Macroscopic view of the development of Women's Rights

The analysis of the subject of this individual project begins by examining the overall trends of the phrase “women’s rights” in the data collected from The Alligator over time (Fig 1). This allows us to examine the overall peaks and dips of the use of the phrase over time. As many entries in the 1980s are unable to be accessed, zooming in to a time range including the issues of The Alligator from 1940 to 1980 benefits the accuracy, as well as clarity of the analysis. Provided on the graph are labels of events that occurred in the struggle for women’s rights in America in the years respective to the highest peaks shown in the data for the searched phrase (Fig 2). This range in time is also ideal as it includes years that are extremely important to social change at universities and in America as a whole. By having this macroscopic view of the protracted development of women’s rights, we can analyze the specific instances that may have led to a word count increase and then perform further data analysis based on terms related to those specific events. The events that are covered in this project include the push towards coeducation at the university in the mid to late 1940s, the events that led to the newspaper's reorganization as independent, and the passing of Roe v. Wade in 1973 (Fig 3). Through an analysis of these events, the scope of this project becomes more focused on the decades of 1940 to 1980. 

Coeducation at the University of Florida

The development of coeducation at the University of Florida was born out of the massive increase in university attendance following the passing of the GI Bill after the Second World War. As Taylor states in the article, A History of Race and Gender at the University of Florida Levin College of Law 1909-2001, “The male population at the University of Florida overflowed the facilities in Gainesville and when no more men could be accommodated they were redirected to Florida State College for Women in Tallahassee … In 1947 the Legislature legalized the coeducation of men and women in both institutions…” (Taylor, 498) This sentiment is reflected in an analysis of the word count data for the use of the word “coeducation.” This can be seen on the graph to the left (Fig 4) as it shows a sharp increase in the popularity of the term postwar. 

As the subject of women entering the university became popular, policies around the university began to change themselves as well. As Clawson states in the article, Queers on campus: LGBTQ student visibility at three public universities in Florida, 1970-1985, “The Dean of Men office at UF was established in 1920, followed by the Dean of Women office in 1948, when UF began to admit women to the undergraduate division…  The Dean of Women office also handled rules that applied only to female students, including curfews and dress codes.” (Clawson, 89) This literature specifically shows the distinct amount of change that occurred at the University of Florida just following the beginning of women’s integration into the university. This same protracted process can be seen throughout other American universities during this period. 

As Schwartz states in the article Reconceptualizing the Leadership Roles of Women in Higher Education: A Brief History on the Importance of Deans of Women, “As the enrollment of women increased during the late nineteenth century, many college presidents began to appoint female faculty members to advise, assist, and counsel the new ‘minority’ population on campus, female students.” (Schwartz, 3) This source discusses the effect of the beginning of the integration of women into American universities which similarly to the University of Florida, also had Deans of Women who took active roles in the shaping of the universities they were employed at. This shows a clear relationship between the increased word count of the topic in The Alligator newspaper and the nationwide development of women’s rights during the same time period. 

Abortion and The Alligator

When analyzing the subject of women’s rights in The Alligator newspaper, the subject of abortion raises itself as one of particular significance. After examining the general data from the analysis of the phrase “women’s rights”, there is a clear peak in the early 1970s (Fig 5). After conducting the same search using the term “abortion” a sharp rise in the same years is clearly present. The sharp increase in the word count related to this term can be attributed to multiple events that occurred during the beginning of the 1970s. This is shown in the visualization of the data surrounding the term abortion, present on the right. In order to examine this subject further, an analysis of the newspaper itself can lead to one of the other intentions of the project, analyzing the effect that events on the subject of the change in women’s rights over time had on The Alligator newspaper. This is best seen through an analysis of the subject of abortion and its presence in the newspaper. 

One of the main contributing factors to the increase in the use of the term “abortion” has to do with both the state of Florida’s rescinding of the state’s previously held abortion law in 1972 as well as the passing of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision in the subsequent year. Most of the word usage in The Alligator of this term was done in 1972, so it would be safe to assume that this was mainly related to the legal discussion of abortion in the scope of the previously held Florida law. Connecting the terms “law” and “abortion” shows a clear connection between the rapid increase in word usage between the two terms. The graphs of the related word counts for the data demonstrate this (Fig 6). This leads one to believe the reason for the increase in 1972 was due to the rescinding of the abortion law in Florida. 

As previously mentioned, analyzing articles of the newspaper itself is the best-suited method of research for this subject in order to connect the subject to literature which furthers one of the main goals of the project. An article released on January 7, 1972, discusses this controversy and its relation to the former UF president O’Connell’s upholding of lower court decisions, but refusal to uphold one in particular “But in January 1972, a lower court decision suddenly found itself out in the cold. Alachua County Felony Court of Record Judge Benmont Tench’s ruling that both statutes 797.01 and 797.02 if the Florida abortion law were unconstitutional was no longer enough for O’Connell.” (Alligator, 1972) This quote captures the animosity present throughout the University concerning the subject of abortion during this period. 

Regarding the subject of abortion’s effect on The Alligator newspaper, the best and easiest to discern the result is the change of the paper to The Independent Florida Alligator. This arose due to the previously mentioned controversy surrounding the former President of the University Stephen C. O’Connell and his disagreement with the publishing of a list of names of abortion clinics. The graph on the right shows a connection between the terms “abortion” and “independent” showing the popularity spike of “independent” during this time (Fig 7). Causing an entire schism in the structure of the newspaper, abortion is clearly shown to be one of the most major topics in the social development of women’s rights.