"Well I really don't want to say it but [Harvard men seem to think] we're either stupid or want to jump in. bed or something," one of the girls commented.

The girls had a number of suggestions as to why Harvard men feel as they do about Lesley. Lesley, they explained, is not a big "prestige" school, but it's surrounded by them. "We're just dwarfed by those tzig schools," Fran noted. The girls pointed out that Lesley freshmen are required to wear beanies during the traditional Fall hazing. This is a custom followed at many girls colleges, but only at Lesley must the beanie-wearing freshmen romp through "sophisticated" Harvard Yard.

Lesley girls have their own false stereotype about Harvard men as the remark about "sophisticated" Harvard Yard indicates. There are two types of Harvard men, Jo Anne said with the smiling assent of the others. Either he's a clean-cut, with a black umbrella and a scarf (in a word, "preppie"), or he hasn't had a bath since September and he smells like it.

It's a two-way street, obviously, and in this case of mutual alienation, the Lesley girl turns away from what should have been the normal center of her social life, Harvard, and looks elsewhere -- namely, Tufts.

The Lesley girls who are dating steadily are almost all dating Tufts men, the girls said. Tufts men give them the chance that has been denied them by Harvard men, and only Harvard men. As a result the girls' feelings about Tufts were quite favorable. To wit: "very nice and great dates." (Their images of students at other colleges are interesting. M.I.T. men are "very intellectual and--you know" said with a giggle and a wave of the hand, B.U. men are "sort of neutral," and Cliffies, like Harvard men, are divided into two types, long-haired with rimless glasses and a book bag, or dressed for a debutante ball.)

There are also Harvard graduate students. The Law students are stereotyped as very intense and perpetually accompanied by a brief case. But, in general, the grad students rate high, especially if they didn't go to Harvard College. These men, the girls feel, lack the undergraduate's sneering attitude and thus will take out a Lesley girl readily, also while showering her with Harvard's social advantages.

More Mature Men

And, of course, they are older and more mature than the College boys but that is an old, non-Lesley, non-Harvard story. Older men marry sooner. That's strictly a "non-hang-up" reason for preferring the grad students. One girl estimated that 75 per cent of the senior class is engaged; others disputed that figure but agreed that at least half the class was engaged. This is not unlike most other girls' schools.

The situation then is that Lesley girls are very much like all other college girls; many Harvard men, however, don't seem to believe this. The girls said they did see a crack in the Harvard glacier, though. Judy told about her freshmen year when her residence advisor and a Harvard proctor whom the advisor knew arranged a series of parties. The two groups became great friends and dates. They still see each other, Judy said.

The other girls also knew of Harvard men who took the time to meet and date Lesley girls. These men are probably too fearful to reveal it to the rest of the college, and they probably don't realize they are not alone. But the group is slowly growing larger each day.

The Lesley girls are all around us. (The girls all admitted using Harvard libraries regularly; they can't wait until Lamont opens to girls.) It's clearly time to re-think the matter.

The tide is already turning slowly, soon Harvard's "frame-up" of Lesley will end. And when that happens, the sad Lesley "hang-up" will disappear.