The Early Years 1965-1974
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Pioneering of the Simon Fraser University Daycare: The Early Years 1965-1974 by Barbara Bates M.A. (Liberal Studies), Simon Fraser University 2012 B.A. (Anthropology), Simon Fraser University, 2008 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences © Barbara Bates 2019 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2019 Copyright in this work rests with the author. Please ensure that any reproduction or re-use is done in accordance with the relevant national copyright legislation. Approval Name: Barbara Bates Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Title: Pioneering of the Simon Fraser University Daycare: The Early Years 1965-1974 Examining Committee: Chair: Helen Leung Professor Lara Campbell Senior Supervisor Professor Dara Culhane Supervisor Professor Department of Sociology and Anthropology Ellie Stebner Internal Examiner Associate Professor Department of Humanities Eryk Martin External Examiner Faculty Member Department of History Kwantlen Polytechnic University Date Defended/Approved: December 13, 2018 ii Ethics Statement iii Abstract Simon Fraser University opened in September 1965 and from the very beginning, a significant number of students arrived with their children in tow. Children present on university campuses was not the norm in the 1960s and this phenomenon presented administrations with unexpected challenges. At Simon Fraser University the arrival of preschool children needing daycare, accompanied by parents, some of whom were political and part of the burgeoning student movement, some of whom were liberationists and part of the campus women’s movement, some of whom were faculty arriving with the promise of childminding, and some of whom were simply student/parents desperately in need of daycare; but not just any daycare. What united students, faculty, and staff, all arriving with children at Simon Fraser University, was the need to have accessible campus daycare with an unprecedented high standard of care and education, overseen by the parents involved, and without external interference. In the 1960s this is not how daycare was perceived, delivered, or administrated and to achieve this innovative horizon, SFU parents had to petition, demonstrate, sit-in, occupy, protest, and defy authority. The Simon Fraser Daycare Movement was as significant and ground-breaking as the campus student movement and the women’s movement but it has remained undocumented in the condensed form that this thesis offers. Through archival material and oral histories, the early SFU Daycare Movement is acknowledged in this dissertation. This thesis contribution to the history of Simon Fraser University is important, offering new material about the SFU student body, the 1960s and early 1970s campus activity, and the emergence of childcare as a matter of excellence rather than maintenance. The Simon Fraser Childcare Society that exists on campus today, has its roots planted in the midst of 1960s radicalism. Keywords: Simon Fraser University; daycare; daycare movement; women’s movement; student movement; 1960s iv Dedication For Archie, Max, Eric, and Soren v Acknowledgments I would like to acknowledge a few outstanding professors at Simon Fraser University who helped me fulfil my academic goals. Many thanks to Dr. Lara Campbell (Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies) who accepted me as a PhD student and unfailingly offered support, advice, and encouragement, as my senior supervisor. Lara guided me right to the end of this academic journey and for that I am very grateful. A long standing gratitude goes to Dr. Dara Culhane (Department of Anthropology and Sociology) who inspired me in my undergraduate years, recommended me for a master’s degree undertaking in Graduate Liberal Studies, as well as for PhD research in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies, and also agreed to be part my PhD supervisory committee. Dr. Eleanor Stebner (Department of Humanities and Graduate Liberal Studies) was an exceptional graduate professor who opened new doors for me in my master’s studies. She referred me to the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies for PhD studies and initially acted as a supervisor and then examiner for my thesis defence. There are other exceptional professors to whom I am grateful. Dr. Stephen Duguid (Department of Graduate Liberal Studies and Humanities) accepted me as a master’s student in the department of Graduate Liberal Studies, remained supportive throughout, and recommended me for PhD studies. Thanks to Dr. Michael Kenny, (Department of Anthropology and Sociology) for recommending me to Graduate Liberal Studies. And thank you Dr. Jerry Zaslove (Department of English, Humanities, Graduate Liberal Studies, and School for Contemporary Arts) for always being there. vi Table of Contents Approval ............................................................................................................................ ii Ethics Statement ............................................................................................................... iii Abstract ............................................................................................................................ iv Dedication ......................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................ vi Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. vii List of Figures................................................................................................................... ix List of Abbreviations .......................................................................................................... x Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 Historical Background ....................................................................................................... 4 Methodology.................................................................................................................... 28 Academic Contributions .................................................................................................. 37 Chapter Overview ........................................................................................................... 44 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 47 Chapter One Babysitting services for dentists’ wives? SFU Daycare from 1965 to 1968 .............................................................................................................. 48 Student Identity within Emerging Movements ................................................................. 48 SFU and the Dawning of the Social Shift ........................................................................ 50 Early Days: The Student Movement and Women’s Liberation at Simon Fraser University ........................................................................................................................................ 58 Women in the SFU Student Movement ........................................................................... 65 The Relationship between the VWC and the SFU Daycare Activists ............................. 70 Interconnections: Student Activism on the SFU Campus and the Student Body ............ 80 Chapter Two The Early SFU Daycares: Snake Hill and The Family Co-op Daycare .............................................................................................................. 88 Snake Hill ........................................................................................................................ 89 June 1968 Student Sit-in and the Beginning of the Family Co-op .................................. 93 Chapter Three Parents, Children, and Friends of the Family ................................ 104 Daycare on Campus ..................................................................................................... 104 Co-operative and Participatory Childcare Designed by SFU Parents ........................... 107 Accommodations and Compromise .............................................................................. 117 Photos ........................................................................................................................... 130 Chapter Four External Pressure and Internal Disruption for the Family Co-op: 1970 ............................................................................................................ 137 Focus on the SFU Daycare in a New Decade .............................................................. 137 Chapter Five From the Family Co-op to the Burnaby Mountain Daycare Society: Conflict, Regulation, and Diminishing Idealism (1971-1974) ......... 160 Mounting Need for Daycare Space and Regulation ...................................................... 160 More Trouble: Post-1973 Daycare ................................................................................ 183 vii Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 193 References ...........................................................................................................