Everyone lives a life of historical uniqueness. I was thinking about how I exemplify this claim.
I spent the last couple of days attending a reunion of a unique group. This group was made up of individuals who had worked in the resident halls at Iowa State University in the early ’70s. The reunion meets in different locations with this year’s gathering at Carleton College in Northfield, MN. I have an association with this group because of Cindy. What makes this group kind of interesting is that they were associated with the “professionalization” of college dormitory supervision/management and the introduction of co-ed dorms. Prior to such changes, dorms often had a “house mother”. With the change, student personnel employees took on a somewhat different role with a broader educational mission. The co-ed transition followed a gradual path. First, males and females lived in same-sex houses within the same building. The group recalled the next major event being the unlocking of the fire door separated male and female “houses” on the same floor so that females could walk to the dining hall without having to go outside of the building in the winter. Some revolutions begin with small changes.
What does this have to do with historical uniqueness. Cindy, my wife, was one of the early employees within this new system. Her first role was as a hall advisor within a woman’s dormitory. We lived in the dormitory. I am claiming to be the first male to legally live in a woman’s dorm at ISU.