Serrill-Robins's condemnation of the five-college system seemed to have two premises: that her opportunity to take a course at Mt. Holyoke had been spoiled unjustly, and that Amherst students are better than students at the other four colleges and thus more deserving of whatever the Valley may have to offer. As to the first, having not been privy to her interactions with the five-college professor, I can't really address her specific issue or extract from it the existence of a more widespread problem. But the second premise-that we're more qualified than other five-college students just because we got in here-seems to be a prevalent mindset among Amherst students, and one that is unfair, narrow-minded and hopelessly arrogant.
The worth of the five-college system can arguably be determined by looking at two distinct aspects: the institutions themselves and the students who attend them. Serrill-Robins claims that the consortium hardly qualifies as a partnership since, in her estimation, "unequal entities cannot be equal partners." Whether she meant that the schools themselves were unequal or that the schools' contributions to the consortium were unequally balanced, I don't know, but I gather that the ambiguity was motivated.
Amherst is an excellent academic institution. But to dismiss the other four colleges simply because they're not ranked as high is as unsubstantiated as saying that Williams is better than us because they climbed at the top spot in the U.S. News and World Report rankings. In many fields, not just language and fine arts (as Serrill-Robins admits), Amherst students should investigate at least one of the other colleges to fulfill their interests. The reality of having five very different schools clustered together is that they each do a few things extremely well, and we can take advantage of those strengths without necessarily being burdened by their weaknesses. For instance, Hampshire has spectacular film and video (the college did produce Ken Burns) and comprehensive agricultural and environmental study, while Smith and Mt. Holyoke have more expansive women's studies departments.
In many cases, we have to go to another school or import a five-college professor to engage in study. Of course, there's a lot-as a result of our size and the philosophy of liberal arts education-that we can't do here. Students who want to take business classes have to go to UMass, as do students looking to earn a teaching certificate or taking graduate level courses in any field. Notably, the five-college dance program, which obviously wouldn't exist without the contributions of the other schools, provides far-ranging opportunities for Amherst dancers.
Now, if Amherst students find it too taxing or inconvenient to explore the offerings at the other schools, that's their prerogative. I don't expect my advisor to hold my hand for support or to push me in the direction of worthwhile opportunities in the Valley. Serrill-Robins claims that we're "the ones doing more sharing than receiving," but I think that's because we either have an elitist attitude or we're just too lazy to leave our comfortable little college to do anything but go to Wal-Mart or eat at a nice restaurant in Northampton. With the Internet and a few contacts at the other colleges, every Amherst student should be able to discover and participate in enriching academic, cultural and sporting events if they so desire. I've found book readings and signings, concerts and film screenings, just by scrolling down on The Daily Jolt. When getting a ride is the hardest part, we don't have much to complain about.
And now we get to the more delicate aspect of the consortium: the students at other schools. Everyone, I'm sure, has a highly-evolved hierarchy and method for determining, at first sight, where any given out-of-place five-college student on our campus actually goes to school. And, yes, everyone has a story about a five-college student they found irritating, stupid and/or socially inept. But to be fair, we all have stories about Amherst students we found to be similarly undesirable company. I have sincerely appreciated my interaction with five-college students. This semester, the perspectives of women from a women's college in my class on gender might prove invaluable, or at the very least, they might add something to my academic experience.
But beyond the utility of access to a variety of viewpoints, I've met some intelligent and interesting people in the Valley. No, they didn't get into Amherst, but that doesn't mean they're not worth my time or that I see them as "swoop[ing]" onto our campus like birds of prey, reaping the benefits of our programming and costing us money. The prospect of five-college attendance at our programming is given as a good reason to fund activities; it is not usually, if ever, a point of contention.
Yes, the consortium has its problems, as do all institutions. But suggesting that Amherst students should have an advantage getting into courses everywhere won't fix any of the practical concerns that Amherst and other five-college students may have. If you want UMass course catalogs to be available in print here, then go to the Registrar's Office and ask for them. If you want the "sharing" to be more reciprocal, then go find something to enjoy at one of the other schools.
"Learning that shit happens and you can't always get what you want" certainly does count as a part of my education here, but I've found that with persistence, patience and a lot of initiative, I can get past the shit and be satisfied with what I do get. Moving out of Amherst and into the rest of the Pioneer Valley requires a bit of effort, but the results are much the same for most of us. Any single sour experience shouldn't color our entire perception of the five-college system, nor should it encourage our unqualified judgments of our neighboring schools. We might not be one big happy family, but we're related for the better.
Editor's Note:
Mt. Holyoke Associate Dean of Faculty Sally Sutherland e-mailed Mira Serrill-Robins on Sunday, Oct. 3 to apologize on behalf of Mt. Holyoke. Executive Director of Five Colleges, Inc. Lorna Peterson called Serrill-Robins on Monday, Oct. 4 to discuss her experience trying to take a course at Mt. Holyoke.