Abstract
This interview with the Pembroke College class of 1959 documents the undergraduate experiences of Katherine Robinson Hampstead, Caryl-Ann Miller, Jacqueline Jones, Diane Eileen Scola, Elizabeth Davidson Taft, Nina Wiita Krooss, and Laura T. Fishman, at their 50th reunion.
The interviewees begin by introducing themselves and explaining what drew them to Pembroke. Fishman, one of only two Black women students on campus, shares concerns her parents had about attending a predominantly white school. Miller discusses her experience as a Jewish student and Kroos remembers the social difficulties of being a poor student. These recollections initiate a discussion about race, discrimination, and exclusivity, at Pembroke.
The alumnae go on to consider expectations of women in the 1950s, particularly the dropout rate of newly married women at Pembroke, and mention the lack of options for women outside the home. They identify as being the generation that provoked the revolutions of the 1960s and conclude by saying that their time at Pembroke taught them to question society.
See also: An individual interview with Diane Eileen Scola, class of 1959
Recorded on May 23, 2009, Pembroke Hall, Brown University, Providence, RI.
Interviewed by Jane Lancaster
Suggested Chicago style citation: 50th Reunion, class of 1959. Interview. By Jane Lancaster. Pembroke Center Oral History Project, Brown University. May 23, 2009.
Biography
The Pembroke College class of 1959 graduated under Brown University President Barnaby Keeney and Pembroke College Dean Nancy Duke Lewis. During their academic tenure at Pembroke, students participated in such extracurricular activities as the Athletic Association, Chapel Choir, and Brown Youth Guidance. Together they celebrated Father Daughter Weekend and Spring Weekend. During their senior year, Alaska was inducted into the United States as the 49th state, Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty debuts in Beverly Hills, and Fidel Castro became the Premier of Cuba.