1970s Timeline

Co-ed dorms are in, sex is allowed, gynecology not so much.

  Jan 14, 1970

Senate Pill Hearings 

After Barbara Seaman publishes her book on the potential dangers of birth control pills, the U.S. Senate hears testimony from experts—all male—and elicits angry jeers from feminists in the gallery. Afterward, pill hormone levels are lowered and FDA orders information about side effects and contraindications be inserted into all prescription medicines.

Jan 19, 1970

Co-ed Governance Approved 

Carleton Student Association unanimously approves a major reorganization, abolishing the Men's and Women's Leagues. 

Jan 22, 1970

Carleton and St. Olaf Announce Plans for a Joint Off-Campus Clinic

They would share a doctor at Northfield Hospital, an hour’s walk away. 

Jan 30, 1970

Birth Control Info Session Offered

After unsuccessfully petitioning the administration for contraceptive services, students on the convocations committee invite reps from Planned Parenthood and an ob-gyn from Mayo Clinic to speak.

Feb 13, 1970

Co-ed Housing Begins 

A Valentine’s weekend shuffle initiates the beginning of mixed-gender dorm floors. “Intervisitation” restrictions are abolished, and students can move freely through any dorm at any hour.

April 29, 1970

Dr. Jane Hodgson Performs an Illegal Abortion in Minnesota 

Intentionally breaking Minnesota’s law banning abortions except in cases where the mother’s life is in danger, Hodgson (Carleton '34) performs a hospital abortion for a patient who was exposed to rubella, which is linked to severe birth defects. Hodgson pleads guilty, is sentenced to 30 days, and appeals, hoping to take her case to the Supreme Court to test abortion bans generally. (See Carleton Spotlight.)

June 25, 1970

The AMA Supports Abortion on Demand

Members vote in favor of allowing doctors to perform abortions for social and economic reasons.

Jan 24, 1971

First Rape Speakout

At the invitation of the the New York Radical Feminists, women come together at a church in midtown Manhattan to share experiences of sexual assault, from grade-school "depantsing" to rapes by therapists and gynecologists. They produce a manifesto declaring that rape is a political issue, and the event is soon replicated elsewhere, including on college campuses. 

March 8, 1971

Crusading Alum: Abortion Should Be Legal

In the first of three visits to Carleton, Minneapolis obstetrician Jane Hodgson (’34) speaks about her ongoing effort to challenge abortion bans, which she calls an invasion of privacy and cruel and unusual punishment (see Carleton Spotlight). She notes, “Those who need abortions the most are least able to get them.” 

July 1, 1971

National Voting Age Lowered to 18

Sept 24, 1971

Students Offer Peers Help Paying for Reproductive Health Care

The Women's Caucus, the first women’s liberation group on campus, forms and establishes the Abortion Loan Fund. In the 1972-’73 school year, 20 students take no-interest loans for abortions.  

Oct 12, 1971

Equal Rights Amendment Passes in the House of Representatives

Oct 14, 1971

Students Pushing for Campus Gynecologist

Carletonian reports that 90 percent of women students surveyed want services on campus. “I try to take care of my body,” says one. “But at the moment I’m running it on old wives’ tales.” 

Oct 21, 1971

Administration Pushback on Women’s Health

Carletonian: “The difficulty seems to lie in the fact that its idea of women forming a politically astute and active group is a relatively new one.”

Nov 2, 1971

Council Approves Campus Gynecologist

Women’s Caucus persuades Social Policy Committee to hire a gynecologist for a six-month trial period then lobbies College Council members individually and arranges for the meeting reviewing their proposal to be open. The meeting is passed and the proposal passes. 

Jan 6, 1972

Gynecology Comes to Carleton

Onetime Carletonian editor Dr. Elizabeth Mussey (’34) begins seeing patients on campus part-time. Like her classmate Jane Hodgson, Mussey trained in ob-gyn at the Mayo Clinic. She was the only woman doing clinical medicine at Mayo from 1949 through the mid 50s.

April 1972

First Modern Take Back the Night March

Students at the University of Southern Florida in Tampa dress as witches carrying broomsticks to protest sexual violence and demand that the college create a women's center.

March 22, 1972

ERA Passes in the Senate

The bill goes to the states for ratification. Two thirds of the states (38) must ratify the measure by 1979. 

March 22, 1972

Single People Allowed Access to Contraception

In Eisenstadt v. Baird, SCOTUS says unmarried Americans have the right to possess contraception.

March 24, 1972

Equal Employment Opportunity Act Passes in Congress

President Richard Nixon signs the law, which says all job applicants and employees must be treated as equals, regardless of race or gender. 

May 4, 1972

“Janes” Arrested in Chicago

Seven members of the young women's group offering free and low-cost abortions in Chicago are arrested. (See 1960s National Spotlight.)

June 23, 1972

Title IX Signed Into Law

Sponsored by Representative Patsy Mink (D-HI), the Education Amendments measure prohibits any educational institution or program receiving federal funds from discriminating based on sex.

Jan 3, 1973

Abortion Rights Act

Bella Abzug (D-NY) introduces HR 254, which would “eliminate any state laws of any nature concerning the regulation of abortion.” Though she continues to campaign after legalization of abortion by Roe v. Wade, the legislation never passes.

Jan 22, 1973

Roe v. Wade Legalizes Abortion

The Supreme Court invalidates abortion bans in 30 states and overrules other restrictions in the first trimester, leaving some latitude on the second and third. The right to choose an abortion is deemed a right of privacy on par with the right to choose to practice a religion or use contraception. Dr. Jane Hodgson’s conviction in Minnesota is overturned as well. 

Feb 15, 1973

Sleeping Women Attacked in Dorm Rooms 

The previous weekend, Carletonian reports, “at least 20 girls were disturbed from their slumber by a voyeur, and four others were roughed up.” 

Feb 27, 1973

Northfield Hospital Still Won’t Do Abortions

The medical staff at Northfield Hospital unanimously votes to maintain its policy against performing the procedure, referring patients instead to hospitals in Rochester and Minneapolis.

April 5, 1973

Life on the Outside

Susan Cushman, a recent grad and the publisher of a Twin Cities women’s zine called gold flower, says that when Carleton women graduate, “Carleton men become their bosses.” Even though the women may have done as well or better in school, “You get out and you're asked to do things that you could have done in junior high—like typing.”

June 1, 1973

Minnesota’s Legal Drinking Age Lowered to 18

Sept 21, 1973

SF Police Veteran Hired to Lead Security

In response to recent assaults, Carleton hires Jim Flaherty as head of security.

Sept 27, 1973

Safety Improvements Promised

New dean of residential life emphasizes the installation of better lighting and mentions tightening security at Nourse and Myers as an “experiment.”

Oct 1, 1973 

St. Paul Home for Unwed Mothers Closes

Booth Memorial Hospital, one of hundreds of maternity homes across the country providing housing and a secret place to give birth for millions of mostly white women, closes after 75 years. 

Oct 25, 1973

Gynecology Appointments in High Demand

Carletonian reports that the new part-time gynecologist, Dr. Elizabeth Jerome, has already examined almost 50 women, many seeking birth control counseling, fittings, and prescriptions, and says Carleton students desperately need sex education and counseling. 

Oct 28, 1974

Equal Credit Opportunity Act  Enacted 

Lenders can no longer deny women credit cards or mortgages based on their sex, age, or marital status. 

Nov 29, 1973

“Rape and Assault at Carleton”

Carletonian devotes a full page to what may be its first coverage of rape, writing, “Fear is in the air.” Dean of students Jean Phillips and the head of security deny knowledge of any rapes on campus, but a student is quoted saying, "I came back [this fall] and heard about the first rape attempts in my memory at Carleton." 

Feb 21, 1974

Women Aced Out of Gym Time

Women’s PE faculty and student staffers meet to discuss protecting women-only hours at Cowling, the women’s gym. During co-ed hours, “Women are getting pushed out or intimidated,” one rec leader tells the paper. “Only ‘very aggressive, highly skilled’ women are usually willing to assert themselves in requesting to use the gym or field house when men are playing.” 

Oct 3, 1974

Joint Clinic Opens at Northfield Without a Doctor

Search task force explains, “Health service positions are not especially lucrative and it may take some time before the anticipated new physician takes over.” Dr. Jerome continues providing gynecology part-time on campus.

Oct 4, 1974 

Cave Begins Serving Beer

For the first time alcohol is legally sold on campus. Students can drink 3.2 beer at the college bar.

Jan 2, 1975

Victims’ Sexual History Inadmissible in Court

Congress adopts federal rules of evidence, or “rape shield laws,” limiting defendants’ ability to introduce into a criminal case the conduct or reputation of alleged assault victims. Minnesota enacts its first version of a state rape shield law less than five months later.

Jan 21, 1975

Gender-Based Exclusion From Juries Ruled Unconstitutional

The Supreme Court rules in Taylor v. Louisiana that systematically excluding women from juries based on their gender violates a defendant's rights.

April 17, 1975

“Baby Killer” Scrawled on Student’s Door

“In 1971, the summer after my freshman year at Carleton, I had an abortion,” student writes in the Carletonian. “I first started to think of talking publicly about abortion to other people when I realized that my younger sister was about to enter college knowing as little about her sexuality, her personal strengths and her fears as I did when I came to Carleton. She invites her harasser, “Next time, come by while I am not off in the library.”

May 8, 1975 

Off-Campus-Clinic Doctor Hired, Campus Gynecology Canceled

Longtime campus physician J.W. Hanson, who once insisted the health service shouldn’t provide contraception at the mere “whim” of students, retires, and the new hire, Dr. Roy Weymouth, who has been practicing pediatrics at Williams College, has little experience with women’s health but spends a day at Planned Parenthood brushing up. The part-time campus gynecologist will not be rehired.

May 27, 1975

Congress: Title IX Includes Athletics

Despite attempts by members of Congress to curtail enforcement, Title IX regulations are signed into law prohibiting discrimination in athletics. Educational institutions have three years to comply before losing their federal funding.

Nov 13, 1975

Carleton Commission on the Status of Women

Report: Women at Carleton are still making less and hold fewer faculty and staff positions than men; more male students than women go on to grad school. 

Feb 17, 1976

NCAA Sues for the Right to Discriminate

The unsuccessful lawsuit claims that as colleges’ federal funds don't go directly to sports, sports programs should not have to comply with anti-discrimination law.  

April 14, 1976

Three Women Assaulted Near Chapel

Two different males, one described as a juvenile, assault three students in separate incidents. Dean Phillips suggests students mobilize for better lighting.

April 20, 1976

Firing Can Be a Weapon of Sexual Harassment 

In Williams v. Saxbe, the district court in Washington, D.C., rules that courts can recognize quid pro quo sexual harassment as a form of gender-based discrimination under the Civil Rights Act. 

April 25, 1976  

Alert the Press: We Are Not Safe

Students tell the Minneapolis Tribune “Nothing has happened” after amid rising incidents of harassment and assault, including attacks on Black Carleton students in town.

April 29, 1976

Op-ed: the College Is Protecting an Assailant

Carletonian notes the difference between how the college treats townspeople charged with assault and students accused of the same: “Several days ago a known [student] assailant sexually assaulted a young woman, and the college has prevented both the Northfield police and our own security force from questioning either the victim or assailant.” 

Sept 1, 1976

Minnesota Drinking Age Raised to 19

Nov 1, 1976

Scale of Workplace Sexual Harassment Exposed

Redbook’s "What Men Do to Women on the Job: A Shocking Look at Sexual Harassment," surveys 9,000 women with white-collar jobs, more than 8,000 of whom report "sexual comments, groping, leering, extortion, and more." Study author Claire Safran calls the problem "a pandemic--an everyday, everywhere occurrence." 

Sept 23, 1976

Women Students Assaulted

Three Northfield males who made lewd remarks and then “vulgar” physical contact with three students walking toward campus from town are arrested and charged. 

Oct 8, 1976

Additional Lighting Denied

The Commission of the Status of Women at Carleton presses for more outdoor lighting but the administration refuses to turn the campus into a “parking lot.”

Oct 29, 1976

Three-Part Symposium on Rape

The Women’s Caucus presents a discussion, a film, and a theater production.

April 7, 1977

Tenure Eludes Women

Despite a 50-50 ratio of male to female students, only nine female instructors have tenure, three of whom are in the women's PE department.

April 21, 1977

Assault Arrest Kept Quiet

Students aren’t notified until six days after a woman is assaulted on campus, when a perpetrator is arrested, not a student. It’s the ninth such arrest this spring, but the dean explains the reticence was to avoid causing panic.

Oct 21, 1977

Dean Issues New Forms for Incident Reports

Criticized for being oblivious to some safety concerns and withholding information about others, dean of students issues form students can use to create an alert.

Feb 28, 1978

Students Deserve to Be Warned of Threats to Safety

After a screening of the educational documentary “Rape Culture,” an audience member points out that “Carleton women are often left ignorant of the necessity to take extra precautions at times when there is a known danger of possible assault.” 

June 7, 1978 

Forced Sterilizations of Latinx in Los Angeles

A whistleblower reveals that doctors at the LA County-USC Medical Center have been pressuring Spanish-speaking women in labor to agree to be sterilized, telling some patients the procedure can be reversed. Ten Mexican Americans sue the hospital and lose, but the California Department of Health begins providing better, multilingual information to patients, and the state law that enabled 20,000 unauthorized sterilizations, is repealed.

Oct 6, 1978

ERA Extension

Lacking the required state ratifications (38), Congress votes to extend the deadline for passage till 1982.

Jan 12, 1979

Silently Dealing With Assault

Carletonian reports that two students have been raped this term and two others were assaulted, with two incidents occurring on campus. Three of the attacks were never reported to the dean. “It is essential that women view this type of violence as a crime against the community of women.” 

Jan 28, 1979

Symposium on Violence Against Women 

An op-ed says that awareness of women' issues, “seems to have increased significantly this year . . . thanks largely to the efforts of Women's Caucus and other women's groups at Carleton.” The Women's Caucus and the Distinguished Women Visitors Committee conduct a week of educational slideshows, films, workshops, and discussions with speakers, addressing the cultural context of violence and its effects on women. 

Jan 29, 1979

New Clinic Doctor Appointed

Dr. Gregg Garnett, who unlike his predecessor, has experience with women’s health, will take over gynecological care for students from his office at Northfield Hospital beginning in the fall. 

May 4, 1979

Individuals Can Sue Under Title IX

The Supreme Court rules in Cannon v. The University of Chicago that plaintiffs may sue educational institutions for sex discrimination.