Making Space for Women

Graduating summa cum laude is certainly an honorable achievement, but academic accolades ring hollow if unaccompanied by meaningful accomplishments beyond the classroom. Twentieth-century Vanderbilt women campaigned to enjoy the enriching extracurricular experiences afforded to their male peers. Soon, sorority houses cropped up alongside fraternity houses, the Lady of the Bracelet superlative arose to complement the Bachelor of Ugliness, and women began to compete on men’s basketball courts. These artifacts remind viewers to appreciate the myriad opportunities currently available to all students; as Stella Vaughn once said, Vanderbilt women “have slowly but surely won a place for themselves by their perseverance.”