Pre-Spring 1968: Social Life

Friends lounge in the dorms c.1968. New, expanded, parietal rule in March 1968 allowed male visitors from 6PM to 12AM on Fridays and Saturdays, and from 1PM to 6PM on Sundays. Photograph by Joseph Gazdak, courtesy of the Barnard College Archives.

The housing rules were clear. Students under age 21 who legally resided more than 50 miles from college had to live in the dorms or with responsible adult guardians. (Students themselves did not count as “adults”—a main complaint in 1968.) The college monitored when and where dorm students went after hours, and male visitation was limited.

Student signing out for the night at front desk as her date looks on, Brooks Hall, ca. 1960. The housing rules defined: all residents had to fill out a slip letting college officials know where they were going and when they would be returning. Commuters were subject to many fewer rules. Courtesy of the Barnard College Archives.

Housing Guide 1965-1966, pp. 18-19. Courtesy of the Barnard College Archives