The honors program at Mount Holyoke is not so extensive as Harvard's as it is open to juniors and seniors only, with most participating just in the last year. According to Dean Cameron, 25 to 30 per cent are eligible, and last year, 22 per cent graduated with some form of honors.

The Dean explained that the honors program is not so large as Harvard's since from the beginning the girls have small classes, and there is not so much a need to offset large classes with individual work such as tutorial.

To graduate with honors, the dean continued, one must prepare a long paper, and pass a special honors examination, in addition to passing the comprehensive examination within her department.

The most popular fields of concentration are the traditionally strong ones of English and History. Also up and coming these days are Political Science and the combined major of Economics and Sociology. Next come Religion and Psychology, followed by the sciences, notably Chemistry, Zoology, and Mathematics. Dean Cameron noted that the science departments at Mount Holyoke are unusually strong for a women's college.

Approximately 25 per cent of the graduates go on to immediate further study, especially in Chemistry, English, and History, Dean Cameron stated. She was especially proud of what she called "the rate of persistence," the percentage of those entering who stay on to graduate. Approximately 75 per cent of each freshman class manages to put off marriage for the four years, as compared with a national average of about 44 per cent.

Nursing Program

The dean cited the junior year abroad as one of the opportunities available for those interested in foreign studies. She warned, however, that such a program is "certainly not for everybody and can be very upsetting."

Another special program offered by Mount Holyoke is in nursing. Comparable to the arrangement Radcliffe has with Massachusetts General Hospital, girls in the program at Holyoke study the liberal arts for three years and then work at the Hartford Hospital School of Nursing for two. Upon completion of her hospital training, the student receives the Bachelor of Arts from Mount Holyoke and the Bachelor of Science from the hospital school. Largely because of its extreme difficulty, the nursing program has a very small enrollment.

Honor Code

As far as grades go, the girls' reactions are mixed. Most seemed very concerned about their marks but some said "We did the minimum and did all right." Another girl admitted that "even the biggest hackers take something seriously."

Another side to the story of life at Mount Holyoke is the extra-curricular program and the student government. Every student is a member of the Student Government Association which has the power, with few exceptions, to make and enforce regulations concerning the conduct of the undergraduate students in their college life, subject to the reserve power and control of the president and the faculty.

The S. G. A. consists of a legislative body, called the Representative Assembly, and the Judicial Board, which exercises both executive and judicial functions. Most of the student body is very satisfied with the cases involving alleged violations of regulations.

A good measure of self-government is added to the college through its far-reaching Honor Code, which is administered by the Judicial Board. The code concerns all aspects of college life: academic, social, church and chapel requirements, and library regulations. According to President Gettell, the system works; according to the girls, it is a fine thing.

The Town and the College

For those who do not participate directly in the student government, there is the usual roster of extra-curricular activities, as well as some unusual ones. In addition to a Fellowship of Faiths, an International Relations Club, a Dramatic Club, a Dance Club, a radio station, class choirs, department clubs, a glee club, an orchestra, a newspaper, a literary magazine, and a yearbook, there is a water ballet, which last spring performed in Florida, and a very active Boots and Saddles Club.