During Mildred’s time in Iowa City, Halsey Hall was the women’s gymnasium, where Mildred participated in her athletic activities. In her article ‘Our Sardines’, Benson writes about how the women’s pool, then located in Halsey Hall, did not accommodate the popularity and success of women’s swimming. She wrote that if they cannot have adequate practice space, “they should at least be praised for the progress made in spite of handicap”.