10 Things to Do When You're Not in Class

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There's much more to Mount Holyoke than top-flight academics
Whatever their bliss, students can pursue it, courtesy of the College's 24 club and varsity sports and more than 170 student organizations. Here is a sampling of just some of the Mount Holyoke's extracurricular offerings:

Student Government Rules!
The Student Government Association lets students speak out on important campus issues through dialogue in committee meetings, community forums, Senate meetings, and through SGA referenda. SGA is the group that both the administration and the student body trust for support in campus endeavors and new campaigns for change.

Going for the Gold
The College's Equestrian Center—lauded by Town and Country magazine as "hands-down the finest East Coast" collegiate riding facility—is home to two of the winningest riding teams—huntseat and dressage—in the country. And, while the College's top-flight instructors and school horses attract some of the best college riders in the country, you don't have to be a grand prix rider to join; both teams compete at beginner through advanced levels.

It's Not All Work and No Play...
The Network is a student-run organization that coordinates social events and entertainment at the College. With festive Fall and Spring Weekends, extravaganzas like Las Vegas Night, and concerts featuring stars such as Ani DiFranco and Kanye West, the Network makes Mount Holyoke a destination spot for the other Five Colleges—Amherst, Hampshire, Smith, and the University of Massachusetts.

Getting Physic-al
Anyone who enjoys physics is welcome to join Mount Holyoke's award-winning Society of Physics Students, a chapter of the national SPS. A professional association designed expressly for students, the SPS takes challenging, hands-on physics projects into local elementary school classrooms. The society has been honored three years running as an "outstanding SPS Chapter" for its research, public science outreach, physics tutoring program, and other activities.

Keeping the Faith
Serving nine faith groups, Mount Holyoke's spiritual center, Eliot House, welcomes all members of College community to take part in a wide range of activities on and off campus. This year, a group of students and staff spent spring break repairing substandard housing in the Sea Islands of South Carolina, a poverty-stricken area where migrant workers and descendants of slaves struggle to maintain their homes and communities.

A Novel Idea
Every week 12 Mount Holyoke students travel to Westfield, a neighboring city, to join the other members of their book group—30 boys and young men from the Westfield Youth Detention Center. The goal of the book club is to inspire a passion for reading in the Westfield youth. So far it's working. Novels such as To Kill a Mockingbird and The Outsiders have generated great discussions, laughter, and learning.

Recyclemania
Thanks to the Environmental Action Coalition and student Eco-Reps, Mount Holyoke recently vied with 48 colleges and universities around the nation to see which campus could collect the largest amount of recyclables. The annual competition, dubbed Recyclemania, is sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Wastewise program. MHC measured by dorm with student volunteers tracking the numbers. When Recyclemania's final results were tallied, MHC placed seventh, just ahead of Harvard, Tufts, and MIT.

A Well-Versed Tradition
Every year since 1913, Mount Holyoke has hosted one of academia's most prestigious poetry events, the Kathryn Irene Glascock Intercollegiate Poetry Competition. Glascock contenders have included Sylvia Plath, Robert Lowell, James Merrill, William Kunstler, Katha Pollitt, and many others who have gone on to prominence in the world of letters.

Cultural Connections
One way that Mount Holyoke celebrates its diversity is through its cultural centers, which are open to all MHC students. At these centers, students socialize, cook, host parties, and share their culture with the larger community.

Sing Along With...
The V-8s, short for Victory Eights, are the oldest continually active female collegiate a cappella group in the nation. They apply their smooth harmonies to tunes by everyone from Doris Day to Liz Phair. Every year the V-8s go on tour, participate in intercollegiate a cappella bowls, and perform at many Mount Holyoke events.