Integration of Females into Tech's Student Body

In 1952, Georgia Tech opened its doors admitted their first female students. At this moment, Tech took its first step to becoming a non-gender discriminatory campus. But what were the events that had to take place to establish women as scholastic entities? And how has the presence of women on the Georgia Tech campus changed over the past half century?

The 20^th century was a progressive period for women that established them as an integral part of society. Women, during this century, reached a new level of personhood by fighting for personal rights and responsibilities. Of high importance was the suffragist movement to give women the right to vote. This battle, which took place throughout the 1920’s, identified the female population as having a legal and meaningful voice in society. If they were able to obtain such a large responsibility on a national level, then why is that the first female student was admitted to Tech in 1952?

Students at Georgia Tech in the 1950’s took note of a widespread initiative to include females into campus populations. Through the student run publication, The Technique, the campus became informed about the status of a petition that would allow females to enter Georgia Tech. In a February 1952 article in The Technique, a large, eye catching headline ran across the front page reading, “ CO-ED ENROLLMENT AT TECH?: Atlanta Women Petition For Female Enrollment At Engineering Institution”. The article consists of an update of Tech’s current status regarding a petition filed by the Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Atlanta. Basically, the author of the article makes a firm prediction that women will soon be admitted to Georgia Tech upon official word from Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, and after a formal report for the then President Van Leer. The article cites that women have refuted past claims as to why they are not allowed admittance into Tech. Such claims as facility space and adequate accommodations for women are no longer valid due to renovations on the campus.

With this said, there is no reason to exclude women from attending a University of Georgia institution. The integration of women would allow for a higher production of engineers during a time when men were sent to the military and an increase in a steadily declining enrollment at Georgia Tech. Furthermore, more women were being employed by Tech and the student body returned a favorable verdict in a poll about having women on campus. Any argument against female enrollment at Tech would result in great discrimination by the Institution. Even a section of the article quotes that "the continued policy on the part of the Board of Regents of the University of Georgia to bar female students . . . constitutes a gross discrimination to the females of Georgia in that it requires any female desiring to matriculate in the fields of engineering and/or architecture to seek facilities out of the State of Georgia for such study, resulting in additional expense." It was because of these logical reasons and constant fight of women that in 1952 Georgia Tech admitted its first female students.

 

As Tech has grown over the past 50 years, so has the female population in respect to personhood. Females have acquired jobs that have typically been held by men, and stepped out of the role of a simple care giving homemaker to that of a responsible figure in society.  Georgia Tech’s female population has achieved similar feats. The most current statistics show that women now make up 36% of the incoming class of 2010. Though male students often complain about the male to female ratio at Tech, this is quite the jump from 0% female just 50 years ago. Though Georgia Tech still has one of the lowest male to female ratios in the nation, the Institution has done its best to promote young females to apply. By establishing such groups as Society of Women Engineers, Women in Engineering, Women’s Resource, and many other major based women organizations, Tech has done exceptionally well at advancing women in technical, post secondary education and establishing anti-gender discrimination initiatives. And based on the current trend, the promotion of female academics will continue to improve much like that of society’s view of female involvement. The definition of a student at Georgia Tech involves persons of both male and female orientation, as does society’s definition of a person includes individuals of both genders.

Resources

Bennett, Fred. "Atlanta Women Petition for Female Enrollment at Engineering Institution." The Technique 36.38 (1952): 1. SMARTech. Web. <http://smartech.gatech.edu>.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Institute_of_Technology

GTFWC. Web. 18 Nov. 2010. <http://www.gtfwc.gatech.edu/>.—Lady Buzz

Georgia Tech SWE High School Outreach Event - Eventbrite. Web. 18 Nov. 2010. <http://gtswehsoutreach.eventbrite.com/>.—Society of Women Engineers