When Sarah Lawrence sent a blast email to 6,300 alumnae/i to ask their views of coeducation, we expected a modest response. Instead, 12 percent completed the survey: more than 775 people. The large majority offered extended comments, most anonymously-and the range of viewpoints was vast.

//I think it would be better for the school to go back to being all-female. There are advantages to an all-female education that were not apparent to us in 1973, and disadvantages to coeducation that we were also not aware of.//

//SLC has ended up being the only genuinely coed elite college in the nation, by virtue of the fact that it never achieved a 50/50 M/F student body. The "imbalance" prevented men from taking over various aspects of campus life...dominated by men at nearly every other elite "coed" higher ed institution. So the lopsided numbers have created an environment where women and men, gay and straight, interact as equitably as---or more equitably than---any other I've experienced.//

//...[SLC] might truly offer a coeducational experience if there were simply more men. Which opens the question: should SLC actively recruit males?//

//I am still in touch with the brilliant young men I formed relationships with during my SLC years. I wouldn't trade those enduring friendships or lasting memories for the world.//

//I think Sarah Lawrence strives to be, and should continue to strive to be, not merely a welcoming place but a haven for all people, regardless of, among other things, body parts.//

//As a male, I didn't feel like a minority or out of place at a predominantly female college. The unbalanced male/female ratio yields the occasional stereotyping of male SLC students as emotionally retarded, rampant womanizers, but this effect was balanced by the College's celebration of individuality: a good heart will inevitably be realized and appreciated at SLC.//

//I see coeducation as a degenerative influence upon education, not a regenerative one.//

//Why is this even a topic of discussion? No institution of learning should be same sex any more than it should be race restrictive.//

//Coeducation is a relative term, is it not? I know that I wasn't the only female of heterosexual orientation to essentially go into a kind of romantic hibernation during my time at SLC.//

//When I attended, it was just barely coed. No problems. When my daughter attended, she felt unheard. Men really dominated the classes.//

//Because of my interests in philosophy and religion, I had the odd SLC experience of being one of the few women in the room in several classes filled with men. It was a terrific experience, and I certainly always felt that my voice was heard.//

//I think coeducation offers both women and men an opportunity to learn in an environment not often experienced elsewhere...one where women's voices are allowed to soar, but not just because there aren't men's voices in the same room.//

//I [a recent alumnus] defend coeducation and believe the current ratio is excellent. It allows for an interesting variety of people, all free thinkers, able to see outside the box. The zeitgeist is feminine and that means at times the environment can be fierce or, conversely, caring, but always insightful and aware.//