THE ONYX, Vol. XXVII, Issue 1

October 5, 2005

Conviction, Betrayal & Sisterhood: The End of An Era

Meredith Burks ‘06
Staff Writer

“The Wells Board of Trustees has decided to admit women, as well as men in the academic year of 2005-2006.” [Wells College Alumnae Assoication President Carrie Bolton’s announcement to the community one year ago.]

Heavy sobs muffled the closing of Steve Zabriski's speech on October 2nd, 2004. For weeks before that day, hundreds of students put in hundreds of hours thinking about the possibility that their school might be forced to become co-educational, and how they might prevent it.

The moment the official announcement was made, almost 200 students stood up and took over the Macmillan lobby. The protesters had three demands that unless met by the trustees they would refuse to participate in classes, work, or take any part in representing Wells College. The three demands of the protesters were as follows: 1) Revoke the decision to go co-ed. 2) Hire a community-selected marketing firm that specializes in Higher Education and share the firm's results as they are shared with the board [of trustees]. 3) Implement a new policy of inclusive information sharing on campus. The acts of the protesters were not only a response to the decision to admit biological men, but also to the lack of information sharing between the administration and the rest of the community.

Many felt the decision had been made hastily and merely covered up the real internal problems of Wells College. Now that the co-ed decision has be fully set into motion, many returning students are having to face a whole new set of problems and fears. They fear that all of the things they said and sacrificed last year will be forgotten -- forgotten along with what has kept most of us here at Wells, sisterhood. Last fall many students felt threatened by the possible demolition of something that one cannot write about in a college pamphlet or see on a campus tour. The Wells Sisterhood can be an incredible force when it comes together. It is the unwritten promise to protect each other, to stand by each other as we take on personal and global battles. It can inspire change, sisterhood can help you find yourself capable of strength you never imagined you could possess.

That is not to say that the Save Our Sisterhood protest was not without faults. On the contrary, it was full of them. The protest was based on the assumption that Wells was a safe space for everyone. Yet many women of color expressed that issues regarding racism on campus were largely ignored or even considered completely non-existent. Anyone near the protest last fall they will remember the chant “Fix what we got. Don’t make us what were not!” This statement sums up the full aspirations of the SOS protest. The plea cried to try and fix the internal problems of Wells without adding more controversy.

While in Macmillan the students received threats of suspension, expulsion, and even arrests. The protesters remained strong together, and there they remained for over a week. Keeping each other going by singing, “We shall not be moved,” and “Thunder Thunderation we just want more information”. Letters from supporters all over the world rekindled inspiration; hunger was cured by donations from a local faction. Tears were shed, and voices were raised in frustration.

Students took many different actions to show their displeasure with the trustees’ decision. Besides taking over the Macmillan building students created a marketing plan that asked for Wells to remain single-sex for two years to see if a change in admissions’ marketing could boost enrollment. The traditional problem for Wells has been not convincing students to attend in the first place, but convincing them to stay and graduate. The tennis team forfeited a match against Russell-Sage that was scheduled to take place on the day following the decision, announcing that, rather than be a symbol of an institution that had just broken a 136-year tradition, they would rather forfeit to a team that they had beaten 9-0 previously in the same season. The captains and a few representatives from all the fall sports teams (soccer, field hockey, and tennis) met to try to agree on a plan of action.

There was discussion of an entire athletic department boycott. The reasoning behind this act would be that it would make a strong statement considering that the retention rate for student athletes is extremely high at Wells. In the end the decision was made that it would have to be a personal choice for each athlete. Although not every student felt that they could participate in the physical protest a petition was formed saying that they disagreed with the trustees’ decision that over 200 students signed.

Students who did feel at ease with the physical and visual protest tried several tactics. Some days were spent picketing and chanting, others were spent barricading the President’s and the admissions’ offices. Perhaps the most visually powerful act occurred on October 5th when approximately 50 protesters sat gagged with black cloth in complete silence to represent their voices being stifled by the administration, and how co-education silences women in the classroom.

On October 13, 2004 the National Day of Protest and Solidarity for Wells College was held. Students at Cottey College, a two-year women’s college in Nevada, MO organized the day. Supporters from all over the world sent messages that they would be participating in the candle light vigil.

Eventually as visible numbers of the protesters declined, and the students who were capable made arrangements to transfer, talk of the future of traditions and sisterhood began to circulate.

The changes that were to be made did not end with the admittance of males. New sports were to be created, new computers to be installed, and new desks to replaced the ones that may have been put in by Henry Wells himself. Many returning students felt that the long overdue improvements were specifically to welcome the first co-ed classes of Well College. Students wondered if Wells could have remained a single sex institution if these necessary improvements had been made years ago.

A problem that some students had was that they were being told that going co-ed would be the only way for Wells to survive, yet the study that apparently proved this theory was kept from protesters. Many students wanted to have all the information surrounding the trustees’ decision to be able to come to their own conclusions. When their requests were denied and they were offered only hand selected slides this aroused suspicion around the marketing firm’s findings.

Now that the semester has begun the consensus seems to be that thus far it has been a smooth transition. Many first year students know vaguely what occurred almost a year ago. For those of you who were here, do not be afraid to share what you went through with those students who only heard through the press what was happening here. The first-year students know that there is a strong community here, and it is up to us to keep the kinship and support system strong. There are still problems of racism, class oppression, and homophobia within our small and safe community. These are unacceptable flaws, and we still must fix what we’ve got.

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