MEN OF DARTMOUTH

I ENTERED DARTMOUTH as a transfer, the year women were first admitted. A friend and I drove up to Hanover as I was making the decision to transfer. I took one look at the energetic campus, looked at her, and said, "This is where I want to go. "I absolutely never regretted that decision. But at the beginning it was just a little wild.

At convocation, the school song was changed from "Men of Dartmouth" to "Dartmouth Undying." A lot of the men were furious at us; in fact, a group of them stood up after the song and sang "Men of Dartmouth." The women, though, had no idea how that decision had been made. We didn't have a clue about what was going on.

My dorm, Butterfield, had women on the second floor. Fraternity brothers from Beta screamed at us across the street from their windows all that night.

Many of the men during my time had been used to taking road trips. That's how they went on dates, how they met women. It seemed odd that they still continued that tradition even when we arrived. Sometimes women would be looking for a place to stay in our dorm. Someone in my dorm even put somebody up one night. But I remember thinking that this wasn't so good. At first, I think, the men were afraid to ask us out, especially some of the upperclassmen who were initially against coeducation. Now that we were a reality at Dartmouth, it probably would have felt odd for them to ask us out. I dated someone in my class during that early time, and we practically had to date in secret. We'd go over to the fraternity house, and he'd pretend he wasn't with me. It was very strange. Later, when things settled down, I made some wonderful male friendships. Many continue to this day.

Eventually, even Beta settled down. The guys started inviting us to their parties. Time helped a lot. I think that once the men realized it might be easier to date the women on their own campus than to travel two hours somewhere, relationships started to change.

It was the right time and a good time for women to come to Dartmouth.

Mary Stewart Donovan is assistant dean for student affairs at MercerLaw School in Macon, Georgia.