I find it odd that no mention is ever made of the first five female students to enter Princeton University in 1963 (Critical Languages Program). It’s almost as if we never existed.

We didn’t graduate from Princeton but were admitted as juniors. I was admitted as a junior but CCNY gave me the extra 10 units I needed to graduate so that I could continue my studies as a graduate student at Stanford University.

It’s all water under the bridge now but I just thought I’d write to you since when I googled my name and Princeton 1963 I found no mention of any of the five girls who were really the pioneers of breaking the gender barrier at one of the most prestigious universities of that time.

Editor’s note: Read more about the Critical Languages Program in PAW’s May 15, 2019, issue. 

Lenore Patow
Essaouira, Morocco