Historical Note

The Associated Women Students (A.W.S.) was founded during the 1938-39 academic year. Its goals included the promotion of "a friendly, helpful fellowship among the women of Whitman College," and the maintenance of high social standards and the "spirit of unity and loyalty to Whitman College" ( Waiilatpu, 1939). The organization, whose membership encompassed all female students at Whitman College, also served as a women's representative body. The organization changed its name twice: in 1945, it became the Associated Women Students of Whitman College, and in 1949, it was shortened to the Associated Women of Whitman College (A.W.W.C.). The Director of Women's Affairs served as advisor to the organization until 1966. In 1967, the Dean of Women took over this function, and in 1970, the Associate Dean of Students became the organization's advisor.

During the 1950s and early 1960s, the organization concerned itself primarily with issues of dress and deportment for women students and campus activities, most notably the Homecoming Dance and the May Fete. In the mid 1960s, the character of the organization began to change. Evidence of this change include the organization's involvement in a panel discussion of The Feminine Mystique in 1964, and the loosening of social regulations in the Coed Code. By 1970, the organization's goals were completely revised and centered around providing women "an opportunity to express themselves as individuals" and a forum to "consider the needs and problems unique to women." (Constitution of the Associated Students of Whitman College, 1970). The last mention of the organization appears in the 1972 Waiilatpu.