Despite Mount Holyoke's academic excellence, many girls have complained about the lack of truly intellectual atmosphere at the school. Many girls attributed this to the absence of boys in classes and the general day-to-day life of the college. "Girls here can seemingly only use their minds toward their course work," is a typical objection. Another girl complained, "The main topic of conversation here on Monday and Tuesday is the date you had the last weed end, and for the rest of the week it's the date you'll have the next weekend."

One of the most attractive aspects of the college is, simply, that it is a friendly place. As one Harvard undergraduate succinctly observed, "When you walk into a dorm at Smith, you feel as though the walls are made of icebergs; when you walk into a dorm at Holyoke, everyone is warm and friendly." This congeniality is felt just as keenly by the girls themselves as by visitors; and for freshmen, the informal, friendly atmosphere considerably eases the transition from secondary school to college.

But in spite of certain obvious assets, the fact remains that there is widespread discontent among students at Holyoke toward the college. Why?

Mount Holyoke was founded in 1837 as a Congregational seminary, and until World War II, Mount Holyoke girls were generally looked upon, in the words of one sophomore, as being "religious and kind of finky." Although reality has changed, the image of the "urbanized milkmaid" has persisted, and the epithet "Smith to bed an Holyoke to wed" is still a widespread and popular one.

An outspoken faculty member discussed the reasons the "Holyoke image" has remained largely unchanged. "The college seems to feel that it can have only one image which will be acceptable to the general public-an image of 'proper gentility.'" Mount Holyoke has tried to legislate this image into existence, and while this attempt has been fairly successful, it has had been fairly successful, it has had some unfortunate consequence.

Protectiveness

Sign-out hours are an example of Mount Holyoke's protectiveness. Girls must be in their dorm by 11 p.m. on week nights, midnight on Friday, and 1 a.m. on Saturday. Catherine P. Robinson, Dean of Residence, justified the stringency of the rules: The Holyoke girl is really freer than she thinks. The college is responsible for minors, and we cannot run a community of 1600 girls without law and order. It is up to the institution to set standards of behavior."

She further stressed the inadequacy of the local police force to protect the girls. Anyone who leaves the dorm after 8 p.m. must sign out where she is going; explained Dean Robinson, "If I have to start looking for girls I want to know which state police to call." But no matter how valid the reasons for the stringency of the sign out regulations, it nonetheless seems vaguely insulting that a 21-year old woman must be told she must be in at 1 a.m. Saturday.

Surprisingly, very few girls registered real objections to the sign-out rules. "There's nothing to do around here after midnight anyway," one girl said.

Far more irritating is the sheer bulk of rules. "There's a rule for this cigarette," one girl protested, "there's a rule for this rug, there's one for that piano, there's one for this tapestry."

Even a cursory glance at some of the rules in the handbook of "Student Government Association Regulations" verifies this observation:

*"Students shall not knit or chew gum at public lectures or concerts, or in classes when guest lecturers are present.

*"Each student has the responsibility...to attend frequently either the College services arranged at Abbey Chapel or comparable services of her choice. If neither of these alternatives is compatible with here conscience and reason, it shall then be the student's responsibility, in consultation with the Dean of the College Chapel, to determine which of other opportunities for spiritual growth she desires to accept, and to undertake."

*"Typewriters and bottles of ink must never be taken into the living rooms."

*"If at any time the College considers that the residence of a married student in one of the college halls is not in the best interest of the College or of the student, the College reserves the right to require the right to require the student to withdraw from residence.