Expulsion: Reasons, Rates, and Ramifications

Abstract

Women have always been held to different social standards than men. Although these variations in standards are not as prevalent today as they once were, they still are a part of our everyday lives. For instance, while it is a widely known that sorority life is filled with drinking and partying, during rush, current members of sororities may not talk about the partying and drinking that their sorority does. During rush, sorority members have to “pretend” that they do not drink, while during fraternity rush, drinking is a part of the process. Ever since the admission of women into Trinity College in 1896, women at Duke have always been held to different standards than men.

In this paper, I will examine the changing rules and regulations over two different time periods (the 1930-1940’s and the 1960-1970’s) and the amount of opposition these rules and regulations incurred. In doing this, I will explore the suspension, expulsion and the judicial procedures that followed. I also will provide a thorough examination of the differences between the rules of the men in Trinity and the female students of The Woman’s College.