"For the Duration" 1943

There are two Acorn Articles about Drew University becoming a co-education college, one in 1943 and one in 2024.

The 1943 article, “For the Duration”, is an article that covers various events and activities at Brothers College during World War II. On page two, a section of the newspaper focuses on Brother’s College, which started to be co-educated with women during WWII. The article's author writes about how it is wrong and impractical for a woman to earn a degree when it will be nullified after the war. This change reflects the growing importance of women contributing to the war effort, both at home and through their presence in higher education. The piece conveys the shifting perspectives on women’s roles, particularly emphasizing their involvement in non-traditional fields and their potential for greater participation in academic and social life at college. While still recognizing traditional gender roles, there is an implicit acknowledgment of the need for women to take on new responsibilities due to wartime circumstances. 

“The Women’s Athletic Association and WWII” 2024

The second article was written by Jocelyn Freeman in the "Drew Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow" section titled “The Women’s Athletic Association and WWII”. ​During World War II, Drew University admitted its first female students, who faced challenges such as inadequate housing, strict curfews, and limited representation in extracurricular activities. Female students were mistreated and did not receive the same treatment as the male students. In response, they established the Women's League, later renamed the Drew-eds, to oversee co-ed activities and foster a vibrant social scene. A branch of this league, the Women's Athletic Association, was formed to provide athletic opportunities, initially focusing on basketball with aspirations for varsity status. By the war's end, Drew's women's athletic program had expanded to include cheerleading, archery, swimming, tennis, and bowling, with most female students participating in at least one sport. However, as the war was ending and male students returned to Brothers College, women’s sports fell out of the spotlight. The golden age of women’s athletics seems to be contained to the 1940s, and women’s sports were put on the back burner. Nonetheless, the legacy of the Women’s Athletic Association remains.

Women gathered in the Bowne Gymnasium for basketball practice. Courtesy of Oak Leaves 1945.
 

Women’s Athletic Association's first president, Joy Werner (C’47). Courtesy of Oak Leaves 1947.
 

"Women’s leadership and political participation" 2025

Our first current event was an article, "Facts and figures: Women’s leadership and political participation" from UN Nation.

The key facts from the article are that women are underrepresented in politics, and this rate of gender inequality will likely not be reached in politics for another 130 years, along with the fact that this number sits below half for many different countries/branches/types of government.  The potential consequence of this inequality is that men are making decisions that may affect women, while women are underrepresented, even if these issues may personally affect them more than men. It may also lead to a lack of women wanting to pursue getting into politics since they are already severely underrepresented.

This is a situation that mainly affects women across the world. This is because they are underrepresented in a majority of countries. Even if they are not involved in politics, all women are affected since politicians make laws that will affect everyone in the country. We as a society can make a difference by encouraging younger girls to think more about politics and encouraging them to become politically active. The more girls who see this as a viable option, the better chance they'll want to join this field in the future. Or if they don't want to, at least they will be politically informed.

We do not believe there's any bias, at least in this reporting, since it is mostly just facts and stats. These facts and stats can be very easily verified or shut down, since anyone could tell women do not make up as much of the government as men do. Also, they give their sources for some of the numbers they mention in the article. Our thoughts on this event are pretty simple. It is sad that women are still underrepresented in politics. And not even just underrepresented, but in some places, severely underrepresented. So many important choices for women are made in governments around the world, so not having women involved in making them is a bit scary to me. This is due to the fact that men are making choices for women when they are not the ones who have to feel the impact of these choices.

The image is of a village council head from a village in Alwar district of Rajasthan in India attending a meeting organized by UN Women’s partner The Hunger Project, to develop her leadership skills. Women get together to discuss priority issues and find solutions to problems such as alcoholism, lack of roads, or drinking water.

"Women in the Workplace" 2024

The second current event is "Women in the Workplace 2024: The 10th-anniversary report" from McKinsey & Company. 

Over the past decade, companies have taken steps to support women's advancement and make the workplace more equitable. The report provides an intersectional look at the specific biases and barriers faced by Asian, Black, Latina, and LGBTQ+ women, as well as women with disabilities.

For working women, gender discrimination in the workplace has always been an issue and will continue to be an issue. Women feel disadvantaged in the workplace as a result of intimidation and discrimination.

Some people may think that combating these issues would take less time, when, in reality, it has taken decades, and only a bit of progress has been made. The report is highly based on statistics and numbers gathered from studies and surveys; the progress that is shown in charts and graphs is only from those.