Ivy League and Seven Sisters: Nude Photos required of all incoming freshmen

Parents Forum
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<p>Anyone else remember the news story about the “Posture Photos” that were taken (nude) of every incoming freshman at the Ivies and the Seven Sisters schools, including nude photos of many who would later become quite well-known. These were required during freshman orientation to check “posture” and if there were abnormalities, corrective therapy was needed.</p>

<p>See: <a href=“http://www.tafkac.org/collegiate/iv...ude_photos.html[/url]”>http://www.tafkac.org/collegiate/iv...ude_photos.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Another article is at: <a href=“College Football Playoff National Championship | Alumni…_pages1295.html%5B/url%5D”>College Football Playoff National Championship | Alumni…_pages1295.html</a></p>

<p>And yet another article (with photos) is in the Feb 2002 issue of Counterpoint - The MIT-Wellesley Journal of Campus Life at: <a href=“http://counterpoint.mit.edu/archive...I1_2002_Feb.pdf[/url]”>http://counterpoint.mit.edu/archive...I1_2002_Feb.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Very interesting reading. If you went to any of these schools in the sixties, chances are you had your nude photo made as part of freshman orientation.</p>

<p>Additional information can be found by googling( “posture photos” site:.edu )</p>

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<p>BTW, the “Seven Sisters” are/were Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke , Radcliffe, Smith, Vassar, and Wellesley.</p>

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<p>Your links don’t seem to work for me.</p>

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<p>dig, the links in the “one-liners” thread work, but these don’t…</p>

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<p>Another try:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.tafkac.org/collegiate/ivy_league_nude_photos.html[/url]”>http://www.tafkac.org/collegiate/ivy_league_nude_photos.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>and</p>

<p><a href=“http://counterpoint.mit.edu/archives/Counterpoint_V22_I1_2002_Feb.pdf[/url]”>http://counterpoint.mit.edu/archives/Counterpoint_V22_I1_2002_Feb.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>and</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.washington.edu/alumni/columns/dec95/back_pages1295.html[/url]”>http://www.washington.edu/alumni/columns/dec95/back_pages1295.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>As I recall, the real story was the search for Hillary’s pic. :D</p>

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<p>My mother was at Smith in the late 30’s…she said that they got the girls in a room with a sheet in front of them and then said, “now drop”!..I asked her why she did it and she said, “Dear, back then, we did what we were told to do!”…My sister was there in the mid-60’s and she didn’t have to do it.</p>

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<p>I started Barnard in 1966. I remember the posture test. Actually, I remember flunking the posture test. But my clothes were on while I took it.</p>

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<p>Our family enjoys teasing my mom about her Smith “posture pictures” from the 40’s, now in the National Archives! Her class is referred to in one of the articles above. Seriously though, she doesn’t have a pleasant memory of the experience.</p>

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<p>Thank goodness it ended the year before I entered Wellesley.</p>

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<p>Like Little Mother, thank heavens the posture pictures were a goner by the time I entered Vassar. (It was co-ed by then-- that could have been an issue…) A lot of the schools at that time, however, still required you to pass a swimmimg test.</p>

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<p>Same with Wheaton…no one graduated until they learned how to swim…I think an alum may have donated the swimming pool with that condition, but I’m not sure.</p>

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<p>Columbia still has a swim test! </p>

<p>As for the photos – my mother was at Radcliffe in the 1930s and, though she never mentioned the photos, I know she was required to take a p.e. class for students who were told they needed to GAIN weight. (She also barely passed the swim test. They basically threw her in and she made it to the other side.)</p>

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<p>Wellesley '70. Yes, we had Posture Pictures AND the swim test and two semesters of PE requirement. Went into a small closet-like room for posture pic and wore either nothing or some weird hospital-gown like thing. Isn’t it amazing that I can’t remember (well, you do the math, maybe it’s not so amazing). Those of us who considered ourselves part of the intelligentsia were proud to be sweating out completing the PE requirement in the last half of senior year.</p>

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<p>MIT still requires you to pass aq swimming test to graduate. But nude pictures are not required (as far as I know!)</p>

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<p>is that googling or ogling?</p>

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<p>Bryn Mawr still requires the passing of a swim test for graduation. They also require 2 PE semester credits.</p>

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<p>A lot of schools require a swim test. I know Washington & Lee does. Probably a student drowned while he was enrolled and his parents pushed for required swimming proficiency or some situation like that.</p>

<p>Do a lot of people not know how to swim these days? I don’t think I know anyone who can’t swim. I guess if someone was afraid of the water or something, that would make sense.</p>

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<p>Swarthmore requires swimming test as well…and lionswim, I still don’t know how to swim yet…lol…</p>

<p>These were scary stories about the posture photos…</p>

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<p>I know city people who’ve never learned to swim.</p>