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College Prowler

Academics

Professors at Marlboro are consistently excellent. I’ve never studied with one that didn’t challenge me in some way. I admit, I don’t need much help getting excited about my academics, but my professors always help me find some new way to look at things that I hadn’t considered. Also, I’m happy to be in a school where I can relate to my professors outside of class.

Athletics

Ha ha! Seriously, though, if competitive athletics are your thing, Marlboro may not be the place for you. We have a soccer team composed of students and professors that has won about two games in the last 10 years. We do have an active fencing community, though.

Campus Dining

Why the Dining Hall is such a popular hotspot can be hard to understand, given the students’ low ratings on the food served there, as well the constant lack of dishes to eat on. Marlboro students use the honor system, which means they are allowed to borrow plates and spoons and whatever else they want, as long as they return them. Dishes disappear and reappear consistently throughout the year, leaving students with no bowls or forks to use at some meals, or with the option of paper plates and plastic utensils, if they are lucky.

Campus Housing

The housing, compared to larger universities I’ve visited, is quite nice. The floors are carpeted, the color scheme isn’t depressing, and the windows are large. Even the ‘worst’ dorms, like Howland, really aren’t all that bad. Not all buildings have laundry facilities (like Marlboro Gardens), so there are extra washers and dryers below the Dining Hall. The nicest rooms are in a renovated bed and breakfast a few miles from campus; there are regular shuttle runs, but it may be easier to live there if you own a vehicle.

Campus Strictness

On the whole, I feel that drugs and alcohol are very openly used at Marlboro, but I imagine that the policy may become much stricter over the next few years. People seem to have the impression that Marlboro is so far out in the middle of nowhere that everything that happens here passes under the law-enforcement radar. This is far from the case, though, and I’ve sensed a certain amount of fear among the administration that it’s only a matter of time before the police decide to put their foot down. There’s been some talk of an effort to at least make drug use more inconspicuous and possibly less prevalent altogether.

Computers

The computer labs are nice. They’re gonna be crowded near finals, but you’ll pretty much always be able to find a space. I personally love having my own computer because I prefer working curled up in dark corners alone. If you like working in crowds, sure, don’t worry about having a computer. I have a friend who has gotten through four years with out one. They’re an asset, not a necessity.

Diversity

I think we were once one of the more economically-diverse liberal arts colleges around, but there have been tuition hikes over the past several years, and we’re becoming much more uniformly wealthy. I can’t back that up statistically, but I think that we’re also experiencing a loss in age diversity. Marlboro used to attract lots of older students, but now, the vast majority of the incoming classes seem to be kids right out of high school.

Drug Scene

I was actually pretty surprised by how many people smoke cigarettes at Marlboro. This may be an East Coast thing, but I’m not sure, it could be Marlboro-specific. Drinking can be intense, and I think it’s often related to the most risky behavior that goes on at Marlboro. People rarely talk about this anymore, but the one student death we’ve ever had at Marlboro was alcohol-related. I think that, on the whole, we have a pretty serious problem with alcoholism, but it has yet to be seriously addressed.

Facilities

Most of the Marlboro campus is very homey, but I think that many of the buildings could use renovation. Thankfully, this is in the process of happening. The Campus Center is nice and gets great sunlight, but smoking is allowed in it at certain times, so students with an aversion to cigarettes often don’t go. The library is small, but the librarians are great and are always happy to help students get what they need, even if the school doesn’t have it.

Greek Life

I think it’s kind of unofficial, but I don’t think Greek life is allowed on campus. It clashes with the ideas of individuality and freedom that Marlboro tries to instill.

Guys & Girls

When I first came to Marlboro, I thought there were lots of hot people, but there’s something about spending every single day with the same 300 people that makes the hotness rub off pretty quickly. I still think that there are some very hot people, but not that many.

Local Atmosphere

Marlboro the town has relatively few residents, but it’s a beautiful little New England town, with locals more than willing to get to know you. Brattleboro, of 12,000 residents, is a 20-minute drive away. It has a very New England, crunchy-granola ambience. There’s not much of a bad area to stay away from as far as I know. There is a plethora of tiny shops, a few nice coffeehouses, two movie theaters, a museum, that sort of thing.

Nightlife

Marlboro is so small that a party here is often defined as a gathering of seven or more people, but there are parties much bigger than this almost every weekend. The biggest parties are the ones thrown by the social committee and Marlboro Pride. I think the parties are pretty typical for college parties. There’s lost of drinking and a general loss of social inhibitions. I don’t really know anything about the bar and club scene downtown. There are bars in Brattleboro and clubs in Northampton, but I’ve never been to any of these.

Off-Campus Dining

Fifteen minutes down the hill is a little diner, the Chelsea Royal, that has, well, diner food, but really, really good diner food. It’s very affordable, and it’s open seven days a week. There are a few really nice Asian restaurants, and Sarkis Market is very cheap Lebanese food. There are a couple of Indian places. There’s a really ritzy gourmet-type place, Max’s. There’s the Riverview, which has burgers and seafood and pasta and nice outdoor dining. There are a half-dozen pizza places too.

Off-Campus Housing

Off-campus housing (at least, off-campus housing that isn’t owned by the College) really isn’t a very good option for students without their own cars, as there isn’t a lot of it close to campus (or outside of Brattleboro, for that matter). I’ve been thinking about living in Brat when I get back in the spring, despite my lack of car, but this is largely going to be determined by whether or not I’m single. If my former girlfriend remains my former girlfriend, I want to live on campus so I can date more easily.

Overall Experience

I love Marlboro, but I sometimes think it has less to do with the school and more to do with me. If I had come here straight from high school, I would’ve hated it. I would not have had the discipline or vision the school requires for success. I took four years off to travel, experience life, and work in the nonprofit/community-service sector, which made all the difference.

Parking

I think ticketing is good. I think people need to learn not to moan about getting tickets. The cool thing is we get to vote on the cost of tickets, where people can and can’t park, and where cars are allowed. So I think, generally, it’s very fair. So people need to stop whining!

Safety & Security

We have one security guard for the whole school. I’ve never been concerned about my safety. Your biggest threat on campus is falling on your keister when it’s icy out. If you’re really all that paranoid, the school offers a class in budo, one of the better known Japanese martial arts. Taking the class also enables you to train at the dojo in Brattleboro for free.

Transportation

It stinks that there are no trips from campus to town in the morning. The way the van schedule is set up now, there are no trips at that time. It means it really works well when you want to go from town up to campus, but for those who want to go downtown, it doesn’t work so well. Transportation in general is so-so.

Weather

Marlboro is so cold that we’re forced to continually fight off armies of polar bears! Seriously, it’s ridiculous. There is absolutely no excuse for there to be snow from November through April. And just to top off the injustice of this, it’s not even good snow! It’s always much too icy or slushy. On the bright side, by the end of winter, 50 degrees starts to feel warm and everyone goes around in T-shirts.