Capturing the 1960s: The Linda Lee Abel Scrapbook
Linda Lee Abel was born in 1947 and lived with her family in North Attleboro, Massachusetts. She attended Connecticut College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Zoology in 1969. Abel achieved high academic status throughout her years at Connecticut College and was the recipient of the E. Frances Botsford Prize in Zoology. An active student, she was a member of the Science Club, served as a Library Representative, and was a Program Director at WCNI, the college radio station. In July 1969 following her graduation, Abel married John B. Fosseen, a graduate student at M.I.T. who appeared regularly in the scrapbook. After several decades away from higher education, Abel earned a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology in 2002. She donated her materials to the college in 2011.
Abel was a member of the last class of the Connecticut College for Women. By the 1960s, many higher education institutions in the Northeast were going co-ed, as expanding economic and social mobility increasingly drew students away from single-sex institutions. Facing the prospect of declining enrollment and pressure to maintain a high-quality education, Connecticut College made the decision to transition to coeducation in 1969. Abel’s scrapbook reveals the depth of debate and response from students and faculty on campus, as well as coverage of similar discussions taking place at Yale, Vassar, and Wesleyan.
Abel’s scrapbook also documents the effect of the Vietnam War on college campuses. A few articles cover the Sala Sanctuary, a protest movement against the draft that occurred at M.I.T. in 1968. John Fosseen’s letter to the editor of Conn Census on the Sala event and a satirical Mount Holyoke College publication entitled “Statement of Dogma” criticize some of the activism. The scrapbook also contains personal mementos of campus-wide actions against the war, including an anti-Vietnam War armband worn at commencement in 1969. Personal letters that Abel exchanged with Joyce LaQuidara, a friend attending Mount Holyoke, reveal how their marriage plans were affected by the draft.
From matriculation to commencement, Abel captured the scholastic and extracurricular life of Connecticut College. She recorded the hallmarks of her college experience, from booklets on choosing a major to Class Day celebrations, as well as material on lighter issues, from articles on the etiquette of visiting male colleges, to gossip on other women’s colleges, to commentary on match-making with computers. Train timetables and tickets to plays, lectures, and sporting events hint at the active social life of Connecticut College students. Abel's scrapbook brings to life the cultural currents of American society and college campuses in this transformative era.