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Past Exhibitions 2020

We’ve Only Just Begun: 100 Years of Skidmore Women in Politics

A black and white photograph depicts a crowd of light-skinned young women who are smiling and holding signs in support of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Alf Landon.
H.B. Settle, 1936 Presidential Election Rally at Skidmore College, 1936, black and white photograph, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Students show their support for the Democratic candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Republican candidate Alf Landon at this 1936 Presidential Election Rally on campus.

In the 100 years since America’s women earned the right to vote, Skidmore, its alumnae, and the world, have undergone enormous transformations. Throughout this period of great political, economic, technological, and social change, strong continuities can be discerned in the way Skidmore women have thought about and engaged in politics.

Three bright through lines mark the path of this exhibition. The first is Skidmore College’s strong commitment to fostering women as citizens of their campus community, their local and national community, and the world. The second is the diversity of the “women of Skidmore” and the increasing heterogeneity of that group over time in terms of racial self-identification, class, religious affiliation, geographic origin, and sexual orientation.

And third is Skidmore women’s lively interest in and engagement with politics in forms that abide throughout this period, especially electoral politics, marching and other forms of protest, a commitment to a free and vigorous press as the “fourth estate” of politics, as well as an openness to new and evolving forms of political engagement, such as social media activism.

—Katherine Graney and Natalie Taylor

We’ve Only Just Begun: 100 Years of Skidmore Women in Politics is organized by Katherine Graney, Professor of Political Science, Skidmore College and Natalie Taylor, Associate Professor of Political Science, Skidmore College with Rachel Seligman, Assistant Director for Curatorial Affairs and Malloy Curator. The show was researched and developed by the students in the Spring 2020 Political Science class “Never Done,” and in particular by Clare McInerney ’20 and Nicollet Laframboise ’20 during their 2020 Summer Research Fellowship. Special thanks to Jane Kjaer, Special Collections, Scribner Library, for her support and assistance with student research and digital images. This exhibition supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Friends of the Tang.
The exhibition is organized into five themes, Suffrage, Campus Politics, Local and National Politics, International Politics, and Skidmore Women Getting It Done: Sharing Our Stories.
Exhibition Name
We’ve Only Just Begun: 100 Years of Skidmore Women in Politics
Exhibition Type
Faculty Curated
Group Exhibitions
Place
Winter Gallery Online
Dates
Sep 17, 2020 - Jun 6, 2021
Curators
We’ve Only Just Begun: 100 Years of Skidmore Women in Politics is organized by Katherine Graney, Professor of Political Science, Skidmore College; Natalie Taylor, Associate Professor of Political Science, Skidmore College; Rachel Seligman, Assistant Director for Curatorial Affairs and Malloy Curator; and the students of the Spring 2020 Political Science class “Never Done,” in particular Clare McInerney ’20 and Nicollet Laframboise ’20.
Student Staff
Jane cole 2019
Jane Cole
2019-20 Carole Marchand Endowed Intern, Student Advisory Council, past: Exhibitions and Collections Assistant, Gallery Monitor Associate
Geraldine santoso web
Geraldine Santoso
K-12 and Community Programs Intern, Student Advisory Council, past: 2020-21 Carole Marchand Endowed Intern
A light skinned man with dark hair stands smiles at the camera. Trees and greenery are visible in the background.
Nathan Bloom
2020-21 Eleanor Linder Winter Endowed Intern, Student Advisory Council, past: Design Assistant, Summer Volunteer
Anchor name: Suffrage

Suffrage

Skidmore College grew out of Lucy Skidmore Scribner’s desire to address some of the social and political problems facing America (and America’s women) as the country industrialized during the early twentieth century. Modeled on the “settlement houses” established in poorer neighborhoods of large cities, Lucy Scribner founded the Young Women’s Industrial Club in 1903. Although Saratoga Springs did not have the same problems as larger, more urban cities, the resort town – which boasted a racetrack and casino – had the potential to compromise women’s respectability. Lucy founded the Club “to help little girls and young women to become self-supporting, and to provide a social center for them.” The YWIC was open to all women, including the African-American women of Saratoga Springs, as well as the Native American women, who lived in the city during the winter.

As Skidmore continued its move toward becoming a college, Skidmore women joined the national debate over women’s suffrage. Throughout the nineteenth century the struggle for women’s suffrage was characterized by debates and political jockeying surrounding race, class, and nationality. Saratoga Springs had been an important place for women’s rights activism from the beginning of the independent woman’s suffrage movement. Even Susan B. Anthony made a stop here. As these struggles entered the twentieth century Skidmore women became important actors in the successful passage of women’s suffrage in New York in 1917 and the nineteenth amendment to the United States Constitution in 1920. Skidmore women from the administration, faculty, and student body, all participated in the suffrage movement in various ways, as did some Skidmore men, including President Charles Keyes.

—Katherine Graney and Natalie Taylor

A black and white photograph depicts a light-skinned middle-aged woman a long white dress sitting in a rocking chair in front of several large sunlit windows.
Lucy Skidmore Scribner at her home on North Broadway, n.d., black and white photograph, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Lucy Skidmore Scribner

Lucy Scribner noticed that women were coming from beyond Saratoga Springs to take advantage of the Young Women’s Industrial Club and that “demand from outsiders seems to be for thorough instruction and not a mere smattering of everything.” Skidmore School of the Arts grew out of the YWIC and received its charter from the New York State Board of Regents in 1911. Offering courses in domestic art, domestic science, commercial business, and music, it provided education to women from other rural towns in upstate New York and prepared them to improve their communities. As American suffragists agitated and lobbied for increased political rights during the 1910s, Skidmore’s ambitions as an educational institution similarly grew, and in 1922, it won the right from New York State’s Board of Regents to offer four-year, baccalaureate degrees to its students. From this moment on, Skidmore would remain committed to offering its women the rigorous and challenging education they needed to be full-fledged citizens of their communities, their countries, and the world.

—Katherine Graney

A black and white photograph depicts an older light-skinned woman standing behind two middle-aged light-skinned men in suits shaking hands. The woman looks at the camera while the men look at each other.
Kathryn Starbuck with Skidmore Parents, 1949, black and white photograph, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Kathryn Starbuck

Kathryn Starbuck was Skidmore’s Suffragist in Chief. Born in Saratoga Springs in 1887, Kathryn Starbuck was one of the first female graduates of Albany Law School in 1914. From 1916-1918 she was the Saratoga County Chair of the New York State Woman Suffrage Party, spearheading the successful effort to gain women the right to vote in New York State in 1917. In 1918 Starbuck ran for a New York State Assembly seat, losing to her Republican challenger but gaining more votes than the Prohibitionist or Socialist candidates. From 1921 to her retirement in 1954, Starbuck was a vital part of Skidmore life, serving as a professor, administrator, and trustee of the college. She remained politically active on behalf of women’s rights and equality her entire life.

—Katherine Graney

A black and white photograph depicts four light-skinned women in conversation, three of whom are older with white hair and one younger with dark hair, in front of a building with two large doors that says “Skidmore Hall”.
Kathryn Starbuck at Skidmore Hall, Commencement 1958, 1958, black and white photograph, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
An off-white page with printed text lists a series of events on various calendar dates from June through December.
List of college events, Eromdiks (detail of page 99), 1917, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
On November 2, 1916, just days before the presidential election, Kathryn Starbuck addressed Skidmore’s Christian Association on the topic of “Suffrage.” While a transcript of her remarks does not survive, Starbuck’s strong support of the cause and her own later stellar political career make it likely that she offered a robust defense of woman suffrage for the Skidmore women gathered to hear her.  
A yellowed and slightly creased page bears the headline “The Suffrage Planks” with descriptions for the suffrage planks of five political parties: Democratic, Progressive, Prohibition, Republican, and Socialist.
New York State Woman Suffrage Party, The Suffrage Planks, n.d., newspaper article from scrapbook of Marguerite Funston, class of 1917, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Elizabeth Marguerite Funston, known as “Margrite,” began studying Voice at Skidmore School of Arts in the spring of 1916. Margrite’s scrapbook reflects her interest in suffrage, and after finishing her education, Margrite was involved with the Temperance Movement and held office in the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WTCU). From the earliest days of the suffrage movement, woman suffrage advocates had found important allies in those who advocated for temperance because without legal rights, such as the right to hold property or to divorce, wives and daughters were particularly vulnerable to drunk husbands and fathers.
A black and white photocopy of a page with handwritten text is dated “1917 Wednesday 29, Aug.” at the top in print.
Entry from Lucy Skidmore Scribner’s Diary, August 29, 1917, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
“…Charlotte and I went to Suffrage Mass Meeting, Convention Hall.” Lucy is referring to the convention of the New York State Woman Suffrage Party, for which Kathryn Starbuck was in charge of local arrangements.
A yellowed and creased hand-written letter on letterhead that features a lithograph of a large colonnaded building and printed words “Congress Hall, Saratoga Springs, N.Y / H.H. Hathorn, Proprietor.”
Susan B. Anthony Letter to Editor of Saratogian, c. 1870, ink on paper, courtesy of the New York State Library, Manuscripts and Special Collections, Albany, NY
Written from Saratoga Springs, on Congress Hall letterhead, Susan B. Anthony writes, “Please send me bill for the tickets printed for the Women’s Convention.” Conventions for women’s rights were held in Saratoga Springs a number of times, and this letter alludes to the logistics and planning which would have gone into these events.
Anchor name: Campus Politics

Campus Politics

Skidmore Women have, from the very founding of the college, been keen participants in campus politics. This engagement with political life on campus has manifested itself in many different ways over the past century, as this section details. Clear through lines are visible, even as some aspects of campus politics evolve due to technological and social evolution. These abiding forms of campus politics include: a commitment to “the fourth branch” of government, the free press, through the continual issue of a student-run newspaper, Skidmore News, beginning in 1925; a desire for self-governance, including the setting of and continual renegotiation of the rules and regulations binding on Skidmore women’s personal and public behavior, as well as a concern with the college curriculum, specifically that it be rigorous and challenging enough to prepare Skidmore women to enter the public realm, both in employment and as citizens, after graduation; and the formation of political clubs that pursued political discussions, invited important public political figures and, when deemed necessary, engaged in political activism and protest.

We also see abiding interest among Skidmore women across the decades on campus with questions of inclusion and justice, especially a desire for the student population to more closely mirror the country’s population, chiefly by increasing the number of African-American students at Skidmore, and with questions of women’s bodily autonomy and how the concerns of public and private life can and should be understood in the context of politics.

—Katherine Graney

A yellowed book opened to pages 8-9 has the headers “Christian Association” on the top left of the page and “Student Self-Government Association” in the middle of the right page.
1916-1917 Student Handbook, Skidmore School of Arts, 1916, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Self Governance
From the very earliest days, Skidmore women have demanded the right to help shape, along with the College’s administration and faculty, the nature of the community that they lived in and the freedoms and responsibilities that they bear as members of that community. Skidmore women have, over the past century, been particularly concerned with using the formal mechanisms of self-governance to do two things. First, to push the college to allow students to have more autonomy over their own behaviors and actions, as befitted their status as reasoning, rights-bearing individuals; in this quest students sometimes encountered resistance from the administration, which often based its positions on gender-based expectations about “female propriety” and concerns about what the outside world might think if “Skidmore women” were allowed to behave in particular ways.
A yellowed book open to the title page features the words “1916-1917 / Students’ Handbook / Skidmore School of Arts / Presented / by the / Skidmore Christian Association.”
1916-1917 Students’ Handbook, Skidmore School of Arts, 1916, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
A yellowed spread from the 1916-17 Students’ Handbook is opened to page 10 and 11. The top of the left page reads “Regulations” with sections 1-4 marked in Roman numerals.
1916-1917 Students’ Handbook, Skidmore School of Arts, 1916, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
This early student handbook makes clear how important the concept of self-government was to Skidmore’s all-female population in the college’s earliest days.
A tan, weathered page with crease marks down the middle has the headline “RESULTS OF QUESTIONNAIRE SENT OUT BY HONOR BOARD ASKING FOR LISTS OF THINGS STUDENTS CONSIDERED UNDESIRABLE FOR SKIDMORE GIRLS.”
Five things that are considered Undesirable for Skidmore girls, 1947, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Throughout the early decades of the college’s existence, students and the administration worked together to define “appropriate” behavior for Skidmore women. This often, but not always, took the form of students pressing for increased freedom and autonomy in terms of behavior on and off campus.
A black and white image of a group of light-skinned and dark-skinned young people in a room standing around an older light-skinned man seated in a chair with his right hand raised in oratory gesture.
Students Take Over President Palamountain’s Office, 1971, black and white photograph, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College and the Albany Times Union
Skidmore women (and men) have been willing to use direct action convey their political goals; in 1971 students occupied the president’s office to press the administration to move faster on a number of goals related to racial justice and equality.
A sepia photograph depicts a group of standing light-skinned young women who are smiling at the camera and positioned around the former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt seated in an armchair.
Eleanor Roosevelt with the Discussion Club, December 5, 1930, black and white photograph, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Campus Clubs

Skidmore women have always used campus clubs as a way to debate the most important political issues of their respective eras. They have invited prestigious speakers to campus to educate and foster discussion, and have used club platforms to raise important political issues for the campus and wider community. Tracing the history of club activity by Skidmore women allows us to see how the issues considered politically important by them have evolved and expanded over time, as the personal became more political during and the after the second-wave of feminism.

—Katherine Graney

A document features a black and white photograph of a young woman of color in a white blouse with long dark hair. “Mabel Mouzon McCoy” is printed to the image’s right with a Florida address and the word “Sociology” listed.
Mabel (Mia) Mouzon McCoy, class of 1947, 1947 Skidmore Yearbook, p. 123, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Mia Mouzon McCoy was the first U.S. born woman of color to graduate from Skidmore College. She founded a chapter of the NAACP at Skidmore and later established a scholarship at Skidmore for Asian-American, Latino, African-American, and Native American students.
A weathered page has the header “LECTURES, MUSICAL PROGRAMS, AND DRAMATIC EVENTS”, followed by “VESPER SPEAKERS” and a list of names and locations.
Vespers Speakers from a list of Lectures, Musical Programs, and Dramatic Events, 1945-1946, 1946, Skidmore College Bulletin, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Roy Wilkins of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People spoke at the Junior Class Vesper Service during the 1945-46 academic year. The Skidmore branch of the NAACP was founded by Mia Mouzon McCoy, class of 1947.
The front page of a Skidmore News issue shows several sections and columns of text punctuated by two separate photographs of two men in suits.
Bread and Roses, And Abortion Reform…, Skidmore News, January 22, 1970, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Clubs such as Bread and Roses reflected the intense interest that some Skidmore women had in the second wave of feminism and the “Women’s Lib” movement.
A greyscale excerpt from the Skidmore News dated April 1988 bears the title “Bringing the Avant Garde to Skidmore” written in large bold font in the top center of the page and four columns of text below.
Bringing the Avant-Garde to Skidmore, BGLAD Sponsors Political Street Theater, Skidmore News, April 10, 1998, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
By the 1990s, issues of sexuality and gender identity were of paramount interest to Skidmore women, as well as the whole Skidmore community.
A newspaper article shows a black and white photograph of a topless light-skinned woman performing next to a sign that reads “presenting, THE TWO BOOBS IN: “Hanging Out (a silent movie).”
Bringing the Avant-Garde to Skidmore, BGLAD Sponsors Political Street Theater, Skidmore News, April 10, 1998, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
By the 1990s, issues of sexuality and gender identity were of paramount interest to Skidmore women, as well as the whole Skidmore community.
A black and white document bears the headline “Aids Project” written in large font with a black and white photograph of a group of light-skinned young women smiling below.
Eromdiks Skidmore College Yearbook, page 73, 1995, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
In the 1990s, a group of Skidmore women founded the Aids Project at the college, reflecting the important role that feminist activists played in the fight to find a cure and raise awareness about the pandemic that raged across the world beginning in the mid-1980s.
The yellowed front page of a Skidmore News issue features several articles with larger titles and small print text divided into five columns.
Skidmore News, Volume 1, Number 1, October 9, 1925, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
The Fourth Estate: Skidmore News

Referred to as “the Fourth Estate,” a free press is essential to democracy. Not only does a free press keep the public well informed, it checks those who hold power. In the past century the Skidmore News has covered campus concerns, as well as politics at home and abroad. Skidmore’s Fourth Estate sought – and continues to seek—to resist the College’s administrative power, to redress racial and gender imbalances of power, and to uncover the cultural power that operates upon women.

Skidmore News was founded in 1925. That year’s issues recorded the institution’s transformation from Skidmore School of Arts to Skidmore College. It’s first editor, Janet Klinghorn (Bernhard), led the students in resisting the administration’s paternalism and in demanding more rigorous academic standards.

—Natalie Taylor

The off-white front page of a Skidmore News issue features a high-contrast black and white photograph of a group of women along with several columns of small print text.
Skidmore News, Feb 20, 1969, Vol 44. No 11, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
By the mid-twentieth century, Skidmore News headlines reflected students’ interest in the demands for racial justice throughout the nation. In this issue, a story at the bottom right of the page reports on a lecture delivered by Daniel Watts, a Black Nationalist.
A Skidmore News article shows a black and white photograph of a Black man wearing a suit with Daniel Watts written below it. On the top, “Black Nationalist Daniel Watts Delivers a Lecture” is written in large bold font.
Skidmore News, detail of the front page, Feb 20, 1969, Vol 44. No 11, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
By the mid-twentieth century, the headlines reflected the students’ interest in the demands for racial justice throughout the nation. This story reports on a lecture delivered by Daniel Watts, a Black Nationalist.
The front page of a Skidmore News issue features the headline “INSIDE: Women’s Liberation” with a large black and white image underneath of a bra hanging on the wall with a note attached.
Skidmore News, Mar 6, 1970, Vol 45, No 15, Skidmore News, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
During the Women’s Liberation Movement the Skidmore News helped highlight inequalities at Skidmore.
The yellowed front page of a Skidmore News issue features the headline “Coeducation: The Saga Unfolds” accompanied by photograph of a light-skinned person sitting down, taken from the side.
Skidmore News, Oct 24, 1970, Vol 46, No 3, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
The decision to admit men to Skidmore captivated the students and occupied the pages of Skidmore News in the months leading up to the Board of Trustees’ February 1971 decision. In this issue in late 1970 the challenges to admitting men are one of the stories “above the fold.”
A yellowed Skidmore News article has the headline “Coeducation: The Saga Unfolds” with an image of a young, light-skinned man sitting down and writing, taken from the side.
Skidmore News, detail of front page, Oct 24, 1970, Vol 46, No 3, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
The decision to admit men to Skidmore captivated the students and occupied the pages of Skidmore News in the months leading up to the Board of Trustees’ February 1971 decision.
The front page of a Skidmore News issue has a black and white photo of protestors holding signs. A painted female symbol—a circle with a cross in the bottom—appears over the photograph.
Skidmore News, September 14, 1995, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
A third-wave of feminist students entered the College. Like the first- and second-wave feminists they continued to be activists and sought to forge unity among woman from around the globe.
A yellowed Skidmore News page bears the headline “Election 2008” written in large font accompanied by smaller text and black and white photographs showing people celebrating.
Skidmore News, Nov 7, 2008, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
“Students enthusiastic about Obama” reads the headline of the “Election 2008” issue of the Skidmore News. The story captured the festive atmosphere on campus after the election of the first African-American president.
The cover of the Skidmore News shows collaged pictures of different parts of dark-skinned and light-skinned faces with a pink background, each labelled “Hair,” “Eyes,” “Nose,” “Mouth,” “Beauty.”
Skidmore News, Feb 6, 2019, Vol 96, No 10, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
The Skidmore News does not limit its coverage of politics to movements and elections, but also examined the notions of beauty that shape women’s experiences.
The front fold of a Skidmore newspaper with three images of students of color in front of blue bars on a graph with the headline "Students of Color Seeking Diversity at Skidmore" next to an article titled "Diversifying What?"
Skidmore News Cover and Opinion Piece by Cleyvis Natera ’99, October 1997, ink on paper, courtesy of courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Under co-editor in chief Cleyvis Natera ’99, the Skidmore News explored the experiences of students of color on Skidmore’s campus in more intentional ways than ever before. Natera has gone on to earn an MFA in Fiction from NYU and to win many prestigious prizes for her writing, including the PEN America’s Writing for Justice Award and the Kenyon Review’s Peter Taylor Fellowship in Fiction. Her debut novel, Neruda on the Park, is forthcoming from Penguin Random House in Spring 2022.
Cleyvis Natera ’99 on Leadership, Art, and Activism
Cleyvis Natera ’99, author and co-creator of Love As A Kind of Cure, interviewed by Clare McInerney ’20 and Nicollet Laframboise ’20, 2020 Summer Collaborative Research Fellows for We’ve Only Just Begun.
Anchor name: Local And National Politics

Local and National Politics

From their deep engagement with the Suffrage movement at the time of the college’s founding, to their involvement in Women’s Marches and Black Lives Matters in recent years, Skidmore women have always followed, studied, reacted to, and been active participants in both the local politics in Saratoga Springs and New York State, and in national politics throughout the United States.

Over the years, Skidmore women have supported and worked on the campaigns of presidential candidates of all stripes—Democrat, Republican, Socialist, and Green Party. They have engaged issues of national prominence on campus and in town, including civil rights and racial justice, and gender justice and reproductive rights. Skidmore women have also used their Skidmore education as a platform for public service as elected officials and civil servants.

—Katherine Graney

A document bears the title “ENGLISH I” and the date “JANUARY, 1917” followed by five writing prompts printed in a typewritten font.
Exam Assignment Based on 1916 Presidential Election, from the scrapbook of Marguerite Funston, class of 1917, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Political Engagement

Skidmore founder Lucy Scribner Skidmore and President Charles Keyes both believed that Skidmore women’s education should prepare them to be active and informed participants in American democracy. As we can see from this English exam that Marguerite Funston (Class of 1917) saved in her scrapbook, Skidmore’s faculty also wanted their students to think, read, and write about politics. What is especially interesting about this exam prompt asking students about their “presidential choice in the last election” is that none of the Skidmore women taking the exam would have actually been able to vote in the election of 1916—New York State did not adopt women suffrage until November 1917, and of course the 19th amendment was not adopted until August 1920. The inclusion of such an assignment suggests both the optimism that Skidmore’s founders and faculty had about the prospects for women suffrage and their firm belief that Skidmore women should know about, care about, and practice, politics.

—Katherine Graney

A large red pin against a white background has the words “JANET WHITMAN FOR MAYOR” printed in an off-white color.
Janet Whitman Campaign Pin, 1988, plastic, metal, paper, courtesy of Janet Lucas Whitman
Janet Whitman
Many Skidmore women have gone on to careers in national, state, and/or local politics. Janet Lucas Whitman, class of 1959, was class president her freshman year at Skidmore, and then worked as a community volunteer in her town of Summit, New Jersey, for over 26 years, holding leadership positions at the Overlook Hospital Auxiliary, the Central Presbyterian Church, the Reeves-Reed Arboretum, the Interfaith Council, the Summit Area Community Council, and more. She served on the Summit Common Council for six years, as chair of the Mayor’s Task Force on Substance Abuse, and as President of the Summit Area Women’s Republican Club. In 1988, Whitman was the first woman ever elected mayor of Summit and served two terms (1988 – 1995). Whitman also later served as Chair of the Skidmore Board of Trustees and sits on the Tang Museum Advisory Council.
A typewritten page has the headline “Political Rally” written in larger font on the top center followed by smaller text. Another headline “Tea Dance” appears lower down on the page.
Account of Political Rally in Eromdiks (page 90), 1917, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
On November 4, 1916, in the run-up to the presidential election that none of them could yet legally vote in, Skidmore women held a mock “Political Rally” in which they played the roles of the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees and other political actors. While this delightful and humorous account makes it clear that the students enjoyed this event in good fun, it also notes that the students had done their homework; the presidential candidates’ speeches are described as “comprehensive and clear.”
A black and white photograph depicts a crowd of light-skinned young women who are smiling and holding signs in support of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Alf Landon.
H.B. Settle, 1936 Presidential Election Rally at Skidmore College, 1936, black and white photograph, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Students show their support for the Democratic candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Republican candidate Alf Landon at this 1936 Presidential Election Rally on campus.
A black and white document has two photographs of the same young light-skinned woman smiling. Printed in top left corner is “Elizabeth Rose Garman” followed by a New York address and “Government.”
Elizabeth Ross Garman, Class of 1960, Eromdiks Skidmore College Yearbook, 1960, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Elizabeth (Betty) Garman Robinson ’60 was an activist during her years at Skidmore, and as a member of the National Student Association she organized campus discussions about redbaiting, a practice of extreme anti-communist activity that often unequally targeted Black organizations. Regarding the picketing at the local Woolworth’s in Saratoga, Garman said, “There were three of us…[who] decided to do something at Skidmore… so we held some meetings, and we got two and three hundred students to come to these meetings and they were like huge debates about the sit-ins and what was happening in the South and what role and responsibility Northern students had.”  Garman was also a member of Students for a Democratic Society, a national student activist organization, and in 1964 she began working for the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in Atlanta, GA.
A black and white image depicts a line of light-skinned young women protesting in front of a Woolworth store. The protesters are wearing coats and holding signs and there are cars parked in front of the store.
Bob Mayette, Skidmore Students Picket Woolworth store in Saratoga Springs, 1960, black and white photograph, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Skidmore students were active in all phases of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. In March 1960, two hundred Skidmore students picketed the Woolworth’s store in Saratoga Springs to show solidarity with the student lunch counter protesters in the American South.
The yellowed front page of a newspaper bears the headline “Students Protest Segregation” accompanied by columns of text and a black and white image depicting protesters in front of a Woolworth store.
“Students Protest Segregation,” Skidmore News Extra, March 22, 1960, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
The Skidmore News released a special edition on March 22, 1960 to cover the student demonstration at the Saratoga Springs Woolworth’s as well as to report on demonstrations, protests, and arrests of Black students and citizens in southern states including Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
A page of a newspaper has several columns of text punctuated by small black and white images. The top headline reads “Washington Counter-Inaugural Activities Attended by Skidmore-Union Group.”
Skidmore News, February 20, 1969, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Skidmore students were deeply involved in the tumultuous politics of the 1960s. Some Skidmore students joined their peers from Union College to travel to Washington, D.C. in February 1968 to protest the inauguration of President Richard Nixon.
A detail of a Skidmore News article has multiple handwritten headlines above two columns of text, including “Faculty Takes Action,” “Teach-In, Wednesday,” and “Area Strike Activities.”
Skidmore News “Strike Issue” #2 (detail), May 5, 1970, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Skidmore women joined students from across the country in a hunger strike and sit-in action aimed at protesting the Vietnam War and the National Guard shootings of four students at Kent State University on May 4, 1970. The Skidmore News put out a special “Strike Issue” and classes were cancelled by many professors to support student strikers.
A page from the Skidmore News has multiple handwritten headlines appearing throughout two columns of text. Headlines include “Faculty Takes Action,” “Teach-In, Wednesday,” and “Area Strike Activities,” and “Saratoga Work.”
Skidmore News “Strike Issue” #2, May 5, 1970, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Skidmore women joined students from across the country in a hunger strike and sit-in action aimed at protesting the Vietnam War and the National Guard shootings of four students at Kent State University on May 4, 1970. The Skidmore News put out a special “Strike Issue” and classes were cancelled by many professors to support student strikers.
A black and white photograph of a large poster with “FAST” written at the top in large handwritten letters. Below, hundreds of signatures fill several columns.
Fast, 1970, black and white photograph, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
This poster was an appeal for Skidmore women to donate their dining hall meals to help support student strikers during the May 1970 student strike against the Vietnam War and the Kent State shootings.
A black and white photograph shows a handwritten sign labelled “History Department: ATTENTION” with details about a meeting taped to a glass window or door.
History Department: Attention, 1970, black and white photograph, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
A sign from the History Department advertised a meeting with department faculty to discuss the historical and contemporary aspects of the May 1970 student strike.
The back of a postcard features a photograph of a middle-aged light-skinned woman accompanied by the words “Elect JANET WHITMAN Mayor of Summit” on the left-hand side.
Janet Lucas Whitman, Campaign Mailer, 1988, ink on paper; and Janet Whitman with President George Bush, 1992, color photograph, both courtesy of Janet Lucas Whitman
Janet Lucas Whitman, Skidmore Class of 1959, ran for mayor of Summit, New Jersey in 1988 and won, serving two terms. Whitman also later served as Chair of the Skidmore Board of Trustees and she sits on the Tang Museum Advisory Council.
A color photograph shows a crowd of people with two smiling light-skinned women holding a large white banner emblazoned with the words SKIDMORE COLLEGE STUDENTS FOR CHOICE.”
Skidmore Students for Choice: Helene Schneider ‘92 and friend at the April 1992 March for Women’s Lives in Washington, D.C., 1992, color photograph, courtesy of Helene Schneider
Many Skidmore women have an abiding interest in the question of reproductive rights, and Skidmore women have attended all major women’s rights marches since the beginning of the Second Wave of feminism. Helene Schneider, Skidmore Class of 1992, did an internship with Planned Parenthood of Schenectady, New York during her senior year at Skidmore, and went on be elected mayor of Santa Barbara, California, serving two terms in office, from January 2010 to January 2018.
A black and white photograph of an older, light-skinned woman in a large hat talking to a group of people, two older women and two younger people.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg visits Skidmore College, 2000, black and white photograph, courtesy of Eric Patridge
In 2000, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Ruth Bader Ginsberg visited Skidmore College, joining Skidmore’s President Jamienne S. Studley at the Saratoga Racecourse, and then attending a dinner with faculty and students. Pictured from left to right are Professor Emerita of American Studies Joanna Zangrando, Former President Jamienne Studley, Eric Patridge ’01, Justice Ginsburg, and Margaretta Walton ’01. Joanna Zangrando, who taught her course “Women and Law” that semester, said of meeting her, “What a presence!”
Helene Schneider ’92 on Feminism and Leadership in Government
Policy-influencer and former mayor of Santa Barbara, CA, Helene Schneider ’92, interviewed by Clare McInerney ’20 and Nicollet Laframboise ’20, 2020 Summer Collaborative Research Fellows for We’ve Only Just Begun.
Anchor name: International Politics

International Politics

Skidmore women have always seen themselves as citizens not just of the college or the country, but of the world. Their political engagement has reached beyond campus and even national boundaries to all corners of the globe. The campus was deeply involved in the country’s mobilization for both World War One and World War Two, but also in the peace and disarmament movement of the 1930s that tried to prevent the Second World War, and Skidmore women were as profoundly torn by the Vietnam War as were other college students across the country in the 1960s.

In recent decades, Skidmore itself has become a more international place, and Skidmore women now hail from around the world. As Skidmore women have become more global, so has their political activism and impact.

—Katherine Graney

A black and white newspaper article excerpt with the headline “Skidmore Plans War Relief Work” in large font, followed by smaller text in two margins.
“Skidmore plans war relief work,” The Saratogian, March 23, 1917, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
World War One

Soon after the entrance of the United States into World War One, Skidmore students led the effort to establish an American Red Cross chapter in Saratoga Springs. One hundred and fifty Skidmore women signed up at the inaugural meeting in March 1917, while the Freshman class decided, by a “near unanimous vote,” to cancel its spring dance and donate the money to the new war effort.

—Katherine Graney

A black and white newspaper article excerpt with the headline “Skidmore Girls Sew Surgical Dressings” on top in large, slightly blurred font.
“Skidmore Girls Sew Surgical Dressings,” The Saratogian, November 9, 1917, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
The new Skidmore-led Red Cross sewed surgical dressings and made other contributions to the war effort.
A sepia image depicts women in white dresses and darker coats parading on the street. Two women in the front are holding a banner saying “Skidmore.” Spectators witness the parade from the side.
Patriotic Parade, 1917-18, black and white photographic postcard, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Many of the same Skidmore women who were parading in favor of women suffrage in 1917 also came out to support the United States’ participation in World War One. Lucy Scribner mentions one such parade in Saratoga in April 1918 in her datebook, and the 1917-18 Eromdiks mentions that Skidmore students marched in two parades in Saratoga to support “our boys” wearing “white skirts and bright colored sweaters.”
A typewritten document has the headline “Peace Days” written in decorative font in the top center followed by smaller text recounting the announcement of the armistice.
“Peace Days,” Eromdiks Skidmore College Yearbook, page 77, 1919, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Skidmore women, like all Americans, were overjoyed to hear about the end of the First World War. This heartwarming account from the 1919 issue of Eromdiks paints a picture of the day that “Prexy” (the girls’ fond nickname for President Keyes) conveyed the news about the armistice.
The yellowed front page of the Skidmore News features several columns of small-print text with a black and white photograph of a young light-skinned woman in the bottom left page.
“Hilda Hertz Likes Skidmore, Social Sciences, and Socks,” SkidNews, October 19, 1939, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
World War Two

Skidmore and its women undertook a major mobilization to support the United States in the Second World War. In addition to on-campus activities, Skidmore historian Mary Lynn notes, “by the end of the war 148 members of the Skidmore community had been recognized by the college for their wartime service. Skidmore women using their undergraduate majors to serve their country included 20 army nurses, 5 navy nurses, 5 members of the army dietetic corps, and 6 army physical therapists. In addition, 24 Skidmore graduates joined the WAACs, 44 joined the WAVES, 3 joined the marines, 2 entered the coast guard’s SPARS (and acronym for Semper Paratus, Always Ready) and 24 went to work for the Red Cross.” (Mary Lynn, Make No Small Plans: A History of Skidmore College, p.171)

As Hitler’s regime threatened political dissidents and Jews across Europe, Skidmore students raised money to help one young woman come to Skidmore to finish her degree safely during the war. Hilda Hertz Golden, whose father was a Social Democratic member of the German Reichstag, graduated from Skidmore in the Class of 1942, and went on to become a sociologist and professor, winning the Skidmore Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award in 1992.

—Katherine Graney

A black and white photograph depicts an older light-skinned woman with glasses smiling and sitting in a chair holding an open book in a room with many bookshelves.
Frank Ward, Hilda Hertz Golden in 1997, 1997, black and white photograph, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Hilda Hertz Golden was able to leave Germany in 1939 with support from Skidmore students, and graduated in the Class of 1942. She won the Skidmore Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award in 1992.
A slightly yellowed yearbook page features two black and white photographs of different women accompanied by their names “CHIYEKO KIYONO” and “MARY HASKIN KNAPP” along with their addresses and commentary.
Chiyeko Kiyono Yearbook Photograph, Eromdiks Skidmore College Yearbook, page 94, 1944, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
As tyranny and intolerance reared their ugly heads in the United States, Japanese Americans were stripped of their jobs, property, and freedom. Skidmore provided refuge for a University of Washington student named Chiyeko Kiyono, under the auspices of the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council Program. While there was some worry by Skidmore’s Board of Trustees about the political ramifications of taking in Ms. Kiyono, President Henry Moore pressed hard to bring her to Skidmore to finish her degree. In this yearbook photo, Ms. Kiyono’s address is listed as Hunt, Idaho—the location of the Minidoka War Relocation Center, one of the U.S. internment camps which unjustly imprisoned thousands of Japanese Americans during the war.
A pink document with crease marks in the center has the text “SKIDMORE! ALERT” in large, light, thin font.
Skidmore! Alert! Enlist in the Skidmore War Program,” from the scrapbook of Carolyn “Patsy” Wander, Skidmore Class of 1944, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Skidmore women were eager participants in manifold homefront activities aimed at building morale and offering material support to the war effort during the Second World War. Mementos from yearbooks of two students from the class of 1944, Joan Lehman and Carolyn “Patsy” Wander, demonstrate vividly how Skidmore women supported the war with energy and good humor.
A yellowed page excerpt shows “Skidmore in Wartime” written on the right side in large font, accompanied by smaller text. In the top center, there is a signature in blue ink.
Skidmore in War Time and Civilian War Activities, 1942, from the scrapbook of Joan Lehman, Class of 1944, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Skidmore organized its campus war efforts under the slogan “Learn, Work, Save, Give.” Several academic departments, including the Art, Foreign Languages and Psychology departments, committed to helping students “train for specific services” deemed necessary for the war effort. Students could support the war effort in a number of ways, including air raid protection, knitting, translating and teaching foreign languages, and doing publicity work.
A pale yellow brochure with crease marks divides the page into three sections. “SKIDMORE TRAINS FOR SPECIFIC SERVICES NECESSARY IN THE NATIONAL EFFORT” is written on top-center with each part accompanied by smaller text.
Skidmore Trains for Specific Services Necessary in the National Effort, 1942, from the scrapbook of Joan Lehman, Class of 1944, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Several academic departments, including the Art, Foreign Languages and Psychology departments, committed to helping students “train for specific services” deemed necessary for the war effort. Students could support the war effort in a number of ways, including air raid protection, knitting, translating and teaching foreign languages, and doing publicity work.
An embroidered white circle on blue fabric has the words “U.S. ARMY AWS AIR FORCE” embroidered in blue letters. A pair of pale orange wings are embroidered on either side of the circle, and below it says “OBSERVER” in the same orange thread.
Joan Lehman’s U.S. Army Air Force Observer armband, from the scrapbook of Joan Lehman, Class of 1944, fabric, thread, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Like many other Skidmore students, Joan Lehman, Skidmore Class of 1944, completed her training for the Army Air Force’s Fighter Command Ground Observer Corps during her fall 1943 semester at Skidmore.
A yellowed page from a handbook shows a drawing of an office space layout, with sandbags protecting the window and a protected door. A headline on the right page states “Your Duties as Air Raid Warden” accompanied by a text explanation.
Page from “A Handbook for Air Raid Wardens,” from the scrapbook of Joan Lehman, Class of 1944, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
A slightly yellowed and stained document with many creases and crease marks has the headline “WHAT TO DO IN CASE OF AN AIR-RAID” in typewritten font. The text on the page is slightly illegible.
“What to do in Case of an Air-Raid” flyer, from the scrapbook of Carolyn “Patsy” Wander, Skidmore Class of 1944, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Despite the hardships and worry of wartime, Skidmore women found humor in the situation. This satirical flyer suggested students take advantage of the opportunities offered by the air raid and “If in a bakery – grab a pie, cake, etc.; If in a tavern – grab a bottle.; If in a movie – grab a blonde.” It also counsels that “If you should be the victim of a direct hit, don’t go to pieces…”
A yellowed scrapbook page shows many small objects on it. On the bottom right is a newspaper cutting with a photograph of many pairs of shoes spread out on a large floor.
Scrapbook of Carolyn “Patsy” Wander, Skidmore Class of 1944, 1943, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Anticipating the rationing of shoes due to wartime shortages, Skidmore students held a “stocking-foot dance” as part of the “Topsy-Turvy Winter Carnival” in 1943.
A sheet of paper has writing in French and a photograph of a 34 year-old light-skinned woman taken from the side attached on the upper left of the page. The page has handwritten text written on it, with stamps on it.
Elizabeth Adams French Identity Card, 1940, ink on paper, black and white photograph, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
One of the most prominent Skidmore Alumnae to participate in the mobilization effort was Elizabeth Fisher Adams, Class of 1929. Adams worked on the Belgian front in 1940-41 as an ambulance driver, and returned to the United States to join the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). She later returned to France where her relief work earned her the Medaille de la Reconnaissance Francaise in 1948. For more information on Adams’ amazing World War Two career, visit the Digital Collections of the Scribner Library at Skidmore College.
A black and white photograph shows three women at the back of an ambulance. One of them is on a gurney being pushed into the ambulance by the other two women.
Ambulance training in France, 1940, black and white photograph, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Elizabeth Adams trained as an ambulance driver with Anne Morgan’s CASC—Comite Americain de Secourse Civil, and was later awarded the Croix de Geurre for her services.
A black and white photograph shows a young light-skinned woman in an army uniform. She has short hair, light eyes, and is not looking at the camera.
Elizabeth Adams in her Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps uniform, 1943, black and white photograph, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
A newspaper excerpt has a headline “Skidmore to devote four days to peace” written in large, bold font at the top.
“Skidmore to Devote Four Days to Peace,” New York Times, April 17, 1937, from the scrapbook of Jane Louise Thurwood, Class of 1939, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
The Politics of Peace

While ready to help in their country’s war efforts when called upon, Skidmore women also have a history of actively working for peace. In the 1930s, as fascism began to gain strength in Europe, Skidmore women joined thousands of others (such as those in the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom) in working for peace and against the threat of another war in Europe. In April 1937 Skidmore held a Peace Week devoted to the theme of “International Integration,” which involved both faculty and students, and was covered by the New York Times. In the 1960s Skidmore women joined their peers around the country in protesting the war in Vietnam. And in the 1980s, they protested the nuclear arms race by participating in a “die-in,” anticipating a tactic that protesters at Skidmore would also use in the 2010s to protest violence against Black Americans.

—Katherine Graney

A slightly blurred black and white image depicts a young white woman with dark shoulder length hair holding a large, lighted candle, wearing a coat with the American flag attached to one of her sleeves.
Skidmore Vigil in Support of Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam, October 15,1969, black and white photograph, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Skidmore women held many protests against the Vietnam war in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Here Gwen Aaronson, Class of 1971, participates a vigil at Skidmore in support of the nationwide Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam on October 15, 1969. In May 1970 Skidmore President Joseph Palamountain joined thirty-six other college presidents in sending a letter to President Nixon asking him to end the war in Vietnam.
A yellowed newspaper excerpt says “Anti-Nuke demonstration” written in large bold font, accompanied by smaller text. On the right, there is a black and white photograph of students lying down on the grass outside a building.
Skidmore News, Volume 68, Number 11, May 8, 1985, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Nel Hotchkiss, Class of 1985, and the other members of the Skidmore Nuclear Resistance Task Force held a “die-in” in May 1985 to raise awareness about the dangers of the nuclear arms race during the late Cold War period. For maximum impact, they timed the protest to coincide with the visit of the Skidmore Board of Trustees to the campus.
A yellowed newspaper page with a black and white photograph of a group of people sitting down and text with the headline "Just Stop For A Day."
“Just Stop For A Day,” Skidmore News, January 24, 1991, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
Students, faculty, and staff gathered in Case Center the middle of the day on Wednesday, January 23, 1991, to debate and discuss the Gulf War. Among those serving on a panel at the event were Skidmore chaplain Tom Davis and Rabbi Linda Motzkin, who continues to serve as the High Holy Days Chaplain at Skidmore in addition to serving as Rabbi at Temple Sinai in Saratoga Springs.
A yellowed newspaper article with a black and white photograph of people holding signs standing on a street corner with text and the headline "Local Anti-War Protests Continue."
“Local Anti-War Protests Continue,” Skidmore News, March 28, 2003, ink on paper, courtesy of Special Collections, Scribner Library, Skidmore College
When the United States invaded Iraq in March 2003, Skidmore women both participated in antiwar demonstrations organized by the Saratoga Peace Alliance and urged their peers to “support the troops,” as this article from the Skidmore News reflects.
Nine dark-skinned people stand in a row leaning against a large blue and wood pickup truck, seven men and two women.
Jazzmina Moore ’09, the 2007 Davis Projects for Peace Award Winner, with students from the Noonkodin Secondary School, 2007, color photograph, courtesy of Jazzmina Moore
In 2007, philanthropist Kathryn Wasserman Davis founded the Davis Projects for Peace initiative, which funds student projects aimed at fostering the creation of sustainable and comprehensive peace in the world. Jazzmina Moore ’09 was the first Skidmore winner, for her project helping students to establish a Peace Curriculum at Noonkodin Secondary School in Eluwai, Tanzania.
A young, tanned woman smiles holding up a piece of paper across from a tanned man wearing a black fez. A tanned woman with a headscarf stands behind them in front of a row of buildings with tiled roofs.
Geraldine Santoso ’22, the 2019 Davis Projects for Peace Award Winner, with community leaders from Purwakarta, Indonesia, 2019, color photograph, courtesy of Geraldine Santoso
Since 2007, 11 Skidmore women have been awarded this prestigious award, for projects conducted across the globe. Skidmore’s most recent winner is Geraldine Santoso ’22, who was awarded a grant in 2019 to help provide clean water and sanitation in villages in Purwakarta, Indonesia.
A logo shows an organization called “EDUTRER.” The logo incorporates a graphic image of a tree, with the leaves indicated by two green circles and a smaller yellow circle inside them, and the trunk is a brown pencil.
Edutrer Logo, 2017, digital image, courtesy of Naira Abdula
Global Skidmore

In recent decades, Skidmore’s student population has transformed enormously. In 1980, only 3.5% of the Skidmore undergraduate study body self-identified as ALANA (Asian, Latinx, African-American or Native American), while in 2019 that number had risen to 25.6% (Skidmore Factbook, 2019). During that same period, the percentage of international students studying at Skidmore also increased dramatically, from 1.7% to 10.5%. Many of these Skidmore women have come to Skidmore as Davis United World College Scholars, and have gone on to continue the tradition of Skidmore women’s political engagement at new points across the globe.

Naira Abdula, Skidmore Class of 2020, a native of Beira, Mozambique, came to Skidmore as a Davis UWC Scholar. In 2017, she founded an organization called Edutrer, aimed at increasing child literacy and numeracy in Mozambique, and won a Davis Projects for Peace award that allowed Edutrer to build a community center and begin its work. In summer 2020, Naira Abdula graduated summa cum laude from Skidmore and was named the 2020 Anne T. Palamountain Scholar.

—Katherine Graney

A color photograph depicts a young medium-skinned woman smiling and wearing a graduation cap and gown and a long-printed dress standing on grass.
Naira Abdula, Class of 2020, founder of Edutrer, 2020, color photograph, courtesy of Naira Abdula
A color photograph shows young dark-skinned boy wearing a mask, studying, and reading educational materials.
Carlos Junior, 2020, color photograph, courtesy of Naira Abdula
A young scholar named Carlos Junior studies at home in Beira, Mozambique, during the COVID-19 pandemic in July 2020 using materials provided by Edutrer.
A color photograph depicts a smiling young dark-skinned woman in a bright pink head cover and a yellow floral top. Below the photograph, there is text written in red bold font.
Uman4Uman, May 28, 2020, Facebook post, courtesy of Haja Isatu Bah
Haja Isatu Bah, who hails from Freetown, Sierra Leone, is a member of the Class of 2021 majoring in Environmental Studies. Bah also came to Skidmore as a Davis United World College Scholar. In 2020 she founded Uman4Uman, an organization devoted to breaking down taboos about menstruation and helping young women in Sierra Leone and around the world to get better access to affordable, sustainable menstrual products.
A color photograph shows menstrual pads and other menstrual products in blue, yellow, red, pink, and green.
Prototypes by Uman4Uman, 2020, photograph, courtesy of Haja Isatu Bah
Pictured here are prototypes of sustainable menstrual products designed and produced by Uman4Uman.
A logo shows an organization called “Uman 4 Uman.” The logo is a pair of hands holding up a green menstrual pad on a pink background.
Uman4Uman logo, 2020, digital image, courtesy of Haja Isatu Bah
Haja Isatu Bah ’21 on Student Clubs, founding Uman4Uman, and Sustainability as Activism
Environmental Studies major Haja Isatu Bah ’21 interviewed by Clare McInerney ’20, a 2020 Summer Collaborative Research Fellow for We’ve Only Just Begun.
Anchor name: Getting It Done

Skidmore Women Getting It Done: Sharing Our Stories

In this section, we invite Skidmore women to share images and experiences of their involvement in politics—whether in the past or happening right now, whether by working within established systems, or through activism, service, or protest. To add your voice to the exhibition, send your contribution to rseligma@skidmore.edu and be sure to include: a high-resolution image of your photograph or ephemera, your name, class year, a title for your image, the medium (what it’s made of), the date of the image, and a sentence or two describing/explaining your contribution.

We will add new submissions periodically over the course of the exhibition. In this section, we hope to create a space where Skidmore community can share the expansive, diverse, and inspiring visual stories of Skidmore women who contribute to positive change in the world.

—Katherine Graney, Rachel Seligman, and Natalie Taylor

Two middle-aged women standing together in an interior and wearing pink scarves are smiling and holding posters that say “ELECT… MORE LIBRARIANS” and “MORE BOOKS FEWER TWEETS.”
Kate Graney, Skidmore Professor of Political Science and Director of Gender Studies, with friend Jocelyn Khoury holding posters for the 2018 Women’s March in Albany, NY, January 2018, digital color photograph, courtesy of Kate Graney
The January 2018 Women’s March in Albany was such a powerful experience—people of all different ages, genders, races, and political persuasions, coming together peacefully, and loudly, to advocate for better, smarter, more humane politics in the United States.
A black and white photograph taken from an angled overhead shows a large crowd of people, some of whom are wearing white, holding signs that say, “We Will Decide NARAL.”
Rachel Seligman ’91 with mother and sisters at the 1992 March for Women’s Lives in Washington D.C., April 1992, black and white photograph, courtesy of Rachel Seligman
In 1992 I was in graduate school at George Washington University in Washington D.C. and I lived in a one-room apartment. My mother, two sisters, aunt, best friend, and the boyfriend of one sister, all came to D.C. and stayed with me to attend this march. We all wore white, in honor of the suffragists.
A middle-aged woman with dark curly hair and glasses stands outdoors before a microphone stand in front of a crowd of people. Two figures at the front are holding a large rainbow flag.
Helene Schneider ’92 Speaking at a Vigil in Santa Barbara, CA in 2016, 2016, color photograph, courtesy of Helene Schneider
Helene Schneider was the Mayor of Santa Barbara, CA from 2010-2018. Here she addresses the crowd at a vigil in Santa Barbara after the Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting in Florida in June 2016.
Four adults standing together inside a brick interior are smiling at the camera. The two women in front are wearing pins and holding a picket sign that says, “Kasich He’s Our Congressman!”
Natalie Fuehrer Taylor, Associate Professor and Chair of the Skidmore Political Science Department with fellow Kasich Staffers, 1994, color photograph, courtesy of Natalie Taylor
I worked for Representative John Kasich (OH-12) between 1989 and 1996. Here I am posed with other Kasich staffers at a 1994 campaign event. In 1994 the Republicans won a majority of the House seats for the first time in decades and Congressman Kasich became the Chair of the House Budget Committee. John Kasich went on to serve two terms as the Governor of Ohio and to make two presidential bids.
A young woman wearing a black shirt with a sticker on her chest that says, “I VOTED!” in bold red font smiles at the camera while standing outside in front of the Skidmore apartments.
Margot Hahn ’21 with her “I voted” sticker at Skidmore College, 2020, color photograph, courtesy of Margot Hahn
Since 2020 is the first presidential election in which I can vote, I felt an urgency to exercise my right. I filled out my mail-in absentee ballot for the Chicago Board of Elections in early October. In this photograph, I am wearing the “I Voted” sticker that came with my mail-in ballot. The sticker’s design celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment, which is a crucial reminder to participate in our democracy.
A blonde, light-skinned woman wearing a mask stands in front of a blue mailbox bin covered in graffiti and stickers.
Nicollet Laframboise Mailing Her 2020 Ballot, October 2020, color photograph, courtesy of Nicollet Laframboise
“I voted absentee so I didn’t get a sticker, but I took a photo of me standing at the mailbox as I put my ballot in.”
We’ve Only Just Begun Curators’ Talk
On April 2, 2021 Rachel Seligman moderated a discussion about researching, organizing and designing the online exhibition with co-organizers Katherine Graney and Natalie Taylor, with collaborator Jane Kjaer, Special Collections, Scribner Library.
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