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PHOTOS: ASSU mPTION
COllEGE ARCH IVES
B Y E LIZABETH WALKER
MoRE THAN 100 YouNG WoMEN WERE WIllING To TAkE THAT CHAllENGE IN 1969, BuT THEY WoRE JEANS, NoT SkIRTS, AND WERE AS SERIouS ABouT THEIR EDuCATIoN AS THEY WERE ABouT BRINGING PoSITIvE CHANGE To THE WoRlD.
THEY STIll ARE. Members of the Class of 1973, the first class in the then-65-year history of the College to include female undergraduates, gathered on campus for their 40th reunion in June. About three dozen classmates, male and female, and several of their professors, attended a special brunch during Reunion Weekend to commemorate four decades of co-education at Assumption. They reflected on their experiences as “trailblazers,” the lifelong friendships they made, and the significant effect their time at Assumption had on their lives.
Coordinate College Thoughtfully planned and quickly implemented, the co-education plan for Assumption was realized in fall 1969 with the establishment of the Coordinate College for Women at Assumption College. The “coordinate college” plan worked in theory, but not in practice at
Assumption. It was dismantled within the first two years. “The coordinate college plan was intended for all the extras – such as clubs and student government,” said Claire Quintal HD’98, the first full-time female member to join the Assumption faculty in 1968. “It didn’t include academics. But the girls in the Class of 1973 didn’t come to Assumption to be set apart. Many came from coed and public high schools and saw no reason to start parallel clubs and student government activities. They wanted to be mainstreamed on campus. These young women were confident and sure of themselves.”
Met with roses and reluctance The Class of 1973, which included 125 women and 198 men, arrived on campus against a backdrop of political unrest, social tumult and campus protests, in which the Vietnam War took center stage. The women were met on campus with some reluctance that seemed to quickly dissipate. “When the first class of women arrived on campus, we were greeted by upperclassmen, and they offered each of us a rose,” said
Assumption College Magazine
Summer 2013
29