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Katey Watson

Sep 28, 2026

8:24
Tell us about the significance of her wearing trousers and what that meant to the women at Purdue at the time.
8:31
It was pretty typical for female pilots to wear them while flying, but she wore them off-plane all the time as well.
8:38
On campus, she'd wear her slacks here, and as you mentioned, it was pretty atypical at the time.
8:43
We have video interview with Dean Emerita Dorothy Stratton, who was Dean of Women at the time that Earhart was here, and she recalls that when Amelia started here, she'd be seen wearing trousers across campus, and then women students would start wearing trousers on campus as well, which was really not typical at the time.
9:04
There were some other great stories that she recounts as well, just like Amelia's influence on students on campus, particularly women students.
9:12
When she was here, she stayed at Dewees Residence Hall, and in some of the residence halls, they'd have these formal dinners all together.
9:19
During the dinners, women students weren't allowed to have their elbows on the table.
10:23
Wow.

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