The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1879-12-25
Women at Harvard.

Il is odd enough tina. the College
which of all others has maintained an
attitude of the most dislike to collegiate
oducation OF women should now be, by
no consent of its own, lending hand
to an enterprise Of the kind, without ex-
ception the most important now existing
in the country. had occasion to spend
a charming October morning, this year,
at Cambridge, Strengthening out the con-
fusion which 1, like most Of my coun-
trymen, had been with regard to Har-
ward University and the ladies' carricu-
lum. The relation, or rather non-rela'
tionlof those at the college is thing that
people are generally misty about. They
identify them, mistakenly enough, with
the older systems Of ladies' examina-
tions. What little connection there is
between the two, is purely incidental,
essentially, they have nothing to do with
each other.
EXAMINATIONS OF WOMEN.
The examinations for women have
been in existence since 1874. They
were established by the college govern
ment with some reluctance in answer to
pressing outside demands. Though the
college authorities, notably President
Eliot, iwere out of sympathy with the
movement, yet they regarded it as EN-
phasizing their theory that if women
would study, the proper place for them
Ito do it was at home. For this is all
there is to the examinations Two sets
of subjects are marked out land pub
lished in bulletins), on which two diff
ferent examinations are to be based;
some advice is added about the best way
to master the subjects as best she can,
alone, with tutor, in college-any-
where. SO that it is not at Harvard
and may then present herself at the Civ
en- time and place (far away, You may be
sure, from any precinct haunted by the
students) and pass the examination. The
two sets of examinations spoken Of are
the preliminary and the advanced. An
impression went out from the authori-
ties, whether by intention or not, that
these two examinations covered nearly
the ground of the Harvard course. That
is far from being the fact. In truth,
. the preliminary examination must
he supplemented by about half Of the
advanced examination before the
standard of matriculation at Harvard
has been reached A certificate of sue
coss in both the women's examinations,
thon, so far from being equivalent to a
graduating diploma from the University,
il very little more than equivalent in
rank to a certificate of admission. Het
no lady may present herself for. the pre-
liminary examination under the age Of
IT, nor for the advanced under the age
of 10.
Whether these examinations are con-
Quoted with the same conscientiousness
and severity as those for the students OF
the University, 1 do not know. There
would be, no doubt, a sense of profess
sional honor about it in the minds of the
examiners, yet it would be difficult not
to be influenced by the feeling that
nothing depended on this examination,
and the only use in it was to satisfy the
girls. Yet, in spite of the little SYM
pathy which the University felt for the
examinations, there proved to be demand
enough for them to justify extending
them Of late to New York, Philadelphia
and Cincinnati Still the demand for
that sort of education has not been what
was hoped by those who believed it the
right way to educate girls, and the New
York Nation and the Atlantic have
contained grave structures on the slow
moss of American girls to take advantage
OF this really excellent opportunity, after
they had so long been begging for higher
education, and have compsred the back
ward girls unfavorably with English
girls, who eagerly availed themselves of
a similar chance not long before. There
is no doubt that the GOODNESS Of Presi-
dent Eliot and others toward the move
ment caused social feeling against it
in some quarters that deferred some
girls, and others probably let it alone,
because they did not feel that simply be-
ing examined was really worth the trou-
BILE. At all events, the sequel has shown
that indifference to higher education was
not the reason Of their indifference to
Harvard examinations.
Such are the examinations for women,
of Harvard University, conducted by
the University, with knowledge and