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What they think of us? (By Jessica Short & Karen Pang)
So What Do They Really Think of Bryn Mawr College Students?By Karen Pang '05 & Jessica Short '05 Sage Staff Writers
What do Haverford and Swarthmore students really think of Bryn Mawr College students? Do they really think of us as brainless, slutty, or weird? If they do, from where do they derive their opinions? Is there any hope for Bryn Mawr to get along with the rest of the Tri-College community?
In search for these answers, we surveyed 80 students from Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges. Students were asked to write what they had heard from others in their schools about Bryn Mawr students. Not surprisingly, every returned survey responded with derogatory or foul comments about Mawrters. But do these rumors impact their personal overall views of Bryn Mawr College students? Surprisingly, lasting impressions weren’t as we had anticipated.
Freshmen and sophomores in Swarthmore who have already met a Mawrter tend to have a good first impression of them. 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 extremely heinous first impressions of Mawrters compared to the upperclassmen. With the exception of two students, "bizarre," "crazy," and "easy" dominated the minds of underclassmen when they were first faced with a Mawrter. The comments of the upperclassmen, however, were more open-minded. Many, instead of caricaturizing Mawrters with one adjective, responded that their opinions varied depending on the person they met. This change in attitude suggests that with experience in college, Haverford students learn not to label 1,200 students under the same category. Hopefully, other students will also adopt this way of thinking as they mature through their years of 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 Mawrter at a college party. However, others who met Mawrters in other situations such as in class, at club meetings, or at other social gatherings, were inclined to call them "interesting," "easy-going," and "intelligent." We figured that when Mawrters 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 Mawrters to be a friend, classmate, or acquaintance. Doesn’t this imply that they are looking for more than an argument or a glare from Mawrters? Doesn’t this also mean that maybe when they look at a Mawrter they don’t immediately see a slut in their eyes, but instead a potential friend? Moreover, 77% of Haverford College females, 92% of HC males, 75% of Swarthmore College 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 women to get along with Haverford and Swarthmore students. Next time you, as a Tri-College student, see someone new in class, 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.
