When I first got to UMass last fall I arrived armed with one key piece of information: Smith College and Mount Holyoke College are each just a bus ride away, and they’re both all-girls schools. I figured this meant the girl-to-guy ratio at parties would be out of control and if me and my bros played our cards right, some invites to exclusive all-girls parties at one of the two schools. Within the first few weeks I attended parties at both Mount Holyoke and Smith, and quickly learned a few key things that distinguish the two colleges.
On any given day it was clear just from walking around that girls on both campuses come from serious money, but they didn’t act like it nearly as much as the kids on the Amherst College campus. The girls of Smith andMount Holyoke also looked a lot different than those walking around any of the other colleges in the area. Short hair and boy cuts were common methods of smashing the traditional gender roles at Mount Holyoke, wherein more girls at Smith took it a bit further and dressed in a way that almost completely neutralized their gender appearance. And there were always a few real bizarre clothing choices at both campuses. Being a straight guy though, I was naturally more drawn to the ladies of Mount Holyoke and wound up spending quite a few nights there. That, and they always put on the coolest school-sponsored parties.
By night the differences became deeper and more defined, and after a few uncomfortable misunderstandings at Smith, those differences proved to be pretty detrimental to my survival on the partying circuit. A higher percentage of Mount Holyoke girls were straight and not completely turned off to men. I’m not saying this is the place to go to get laid – they actually respect themselves a lot more than the girls at UMass and Amherst. Having a good time at a party always involves dancing with girls and sharing a conversation or two so good your cup stays empty just a little too long. The Mount Holyoke girls know how to do that, and better than anywhere else in the five college area.
This year when I got back to UMass, I arrived armed with two key pieces of information: Smith College and Mount Holyoke are both reachable for weekly parties, but Mount Holyoke is the one to go to. The girls there are not only nice to look at on a crisp fall day, but they know how to let loose at night. They’re all really smart students too, so if it’s the middle of the week and you have a big exam coming up, there’s always an excuse to head down to South Hadley.
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