“People at The Crimson bent over backwards not to be sexist,” she says. “But it was just that the president had always been male and that was just the way it was. Things tend to perpetuate themselves. Up to a certain point, women didn’t even think of putting themselves up for leadership positions. But I think there was a recognition from everyone that it was just time for this kind of thing to happen.”

Newer student organizations were often more hospitable to women because they lacked institutional traditions that many women found intimidating. The Harvard Independent, which was founded in 1969, made Mitchell its first female president. She says she found the atmosphere at the paper “very welcoming.”

“The women’s movement was really taking off when we got to college, and I was the same way,” she says. “I wanted those opportunities. I wanted to break those boundaries.”

On The Verge

Women’s successes in the 1970s due to institutional changes often coincided with confusion over their place in the University—and signified a real disconnect with Radcliffe.

Looking back on women’s first appearance in the Yard, the 1973 yearbook predicted, “[These women’s] immediate frame of reference was Harvard, and for many, Radcliffe will only be a name to scrawl on a form during their four years here.”

Borthwick remembers, “I had certainly applied to Radcliffe, and I thought there would be more of a Radcliffe presence.”

Women in the Class of 1976 were not only uncertain of the role of Radcliffe, but they were also uncertain of themselves and where they wanted to fit in.

“I think the whole debate over Radcliffe was emblematic of the tension that existed over how to define the women’s movement,” Muscatine said. “It was very difficult to define what was the best path for women. We were sort of the tipping point: we said that we went to Harvard, not Radcliffe, we lived in the Yard and by the River, not just in the Quad.”

Perhaps the one thing that was certain for the Class of 1976 was that they had seen Harvard fundamentally change its attitude toward women. The Harvard they left behind could no longer remain an old boys’ club.

—Staff writer P. Patty Li can be reached at ppli@fas.harvard.edu.