To the Editor:
In a world that is poised to degrade distinction as discrimination, well-done single sex education is a gem that must not be tossed away. Men and women think differently, process differently, learn differently and thrive differently, especially in formative years that impact the critical development of the frontal lobes of our brains. Male and female brains are different, neither is more or less valuable. All is necessary. Equality does not mean sameness. Think is for “Women”! I would hear ranted in my intro to 300 level psychology classes by a professor irritated that the newly contracted marketing company encouraged us to settle in “girl-hood” rather than trudge begrudgingly into the adult lives we were starting whether we knew it and wanted to or not.
As a Sweet Briar woman, I am so thankful I attended an institution that taught how to foster and grow my gifts as a scientist, mathematician, artist, friend, student, teacher, spokesperson and listener. I hope and pray men can say the same for their own educational experiences. While the potential loss of Sweet Briar makes me feel as though a most treasured thread is being ripped from the tapestry that is my life, my heart hits bottom when I realize the tragic commentary the loss of such an institution makes on the state of the higher education system in general.
Strangers finding themselves at the Sweet Briar website may say something like this … “It’s like My Little Pony vomited all over Little House on the Prairie” (I’ve personally heard that one). Think again, it is an experience that is not for everyone. But I charge you that it is irretrievably valuable and life defining for many and can never be replicated elsewhere. We all came to Sweet Briar to learn. In many cases, we valued our learning enough to come despite the fact that it was all women. Thank God we made the choice. It was OK to be 30 minutes from a Starbucks. Being that far from commercial points of connection mandated that we connect deeply with those around us. In a world full of miniature pocket computers it is easy to forget, or worse even never bother to learn, how to humanly connect with those around us. I’ve not met anyone who has relationships of such depth and accountability as those I have experienced and witnessed as a Sweet Briar student. Nor have I found them as a professional alum craving to reconnect with women who I admire and respect (even if I do not like them all). An institution with professors at the tops of their fields, that will demand you expect the maximum of yourself, when the world says, it’s OK to be lazy, should be thriving.
I am a T.C. Williams High School, Sweet Briar College and George Mason University graduate. I have a list of credentials behind my name, and if I could keep only one experience I choose to keep the Sweet Briar experience. All the others could be reconstructed. Consider the type of environment you want to learn. The science equipment, ability to connect with nature, centrally located to collaborate with other universities, while retaining unique identity, the list could continue for pages. Understanding who you are as an adult woman, because, yes, that matters. Being able to laugh about nights in Guion, the Library, Grey and boring dorm rooms when we were forced to simultaneously grow our minds and hearts to understand how to balance priorities of resources; time, material and relational. Sweet Briar women thrive because of what we learn on campus. What a disservice to rob future generations of that knowledge and experience.
Life is one series of choice, decision and reaction to circumstances after another. This institution has grown thoughtful, creative and stamina filled women for the last 114 years. We took cumulative finals. We could not get out of college without first learning to write, critically think and make hard decisions. Sweet Briar is a treasure. It is not to be discarded. Do not underestimate us and do not tell us our legacy is dissolving for lack of interest. We do not accept that, for Sweet Briar taught us better.
Paige Elise
Sweet Briar College Alumna December 2008