Lehigh University - Epitome Yearbook (Bethlehem, PA)

Page 8 text:

COEDS AT LEHIGH During the four years of coeducation at Lehigh women have suffered through endless generalizations about their personal lives, lived with only one ladies ' room in a five-story building, and tried to be inconspicuous in a class with one other woman. They have also managed to join the Marching Band, head the Forum and SAC, edit publications, become members of the service organization Alpha Phi Omega, and the social fraternity for commuting students, Alpha Lambda Omega, form a Caucus and invite men to join, and form their own athletic teams. The list is long, but the fact remains that women have definitely made their mark on Lehigh. Integration with a formerly all-male institution is never easy, but considering the uneven proportion of men to women, the women have been able to become active leaders in all facets of campus life. The controversy with the band was one of the most widely-publicized events during the women ' s brief history at Lehigh. The issue peaked in the fall of ' 73 when seven women were given the right to march with ' the men. Formerly they were only permitted to play from the stands. One female band member commented that the women have proved that they can play and march as well and be just as gross as the guys. Social life was possibly the largest barrier to overcome for Lehigh women, and it hasn ' t really been overcome yet. The ratio of men to women in the fall of 1971 was 31-1 and many men still imported their dates. Others, in their amazement over seeing women on campus, treated them as an oddity. Why? It ' s gotten alot better here since we were freshmen , said senior Tom Whitten, but it ' s still bad. It won ' t be good here until the ratio is even, which we ' re not going to get (The administration planned on levelling off at 800) There ' s very few women in my classes and there ' s no neutral ground. Girls feel like they ' re getting picked up if they visit a fraternity. To Whitten, a typical Lehigh coed is heavy, mediocre and uppity . To combat this, another senior Mike Pennino suggested, quite seriously, that women should be made to wear dresses and go braless to improve the looks of the campus — which is an indication of how far Lehigh is from a completely healthy coeducation situation. Nothing compared to the social situation in the fall of 1971 . But the comments and observations of freshman, sophomore and junior women do not reflect an overall satisfaction with subsequent falls. Many say, It ' s just not natural yet. Many women at Lehigh find themselves in a c oeducational environment that is not true to its word. Its academic emphasis is lopsided in favor of men — a situation that needs remedy which may or may not be forthcoming. Inevitably, some negative attitudes about women were formed initially and still persist. Hopefully, with the addition of more women, these attitudes will decline as women continue to make a difference to Lehigh in the future, With input from student leaders, the help of administrators and the original impetus given by Ruth Hurley Vihon, former assistant dean of students, Lehigh coeducation got a good start — now we need more women to keep a good start going.