Seals and Signatures: The Diploma Dilemma

As a sophomore woman who has not been involved in undergraduate programs at Radcliffe College, I am writing to explain why it is essential to me to receive a diploma that recognizes Radcliffe's history and symbolism. With Anna Baldwin and Emma Cheuse, I sponsored the Act for Equal Harvard-Radcliffe Baccalaureate Diplomas, which was passed by the Harvard-Radcliffe Undergraduate Council on Sunday. Many women feel that Radcliffe's resources and opportunities for women, public policy contributions and initiatives for women's scholarship are reasons enough to include Radcliffe on our diplomas. I supported this bill not only because I believe Radcliffe is important to women, but also because it has had a profound historical impact on the undergraduate experience of both men and women today.

Since it was founded in 1879 as the Annex and officially chartered in 1894, Radcliffe has worked for the full involvement of women in Harvard University. Although some women have suggested they feel marginalized by Radcliffe's mere existence, to me Radcliffe embodies the idea of inclusion and equality. Radcliffe began to make a place for women within Harvard University long before the 1977 agreement created an official legal partnership between Harvard and Radcliffe.

During the past century Radcliffe's efforts for women's undergraduate education have done more than simply give women access to the Harvard of yesterday. For the past 55 years, Radcliffe has worked with Harvard to invent and build a new undergraduate experience. Radcliffe created the first real space for women's education in Cambridge by bringing Harvard professors to women when Harvard College refused to admit them. Since 1943, undergraduates at Harvard University have had a unique co-educational experience jointly shaped by Harvard and Radcliffe. The full meaning and history of both Colleges are thus intricately tied together.

At last Sunday's Harvard-Radcliffe Undergraduate Council meeting, a bill was proposed to encourage the Harvard College Administration to give all undergraduates the same baccalaureate diplomas. Because it did not outline what this would mean, the resolution allowed the possibility that Radcliffe would be removed from women's diplomas. While I support the idea of uniform diplomas I could not endorse a proposal that failed to specifically ensure the ongoing recognition of Radcliffe College on diplomas. By not suggesting how the diploma should look, the bill's sponsors ignored the vital importance and meaning of Radcliffe.

The amendment that I proposed with Anna Baldwin and Emma Cheuse eliminated the problem of vagueness in the original bill and expressed unequivocal support for Radcliffe. In addition to recognizing Radcliffe, our amendment recommended that all diplomas bear the signature of the Dean of Harvard College. If implemented, our bill would not only ensure that women receive diplomas signifying the equal education we receive at this University, but would also exhibit the mark and the seal of the institution that historically made it possible for us to have this tremendous opportunity.

Like many other undergraduates here, it is my hope that eventually male-and female undergraduates will receive the same diplomas--diplomas that represent the partnership between Harvard and Radcliffe which has been evolving for over 100 years. The undergraduate school we attend is the culmination of a joint endeavor between Harvard and Radcliffe, and our diplomas should fully reflect their dual contribution.

Although it was originally established for women, Radcliffe has profoundly affected the lives and experiences of both women and men. That some students fail to recognize its historic influence provides an even stronger argument for maintaining the seal. Including both seals on all undergraduate diplomas would recognize the contributions of Harvard and Radcliffe. Furthermore, it would symbolically reinforce the current partnership between the two institutions.

All of that said, the future of our bill's proposed diploma reform is now in the hands of Dean Harry R. Lewis '68. In presenting the original bill to the council, its sponsors emphasized the support Dean Lewis had expressed for it. In fact, some mentioned they had actually developed this bill through careful collaboration with him and the Harvard Administration, and he had promised to become an advocate for their bill upon its passage. Although the initial sponsors refused to endorse the new bill, we hope that Dean Lewis will demonstrate his commitment to women and to equal recognition for equal work by signing this bill and women's diplomas.

I urge Dean Lewis to sign our bill as a powerful statement of women's equality at Harvard-Radcliffe. But, I also hope that all members of the Harvard-Radcliffe community will take this opportunity to ponder the fact that history did not begin in 1977 with a formal agreement of partnership between Harvard and Radcliffe. Nor will it start over with any future renegotiation of this agreement.

Decisions today influence how future students and members of this community will understand the history of this University, which is a history of men and women, Harvard and Radcliffe, tradition and changing times. Just as we must remember Harvard's history, we should appreciate the significant role Radcliffe played in that history. Including both Harvard and Radcliffe on all baccalaureate diplomas signifies the value of their ongoing relationship and commitment to equality in undergraduate education.

Ann E. Schneider '99 is a member of the Undergraduate council representing Dunster House.