The Gray Book, Wellesley College's catalogue of rules, has gotten smaller since the 1930's. A few rules have been relaxed, but the Book gets all it can from the ones that are left. For example:

On cheating: "Use of other people's ideas, whether published or written, whether those of scholar or fellow student, in research papers, creative writing, laboratory or field trip reports, without proper documentation is either reprehensively careless or dishonest."

On driving: Until this term, students could have cars on campus only after spring vacation of senior year. Now all seniors are allowed to own cars and there is some chance that juniors will even be extended the same privilege next year.

On walking: "In order to preserve the beauty of the college grounds and adjacent properties, members of the college community are requested to walk on paths, not on the grass especially in the spring, and are not permitted to gather flowers or branches."

On sunbathing: "Sunbathing is permitted only on the sundeck of the Recreation Building and in places designated by the Director of Residence. Sunbathing clothes may be worn only in these places."

On drinking: "Neither students nor their guests are permitted to have alcoholic beverages anywhere on the campus." It is said that evidence of alcohol in rooms is sufficient grounds for expulsion.

The problem created by Wellesley's social inertia is more acute today because most of the Wellesley freshmen are coming from high schools which promoted complete social equality of boys and girls. The popular, "well-rounded" high school graduate may be shocked when she arrives at Wellesley. Her favorite relationships have probably been those with boys and she is used to governing her behavior by the expected male reaction. When she gets to Wellesley, she is knocked off base. A senior who is a house president and a junior Phi Beta Kappa describes the experience: "I liked girls, but I was always more comfortable around boys. It was hard to get used to making friends with girls. Probably most girls don't know what it's like until they get here. There's such an artificial atmosphere, but you get used to it after awhile. It helps to get away to the city a lot."

The Syndromes

This tension, which comes from the contrast between outside progress and Wellesley's inertia, produces certain identifiable syndromes in the academic and the social side of the college.

One could be called the "production ethic." Sixty-one per cent of the girls who answered the questionnaire spend four or more hours a day on homework, and less than two per cent spend as little as two hours a day studying. Seventy-three per cent reported that they kept up in their assignments as opposed to cramming for the exams. The average grade for the group is between a C-plus and B-minus.

Many aspects of Wellesley's educational policy have been reformed rapidly. For example, in 1932 there were only a dozen seniors engaged in independent work in their major field, while today there are close to six times that number in the honors program alone.

But there are a few aspects of the academic policy at Wellesley which tend to denigrate the college's otherwise remarkable achievements in this sphere. They are the manifestations of three factors: the production ethic, the slowness to liberalize the college, the lack of endowment available to women's colleges generally (although for a women's college, Wellesley is well-endowed).

First is the practice of issuing daily reading assignments. For many of the large lecture classes a certain number of pages is assigned for each session, forcing a daily work-load and putting more pressure on the student by taking the initiative to study out of her hands.

More Males

Second, at least three-quarters of the students polled would prefer to have more male teachers. Although this sounds like a minor point, it would undoubtedly make the classes much more interesting and lead to a more natural atmosphere.