a plan to divide women and men into separate classes at the college. Low, along with Louise Coburn and 17 other women who had graduated from Colby, sent a petition protesting the move. The letter declared, "The issue is not whether men and women can recite together, whether men and women shall study this or that. It is simply the issue whether the men are willing to take the risk of having women surpass them in scholarship." Although Low wrote the letter, she wrote it in a way to make it appear that Coburn had, since Coburn came from a prominent family and Low did not. In the end, Colby did not go back to being officially coeducational until 1969. However, in honor of her achievements, Colby presented her with an honorary doctorate in 1916. By 1924, the school's student body consisted of two-thirds women, a fitting testimonial to Low's pioneering attitude for the school. Personal life After graduation, Low married Leonard D. Carver, who became the Maine state librarian in Augusta, and she became a schoolteacher. She grew interested in the field of library science and then became a librarian herself, beginning the first card catalogue of the Maine State Library. She was also an accomplished writer. Her daughter, Ruby, was initiated into the Alpha chapter at Colby. Ruby Carver Emerson became National President of Sigma Kappa in 1935-36. Low was always interested in the future of her sorority. The chapter minutes of the 1880s and 1890s frequently refer to the choosing of delegates to travel to the town of Augusta to consult Mrs. Carver on everything from the selection of furniture to the decision to extend Sigma Kappa beyond Colby. Later in life, Low lived with her daughter in Cambridge, Massachusetts and delighted Boston Sigma Kappas with her wit. She offered toasts at the joint Delta/Omicron chapter initiation banquets. Mary was hearing-impaired, but she read lips so well that few recognized her deafness. She died March 4, 1926, at the age of 75. Legacy Today, Sigma Kappa presents the Mary Caffrey Low Award to the most outstanding alumnae chapter in a college community. In addition, Colby College has honored her achievements by naming a residence hall, the Mary Low Residence Hall, after their first female graduate. The hall features the Mary Low Coffeehouse, a coffee shop that hosts poetry readings and open mic nights and serves as a