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History teaches us about the present, and we believe that learning about how sexism has operated on our campuses in the past is vital for understanding how it operates on our campuses today. This archive serves to shine a light on the sexist ideals and attitudes ingrained into our campus culture that prevent students of all gender identities from flourishing. Learning about this history is crucial for the development of our campus communities as we work to create safe and equitable environments for everyone and foster strong and mutually beneficially relationships across campus lines.

The history being shared comes directly from students enrolled in the inaugural cohort of CSB and SJU’s Honors Program that was re-envisioned and launched in the Fall of 2020 -- students who sought to highlight previously undertold stories of institutionalized and interpersonal sexism at their campuses. Their primary research comes from the institutional and monastic archives of CSB and SJU, primarily through editions of the student newspaper accessed via the archives’ digital collection. The Record had been the St. John’s University student newspaper for over a century before becoming a cross-campus newspaper in the late 1990s. CSB, on the other hand, has had several newspapers come ago; The Torch, The Cable, and The Saints. The information gathered from these sources provides a very personal student account, and the public availability of the documents gives insight into the nature and strength of student culture at various times in history.

There are also many events and situations that the student newspapers potentially could not report on, either for reasons of confidentiality or the potential purpose of maintaining the image of the institutions. Because of this, the information collected from these publications has certain limitations in that it can allude to a long-existing culture of sexism, but specific events that have occurred throughout history as a result of this culture may not be stated explicitly. To bridge this gap, the students supplemented their archival research with the oral histories of two CSB alumnae, Nancy Bellmont (class of 1974) and Pat Welter (class of 1970), as well as various documents and resources uncovered in the archives that are not classified as a student newspaper. ]]>
“One good thing that did come out of Christmas was that several Bennies shattered the glass ceiling when some of the larger, bearded students landed jobs at several area malls as Santa Claus.”

“We also think there's a glitch in the dance floor. There is a sign up that says the floor is only rated for two tons or five Bennies, whichever comes first."

“Since the women came back to St. Ben's, seismologists have been baffled at daily tremors measuring up to 8.6 magnitude, and an apparent epicenter at the new St. Ben's track.”

”Jokes” like these were specifically targeted at and against the female students of the College of St. Benedict. It is also worth noting that there never existed any tradition whatsoever of recognized “Johnnie Jokes”, as these quips seemed to be aimed in only one direction. This attitude appears have been standard fare in order for the male students to have felt comfortable publishing these in the newspaper, and accounts from Bennies corroborate that. Kelly Gleason said in 1989:

“Within my first 24 hours on the CSB+SJU campus I heard what I thought were all the existing Bennie jokes. Since then, I've realized that was just the beginning. Not only was I supposed to gain 30 lbs. instead of the freshman 15; The jokes were funny, but not really. In the terror of acquiring a "Bennie butt," up to 30% of us, statistically, are starving or vomiting to keep that infamous rear end from becoming a reality.”

Evidently, these jokes were a mainstay of campus culture, and part of indoctrination into campus involved being bombarded with them to some degree. Yet, they clearly have massive consequences, as Gleason notes the statistic asserting that 30% of Bennies have eating disorders. Power dynamics were being strengthened by Johnnies under the cover of “comedy”, which negatively affected the mental health of Bennies at the time. A 1990 Record article about a variety show ends with the line: “Finally, the MC finished with his Johnnie and Bennie jokes," which shows how these jokes required integration in order to survive. Somehow, Bennie Jokes became acceptable if Johnnies also had a counterpart. ]]> The Record, Nov. 20, 1947

The Record, Feb. 15, 1996 

The Record, Oct. 10. 1990 ]]>
1960s and 1970s: Bellmont, a Bennie graduate of the 1974 class, was a student at the height of the panty raids. According to Bellmont, hundreds of Johnnies, usually intoxicated, would gather outside the first-year dorms at Saint Ben’s in the middle of the night and yell for the Bennies to throw their panties, bras, and other undergarments out the window as a sign of “school spirit” before football games the following day. She notes that this tradition seemed to hold the most importance the night before Homecoming. Bellmont also reports that some of the male students would climb into the windows of the dorm rooms and steal the panties if they were not handed out freely. Administration and staff seemingly had the biggest issue with the fact that males were entering female dorm rooms, which was against the rules at this time, rather than the fact that women’s panties were being stolen. According to Bellmont, the school would send out notices to the Bennies about the day and time the panty raids were to happen, instructing the girls to keep their windows closed, rather than attempting to prevent the Johnnies from participating in the raid or hosting it in the first place. In fact, Bellmont even recalls staff running up and down the halls during the raids and accusing Bennies of not following the instructions given. This tradition serves as a clear example of institutionalized sexism, as the college was focusing on the "rules" and behavior of women rather than addressing the harmful behavior of male students. Despite efforts from the institutions to discourage this behavior, the tradition continued well into the 70s, evolving into Johnnies breaking and entering into Bennie dorms while the girls were sleeping, digging through their closets and taking their “trophies.” An article from The Record from the fall of 1969 relays the events of that year’s panty raid, stating that screens were ripped open, and windows were broken in the process of stealing undergarments, dresses, and shoes. The same article paints the picture that staff and faculty were not concerned with stopping this type of harassment and utter invasion of privacy, stating, “although Bennyville may be incensed by the recent panty raid, don’t look for some of the Faculty Residents on campus to press the search for culprits too hard.” According to Bellmont, many Bennies understandably felt extremely uncomfortable with drunk Johnnies breaking into their dorms at night and stealing their panties. In fact, both Bellmont and Kehler recall instances of unwanted groping and grabbing during the raids as well, making the lack of initiative to hold the male students responsible even more concerning.

1980s and 1990s: In the late 80s and early 90s, panty raids became a job that was handed off to the pledges being initiated into the AKS fraternity on Saint John’s campus. An article from The Record published in November of 1984 stated that “no one is safe during AKS initiation. The mademoiselles of St. Ben’s were terrorized by cries for silk during an initiatory panty raid last weekend.”28 This event is depicted as “a mandatory affair” in the article as well, as these raids were perceived as being directly associated with school spirit. This is demonstrated in various articles of The Record, where panty raids are referred to as “athletic provoking activities”29 and as something to “start the great ‘Johnnie Spirit’” in the fall season30. The last mention of the "panty raids" was in a 1985 edition of The Record, and the context of their mention suggests that they were still a tradition that was alive and well31. The panty raids seem to have finally phased out of tradition in the 1990s.]]>
The Record, Oct. 15, 1970: https://cdm.csbsju.edu/digital/collection/CSBArchNews/id/34729/rec/9

The Record, Sept. 16, 1976: https://cdm.csbsju.edu/digital/collection/CSBArchNews/id/35376/rec/3

The Record, Nov. 1, 1984: https://cdm.csbsju.edu/digital/collection/CSBArchNews/id/36198/rec/1

The Record, Oct. 15, 1998: https://cdm.csbsju.edu/digital/collection/CSBArchNews/id/1661/rec/1

The Record, Oct. 3, 1985:
https://cdm.csbsju.edu/digital/collection/CSBArchNews/id/1455/rec/10]]>
Bennie alum Nancy Bellmont and Pat Welter have shared their experiences with the Rat Pack in the late 60s and early 70s to help paint a picture of their historical attitudes and ideas about women. According to Bellmont, the Rats were the most boisterous at home basketball games. She states that their behavior was so rowdy that Bennies wouldn’t dare walk in front of the group. In fact, both alumnae confirm that Bennies would walk all the way around the gym to get to the student section just so they wouldn’t have to walk in front of the Rat Pack. If they did, “they risked being grabbed and passed through the pack while their bodies were being groped and grabbed.” Bellmont recalls Bennies being dropped into the sea of bodies and disappearing for minutes at a time, while also noting that people were often hurt in the process. She states that students and members of the community would complain about this kind of behavior, but that it continued to persist despite the school’s efforts to put a stop to it. Bellmont even recalls taking her children to a Johnnie football game many years later and reports leaving early because of the vulgar language and raunchy behavior of the pack. The fact that this group continued to thrive despite its public display of sexist attitudes and formal complaints made by community members is a testament to the how deeply rooted sexism is in our society and college campuses, and how difficult it can be to uproot it.

Although these kinds of behaviors and actions are not explicitly stated in The Record for a multitude of reasons, there are various mentions of the Rat Pack that further help paint a picture of who the Rats were and what they were known for. In 1983, The Record published an article relaying the events of a basketball game, stating that the pack flashed a poster of Marilyn Monroe in an “alluring pose” to distract a basketball player while making a free throw. When the Rat logo, found on sweatshirts and t-shirts, changed from a rat with a friendly smile to one with a mischievous grin in 1984, it was reported in The Record that, “their [the Rat Pack] outrageousness and sometimes less than tasteful behavior towards non-Rats and women is emphasized by the mean-looking rat design.” Throughout the histories of St. Ben’s and St. John’s, there were also numerous complaints about the exclusiveness of the group with their "No-outsider, no-women policy”, In fact, the Rats remained a male-only group to uphold “tradition,” until January of 2020 at a basketball game.]]>
Initial attempts from forward-thinking Bennies to have readings of the play in 2003 failed, but by spring of 2004, plans of hosting the play for Valentine’s Day in 2005 began. Immediately, student organizers spearheaded by Johanna Hatch and accompanied by faculty Dr. Smiles and Dr. Wengler ran into countless issues. Word of the plan became widely known, and a newsletter from the President of St. Mary’s College (Now St. Mary’s University) informed students that she was canceling their production of The Vagina Monologues on account of an “overwhelmingly negative response from students, faculty, and staff, and from external constituencies”. These external constituencies primarily consisted of the Cardinal Newman Society, whose complaints to St. Ben’s numbered in the dozens. The Cardinal Newman Society is “an American 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, nonprofit organization founded in 1993 whose stated purpose is to promote and defend faithful Catholic education”. They campaigned aggressively against any Catholic colleges/universities that were hosting The Vagina Monologues, with messages being sent to the Dean at the time, Rita Kneusel, such as, “I am not willing to make contributions to St. Ben’s until I know that this abominable play will not be hosted at St. Ben’s. It is contrary to the ‘Theology of the Body’ and the encyclical Deo Caritas Esf, and it does no service for Christian women. Please assure me on this issue.” Ultimately, the student body and their backing staff prevailed with an audience of 250 filling O'Connell's for a one-night-only reading of the play. According to Johanna Hatch, it required having multiple professors overseeing the event and that, through the format of a one-credit ILP (Independent Learning Project), “academic credit was involved in this learning experience.” In the end, making the event academic allowed it to pass at the school. However, the backlash that this play received is not to be forgotten. 

An abundance of letters from the local bishop and concerned parents that tried to protest the event in 2006 and 2007 are evidence that the controversy never went away, but why was it a controversy? Those in favor of the presentation of the play argued that it brought together the community and advocated for women’s rights. Critics of its playing argued that it degraded women and was inappropriate. The controversy surrounding The Vagina Monologues, put into context of the history of sexist behavior CSB and SJU have been implicated in, ultimately began because opponents to the play chose ignorance, which is a theme that has been repeated time and time again. Multiple different letters from members of the CNS used the same argument -- that the play had a vignette about the sexual feelings of a six-year-old, without explaining into further detail. ]]>
Students, staff, and faculty continued to wonder about the kinds of consequences, or lack thereof, that the students responsible faced. As far as the community was made aware, no students were found responsible or disciplined. However, this email sent from the President’s Office also included tangible action steps the institution was taking in an attempt to “make our campus spaces safer and more inclusive spaces for everyone”.

Training: Additional SJU RA training was completed the following January revolving around sexual misconduct policies and reporting process and bystander intervention, as well as training provided for student leaders that related to healthy masculinity healthy relationships, alcohol use, and Title IX. Over 500 SJU student athletes completed CERTS training which covers topics related to consent, equality, respect, and safety in sexual encounters.

Clubs/Organizations: The Men‘s Development Institute (MDI) at Saint John‘s, later coined the Johnnie Development Institute (JDI) to promote gender inclusion, was reinstated, taking inspiration from the Institution for Women’s Leadership (IWL) at Saint Ben’s.

Leadership: The following November, a Title IX case manager was added to the institutions’ Title IX staff to efficiently coordinate the process through which sexual misconduct investigations are launched. A coordinator for Project EMBRACE was also added to the health services team, which is a project that is federal funded from the Office of Violence Against Women. The President’s Advisory Council met to identify ways to address sexual misconduct and gender development and create a plan to move forwards

Safety: Bus monitors were also added to the Link on weekend evenings to prevent and manage problematic behavior, such as harassment and sexual misconduct violations.

Despite these efforts, the tight-knit community surrounding our institutions felt unsatisfied and deeply concerned with the culture of toxic masculinity present at Saint John’s. Many students felt unsafe with the “hush hush” nature of the Johnnies, as no one was willing to come forward or call out their peers for blatantly sexist and unacceptable behavior. Decades of institutional sexism in combination with gendered sexual expectations, toxic masculinity, power imbalances, gendered spaces, and a long-lasting “boys will be boys” mentality manifested itself into what became infamously known as Pat Hall. ]]>
The Investigation -- The Record, Oct. 21, 2021: https://cdm.csbsju.edu/digital/collection/CSBArchNews/id/44417/rec/65

The Protest -- The Record, Oct. 28, 2021: https://cdm.csbsju.edu/digital/collection/CSBArchNews/id/44472/rec/64]]>