Written in stone

Melanie Stengel

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On the afternoon of September 21, many of Yale’s first women undergrads gathered on Old Campus just in front of Phelps Gate. The event: the unveiling of a stone set into the walkway to mark the 50th anniversary of coeducation at Yale College. It reads, “In September 1969, the first women undergraduates arrived on campus. With spirit and determination, these women of the Classes of 1971, 1972, and 1973 transformed life and learning in Yale College.”

President Peter Salovey ’86PhD and poet Elizabeth Alexander ’84 spoke at the dedication. Said Alexander, “We belong to an evolving entity that believes in the strong spine of certain traditions but also evolution. Yale has changed; you have helped change it; it will continue to change.”