Transition And Inequality: Female Students At Appalachian State University, 1939-89

Despite ASU's historically conservative student population due to its relatively isolated location, female students at Appalachian experienced many changes during the years 1939 to 1989. The Second World War engendered many changes for women at Appalachian State Teachers College (ASTC). Because of its status as a teacher's college, ASTC has usually had more female students than male students. The war exaggerated this ratio. This opened up more opportunities for women to take leadership roles on campus. This was just for the duration, however; after the war the men returned to resume campus leadership as they did at colleges across the country. During the 1950s, there was an emphasis on domesticity and the child-rearing role of women. The students demanded and received a loosening of the strict rules that they had to follow during the post-war years.