Research Guides: Haverford College History (HC): Student Life

Personal Papers

Papers of many alumni of Haverford College include materials from their student days at Haverford. The best way to find out whether we have any materials on a particular alumnus is to search our finding aids for that person's name. Listed here are some types of materials which may be of interest to researchers.

Scrapbooks
A number of scrapbooks from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century provide excellent portraits of student life on campus. They often include photographs, event invitations and programs, clippings, and letters. Some examples are the Cricket Team English Tour scrapbook (1914), Elliston Perot Morris Jr's scrapbook (1917-1924), and John Quincy Hunsicker III's scrapbook of European travels (1928).

Autograph Albums
A number of early Haverford students kept autograph albums, which would often include a personal note, poem, drawing, or prayer in addition to a signature. Examples include the William A. Brown autograph album (1835-1838), the Samuel Bunting Haines autograph album (1858), and the Richard Thomas Jones autograph album (1859-1860).

Photo Albums
Some photo albums were created by individual students, but several nineteenth-century classes also created photo albums. Examples include the Allen Clapp Thomas photograph album (1863-1865), the Ellis Y. Brown photograph album (1897-1901), and the David Cope Elkinton photograph album (1934-1935).

Journals and Diaries
Numerous Haverford College students have kept journals or diaries during their time at Haverford, giving insight on their own experiences. Examples include William H.S. Wood's diary (1855-1856), Benjamin Hayes Smith's diary (1856-1863), and Joseph Passmore Elkinton's Haverford College diaries (1904-1908).

Student Publications

Special Collections holds numerous student publications from across Haverford's history. The list here includes some of the longest-running and most important publications, as well as significant early publications. A full listing of student publications is available in Special Collections.

The Record
The Record is the Haverford College yearbook. The name was first used in 1904. In 1975 the Haverford and Bryn Mawr yearbooks merged to form The Accord. The Haverford yearbook is now once again called The Record. Some of the early yearbooks are available digitally here.

The Haverfordian
The Haverfordian, founded in 1879, was the first printed periodical at the college. It included literary content and alumni information, as well as college news. Special Collections holds issues from 1879 to 1940. The Haverfordian is fully digitized and available here.

College Weekly/The Haverford News/The News/The Bi-College News
The Haverford college newspaper was founded in in 1909 as the College Weekly. The plan was that The Haverfordian would devote its space to literary matters, while the College Weekly would focus on news. In 1914 the name was changed to The Haverford News and later simply The News. In 1968 the News merged with the Bryn Mawr paper to become the The Bryn Mawr-Haverford College News, also known as The Bi-College News, and has been published collaboratively ever since. College Weekly has been fully digitized and is available here. The Haverford News and The Bi-College News have been partially digitized. A digitized collection of all three newspapers is available here.

The Collegian
The Collegian was the paper of the Loganian Society, published from 1838 to 1883.

The Gem
The Gem was the literary paper of the Athenaeum Society, published from 1857 to 1887.

The Bud
The Bud was the literary journal of the Everett Society, published from 1858 to 1884.

Theses

Special Collections holds both senior/graduating theses dating back to the early years of the college as well as master's theses from the years in which the College awarded master's degrees.

Senior Theses
A list of theses available in Special Collections can be found at the link included. More recent theses are available via the institutional repository.

Master's Theses
Master's theses date from 1885 to 1973.

Student Organizations

Haverford has hundreds of student organizations, and even more which no longer exist. This list is by no means exhaustive, but includes some of the oldest student organizations on the campus as well as a sampling of collections from more recent organizations. Special Collections continues to collect materials from current student groups, many of which are represented in the archives.

Students' Council papers and minutes
Students' Council is an elected body. It sends representatives to the Board of Managers, distributes funding for activities, and generally advocates for students on campus. Archival materials cover the years 1915 through the present, although some gaps may be present.
Honor Council papers
The Honor Council handles administrative matters related to the honor code, including resolving conflicts and convening trials. Materials cover 1942 to the present.
Haverford Loganian Society
Founded in 1834, the Longanian Society was a literary society, a popular type of organization on college campuses at the time. It was dedicated to cultivating "sound learning in disciplining the mind and maturing the understanding" of students, and was open to all students and faculty. They founded their own library and museum, and published a periodical called The Collegian. Materials in Special Collections cover the years 1834 to 1899. In 1899, the Loganian was transformed into a debating society.
The Everett Society
The Everett Society was a literary society founded in 1858. At the time of its founding, Quakers frowned on the reading popular fiction. This led the Everett Society to develop a secret collection of historical, adventure, and romance novels. They also published The Bud, a manuscript newspaper. Materials in Special Collections cover the years 1858 to 1885. In 1889 the Everett Society merged with its rival the Athenaeum Society.
The Athenaeum Society
The Athenaeum was established by students in 1855 for the purpose of "cultivating in themselves a correct taste for literature and a love for scientific pursuits." Its literary journal, The Gem, was first issued in 1857. It was a rival of the Everett Society until the two merged in 1889. Materials in Special Collections cover through 1934.
Women of Color Group records
The Women of Color Group was formed with the intention of being a support system for women of color students at Haverford College in the early 1990s. The group published a literary magazine entitled "...And the Colored Girls Go...", organized conferences and symposia, engaged in lettering writing campaigns, and sponsored lectures among other activities. Members of the Women of Color Group helped lead protests for racial justice on Haverford's campus during spring semester 1993. The group was closely associated with Haverford's Women*s Center.
Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA) records
Sexuality and Gender Alliance (SAGA) was a Haverford club for students of the LGBTQ community that emerged out of an earlier group known as the Bisexual, Gay, and Lesbian Alliance (BGALA) around 2001. SAGA was active on campus until the late 2010s. The College Archives also holds records from BGALA and its predecessor, the Gay People's Alliance (GPA). Some of these materials have been digitized.
Haverford College South Asian Society collection
The Haverford College South Asian Society aims to increase the awareness and presence of South Asian culture and heritage at Haverford. This is a born-digital collection from the late 2010s and early 2020s.

Images

Photographs
Photographs covering a wide range of the history of Haverford College are available in Special Collections. Some photographs have been digitized and are available in our digital repository (see link in the finding aid). Photographs show student life, athletics, classes, faculty, and events.
Artifacts
Haverford College artifacts include trophies, commemorative plates, athletic memorabilia, medals, buttons, and pins.

Athletics

Athletic Annual
The Haverford College Athletic Annual was published from 1894 to 1902 as a yearly review of athletics.
Audio-Visual Materials
These materials include tapes of athletic events (many in formats which may not be easily accessible) and photographs. Contact hc-special@haverford.edu for more information.
Athletic records
The collection consists of materials pertaining to athletics at Haverford College. It contains a run of the Haverford College Bulletin that includes the yearly review of Haverford athletics from 1903 to 1968.
Athletic Cabinet minutes (1913-1927)
The Haverford College Athletic Cabinet was composed of appointed and elected members and was organized to facilitate the "harmonious co-operation of the various college athletic organizations" and host visiting alumni "whenever opportunity presents." Five of the twelve members were captains of the football, gymnasium, soccer, track, and cricket teams.