My Skirt and Tandem Bike Story
An alumna of the class of 1969 recalls a rented tandem bike, a dress code that forbade jeans, and a quick change that ended in a meeting with a resident adviser who was a nun.
Rosemary Giordano McKinley, class of 1969, on her friends' small adventures, which she says were tame by today's standards. Students were not allowed to wear trousers or jeans, which became a problem on a rented tandem bike in Highland Falls. The two riders went back to the dorm to change, met their resident assistant, a nun, on the stairs, and talked their way past her raised eyebrows. Undated.
My fondest memories involve my friends and their fun-loving adventures. By today's standards these were pretty tame.
I have to mention that my group usually followed the rules. We were not rebels except in subtle ways. One time two of us were riding a rented tandem bike in Highland Falls. We were not allowed to wear trousers or jeans and this became problematic as our skirts were swirling up over our seats. We quickly returned to the dorm and up the stairs (no elevator) for stealth to change into jeans. Of course, as we were returning down the stairs we ran into our RA who was a nun. Her raised eyebrows said it all. I countered with my skirt and tandem bike story. She looked the other way!
I do believe that our easy going reputation assuaged the situation.
Rosemary Giordano McKinley
class of 1969
A few questions
What was the dress rule in this story?
Students were not allowed to wear trousers or jeans. That caused a problem when two friends rode a rented tandem bike in Highland Falls, because their skirts were swirling up over the seats.
How did the story end?
The two raced back to the dorm and up the stairs, which had no elevator, to change into jeans. On the way down they met their resident adviser, a nun, but after hearing the skirt and tandem bike story she looked the other way.
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