November 3: The Day the Revolution Began!
(Pioneer Women in the Trinity College Class of 1904)
November 3 is a momentous date in Trinity history. 120 years ago on this very day, on November 3, 1900, the first students stepped onto Trinity’s campus, moving into the very-unfinished south wing of the great granite building that would become Main Hall. In that simple act of starting college at Trinity — a radical idea for Catholic women at the dawn of the 20th Century — those pioneer women sparked a revolution that continues to this very day.
November 3, 2020 is Election Day in America, and we are all intensely focused on the future of our nation and how the outcome of this presidential election will affect our lives. As we go through today and the next several days, let’s keep in mind the courage and resilience of the women who first gave life and meaning to the idea of Trinity College, now Trinity Washington University. They were undaunted in the face of scarce resources (poverty is our grand tradition!), political criticism from the right-wing clerics who said that women should not go to college, and doubt about their chances for success in such a remarkably radical adventure for that era. The Sisters of Notre Dame and the pioneer Class of 1904 did not let any of that stop them, and their success laid the foundation for 120 years of Trinity’s mission in education to change lives and society for the better. Our important work today continues inspired by their example and with gratitude for their courage.
We’ll have more on the 120th anniversary of the opening of Trinity in the next few weeks… mark your calendars for Sunday, November 22 at 2 pm when we will have a special event celebrating the Dedication of Trinity College.
(South Hall — the only part of Main Hall that was built in November 1900 when students and SNDs moved in — and it was still under construction! Student recollections of those early days include memories of much sawdust and hammering…)