Feature
Wellesley College
Mahdin Mahboob



Wellesley College, Massachusetts has one of the most beautiful campuses in the United States complete with a large lake, ponds, woodlands, an arboretum, and miles of foot paths with picturesque surroundings. The private women's college, located in Wellesley, Massachusetts (13 miles west of Boston), has been consistently ranked among the top five liberal arts colleges in the United States by the widely accepted U.S. News & World Report rankings. It has maintained its position as the highest ranking women's college in this category for quite some time now.

Founded in 1875 by Henry Fowle Durant and his wife Pauline Fowle Durant, the mission of the college is to "provide an excellent liberal arts education for women who will make a difference in the world." And difference they have made! Noteable laureates include Hillary Rodham Clinton (Batch of 1969) (U.S. Senator; Former First Lady of the U.S.) and Madeleine Albright (Batch of 1959) (former U.S. Secretary of State) to name just a few. This further enhances the college motto : Non Ministrari sed Ministrare (Latin - not to be ministered unto but to minister ).

With a student population of approximately 2300 and over 200 faculty members, Wellesley has an average class size of 12 to 14 students thus providing each student with more personal attention. The libraries here contain over 1.5 million catalogued books, journals, media recordings, maps, and other items. As of 2005, the endowment for the college was about $1.276 billion. Wellesley has a generous financial aid policy; more than half of all students receive some form of financial aid.

Extra curricular activities on campus at Wellesley is very diverse and 160 student organizations (cultural, political, community service, campus radio, club sports, etc) does make it a very vibrant place. As is the case with many colleges, Wellesley College has many traditions of its own. A very interesting one is the tradition of Hoop Rolling. Each upper-class woman has a wooden hoop that was passed down to her from her “big sister.” (which she makes during her first Fall Semester). Before graduation, the seniors, wearing their graduation robes, run a short race while rolling their hoops. The winner of the race has been traditionally said to be the first woman in her class to achieve success, however she defines it. She is also awarded flowers by the college president, and then tossed into lake Waban. The tossing of the winner into the lake began several decades ago when a Harvard University male, dressed as a Wellesley student, won the race. When, upon his victory, it was discovered that he wasn't a Wellesley student, he was thrown into the lake.

Wellesley, being one of the very best US colleges is very selective about picking its students so be prepared to face stiff competition if you are planning for Wellesley. The admissions office at Wellesly can be contacted through admission@wellesley.edu.

This is how Mehjabeen Rahman, an undergraduate student from Bangladesh has expressed her views about the college :

What I love about Wellesley is that there is no one thing that characterizes it as a college. We (and I say we as the students are a major part of what makes Wellesley what it is) are a single-sex, liberal arts undergraduate institution. But these are random facts which don't do justice to the Wellesley experience. The college provides a unique and nurturing environment with small class sizes, amazing professors and students from around the US and the world. Each course that I take here makes me think in a different way, whether it was an English course or a course on feminist and radical economics. The Liberal arts curriculum gives students the flexibility to take a number of courses outside their major and explore vastly different fields. However the thing I love most about being here is the incredibly supportive environment that the college strives to create and the fact that you are never judged for the choices that you make.

(The writer is a student of ECE major at BRAC University)
Email : mahdin.mahboob@gmail.com

An effort to help people


Sabrina Hasan Shoily

Winter seems to be really strong this year with the temperature in Dhaka dropping to 9 degrees Celsius. Was I suffering? Was I worried? Not really…I was enjoying my holidays with Eid, New Year and my cousin's wedding all at the same time.

But over the last few days, I am not enjoying winter any more. A few days back, I was tucked under my comfortable blanket, enjoying a hot cup of chocolate milk and feeling happy about the fact that my university was closed; while my mother watched the news. As I turned the pages of my brand new storybook, eager to know what happened next to the hero, my eyes fell on the image a little child on the television. He was expressing his sorrows and telling the reporter how he is suffering due to the cold wave, and how the fact that there is only one shawl and one sweater for himself and his younger sibling is making their life even more miserable. The boy looked so innocent; his eyes were filled with such misery, as if telling us to help him.

Within a second, I forgot all about my comfort and started thinking about that child on the television. Can't I, we, do anything about the hundreds of such people living on the streets in this weather? Why did almost 200 people in the country die within a few days? I knew I had to do something.

The very next morning, I asked my mom to take out all the old sweaters and other warm clothes that we haven't been using for a while and perhaps would never wear again. Since I could not go out to any other place and distribute them, I gave those to the maid who works at our house and asked her to distribute them where she lives.

When we see people in the country suffering, we always blame the government and the politicians. But we never realize one thing, that we ourselves can change our society. We don't need any kind of help from the government. If we take some initiative to stand by all those who need help from us, this world can be a better place. The Almighty has blessed all of us with a lot of things. Why not share them with the needy? I would like to request the readers of star campus to help all those who are suffering due to the weather. Even your smallest contribution can do a lot for these unfortunate people.