Two noteworthy traditions characterized engin-
eering student life in the 1970s. One was the annual
set of freshmen rituals, which encompassed many
activities including the Lady Godiva ride and the
freshmen parade. Lady Godiva was the name
given to a tradition that began each academic
year in which engineering students hired a scantily
clad woman to ride on a horse around campus.
Beer drinking was a major part of the festivities,
which allegedly ended with a male student having
sex with the woman. On these occasions, the few
women students including Gwen were warned by
some men not to attend because `the guys get
loaded up and get all horny and crazy and you're
just not safe there.' In the freshmen parade, all new
students were taught the traditional song which
symbolized their initiation into engineering student
life. Gwen reflects on the lyrics she sang in order to
be accepted and form `part of the gang':

`We are, we are, we are the engineers, We can, we can,
we can demolish 40 beers. Drink rum, drink rum,
drink rum, drink rum and come along with us . . .For
we don't give a damn for any damn man who don't
give a damn for us.'

This is hardly inspirational music or language, or
anything that one should aspire to as part of becom-
ing a whole and enlightened person. It's at a lower
level. It can be in some respects, considered fun, but
it's the lowest form of fun. There's nothing emotion-
ally, intellectually or psychologically uplifting. It
tends to pull one down in terms of consciousness.

"Women Engineering Graduates from the 1970s, 80s and 90s:
Constraints and Possibilities of a Non-Traditional Career Path*" by
SANDRA INGRAM

Gwen went to an unnamed North American university to study engineering
in 1971.

Retireved from here: https://www.ijee.ie/articles/Vol22-2/08_Ijee1739.pdf