Barnard College - Mortarboard Yearbook (New York, NY)

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The Bicentennial or Buy-Centennial, whichever you prefer, has affected almost every person in the nation. No one can avoid the reminders of the great celebration that is sweeping the country and catching everyone by surprise in a patriotic fever. From the Bicentennial moments televised every five minutes during the Olympic games and soap operas, to the deluge of Bicentennial mer- chandise flooding the market (Bicentennial toothbrushes, baby bottles, neckties, under- wear, etc) the phrase has permeated every aspect of the American way of life. We at Barnard are right up there keeping the spirit, being conveniently located on an actual his- toric site. The Battle of Morningside Heights was fought on 120th Street and Broadway, and lest we dare forget, a plaque on the Mathematics building commemorates the event (pictured left). On September 15, 1776, the Continental Army fled west in great disorder from the su- perior British forces at Kips Bay. At what is now Fifth Avenue and Forty-Second Street, Washington tried unsuccessfully to rally his troops, and in disgusted rage, flung his hat at the retreating men. The following day Washington, hoping to restore their spirits, planned to lead his troops against a detach- ment of British and Hessian soldiers moving toward the American encampment at the presentday site of 130th Street and Manhat- tan Avenue. In a field of buckwheat, now the corner of 120th Street and Broadway, the ar- mies battled for an hour and a half. The British and Hessian troops were forced to re- treat south to 105th Street where they ex- pected reinforcements. Unwilling to confront even greater numbers, Washington ordered a retreat to Harlem Heights. The American sol- diers left the field unassaulted. The British troops, outnumbering the American by two thousand men, were routed and for the first time in the Battle for Manhattan, the Conti- nental Army marched off a battlefield with pride. The Americans had a reason to be proud, for they held back Howe ' s advance northward for four weeks. This victory boosted the American morale, restoring their honor and courage. The Battle of Harlem Heights was the only one in the New York campaign in which the Continental Army tasted victory.

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BARNARO COLLEGE BBB | •! FOUNDED AD 1889 WAS NAMED IN HONOR OF FREDERICK A. P. BARNARO PRESIDENT OF COLUMBIA COLLEGE IB84 1889 FOREMOST ADVOCATE OF THE ADMISSION OF WOMEN TO ' COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY NO ONE IS ANY LONGER WEAK ENOUGH TO ARGUE THAT WOMEN SHOULD BE DENIED THE EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES WHICH THE UNIVERSITIES OFFER ON THE CROUND OF ANY NATURAL INCAPACITY OF THE SEX TO PROFIT BY THEM ' PRESIDENT FREDERICK A. P. BARNARD 1881 THIS rUOUC (IVCN SY THE CLASS Of 1»14 JUNE, 1tt4 JUNE. IMS Although all traces of the Redcoats vanished from the area over a century before Barnard was established, the spirit of conflict remained. The founding of Barnard itself involved a long arduous struggle for recognition of the importance and need of higher education of women. In 1869, Frederick A.P. Barnard, the tenth President of Col- umbia University, made his first unsuccessful appeal for women ' s education to the Board of Trustees. Barnard fought for co-education not as the best, but as the most practical solution to the problem of equal educational opportunities for women. Men were not the sole opponents of women ' s educational advancement. Discrimination and prejudice were inherent in the very structure of society. While advocating equal oppor- tunities, women admitted that they required special treat- ment. Some of Columbia ' s trustees believed women deserved to pursue their education, but they did not believe it should be done at a male institution. Others thought that the delicate female constitution could not endure the rigor of academic life: They realized, as some women did not, how difficult col- lege studies were and how poorly the girls were prepared by the existing secondary schools. (from an article by Annie Nathan Mayer, 1888.) Finally, in 1889, following five additional abortive petitions by Barnard, the Columbia Trustees approved a resolution es- tablishing Barnard College. The resolution, however, stipu- lated the following: Barnard was to purchase its own build- ings, to be financially independent, and to set up its own board of trustees. Columbia instructors were required to make independent teaching arrangements with Barnard which would not interfere with their Columbia commitments. Despite these limitations, Barnard expanded rapidly, graduating its first class of eight women in 1893. In 1897, Barnard outgrew its building at 343 Madison Avenue and moved to Brinckerhoff Hall at 119th Street, the original battle site, right across from Columbia University. Barnard became formally affiliated with Columbia in an agreement between the two institutions in 1900. The Barnard faculty was then recognized as one of the University faculties. The agreement also stated that Barnard was to be governed by its own trust- ees and to assume responsibility for its own endowment and physical plant; it would share some instructors and libraries, and that Barnard students would receive Columbia University degrees. As early as 1937, and more than four decades before Peter Pouncey became Dean of Columbia College, the possibilities of merger threatened Barnard ' s independence. The subject elicited the following comment from Virginia Gildersleeve, the Dean of Barnard for thirty-six years: If the time comes when Columbia trustees sincerely b elieve that the education of girls is just as important as the education of boys, possibly the fi- nances for the two might safely be merged. Even under those circumstances, this arrangement might be less advantageous for Barnard, because in a great University like Columbia, the tendency is for the most distinguished professors to drift to the Graduate School and to neglect undergraduate instruc- tion. Our present organization keeps at least a few of them at Barnard. An agreement in 1952 further clarified the independent status of Barnard College and made the Dean, Millicent Carey Mcintosh, President of Barnard and also a dean of Columbia University. 8