When we arrived on campus…
When the Class of 1977 arrived on campus, we quickly realized we were one of the largest classes, to date. At first we understood how great that would be, meeting so many new and interesting women. But as we went to our rooms in the Rockies, Porter, Stafford and Torrey, we quickly realized that this also meant we would be living with a roommate in what was originally designed as a single…we quickly added a new word to our vocabulary, “a temp double”.
We also learned how special it is to end a long day with milk and cookies, especially sharing them with friends. And we surely learned how to work hard, but also play hard. And early into our Freshman year, we learned yet another new word, streaking, as young women and men ran across Skinner green, au-naturel!
During our time on campus we experienced these historical international and domestic events…
We were together from 1973 to 1977, bridging the era from post-Woodstock to early disco. Saturday Night Live premiered, Billy Jean King beat Bobby Riggs, Dorothy Hamill won the Gold, and Richard Nixon resigned. And during one January session, one of our classmates did an internship for the National Organization for Women, helping to pass the Equal Rights Amendment. Here it is 40 years later and its still not the law in all 50 states, so we continue to have our work cut out for us.
This is how we spent our free time while we were on campus…
For fun, like many of our fellow alums, we really took advantage of the 5-college bus, not only transporting us to campuses totally different than Mt. Holyoke, but also helping us socialize beyond our College and South Hadley. We also were close enough to Boston for weekend trips, and of course we could quickly get to Mt. Tom for hiking in the Fall and Spring, and skiing in the Winter.
We were a very athletic class, splitting our time between swimming, field hockey, basketball, rowing and horseback riding. And we were thrilled to christen the new and modern Kendall Hall as Juniors.
We often went to the College Inn where we could get a dinner of steak and fries for less than $4, and even have our own mugs hanging up in the bar. We would run over to Chanticleer in between classes to get big giant cookies, and we often did evening runs (sometimes in our Lanz nightgowns) to Friendly’s for ice cream sundaes and Fribbles.
What else would you like to share about your class’s time on campus?
We entered the College at an interesting time. The world was changing its traditional view on the role of women in the workforce, and Mt. Holyoke was the perfect place to explore and embrace these changes. With four years of learning and questioning behind us, we graduated to a world of choices…whether we wanted to marry, whether we wanted to stay home to raise our children or become pioneers in our chosen fields, or if we wanted to “choose” and do both. Mt. Holyoke taught us that the choice was ours, and helped us inform these choices through rigorous study, expansive experiences, serious dialogue and diverse friendships. Our eyes were certainly opened as a result of our four years at Mt. Holyoke College. Known for our enthusiasm and questioning spirit, the Class of 1977 is thrilled to be celebrating our 40th reunion.
Liz Lewis Gershon
Class President