There’s not much mystery behind the nomenclature of these designated areas: the beau parlors were where Barnard students entertained their “beaus,” or even better, “gentlemen callers.” Male guests were not allowed anywhere in the dorms except in the public lounges and dining halls, throughout the day and evening, but needed to leave before curfew. When the 616 dorm opened, men were allowed to stay longer hours on the weekends because the dorm didn’t have a central dining room -- longer, meaning, 7-11PM. In the 60s, men were allowed in the actual dorm rooms from 1-6PM on Sundays only, a time slot benignly referred to as Open House. “All guests must register at the hostess desks and be escorted up and down by their hostesses. Residents must wear dresses or skirts and blouses. Gentlemen must dress appropriately,” read the 1967 blue book. That same year, the Dormitory Administrators “and many residents” received complaints about the “blatant displays of sexual behavior” in the beau parlors. At first they suggested that one of the beau parlors was designated for “serious couples” and the other for more “casual dating,” and that the Serious Couples beau parlor door could be curtained (the door to the Casual Dating parlor had to remain open). But then there was a majority vote to extend parietal hours (the “co-mingling of the sexes”) all the way to midnight on weekends, and extend overall curfews for the freshmen, to prevent “embarrassing situations” from arising in the parlors, and to appease the complainers.
A year later were the student protests, which led to the end of parietals on college campuses. |
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