LYNCHBURG, Va.-
More than 200 Randolph-Macon Woman’s College students have suspended their boycott of classes in protest of the decision to allow men to the 115-year-old women’s college.
Trustees voted Sept. 9 to admit men in the fall of 2007.
Students suspended their boycott over the weekend after meeting with the college’s interim president, Ginger Worden, and other school administrators.
“We demanded that the need to go coed be demonstrated by a second look at the research,” senior Anne Haley, chairwoman of the student-run Coalition to Preserve Women’s Education. “Essentially, we wanted to get a second opinion.”
Haley said they promised to relay their demands to the full board of trustees. Students agreed to suspend their boycott until the board responds to their request.
About 250 students stayed out of class for a week and refused to eat in the dining hall, she said. The school’s enrollment is 712.
The students have the support of some alumnae, who are raising the prospect of legal action.
“We don’t want to litigate, but we don’t see any other choice at the moment,” said Ellen Reid Smith, an alumna.
Administrators said the decision to admit men is intended to achieve more financial stability.
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