Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-07-06
COLLEGE CO-EDUCATION,
Strong Feeling of the Men in Certain
Schools Against the Presence
of Women.

Inc recent dttIou Vi Tie male menu
bcrs of the graduating class at IVES
leyan University in preventing the
women of the class from taking part
in the exercises of class day has been
sad news to many supporters of CO.
educational university systems. For
some time the men in co-cducational
institutions have seemed to be less re-
bclliouS against the presence of the
women. Supporters of the co-eduCa-
tional idea have hoped that this great
Objection-the opposition of the male
| students-would soon disappear. Every
instance like that at Wesleyan is fol-
, lowed by similar outbursts in other
| universities.
The Wesleyan seniors were deliber-
ate about delivering their last thrust
at co-education They waited until
the women had invited their friends
to the class day exercises, and until it
was too late for them to plan a cele-
| bration of their own. Then, by virtue
of superior numbers, they voted in
class meeting to shut out the ''co-eds"
utterly. In defence of their action they
say that they are simply following out
the policy of the faculty and trustees.
| Three years ago the men rebelled
| against the presence of the women
| students, and secured certain faculty
| regulations which made the two bodies
separate except in the class and lee
ture rooms and at graduation. Now
they demand separate graduation cx-
erciscs.
Cornell University has more Co
eds or women students. than any
other Eastern college. There the SEN
timent against co-educatiOn varies
with different classes. An attempt was
made last winter to vote the women
out of the sophomore class. 1t failed
by narrow margin. ON the other
| hand, the freshmen class voted to give
to its coed members who went in
for athletics class numerals and sweat
ers. The underlying sentiment against
co-education. however. is said to show
no signs of diminishing.
The University of Michigan has the
strongest spirit against co-education
among the Middle Western colleges,
but the feeling there is not so intense
as in the Eastern institutions. There
it takes a social form. many of the
men ignoring the presence of the wo-
men. They depend to Il great degree
| on Chicago. Detroit and surrounding
towns for girls for their dances and
other social affairs. Many Il senior
| is proud to boast on being graduated:
rive gone through Michigan without
knowing a single coed. The wo-
men take their revenge by calling such
men ''co-cds," and say they would not
| care to know the "horrid things" any
way.
The Eastern coed can look with
envy on her sisters in the State uni
verSities of Wisconsin and Minnesota.
The women in these institutions are
a power in class politics. for one thing
and that assures them Il great deal of
tolerance. They are social equals from
the fact that their dances and parties
rival those which the men give. They
are called college women by the men
| students. and the Eastern titles ECO
ed and hen are seldom heard.
These Western college women point
| with pride to one potent evidence Of
their standing in the college commu-
nifty This is the number Of marriages
| which follow closely on graduation,
and there is many a library in new
just alike hang on the wall The same
stat" of things exists at Stanford and
at the University of California, al
though at Stanford there is a limit on
the number of women who can attend
| at any one time.
| why is it that in Western colleges
the feeling against Co-education is 50
much less pronounced than in the
East" was asked Of a Cornell pro-
fesSor who has spent some time in a
Western university.
| perhaps it is due to the fact that
Western universities have been CO.
educational from the start he said
| In the Last the women have been adj
| mitted after the college of men had
built up years of tradition The
| Western men know no other college
life than that in which the coed
figures. The Eastern student knows ii
from old grads and from colleges
like Princeton. where women are I'M
known. You hear little about the CO.
cd at Harvard or Yale. This is he
cause they are few in number and. for
the most part, doing advanced work
They dc not become a part of the col
lege life
Columbia and Barnard present
rather peculiar combination Of the CO.
educational and coordinate systems.
The men and women are as far separ-
ated during the four years of their col
lege course as if the institutions were
distinct, with simply neighborly
feeling for each other. The two col
leges. or rather the university and the
college which has been taken under it's
wing. have separate buildings and
grounds. The teachers are the same
in many instances. but the line of
| work followed differs i'm many particu
lars. In all this Barnard and Column
bia follow the coordinate plan. Even
| the various social affairs of senior or
commencement week are duplicated.
The women have their class day exer-
cises as well as the men and the
Barnard seniors give dance which is
| just as delightful as that given by the
Columbia men. The feeling between
the men and women students is friend
ly and invitations arc freely inter-
changed. On commencement day, how
ever the men and women meet on the
same stage as do the students of CO.
ucational colleges. They listen to
Tho can,o ora dI,at iur addresses hyIt for