March was supposed to be Women’s History Month, but at Yale University this month they were busy erasing it.
Last fall, the university sponsored a convocation to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the admission of the first women undergraduates as well as 150 years of women attending the university’s graduate and professional schools. Members of the first three undergraduate classes contributed their reminiscences in video compilations as well as essays about their experience. So far, so good.
Two of the 141 women who wrote essays asked to keep their submissions anonymous for personal reasons. But when the books were published, the Yale Alumni Association had deleted the names of all the women – without asking the authors’ permission or even warning them of what had been done to their work.