Waterworld: Highlights from the History of the Barnard Pool

With the recent news of the impending demise of Barnard’s swimming pool in mind (Columbia Spectator, “Barnard Likely to Close Swimming Pool in 2013”), we’d like to take this opportunity to present choice episodes from the pool’s almost-century of history.The Barnard Pool opened in 1918 with the completion of Students’ Hall, now known as Barnard [...]

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Lucyle Hook: Barnard Emeritus Professor, Globe Trotter

The Barnard College archivists have recently finished inventorying the Lucyle Hook Collection, 13 boxes of personal documents and photographs that tell the story of Mrs. Hook’s life.  The collection is so personal that I had to continually stop myself from referring to her as “Lucyle” in this post. Lucyle Hook, a Texan belle with a [...]

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Barnard Fraternity Ban of 1913

Ever wondered why you have to slog over to Columbia in your micro-mini and pearls to find a suitable sorority to rush? In 1916, Barnard banned sororities (then called fraternities) for good.  The issue of fraternities was first raised in 1910 due to growing dissent among non-fraternity members who thought that the organizations promoted snobbishness [...]

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Closed for the Summer

The Barnard College Archives is now closed for the summer due to construction. Please check back in September for an update.

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