Hampshire College

Let’s get one thing straight about Hampshire College. It’s not “experimental”; it’s “experimenting.” Hampshire describes itself as the latter in order to emphasize the continually changing nature of its curriculum. Part of the curriculum centers on student interests, with students taking an active role in developing their majors, concentrations, and projects.

Hampshire College is known as one of the “Five Colleges” along with Amherst College, Smith College, Mount Holyoke College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Geographically, all five are close to one another and are linked by buses which run between the campuses. An urban legend has it that the characters on Scooby Doo represent each of the colleges: Daphne as Mount Holyoke, Velma as Smith, Fred as Amherst, Shaggy as Hampshire, and Scooby as UMass Amherst. Hanna-Barbera Productions has refuted this claim.

So do students think Hampshire is a Scooby-Do or a Scooby-Don’t?

“I don’t know of a conventional institution where sexuality is so demystified that there are unisex restrooms everywhere and an overall respect for sexuality and sexual orientation.”

“Hampshire, at its best, is about rejecting both individualism or conformity in learning, displacing both in the spirit of the creative, cooperative generation of knowledge.”

For those students who crave organic healthy food choices, look no further. Hampshire grows its own food.

“They also get milk from a local dairy farmer, and the eggs are local too, I think. This comes about through the work of a student group that promoted local foods on campus effectively.”

Some students consider the food pretty “scrappy,” however.

“Sometimes, I’ll be so hungry and go to Saga and just not want to eat anymore because nothing looks appealing.”

It all depends on whether you’re a Fred or a Shaggy.

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