of the sisters approached Saint Dunstans with a request to enrol. The two were accepted “after much begging.”

77w Saint Dunstans University campus in 1948

During 1938—39, two sisters took high school classes at Saint Dunstans, becoming the first women to enrol at the university. The following year, two more sisters became the first to enrol in university—level classes. However, they were hardly visible on campus. They took their meals and spent time between classes at the convent, and did not take part in any campus activities. The first sisters graduated in 1941, although they were never considered to be “official” students.

However, allowing religious sisters to attend Saint Dunstans did not commit the university to a policy of co—education; the sisters were there for diocesan purposes. As nuns, they were a known entity and were non— threatening. In 1942, Gertrude Butler, a lay female who had attended Prince of Wales College and who wanted to complete her degree, applied to Saint Dunstans. She wrote to the bishop and to the rector of the university asking that it be made co—educational. In late summer, just before classes were to begin, her request was granted.

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