Date of Award

Spring 2000

Document Type

Restricted Thesis

Terms of Use

© 2000 Elisabeth Newcomb. All rights reserved. Access to this work is restricted to users within the Swarthmore College network and may only be used for non-commercial, educational, and research purposes. Sharing with users outside of the Swarthmore College network is expressly prohibited. For all other uses, including reproduction and distribution, please contact the copyright holder.

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

History Department, Educational Studies Department

First Advisor

Lisa Smulyan

Second Advisor

Bruce Dorsey

Abstract

In the late 1960s, Swarthmore College began to rapidly abandon its longstanding parietal rules, such as the ban on student drinking, curfews, dress codes, and the regulation of dormitory visitation between sexes. Using primary sources such as student newspaper articles, college committee meeting minutes, and personal interviews, Newcomb argues that the changes came about through the influences of both forces internal to Swarthmore--such as the Swarthmore Afro-American Student Society’s sit-in of the admissions office and the college president’s death--and outside influences such as the Vietnam War, Civil Rights Movement, and development of a youth culture.

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