Hi! I really like Mount Holyoke from what I read online, but one of my friends is an Arab, and when she visited MoHo, she said she was treated very badly. No one wanted to be in the same room as her, answering her questions was a burden, and one student tried to convince her that her racial and cultural identity was wrong (i.e. trying to convince her she was American even though she wasn’t even born here, trying to tell her she’s middle eastern even though she’s from Morocco). Personally, I’m not Arabic, I’m Hispanic, but I don’t think I would fit in with a student body that’s so ignorant and thinks it’s okay to treat people like that. However, I understand that some sort of external factors at the time may have fueled their attitudes and she may have just talked to the wrong people. I definitely want to visit, but I don’t know if I’d be able to until after I apply. This is really disappointing to hear about because I love what I’ve learned about Mount Holyoke and it was actually an email about HackHolyoke that convinced me to look more into computer science (now my intended major), but as someone also interested in international relations and a POC who will likely attend a predominantly white LAC, this kind of stuff is also really important to me. So, I’m asking any MoHo students, how much of this kind of behavior have you encountered during your time there? Please be honest.
I’m neither a POC or a Muslim, but I find what your friend was exposed to to be absolutely shocking. That’s pretty much the polar opposite from the Mount Holyoke I know, where people are pretty committed to making sure everyone feels comfortable with expressing themselves - this is home for us, and no-one should feel excluded from the community. The idea that someone would be that nasty to a prospie is pretty much anathema to everything I’ve experienced here. I suspect that there was a miscommunication between what your friend felt was about her and what was actually going on. I’m not trying to invalidate what your friend experienced - just understand that this is really bizarre to me, since it’s so beyond the pale. To the feeling of unfriendliness: when did your friend visit? People can be stressed out during midterm season and especially close to the end of the semester; it’s possible your friend interpreted general exhaustion as being about her. I know I certainly felt very aware of that kind of thing when I visited college campuses, but it’s often not really about you, the visitor, but more about the general mood on campus at that point in time. As for the specific comments made about your friend’s culture, I can’t really speak to that. There are people on campus who aren’t very well educated about these issues -that is also true at pretty much every other school in the world. I will tell you that the administration and faculty go out of their way to promote open education and dialogue about race. For example, there was a series of dialogues at the beginning of the semester this year about how we talk about race, and its implications. The common read for several years in a row has been about race.
Is it perfect? Of course not, as your friend found out. But it is a wonderful school, and I urge you not to base your opinion of MHC on one bad experience. I also think you should try to visit. Whether or not the campus will appeal is very personal.
My daughter (Muslim) goes to MHC and she has not faced any racism or negative vibes. I have visited the college on acceptance day and also to drop her to dorm and I found the staff and other students extremely friendly and welcoming. There are plenty of Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and other students at MHC and I also urge to not base your opinion on one bad experience. It is a very diverse and welcoming community.
The description does not match the Mount Holyoke I know. I attended a reception for students entering Mount Holyoke this year and met a sophomore student from Morocco. She loves Mount Holyoke. She learned about it while accompanying a visitor to Morocco from the college and was convinced to apply! She had never heard of it before.