Toth, Elizabeth Betsy A

Description

Elizabeth 'Betsy' Toth (1940- ) graduated in 1963 from Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, now The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. After graduating, she worked in the entertainment industry in New York City, the nonprofit field in Alexandria, Virginia, and the theater in Washington, DC. In 1980, Toth moved to Washington, Virginia, where she is an art tile potter. Toth had never been to North Carolina before coming to Woman's College upon the recommendation of her high school counselor. She recalls the influence that professors Warren Ashby, Richard Bardolph, John Beeler, Arthur Dixon, Randall Jarrell, Eugene Pfaff, and Robert Watson had on her. Toth talks about living in New Guilford Residence Hall with a group of non-conformist students called 'Black Stocking Girls,' campus dress code, and working on various theater productions. She recalls learning about the 1960 Greensboro Sit-ins at Woolworth's from fellow student Lily Wiley, participating in the Sit-ins; being intimidated by a white customer holding a stick at the Sit-ins, meeting with Dean Katherine Taylor, and being threatened with expulsion by the college administration for her Sit-ins participation. Toth also mentions fellow students Ann Dearsley, Marilyn Lott, and Eugenia 'Genie' Seaman, who participated in the Sit-ins.

Record Contributed By

University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Record Harvested From

North Carolina Digital Heritage Center