This semester, male undergraduates have started arriving on campus for the first time since MillsThe Young Ladies Seminary in 1852. Northeastern University will be the name on all degrees awarded after June 30. Northeastern students will make up about half of the projected 1,000 students on the Mills campus next school year. And some Mills majors, such as Women’s Studies, may be eliminated.Mills became the first women’s college to offer a computer science major in 1974.
“I don’t even know who to complain to because literally they’re just like, ‘Here’s this information and deal with it, but we still don’t have an answer to how to fix your issues,’ ” she said. Now, she isn’t sure whether she will stay at Mills or transfer out. Those differences in curriculum matter, critics of the merger say, because they reflect the culture and values at Mills, where the majority of students are people of color and many say it is a safe space for LGBTQ people.
After the merger, Franco-Clausen fears Mills will “be another place that’s gentrified with people from all over that may not contribute to the fiber of Oakland or the East Bay.” Mance said her class will focus on some of the major social movements in history, and the leadership styles that helped them succeed. The class creates an opportunity to really focus on creating a classroom that feels inclusive for everyone — regardless of gender, ethnicity, neurodiversity, or physical ability, she said.
“I think the Northeastern opportunity is a truly extraordinary one, to bring tremendous resources and inspiration to the Bay Area, and to enable Mills to expand its mission, not just sustain its mission,” Hillman, the Mills president, said.
So hard to read. I’m crushed.