A Haverford First-Year's Perspective...

Colleges and Universities A-Z Haverford College
1

When I applied and got accepted into Haverford, I could have been a sales person for all potential applicants. Coming here after being set on Princeton, I fell in absolute love - enough that I never applied to Princeton or any other school for that matter. I got in here early decision.

I was thrilled, even after doing a weekend visit staying with a freshman in his dorm on campus. It was such a tight-knit community; after being there just two days, I walked across campus and people said hello to me. I didn’t even go to Haverford yet, imagine when I actually did!

Well, the first two months went great. I loved the small campus feel and the so-called “Haver-bubble.” And don’t get me wrong, I still do. But I recognize that this bubble does not exist in the real world. More importantly, I realize that Haverford is not the real world. This would be okay, except it seems that so many people on Haverford’s campus simply don’t recognize this.

I am certainly a liberal and a minority, but the degree of political correctness on this campus is stifling and intellectually-inhibiting. At the risk of sounding like an angry reviewer, I caution you not to call a group of people “You guys!” as you risk being called sexist for gendering the entire group, which may or may not be composed of all men.

I am all for respect and empathy, and I exhibit these characteristics in my own behavior. But what I fear is not being instilled in Haverford students is that respect can be hard to come by in the real world - particularly just steps off campus in the city of Philadelphia. It is a disservice to the students on this campus that venturing into the city is not as actively-encouraged or well-subsidized as one would expect (particularly given that the TWO nearest transit stations are both within a five minute walk from the center of campus).

Which brings me to the gross lack of exploration it seems that Haverford students are interested in pursuing. As a first-year student, I am easily in Center City, Philadelphia, three or more days a week. The SEPTA transit system was simple to master (and I come from a rural area without public transportation), quite inexpensive at $3.25 each way, and easily accessible from campus even in below freezing temperatures. Yet somehow when I tell people on campus what I am up to, they look at me like I have five heads: “That’s a lot of traveling, I could never do that…” 

I guess I had higher expectations for the people at Haverford. I expected curious, adventurous students who wanted to explore the culture-rich areas so close by and to learn from them. Instead, I found a student body more interested in theoretical education without much realistic application to the real world. Perhaps I am at fault in choosing a small liberal arts college.

Thankfully, and the reason why I give the college three stars, I have found so many opportunities - both social and academic - off-campus and have made a life that straddles the aspects of Haverford which I love and the aspects of the surrounding area which I love. Overall, I have had a wonderful time at Haverford thus far. 

My advice for applicants: If you fear you will probably get cloistered by a small campus, you probably will. Apply to Penn. If you are hell-bent on going to Haverford anyway, just be sure that you’re ready to make a greater effort to find a good social scene off-campus. If you can do that, I promise you won’t regret going to Haverford.

Reply with any questions if you want to know more!

2

Glad you get off campus. Your not the only Haverford student who does so. I know of many that do. I think it is normal at all colleges for students to spend the majority of time on campus or in close proximity (up and down Lancaster Ave in Haverford’s case). With a certain degree of academic rigor and the corresponding academic workload, plenty of EC and/or sports commitments, part-time work, etc., college kids everywhere stay pretty close to campus, especially in fully residential colleges like Haverford. It’s great you are “easily in Center City, Philadelphia, three or more days a week” but I think that is too high a threshold to expect from most students given other commitments and priorities. However, I do think many venture out weekly or a few times per month. Again, I don’t think this is unique to being a Haver-bubble as much as a college bubble.

Are you engaged in campus activities, work, sports? What brings you into Philly 3 or more times per week?

3

It’s an issue at many colleges that journalists are starting to address (see links). Heck, President Obama has expressed his concerns about it. If it bothers you, why not start a dialogue about it at Haverford? Work with a club or faculty to pull in a speaker to address it. Write an Op-Ed piece in the student newspaper. Start a pop-the-bubble or free speech club.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-free-speech-matters-on-campus-1463093280
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2016-05-19/politically-correct-culture-doesnt-let-college-students-learn-from-pain
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/09/what-it-looks-like-when-political-correctness-chills-speech-on-campus/497387/

4

It’s great that you get off campus and hurray for your adventurous spirit! Also, it’s great to be aware of how stifling (if well-intended) the sensitivity of language has become on some campuses. Understanding what is part of the “real” world and “bubble” world is also important.

As I was reading, I wondered if several of the students maybe weren’t used to using trains for transit? I’m from a city and figuring out subways buses and trains is second nature, but for people who grew up in cars and suburbs, it’s the exceptional person who can learn this new mode of transport. You’re the pathfinder here, literally and figuratively, for your classmates at Haverford. Give them time to learn and grow like you are doing so quicly. With patience they will do so too.

Meanwhile, I hope that you enjoy exploring the other campuses as well and the rest of your stay at Haverford.

5

@doschicos Of course, people definitely do get off campus. What I’m asserting is that - from my experience and point of view - a majority of people do not explore the culturally-rich surrounding area as much as I expected. I find that when I invite people (whether acquaintances or close friends) to join me in venturing off campus, they are hesitant because there is a perception that there is a lot of work involved in doing so. I don’t think this is wholly the students’ faults, but the school’s. There is no active encouragement to get students off campus (e.g. no dining dollars accepted off campus, no regular transit subsidies, no blue bus stop at train station that is on the regular route, etc.). My critique here is more of the school, and of the apathy displayed by students faced with this.

6

@Dustyfeathers As someone who is from a very rural area without any public transportation options nearby, I was certainly leery at first - especially in Philadelphia. Still, I expected that I would be joined by my fellow classmates in exploring the travel options and the great surrounding areas. I was let down in this respect, and find that this trend lasts even into the upper classes. Again, this is my experience of course!

7

The train station only takes 5 minutes to walk to, no need for a blue bus really.

The school actually does offer SEPTA tickets: https://forms.haverford.edu/view.php?id=228361

FAB, student activities board on campus, does offer free programming many times a semester to things like the ballet, Phillies games, museum events, etc. https://www.haverford.edu/student-activities-leadership/fab

I still argue that your 3+ times a week in Center City Philly is setting a high bar for most students involved on campus in various activities in addition to the academic load. What are you involved in on campus? Maybe you should get involved in FAB leadership and help plan events. :slight_smile:

8

Perhaps other students are taking a heavier load and don’t have that much time to spend on campus?

Maybe they have ECs on campus that keep them busy?

Or they just enjoy spending their free time on campus? I can understand that someone from a very rural area might want to get to the city often, but remember that not everyone feels the need to do so. It may not be fear or even apathy; people may just have other interests. I know kids who are going to urban colleges who don’t leave campus 3 times a week.

9

@doschicos

I’m assuming you go to Haverford as well, and that is why you are arguing so vigorously against me on this.

I know that FAB offers SEPTA tickets, but I’m suggesting something of a more comprehensive subsidy that would allow for regular travel into the city. All of the Center City colleges partner with SEPTA to provide such a subsidy so students can purchase discounted passes, and so does nearby Harcum and Neumann Colleges (albeit these are more commuter schools). Why shouldn’t Haverford at least consider something like this? Even still, the FAB tickets are limited to students who have a specific event to go to in the city - which is great but it is impromptu exploration that enables knowledge and understanding of a place.I’ve also participated in some of the events FAB offered, and the events are very limited in student capacity (matched by little demand).

My point is not to fault students who don’t leave campus. Again, I’m more critiquing the school’s ineffectiveness in encouraging off-campus exploration. Even if they are not going to encourage it, they should at least make it more convenient. Part of a liberal arts education should be experiencing people other than those secluded on such a small, privileged college campus.

As for ECs, this is a non-factor in the problem. Can a student not go to school, work, do ECs, and make time for personal enjoyment? I don’t see why this question keeps arising; I make time for all of these things.

10

Nope. But I know many people who do/did and am fairly familiar with the school.

I’m not arguing with you “vigorously”. I’m just providing a counterpoint to your discussion and pointing out a different viewpoint based on my knowledge of those I know who do attend and how they use their time as well as the resources available to the student body.

Honestly, your initial post did read as a criticism of your fellow students: “Which brings me to the gross lack of exploration it seems that Haverford students are interested in pursuing.” “Yet somehow when I tell people on campus what I am up to, they look at me like I have five heads: “That’s a lot of traveling, I could never do that…” 

I guess I had higher expectations for the people at Haverford. I expected curious, adventurous students who wanted to explore the culture-rich areas so close by and to learn from them. Instead, I found a student body more interested in theoretical education without much realistic application to the real world.”

You’ve modified your position since your initial post.

One of the great things about Haverford is its small size and student directed and run governance, much more so than the vast majority of colleges. Students control and decide on how resources and funding are utilized. Perhaps you should discuss your wish for discounted passes with the student body as a whole and student leaders specifically. The small size of school and student control would make it fairly easy to seek an audience for your proposal and increase the likelihood of it getting enacted. There is very, very little red tape at the school and much student driven programming and initiatives, new ones all the time.

FAB events I am aware of in past years have had quite a lot of demand and have been well attended. Again, get involved and make some changes you wish to see. As a first year student, underclassmen like yourself are needed to keep things going and who better than someone like you who has taken advantages of Philly’s resources and is familiar with what is offered?

I don’t think SEPTA tickets are that hard to apply for. Want to go to First Friday events? Put that down. Want to go to the Barnes? Put that down. Not too hard. Find your request not approved? What a great opportunity to use it to broach a policy change or implementing a discounted pass system.

Some people’s personal enjoyment is spent on campus. My point in asking your ECs is to see 1) how engaged you are on campus that you find time to go into Philly 3+ times a week and why others might not have that free time (again, I don’t think most students find themselves with that much free time - classes, studying, working, sports practices daily, games home and away, other assorted activities, laundry, on campus parties and concerts) and 2) to indicate that you could get involved by, as the cliched expression goes, “being the change you want to see in the world”. Haverford is very much driven by student led governance. Be a part of it. I hope you are voicing your concerns and solutions on campus to the appropriate channels. The FAB board in the link above would be a good place to start.

11

@haverboi , I too read your post as somewhat negative.

Your adventurous spirit is (IMO) more and more rare these days. Why go see the world when you have it all on your laptop/phone (if I were to drastically oversimplify a criticism of today’s college aged population)?

Forget Haverford…I’m willing to bet you half of the Freshman at Penn haven’t crossed the river (3 blocks away). I think you would be an outlier on any college campus. Some of its lazy, but a lot of it is not knowing how to do it or paying attention to what’s going on.

To @doschicos point…why not offer your know how and excitiement to others in the community and organize something on campus? Start a club / activity and get people organized to go enjoy the vast opportunities a train / bus ride away. If you really dig in, organizing travel (a school van…?) might tip the scale for those a bit concerned with transportation.

If you’re not happy with the community…change it. In the meantime, appreciate that others with less interest or ability need your help, not your criticism.

12

At any school, even those where the city is at its doorstep, freshman tend to spend more time on campus than do seniors. Campus is novel at the beginning. Meeting classmates is a priority. Figuring out how to balance academics, athletics, ECs, etc. takes students time. The city is less of a pull. And cost is often a factor as well - free event on campus vs. train tix, entry to event, etc.

Based on what I’ve seen at your school and others, you’ll have more company as time passes. Students who choose small schools often do so because they’re interested in building and being in community. When the community is looking for its urban tour guide, be prepared to step up!

13

Doesn’t Haverford have a program where you can take some classes at Penn? Maybe that would be the best of both worlds for you. Some students who are from hectic big cities may enjoy the slower pace and the bubble atmosphere. My daughter took Haverford and Swarthmore off her list after visiting them because they were too isolated feeling to her her even though they are near Philly. She is looking at schools in big cities like U Chicago, Rice, etc.

14

My daughter is also a first year at Haverford. She told me the other day that applying there ED was the best decision she has ever made in her life. She loves the sense of community she feels with both students and professors. She didn’t spend too much time off of campus during her first semester as she concentrated on her studies and her library job and just getting to bond with the wonderful group of people in her customs group, as well as other classmates. She did walk over to Suburban Square in Ardmore at least once a week and loves that there is a Whole Foods close by. She did take the train into Philly for the final Democratic Presidential Rally the night before the election and said it was an amazing experience. She’s also gone in with a group of friends for dinner a few times. She loves that she can get on the train and be in NYC in an hour and a half and spent fall break and Thanksgiving break in the city. She has told me that her fellow students are among the kindest, smartest, most thoughtful and conscientious people she has ever met. As a parent, I couldn’t be any more pleased about her experience at Haverford thus far.

15

Just a few other thoughts on opportunities/options to engage off campus to through out there:

Speaking of politics, in recent years Haverford has been good about arranging buses to get students to rallies and marches along the Northeast corridor such as the Climate March that took place in NYC a few years back and various marches in DC.

Eight Dimension is the very active community service organization on campus both in terms of Service Days and ongoing, regular volunteer work. With its Quaker roots and focus on community, community involvement is an integral part of life at Haverford. You can check out the wide range of options here: https://www.haverford.edu/eighth-dimension

The Outing Club, HAVOC, arranges occasional outings including week long hiking trips during Fall, as well as rafting, rock climbing, and ski trips.
https://blogs.haverford.edu/haverblog/2016/11/17/off-campus-and-out-of-doors/
https://www.haverford.edu/organization/haverford-outdoors-club

16

haverboi, I know that this is not adding anything new to this conversation and that I’m a bit late to the conversation in the first place, but I just wanted to say that you’re not the only one (in regards to your position on Haverford’s PC culture). I’m also a freshman at 'Ford and also applied ED and similarly witness firsthand everyday the absurd degree of political correctness that pervades campus life. To call it intellectually-stifling would be to severely understate it. What I want you to know is that you’re not the only one who feels this way. I’m a political centrist (a right-winger by Haverford standards) and there is NEVER an appropriate avenue to express my views. I can’t even have casual conversations about my feelings about politics without fear of the PC thought police coming after me. What I’m telling you is: we may be the minority, we may even be silent (though not by choice), but we exist.

17

@haverboi - This is a very good thread. I just had a few points to raise:

  1. When we visited Haverford, my kids did not like it very much. While they are looking for an intellectual school, the kids that they met at Haverford seemed too “ivory tower” (their words) as they thought that the HC students seemed to too intellectual and not well-rounded. It looks like they were not too far off base. One thing that turned them off was that most freshman lived in singles which they might inhibit the social atmosphere in the dorms;

  2. I think that part of the problem is that many freshmen are not generally comfortable with going off campus during first semester. With many kids they do not go off campus until they are juniors and start doing internships, as able to drink in bars, etc

  3. Why don’t you try to get some of your friends to come with you into Center City at least occasionally. That will give you companionship and help these kids out of their Main Line Bubble. There is a ton of stuff to do in Philly from theatre, music, museums, historical sites, Phillies games, etc. You may have to figure out which kids would be interested in different activities.

Good luck.

18

@haverboi Other posters have commented with good suggestions about how you might take the initiative to create the opportunities and social groups you seek. Great advice!

But individual preferences will vary. Some people don’t like cities. When I was exploring colleges for myself, years ago, I did not look at Haverford (due to skewed boy-girl ratio with Bryn Mawr girls in the mix; I am female; my son likes Haverford partly for the same reason!) but I did look at Swarthmore as a suburban LAC. I went to Williams, a rural school. I did not want an urban college. I grew up 90 minutes from Manhattan and went into the city maybe once every two years as a child. Now I live 60 minutes from Manhattan and I bring my family in maybe about twice a year; once for my young niece’s birthday party (husband’s brother’s family lives in Manhattan) and once for a cultural type of visit (show, museum, or park). I lived in Manhattan while I went to graduate school at Columbia… and personally, living in a city was not for me.

So, no doubt, Haverford attracts some people who want a quiet suburban existence and aren’t seeking city life. And colleges like Haverford provide lots of on-campus events and opportunities.

So not everyone shares your interests, and that does not mean anything negative about either them or you. But, with a little bit of initiative, I bet you can find many who do share your interests!

19

We visited Haverford as well as several liberal arts colleges this summer. All of them seemed fabulous but the politically correct (i.e. authoritarian leftist) politics were apparent. I found Haverford, Smith, and Wellesley to be at the top of that pile among the schools we visited. I would not take the bait (advice) to start a “pop the bubble” groups as you are likely to be excoriated.

20

My daughter is a very happy and busy Junior at Haverford. She has a full, rigorous courseload, 3 campus jobs and plays a club sport. She grew up in New York City, a real city kid riding subways and walking everywhere. She loves the quiet at Haverford and since she lived 18 years in a major city views her time in the Haverbubble as a wonderful respite from the urban hustle at home.