Women’s Customs and Traditions at Centre
By Natalie G. Warren, Class of 2023
Introduction
When a fresh-eyed high school senior tours Centre College’s campus for the first time, they hear stories from student guides and staff about the tradition of placing a penny Lincoln’s foot during finals, or of “running the flame,” or of kissing your partner over the seal when you graduate. The end result of these traditions creates a sense of unique community for many Centre students, one that is specific to the institution’s history and position in the social and academic landscape of the state and country, resulting in nicknames for the College such as “the Harvard of the South.” There is a long history of traditions and customs that often were divided along lines of gender, which have grown and evolved to become part of Centre’s image today. The endeavor of this work is to explore in what ways gendered expectations informed the creation of women’s traditions at Centre College, both formal and informal, and how these created a unique identity for Centre women. My assertion is that in the period between the merging of the Kentucky College for Women and Centre College in 1930 and the policy changes enacted by the advent of the women’s liberation movement in the 1970s, women’s customs often reinforced expectations of upper-class white womanhood through creating of authority structures between groups of women, which helped enforce the development of feminine social skills and etiquette. Inversely, spaces were also created where gendered rules were temporarily suspended, allowing for an acceptable level of deviancy that ultimately maintained the status quo.
Structures of Seniority
The creation of authority structures within women students of Centre was usually decided by seniority. Homosocial interactions were usually guided by the student’s membership within her graduating class – because each dorm was segregated not just by sex but also by year, most women found themselves categorized by their year more often than not.[1] Seniority of older students was first introduced when the new students arrived on campus. They were assigned a “Big Sister,” a sophomore or junior student whose job it was to help the younger with the transition into college life. This role was sometimes referred to as being a Junior Sponsor,[2] and it was a competitive status of honor for many, because it signified an increased level of authority and responsibility. This also offered a chance to supervise the new student and assure that her behavior was in line,[3] whether in adherence to curfew rules or simply etiquette. The duties of this position were often casual and social, consisting of singing songs in the dining hall and other fun activities that introduced new women to Centre’s atmosphere.
There was a period in which the hierarchy of the “sisters” was highlighted, called Hell Week. This week was comparable to the initiation of fraternity members, although it was generally regarded as lighthearted and benevolent.[4] The activities of the week consisted of first years wearing embarrassingly bright-colored beanies, and being subjected to “pigtails, cold cream, and other harmless ordeals.”[5] This event was seen as a right of passage, and it has its roots in an earlier tradition of freshman initiation held on the Kentucky College for Women (KCW) campus. In this ritual, prior to the events of freshman orientation week, the students were lined up to declare that they were, “At Your Service, Miss Sophomore,” and were “… compelled… to come to town yesterday with their wearing apparel on backwards and with their faces clean.”[6] These rites of passage necessitate that what one endures she will then perpetuate. As the student entered her time at Center she is taught to look up to, obey, and imitate the elder students; as she ages she learns to fulfill that role for other students. These customs demonstrate a system of seniority, powerful in its perpetuation, which relies on structures of obedience or servitude.
Etiquette & Social Skills
Many customs also focused on fostering acceptable traits for women, particularly white upper-class women, such as etiquette and homemaking skills. Orientation activities included discussions of etiquette and reputation, with one former student describing it as “… the orientation of what it meant to be a Centre woman.”[7] At one point the Dean of Women held teas with new students that imparted the importance of behavior and manners: “And you know, you had to dress up and you had to be on your best behavior. And we sat there and had tea and cookies with her telling us how ladies should behave.”[8] This illustrates the identity of Centre women as not only being behaviorally representative of their sex, but also of Centre as an institution – in order for Centre to be the “Harvard of the South,” its women must behave as such. These behavioral expectations are reminiscent of the stereotype of the Southern Belle as someone who is graceful, prudent, and comely. Centre’s position as both an academically prestigious institution and a site of wealth and social prowess manifests in the reputation of its students – especially, in this case, women students.
Contests of feminine skills or qualities had a great prominence within the social scene. Dorm decorating competitions were very popular, especially during the holidays. Students constructed scenes depicting Santa’s workshop, children singing carols, and cherubs – all showcasing the performing and artistic skills of the dorm’s inhabitants.[9] There were also a plethora of Queen competitions held and titles declared in the cycle of the year – the Gardenia Queen, Homecoming Queen, and Carnival Queen. These contests were public and voted on by the student body, with the contestants’ names, talents, awards, and backgrounds being well-advertised around campus.[10] These awards were competitions not just of popularity, but also of the perceived character or well-roundedness of the woman: how many and what sort of campus positions she held, what sort of grades she had, and her status within the fraternity group (ex: being a fraternity sweetheart). All of these customs together form an environment where traditionally feminine traits such as a genteel nature and domestic hobbies are encouraged and rewarded.
Aforementioned structures of seniority frequently associated with the promotion of feminine ideals. Supervision from a peer in a superior position to oneself allowed for observation and regulation of younger students’ behavior. Modeling and positive reinforcement of performed femininity – observing the behavior of your elders and receiving rewards or praise for replicating it – served as powerful agents in the perpetuation of this system. The ritual cycle of being the recipient of social education and then becoming the educator oneself created a sense of upholding identity through tradition for many students.
Pushing the Envelope
Within a system of gendered rules such as at Centre, there are periods during which previously unacceptable behavior was considered acceptable, if not simply attractive in its sensationalism. These moments act as temporary subversion that challenge the assumptions of the majority, and can work to enact change or even represent the changing tides of opinion. We see this most clearly in the tradition of streaking, or running nude, around the campus statue The Flame. This was a tradition that was historically forbidden to women, but we see a spectacular example of their invasion into this tradition. A local newspaper documents a nude female horse rider going through campus, outpacing the male streakers by far.[11] The shock that this generated certainly created a feeling of an in-group – there is always a community formed by thrilling disobedience and secrecy.
Another example, occurring later down the line in the mid-1970s and 80s, was that of the “bath towel serenade,” where senior students would sing in front of the president’s house in their bath towels, although some were partially clothed underneath.[12] This represents a time where subversion of traditional expectations becomes an amusing (if still scandalizing for some) spectacle, and community is formed between both the participants and the observers. Important to note is how exceptions to the rule often prove the rule inadvertently – those who participate in these boundary-pushing traditions are still able to think of themselves as a participant in the social structures which they had temporarily abandoned.
Understanding Context
The culture that is exemplified through these traditions, while certainly unique to Centre’s position, also represents larger national trends of women’s socialization in college environments. Collegian women nationally tended to value homosocial peer groups within their college more than their male counterparts, placing specific emphasis on the opinions of one’s peers regarding the individual herself.[13] Female friendships centered around ritual were particular to the residential college environment, and were understood as an essential element of the experience of higher education, an aspect which was also emphasized within Centre’s customs of authority. A unique identity of being a “college-bred” woman emerged as the generations of educated women began to increase as well, which helps to contextualize the idea of the “Centre woman” historically. Finally, administrators largely have expressed concern over regulating the sexually deviant behavior of women students, seeing it as unbecoming of their institutions; something which has often been met with traditions, such as forbidden dancing, which affirm the collegian’s identity but go against the grain of the institution’s expectations for their behavior.[14]
Conclusion
The sum of the effects of these customs is the creation of a “Centre woman.” This is ideally a woman who has gone through the rites of passage, who is well-rounded, prudent, and socially apt; who is upstanding to whom breaking the rules is not entirely alien. It must also be said that certainly every woman who attended Centre had a unique perspective and level of participation or rejection of these customs. Thus while there is a degree of nuance within the individual’s experience in relation to these ideals, through examining these trends one observes how identity and community were created through the sharing of common values, manifested in these customs. In all, the customs illustrated here served to foster an environment encouraging of traditionally feminine qualities, which laid the framework for defiance and resistance to these expectations in later classes of Centre women.
Footnotes
[1] Betsy Wilt, interview by Natalie Warren, February 25, 2021, Centre College Digital Archives, Grace Doherty Library, Centre College, Danville, Kentucky.
[2] George Ella Lyon, interview by Brylin Isaacs, March 15, 2021, Centre College Digital Archives, Grace Doherty Library, Centre College, Danville, Kentucky.
[3] Susan West, interview by Shelby Hammonds., February 26, 2021, Centre College Digital Archives, Grace Doherty Library, Centre College, Danville, Kentucky.
[4] Betsy Wilt, interview by Natalie Warren, February 25, 2021.
[5] Centre College Department of Women Student Handbook, 1950-51, Centre College Archives, Grace Doherty Library, Centre College, Danville, Kentucky.
[6] “Without Cosmetics Students Look Bad,” newspaper clipping, Centre College Archives, Grace Doherty Library, Centre College, Danville, Kentucky.
[7] Margaret Stroup, interview by Nina Brown, March 5, 2021, Centre College Digital Archives, Grace Doherty Library, Centre College, Danville, Kentucky.
[8] Jackie Kingsolver, interview by Elena Wiltgen, March 6, 2021, Centre College Digital Archives, Grace Doherty Library, Centre College, Danville, Kentucky.
[9] “Centre Women Hold Contest,” newspaper clipping, Centre College Archives, Grace Doherty Library, Centre College, Danville, Kentucky.
[10] Carnes, Barbara, “Who Will Be Queen,” Centre College Cento, October 24, 1963, Centre College Institutional Repository Collection, Grace Doherty Library, Centre College, Danville, Kentucky.
[11] “Streakers Now At Centre Too,” Newspaper clipping, Centre College Archives, Grace Doherty Library, Centre College, Danville, Kentucky.
[12] Bitsy Unangst, interview by Natalie Lester, March 2, 2021, Centre College Digital Archives, Grace Doherty Library, Centre College, Danville, Kentucky.
[13] Barbara Miller Solomon, In the Company of Educated Women: A History of Women and Higher Education in America, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986.
[14] Barbara Miller Solomon, In the Company of Educated Women: A History of Women and Higher Education in America.
Bibliography
Carnes, Barbara. “Who Will Be Queen.” Centre College Cento. October 24, 1963. Centre College Institutional Repository Collection. Grace Doherty Library. Centre College. Danville, Kentucky.
Centre College Department of Women Student Handbook. 1950-51. Centre College Archives. Grace Doherty Library. Centre College. Danville, Kentucky.
“Centre Women Hold Contest.” Newspaper clipping. Centre College Archives. Grace Doherty Library. Centre College. Danville, Kentucky.
“Gardenia Queen Named.” Lexington Herald. March 24, 1970. Centre College Archives. Grace Doherty Library. Centre College. Danville, Kentucky.
Kingsolver, Jackie. Interview by Wiltgen, Elena. March 6, 2021. Centre College Digital Archives. Grace Doherty Library, Centre College. Danville, Kentucky.
Lyon, George Ella. Interview by Isaacs, Brylin. March 15, 2021. Centre College Digital Archives. Grace Doherty Library. Centre College. Danville, Kentucky
Solomon, Barbara Miller. In the Company of Educated Women: A History of Women and Higher Education in America. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986.
“Streakers Now At Centre Too.” Newspaper clipping. Centre College Archives. Grace Doherty Library. Centre College. Danville, Kentucky.
Stroup, Margaret. Interview by Brown, Nina. March 5, 2021. Centre College Digital Archives. Grace Doherty Library. Centre College. Danville, Kentucky
Unangst, Bitsy. Interview by Lester, Natalie. March 2, 2021. Centre College Digital Archives. Grace Doherty Library, Centre College, Danville, Kentucky.
“Without Cosmetics Students Look Bad.” Newspaper clipping. Centre College Archives. Grace Doherty Library. Centre College. Danville, Kentucky.
Wilt, Betsy. Interview by Warren, Natalie. February 25, 2021. Centre College Digital Archives. Grace Doherty Library. Centre College. Danville, Kentucky
West, Susan. Interview by Hammonds, Shelby. February 26, 2021. Centre College Digital Archives. Grace Doherty Library. Centre College. Danville, Kentucky