One man’s study abroad at Wellesley’s all-female campus.By Annie Tsao
Summer 2008
As his classmates at Dartmouth College boarded trans-Atlantic flights to study abroad last semester, Mohammad Usman ventured a mere two-and-a-half hours from campus to reach his exotic destination. When he stepped onto the grassy expanse of Wellesley College, the male-female student ratio became 1:2,300 for the first time in years. "I don’t think I had very many fears. Instead, I just felt thrilled about the idea," said Usman, a sophomore.
It all began a year earlier when a friend suggested taking advantage of a semester-long exchange program among 11 New England schools. They applied and were accepted together, but when his friend dropped out due to pre-med conflicts, Usman forged ahead alone. "Obviously, my decision was greatly influenced by the all-women’s component of Wellesley," he said, though he had a girlfriend at the time (their relationship ended while he was still at Wellesley).
A double major in Government and Geography, Usman added that the college’s curriculum and the opportunity to attend classes at MIT were appealing, as was Wellesley’s proximity to Boston. When it came to sharing news of his plans, he received mainly "smiles and laughs, which was then followed by a series of questions on how this exchange was even possible." Usman’s parents, Pakistani immigrants who own a variety store in the Bronx, did not ask such questions—they were unaware that their son was attending an all-women’s college until they dropped him off.
A single dorm room on campus and access to a private bathroom only added to Usman’s already "good living situation." While he did harbor "some initial reservations about what the social-dynamic would be like on day one," those concerns quickly subsided. Although his gender occasionally led students and campus officers to demand to see his Wellesley ID, Usman said that, overall, there was a positive reaction to his presence as the boy on campus. "Students and professors alike were curious and interested in learning what motivated me to apply, but they were also interested in learning how I liked my experience thus far," he said. "Making friends wasn’t very difficult, largely because most of the women at Wellesley are extremely nice and social, and partly because I am, or I’d like to believe, a fairly social guy."
 Mohammad Usman sitting with the “amazing, strong, and capable” women of Wellesley College. (photo provided by Mohmmad Usman)
He described his Wellesley friends glowingly: they are "certainly empowered and aware," "amazing, strong, and capable," and each "has taught me something unique and special." Compared to his experiences at Dartmouth and MIT, where he enrolled in three courses, "Wellesley women, generally, are more willing to share their opinion with confidence. Which I think is a great thing."
"Obviously, all my friends on-campus were women. And when I did go out in a group, it was with a group of girls," he said. "[It was] an awesome experience." So what exactly do women talk about? "When I went out with a group of Wellesley women, we spent more time talking about classes, how our days were, what we were planning for the week, etc.," Usman said. In contrast, his conversations with male friends at Dartmouth generally concerned "sports, money, girls, and a host of other things which have gendered ‘male.’"
Usman also became acutely aware of what he calls "the daily struggle" faced by the opposite sex. "Specifically, I can compare my time at Wellesley to time I have spent in a fraternity basement, and have a better understanding of how that experience can be intimidating and unfriendly to women," he said. In gaining a "stronger understanding of how our society characterizes each gender," he realized that such distinctions "iterate and institutionalize an unequal playing field for women."
As far as differences in the classroom, Usman said, "From my experience, I can say that there are definite gender differences at Wellesley—I’m sure everyone reading this is saying ‘duh’—but what I mean specifically is that at Wellesley, gender is constructed, or at least attempted to be constructed, as a source of strength and power." In his "amazing" courses, World Politics and Urban Politics, Usman said that a discussion on women was ever present. "Whether it was feminism, power, a discussion about institutionalized social obstacles for women, or just even how roles differ for women, the dialogue was always there. Not everyday, but it was there. This is something that I found particularly amazing and impressive."
Since leaving, Usman and his Wellesley friends have already visited each other a number of times. He hopes that a research paper he is currently writing on the exchange for Dartmouth’s Geography department will "warrant a few more field visits" before he departs for a more traditional semester abroad at the London School of Economics next year. "What I miss most about Wellesley is Wellesley in its entirety. Wellesley is a fantastic academic institution, and with my hindsight perspective, I can honestly say I was challenged and impressed by the courses I took there," he said. "The best part of my Wellesley experience was meeting new people everyday. After all, I was the only male student attending an all-women’s college, obviously the best part is the women, right?" |
