A large part of our class is the creation of a documentary. We have been working hard at interviewing alumnae and piecing together historic facts to create a small film that briefs the history of women at the College of William and Mary. Recently, I found a rather interesting topic; the governing rules over previous William and Mary students.
These rules were strict and not to be broken without consequences. All qualified students had must obey them or come into close encounters to being expelled from the College. Most of these rules were bounding and kept students limited to what they could and could not do with their small amount of free time left over from the difficult and rigorous classes. Who were these qualified students? The female population.
A Guide of Appropriate Female Behavior >>>
One small piece of information comes from a blog in the archives of Swem Library and speaks about the rules previous William and Mary female students had to abide by to be in good standing with the College. The example rules are recalled by Janet Coleman Kimbrough, one of the first female students at The College of William and Mary and can be found at: http://womenatwilliamandmary.blogspot.com/2008/10/rules-for-women.html
Some of the rules are as follows:
-After dinner, the women had to stay in their dormitory, Tyler Hall, until all lights went out at midnight.
These rules were strict and not to be broken without consequences. All qualified students had must obey them or come into close encounters to being expelled from the College. Most of these rules were bounding and kept students limited to what they could and could not do with their small amount of free time left over from the difficult and rigorous classes. Who were these qualified students? The female population.
A Guide of Appropriate Female Behavior >>>
One small piece of information comes from a blog in the archives of Swem Library and speaks about the rules previous William and Mary female students had to abide by to be in good standing with the College. The example rules are recalled by Janet Coleman Kimbrough, one of the first female students at The College of William and Mary and can be found at: http://womenatwilliamandmary.blogspot.com/2008/10/rules-for-women.html
Some of the rules are as follows:
-After dinner, the women had to stay in their dormitory, Tyler Hall, until all lights went out at midnight.
-While in their dorm, the women had a mandatory study hall from 8pm-10pm. During this time, they were not supposed to leave their rooms and they had to be quiet.
-At 10pm, the women were allowed to wander between rooms and talk.
-At 10:30pm, all women students were required to go to bed, unless they got special permission to stay up and study until midnight.
-If a woman received special permission to stay up until midnight, she had to study in a different room than her own, so she would not disturb others.
Mind you, that male students did not have to abide by these rules. Many of these rules were put in place to keep the two sexes from being together and preventing alone time in private places. Males were allowed to roam campus whenever they felt free to while girls were shut up indoors immediately following dinner.
William and Mary wasn’t the only school following these strict codes for girls, these codes were placed in most schools and had been running for many years, back from the nineteenth century when women first entered institutions for higher education. “Parents expected colleges to keep young people within the accepted boundaries of morality. Some colleges instituted formal dress codes, and others had regulations on proper appearance, in an effort to uphold earlier standards.” (Solomon 159)
These standards also were in place at more concentrated schools, such as religious and Historically Black Colleges. “Catholic and black schools demanded the strictest behavior both on a off the campus. Catholic schools extended their supervision and rules to the hours that students were not on campus. The discipline of women at black colleges reflected a special determination to obliterate a presumed inherited taint of impurity often associated with the female slave in minds of black men.” (Solomon 159)
Obviously, many of the strict rules of the past have faded away and given light to the college culture of today, often portrayed as one large party in the media with students who are completely out of control. Maybe one day we’ll be able to find a happy medium…
Mind you, that male students did not have to abide by these rules. Many of these rules were put in place to keep the two sexes from being together and preventing alone time in private places. Males were allowed to roam campus whenever they felt free to while girls were shut up indoors immediately following dinner.
William and Mary wasn’t the only school following these strict codes for girls, these codes were placed in most schools and had been running for many years, back from the nineteenth century when women first entered institutions for higher education. “Parents expected colleges to keep young people within the accepted boundaries of morality. Some colleges instituted formal dress codes, and others had regulations on proper appearance, in an effort to uphold earlier standards.” (Solomon 159)
These standards also were in place at more concentrated schools, such as religious and Historically Black Colleges. “Catholic and black schools demanded the strictest behavior both on a off the campus. Catholic schools extended their supervision and rules to the hours that students were not on campus. The discipline of women at black colleges reflected a special determination to obliterate a presumed inherited taint of impurity often associated with the female slave in minds of black men.” (Solomon 159)
Obviously, many of the strict rules of the past have faded away and given light to the college culture of today, often portrayed as one large party in the media with students who are completely out of control. Maybe one day we’ll be able to find a happy medium…
-Laura Condyles
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