Campus Living

This collage, entitled "Home Sweet Home" and printed in the 1928 yearbook, shows what dormitory living looked like for girls at San Antonio Female College in the early 1900s. Note the furnishings of the room—how do they compare to modern dorm rooms?

The Westmoorland College student body elected Esther Stephens as queen of the 1936 May Fete. The festival notably featured a dramatic retelling of the school’s history up to that point, beginning with the founding of the San Antonio Female College and continuing through its transition to coeducation.

Louise Munn, elected as queen by the student body, and her chosen escort Huffman Baines preside over the Greek mythology-themed Spring Festival. The scheduled entertainment went all out to adhere to the theme, even including a scene from Euripides’ Medea.

This program from the 1939 Spring Festival shows University of San Antonio students and visiting representatives as members of the Court of Olympus.

This is a Calendar of Interesting Events (social events) from the 1918-1919 school year. Note the many parties, arts events and recitals, and speakers to the college. How does this compare to a modern college's calendar of events?

Campus life among SAFC and later Westmoorland students was closely-knit and led to many long-lasting bonds. Alumnae from the early 1900s recall gathering together to share chocolates, photo albums, and studying woes with their roommates and friends in the college dormitory. Yearbooks from throughout the early twentieth century hold tales of an intimate student body, with jokes, gossip, and fond memories always circulating. 

Social events, including dances, parties, and teas, although chaperoned, occurred fairly often and included both students from San Antonio Female College and the nearby boys’ schools Marshall Training School, Peacock Military Academy, and Lakeside Classical Institute. Alumnae also mentioned various chaperoned dances with students from three nearby boys’ schools, as well as a tradition of discreetly wearing insignia and pins given to them by dance partners from the previous evening.

As the San Antonio Female College moved into its later iterations and became coed, its calendar of social events also evolved. For example, in the late 1930s, the University of San Antonio maintained its annual tradition—established during the school’s time as Westmoorland College—of a festival held at the end of the spring semester, interchangeably referred to as the Spring Festival and the May Fete. This event also connected the University to the larger San Antonio community: representatives from local high schools and colleges, as well as the alumni association, were welcomed onto the university’s campus.