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West Circle Neighborhood residence halls named after female MSU legacies

April 6, 2016
<p>A photo dated 1936 captures the ground-breaking of Sarah Langdon Williams Hall&nbsp;<strong style="background-color: initial;">PHOTO: MSU University archives and historical collections</strong></p>

A photo dated 1936 captures the ground-breaking of Sarah Langdon Williams Hall PHOTO: MSU University archives and historical collections

Linda Stanford, a retired MSU faculty member, administrator and co-author of a book about the physical history of MSU, said the residence halls were built and later expanded throughout the 1930s and 40s.

Each residence hall was named for a woman who played an important role in MSU’s history.

Among the list are the wife of MSU’s first president Sarah Langdon Williams, as well as former Dean of Women Louise Hathaway Campbell, former head librarian Linda Eoline Landon, former Dean of Women Maude Gilchrist, activist Mary Mayo and former registrar Elida Yakeley.

The West Circle Neighborhood residence halls’ cultures were much more formal than what a student might experience today, June Youatt, MSU provost and a former Gilchrist Hall resident, said.

“Men were allowed in the dorms, but after midnight only women were allowed in the dorms,” Youatt said. “On Sundays the expectation was women would dress up for lunch. They put out white table cloths, and the Sunday lunch was much nicer than other meals during the week.”

Youatt said many women found a real sense of community in the all-female residence halls. Oftentimes, social gatherings were held in the residence halls.

“It created less pressure in the social transition from high school to college, despite all the restrictions,” she said.

The gender exclusive nature of the residence halls meant their leadership was female, from resident assistants to residence hall governments, Youatt said.

“It was a real opportunity for women to develop leadership skills in a comfortable setting,” she added.

Eventually, the residence halls’ formality came to be seen as passé because of the changing gender dynamics in American society.

“Things that were viewed as positive began to be seen as too paternalistic in the early 70s,” Youatt said. “You had women who didn’t want to be told when they could have a male visitor in their room, or the expectations about dining.”

Negative stereotypes and nicknames for the halls and their residents also began to surround the female-only living quarters. Now, only one of the West Circle Neighborhood residence halls, Yakeley Hall, exclusively houses women. The residence hall continues the West Circle tradition of providing a community for women.

“It kind of felt like summer camp,” theatre senior and former Yakeley resident assistant Madelayne Shammas said. “This is my third year being an RA and Yakeley was probably where people were the closest.”

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