These 15 Ridiculous Rules For Women Used To Be Enforced On College Campuses

Most of us think of college as a place where we can finally become independent from our parents’ rules and live how we want.

However, before (and during) the 1960s, being in college didn’t exactly mean that people could make their own decisions as adults, especially when it came to women. The term in loco parentis, Latin for “in the place of a parent,” was a doctrine that many universities followed so parents would feel better about letting their children go to school.

While strict rules and regulations were put into effect for both male and female students, it’s clear that women were on a much tighter leash when it came to higher education. Here are some of the most ridiculous rules that college women had to follow back in the day.

1. At Wellesley and Oberlin, if a man and a woman were in a dormitory room together, they were required to keep three feet on the floor during the visit.

2. Women at Oberlin College were also only allowed to have male visitors between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Sundays.

3. In 1930, 44 women at Bucknell University were put on a six-month dating ban by the Women’s Student Senate after admitting to smoking in their rooms.