College Women

Dorothy writes to her mother about her studies and free time. She and her friends have been skating a lot, had tea with the Dean, and had another meeting of the Philosophical Club.

Helen is getting ready for her German orals and is sharing a few anecdotes of campus life.

Mary Whitall Worthington's diary from around the time of her senior year at Bryn Mawr College, 1909-1910. The diary begins with a description of Miss Worthington's summer vacation in which she goes first to Baltimore to visit with family and friends, and then to New York before sailing to Europe on board the RMS Lusitania. In England, she attends a number of parties and social engagements and makes new friends. She goes to the World's Student Christian Federation Meeting in Oxford and is moved by the religious devotion she witnesses. Worthington is particularly interested in the suffrage movement, and while in England she has tea with Inez and Vida Milholland. They attend a "suffragette raid" on the House of Commons together, and Miss Worthington gives a detailed description of the demonstration and includes newspaper clippings with her own thoughts. Later in the year, when Emmeline Pankhurst gives a lecture at the Merion Cricket Club and tours Bryn Mawr, Worthington is able to speak with her about the movement and privately marvel that she dressed in purple, white, and green -- suffragette colors. This diary is filled with Miss Worthington's high praise of her friends, descriptions of hockey games, club lectures, play and glee club rehearsals, and traditions such as rush night, Lantern Night, May Day (for which she was elected the May Queen), and bonfire night. Throughout her diary, Miss Worthington talks about her relatives, in particular her aunt, M. Carey Thomas. She also includes programs from events, exam questions, drawings and photographs, and letters from family members. Miss Worthington also includes an index of topics she discusses at the back of the diary.

Helen is busy with her work. She went to a Senior reception given by Miss Thomas, where Mrs. Bertrand Russell was a guest.

FitzGerald writes a brief note after her first day of work as secretary for M. Carey Thomas.

Greene details a debate between the student body and President M. Carey Thomas, who assigned teachers to proctor exams. The students argued that the honor code permits students to proctor themselves, and draw up a petition. The result of the argument is that Thomas promises the honor system will be allowed during finals, but not during mid-terms.

In this rather rushed letter Dorothy describes final preparations for commencement and ongoing examinations. The senior class said goodbye to the faculty and halls on the last day of lectures.

In this letter Dorothy tells her mother of her visit to the Dean to ask for permission to be irregular at classes because of her exhaustion, which was granted. Dorothy felt it was not a good time to discuss scholarship but promises to return to the question after Christmas break.

In this letter, Anne describes the process of preparing for the freshman show, detailing the costumes, scenery, dress rehearsal, and first performance. She notes that during a long speech, she sees President M. Carey Thomas sitting with Mary Garrett, whom she characterizes as “the woman who supplies the College with pin money and furniture.â€

Mary Whitall Worthington's diary from her junior year at Bryn Mawr College. The diary begins during her summer vacation while she is visiting friends and family in Europe. She describes visiting Newnham College and sneaking into play rehearsals, hearing engaging speakers on women's suffrage, and traveling around Ireland. Miss Worthington has a deep interest in the Women's Suffrage Movement and this passion can be seen throughout her diary. During her junior year at Bryn Mawr she is the President of the College Equal Suffrage League and attends the 40th Annual Convention of the North American Woman Suffrage Association in Buffalo, New York, in October of 1908. She writes about the experience of attending the convention, of hearing M. Carey Thomas speak, of meeting other women dedicated to the cause, and of her unfavorable opinion of Harriot Stanton Blatch. Her diary includes accounts of other meetings of the Bryn Mawr chapter of the College Equal Suffrage League and her thoughts on the many talks she attends regarding suffrage, including two (one given at Bryn Mawr) by Anna Howard Shaw. She also writes about playing on the hockey team (including a particularly memorable game between the classes of 1909 and 1910 played in "fancy dress"), performing in and and attending plays and other cultural performances, and about traditions including rush night and the garden party. Miss Worthington writes about her different friend groups and their interactions, giving more detail especially as more of them get engaged and some experience the loss of loved ones. She talks about her relatives, particularly her aunt, M. Carey Thomas. Throughout her diary, Mary Whitall Worthington includes photographs of friends, programs from events, exam questions, drawings, and letters from family members. Miss Worthington also includes an index of topics she discusses at the back of the diary.