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Article 1 - The Sentinel: Issue 1, 1966

rbarne58 — 2023-11-16 15:10:02 UTC

Article 2- The Technician: Volume 1-Issue 5, 1949

rbarne58 — 2023-12-03 22:51:58 UTC

Article 3 - The Technician: Vol. 2 Number 6, 1950

rbarne58 — 2023-12-05 15:59:44 UTC

15 new professorial women hired in KSU - Article 1

rbarne58 — 2023-12-05 16:19:43 UTC

This article, featured on the first page and continuing onto the fourth, shows over fifteen women educators being hired at KSU, even if it was a junior college at the time. Some of them were instructing courses from the humanities, but quite a few held master’s degrees in STEM fields and were facilitating these self-same classes. This, to me at least, shows that women may well have been respected for their intellectual capacities. Alternatively, the administration recognized that with women being admitted, they may respond better if their instructors were also women. While many of them are assistant professors instead of being full professors, the possession of higher degrees is notable. Also, after calculating the percentages, I find that forty percent of the new instructors were women. Yes, there were a greater number of men hired, but for the ninety-sixties this level is encouraging as it shows a greater confidence in the capability of women overall.

Gender in Advertising - Article 2

rbarne58 — 2023-12-05 16:21:26 UTC

One of the best ways to track the popular zeitgeist in any era is to look at the contemporaneous advertisements. In this advertisement in the fifth issue of The Technician, we see a happy and attractive young woman leaning over a counter with all sorts of goodies, but with Coke bottles taking the center stage. While this may not seem significant, one must keep in mind that the ads of this era were beginning to try to appeal to the mindsets of the viewers. No longer could they just take a picture of coke or extol its virtues, they had to tailor their ads to a specific mindset. They could have had a smiling man in a suit holding a Coke but instead they used a woman. Why was this done? Chiefly this choice was made for two reasons. First, this was a domestic setting, and while a table full of food (and Coke) could have been used, using a housewife makes the tableau more wholesome and homier. Secondly, the student body at this time were largely comprised of an audience who would find the model, and consequently the soda, appealing. This style of marketing is nothing new, similar tactics are used today, but the usage in this paper displays the grasp on the mindset of the consumers of that era.

Article 4- The Montage, 1967

rbarne58 — 2023-12-05 16:28:06 UTC

The Graduation of Southern Polytechnic State University's first feminine attendee. : Article 3

rbarne58 — 2023-12-05 16:31:23 UTC

During this issue of The Technician, they cover the graduation of the first woman attendee, Ms. Barbara Hudson. It is discussed what her degree could mean to her professional career, as well as her grades during her tenure. Her instructors state that she has excelled in her classes, statements that her 3.0 grade point average corroborate. On the second half of the article on page 3, it is also reported that many women were shown to have a greater degree of technological affinity, occasionally even surpassing men in that regard. While the article is largely free of objectification, some elements still manage to persist. The first paragraph contextualizes her presence by remarking on her appearance first and foremost. Additionally, while she is indeed obtaining a technical degree, her intended purpose is to utilize this to begin a career in interior design, an appropriately feminine branch of architecture. While this doesn’t devalue the obtaining of her degree, many would note that interior design has a greater deal of artistry, which has a strong association with emotions and not logic. In any case, Ms. Hudson had completed a tremendous undertaking, and would surely pave the way for future coeds to obtain engineering awards of their very own.

Female Freshmen Arriving in Force- Article 4

rbarne58 — 2023-12-05 16:51:43 UTC

In the first issue of the 1967 Montage, there were over seventy women students amongst the freshmen alone. This seems to suggest that KSU was welcoming to women students overall. This may have been because Kennesaw was a junior college and possessed less stigmata to enrollment for women Not that women are any less intelligent or disciplined of course, but more attended junior colleges than older universities at this time. I would like to compare the freshman list with the graduating class, but the farthest level shown is the sophomores. Also, the women in the student body and the faculty, for there were also women employed at the university, were decidedly white. Still, the significance of the sheer amount of feminine enrollment and employment should be noted, especially in the U.S South during the sixties. Higher education was a rarity for many women at that time, so the importance of the makeup of the student body can scarcely be understated. Overall, the presence of the feminine freshmen in such amounts is a testament to progress and the growing tide of ladies wishing to better themselves.

Betty McDaniel, "How to Conform Without Really Trying." The Sentinel, 5, no.5 (1970): 4

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rbarne58 — 2023-12-05 16:54:19 UTC

Gender Satire. Article 5

rbarne58 — 2023-12-05 17:12:31 UTC

During the winter of 1970, Ms. Betty McDaniel wrote a searing article[1], aiming to satirize the aged manners columns that were hotbeds of gender stratification and ossified social norms. This was accomplished by mimicking these articles yet omitting the veils of civility. Instead of downplaying or ignoring the implications inherent, Betty showed how de- humanizing the need for obedience truly is, in addition to showing the ease of assimilation. If you repeat a concept enough times, you can start to believe it, and soon you will embody that conceit. Instead of being a person with hopes and ambitions, you become part of the crowd, believing only what the group has been told to believe. This message is one that had been trumpeted and shoved down the throats of women for centuries. Effectively, they were to sublimate their own desires, and act as a support for men and children. Betty recognized this, and gave her readers a dose of this reality, one that is bereft of any veneer of respectability, and is revealed in all its horror.

[1] Betty McDaniel, "How to Conform Without Really Trying." The Sentinel, 5, no.5 (1970): 4

Bill Anthony, “Miss STI.” The Engineering Technician, 13, no. 4 (1971): 5

rbarne58 — 2023-12-06 01:08:49 UTC

Ms. Melody Lee Knighton - Article 6

rbarne58 — 2023-12-06 01:10:00 UTC

This photo of Ms. Melody[1] and the accompanying article would appear to be regressive at first glance. After all, the caption is primarily focused on her achievements as a pageant winner and was relegated to the fifth page, when Ms. Barbara Hutchinson managed to make it to the first page some twenty years prior. However, there are some mitigating factors to keep in mind. First, the article states that Melody is going to pursue a journalism major, a field that was not universally accepting when it came to women. Additionally, one fact to keep in mind is that the fifth page placement may have meant that the attendance of a woman was more commonplace in that time. After all, the first attendee had graduated decades prior, so it is natural to assume that more had followed in the ensuing years. Taken from that perspective, the progression of history can be readily observed, and the Southern Technical Institute becomes more accepting by some small measure.

[1] Bill Anthony, “Miss STI.” The Engineering Technician, 13, no. 4 (1971): 5

Missy Majors "KC Day Care?" The Sentinel, 16, no.3 (1981) 2

rbarne58 — 2023-12-06 01:18:47 UTC

Daycare in Kennesaw College - Article 7

rbarne58 — 2023-12-06 02:01:21 UTC

This article[2], by the associate editor no less, tackles an issue that has been long associated with women and women’s liberation, yet hasn’t always received it’s due, child-care. First, while children can be a blessing, taking care of them is exhausting even without the added complications of college courses. Additionally, remote learning was nonexistent at this time, so the children had to be left alone to attend class. This necessitates sitters, who are hired at the expense of the young mothers. When taken from that perspective, an on-campus daycare would, as the assistant editor puts it, would be a logical choice. According to the student government, such a program’s establishment could only occur with the procurement of additional funds, funds that would come from an increase in the activities fee. While this decision may not stem from sexism as the senatorial committee (which the author of this article is a member of) is predominantly made up of women[3], the fact remains that mothers at the college would feel the pinch more acutely, as their overall income may be lower. Furthermore, the unwed and childless would also be penalized, as Missy asserts. Such licensing demonstrates one of the greater hidden reefs of the collegiate world, one that is especially damaging to the co-eds.

[1] Bill Anthony, “Miss STI.” The Engineering Technician, 13, no. 4 (1971): 5

[2] Missy Majors, “KC Day Care?” The Sentinel, 16, no.3 (1981) 2

[3] The S.G.A is pictured on the prior page, and seven out of the thirteen senators are women. That’s about 53 percent if one were to do the math.

[1] Missy Majors, “KC Day Care?” The Sentinel, 16, no.3 (1981) 2

[2] The S.G.A is pictured on the prior page, and seven out of the thirteen senators are women. That’s about 53 percent if one were to do the math.

"Teamwork" The Sting, 3, no.2 (1985): 3

rbarne58 — 2023-12-06 02:13:26 UTC

Planned Parenthood - Article 8

rbarne58 — 2023-12-06 02:56:55 UTC

While the pathways for the pro-choice movement were not made entirely smooth by the Roe V Wade court case, the verdict did affect the level of acceptance that was expressed by the general populace. As this[1] article shows, the clinic near five points must have been emboldened by this news. This was a decently sized picture, and the ad was placed solidly on the third page of an eleven-page issue. Such blatancy would have been unthinkable in years prior. Furthermore, one of the locations for the clinic was in downtown Marietta, a very public location. While planned parenthood remained as controversial as it is today, the other location was in a rough part of town, such blatancy and prominence was a testament to the growing public opinion of the cause, particularly amongst the collegiates during the eighties.

[1] “Teamwork”. The Sting, 3, no. 2(1985):3

Mark Parisi "off the mark" The Sting, 52, no.4 (1998) 16

rbarne58 — 2023-12-06 03:26:04 UTC

Regression in the media. - Article 9

rbarne58 — 2023-12-06 03:26:42 UTC

While the public perception of women as equals had progressed much over the years, sometimes it took two steps forward and one step back. Raunchy comics, such as these[1], show that the abuse of power could be seen as a humorous punchline, and not rote harassment. Additionally, double standards are also observed, as the general audience would be disturbed if they saw a man being violated. This comic is only salvageable in the respect that its selection for this publication demonstrates two things about the mindset of the collegiate. First, the viewership was either predominantly male or otherwise attracted to the feminine gender as many women would find this punchline to be creepy and not disturbing. Secondly, the individual in charge of selecting the comics might also be similarly affiliated for the self-same reasons. In any case, these comics show that while many may support women in every respect, they still have a blind spot for sophomoric Star Wars jokes.

[1] Mark Parisi "off the mark" The Sting, 52, no.4 (1998) 16

Azy Kashani, "Big tobacco aims at women" The Sentinel, 41, no.4 (2006): 6

rbarne58 — 2023-12-06 03:40:27 UTC

Tobacco's Abuse of Women - Article 10

rbarne58 — 2023-12-06 03:55:06 UTC

There is a great deal to take from this article[1]. First, the preponderance of targeted advertising shows that the tobacco industry views women as a demographic that possesses worth and is therefore worth targeting. However, even this acknowledgement belies even greater exploitation. By showing smoking as mysterious, attractive, and refined, the prospect becomes even more tempting. As Ms. Kashani shows, if a younger person smokes, it is harder to quit later in life as nicotine has a greater amount of time to affect the brain. Furthermore, less affluent areas are where the advertising is the heaviest, so the proffered goods can wreck women who have little enough to spare. While it is vaguely heartening to see that certain major industries see women as valuable assets, there is such a thing as too much attention.

[1] Azy Kashani, "Big tobacco aims at women" The Sentinel, 41, no.4 (2006): 6

My Reflection

rbarne58 — 2023-12-06 04:09:52 UTC

After perusing through these articles, I can say that I was delighted to find that women were involved with the college at a far earlier timestamp than I expected. When I was looking at contemporaneous yearbooks at Georgia Tech, the women attendees were few and far between. I also was surprised by the number of articles written by women. Each of them defied the stereotype of the feminine writer who favors gentler tones. Rarely did the authors pull their punches, letting loose at the subjects of their ire. On the whole, my preconceptions were shaken by this fascinating journey into the collegiate environments of my parents and my grandparents.[1]

[1] Neither of them attended SPSU or KSU, but while Georgia Tech may have had a different feel in the early sixties, I can’t imagine that Auburn University was that different, particularly in the eighties.

rbarne58 — 2023-12-06 04:13:54 UTC