Bryn Mawr History Major

Generally, Bryn Mawr students, or "Mawrters" are viewed as extremely intelligent, extremely awkward and extremely quirky. We are viewed as a band of bra-burning, militant lesbian feminists who wear capes (the "capeys"), obsesss over Athena and chant in Greek, and just generally don't get along with society and the outside world in general.

I would say that there are certainly factions of the aforementioned on campus, but I haven't seen any "capeys" since my freshman year, and honestly, these quirky types are the loud minority. We are all pretty dorky, nerdy and intelligent; but I would say that there is overall a general acceptance (if not embracing) of men, and most of us wear bras...We do chant in Greek. Even the more mainstream Mawrters. It's just what we do.

Bryn Mawr is sort of a funky place. It is tiny, and everyone knows everyone's business. Most people are shy and smart. There is a lot of school pride, but it's manifested in unusual ways: for instance, athletics at Bryn Mawr are pretty ignored, but if you attend an acapella concert or a meeting of the Student Government Association, school pride abounds. Bryn Mawr has several big traditions, Lantern Night, Parade Night, Hell Week and May Day, which are intended to boost school pride and camaraderie, and to hearken back to our founding sisters. It's a cool place; very liberal, lots of opportunities to create and find yourself. You never have to fit into just one niche here, because niches don't really exist here. Every time you go looking for a stereotype, you find another contradiction, another exception to the rule. You can be anyone here; you can be yourself.

All of my professors know my name. And I don't always like it. They know when you aren't in class, because most classes have fewer than 15 people in them (excluding the hard math and science lectures which average 30-50). People here are constantly studying. It permeates everything. If not actively engaged in a book, the women here are meeting with professors to discuss class and life, talking and debating with girlfriends about the latest trends in astrophysics, economic determinism, and Jurgen Habermas, or reading Proust on the treadmill in the gym. We are a bunch of smart, smart broads. Bryn Mawr is one big think tank.

LGBTQ kind of rules Bryn Mawr, probably becuase there is so much acceptance on campus. But really, everyone is free to be whomever or whatever she chooses. All religions, races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, socioeconomic backgrounds, and nationalities are represented. It is a beautiful tapestry of color and experience. Students wear what they want to class. My freshman year, I always woke up and put on makeup and did my hair; I'm a senior now (and I have a boyfriend who lives off campus) so I generally just roll into class in sweats.
4 Tables:
1.) 5 South Asian girls, three white girls, a Korean girl and a girl from Ethiopia. Topic of discussion: David Beckham. Eating: 3 omnivores, 1 vegan, the rest vegetarian. Wearing: jeans and Bryn Mawr hoodies.
2.) The rugby team. A lovely mix of women, 75% LGBTQ All omnivores. Topic of discussion: last night's episode of the L Word. Wearing: rugby spikes and mud.
3.) 5 scared looking boys from Haverford.
4.) Three research librarians, discussing the new archaeology exhibit in Carpenter Library.

Student Government Association (SGA) is the most popular group on campus, followed closely by Rugby, South Asian Women, and acapella groups. People do everything though! Dating is tough if you are straight. The lesbian dating culture is alive and well though! To meet a guy, you are confined to Haverford and Swarthmore, and that is generally confined to hook ups at parties. I met my boyfriend through a mutual friend, but that wasn't until my senior year. I have dated lots of guys, but they were all from home. I have hooked up with Swat and Haver-guys and lived to regret it. If Bryn Mawr is small, the Bi-Co (Bryn MAwr and Haverford) is smaller...
I met my best friends freshman year, because we all lived on the same hall.
There is a TON of drinking and drugging on campus. There's lots of studying, but students party as hard if not harder than they study. It can get a little disheartening, especially for those of us who do not partake.
Last weekend, I went swing dancing at the University of Pennsylvania, had sushi in Philly, and on Sunday I went to the Student Government Association's bi-annual Plenary to vote on resolutions to be presented to the faculty and administration.