Dreyfus says she is going to a party at Theta Zi fraternity with her friend, Ted L. Baillie, a senior. "Ted is short for Jennifer," she says.

The two say they don't go to frat parties very often--Dreyfus says that this is the first one she will be at since her first year at Wellesley. Baillie says she used to go a lot when she had a boyfriend at MIT, but this trip to the university is the first in a long time.

"The Senate bus is not something that people do voluntarily," Dreyfus says. "I'm waiting for it to break down."

Even driver Freddy Lamons, of Roxbury, says the buses are crowded all the time. The crowding frustrates the passengers, they say.

"I don't think we should have to pay full price if we have to stand up," complains one student. Others say they are plagued by windows that swing open when the bus turns corners.

And three women recite in chorus an excerpt from the Wellesley News: "`I'd like to thank the Wellesley Senate Bus for giving me a chance to be my favorite animal--a sardine.'"

The sardine simile is a popular one, repeated by many who have to stand during the trip.

But the difficulty doesn't stop the students from riding the bus regularly. It can't. The appeal of leaving campus is so strong that most feel the urge to hop on the bus sooner or later. And many of these women say they ride the bus once a week, either Friday or Saturday night.

Harmer, who is returning from a church meeting, says it is mainly the first-years who go to the frats at MIT, partly because "They haven't grown out of it."

"Wellesley is only 12 miles out of Cambridge, but you don't realize that the commute is such a hassle," she says. "There is a lot to take advantage of in Boston. If you don't go in, you are missing out on a learning experience."

Another danger of Senate Bus travel, is that of being stranded in the city. The last shuttle runs out of Harvard at 2:40 a.m., with the next one coming at 9:40 the next morning. Many students say they have missed the bus at one time or another, but never the last one.

Most say they know someone who has been stuck, and have learned their lesson from this.

"You generally know of a friend where you can camp out in their room," Harmon says. "Two a.m. is not a great time to be stuck in Cambridge."

There are two buses that work the Wellesley route. It takes about two hours to make a full circut, with a lay-over of about 30 minutes at Wellesley.

The last heavy crowds board the bus at the 11:40 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. pick-ups from Harvard and MIT respectively.