The “Wellesley Effect” … Since my matriculation in 1977, its value and meaning has changed a lot. When I was a student at Wellesley, the main benefits were my classmates and the faculty. Both were outstanding. My focus was pretty much on academics, and not so much on political correctness. I do remember being ashamed when Wellesley students booed an invited South African panelist off a stage because of his stance on Apartheid. That occurrence did nothing to burnish Wellesley’s reputation for academic integrity, challenge, and debate. The campus was beautiful, but quite frankly, we were taking our finals in the spring when everything was at its peak and that effect was pretty much lost to the four walls of my room or the library. A Wellesley diploma did not hurt when applying to law school. I was disappointed in the quality and intellectual curiosity of most of my law school classmates, but it was law school and not a liberal arts college. I know the Wellesley diploma helped get me interviews at law firms when I was seeking employment. Once in the working world, the experience of having to compete with men was pretty foreign. Men think and compete much differently than women—especially back in the 1980s. I cannot say that a Wellesley degree adequately prepared me for that. The career guidance center was inadequate, in hindsight. The Wellesley connection was great for finding fellow alumnae and old friends. It was not helpful on the dating scene. Many of my friends who went to co-ed universities were able to “go back to the well” and find boyfriends much more easily than those of us who went to a Seven Sisters school. Attending reunions from time to time and reading the alumnae newsletters and magazine kept me abreast of changes in the student body and the political attitudes. I don’t think that such changes were limited only to Wellesley; I think the changes have applied to all university and college populations. However, at a single-sex college, the emphasis on LGBTQ is more visible. Quite frankly, when the daughters of friends of mine have looked at Wellesley for possible application during their junior year of high school, all of them were completely turned off of Wellesley and other Seven Sister schools because of the hyper-visible LGBTQ emphasis. No amount of excellence that Wellesley offers could persuade any of these high achieving, athletic, intelligent young women to apply. The “Wellesley Effect” has faded. Wellesley has to decide what kind of student body it wants to attract and graduate. Wellesley should not ignore the fate of Sweet Briar College. The recent policy revisions on the admission and graduation of the gender dysphoric are a cop-out; Wellesley should seriously study the value of continuing as a single-sex institution in today’s society.
Faded Glory