Coeducation at Haverford :: School Papers

Haverford College did not begin as the knowledgeableness that it is today. A group of concerned Quakers constructed the secondary school on the insert that it would provide a fine education for Quaker young hands. On its founding day in 1833, the Haverford Schools notion of a liberal and unemotional education for Quaker boys became a reality. Jumping forward in cartridge holder to 1870, a decisive change was on the horizon the faculty and students had voted to go coed. However, the Board of Managers did not concede and Haverford remained single sex for over a century after the students and faculty had spoken. It wasnt until 1980 that a freshmen class comprised of both men and women entered Haverford. Yet it is the decade prior to 1980 that is the topic of this paper. The series of about 10 years before a Haverford female student would unpack her prop in her room to settle down for four years of an exquisite and demanding education, both in and out of the classroom, was a time of much reevaluation and devotion on the part of the students, administration, and faculty. The 70s were vibrant and passionate years in the place setting of the argue over coeducation as students, faculty, and administrators voiced their opinions often in Haverford and Bryn Mawrs hebdomadary newspaper, The News, forums, interviews, formal discussions, reports, and Collections (school wide meetings) on both Bryn Mawrs and Haverfords campus. The essence of the coeducational debate fell between two camps. One side argued that continued cooperation with Bryn Mawr was the outperform choice for both schools. The other said that it was time for Haverford to prevent its personal identity from merging with Bryn Mawrs and to step out on its own as a coed institution. The battle lines were drawn and the debate continued with zeal for most of the decade. political economy played an important role in the debate. Haverfords President John Coleman precept that Haverfords financial state was in jeopardy if it did not expand in size. He also saw that by prohibiting 50% of the population in an expansion would decrease the caliber of students at Haverford. Bryn Mawrs president Wofford felt passionately that the fate of Bryn Mawr rested on the decision of Haverford. His concerns were exacerbated by the seemingly compulsory patterns Haverfords Board of Managers set by claiming to let the issue of coeducation rest unless then by addressing the possibility again each year.