User:Lauren015/sandbox

Background about the Founder
The first step in Sophia Jex-Blake's journey to obtaining entry into a medical program was by requesting permission from Professor JJ Balfour, who served as the Dean of the Medical Faculty, to participate in the University of Edinburgh Medical College’s summer classes. Following this request, the faculty at the University voted to determine the fate of Blake and future women’s admission into their medical program. On one hand, she received support in her pursuit of medical education as long as women were educated solely in the field of obstetrics and gynecology. However, other faculty members were opposed to allowing females to study medicine on the foundation of intellectual inferiority. One such individual was Robert Christison, who believed that allowing women to study medicine would diminish the quality of the medical field because women were not only less intelligent than men, but also too fragile to endure the rigorous coursework demanded by such a profession. In spite of some opposition to Sophia Jex-Blake’s request, the faculty vote ended in favor of her admission to the program.

The admission of Sophia Jex-Blake into the University of Edinburgh Medical College did not go without controversy and upheaval from university attendees. After the initial vote granted Jex-Blake admission to the program, Claud Murihead, who worked with the Royal Infirmary, brought forward an appeal to overturn the decision. Backed by a petition signed by approximately 200 students, Murihead’s appeal resulted in a reversal of the decision to admit Jex-Blake. The argument that led to the decision was that men and women should be educated separately, and thus providing courses for a single female student would be inefficient and financially unconscionable.

The fight did not end there, however. During the appeal, Jex-Blake was represented by David Masson, who was both a friend and advocate of her cause. Masson argued that the cost of educating men and women separately could be offset by increasing the number of women enrolled. With a greater number of female medical students, the University would have the resources to provide separate courses for women without producing a financial headache. David Russel, who edited a local newspaper called the Scotsman, was a friend to Jex-Blake and published the story regarding the admissions debate as well as Masson’s proposed solution. Inspired by Jex-Blake, more women applied to the University of Edinburgh Medical College.

The "Edinburgh Seven"
After over a decade of refusing to admit women into their medical school, some lecturers at the Extramural School in Edinburgh accepted women into their classes. The “Edinburgh Seven,” consisting of Sophia Jex-Blake, Isabel Thorne, Edith Pechey, Matilda Chaplin, Helen Evans, Mary Anderson, and Emily Bovell were the first women to be admitted into the medical program in 1869. However, acceptance into the program was just the beginning of the challenges they would face. The Edinburgh Seven were charged higher fees than their male counterparts, as a result of smaller class sizes. In addition, while the University had granted their faculty the permission to teach women, it was not a requirement. Professors could refuse to teach female students if they felt it necessary to do so. As a result, these women had to arrange classes on their own instead of being assigned courses by the University program.

Inspiration for Establishment
As the opportunity to receive a medical education became increasingly available to women in Edinburgh and abroad, Jex-Blake was inspired to establish her own medical college for female students. Dr. Jex-Blake's first step in this endeavor was to notify the National Association for Promoting the Medical Education of Women of her desire to open a school that offered a medical education exclusively to women. However, before she was granted permission to do so by the Association, Jex-Blake began reaching out to potential students and publicizing her medical program. Sophia Jex-Blake's intention for this establishment was to cater to the local community in Edinburgh. Thus, she did not include the price of housing in the proposed cost of tuition and books, as it was assumed that most students would be residents in the Edinburgh area and would be living at home.