Letter – Forty Years: The History of Women at Bowdoin

Letter from Sally LaPointe to President Howell

The first women’s coach at Bowdoin, and supervisor of the women’s athletic program, Sally LaPointe, wrote this letter regarding the condition of women’s sports in May of 1977, about six years after the College first admitted women (Document JH, 58). It seemed to be LaPointe’s responsibility to update the president on the status of women’s athletics annually, or bi-annually. She alludes to the impact of equal rights and Title IX—implemented in 1972, just after coeducation started at Bowdoin—on women’s athletics (see http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/interath.html for more information). That is, Title IX resulted in more women participating in sports before college, which, in turn, meant more women wanted to be athletes at the College.

LaPointe comments on fall, winter, and spring teams, and praises the athletes for their efforts. However, she notes the necessity for more female coaches and assistant coaches because of the large number of participants, which had increased drastically since the President’s Commission of 1972. LaPointe concludes by applauding the women for their contribution to the College, for their hard work, and for their spirit during their respective seasons.

President Howell responds to LaPointe (document available in Special Collections at Bowdoin) thanking her for the report, but offers no evidence or promises of immediate action to be taken to fulfill her requests.

JH58 Page 1 - Letter from Sally LaPointe to President Howell — JH58 Page 1 – Letter from Sally LaPointe to President Howell

JH58 Page 2 - Letter from Sally LaPointe to President Howell — JH58 Page 2 – Letter from Sally LaPointe to President Howell

Letter from the Indoor Track Team and Letter from Dick Mersereau

The following series of documents represents requests made by women’s sports teams during the late 1970s. Evidence from the letters shows that concerns that emerged in LaPointe’s 1977 review of women’s athletics remained unresolved but that women athletes, and coaches of women continued to ask for support.

The women’s indoor track team wrote the first letter to the Athletic Director and the Deans of the College on February 9, 1979 (Document JH, 59.1). The team suggests that the men’s coach, Frank Sabasteanski, possessed too much responsibility in coaching both teams. In addition, they argue that a women’s coach would be more appealing for female students, and would also be able to work in other areas of the athletic department. The letter demonstrates the team’s desire for equality between men and women’s teams. Members of the team signed the letter and carbon copied Athletic Director Ed Coombs, three deans, and Sally LaPointe, the first female coach at the College.

A response, written on March 5, 1979, to Athletic Director Coombs from Dean Paul Nyhus (document available in Special Collections at Bowdoin) insisted that Coombs reply to the team and fulfill their request by the upcoming (1980) school year. However, today, forty years later, there is still one coach for men and women’s track, Peter Slovenski.

Richard (Dick) A. Mersereau (see interview, Part 2, 00:05:50), volunteer women’s basketball coach, wrote the second letter on May 4, 1979, to Vincent (Vinnie) B. Welch, a member of the Bowdoin class of 1938 (Document JH, 59.2). Mersereau requests that his team travel to London to play against European teams. Not only would this experience give his players a different type of competition to improve their skills, but it would also “provide a rich cultural experience.” Mersereau calculates the cost of $500 per player, and directs his request to Welch, a supporter of women’s athletics at the College, and, according to Mersereau, a successful fundraiser. Before closing the letter, Mersereau commented, “Thanks…for any help you might offer this dreamer,” suggesting he has little confidence that any women’s sports team at that time would be approved to do something as far-fetched as traveling to Europe.

Ten days later, on May 14, 1979, Welch forwarded the letter to C. Warren Ring, Vice President of Development at the College, who then sent a letter to President Enteman on May 18, 1979 (documents available in Special Collections at Bowdoin). Paralleling Mersereau’s dreamer quotation, Ring writes, “Mr. Welch, quite understandably, does not know how to answer Mr. Mersereau’s request.” Ring offers many questions that, in his opinion, need to be answered before taking further steps in planning a trip to London. The letter does not offer any conclusions; however, an interview with Mersereau revealed that a lack of funding did not permit the team’s trip.

JH59.1 - Letter from the Indoor Track Team

Letter from Associate Dean at Wheaton (Evelyn Banning) to Dean of Admissions at Bowdoin (Richard Moll)

This letter (Document SB, 7) regarding the 10-College Exchange program was sent shortly after discussion of the program began in October of 1968. In the beginning stages, this program would coordinate the exchange of students between ten private Northeast colleges. Bowdoin was strongly interested in this program because it “would lead to other things”, as stated in the notes from the Ten College Exchange Meeting at North Hampton on January 8, 1969. These “other things” included the discussion of co-education, as these exchange students would be the first female Bowdoin students. This program mediated official coeducation. It was not long after that Trinity and Wellesley Colleges requested membership, thus changing the name of the program to the “Twelve College Exchange.”

As suggested by this letter, female student interest in Bowdoin was immediate. Bowdoin’s Dean of Admissions, Richard Moll, was forced to postpone the discussion of application procedures with Evelyn Banning because the program had not yet been formally approved. The Wheaton female students mentioned in this document represent a larger group of women who were excited about the prospect of receiving a Bowdoin education.

It was not until the end of January 1969 that the college information and relevant forms were to potential applicants. In 1970, the first 12 women were invited to study at Bowdoin as a part of the Twelve College Exchange. This opened the door to countless discussions of coeducation during the following years and finally to the admission of a full class of female students in the fall of 1971.

Letter from Associate Dean at Wheaton (Evelyn Banning) to Dean of Admissions at Bowdoin (Richard Moll)
SB7

Letter from Richard Moll to Liddy Berry

This letter (Document 17, SB), from the Director of Admissions, Richard [Dick] Moll, to Elissa [Liddy] Berry, marks receipt of the first formal application from a female in Bowdoin’s history. Bowdoin matriculated its first class of women in the fall of 1971. There had been female students at Bowdoin as early as 1969 as part of the Twelve-College Exchange, but they stayed at most one year. Elissa Berry was one of the first women to spend four years as a Bowdoin student, graduating in 1975.

Berry came from a long line of Bowdoin grads: from a young age, she had set her sights on Bowdoin. There was only one problem; Bowdoin was an all-male institution. This did not deter Berry who planned to study at Bowdoin by any means necessary, and who considered applying to a Twelve-College Exchange institution so she could apply for a semester at Bowdoin. During the fall of 1970, Bowdoin announced that it would go coed the following academic year. Once Berry heard the news, she had her application completed and submitted within the week.

This letter reveals the excitement surrounding coeducation at Bowdoin. Berry was one of 147 women on Bowdoin’s campus during the 1971-1972 academic year. These courageous women served as the trailblazers for future Bowdoin women. Their enthusiasm overshadowed the potential risks of being in a significant minority. Like the applicants, Bowdoin staff members were also excited about coeducation. Richard Moll’s words in this letter affirm this as he describes the “appreciation and excitement” felt on campus.

SB 17

Coeducation versus Coordination: Thoughts from Professor J.H. Turner

In this letter (Document EN, 19), Professor of physics James H. Turner makes an argument for coeducation at Bowdoin. Written approximately two and a half years before the College made the decision to become coeducational, and three and a half years before the first class with women arrived at Bowdoin, Turner reflects on the possible effects of having women matriculate at the College.

Turner notes that many colleges at the time were turning to coordination (building a separate but related women’s college) rather than full coeducation. For example, Harvard had recently developed a coordinate relationship with Radcliffe College, one that would continue until 1999, when Harvard finally became fully coeducational. Turner argues, however, that Bowdoin would see a “far greater impact” from coeducation if it admitted women rather than built a coordinate college.

Regarding admissions, Turner suggests that coeducation will cause a much larger applicant pool that will have a “broader spectrum of talents and interests” and “result in a better class.” In fact, Marcia Synnott in Going Coed claims that the admission of women at Princeton in 1969 “raised the academic caliber of freshmen” (123). Turner also argues that bringing women to Bowdoin might result in a more academic college, because the men who will reject coeducation are likely the ones who “strongly identify with some nonacademic aspect of Bowdoin life at present.” Although Turner admits that his ideas are largely speculative and the advantages he raises might also be true of coordination, he remains an ardent supporter of coeducation because he would like to see the addition of women have a strong impact on the College.

EN19a - Coeducation versus Coordination: Thoughts from Professor J.H. Turner

EN19b - Coeducation versus Coordination: Thoughts from Professor J.H. Turner

EN19c - Coeducation versus Coordination: Thoughts from Professor J.H. Turner

EN19d - Coeducation versus Coordination: Thoughts from Professor J.H. Turner