I would like to offer a new, hopefully conciliatory commentary on the Jackson College controversy blazing in these pages. I have heard the opinions voiced here across campus from female undergraduates. Mostly, I have heard dismay that although we go to classes with, live with, and share resources with our male counterparts, we will graduate from the seemingly nominal institution of Jackson College. I usually nod my understanding, and mumble that I kind of like the idea of graduating from Jackson. In fact, I love writing J03 by my name, and I will be proud to get a diploma with the Jackson name on it.
Jackson College is indeed a proud tradition in the history of Tufts University. Despite the opposition of early Tufts president Frederick Hamilton to co-education, Cornelia Jackson bequeathed funds to establish a woman's college at the bottom of Walnut Hill. Jackson was originally a coordinate college, associated with Tufts, but separate. The segregation lasted only a few years, and by the early 1900s women were fully integrated with men in classes. Jackson's generosity protected the security and survival of women's education here. The Jackson notation on our diplomas stands as a reminder of the battle for women's equality in higher education.
Most students are unaware of this rich history. I am the type of student who reads the historical plaques in each new dorm or academic building I enter, yet I knew very little about Jackson before I decided to write this Viewpoint. Tufts admissions materials make very few references to Jackson College. In fact, many female undergraduates may not know they are part of Jackson College until matriculation day, or even later. Tufts does little to celebrate Jackson, save insisting that female liberal arts students graduate from it. We all know that Charles Tufts vowed to "put a light on the hill." From that we have the Light on the Hill Award and Rising Light on the Hill Award. We celebrate Tuftonia's Day and all athletic teams wear Tufts' Brown and Blue. In all our traditions and festivals, there is hardly a mention of Jackson College.
It is my participation in an organization that has incorporated the Jackson tradition into its identity that makes me so proud to be a future graduate of Jackson College. The women's lacrosse team refers to itself as "Jax Lax," an abbreviation of Jackson Lacrosse. Though we still cheer "Go Tufts," we start every game by yelling "Jax Lax Attacks." Jackson has become an important part of what I do and an integral component of my identity as a Tufts student. Ask the members of the Jackson Jills and I imagine that you will find that most of them agree that Jackson is an important part of the Tufts tradition.
The tradition of female liberal arts students graduating from Jackson College should persist. However, Tufts must ensure that its history and importance are better understood and celebrated across campus. It is unfair to make Jackson merely a nominal tradition to be invoked at graduation and then to expect students to gladly accept diplomas from it. Tufts has a duty to inform Jackson students about the struggle for equality that the diploma represents. We now have equal access to the excellent professors, libraries, and facilities of Tufts University. We should not forget that our predecessors struggled for those rights for forty years before Cornelia Jackson ensured that Tufts would accept co-education as an integral part of its identity.
Arielle Kristan is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major.
