Haverford College

Date: Apr 13 2007
Major: Undecided (This Major's Salary over time)
Haverford College is a great idea. The Honor Code is amazing and the school's small size provides a great sense of community. However, in practice, Haverford seems to have strayed from these ideals. Most students here today either don't know or don't care about the Honor Code.

It's not like this is some unsolvable, either. For a far more successful institution, one need only walk twenty minutes away to Bryn Mawr. Bryn Mawr's student body is far more committed to the Honor Code, and there is a general sense of on-campus activism that Haverford desperately lacks.

Additionally, Haverford seems to me to be a bit of a jock school. Certainly, the students are intelligent and most (or at least some) are intellectually interested in their work, but it is undeniable that Haverford's athletic strength hurts other areas of campus life. Haverford maintains an athletic program the size of those at schools two to three times larger. About 50% of the student body plays sports. This is hardly indicative of a "jock culture," but there are still disturbing isolated incidents of jock behavior. For example, a few years ago, the Lacrosse coach called his players "fags" in front of a watching crowd. Although people protested, he was not fired. Housing on campus also strongly favors athletes. Although Haverford claims to not have fraternities, one house is basically given to the baseball team every year, and up until a few years ago, another house was also for athletes.

It seems like Haverford has made some sacrifices to become what it is today. Perhaps it was better when it had 800 students and was all-men.