February 21, 1918: The Virginia Gazette

So what did the local press have to say about coeducation at the College of William and Mary?


The Virginia Gazette included an article about the progress of the Strode Bill on page 1 of the February 21, 1918, issue. About half of the article was dedicated to the "details of caring for women students" such as living quarters for fall 1918 and beyond. Click on the image at right to enlarge the article.

Laura Parrish noted in her M.A. thesis When Mary Entered with Her Brother William: Women Students at the College of William and Mary, 1918-1945:

"On 21 February 1918 the Virginia Gazette damned the Strode Bill with faint praise, noting that coeducation would probably turn out well--after all, other states had survived the ordeal. The editorial also noted that women sought coeducation "at the price of the womanhood Virginia had cherished as a sacred thing," thus expressing the age-old belief that higher education was somehow beyond the capabilities of women and would lead to the destruction of their physical, as well as their mental, health."

Here is the complete editorial for your reading pleasure. Click on the image to enlarge the article.













Laura Parrish's thesis is available online as part of the Petticoat Invasion online exhibit and of course you are welcome to visit the Special Collections Research Center to read the paper copy anytime we are open. The Virginia Gazette is available on microfilm on the ground floor of Swem Library. We do have paper copies here in the SCRC, but you might find the longer hours and printer/scanners in the microforms area more convenient.



For additional information about the first women students at the College of William and Mary see: When Mary Entered with her Brother William: Women at the College of William and Mary, 1918-1945 by Laura F. Parrish; "The Petticoat Invasion": Women at the College of William and Mary, 1918-1945; The Martha Barksdale Papers; and the Women at the College of William and Mary page on the Special Collections Research Center Wiki.