University of Virginia Library

By God, I Think
They're Here To Stay

By Steve Grimwood
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Photo By Howard Weinberg

Apprehension Is Present On Both Sides Of The Coeducation Issue

The women are here. Nearly
450 young lovelies have moved
into the previously male sanctuary
(or monastery) of Alderman
Road. Maupin and Webb
are now completely female,
while Lyle and Watson are half
and half.

Everyone has been waiting
for the momentous occasion,
and now it has come to pass.
But have things really changed?
What have the women done to
alter life at the University? So
far, not too much. But what
will women eventually do to
the University?

Relatively few changes have
occurred over the summer. Ironing
boards and full length mirrors
have been added. New laundry facilities
are planned. Then there was
the plumbing.

For those who have never been
in a suite of the new dorms, the
bathrooms contain one urinal.
Without the urinal, facilities left are
adequate to meet the needs of ten
women. But what to do with the
one urinal? Rumor has it that housing
decided to leave the urinals, but
added a bouquet of flowers to each
one. This solved the problem neatly,
but one wonders if the Housing
Office considers the women to be a
passing phase, their demise necessitating
only the removal of the
bouquet.

Combined Treatment

If Housing has its doubts about
the staying power of the women,
the Office for Student Affairs does
not. They greeted the newcomers
with a program of "equal and combined
treatment," meaning that administratively,
the women will be
treated as same as the men. Student
Affairs has acquired a new Associate
Dean, female, but the new policy
says that she will confer with male
students as well as female. This will
be the case, theoretically, with the
other deans.

All of this has come to pass over
the short summer. What will happen
during the long year?

The first and foremost change is
that there will actually be girls
around. Not a lot of girls, but a
good sight more than has ever been
seen around here before, with the
possible exception of a big weekend.
There will be girls eating lunch
with you, girls walking down the
street, up the street, on the grass,
girls sitting on the lawn, girls living
next door, girls living upstairs, girls
standing on the corner, girls sitting
on the wall at the Corner, girls
alone at the movies, girls in your
chem lab, your history class, your
seminar. No longer will lingering
looks be few and far between, no
longer will you hear so many dirty
jokes in class, no longer will you
scream into your pillow at night
after seeing one too many a pair of
hairy legs.

The female presence is present.
How will it change the attitudes of
the males? Will coat and tie make a
comeback, or will dress continue its
casual trend? Will manners or language
improve? Will half the University
be constantly on the make?
Time and tribulations will tell the
tale, but undoubtedly there are
changes coming.

And The Corner?

Some venerable institutions are
due for a change. How is wonderful
old Memorial gym going to adjust?
There are doubtless some athletically
inclined women here, but will
they be satisfied with tennis?

How is the Corner going to
react? Lloyd's sells a fine line of
undergarments, but will the women
be forced to hitch to Barracks
Road for wearing apparel? Maybe
the time for Elliot and Joe to split
has finally come.

Some superb male chauvinists
on the grounds have likened our
situation to that of the South,
namely forced (sexual) integration
under the directive of a court order.
But no matter what your opinion
may be, remember the words of
Elmer O. Jaffe, principal of Columbia
High Columbia, Miss. "By God,
I think they are here to stay."