"We would be the first class of women:" Coeducation

As a member of the class of 1976, Eileen Cave was part of Dartmouth's first class that accepted women. This was a fact that helped her decide on Dartmouth. She stated in our interview, "I thought that [being in the first class of women] was a very interesting, intriguing, and challenging opportunity." The College's decision to become a coeducational institution was not popular among everyone, with many students and alumni openly opposing it. However, coeducation at Dartmouth was not such a clear issue among everyone. Many women who attended Dartmouth at the time attest to the disgusting treatment they received, yet this was not always the case with Ms. Cave and some other Black women. Ms. Cave complicates the narrative of total opposition to coeducation by explaining that she was often protected by and found community with the Black men on campus. Although her experience was noteworthy, it is still important to understand that Ms. Cave unfortunately does not speak for everyone, and many people were vehemently against allowing women to attend Dartmouth. These photos will demonstrate some of the negative and positive aspects, and experiences that came about from coeducation. 

Anti-Coeducation Banners

From the windows of Russell Sage, students who opposed women at Dartmouth hung banners that displayed their feelings on coeducation.  The messages ranged from absurd ("It's a damn commie plot") to simple ("No CoEd"), yet they all clearly represented the same thing: women were not welcome at Dartmouth. 

Snow sculpture

Before women were admitted as students, they would sometimes be invited to campus as a kind of "Winter Carnival Queen," somewhat like a pageant queen. However, their presence at the annual winter carnivals did nothing to change the minds of current students at the institution. In this picture, one student wrote "Coeducation: the end of the flaming Dartmouth animal" on a snow sculpture to demonstrate sentiments against women students at the College. 

Members of Alpha Kappa Alpha

Alpha Kappa Alpha is a Black sorority that almost had a chapter at Dartmouth during Ms. Cave's time as a student. Ms. Cave stated that many Black women were interested in starting a chapter. Black men discouraged them,  despite the fact that they had started their own chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, a Black fraternity. Black women were told that having a sorority would fragment the small group of women on campus. However, once the chapter was founded, it became a big part of the Black community at Dartmouth. 

Members of Delta Sigma Theta

Delta Sigma Theta is a Black sorority with a chapter on Dartmouth's campus. Although the sorority was not mentioned during Ms. Cave's interview, she has made it clear that Black Greek organizations played a large role in the school's Black community. Here, members of Delta Sigma Theta are shown selling "Soar" buttons. 

"Our consciousness has been raised. What are we going to do?": Activism at Dartmouth and Beyond The Effects of Black Alumni and Faculty