Conclusion

State's Mates, despite its primary characterization as a social organization, maintained a strong civic foundation throughout its existence. The group's commitment to serving the NCSU and Raleigh communities via annual projects and smaller deeds closely aligns with larger trends regarding American women's engagement in civic activities in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Through their maternally-oriented notions of volunteerism, State's Mates was one of many groups of postwar women that challenged, transformed, and resisted the domestic stereotype through active civic participation.  By engaging in activities that mimicked the acts that they performed in the home, State's Mates was able to legitimize their public voice and make a deep impact on their surrounding communities. Furthermore, the construction of the university as a family-space, which was achieved through civic activities that directly targeted the campus, gave State's Mates the legitimacy that they needed to be a powerful voice on campus throughout the 1960s. The small projects that the group performed in the early days of the organization laid the groundwork for the greater visibility that the group had on campus during the 1960s.

Current research regarding the participation of women in social and civic organizations suggests that the peak of participation was in the mid-sixties. As the decade commenced, State's Mates became increasingly involved in larger-scale civic projects. This is consistent with the rise of other civic groups during this era, particularly among women. Like other women's organizations, members of State's Mates became involved in areas beyond the domain of domesticity in the form of volunteerism.  According to a 1965 survey, 22.3% of married women volunteered in some fashion, a number that is much higher than that of single women, as well as of married and single men. Women with some educational attainment and part time work experience were the most likely to devote time to volunteering; many State's Mates seem to fit this criteria, particularly in regards to part time work.  Especially for members that worked, State's Mates serves as a public outlet for the conceptions of womanhood related to nurturing and caretaking, two qualities that would not have been useful to the clerical positions that many student wives maintained.

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