February 5, 1919: Mary Joins the Flat Hat

On February 5, 1919, the Flat Hat, the College of William and Mary's newspaper, provided the first co-educational news report for the campus. In a section simply titled "the marys," the women of the campus wrote about their experiences for that week. Most of the information in the section was of a social nature, commenting about grades and the women's intramural sports teams.

At the end of the section, the anonymous author wrote that "we are glad to appear for the first time in this college publication and are eagerly waiting to do our part in making it a success." The women of William and Mary would have few opportunities to make their contributions to the Flat Hat a success. The next "the marys" section appeared in the February 12 issue, but then disappeared for quite a few issues. The Flat Hat would take a few more years to fully integrate women into its staff.

This post was composed by Jordan Ecker.


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.