1963 Crimson Article on Mt. Holyoke

Colleges and Universities A-Z Mount Holyoke College
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<p>
[QUOTE]
Mount Holyoke College: Isolation and Maternalism
Published On Wednesday, March 13, 1963 12:00 AM
By R. ANDREW BEYER
Have no fear, folks
Knew you'd be glad to hear, folks
We're under lock and key,
We've got security.
This verse form a dormitory song at Mount Holyoke College reflects, unfortunately, a great deal about this 125-year old women's college.</p>

<p>Mount Holyoke is located in South Hadley, Mass.-about 90 miles from Boston-in the Connecticut River Valley, which also contains the University of Massachusetts, Smith, and Amherst. Despite the proximity of these other schools, Holyoke suffers from a genuine case of isolation. The village of South Hadley is a quasi-mythical entity; it contains the College Inn, where you can go for a cup of coffee between classes; and Gleseman's Drug store, where you can go for a cup of coffee between classes. That's about all, and the neighboring city of Holyoke is not much more lively. Public transportation is notoriously insufficient, and any boy who goes to Mount Holyoke for a date without a car may well find himself stranded in South Hadley for a week end with little to do but take a long walk in the woods. Even communication tends to isolate Mount Holyoke; one girl ruefully noted that Amherset boys frequently prefer Smith girls because "it costs ten cents to call Northampton, but Holyoke is a forty-cent long distance call....

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Go here for the rest of it:
<a href="http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=128676%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=128676&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>That's funny stuff...yes, MHC is the more rural of the 5 colleges...and that's kinda where the relevancy ends...We have the PVTA that runs like a swiss train and rules about men in dorms etc. haven't existed for decades...we don't even have grad-students or adults living in the dorms like a lot of schools do...
The funny thing is, one of my former co-workers went to Boston University, where you have to get umpteen signatures just to have someone spend the night in your room...she was amazed at how lax the rules at MHC were about that sort of thing...in that, there were no rules for who could spend the night and when...It's funny how things like that change over time...</p>

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<p>I could be wrong, but I think the author of this commentary in the Harvard newspaper went on to become the horse racing writer for The New York Times for a generation.</p>

<p>I will share the story with my daughter, who is about to enter MHC and could not be more excited. Having just spent a weekend on campus meeting some of her future classmates, I think she will get a good chuckle out of this. Thanks for posting it!</p>

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<p>It's true, the PVTA system sucks. The bus doesn't usually run on schedule, and if you're looking to catch it, you'll have to show up ten minutes early, otherwise you might miss it.</p>

<p>South Hadley is a miserable, miserable place to be. You can take a shuttle to the Holyoke Mall or nearby Big Y for shopping or groceries, but it's only available on Thursdays and Fridays, and you'll have to buy a ticket for one dollar (this gives you either 1 hour at the Big Y, or 2 at the mall).</p>

<p>If you go to Mount Holyoke, bring a car with you. Otherwise, you're stuck in the middle of nowhere.</p>

<p>It also takes about half an hour to get to Amherst. Hampshire's the closest college, and it takes about 20 minutes to get to.</p>

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<p>I really don't think that the transportation system is that bad. If you ever need to go any where the PVTA is there and it really isn't that much of a pain......unless you have a firm aversion to public transportation and to paying $1 to ride in a private MHC van, everything is fine. Anything you need can be found in one of the surrounding towns, not a beach and sparkling clear waters though.....oh i forgot about upper lake! :) </p>

<p>K: if you are planning to transfer to Dartmouth then maybe you should just calm down and stop disheartening the future members of our MHC community.</p>

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<p>Claps and Snaps for MHCstudent!
I'm glad to see that someone isn't allowing this deluge of MoHo negativity to continue! No single school or institution is the best fit for everyone! But Mount Holyoke IS a fantastic school with a lot to offer many young women! My two younger sisters and myself have become MoHos over the past several years (and my younger cousin will join the tradition in the fall!). Like anything else, it's what you make of it!</p>

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<p>hey shupafry.. do us all a favor and stop with the negative posts. just because you have had a bad college experience so far doesn't mean you need to bring your bad sentiments to the incoming class of 2010. </p>

<p>you knew before you came to mt.holyoke that it was in the middle of nowhere and if your more of a city kind of gal you should have chosen another college. and IF you didn't know the location then that was just bad research on your part.</p>

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<p>hey, shupafry just represents one perspective on the mhc experience...not all her posts have been negative, and if she really feels this way about the college she chose, perhaps she's worth listening to. Granted, deposits just went out, and we don't want to hear anything bad about our chosen school. But there's no need to attack another poster (I know, I was avoiding using that phrase) because of that.</p>

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<p>feels this way about the college she chose, perhaps she's worth listening to]]]</p>

<p>AG has a point. But let me add a bit of perspective. I will state up front, I'm biased. I love Holyoke. My daughter's good friend attends the college, and my two favorite aunts are alumnae. I lived in the area and miss it greatly. Having said that, yes, Holyoke is rural, however; no one has experienced rural until they visit Hamilton, Williams, Colgate, Colby and to a great degree Dartmouth</p>

<p>Colgate, Willliams, etc are not located anywhere near exciting towns such as Amherst and Northampton, not do they have the benefit of a 5 college consortium, which adds another 30,000 students to the social mix, if you get my drift :)</p>

<p>All the aforementioned colleges have a significantly lower attrition rate than LACs in general, which translates, imo, to very content students, Holyoke included. </p>

<p>I have friends who attended Colgate, Hamilton, Wiliams and Dartmouth. Not only did they love their college experiences regardless of the absence of any real town (Hanover and Williamstown aren't much)~ they would attend their respective alma maters again without a thought. Well over 90++% of the Holyoke alumnae feel the same way.</p>

<p>Something else few ever seem to think about is safety. I have a friend who is a prof at an Ivy. She's informed me there is a huge issue with armed robberies and other drug related crimes. The U very aptly squelches the problem, as it effects recruiting--not where I want my daughter.</p>

<p>They don't call the Pioneer Valley "Happy Valley" without good reason. Ignoring S Hadely (yup, there are sucky parts) you couldn't find a safer area or more eclectic and enjoyable towns to enjoy during your college years.</p>

<p>Another wonderful advantage to rural areas are the amazing places to cycle, hike, picnic or relax in a secluded cove, my fav :)</p>

<p>A must visit. <a href="http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/quabbin.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/quabbin.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Gongrats to the class of 2010. You'll love your 4 years.
And if you see an ol' gezz flying through campus on a road bike ( I visit the area) wave. ;)</p>