-College Consortium. Amherst and Hampshire Colleges and UMass Amherst make up the rest of the 5. There is a cross-registration agreement amongst the consortium

When I ws in college in the early '80s, Vassar had recently turned co-ed. A boy a couple of years ahead of me in prep school was one of the first male students at Vassar. W&L was undergoing the "Better Dead than Co-ed" debate. Not that Washington and Lee was ever on par with Hampden-Sydney in terms of student caliber, but they would not be the school they are today without the addition of women.

To be perfectly blunt (and when am I not?). H-SC is somewhat regarded as a men's finishing school. Instead of bringing your horse to college, you can bring your hunting dog and weapon. Still, they fill a niche for certain students.

Originally Posted by breathesgelatin

On the first point that's certainly true. I think that it's because for some reason, an all-women's college is more appealing to women than an all-men's college is appealing to men. I guess guys just like us. I know that the primary reason W&L went co-ed is that admissions numbers were dropping and along with that the academic... er, strength of the student body was also dropping. Hampden-Sydney college is sort of infamous in the region. It was a fun place to visit but I think its academics may be suffering to some degree as well.

I know that a lot of the women's colleges in the area used to have NPC groups. Pi Phi had two such chapters, one of which was at Hollins. I forget where the other was. Mary Baldwin definitely had NPC groups as well, but these (like the others, I believe) in the first third or so of the 20th cent. They were certainly long-gone by the time my mom got there. I had some friends from MBC in undergrad who would have been interested in Greek Life but it's definitely not allowed there now by any means! I know that at least part of the rationale was "we're all sisters here;" it's meant to discourage cliques I think. Also, if I remember correctly, many of the women's colleges established student government at the same time they banned Greek Life.

[AlexMack]

Originally Posted by alum

I certainly can't speak for the success of any women's colleges but as usual I have a couple of opinions.

I think part of the success of Wellesley is that it has always been loosely connected with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Wellesley College (a stunning campus in its own right) is in a gorgeous Boston suburb with easy access to other colleges in the greater Boston area.

In terms of Mt. Holyoke and Smith, they are both member of the 5-College Consortium. Amherst and Hampshire Colleges and UMass Amherst make up the rest of the 5. There is a cross-registration agreement amongst the consortium

When I ws in college in the early '80s, Vassar had recently turned co-ed. A boy a couple of years ahead of me in prep school was one of the first male students at Vassar. W&L was undergoing the "Better Dead than Co-ed" debate. Not that Washington and Lee was ever on par with Hampden-Sydney in terms of student caliber, but they would not be the school they are today without the addition of women.

To be perfectly blunt (and when am I not?). H-SC is somewhat regarded as a men's finishing school. Instead of bringing your horse to college, you can bring your hunting dog and weapon. Still, they fill a niche for certain students.

I know girls from Mount Holyoke and Smith and it amuses me no end because most women who go to those colleges go to escape typical college life, of which greek life is a big part...yet they're basically in one big sorority. Their traditions, rituals, things like that.
I had friends from high school who went to Wells College, a small all-womens college in Aurora, NY. They had to go co-ed and no one was happy about it. I visited them over spring break when they were back home and was wearing a letter hoodie. My friend steph looked at it and said 'eeeeuwww' and I just replied with, "um...your college is one giant sorority, I wouldn't be talking."

Wells couldn't survive without going co-ed, as much as it pained them to do so.

[lovelyivy84]

I don't think it's fair to characterize all-female schools as "one big sorority". I went to an all-girls schools from 4th grade through 12th, and looked at some women's colleges (after 9 years of it, it wasn't something I was anxious to do, lol). Granted there are a lot of traditions, and some rituals (depending on the school) but it's nothing like sorority life, given the diversity of the women involved (especially at Smith).

Originally Posted by centaur532

I know girls from Mount Holyoke and Smith and it amuses me no end because most women who go to those colleges go to escape typical college life, of which greek life is a big part...yet they're basically in one big sorority. Their traditions, rituals, things like that.
I had friends from high school who went to Wells College, a small all-womens college in Aurora, NY. They had to go co-ed and no one was happy about it. I visited them over spring break when they were back home and was wearing a letter hoodie. My friend steph looked at it and said 'eeeeuwww' and I just replied with, "um...your college is one giant sorority, I wouldn't be talking."

Wells couldn't survive without going co-ed, as much as it pained them to do so.