Learning the Rules
Introduction
Women experienced strict rules governing conduct that emerged from women’s roles at the time. Dorm life, curfew, dress codes, and travel restrictions created a more restricted life for women than for men on campus. Women recounted freshman initiation, wearing beanies, and the role of Big Sisters on campus. While punishments for breaking the rules could be severe, women tested the limits of dorm life on a regular basis.
Classroom
“Miss Spencer had English Lit and Grammar. And I remember her first introduction to me, she sat in front of the class and she said: … ‘Now ladies the way you sit on a stage is not this way. Do not cross your legs. A lady crosses her legs at her ankles and holds her hands in her lap.’”
Leila M. Jackson Stauffer, Class of 1929
“…in a class, you were called, my maiden name was Fritz, and the teacher would say, “Miss Fritz”, and then you stood. And they fired questions at you until they were done. The Philosophy teacher would say: “That’s what you think. Now what does the book say?” And you’d better quote the book verbatim.”
Betty Fritz Weaver, Class of 1939
Freshman Initiation
“[A Big Sister was] the one who got you interested in the rules and told you what you can do and can’t do and told you to memorize the alma mater and be able to sing it when you get called upon to do so. And if there were any questions you had those first six weeks you were to ask her for help.”
Amanda Gockley Baum, Class of 1941
“…when we were freshman we had to wear the freshman beanie … for the first four weeks or so, we had … freshman activities, we had to wear the beanie and wear the little book around our neck.”
Catherine Charles Glass, Class of 1953
“We had big sisters. When we were freshmen…I thought [it] was really important because they showed us around campus…they told us what to join and what not to join and all the rules and regulations. We also had hazing, which was, at that time, scary. We were scared of the upperclassmen. They could stop us at anytime and ask us to sing the alma mater, and if we didn’t know it, we could end up scrubbing the steps with a toothbrush…The first two weeks, we had to meet down near the lake and…had to wear these beanies that said “Millersville.” The important thing was to know that alma mater. And we did, we knew it.”
Joanne Long Blankenstein, Class of 1955
Dorm Life
“We were, I think, a little more regimented than you are. For instance, we were allowed out until 7:00. We could walk the campus until 7:00 but we had to be in by 7:00, lights were turned out at 10:00. I remember one weekend, one of the boys and one of the girls went away and were married, and they both were dismissed from school on Monday. And if we went away for a weekend, we had to have written permission from our parents, even though we were going with a roommate to her home.”
Jane Gray Smith, Class of 1933
“I lived in the dorm the second year. There were a lot of girls who would get together and do things together and do things socially. It was a restricted kind of living . . . The woman who was in charge of the girls, the Dean, [said] . . . we couldn’t go to Lancaster without wearing a hat or gloves. We had to adhere to certain dress codes. We had to be in our rooms by 9:00 every evening. We had to get passes to go into Lancaster. We could socialize on the campus and we could also socialize off campus if we wanted to.”
Mae Slater Wingenroth, 1936 – 1937, 1953 BSE
“We had to be in every night at 7:00 and Miss Conrad the Dean of Women stood at the door to smell you to see if you were…smoking or if you were at Hills for a hamburger…after 7:00 you were in your room studying. We weren’t even allowed to go from one floor to the next to visit; you had to stay in your room after 7:00.”
Amanda Gockley Baum, Class of 1941
Dress
“We had a Dean of Women. Her name was Miss Boggs. We had to have orientation with her and she was very strict about certain things. Females were not supposed to wear red. This was a suggestive color. … And we weren’t allowed to wear patent leather shoes because she said gentlemen could see your underwear reflected in your shoes. And we had to obey that dress code. Now there were no slacks allowed. You had to dress to go to class.”
Catherine J. Horn, Class of 1951
“I don’t think we wore slacks. Definitely didn’t wear jeans. We usually wore skirts and sweaters. That was the year of bobby socks and saddle shoes and loafers…we didn’t have to wear nylons, but we did put nylons on to go to dinner…There was an unwritten rule, but I was here when Ruby Boggs was Dean of Women. I think my first year, she did not like us wearing slip over sweaters, and she definitely didn’t like us wearing red…she didn’t appreciate us not looking well groomed coming to dinner. In fact…if she thought we didn’t have our nylons on, she would feel our legs, and we’d have to go up and get nylons on. She was pretty strict.”
Joanne Long Blankenstein, Class of 1955
Breaking the Rules
“…A little store that was called Hills, they sold ice cream, it was across the street... George St…that was sort of …[a] gathering place. In fact, my roommate and I a couple of times would sneak out and go over and get an ice cream cone when we weren’t supposed to be out. But we rolled up our pajamas and put on our raincoats and went out a side door, and got our ice cream and came back."
Isabelle Huston Binkely, Class of 1944
“We had…an elderly man and his name was Harvey, and he patrolled the halls…to see that we were going by the rules and regulations and…he often saw somebody coming in our window and he’d rap on our door and say, “Who’s in there?” And sometimes they would have to go in the closet and we would open and just ask, “Yes, Harvey?”…For some of the girls…especially if they had a boyfriend on campus, being in at 8:00 sometimes presented a big problem, and I’m sure Mrs. Hill knew that some of those girls were coming in late, but she sort of looked the other way…and then [would] catch them.”
Joanne Long Blankenstein, Class of 1955