Mount Holyoke College
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Mount Holyoke College is a private women's
liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on Undergraduate education, undergraduate study in the Liberal arts education, liberal arts of humanities and science. Such colleges aim to impart ...
in
South Hadley, Massachusetts South Hadley (, ) is a New England town, town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,150 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts. South Hadle ...
, United States. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of historically women’s colleges in the Northeastern United States. The college was founded in 1837 as the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary by Mary Lyon, a pioneer in education for women. Mount Holyoke is part of the
Five College Consortium The Five College Consortium (often referred to as simply the Five Colleges) comprises four Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts colleges and one university in the Connecticut River Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts: Am ...
in Western Massachusetts. Undergraduate admissions are restricted to female,
transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...
, and nonbinary students. In 2014, it became the first member of the Seven Sisters (not counting the coeducational Vassar College) to introduce an admissions policy that was inclusive of transgender students. Graduate programs are open to applicants regardless of gender. The college's campus includes the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, the John Payson Williston Observatory, and a
botanic garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...
. The college awards the Glascock Prize annually.


History

Mount Holyoke was founded in 1837 by Mary Lyon as "Mount Holyoke Female Seminary". Lyon developed her ideas on how to educate women when she was assistant principal at Ipswich Female Seminary in Massachusetts. By 1837 she had convinced multiple sponsors to support her ideals and the nation's first real college for women. Mount Holyoke Female Seminary opened on November 8, 1837, in South Hadley, Massachusetts. The town had donated the land and main building. Lyon's layout of the campus provided a widely imitated model for the higher education of women by providing a physical environment that supported a rigorous and comprehensive curriculum equivalent to that of men's colleges. Lyon's innovative goals set her Seminary apart from other female seminaries of the period, offering a curriculum equivalent to those at men's colleges. All the students worked in one building with little privacy. There was close contact with the all-female faculty, and daily self reports on their personal strengths and weaknesses. The college cut staff to the minimum as the 100 or so students each performed one hour of work a day, handling most of the routine chores like cooking and cleaning and maintaining the grounds. Lyon rejected the goal of the men's colleges to promote individualism and independence and instead fostered the collective ideal of a united team of women could match the success of nearby men's colleges like Amherst and Williams. The curriculum allowed women to study subjects like geometry, calculus, Latin, Greek, science, philosophy, and history, which were not typically taught at other female seminaries in the 19th century. Lyon's efforts in founding an institution of higher education for women, despite the economic challenges of the time, paved the way for more women to have the same opportunities for higher education as their brothers. Mount Holyoke Female Seminary was one of several Christian institutions of higher education for young women established during the first half of the 19th century. Prior to founding Mount Holyoke, Lyon contributed to 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) in 1834. Mount Holyoke Female Seminary was chartered as a teaching seminary in 1836 and opened its doors to students on November 8, 1837. Both Vassar College and
Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...
were patterned after Mount Holyoke. According to historian Amanda Porterfield, Lyon created Mount Holyoke to be "a religious institution that offered a model of Christian society for all to see." 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. 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.


Collegiate charter

Mount Holyoke Female Seminary received its collegiate charter in 1888, becoming "Mount Holyoke Seminary and College". The change in admission from Seminary to College included fundraising by the trustees, an overhaul of the entrance requirements, and course catalog. Entrance exams were introduced at this time, scheduled in June or September at the college. In 1889, students traveling from the midwest could take these examinations in
Freeport, Illinois Freeport is the largest city in Stephenson County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 23,973 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and the mayor of Freeport is Jodi Miller, elected in 2017. Freeport is k ...
, and within a few years, this was expanded to other cities. Many additions were made to the course catalog, and starting in the 1889 academic year, students could choose to pursue degrees of
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
or
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
. Within 4 years, the seminary enrollment dropped from 269 to 8. In 1893, the seminary course was discontinued, and the new title "Mount Holyoke College" was authorized.


Cottage-style living

A movement towards what was referred to as cottage-style living started in 1889 by the New York Association after the change to Mount Holyoke Seminary and College. $15,000 was raised, and plans were put in place for Mary Brigham Cottage, with accommodations for the president and thirty students, with priority given to those in the collegiate course. At the time, two South Hadley families agreed to host boarders. President Elizabeth Mead deemed these options unsatisfactory and pushed the trustees to build yet another cottage. Mrs. Mead was ready to relieve the students of a large share of the drudgery of domestic work that had made up a good portion of their studies since Mary Lyon's conception of the seminary. From 1895 to 1996 the trustees allotted funds for the employment of four women to wash the dinner dishes that had formerly constituted the task of eight or ten students. On February 28, 1987, the
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
's Great Americans series issued a
postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...
featuring Mary Lyon, in honor of Mount Holyoke's ''Sesquicentennial'' (Mount Holyoke's 150th anniversary).


Debate on becoming co-educational

In the early 1970s, Mount Holyoke had a long debate under the presidency of David Truman over the issue of coeducation. On November 6, 1971, the board of trustees voted to remain a women's college.


Admission of transgender students

At Convocation on September 2, 2014, President Lynn Pasquerella announced a new policy allowing the admission of transgender individuals of both sexes to the college, as well as the admission of students whose gender identities are
non-binary Non-binary or genderqueer Gender identity, gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gende ...
. Of the Seven Sisters that had remained women's colleges, Mount Holyoke was the first to implement such policy. At Convocation on September 3, 2024, the College launched TGNC10 @ MHC, described as "a trans and gender nonconforming (TGNC)-led, student-led project sponsored by Mount Holyoke College (MHC) in commemoration of the 10-year anniversary of MHC’s gender-inclusive admissions policy, which was established as the result of student activism through the 'Open Gates' initiative."


Admissions

The 2020 annual ranking by '' U.S. News & World Report'' categorizes Mount Holyoke as "more selective". For the Class of 2028 (enrolling fall 2024), Mount Holyoke received 5,226 applications, accepted 1,881 (36%), and enrolled 532. The middle 50% range of SAT scores for enrolled students was 1360–1470 for the composite, 690–750 for evidence-based reading and writing, and 660–750 for math, while the middle 50% range for the ACT composite score was 31–33.


Rankings

'' U.S. News & World Report''s 2025 rankings ranked Mount Holyoke tied for the 34th-best liberal arts college in the nation, and tied for 35th for "Best Undergraduate Teaching". In 2023, according to a ranking by the
Princeton Review The Princeton Review is an education services company providing tutoring, test preparation and admission resources for students. It was founded in 1981, and since that time has worked with over 400 million students. Services are delivered by 4,0 ...
which assessed students' perceptions of their faculty, Mount Holyoke's faculty was ranked #9 in the nation. The ranking was based on students' level of agreement or disagreement with the statement, "Professors are interesting and bring their material to life." As of 2023, Mount Holyoke was ranked #6 in the Princeton Review's ranking of the "Top 20 Best Schools for Making an Impact". ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' ranked Mount Holyoke 244th out of the top 500 rated private and public colleges and universities in America for the 2024–25 report. Mount Holyoke was also ranked 134th among private colleges and 88th in the northeast. Mount Holyoke College is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. In 2025, the college ranked 205 out of 257 top colleges in a free speech ranking by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and "College Pulse," after ranking at 155 in 2024 and 159 in 2022/2023.


Academics


Undergraduate programs

Mount Holyoke offers 50 departmental and interdepartmental majors, including the option to design a special major. The most popular undergraduate majors, based on 2021 graduates, were: ::Experimental Psychology (45) ::Biology/Biological Sciences (44) ::Econometrics & Quantitative Econometrics (34) ::English Language & Literature (33) ::Computer Science (26) ::Neuroscience (21) ::International Relations & Affairs (20) The primary degree conferred is the
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
(BA) degree, for which students complete 128-semester credits (one standard course equals 4 credits). At least 68 credits must be earned from coursework outside the major department, across the three curricular divisions: humanities, science and mathematics, and social sciences. Study of a foreign language and completion of a multicultural perspectives course is also required. Mount Holyoke's membership in the Five College Consortium allows students to enroll in courses at nearby Amherst College, Smith College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. They may also complete one of 12 Five College Certificates—among them African studies, Buddhist studies, coastal and marine sciences, cognitive neuroscience, international relations, and Middle Eastern studies—in lieu of a minor.


Graduate programs

In addition to the BA, Mount Holyoke offers three master's degrees: a coed Master of Arts in Teaching, a Master of Arts in mathematics teaching, and a master's in psychology. Other programs include dual-degree programs in engineering with the California Institute of Technology, the
Thayer School of Engineering The Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth (branded as Dartmouth Engineering) is the engineering school of Dartmouth College, a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Located in a three-building complex along th ...
at
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...
, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst; the Frances Perkins Program, for women over the age of 24 who wish to complete the requirements for a Bachelor of Arts degree; and the Postbaccalaureate Studies Program, for students who have already earned an undergraduate degree and wish to complete additional course work in preparation for graduate work in medicine, nursing, veterinary medicine, dentistry, or physical therapy science.


Academic centers and programs

Four academic centers—the Weissman Center for Leadership, the McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives, the Miller Worley Center for the Environment, and the Intergroup Dialogue Center—support the academic program through public lectures by visiting scholars, conferences on issues of pressing concern, mentoring and internship opportunities, and hands-on learning experiences. The Weissman Center's Speaking, Arguing, and Writing (SAW) Program provides opportunities for developing leadership and communication skills, including the ability to effectively frame, articulate, and advocate positions. The Community-Based Learning Program links students with community-based organizations in courses that combine analysis and action.


Study abroad

Mount Holyoke has study abroad programs and exchanges for full-year or semester study in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
,
Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
,
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
,
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, as well as a summer program in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and January term programs in Georgia and
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. The college is also affiliated with more than 150 study abroad programs in more than 50 colleges and students have the opportunity to petition any programs with which the college is not already affiliated. The college also encourages international internships and research for the semester, year, summer, or January terms. Each year more than 200 Mount Holyoke students, representing approximately 40 percent of the junior class, study for a semester or academic year at universities and programs abroad.


Twelve College Exchange

Through the school's membership in the Twelve College Exchange program, Mount Holyoke students can study at one of the following 12 other schools for one semester or a full year: *
Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zepha ...
*
Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It was chartered in 1794. The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River. In a ...
*
Connecticut College Connecticut College (Conn) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in New London, Connecticut. Originally chartered as Thames College, it was founded in 1911 as the state's only women's colle ...
*
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...
* National Theatre Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center *
Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...
* Trinity College * Vassar College *
Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...
*
Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...
* Wheaton College * Williams/Mystic Seaport Program in Maritime Studies


Faculty

A number of faculty are nationally and internationally recognized for their research and writing achievements, including Christopher Benfey (literary scholar), Joseph Ellis (historian), Susan Barry (neurobiologist), Mark McMenamin (geologist and paleontologist) and Becky Wai-Ling Packard (psychologist).


Attempted murder of faculty member

Mount Holyoke administrator and art professor Rie Hachiyanagi made international headlines when she was charged with the attempted murder of a regular member of the faculty on 23 December 2019. Hachiyanagi used a fire poker, large rock, and a gardening shears to attempt to beat and kill her victim. Hachiyanagi's alleged victim survived the attack. Hachiyanagi pled guilty to the charges and on October 20, 2021, was sentenced to a term of 10 to 12 years in prison.


Campus

The campus was designed and landscaped between 1896 and 1922 by the landscape architecture firm of Olmsted and Sons. The campus includes a
botanic garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...
, two lakes, several waterfalls, tennis courts, stables, and woodland riding trails. It is also home to the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum which is part of the Five College Museums/Historic Deerfield and the Museums10. An
independent bookstore An independent bookstore is a retail bookstore which is independently owned. Usually, independent stores consist of only a single actual store (although there are some multi-store independents). They may be structured as sole proprietorships, ...
, The Odyssey Bookshop, is located directly across from the campus in the college-owned Village Commons. Mount Holyoke has instituted "The Big Turn Off" energy conservation campaign. It also focuses on "green" building with five LEED certified buildings on campus. It has reduced its environmental impact by recycling 40% of waste and composting as well as using produce grown in the student-run organic garden in dining halls. The Seminary Building (1837) contained classrooms, parlors and rooms for students and faculty, the original library, and a periodical reading room. A south wing was added in 1841, a north wing in 1853, and a gymnasium and laundry in 1865. All were destroyed by fire in 1896. Upon the burning of the college building in September 1896, Treasurer Williston announced the pressing need for a new chapel building, a new gymnasium, and a series of cottage dormitories in the modern style. This style of separated buildings allowed for flexibility in fundraising that was attractive to the trustees, while still providing the students with the resources and accommodations they needed. In 1897, Mary Lyon Hall and Mary Lyon Chapel were built, as well as dormitories Brigham, Safford, Porter, and Pearsons. Blanchard Gymnasium was completed in 1899. John Payson Williston Observatory, completed in 1881, was given in memory of the Willistons' eldest son and built to be ready for the rare transit of Venus in 1882. It is the oldest academic building on campus. Mount Holyoke has been recognized for its campus beauty by ''
Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers ...
'', '' The Princeton Review,'' and '' Architectural Digest''. Its oldest building dated back to the school's opening in 1837, but it burned down in 1896 and was replaced by buildings that opened the following year. Additional buildings were constructed, remodeled, torn down, and expanded at various points from the 1870s to the 2010s, most recently with a new residence hall in 2008 and the construction of a centralized dining hall in 2018. The school owns an 18-hole golf course, The Orchards, which was designed by Donald Ross and which hosted the U.S. Women's Open in 2004.


Library

Mount Holyoke's library includes more than 740,000 print volumes, 1,600 periodicals, and more than 140,000 electronic resources. Its first librarian was an alumna Mary Nutting. Through the
Five College Consortium The Five College Consortium (often referred to as simply the Five Colleges) comprises four Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts colleges and one university in the Connecticut River Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts: Am ...
, students have access to more than 9 million volumes. Computer support is provided. The MEWS (Mediated Educational Work Space) supports collaborative multimedia learning with group project rooms, wall-mounted plasma displays, a digitization center, and a faculty development area. In 2013, "Clear and Gold Tower", a glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly, was installed in the Williston Library's atrium.


Dormitories

The college has 21 residence halls as well as apartments and "annex" spaces in which to house students, and an overwhelming majority of students live on campus (98%). Each residence hall reserves a quarter of its rooms for housing first-year students. Most residence halls house students from all four class years at any given time. In January 2018, Mount Holyoke opened a new centralized dining commons within the previously existing Blanchard Community Center. Previously, six dormitories on campus had dining areas inside of them, but the plan to consolidate these into one dining hall was made so that the college could shift to accept an unlimited meal plan and offer extended hours.


Memberships

Mount Holyoke is a member of the Pioneer Valley's
Five College Consortium The Five College Consortium (often referred to as simply the Five Colleges) comprises four Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts colleges and one university in the Connecticut River Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts: Am ...
, the Consortium of Liberal Arts Colleges, the Annapolis Group, the
Oberlin Group The Oberlin Group of Libraries is a consortium of American liberal arts colleges, led by a board elected from its members' libraries' directors. The group evolved from meetings of college presidents in 1985 and 1986 at Oberlin College. , it has 8 ...
, and the
Consortium on Financing Higher Education Formed in the mid-1970s, the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE) is an unincorporated, voluntary, institutionally-supported organization of 32 highly selective, private liberal arts colleges and universities, all of which are committe ...
.


Student demographics

In 2023, Mount Holyoke's undergraduate student body was 50% white, 22% international, 7% Asian, 9% Hispanic, 5% black, and 5% multiracial.


Student groups

Mount Holyoke offers a number of student groups and organizations. Themes include Art, Academics, Club Sports, Entertainment & the Performing Arts, Politics & Activism, Governing Organizations and Religious organizations. Among these student groups is Mount Holyoke News, the college's independent, student-run publication which has been in print since 1917. Mount Holyoke News, or MHN, publishes on a biweekly basis throughout the academic year with new issues going out in print form every other Friday. A digital edition of each issue is also made available online through the publishing platform Issuu. WMHC (91.5 FM) is a
radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...
licensed to serve
South Hadley, Massachusetts South Hadley (, ) is a New England town, town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,150 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts. South Hadle ...
. The station is owned by Mount Holyoke College and is one of the oldest stations run by women.


Traditions


Mount Holyoke class colors

Mount Holyoke classes have been voting on class colors and mascots since the late 1800s, but the colors currently in use were not adopted until 1901. The class of 1901 chose hunter green, and the classes of 1902, 1903, 1904 voted for crimson, golden yellow, and royal blue, respectively. In 1909, the students voted for lion, griffin, sphinx, and pegasus as their class symbols. They also decided that even-year classes would use pegasus and lion and their colors would be red and blue, and odd years would use griffin and sphinx, with green and yellow as their colors. This system has persisted to this day. Each class proudly displays their class color at class-related activities such as Convocation.


Events

* The Kathryn Irene Glascock Awards grants ''The Glascock Prize'' to the winner of this annual event (which has been held at Mount Holyoke since 1924). * The Faculty Show takes place once every four years, around April 1; 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. * 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, all classes are canceled for the day and many students hike to the summit of nearby Mount Holyoke. *Holiday Vespers is an annual Christmas concert that has been held each year since 1899. In addition to the free performance held on campus in Abbey Chapel, each year the students perform in either Boston or New York City. *M&Cs, originally called Milk & Crackers, is now referred to as Milk & Cookies. M&Cs are a nightly snack provided by dormitory dining halls, but also refer to a student ''a cappella'' group, The M&Cs (Milk and Cookies). *Big/Little Sibling is a reference to the pairing of juniors and "firsties" (or first-years) who are paired up to take part in organized events together. Coordinated by the junior class board. *Pangy Day, originally called Pangynaskeia, has been a springtime tradition at Mount Holyoke for decades, but its origin is not totally clear. It's about celebrating spring after a long winter, and festivities including music, games, face-painting, ice cream, and more take place. *Elfing is a tradition shared between sophomores and first-years. Secret sophomore "elves" leave presents and treats for their first years throughout the week-long event. On the final day, the first-years get to meet their elves in person at a special M&Cs. *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 current 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 is a spirited celebration of community marking the beginning of the academic year. All students attend wearing their class colors, and seniors wear their graduation gowns to celebrate the start of their final year. *Canoe Sing is an event that takes place prior to commencement in which canoes are decorated with lanterns and 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). The Baccalaureate Ceremony is a celebration that honors members of the graduating class. This traditional ceremony is for seniors only and holds a deep meaning: students are given a final charge and hear from their selected faculty and classmates. Academic regalia and a cap is worn. *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 Fariña song " Bread and Roses" is sung by all in attendance. White is a tribute to those who fought for
women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...
. In 1970 students voted to replace the laurel with signs protesting the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
.


Athletics

120px, Mount Holyoke athletics wordmark Mount Holyoke's teams are nicknamed the ''Lyons''. The college offers 13 varsity sports programs and six competitive club sports teams. Mount Holyoke is a member of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
(NCAA) Division III and the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) as well as the New England Rowing Conference (NERC). Facilities include a lighted synthetic multipurpose turf field surrounded by an eight-lane track with a nine-lane straightaway; Kendall Sports and Dance Complex housing a swimming pool and separate diving well; gymnasium with basketball, volleyball, and badminton courts; weight room; cardiovascular area; field house with indoor track and tennis courts; squash courts; racquetball courts; and three studios for dance, aerobics, yoga, and other activities; The Orchards, an 18-hole golf course (home to the 2004 U.S. Women's Open) designed by Donald Ross; and a 60-stall equestrian center with two indoor arenas (100' × 256' and 70' × 130'), an outdoor show ring, permanent fibar dressage arena, outdoor cross-country courses, and a boathouse finished for Spring 2010.


Notable people

File:Frances Perkins 1936.jpg, Frances Perkins, U.S. Secretary of Labor under
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, first woman to hold a U.S. Cabinet position File:Emily Dickinson daguerreotype (cropped).jpg, Emily Dickinson, poet considered to be one of the most important figures in American literature File:SuzanLoriParksByEricSchwabel.jpg, Suzan-Lori Parks,
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In popular culture


Literature

* 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 as they gather for lunch five years after graduation and reminisce about their collegiate days. The play was adapted into a
television movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
starring a then-unknown Meryl Streep. * In Tayari Jones's 2011 novel, ''Silver Sparrow'', the two protagonists, Dana and Chaurisse, apply to Mount Holyoke College.


Film

Several feature films reference Mount Holyoke. Prominent among them are: *'' Dirty Dancing'' (1987), which is set at a summer resort in the Catskills in the summer of 1963. The
protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...
, Frances "Baby" Houseman (named after Mount Holyoke graduate Frances Perkins), plans to attend Mount Holyoke in the fall to study the economics of underdeveloped countries and then later to enter the
Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
. The film is screened annually for first-year students. *''National Lampoon's
Animal House ''National Lampoon's Animal House'' is a 1978 American comedy film directed by John Landis and written by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney and Chris Miller (writer), Chris Miller. It stars John Belushi, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Tom ...
'' (1978), 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 The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...
schools. In the film, fraternity brothers from Delta house of the fictional Faber College (based on
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...
) take a road trip to the fictional Emily Dickinson College (Mount Holyoke College).


Television

An urban legend says that the characters of the hit 1960s cartoon ''Scooby Doo Where Are You!'' are said to be modeled after the Five College Consortium. Scooby Doo is meant to be University of Massachusetts Amherst, Shaggy is
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
, Fred is Amherst, Daphne is Mount Holyoke and Velma is Smith. These characterizations are made under the assumptions of stereotypes of the students from the Five Colleges.


Humor

* A 1968 article in the
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
student newspaper '' Columbia Daily Spectator'' repeated a line from the 1964 movie '' Sex and the College Girl'': "Smith to bed, Mount Holyoke to wed". This referred to the reputation of students from the two Seven Sisters Colleges. In the 1980s, Mount Holyoke students launched a campaign against a dating book and article written by two Princeton graduates that tell men how to pick up female students at women's colleges. Under the "Pickup Strategy" category, the article states: '"Low Key. Recall the Smith saying, 'Holyoke to bed; Smith to wed.'' * The Mount Holyoke song, "We're Saving Ourselves For Yale", alludes to the Ivy League-Seven Sisters relationship, which amusingly relates tales of women who hold onto their virginity long enough to catch a Yale graduate to marry. The song features prominently in Wendy Wasserstein's "Uncommon Women and Others".


References


Further reading

* Allmendinger, David F. "Mount Holyoke Students Encounter the Need for Life-Planning, 1837–1850." ''History of Education Quarterly'' 19#1 (1979): 27–46. * Butchart, Ronald E. "Mission Matters: Mount Holyoke, Oberlin, and the Schooling of Southern Blacks, 1861–1917." ''History of Education Quarterly'' 42#1 (2002): 1–17. * Harwarth, Irene B.
A Closer Look at Women's Colleges
" National Institute on Postsecondary Education, Libraries, and Lifelong Learning, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, 1999. * Harwarth, Irene B., Mindi Maline, and Elizabeth DeBra.

Executive Summary." U.S. Department of Education National Institute on Postsecondary Education, Libraries, and Lifelong Learning. * Horowitz, Helen Lefkowitz.
Alma Mater: Design and Experience in the Women's Colleges from Their Nineteenth-Century Beginnings to the 1930s
'' Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1993 (2nd ed.). *


External links

*
Athletics website
* {{authority control Liberal arts colleges in Massachusetts Women's universities and colleges in the United States Universities and colleges established in 1837 Female seminaries in the United States Seven Sister Colleges Universities and colleges in Hampshire County, Massachusetts 1837 establishments in Massachusetts South Hadley, Massachusetts Private universities and colleges in Massachusetts