So what do Haverford and Swarthmore students really think of Bryn Mawr College students? Do they really think of them as brainless, slutty, or weird? If they do, where do they derive their opinions from? Is there any hope for Bryn Mawr to get along with the rest of the Tri-College community?
In search for these answers, Jessica and Karen from Sage online magazine decided to survey students from Haverford and Swarthmore colleges. Questionnaires were given out to 30 Haverford undergraduate students and 50 Swarthmore undergraduate students. In the surveys, the Haverford and Swarthmore students were asked to write what opinions they have heard from others in their schools about people from BMC. Not surprisingly, every survey responded with derogatory or foul comments about BMC students. But do these rumors really last or really have an impact on their overall view of BMC students? Surprisingly, lasting impressions weren’t as negative as Jessica and Karen predicted.
Freshmen and sophomores in Swarthmore who have already met a BMC student tend to have a good first impression of BMC students. First impressions consisted mostly of “nice”, “friendly”, “cool”, and “smart”. The opinions of upperclassmen, however, were mixed—from “hardworking” and “confident” to “flaky” and “untrained in intense academics”.
At Haverford, underclassmen had the most heinous first impressions of BMC students compared to the upperclassmen. With the exception of a couple students, “bizarre”, “crazy”, and “easy” dominated the minds of underclassmen. The comments of the upperclassmen, however, were more open-minded. Many, instead of caricaturizing BMC students with one adjective, responded that their opinions of BMC students vary depending on the person. This change in attitude suggests that with experience in college, Haverford students learn not to label 1200 students under the same category. Hopefully other students, regardless of which school they attend, will also adopt this way of thinking as they mature through their years of college here in the Tri-College. Most of the people from both Haverford and Swarthmore, whose first impressions of Bryn Mawr students were “sluts” or “whores”, had first encountered a BMC student at a college party. However, others who met BMC students in other situations, such as in class or in a social gathering, were inclined to call them “interesting,” “easy-going”, and “intelligent.” When BMC girls are not drunk, high, or flirtatious, people’s impressions of them are more respectful and positive.
Students who took the survey overwhelmingly chose their top three ideal relationships with BMC students to be a friend, classmate, or acquaintance. So doesn’t this mean that they are looking for more than an argument or glare from BMC students? Doesn’t this also mean that maybe that when they look at a BMC student they don’t immediately see a slut in their eyes but instead a potential friend? Moreover, 77% of HC females, 92% of HC males, 75% of SC females, and 74% of SC males say they would like to get to know more people from BMC.
So maybe there is hope for Bryn Mawr girls to get along with Haverford and Swarthmore students. Next time you, as a Tri-College student, see someone new in class or on the Blue Bus or on the Tri-Co Van, don’t immediately judge him/her or assume he/she won’t care to talk to you—say “hi”, initiate a conversation, and you may find yourself with a new best friend.
For more results from these surveys, look for future publications of Sage.
