Hampden Sydney College - Kaleidoscope Yearbook (Hampden Sydney, VA)

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besides, wouldn't it be nice to send your daughters to Hampden-Sydney? lt is rather sad for a father to describe how wonderful his college experience was but then tell his daughter that it cannot be for her. As compelling as the argument for coeducation is in its own right, the bottom line for convincing alumni and trustees to accept the change is survival, a less plea- sant but more critical matter. At a recent football game students paraded about with a banner proclaiming Better Dead Than Coed! Most observers chuckled at a sign of youthful exuberance, but if, indeed, the slogan repres- ented a deeply felt opinion that Hampden-Sydney's essence is its all-maleness, we have failed in our purpose. If this institution means little more than drinking beer with the boys, then the Col- lege deserves to die, a relic of an older day. If, however, Hampden- Sydney is stately old buildings and revolutionary era oaks, the excitement of discovery in the classroom or victory on the athletic fields, the joy of friendships with professors and fellow students, then that is an experience which must endure. The College is not in danger of closing. I am refer- ring to surviving with quality. Cut size and reliance on tui- tion revenue makes getting a good class every year imperative. A small dip in numbers is threatening. We 1985 KALEIDOSCOPE are running very hard now just to stay in place, but we are losing better students to UVA and William and Mary, among others, because of costs. This is why we must improve our retention rate as well as expand our applicant pool. Coeducation more than doubles that pool. It adds the women and those large numbers of men who never consider us or reject us because we are all-male fvery few of our students select us for this reason, meaning the decline in our present consti- tuency would be slightj. In the very competitive world of admissions, the demographics are clear. There will be one million fewer college age stu- dents available in the next decade, it is estimated that perhaps one hundred small colleges will not survive because of this. We must reduce our liabilities-the reasons why students reject us-single sex, isolation, nar- row curriculum, rapidly escalating costs. Coeducation is not the great panacea, but it would certainly eradicate one of these deficiencies and likely ameliorate the others. ln addi- tion, it would also have the advantage of improving the quality of those accepted for admission. This change will not be easy. New problems will arise. Costs will be entailed. And so we must prepare well for this eventuality, but the preparation must now. We should be striving to make Hampden-Sydney the best that it can be, while avoiding a slide into the ranks of second rate institutions. We cannot afford to wait. The worst possible time for such a move is during declin- ing enrollments and financial exigency. A time of strength, of confidence, with emphasis on the positive nature of the change, is the appropriate moment. We must look to the future now more than the past. The all-male institution has outlived its usefulness, it is anachronisticg it is time to change. l

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tings. Their presence in the classrooms adds that expe- rience and challenges the tra- ditional stereotypes of women's roles and the view of women as merely sex objects. They become equals, competitors, and friends. The reason most com- monly offered by our present students for remaining all- male is that women are a dis- traction in the classroom. And they are, if that is the only way one views women. This is the most powerful OPENING issues in and out of class, attending concerts, participat- ing in service organizations. This is the way one adjusts to the new role women have in our society, not by hiding from it. Nor do l think this terminates the very powerful male friendships that develop in college. There are still fra- ternities and dormitories and athletic teams where the sexes are largely by themselves. What I am talking about is an expanded circle of friends, not a loss. ft. behind, primarily those from out of state, of whom we have a growing number. This latter issue is related to one of the most pressing problems we face-retention. For a school which prides itself on close relationships and a strong sense of com- munity, we lose an inordi- nately large number of stu- dents for non-academic reasons. The addition of women and the creation of a more intellectually alive cam- pus would help immeasura- bly. It would reduce the sense argument for change. We are doing our graduates a disser- vice by sending them out to compete with women, work with them, and build families with them without being with them during these very for- mative, maturing years. We presently reinforce the old chauvinist ideas. One of the very positive aspects of coeducation is the development of male! female friendships not based on dat- ing possibilities-discussing jf if fig 'Teal Q I Furthermore the perman- ent presence of women on campus should keep men on campus, reducing the amount of driving done and enliven- ing weekends CI do not deny the existence of traditional relationships Q. The suitcase nat1.u'e of Hampden-Sydney is very undesirable. A college should not close down for two days every week. It detracts from the academic climate, undermines school spirit, and creates a lonely atmosphere for those left of isolation which so many gf' students experience. More particularly, female interests in arts and letters and lan- guages will strengthen these offerings at Hampden- Sydney, especially those in the arts which have been tra- ditionally neglected. A more natural environ- ment, an improved curricu- lum, a more lively climate, better retention, maybe even less anti-social behavior-for these reasons I find the change highly desirable. And

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1 985 KALEIDOSCOPE The Faculty and Staff ...,,. fr- gf Peter L. Wyeth Vibe-President for Development Lawrence H. Martin, Jr. Associate Dean of the Faculty and Professor of English Josiah Bunting 111 Daniel P. Poteet ll Provost and Dean of the Faculty Lewis H. Drew Dean of Smdcnm EE President of the College