1983

I was astounded to hear that this year we are celebrating 25 years of women at Dartmouth. A quarter century! It seems particularly amazing since I have memories of seniors when we were freshmen talking about how when they were freshmen, seniors then fondly recalled a time when women graced not their classrooms. I had grandiose plans of tracking down the extraordinary women of our class, the ones who'd really made a difference at Dartmouth or outside it, and was, in fact, egged on by the arrival of a lone press release about Laurel Schneider, who has worked as an educator with the Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament field and education programs, and A Program to End Abuse through Counseling Education, and who recently joined the faculty of Illinois's North Central College in the religious studies department. But then deadline drew nigh and I decided instead to focus on a woman at Dartmouth who would entail somewhat less research.

I recently read in the pages of this verymagazine that the male/female ratio at Dartmouth is now 580:520, which probably makes the campus a pretty normal place as gender issues go. I'm a little envious of those women who get to attend this new Dartmouth. At the same time I must admit that I had a lot of fun at a Dartmouth with a 2:1 ratio. To my husband's chagrin, I, a former high school wall-flower, am still not completely content at any social gathering unless surrounded by men. Here, however, the Dartmouth experience works to his benefit: it's not as if I think any of them will ask me out.

I used to be proud of how after freshman year basically no male behavior could surprise or shock me. Today I wonder if this was such a good thing. At one of the first Dartmouth football games I attended, when the cheer, "Interception, contraception, stop that ball," rang out, another, very attractive freshman woman close by (for some reason I remember it being KimSteele or Tricia Roberts, but my memory could be playing games with me) stood and exclaimed, "That's so sexist!" A new chant began around her: "Pass her up, pass her up." And away she went. At the time I wondered how she could have been so foolish as to say it aloud. Today it makes me sad that I didn't have her confidence or courage.

Jean Korelitz, someone who had no problems at Dartmouth with being labeled a black-garbed radical feminist poetess (on the contrary, I think she rather enjoyed it), says, "It always distressed me that so many of the women I met at Dartmouth so vehemently rejected the phrase 'feminist' for themselves when they were such direct beneficiaries of the women's movement." Adds Jean, "I was always mindful of the women who came before me and was grateful to them."

To me, the fascinating thing is how different people can have such different perceptions and memories of the same place. But that probably holds true everywhere. Says Liz Mueller, "I never had a sense of any gender discrimination at Dartmouth. I never thought it was an issue. Then again, I was the classic jock. I could always keep up with the guys. The thing about Dartmouth is that it prepares people to succeed, male or female. I'm so positive about the place!"

Some have a tendency to label as anti-Dartmouth anyone remotely critical of a specific aspect of the school. I believe that Jean, Liz, and I, as different as we are, all cherish our time there, and maintain a strong love for the College to this day. I am proud to be a Dartmouth woman and would be delighted if one day my daughters wanted to go there too, although I am a little relieved that by the time that day comes we probably won't be discussing The Ratio anymore.

P.S. Did anyone catch the mention of Charles de Gunzburg's upcoming nuptials in W? It was called "Nina Takes a Husband." Need I say more? But I shall, next month.

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