ABSTRACT
We alumni and alumnae of the colleges are the only permanent presence that corresponds to the aristocracy in older countries. We have continuous traditions, as they have; our motto, too, is noblesse oblige; and, unlike them, we stand for ideal interests solely, for we have no corporate selfishness and wield no powers of corruption. We ought to have our own class-consciousness. “Les Intellectuels!” What prouder clubname could there be than this one. . . . (William James, addressing the Association of American Alumnae at Radcliffe College, 1907)
