Mills College WeeklyDear Editor,
The Board of Trustees of Wells College has just voted for the
school to go co-ed after more than a century of single-sex
education. Wells was more than just a school; it was a sanctuary
within which I was able to safely develop the leadership skills,
feminist consciousness, and personal charisma that characterize me
today.
Although I have always had the courage of my convictions, for
many of you I have never asked you personally to make a stand
before. However, this is a critical moment in Wells’ history, and
in the history of the women’s movement. Women’s colleges are being
forced to co-educate due to low enrollment and low investment. I am
writing today to ask your financial support- or, in the case that
you are unable to commit financially, your letters/calls/emails
denouncing the decision for the over 200 students (half of Wells’s
students) who are striking in MacMillan Hall at this very
moment.
I am pledging to invest in Wells College only if the Board
reverses the decision to co-educate and if it re-commits to
continuing as the unique and valuable community resource they have
always been. I am in over $50,000 educational debt, I make one of
the lowest possible salaries that a new attorney can make, I live
in Manhattan, and yet I am pledging $50 a month for the rest of my
professional life (or more if I can afford it – at a minimum of
$600 per year) once Wells reverses its decision. I ask only that
you pledge as much as you can- whether that’s $50 in a one-time
installment or $1,000 a year for five years- to help my beloved
school survive. If you can’t send money, send food. More than half
the students are camped out in the administrative building and they
need sustenance- send food to Save Our Sisterhood (the students
striking in MacMillan), c/o Wells College, Aurora, NY 13026. Or
write letters/make phone calls/send emails denouncing the decision
to the President and the Board. Thank you for all your support!
Let’s save the Sisterhood of Wells College!
Yoshi Bird
