In publication since 1968, Prospectus has consistently featured
articles that reflect the times. This is no more evident than in the very first
years of the student newspaper (and Parkland College). Issues relating to race, Vietnam, the environment, and the energy shortage regularly made the
front page and editorials sections.
Women were also speaking up. Amid the photos of Parkland
College Princesses and the occasional “just because” photo shoots, Parkland saw
its first female sports editor, Ginny Patton, in 1970, whose column was called, “I’m for Real.” Similarly, the editorial, “A Column By and For Women”
began its run in November, 1973. Introduced by Norma Campbell, it was continued after her
graduation by one piece authored a mysterious writer named “J”, and, finally, Sue Donley. The column
ran for just over a year until Prospectus began taking a decidedly more… “Disco”
feel.
Here is the inaugural editorial from October 26, 1973. It is a plea for communication among women, which, interestingly, was echoed in the last article of the series. In the communication-filled era of today, have the themes in this piece changed, or are there issues that remain?
***
Wayback Wednesday is a feature of the Parkland College
Archives. If you have ideas you'd like to see in future posts, email us at archives@parkland.edu. The Archives is
open to faculty, staff, students, and the public by appointment.
Wayback Wednesday always offers something interesting. Thank you for bringing Parkland Archives to life.
ReplyDeleteWhatever happened to Parkland's Office of Women's Programs and Services? It once had a strong presence on campus.
ReplyDeletestill wondering .... maybe you could consider this a reference question and do some research and give an answer - you are a library, right?
DeleteOur Archivist is working on this, but has not yet found anything definite. This appears to have occurred at a time when the college did not have an archivist, so records of this time are spotty. We will do our best to find something for you.
DeleteFrom the Archivist...
DeleteIt appears that the program ended after the 2003-2004 academic year. The 2004-2005 catalog did not list the program in the "Special Programs" section. This coincides with the retirement of program director, Mary Lee Sargent, 2003. Unfortunately, this also coincides with the Parkland Archives' ten-year downtime, so, if there was a report on the conclusion of the program, it wasn't submitted to the archives.
Sargent, along with fellow Parkland professors Pauline Kayes and Berenice Carroll, was a leader of the Grassroots Group of Second Class Citizens who planned "Day of Rebellion for ERA" where 17 women chained themselves to the doors of the Illinois State Senate on June 3, 1982. To learn more about this event, check out the Pauline Kayes' interview, a part of the oral history program at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum: http://www.illinois.gov/alplm/library/collections/oralhistory/illinoisstatecraft/era/Pages/Kayes,Pauline.aspx.
The Women's Programs office was a great resource for the College. What a shame that it has been lost. Thanks for the reply.
Delete