The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-11-17
GIRLS WORK AT COLUMBIA.
WEr TO THELABYRINTH WHERE THE
POsT-GRIDUdTE COURSES LIE.

Virty.tuo Girl Graduates Have Pound Their
way In This Year Some Glasses Closed
AEnin,t Them = no nteiErnduntea nc
neutrality-suspicious. AVID Freshman Drama.
For girl graduate students at Columbia Col
lego the path OF knowledge Ia not inado easy.
Tho admission OF women to my Of tho post
graduate courses Is q very recent matter, and
there arc still many OF tho professors who hold
up tho bars against them. Prof. Brandcr
Matthews. in the face Of numberless petitions.
still shakes his head and closes his, doors to wo-
mankind. However. even with the consent ofa
professor, tho battle is not won. When Prof.
Woodbury. made up his mind to allow'Rirls to
enter his classes his students to a man voted
against 1t, appointed by lot one OF their number
70 expostulato with the Professor. and by 80
doing secured for another year classes undilutcd
By any feminine mixture.
Their objection seemed to DO general, not
specific. For the man on whom the lot fell had
o sister. Aftcrward she wished to take Prof.
Woodberry's work, but found 1t closed against
her. When sho learned OF the students action
and her brothers part in 1t tho mir was blue
about his head. OH he gasped. iii had known
you wanted to take 1t I never would have voted
against the girls" II WINS poor consolation, but
valuable ia its philosophical bearing, Ms show
ine that the men do not object to girls In the
right place. and that Columbia Is not breeding
race Of misogynists.
Last year, when that particular set OF men
had been sent on its way rejoicing, Prof. Wood
berry opened his classes to the clamorous girls
with ono condition. that they must be candi-
dates for a degree. This fall even that ~restric-
tion was removed, and now any girl graduate
may cntcr the classes. either for work or az an
auditor. As tho name implies. auditors arc
simply listeners; they play audience to tho rest
of the class and enjoy the fun. with no fear of
examinations before them. They may work or
not as they please; 1t counts them nothing, and
they ncod not even DO graduates Of other col
leges TO DO eligible to these passive privileges
offered by Prof. Price, Prof. Carpenter, Prof.
Woodberry. and one or two Of tho other pro-
fessurs.
But when n girl student has selected n course,
where she is duly fortified by the approval OF
the professor, her trials oven then are not all
PROCESS Is difficult at any time, but during the
ambiguous state of Columbia's arrangements
quired by n college course and four years OF
gymnastics to accomplish the task:
Columbia. after Drawing the discomiorts of ab.
normally slow transit. stands at last before tho
college col (, gate ON WINDY windy DAY, 6Sy; needless Sn a w to say,
her'volition she finds herself blown through tho
gate, and hurled at the back Of q SURPRISED, la.
borer; then she waits for n lull in the wind to
ask him where the Registrar may be found.
Don have en- here num- the la6orer re-
rs the rising wind carries his voice out OF his
mouth, as II were.
Toward the library the girl marches. straight
into a class OF men just dismissed AT tho very
door q fcrOcious gust comes sweeping round
the corner. carries off her hat. dashes her eye.
glasses upon the stone in fragments. and putfs
out her skirt until she looks like an animated
remnants of her wardrobe, she starts through
the library in search OF n registrar. She wan.
ders about the basement and upstairs, but sees
Finally, a gruy-headcd gentleman appears and
she asks him in q confidential whisper where
rhn rRDI : p p mn u hn
Then she finds that the Registrar OF Columbia
Isl "Bursar' and has his headquarters In the
the dark, mysterious passaEeways below. and
with IA sigh OF reliof enters the bursar's Office at
"Registcri 2" the bursar asks. "You want to
register Tor a postgraduate coursei You must
e to- Barnard for that. All registration is
The girl is so conscious Of her tilted hat and
to and Barnard. Again she faces t" the crSei
blast. makes for The building that looks most
like q girls college. and iinds il isn't. A work.
you tell mo where Barnard Is
.shnrc, and ! cant; I'd lqike to see the soieht
seen a barnyard since / iESft the anld country"
It was Friday and give up for the day. But II
s nnpd Is onS nate she PROBABLY ,o aeiy, pushes into Bar Bar.
stopped for the day. aud that her registration
must wait over. She thinks of the long blocks
between her ard the elevated, OF the steps in;
Vulnerable ut the end, and boards n Boulevard
car. In the long hour that elaPses before she
REACHES Fiftieth street she ponders within her.
SER on tho difficulties OF higher education Tor
women, and whether they are worth while;
relax bis rule against tho girls, but doubtless
the other tfty;onc graduate students have found
dent by going to Barnard in office hours, sign.
ing her name. and paying So becomes entitled
Columbia. From him she gets a certificate OF
good behavior, which. presented to the profes.
her. This routine seems simple enough, but
that is as may he. Once inside The lecture room
there is no distinction OF sex. The requirements
is equal in valuc to his.
Tho graduate girl students this year number
q, the barnard, undergraduate students ITO.
Theamplo building and the beautiful rooms set
aside for the use OF tho girls have given social
Barnard students. The freshmen have been
particularly fortunate in coming at the flood
and amateur tbcntricals given for their benefit
have mndo their first term n dream Of b ISIS.
BEGINNING OF their course. and. after teaching
shsm me precepts proper Tor freshmen to know.
day afternoon a farce by John Kendrick Bangs.
some or tho freshmen are writing an elabo-
Eale play, which i to be presented after Christ
various clubs. and societies which have enter
tainSd them this fall. Among these is a SOUTH
Southern girls only among its members. but its
ranks were oDcned to include iris who had a
southern parent or even Southern ancestors,
S0nthorn girls In all.
The new lunch room proves very popular. par
~ticularly so just now, as q new rule forbids eat
ing anywhere else In the building. except by the
special permission of the Dean. The studious
FRESHMEN who were wont TO snatch their lunch
II the cloak room. sandwiching II In between a
difficult thcorcm and q page of Livy. are sad
hearted ut the time it takes to travel up four
flights OF stairs TO the lunch room. but even II it
is not so good for their Latin and mathematics,
the enforced mess is much better for their d.