December 6, 2015 - 18:43
INTRODUCTION:
I investigated the current state of the Bi-Co between Haverford and Bryn Mawr by examining various sources, such as survey responses, social media, data, and my own personal observations. Specifically, I looked at cultural and social influences that the schools have on each other, and the academic cooperation between the two schools.
First off, my research has some limitations. To begin with, my survey accepted answers from willing volunteers only; this means that there is probably bias involved in the results, since those with extreme opinions tend to be more willing to answer the survey on the pertaining topic. Second, most of the audience I reached involved first-years at Bryn Mawr. While I did reach a few upperclassmen and Haverford students, most of my survey responses only reached a specific demographic; thus, my results are probably distorted and only reflective of this small population within the larger Bi-Co. Third, most of my research from social media is anonymously posted. Since I can’t trust who the sources are, this brings the validity and legitimacy of my social media research into question.
ACADEMIC RELATIONSHIP:
Students at both colleges seem to be well acquainted with the college that is not their home campus. The majority of students who replied to the survey have taken one or more classes at the other campus (only 35% did not take a class at the other campus this semester). When asked about differences in classroom environments at HC and BMC, many students said very little difference or no difference. However, a significant population of female BMC students said they felt more comfortable in BMC classes than HC classes. Around half the students are in a Bi-Co club. The Bryn Mawr website lists 74 Bi-Co clubs out of 209 total clubs, and the Haverford website lists over 145 active clubs, with 17 Bi-Co clubs. Haverford’s clubs website is likely more recent than Bryn Mawr’s. It’s a well-known fact that plenty of HC and BMC students take classes at each other’s campuses. Reasons include: wanting to meet new students on another campus, wanting a co-ed environment, the major is only offered on one campus, or for various scheduling/availability reasons.
STEREOTYPES
I mostly observed cultural and social aspects of the Bi-Co. One main feature of this portion of my research involved stereotypes of Haverford and Bryn Mawr students. When I asked students in the Bi-Co about stereotypes they’ve heard about Haverford male students, many responded with these keywords/concepts:
Haverbro
white lacrosse players
named Dan
short
think they’re smarter than BMC students
throw bad parties
nerdy/socially awkward
entitled to women/hooking up
preppy
sexist
When asked about stereotypes about Haverford female students, students replied with these keywords/concepts:
plain Janes
HC women hate BMC women
snobby
When asked about stereotypes about the HC population as a whole, students replied with these keywords/concepts:
a mostly straight population
throws weird parties
When asked about stereotypes about the Bryn Mawr population, students replied with these keywords/concepts:
overly sensitive
too politically correct
extremely concerned with social justice
feminists who don’t shave
gay/queer population
weird
short/colored hair
a few are slutty
uptight, too studious
Alison found a record of Haverford male students’ stereotypes of Bryn mawr students back in 1980.
"BMC women are too intellectual, Bryn Mawr girls study twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, BMC girls hate guys, Bryn Mawr girls really aren't girls.”
There’s interesting overlaps with the current stereotypes, such as the perception that BMC women hate men and don’t fit the typical female role that is defined as the norm in our society, past and today. Bryn Mawr students are also known to be intellectual- like many of the women at the Seven Sister colleges.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
I observed a Facebook page, called “Haverbro Quotes,” to examine the social relationship between Bryn Mawr and Haverford. 609 people currently like it, but it is impossible to see the names of these people and which college they attend. This page mostly makes fun of the stereotype that the Haverford male student is a lacrosse player, engages in excessive display of masculinity, and only cares about “lifting” or hooking up. Some examples include:
"What are your pronouns?" "I'm a lacrosse player...??" - Haverbronoun The berm, 10/14/15, 1:30pm ET
"You know a bro doesn't really lift when he can't do plate math." - Haverbro, mathematician The GIAC, 01/27/15, 9:02 am ET
"I have a bigger trust fund than you" - Haverbro, haverdrunk, haverdick Overheard from a white guy on the berm, 01/23/15, 10:55 pm ET
"God, I don't know how I'm going to get through lift today.... I should start taking Adderall" - Haverbro, martyr 2:37 pm ET, 12/11/14, Dining Center
"Dude, where have you been? Like, between legs or...." - Haverbro 6:31 pm ET, 12/08/14, Dining Center
The cover photo displays a cartoonish drawing of a man wearing a hoodie, walking in front of a picture of Founder’s with a Haverford logo pasted in the middle of the photo. Recently, the moderator of the page posted, “On a more serious note, it has come to my attention that some people are offended or feel targeted by this page. That wasn't my intention at all; this is a totally good-natured thing. However, if you see a quote on the page that is from you or a friend and you're uncomfortable with it, please send me a message and I will take it down, no questions asked. Also, when submitting a quote, please be mindful of if the person would be okay with you submitting it and maybe ask them first”. This indicates that the page is not meant for serious offense, but has caused some anyway. The “Haverbro” stereotype suggests that a majority of the male students at Haverford are wealthy and white. Perhaps making fun of a stereotypical wealthy, white, male character hints at specific attitudes prevalent in the Bi-Co, such as recognition of privilege or respect for those out of the “norm”.
Yik Yak tells me more. Yik Yak is an app that allows people in the nearby area to post anonymously; Bryn Mawr’s Yik Yak gets Haverford’s Yik Yak posts as well. The close distance between the two schools allows for a connection through this social media platform. One trend I noticed was the Havercat. The Havercat, which is an extremely adorable cat that lingers around Haverford’s campus, is often posted about. After the Havercat became locally viral on Yik Yak, I noticed that someone posted about a Mawrtyrcat. This trend did not become popular at all, and has only been posted about twice or so, since. This suggests that Bryn Mawr and Haverford students like to share social and cultural aspects. Here is one playful interaction I noticed on the app concerning Havercat and Mawrtyrcat:
The original post: “Mawr cat spotted *with picture attached*”
a commenter wrote: “I disapprove of this mockery of HaverYakers. Havercat is a way of life.”
OP: “It wasn’t mockery I’m so sorry it came off this way (distressed emoji)”
the commentor: “(no worries I was joking OP)”
Many people (mostly males), post about wanting to meet Bryn Mawr girls. Many posts are about wanting to hook up with students on the other campus. Here are some examples:
“I just want to meet a Havergirl or Mawrtyr with brown hair who likes cuddling and conversation.” (11/5/15)
“Any incredibly weird and cute combo guys at Haverford? That’s what I need in my life” (11/5/15)
There’s also a big trend of asking about what kind of social events or parties are happening in the Bi-Co, which suggests that students on both campuses are interested in social events on both campuses. Another interesting interaction I witnessed on Yik Yak concerned the all-women environment of Bryn Mawr.
Original post: “Sometimes I think going to a women’s college was a good idea. And other days I have a mini panic attack any time I accidentally run into a boy on campus. (annoyed face emoji)” (11/9/15)
commenter: “They’re always on campus. How is seeing a guy such an alleged surprise?”
OP- “No, like, actually running into them. Like having to interact with them. I get so nervous (distressed face emoji)”
commenter: “¾ of my classes have guys in them. How do you not interact? It’s like not this abnormal thing we keep trying to pretend it is. Jfc I get asked at job interviews if I can handle being in a coed environment again. Don’t use a women’s college as an excuse as to why you can’t talk to 50% of the population”
another commenter: “Personally I feel like a women’s college is an opportunity to understand who you are without men around. I think it gives me a chance to understand how my behavior is affected by the presence of men.”
It seems like Bryn Mawr students often have varying opinions on Haverford men on the Bryn Mawr campus. Some feel nervous or uncomfortable, but many don’t care at all.
Yik Yak also plays as a platform for expressing opinions on current events in the Bi-Co. For example, when Swarthmore posted an article about Hell Week in the Phoenix, outrage spread across the Bryn Mawr campus. Many people posted anger, sadness, or confusion regarding the article. Haverford students expressed sympathy for Bryn Mawr; at this time, the students in the Bi-Co banded together against Swarthmore. Other times, however, students complain that there’s too much posting about social justice issues at Bryn Mawr. When the Bryn Mawr Student Coalition posted a list of demands recently, people felt overwhelmed by the posts concerning this issue at the time. These complains don’t apply to Haverford as much, except recently this week, when Haverford’s Feminists United started a survey called “Fucked Up Shit Happens Here Too” about sexual assault on the campus and projected the title on Founders. An abundance of Yik Yak posts followed. Yik Yak is a popular app to ask questions, express concerns, and opinions about current events in the Bi-Co. Students also post on Yik Yak to promote events on both campuses.
In addition, many posts on Yik Yak tend to make fun of the stereotype that the Bi-Co is extremely politically correct. For example:
“Calling yourself a breadwinner just for having a job demeans the accomplishments of people who actually win bread in contests of various kinds.” Dec. 5, 2015
Overall, looking at social media was a very humorous part of this research project. Bryn Mawr and Haverford often make fun of each other in an intentionally playful and light-hearted way, but sometimes people feel offense. Both schools share jokes, information, social events, and trends, and sometimes fight like siblings.
PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS:
As part of this project, I recorded some personal observations that I’ve seen over the semester. During the first couple weeks, I noticed right away that students at Haverford tend to have a different relationship with their customs people than students at Bryn Mawr. HC students tend to party with their customs people every weekend, and become close friends with them. BMC students become close with their customs people as well, but tend to have a more formal relationship (in other words, only hang out with them at teas or get-togethers with the customs group). To clarify, there is huge variation in relationships with customs people, and I only observed a small portion of the relationships. Yet, to generalize, it seems like BMC relationships with customs people tend to be more formal and more varied in nature, and HC relationships are more party-based.
Speaking of parties, it’s pretty obvious that BMC students party at Haverford way more than Haverford students party at Bryn Mawr. On a Saturday night, many BMC students utilize the blue bus to get to Haverford parties and back. A large majority of parties on both campuses are open to the Bi-Co.
In addition, one of the stereotypes I noticed from the survey was that “Haverford guys come to Haffner as their version of ‘going out’”. In fact, I’ve heard from a source at Haverford that some Haverford students call a meal at Haffer “Bryn Din,” which I think is pretty adorable and funny. Again, this doesn’t apply to all Haverford students.
REGISTRAR’S OFFICE
As part of research for this project, I tried to get some names of students who are cross-majoring, but due to privacy reasons I was unable to reach any cross-major seniors.
CONCLUSION
I must reiterate that these stereotypes, observations, and survey responses do not apply to all students in the Bi-Co. This is a varied, fluid, and difficult subject to get “hard” data on, so I mostly relied on my own observations and student responses. The resulting implication is that I probably only got a narrow view of the Bi-Co, although many of these observations are pretty prevalent.
It seems that Bryn Mawr relies on Haverford socially more than the other way around, because Haverford offers a co-ed environment, but both schools mutually benefit academically and in terms of extra-curriculars. I originally wanted to get both Haverford and Bryn Mawr perspectives on the Bi-Co, but ended up getting much more information from Bryn Mawr. In a way, this focus on the Bryn Mawr perspective brings up more questions- how does a women’s college environment differ from a co-ed environment? Is the idea of a women’s college outdated? Did many students choose to attend Bryn Mawr because they expected to get a co-ed experience at Haverford as well?
To sum, Haverford and Bryn Mawr have a complex relationship that involves poking fun at one another, mutual support, criticism, and competition. In this way, the Bi-Co reminds me of a siblings relationship.