June 14, 1895
From the Board of Trustees, College Point, Long Island
“We, as Trustees, are responsible to the public for the conduct of the school, and are in great measure, guardians of the morals of the pupils. In the first place, I do not consider it to be the proper thing for any young lady to ride a bicycle, and in the person of a school teacher, it is particularly out of place. As far as the question of riding before or after school hours and when away from the school is concerned, we have no authority, but we will not permit them to ride bicycles to or from the schoolroom.”
“It is not the proper thing for ladies to ride the bicycle. They wear skirts, of course, but if we do not stop them now they will want to be in style with the New York women and wear bloomers. Then how would our schoolrooms look with the lady teachers parading around amongst the boys and girls wearing bloomers ? They might just as well wear men’s trousers. I suppose it will come to that, but we are determined to stop our teachers in time, before they go that far.”
Neverthe less, she persisted*
Yes, indeed.
Notes
*Mitch McConnell after silencing Senator Elizabeth Warren in the US Senate in 2017.
See also article by David Dinsmore in MS Magazine June 2020 which included the photo.
