The objection of men students in the east to coeducation seems to be
mainly in the apprehension that the presence of women may interfere
with the free social life which has become so prominent a feature of
private colleges for men in the east. These colleges are, for the most
part, situated either in small country towns, or in the suburbs of a
city, in communities which have grown up about the college, and their
students live largely in college dormitories; the conditions,
therefore, are exceedingly unlike those prevailing in non-residential
colleges and also unlike those prevailing in the world at large. These
exceptional conditions are a source of pleasure and, in many respects,
of advantage to the student. Undoubtedly there is in coeducational
colleges less unrestraint; young men undoubtedly care much for the
impression that they make on young women of the same age, and there is
more decorum and perhaps more diligence in classrooms where women are
present. The objection to coeducation on the part of women students
is, to some extent, the same; separate colleges for women in like
manner are, as a rule, academic communities living according to
regulations and customs all their own; women also feel themselves more
unrestrained when they are studying in women’s colleges. Then, too,
coeducation in the east is still regarded as in some measure an
experiment, to the success of which the conduct of each individual
woman may, or may not, contribute, and the knowledge of this tends to
increase the self-consciousness of student life.
Footnote 18:
In the case of the colleges in groups I and II these statistics have
been obtained through the kindness of the presidents of the colleges
concerned; they are for the year 1900, except the numbers of
instructors and students which are obtained from the catalogues for
the year 1898–99; in enumerating the instructors, presidents, teachers
of gymnastics, elocution, music and art have been omitted. Instructors
away on leave of absence are not counted among instructors for the
current year.
Footnote 19:
Women’s colleges were first classified in division A and division B in
1887. In these reports there appeared sporadically in division A
Ingham university, at Leroy, New York, and Rutgers female college in
New York city. Neither of these had any adequate endowment and neither
ever obtained more than 35 students. Ingham university closed in 1893,
Rutgers female college in 1895.
Footnote 20:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account