“The Divine Miss Kitty”
Online-only extras from the Carolina Alumni Review, September/October 2011
Today we take the practice of in loco parentis with a grain of salt. But from the 1940s well into the 1960s, most parents were deeply concerned that the University not merely educate their daughters but actively look after them. Female students’ lives outside the classroom were governed by a strict set of rules, which Dean Carmichael was sworn to uphold and from which men generally were exempt.
For examples, take a look at some excerpts from Carolina’s women’s handbooks.
Katherine Carmichael was quick to answer practical jokes with her own, and she was slow and deliberate in describing her beliefs about women and college. When this profile was done, we were left with a few outtakes, summed up in a piece titled Wit and Wisdom.