Twenty-six years ago this week, just a few years after the college admitted its first female undergraduates, The Amherst Student reported that women at Amherst College wanted out. Before that, at a meeting of the Committee of Six, Professor of English and American Studies Barry O'Connell announced his concerns regarding the inhospitable environment that the College provided to female students.

According to a report from the registrar's office, 19 students-five men and 14 women-of the class of 1980 had requested transcripts for transfer. At the time, women made up only 36 percent of the student population, yet 79 percent of those applying to transfer were women, which indicated that coeducation at Amherst was not going as smoothly as hoped.

Women reported a variety of reasons for transferring. One sophomore student stated that her decision to leave was "partly due to the social life" and the size of the school. Another female student complained that "Amherst is physically so small that there are not enough women … [there is] not enough diversity." Yet another female student felt that Amherst was not a "caring community. People tend to be extremely self centered and not very friendly."

Dean of Students David Drinkwater, however, doubted the accuracy of the numbers, noting that at least three women were leaving "for reasons that have nothing to do with Amherst," in addition to the increased number of students going abroad. Drinkwater did admit that some women were, in fact, leaving because they found Amherst's environment uncomfortable, and that the total number of women leaving Amherst was more than he would have liked.

President John Ward was concerned by the numbers, indicating that, "If 20 [women] feel sufficient discomfort it is pointing to a real problem in the transition to coeducation." He also noted that the situation may actually have been worse than the numbers indicated due to those who were thinking about transferring but had not yet applied.

-Lauren Schmale