Everything about Mount Holyoke College totally explained
Mount Holyoke College is a
liberal arts women's college in
South Hadley,
Massachusetts. Originally founded by
Mary Lyon as
Mount Holyoke Female Seminary on
8 November,
1837, it's the "first of the
Seven Sisters" and is
the oldest continuing institution of higher education for women in the
United States. In addition, according to the
United States Department of Education, "Mount Holyoke’s significance is that it became a model for a multitude of other women’s colleges throughout the country."
Mount Holyoke is also part of the
Pioneer Valley's
Five Colleges, along with
Amherst College,
Smith College,
Hampshire College, and the
University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Overview
Mount Holyoke has a student population of 2,100. Students come from "48 states and nearly 70 countries. One in three students is an
international citizen or
African American,
Asian American,
Latina,
Native American, or
multiracial. Thirty-three percent of incoming first-year students were in the top five percent of their high school classes".
Mount Holyoke has been part of the
SAT optional movement for undergraduate admission since 2001.
Mount Holyoke is a leader in producing
Fulbright scholars. It also counts among its
alumnae recipients of the Churchill, Datatel, Congress-Bundestag, Goldwater,
Rhodes,
Gates Cambridge, and
Marshall scholarships and fellowships. The most popular graduate schools attended by MHC alumnae are
Harvard,
Yale,
Columbia,
Tufts,
Penn,
Stanford,
Berkeley, and
Georgetown. Students looking for work directly after graduation have "direct access to 1300+ corporations and organizations" such as
New York Metropolitan Opera,
ESPN,
MTV,
NPR,
Google,
Microsoft,
Teach For America,
Goldman Sachs,
Peace Corps,
Harvard University (health/medicine),
Smithsonian,
Boston Globe,
Disney Publishers, and the National Economic Research Associates.
Named after nearby
Mount Holyoke, it's a member of the
Pioneer Valley's
Five Colleges Consortium, the
Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges, the
Annapolis Group, and the
Oberlin Group. It was a part of the
The New College Plan. It is currently a part of
The Consortium on Financing Higher Education and
The Knowledge Corridor.
Notable people
The main article provides a list of individuals associated with Mount Holyoke through attending as a student, or serving as a member of the faculty or staff.
Campus and student life
The 800 acre campus was designed and landscaped between 1896 and 1922 by the landscape architecture firm of Olmsted and Sons. Frederick Law Olmsted designed Central Park in New York City and Congress Park in Saratoga Springs, New York (among other notable outdoor projects). In addition to the Mount Holyoke College Botanic Garden, the grounds feature two lakes, several waterfalls, tennis courts, stables and woodland riding trails, all surrounding Skinner Green (the grassy lawn in the center of campus). Skinner Green is framed by traditional ivy-covered, brownstone Neo-Gothic dormitories, Skinner Hall and the social hub, Blanchard Student Center. The campus is also home to the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum which is part of the Five College Museums/Historic Deerfield and the Museums10.
The Odyssey Bookshop (a fixture in South Hadley for over 40 years), resides directly across from the campus in the college-owned Village Commons, which contains a collection of locally owned shops and eateries. A little further away (and accessible by the five college bus) lie the towns of Amherst and Northampton. The Hampshire Mall and Holyoke Mall also offer shopping and entertainment for students. The Mount Holyoke Range State Park is also close to the campus.
Academics and athletics:
Mount Holyoke offers a number of special programs. It has a dual-degree program in engineering which allows students to earn a B.A. from Mount Holyoke and a B.S. from the California Institute of Technology, the Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, or UMass. Students interested in Public Health can earn a B.A. from Mount Holyoke and an M.S. from the School of Public Health at the University of Massachusetts Amherst the year after graduating from Mount Holyoke. It also offers the Frances Perkins Program for non-traditional students and has a number of programs for international students, including exchange students from its sister school, Women's Christian College in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
In addition to classes at the college, Mount Holyoke students may also enroll in courses at Amherst College, Hampshire College, Smith College, and University of Massachusetts Amherst through the Five Colleges Consortium.
Mount Holyoke offers a number of college athletics programs and is a member of NERC (the New England Rowing Conference) and of NEWMAC (the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference). Mount Holyoke is also home to a professional golf course, The Orchards, which served as host to the U.S. Women's Open Championship in 2004.
History
Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (1837-1888):
Early proponents of education for women were Sarah Pierce (Litchfield Female Academy, 1792); Catharine Beecher (Hartford Female Seminary, 1823); Zilpah P. Grant Banister (Ipswich Female Seminary, 1828); and Mary Lyon. Lyon was involved in the development of both Hartford Female Seminary and Ipswich Female Seminary. She was also involved in the creation of Wheaton Female Seminary (now Wheaton College, Massachusetts) in 1834. Mount Holyoke Female Seminary was chartered as a teaching seminary in 1836 and opened its doors to students on 8 November, 1837. Both Vassar College and Wellesley College were patterned after Mount Holyoke.
Lyon was an educational innovator who created a highly rigorous environment of higher education for women which was unusual for the early 19th century. Lyon mandated a 16 hour day for students at Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, which began at 5 a.m. and ended at 9:15 p.m. In addition, "the books used by the students were the same as used at men's colleges". Lyon was also an innovator in science education for women, requiring:
» seven courses in the sciences and mathematics for graduation, a requirement unheard of at other female seminaries. She introduced women to "a new and unusual way" to learn science—laboratory experiments which they performed themselves. She organized field trips on which students collected rocks, plants, and specimens for lab work, and inspected geological formations and recently discovered dinosaur tracks.
Lyon, an early believer in the importance of daily exercise for women, required her students to "walk one mile after breakfast. During New England's cold and snowy winters, she dropped the requirement to 45 minutes. Calisthenics—a form of exercises—were taught by teachers in unheated hallways until a storage area was cleared for a gymnasium. Domestic work often involved strenuous physical activity".
From its founding in 1837, Mount Holyoke Female Seminary "had no religious affiliation". However, "students were required to attend church services, chapel talks, prayer meetings, and Bible study groups. Twice a day teachers and students spent time in private devotions. Every dorm room had two large lighted closets to give roommates privacy during their devotions". Mount Holyoke Female Seminary was the sister school to
Andover Seminary. Some Andover graduates looked to marry students from the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary before becoming missionaries because the
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) required its missionaries to be married before starting their missions. By
1859, there were more than 60 missionary alumnae; by
1887, the school's alumnae comprised one fifth of all female American missionaries for the ABCFM; and by the end of the century, 248 of its alumnae had entered the mission field.
Mount Holyoke, 1888-Present:
Mount Holyoke Female Seminary received its collegiate charter in
1888 and became Mount Holyoke Seminary and College. It became Mount Holyoke College in
1893. Mount Holyoke's chapter of
Phi Beta Kappa was established in
1905.
In the early
1970s, Mount Holyoke engaged in a lengthy debate under the presidency of
David Truman over the issue of coeducation. On
6 November 1971, "after reviewing an exhaustive study on coeducation, the board of trustees decided unanimously that Mount Holyoke should remain a women's college, and a group of faculty was charged with recommending curricular changes that would support the decision."
On
February 28,
1987, a
United States postage stamp featuring Mary Lyon was issued in honor of
The Sesquicentennial (Mount Holyoke's 150th anniversary).
The home of
Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge, known as ‘Sycamores’, served as a dormitory for the college from 1915-1970. The mansion, built in 1788 by Colonel Woodbridge, is on the
National Register of Historic Places. Woodbridge was a doctor, a colonel of the
Massachusetts militia during the
American Revolutionary War, and a member of the Massachusetts legislature for many years.
Traditions
Readings and performances
The Intercollegiate Poetry Contest,
The Kathryn Irene Glascock Awards, grants
The Glascock Prize to the winner of this annual event (which has taken place at Mount Holyoke since 1924). The "invitation-only competition is sponsored by the English department at Mount Holyoke and counts many well-known poets, including
Sylvia Plath and
James Merrill, among its past winners".
The Faculty Show takes place once every four years, around
1 April faculty members create a show which
parodies themselves and their students.
The Junior Show (also known as
J-Show) refers to a show created by Juniors (and a few professors) who parody life at Mount Holyoke. A common feature is a sketch mocking the president and dean of the college, along with well-known professors.
Annual events
Mountain Day begins with the sound of ringing bells from Abbey Chapel on a beautiful autumn morning secretly chosen by the President of the College and all classes are canceled for the day and many students hike to the summit of nearby
Mount Holyoke.
M&C's was originally called Milk & Crackers, but is now referred to as Milk & Cookies. It refers to a nightly snack provided by dormitory dining halls. M&Cs also refer to a popular student
a cappella group,
M&Cs (Milk and Cookies)
The following traditions are organized by the Class Boards of each year.
Big/Little Sister is a reference to the pairing of juniors and firsties (or first-years) who are paired up to take part in organized—and unorganized—events together. Coordinated by the Junior Class board
Disorientation or "Dis-O," is a closely guarded secret. This event is organized by the Senior Class Board.
Elfing refers to sophomores who secretly leave gifts for their chosen firsties or transfer students, usually during
October of each year. Coordinated by the Sophomore Class Board.
Founder's Day is held on the Sunday closest to
8 November (the date of the opening of Mount Holyoke in 1837). It was begun by
Elizabeth Storrs Mead in 1891. The currently version of the tradition includes ice cream being served early in the morning near Mary Lyon's grave. The current President of the College and select faculty are invited to scoop ice cream for the Senior Class who dons their gowns.
Convocation
Seniors dress in traditional cap and gown as well as accessories in their class color. Convocation marks the beginning of the academic year.
Commencement
Canoe Sing is an event which takes place prior to
commencement in which canoes are decorated with lanterns are paddled by seniors singing Mount Holyoke songs. They are joined by fellow graduating seniors on shore.
Baccalaureate is held in Abbey Chapel; the medieval German ode to Academe, "Gaudeamus Igitur" is sung by berobed Seniors and Faculty during the procession. Following convocation, Faculty line the path to Mary Lyon's grave. Seniors walk through this throng, to the grave (to place a wreath). As they pass by their professors, the Faculty members applaud the Seniors—thereby acknowledging them for the first time as scholars and colleagues.
The Laurel Parade takes place the day before
commencement. Graduating seniors wear white and carry laurel garlands, in a parade to Mary Lyon's grave. They are escorted by approximately 3,000 alumnae, also in white, who thereby welcome them into the Alumnae Association. Once at Mary Lyon's grave, the garland is wound around the cast-iron fence, and the Mimi Farina song "Bread and Roses" is sung by all in attendance. White is a tribute to those who fought for women's suffrage.
Mount Holyoke in theater, film, and popular culture
Mount Holyoke is referenced in works of theater, film, and popular culture.
Pulitzer Prize – winning playwright
Wendy Wasserstein's
1977 play,
Uncommon Women and Others, is based upon Wasserstein's experiences at Mount Holyoke of the early
1970s. The play explores the lives of the fictional characters Carter, Holly, Kate, Leilah, Rita, Muffet, Samantha, and Susie.
Two well-known films reference Mount Holyoke of the
1960s. The first is the 1987 film
Dirty Dancing which is set at a country club in the summer of
1963. The
protagonist Frances "Baby" Houseman (named after Mount Holyoke graduate
Frances Perkins) plans to attend Mount Holyoke in the fall to study economics and then to later enter the
Peace Corps. The second is the 1978 film
National Lampoon's Animal House which is set in
1962. It satirizes a common practice up until the mid-
1970s, when women attending
Seven Sister colleges were connected with or to students at
Ivy League schools. In the film, fraternity brothers from Delta house of the fictional
Faber College (based on
Dartmouth College) take a road trip to the fictional
Emily Dickinson College (Mount Holyoke College).
One of the most famous references to Mount Holyoke College in
American popular culture occurred in
I'm Spelling as Fast as I Can, an episode of
The Simpsons: "The Seven Sisters were immortalized in popular culture in a
2003 episode of
The Simpsons. Having won local and state spelling bees,
Lisa Simpson advances to the national finals. However, the moderator, concerned about the contest’s low television ratings, offers Lisa free tuition ('and a hot plate') at the Seven Sisters college of her choice if she'll allow a more popular contestant (who happens to be a boy) to win. Lisa refuses, but has a dream in which students from each of the Seven Sisters appear to her."
Additional characters in popular culture include "Emily" from the television series
Empty Nest, "Donna," from the television series
Judging Amy, "Judy Maxwell," from the film,
What's Up, Doc?, "Brooke," from
The L Word, Season 4, and "Catherine," the serial bride in the
film noir release,
Black Widow (1987 film). In David Liss's
The Ethical Assassin, Chitra—the love interest of the protagonist Lem Altick—is saving money so that she may attend Mount Holyoke.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Mount Holyoke College'.
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