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Alumnae react to decision for all-women’s college to go coed

ST. MARY-OF-THE-WOODS, Ind. (AP) – Nearly 200 graduates of the all-women’s Catholic St. Mary-of-the-Woods College in western Indiana participated in a meeting about the school’s decision to enroll its first male undergraduates this fall.

About 100 people attended in person and 99 watched a live stream of Thursday’s closed meeting that only was for alumnae. Members of the school’s administration, board of trustees and congregation of Catholic women also attended the meeting.

Dr. Rita Mankus, a 1982 graduate of the school, told the (Terre Haute) Tribune-Star after the meeting that she better understands the school’s decision to go coed.

But other alumnae still disagree with the change. Corianna Frederick, a 2015 graduate, says she doesn’t think it’s going to be the same school.

School officials said that the reasons behind the switch partly were financial.