Word: wellesley
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...What Wellesley women say is the worst part of not seeing men during the week, however, is that they never get to interact with them on a day-to-day basis as friends. "I really miss not having guys in classes," says sophomore Amy Jordan. "The only time we ever see guys is on the weekends, and that's always a stilted and unnatural environment. At times when we just want to meet men as friends, we can be misperceived as wanting to be picked...
Although almost everyone agrees it is difficult to adjust to the lack of men, some Wellesley students believe that the introduction of men would sully the beauty and serenity of the campus. Women point to the expensive yards of Oriental carpeting in the living rooms, the numerous expensive grand pianos, and the acres upon acres of beautifully manicured green grass and gardens, and say that the natural roughness of men might destroy the prettiness of the setting...
Some women, however, while they appreciate Wellesley's charm, still feel that a lot of its perquisites are artificial and unnecessary. "The alums have a lot of power--they replace the worn carpeting, make sure the lands are perfectly manicured, and work on ensuring that Wellesley remains static and unchanging," Trippe says. "In the springtime I can go out and pick bunches of azaleas and pussywillow and bring them back to my room because the campus is like a specimen or botanical garden. But then, you begin to wonder if it's natural for everything to be that perfect...
...Part of Wellesley's ambience lies in the fact that it is so secluded. But it is exactly this seclusion that at first attracts, and then repels, scores of women who begin to find it tiresome to plan their lives around bus schedules and the availability of friends' cars. Although Wellesley brochures cheerfully announce that metropolitan Boston is only 35 minutes away, there can be limited spontaneity in going out because of the planning involved. After all, there is no "T" to hop on out there...
...most telling statistics about Wellesley is the fact that one-third to one-half of the junior class leaves in a great exodus every year to go abroad or to participate in the 12-College Exchange, of which Wellesley is a member. "Because Wellesley is single-sex and so isolated, everyone wants to get away at one time or another," says Jordan, who will probably spend next year at the University of California at Berkeley. "Wellesley is too mellow for me; I miss the 'real' college atmosphere of frats, football games and parties," she says...