Academics and Leisure

How a student spends their time at any given moment can be placed into one of two categories: is it an academic or leisurely pursuit? Are they working on homework or going to class? Or are they playing a game with friends or taking a walk around the lake? By looking through the findings of the Wellesley College Hall Archaeology Project via the lenses of academics and leisure, we can begin to understand how Wellesley students spent their time in 1914 and compare that with today. 

Below, our page outlines what the academic and leisurely experiences of a Wellesley student in 1914 may have looked like and how they have developed over the past century into the experiences of students today. Our subsequent pages offer a more in depth look at how socio-economic status played a role in students’ experiences, the traditions that continue to shape academic and social life, and how the admissions process has changed over time.

While there are many aspects within academics and leisure that will be familiar to current students, some noticeable changes have occurred. Wellesley's required curriculum has evolved over the years to be more reflective of the standards of learning at the moment, and the amount of organizations on campus has grown to allow practically every student to find their niche. A number of these changes came at the hands of the college's administration, who hold the power to establish more funding for clubs or create new departments, the real change-makers are the students who have always pushed to have their Wellesley experience reflect their own needs and interests.

How have academics changed?

The academics at Wellesley have changed a lot since 1914. Some of the more striking differences include the Masters degree that Wellesley had in the early 20th century or the required curriculum. As part of confirming the school’s foundational values, the systematic study of the Bible was required of the student body. There was also a heavier focus on more of a classical education. This is reflected in the language courses required and/or available and the presence of such courses as Elocution. Required subjects were as follows: Biblical History, English Composition, Mathematics, Language or Natural Science, a second Natural Science course, Philosophy, and Hygiene, and there was an order in which they were meant to be taken. Wellesley still has a core curriculum, but it is more flexible today and the only order to core courses which one could argue is present in 2020 is the QRF requirement, part of which can be met through examination prior to classes. There were more exams in 1914 prior to courses starting in order to fulfill prerequisites for registration. The academics were also designed so that students would take fewer courses in succeeding years. Similar to today, there was a minimum number of students required to guarantee a course; then it was 6.

Chemistry apparatuses found in the College Hall excavation

How did students spend their free time?

When Wellesley student’s weren’t studying or going to classes, there was a large selection of clubs and organizations they could be a part of. Even if a student wasn’t active in a club, they could go to lectures, concerts, and dances hosted by these groups. By looking at past yearbooks (the Legenda), we can see what clubs existed.

Here are some of the groups mentioned in the 1914 Legenda that still exist at Wellesley:

• Societies: Phi Sigma, Shakespeare Society, Tau Zeta Epsilon, Zeta Alpha, Agora, and Alpha Kappa Chi

• Athletics: archery, baseball, basketball, crew, golf, hockey, track, cross country, and tennis

  • Hockey and archery are now club sports, the rest are all varsity sports

• Music: choir, glee club (now several different acapella groups), and symphony orchestra

• There were also clubs such as the Debate Club and Italian Club, and people could work for Legenda and the Wellesley College News.

Some clubs that no longer exist:

• • Scribblers Club: literary organization

  • Consumer’s League:  an organization with the aim "to better the conditions in factories ... especially in the industries in which women and children are employed" (47, 1916 Students' Hand-book)

  • College Settlements Association: this was  “one of the most prosperous of all the college chapters" and it aimed to "collect money for the Settlements of the General Association and to organize the philanthropic effort of the college, making this element an intelligent social service" (47,  1916 Students' Hand-book)

• Equal Suffrage League: a club that organized group discussions about women’s suffrage

• There was also once a Mandolin Club and clubs for different states and regions of the US such as the Maine Club, Rhode Island Club, and Southern Club. 

Not all Wellesley students participated in clubs, and many probably spent their free time talking with friends and reading, among other things. These two artifacts found in the excavation look like a puzzle piece and a sling shot, indicating what students may have doing outside of classes and orgs.  

Q1: What do you think these items actually are? (Please answer in the Google Form below)

Students could have also spent their free time at school sponsored events such as Winter Carnival and May Day, as seen below. Students could spend their afternoons enjoying Severence Green in the spring, or skiing and sledding down Severence Hill in the winter.

Q2: What other activities do you think Wellesley students did with their free time? (Please answer in the Google Form below)

Q3: What impressions do you get from these materials about life at Wellesley during this time period? (Please answer in the Google Form below)