University of Georgia - Pandora Yearbook (Athens, GA)

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Ilhough women have always been in n HJ evidence on the University of Georgia ' s campus, they didn ' t become permanent fixtures until 1918. University trustees voted to allow xvomen to pursue degrees in 1911, but they were not actually admitted for seven years. Mary E. Creswell was one of the initial 24 oung women to enroll at UGA. Shortly there- after, she received her degree, and became the first Dean of the School of Home Economics in 1919. Women immediately became involved in the various aspects of campus life. Athletics was con- sidered an extremely important part of a woman ' s schooling. Intramural and interclass tournaments were sponsored by the Women ' s Athletic Associ- ation in a variety of sports including archery, bas- ketball, and baseball. However, women were not restricted to strickly academic and athletic endeavors. They created some new organizations to promote and further their own interests. These included the Pioneer Club, Homecon, Chi Delta Phi (literary), the YWCA, the Student Government Association for Women, and Zodiac (sophomore scholars). Wom- en were also welcomed in many previously all- male clubs: the Thalian Dramatic Club, the Pando- ra and Red and Black staffs, the Agricultural Quar- terly, and the Georgia Cracker. The introduction of sororities to campus both improved and increased student social life. Phi Mu, established in 1921, was in fact the first sor ity on campus. Chi Omega (est. 1922) soon f lowed. Both sororities were the forerunners o host of others that set up house along Millet Avenue. Numbered among this Greek commun were many of the women in campus leaders!- positions. Various pageants organized on campus playec major role in the lives of these women. In 1935 t first Pandora Beauty Revue was conducted. Co testants vied for a title, a crown, and an orch bouquet. Another pageant was the Baum festiv Memorial Hall provided a stage for this celebratii which resembled the old German Maibaum sprii festival. lulU Thin picture tjken by TcUmon Cuyler exempli- fies the courting relationship ot a boy and a girl in the 1890 ' s. (RIGHT. Photo courtesy of Special Col- lections Division, the University of Georgia Librar- ies.) Symbolizing the university in 1945 are Frances and Elizabeth Woods, twins from Rome, Georgia. (BELOW. Photo courtesy of Special Collections Di- vision, the University of Georgia Libraries.) Six years after the first vtroman received an un- dergraduate degree at UGA, these vifomen pose in front of Terrell Hall to show their increased num- ber. (RIGHT. Photo courtesy of Special Collections Division, the University of Georgia Libraries.) 24 Bic. — Campus Life

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Memorial Hall offered students a place to study and lounge between classes. This photo was taken in the 1920 ' s. (LEFT. Photo courtesy of Special Col- lections Division, the University of Georgia Librar- ies.) ,.. .eie «( • Incredible as it may seem, the dress code at UGA as late as the 1950s was still considerably conserva- tive; the student handbook stated: The liberty in dress permitted at beaches and other summer re- sorts is obviously not to be permitted on the Uni- versity ' s campus or on the streets or residence properties of Athens. Dances and formal parties were still extremely popular social events in the 1950s. Women no longer wore hats with their gowns, but the dresses themselves were still for- mal creations. Along with the next two decades, several break- throughs occurred concer ning student dress. Throughout the ' 60s women were allowed to wear sun-dresses on campus so long as they wore an accompanying jacket. However they were still re- stricted in some ways: no shorts or slacks were allowed on campus, and any sports clothing had to be covered with a non-transparent raincoat. By the ' 70s women had truly achieved liberation . Not only were they allowed to wear long pants and jeans, but also shorts. As for men, the most preva- lent trend was growing their hair longer and grow- ing beards, saying goodbye to the clean-shaven look of old. Over the past 200 years, the campus has changed from one building with a single faculty member and thirty students to a sprawling campus of 220 buildings, hundreds of professors, and some 24,000 students. The dress, attitudes, curriculum and liv- ing conditions of UGA ' s student body have under- gone numerous and remarkable changes through the years. To us, these previous lifestyles may often times border on the absurd. Yet today ' s student body, recognizing it ' s own rich and varied heri- tage, has borrowed upon many of those longago ideas, values, and attitudes to become the men and women they are today. Today ' s students are ex- tremely fortunate, for the environment which they are developing is one with restrictions, if indeed any at all. :nts are ex- it in ZZij ' I I I Campus Life 23

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' ■Hsr. ' OBpiisl C ' ■ ' ill The female pioneers at the University entered both to get an education and to pave the way for others. In 1914 Mary Lyndon had the distinction of being the first woman to receive her Master ' s Degree from the University, and Cussie Brooks and Edith House became the first women to gra- duate from Georgia ' s Law School in 1925. Another milestone in the women ' s movement on campus was the admission of Charlayne Hunt- er. On January 9, 1961 she and Hamilton Holmes became the first black students to enter the Uni- versity of Georgia. Her arrival and integration into the University was for the most part peaceful. An ugly riot on January 11 temporarily married the peace, but Hunter remained in school and graduat- ed two years later. She currently holds a position as reporter for the MacNeil-Lehrer Report broadcast- ed on PBS. The arrival of women at the University ' s campus caused somewhat of an uproar initially. However, their presence was soon accepted and quickly ap- preciated by the male population. Today women constitute a larger percentage of the student population than men, and they add a great 1 ' i 1 deal of leadership and life to the present I University. ' ' ' Cbjrhyne Hunler-Galt shows her joy of gradu- ating from the university as the first black female !.tudent. (BELOW. Photo courtesy of Special Col- lections Division, the University of Georgia Librar- ies.) Enjoying a night out with her friends is Ellen Austin Sawyer (right), a descendant of the Univer- sity ' s first president, Josiah Meigs. (LEFT. Photo courtesy of Special Collections Division, the Uni- versity of Georgia Libraries.) The Baum Festival in the late 1920 ' s provided an extra-curricular activity for women who enjoyed acting. (BELOW. Photo courtesy of Special Collec- tions Division, the University of Georgia Librar- ies.) t Bic. — Campus Life 25