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and men into separate classes at the college. Low, along with Louise Coburn and 17 other women who had graduated from Colby, sent a petition protesting the move. The letter declared, "The issue is not whether men and women can recite together, whether men and women shall study this or that. It is simply the issue whether the men are willing to take the risk of having women surpass them in scholarship." Although Low wrote the letter, she wrote it in a way to make it appear that Coburn had, since Coburn came from a prominent family and Low did not. In the end, Colby did not go back to being officially coeducational until 1969.
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193:. Ruby Carver Emerson became National President of Sigma Kappa in 1935-36. Low was always interested in the future of her sorority. The chapter minutes of the 1880s and 1890s frequently refer to the choosing of delegates to travel to the town of Augusta to consult Mrs. Carver on everything from the selection of furniture to the decision to extend Sigma Kappa beyond Colby.
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petition requesting permission to form Sigma Kappa
Sorority. They began work during that year and on November 9, 1874, the five young women received a letter from the faculty approving their petition. They sought for and received permission to form a sorority with the intent for the organization to become national.
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In addition, Colby
College has honored her achievements by naming a residence hall, the Mary Low Residence Hall, after their first female graduate. The hall features the Mary Low Coffeehouse, a coffee shop that hosts poetry readings and open mic nights and serves as a general hangout for the student
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In "The
History of Colby College," Ernest C. Marriner wrote, "No small part of the agitation that arose later in regard to the retention of women in the College was prompted by the fact that they persistently ran away with the honors." In 1890, the president of Colby initiated a plan to divide women
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As the only women enrolled in the college, the five of them found themselves together frequently. In 1873-74, the five young women decided to form a literary and social society. They were instructed by the college administration that they would need to present a constitution and bylaws with a
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However, in honor of her achievements, Colby presented her with an honorary doctorate in 1916. By 1924, the school's student body consisted of two-thirds women, a fitting testimonial to Low's pioneering attitude for the school.
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and delighted Boston Sigma Kappas with her wit. She offered toasts at the joint Delta/Omicron chapter initiation banquets. Mary was hearing-impaired, but she read lips so well that few recognized her deafness.
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degree. In those days, it was not customary for women to give public speeches, especially at solemn occasions such as graduation ceremonies, but Low gave the class prayer in
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91:(March 22, 1850 - March 4, 1926) was an American librarian and educator. She was one of the five founding members of the
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In July 1875, Low became the first female graduate of Colby
College, at 25 years of age. She was the
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and the first to preside over an initiation. She was also the first woman to be invited to join the
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presents the Mary
Caffrey Low Award to the most outstanding alumnae chapter in a college community.
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sorority and a pioneering advocate for women's education, along with being an accomplished
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After graduation, Low married
Leonard D. Carver, who became the Maine state librarian in
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of her class. She was one of the first women in
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239:"A Woman's Place: The Highs and Lows of 125 Years of Coeducation"
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Her daughter, Ruby, was initiated into the Alpha chapter at
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State
Library. She was also an accomplished writer.
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315:Colby College | Academics | Mary Low
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361:Sigma Kappa Sorority official site
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103:Founding of Sigma Kappa Sorority
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376:American non-fiction writers
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265:"Mary Low Carver: Overview"
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391:People from Augusta, Maine
421:American women librarians
267:. Colby College Libraries
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124:Frances Elliott Mann Hall
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411:American women educators
328:"Mary Caffrey Low Award"
198:Cambridge, Massachusetts
138:academic honor society.
46:Mary Caffrey Low in 1875
287:"Sigma Kappa: Founders"
89:Mary Caffrey Low Carver
34:Mary Caffrey Low Carver
18:Mary Caffrey Low Carver
220:population at Colby.
116:Elizabeth Gorham Hoag
406:Educators from Maine
401:Sigma Kappa founders
396:Colby College alumni
332:Sigma Kappa Sorority
416:American librarians
128:Louise Helen Coburn
293:on April 15, 2005
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97:library scientist
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342:29 February
297:29 February
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214:Sigma Kappa
132:Sigma Kappa
93:Sigma Kappa
370:Categories
224:References
120:Ida Fuller
79:Occupation
58:1850-03-22
82:Librarian
212:Today,
180:Augusta
208:Legacy
191:Colby
184:Maine
160:Latin
110:, in
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52:Born
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