First, the background information. I go to a small liberal arts college in Aurora, New York. It Is called Wells College and is just now moving into its fourth year of co-education. It was originally a women's college, established in the second half of the 1800's as a finishing school or seminary for Cornell wives. This did change very quickly, however, as the founder, Henry Wells, thought it more suitable to have a rigorous academic agenda for women. Being a women's college for a hundred plus years, feminism was truly at the heart of this college and all that that entails. I had planned on attending this college since I was freshman in high school, but sadly, administration made the decision to go co-ed my junior year and started admitting men my senior year of high school. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, they were struggling financially and it was supposedly a last attempt to stay open. I decided to still attend Wells because I felt like it would take more than a few years to wipe out the women-centered atmosphere that had existed for over a hundred, and in addition, the men and women who would want to attend Wells at this point were certainly not an enemy to feminism, with a woman to man ratio of 3 - 1.   

p>    My freshman year at Wells, for the most part, was what I expected it to be. There was an overwhelming feeling of sisterhood that I loved, and many of the students still had the same ideals of the women-centered Wells. In fact, when I applied, Wells was still advertised as "women-centered." This past year, the third year of co-education, I definitely saw a huge discrepancy between my class and the incoming class. The value systems seemed to be totally different. There was very little respect for the campus at times, and there was very little respect for issues such as race, gender, diversity, etc. etc.; things that have always been at the foundation of a Wells education. Many students just seemed to not care. And all of a sudden, hate speech became an issue on campus.

    With this past graduating class, 2008, the last class to see Wells as a Women's College has left. These are the women who were part of the protest to keep Wells single sex, who know what the struggle means, and now they are gone. Not going to lie, this freaks me out. I feel like that part of Wells that I want to experience and be a part of is gone and all that is left is a downward spiral into becoming just like any other college. That women-centered foundation is dwindling as new students come into Wells lacking the education that was once second nature to students at Wells. I am not saying that everyone who came to Wells was enlightened, but there was at least a willingness to learn that is no longer present.

And the cherry on the cake can be found in a facebook group for the class of 2012, the incoming freshman. It is supposed to be a place for freshman to talk with upperclasswomen and men and ask questions to get a better feel for the college. One of the topics was majors and an upperclasswoman asked if anyone was going to major in Women's Studies...

"I am thinking of majoring in Women's Studies ; ) I' m sorry, that was probably completely inappropriate."

"so yeah, about the women's studies question... thats a joke right? i mean they don't actually have a major in women's studies. seems to counter-act the philosophy that we are all the same and that women shouldn't be segregated, it also seems to suggest the women are worthy of studying... wierd"

A response to them -

No, it is not a joke, we have a really great women's studies program here at wells.... it is a lot like a history major with a focus on women. Much of the history you learn in high school neglects the input of women and this major allows you to study those injustices...

Their response -

"... and as far as the claim that all courses, I think that the only one that applies is history - science and math classes have nothing to do with gender. and as far as being a privilege male-gendered society, we have a black man raised on food stamps and a woman as our two democratice candidates, right now, enough said

Since I cannot copy and paste I will just give the gist of what one student posted in regards to why women actually have the edge...

1. More young women go to college than young men

-what he fails to realize is that when it comes to getting professional jobs, women are still slighted. Even though more of them may have college degrees,  it doesn't necessarily guarantee them the job.

2. The law is on the side of women in terms of rape, discrimination and child custody.

ummm... no need for further analysis of this bull...

3. Affirmative action

ummm, yeah, it feels great to be harassed by your co-workers because they think you got the job based on your gender, rather than your skill.... hmmm... feels like quite the privilege.

So, this is just the tip of the iceberg, there is so many more hateful things posted in this group. It is weird to experience a regression away from feminism and a women-centered atmosphere when it is something that is constantly trying to be achieved. I guess Wells was just ahead of it's time and is now losing the lead. It would be great if the rest of society could have caught up with the "Old Wells", rather than Wells just slowing down to everyone else's pace.

any thoughts, I would love to hear them...

best,

B

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