In 1890, 20 years after the first woman was permitted to enroll in the University, women at the University of Michigan banded together to form the Women’s League. This organization worked to promote and empower womanhood on the University campus (1). At this time, women were not allowed to enter the Michigan Union unaccompanied by a man (a concept quite puzzling as women have the same two feet and legs as men, but I digress). This led the Women’s League to start working towards securing funds for a women’s building in February 1921 (2). On June 18, 1927, a groundbreaking ceremony took place and less than two years later, the building, named The Michigan League, was formally opened on May 4, 1929.

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        The Michigan League consisted of a theater, ballroom, dining rooms, and lounges--very similar to the layout we know and love today. Several rooms in the building were named after prominent women of the University, including the Women’s League first president Ethel Hussey, and one of the spearheads of the Michigan League project Mary Barton Henderson (2). The Michigan League began a new era of freedom for womanhood at the University of Michigan. Female students were now given a place to congregate and socialize away from the pressures of a highly gender-segregated campus. In addition, the Women’s League organization now had a homebase where they could practice female-only extracurricular activities, including the Junior Girls’ Play--a theater production group that performed a musical each year (1). The Michigan League was only one of the first step towards greatly gender equality on campus, but one that has made a lasting impact on the University and its culture.