“game over” yet: fantasizing - Scripps College Community

So women weren’t very liberated sexually? What about
a women’s role as a member of society? What did
Scripps women expect of themselves after graduation?
Many Scripps students felt lucky to get engaged before
they graduated. Women hoped to get married soon after
graduation. If they could get engaged, they were set for
the rest of their lives. If they could get married a year or
two years after graduating, they had made it. Well, that’s
just not true. It was so short-sighted. But my class didn’t
emphasize that. In 1963, with the publication of The Feminine
Mystique, the role of women and who a woman was
meant to be began to change. The 60s and 70s absolutely
changed everything. Marriage was not a career anymore.
I was part of an era where everything was changing: what
we could wear, what we should eat, what we could communicate.
With the Vietnam War and student unrest, it
gave people a voice. It was very liberating. Women were
liberated. When I was in my senior year, I knew a Scripps
woman who was going to law school and another classmate
was going off to medical school. Even I was seen as
a bit offbeat going on to graduate school to be a librarian.
It was very unusual. Not many women did this.
That must have been amazing to be a part of such a
monumental time of change. What was it like being a
Scripps woman during such a revolutionary era? How
has such change in what defines a woman affected your
life?
Old constraints and expectations were just thrown off. We
could forge a new reality. Without rules, we didn’t always
know what to expect. It was a little more unsettling to
create a voice for yourself. Many women found it a little
scary, but it became a part of who you are. I believe the
physical place [of Scripps] keeps you grounded. Today the
campus is larger, the landscape is different, but it is still
the same place. It’s the one constant amongst all Scripps
students that keeps you centered. I loved being a student
at Scripps. Friendships, the community, and the beauty
of the campus are amazing things to be exposed to during
your education. When you go out into the world and you
have to face the dirty grimy city streets, you can remember
that there can be such beauty in the world.
28 [in]Visible Magazine
Just to publicize and give more awareness to the Denison
Library resources: Can you tell me about the rare
book collections?
We have rare collections of books, manuscripts, letters,
[among many other primary documents] that are owned
by Scripps College and are housed here in Denison. It is
important that students use creative and original research
avenues. Denison’s goal is to integrate the rare collections
into the curriculum: many Core III classes last semester,
Core II classes, and even a senior writing her thesis have
utilized the collections. [Though many of the collections
are in the process of being made available online], the
size of Scripps College truly gives students the opportunity
to consult, investigate, and research closely such rare collections
[at their fingertips].
Go to the Denison page on the
Scripps website to find out more.
http://www.scrippscollege.edu/offices/denison/