Sorority Life on Campus 1960-2000
by Anna Brown “Overall our sorority house felt like a home, with really nice and kind girls. I lived in a home with a lot of friends, I was not best friends with all of them, but I always felt welcome there.”(1) Sorority living was and is designed for women to come together and encourage each other in their academic and life pursuits. This was especially true on campuses where… Read More
Purdue’s Support During World War II
by Stephen Goula “Students should not become panicky, but must realize that during the present emergency, as well as the years following the war, there will be a great need for large numbers of men and women trained in the sciences.” (1) These were the words from the Purdue Exponent on December 9th, 1941 two days following Pearl Harbor. Historically, Purdue is known for its involvement in military training because… Read More
The Golden Girl’s Golden History
by Jackie Krutsch Even though the position of Purdue’s Golden Girl was created just sixty-five years ago, this tradition of the gold-sequined twirler is one that is very well known, not only at Purdue, but across the country. The image of the Golden Girl has remained very consistent since its start, and Christy Stallings, the Golden Girl in 2004, still held this image fifty years later. Stallings, ready for a… Read More
A Brief Purdue History of Home Economics
by Grant Barnett Home economics, as defined by Merriam Webster, is “a subject or class that teaches skills (such as cooking or sewing) which are useful in the home.” Home economics has been liberating for women and helped interject women into universities. Home economics curricula, however, have also been riddled with oppressive gendered expectations for the women who studied home economics. Purdue has been host to home economic education since… Read More
S.H.E. (Sisters for Health Education) & C.A.R.E. (Center for Advocacy, Response, and Education): How Advocacy Changes Everything
by Faith Zettler ” I would imagine that the presence of the [emergency] phones will give many students, especially females, a psychological sense of security needed on a campus as large as ours.” (1) Today, walk down any path on Purdue’s campus at night and you will find numerous glowing blue lights positioned atop black boxes along your way. When the button housed on their face is pressed, these boxes… Read More
Betty Nelson: A Tireless Advocate
by Anna Szolwinski In the mid 1960s, Betty Nelson came to Purdue in search of employment. After an incidental connection with Barbara Cook, the former Dean of Students, and several recurring visits after, Betty was hired as the Director of Testing for the psychology department. This role was the first of many for Betty, as she later transitioned into the Office of the Dean of Women as Assistant and Associate… Read More
Women on Campus: Memories of Purdue’s Campus & Classrooms in the Seventies
by Anna Brown “Being sensitive of institutional inequality was not on my radar screen, everyone was treated fairly. It became clearer and clearer that was not the case.” (1) Betty Nelson joined Purdue University staff in the mid-1960s with this mindset as many female students did. As the decade closed and the seventies began, the wall of inequality began to break down for many women on Purdue University’s campus as… Read More
Home Economics and the Practice House
by Anna Brown “If you are a young woman and want to get married, a college or university campus is the best possible hunting preserve. Such a campus is well stocked with young bachelors who are already on their way up because they have taken the pains at least to begin a college education.” (1) This quote, printed in the Purdue Exponent in 1963, depicts the assumptions and beliefs of… Read More
Meredith Hall
by Zoe Malavenda While walking around campus, students pass building after building, each one named after a different person. Do they ever stop to think, who are these people and why is this building named after them? Each one of these namesakes has a story, one that is not often known or recognized by the students that inhabit these buildings each day. Meredith Hall Built in 1952, Meredith… Read More
Grief and Mental Health Advocacy at Purdue
by Faith Zettler The gender revolution of the second half of the twentieth century brought upon America a complete culture shock that redefined the relationship of men, women and other minorities to all dynamics of society as well as opening the door to discussion of mental health, which has been historically deemed as too taboo or feminine to discuss openly. College campuses were not immune to the women’s movements, Purdue… Read More