102 women stood in the dorm library, members of the class of 1961 who chose to attend their 55th reunion. It’s a self-select group, those that felt they had done well enough and looked good enough to attend, and who didn’t have personal or family issues to keep them away. June is the month when colleges across America welcome back their alumni, an exercise in nostalgia for the attendees and an unparalleled opportunity to fund-raise for the institutions. Wellesley remains one of the very few all-women colleges in the Ivy League, as most of its sister institutions began welcoming men starting in the 1970s.
Of the 503 original class members, 75 have passed away and 22 are unfindable. Some 380 graduated. The entering class was largely Caucasian WASP, with a sprinkling of Catholics, 10% Jews according to then-quotas in the Ivy League, 3 Asians, 2 African Americans, very few international students. If a girl was discovered to have lesbian leanings, she was expelled.
Today, eyeballing the on-campus population, Asians comprise a quarter, African Americans another quarter, a sprinkling of Muslims, and an LGBT chapter on campus. The college recently went through severe growing pains as it addressed the transgender issue, while vowing to remain a woman’s college. It concluded that if an applicant identified as female, she would be considered for admission. This means there will be a number of penises in the Wellesley Women’s rooms of the future, and some daunting decisions on the pairing of freshman roommates. As a side note, girls who are transitioning to and identify as male, despite gender of birth, will not be considered for admission. Those who are already enrolled will be allowed to matriculate and graduate. And, importantly, Wellesley welcomes its first African-American president, an impressive M.D. from Harvard (yes, female, as always).
WELLESLEY 1961, A REFLECTION
By Sally Haver