Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-11-20
AS ONE WOMAN SEES 1T
Two Thousand Women Students In
tent on Getting Their Degrees Re.
eelve Q Welcome Here and There
and Plug Along Anyhow
BY SARAH d. LONVRlE

t"C tOWu UeSiH W AsV''s
dale on. and after what seems far more than
a. quarter Of IN hour look down from the
elevated roadbrsl at the long vistns Of streets
md streets. stretching on and on with their
mile. on end Of little houses. all occupied
sort Of despnir TINT Is almost fright
comes over me. lest In such huge complex:
ity Of population shall lose my way and
never be able to ht the small key IN my
purse Into a kcyhole thnt i can turn.
Of Columbus That my smaIl bark cnn cross
no ifnmense a sea and make port. Yet vast
and complicated a. this city OF nearly two
million souls looks and feels to one travers.
ing 1t from one end TO the other IN the space
Il that startle me into an even more super.
lativc surprise when hear them casually
stated-as. for instance, that out at the
Cniversity tomorrow morning and nny morn.
ing there will he 1000 women students going
degrees. That is Just one item n the stu.
dent life Of the University-2O0O women
getting degrees! And the University is just
one iten, In the huge student life OF the
town. And the student life Il just one Item
Of the multifarious items that 30 to make up
MIHEN such big things are 50 compare.
w lively tiny in the sum Of happenings.
how can any individual squeeze himself hend
and shoulders above the hends Of the mul.
thought!
That va. what ! WI. thinking this eve.
on my way home from the University, where
l had been having tea and q conversation
with Miss Louise Snowden, who. as the
adviser OF women out there, comes IN con.
tact sooner or later with the whole body Of
the women students who are working In one
or the other of fho 1'nive rsitv schoo1a And
colleges.
Our conversation came about from an ap.
polntment I hnd made to visit the nennett
Club; near Thirty. fourth and Walnut
and recreation center for the undersradu.
ates among the women Of the University.
TWO rather gaunt houses in the row Of
L brick dwellings that were built in the
days Of the Centennial for n hotel and di.
vided after that heyday year into separate
famt!y houses. are now connected by door
on the first floor. The inside Arrangement
has been only a little changed here and
there. 30 that the old. narrow. high down.
stairs rooms have very much their old aspect
OF businesslike formnlity that belonged to q
period when furnaces with registers took the
place OF open frcplnces md the stairs went
strnight up out Of dark corridor.
The pervading color Of the woodwork is
shiny chocolate brown, and the parlor
wicker furniture and rugs and chintzes have
fallen under the dul spell Of their surround.
inGs-they are clay brown.
My first feeling about the Bennett Club
was that It was very depressing place.
But believe that I was wrong. In the
first place the two women who are most
responsible for its atmosphere. though not
its furnishing, Miss Snowden and the resi-
dent. Miss Search. were the reverse Of de.
Miss Search pities the people in the street
cars that have to pass 10 desirable a haven
without being aware of its comforts. and
Miss Snowden was only conscious of how
convenient md necessary the students found
forty students swarmed casually in the front
door and made straight for that long. formal
parlor. saw us drinking tea there, appar.
emily deep in business, and strole,l out and
upstairs TO the study rooms on the second
floor. talking happily as they went.
And Inst Of all very minute kitten an.
peared there. greeted the three Of liz with
complaisant assurance Of welcome and
curled up where there should have been a
hearth and an open fire with a satisfaction
in her home that was the acme OF good
Certainly there were no apologies for the
atmosphere of the Bennett Club from any
Of Its habitucs. Nevertheless. I can think
OF no happier gift for n.c to bestow on youth
than suitably cheerful clubhouse along the
"
Spruce, streets. to take the place Of this
transition makeshift from nothing to some.
thing worthy.
Compared to Houston HILL. the men stu.
dents club, the present quarters Of the
women could BE- called makcshift with no
for 1t and appreciate it speaks we'll for the
women. but not very supcrlativcly for the
people in this town who are interested in
girls and in education and in student life.
DUT then, of course. very few persons
- nre. apparently. intcrested-that ia. in
n very generous degrec--in the student life
heard it called not long ago for its women.
kind "school Of advcrsitv." They nrc
there on suferancc. the 2000 Of them, and
in some OF the divisions of the schools in
cluded in the University, not yet there"
at NIL IN the sense that they are free to earn
degree.
Of those that welcome women, however.
the School OF Education gives four-year
course and a degree Of bachelor of science
the College for Teachers. gives a four.yea
course and the degree Of bachelor Of arts.
The School OF Biology also gives degree
of bachelor Of science. For post graduates
the Schools of Medicine. Dentistry. Law and
Music are open to women and give women
degrees. So that woman can turn herself
out with what Is virtually a college and
vfipn pTVtebsiohul framing ana with the
requisite degrees required by tho Stote for
tcnchers and some Of the professions Tor
practitioners. The School OF Architecture
and the Department of Art, am told, are
still adamant. They withhold what most
of the others have given grudginrIy.
One Of the professors said to me rather
testify. THE place is too full already. why
cannot they keep to their own collescsi"
Well for one thing. their own COLLEGES
have not got such post graduate schools.
and for another thing the University Il. A.
has q real value rs n start in ones career
as wage. Garner, and for another thins
the nearby available colleges are soyer.
crowded as It Is, and more expensive.
BOUT one.half Of the present student
"A body Of women live nt home, some Of
them work part time and take the afternoon
and night courses. The State Board OF
Education now requires Il university degree
for it's teachers In all grades above the ele-
mentary schools. Most private schools and
r,ant colleRas require q unyersity ~. n eai