By Madeleine Dumais, Distribution and Social Media Editor
Think back to Tolo last weekend, you may or may not have gone but you likely know the tradition of women asking men to the dance and may wonder how this tradition began.
In December of 1909, nine women attending the University of Washington met on campus. They saw a problem in the way students were honored at the university: they had two honor societies for men, and none to honor women. The students agreed that they and their fellow female students deserved more recognition and a louder voice.
The group, led by Carrie Cowgill Thompson, met with Professor Edmond S. Meany to establish their new organization. According to the University of Washington’s Office of Research, Meany was, among many other credible aspects, a strong advocate of women’s higher education.
As the students pondered a name for their organization, Meany suggested the word “tolo.” Tolo is a Chinook word meaning to win or to earn, according to the Dictionary of the Chinook Jargon by George Gibbs. The women took on this name for their honor society.
The Tolo Club, as it was called, decided to offer scholarships to help deserving junior and senior women pay for their education and other college-related expenses. To build their scholarship fund, the Tolo Club decided to reverse the common patriarchal custom by having women ask the men to a dance. The announcement of the event was met with enthusiasm and shock. Some members of the community even found the idea to be scandalous.
Despite backlash, the dance turned out to be a huge hit. For many years afterwards, Tolo dances were a tradition at the University of Washington. They eventually spread to high schools throughout the area, including Vashon Island High School.
In 1925, the Tolo Club was invited and accepted to become the 32nd chapter of the Mortar Board, a national organization created in 1917 to bring together women’s honor societies. By 1975, their chapter had grown to include male honor students in order to comply with the Civil Rights Act.
The Tolo Club is still celebrated today at the University of Washington and within the national Mortar Board. In 2009, the Tolo Club received the highest honor for a college level chapter from the Mortar Board: the Ruth Weimer Mount Chapter Excellence Award. To this day the Tolo Club is celebrated at The University of Washington yet it has become much more than just a celebrated group at a college.
Tolo has a deep history, and is now a Pacific Northwest high school tradition. The word is often associated with a fun night of dancing with friends or a date, but the tradition of women asking men is still alive and well.