Welcome to Bryn Mawr–where you go to hell for fun.
Ok, not really.
The beauteous Hell schedules for the hellees in my Hell family.
Today we are going to discuss Hell Week–that venerated pillar of Bryn Mawr Tradition. The basics: Hell Week evolved out of plays the sophomores would throw for the first-years (I think, don’t quote me on that). Anyway, it takes place every spring semester in the third week of February. It begins on sundown on the Wednesday of that third week (i.e. today) and ends at sundown on the Wednesday of the fourth week. Hell Week is the true “welcome to Bryn Mawr!” for the frosh. Sure, you’ve been here a semester, but do you really know the place?
Those frosh who want to participate choose a heller (typically a sophomore but theoretically any upperclassman who has been helled her/him/theirself). The heller then crafts a hell schedule for their hellee of the different tasks they are to perform during Hell Week. None of them are obligatory and they are meant to be fun.
Examples of possible tasks: pretending to be a professor in class, creating a petition to make Chris Evans the school mascot, or singing to someone in class.
Hell Week is basically a time of being crazy with no judgement. It’s a time of welcome for the frosh and the first goodbye for the seniors. An important part of Hell Week is the Senior Bedtime stories–when seniors read bedtime stories in their original dorm (usually) to the resident frosh. For some Bryn Mawr is a second home. Thus, many of the bedtime stories my first year were about finding home. It’s not quite that for me (as I truly love my real home) but it is a fairly decent substitute. Where else could I get away with all the stuff I get up to in the dining halls? Where else would I have a good chance of getting into the school-funded summer activities and talking to my professors one-on-one? And, honestly, who else has a President who hosts late-night/afternoon Pop-Ups?
Hell Week.
Some people say Hell Week is hazing and get really upset about it. For some Hell Week is the straw that broke the camel’s back and they decide to transfer (an issue I may discuss later). I understand what may happen for these discontents to leave or be upset. If you choose the wrong heller, then, yeah, it might be rough. But I feel there are always listening ears. Everyone isn’t going to endorse whatever is going on with you. For those others who couldn’t handle the insanity of Hell Week, then maybe Bryn Mawr wasn’t for them. Bryn Mawr isn’t about normalcy. It’s about being crazed and embracing that, about being different and unafraid, about being shameless in Traditions, class, and life. Living under the constant censure of society isn’t really that great a thing.
Some rules should be followed.
But none of them without acknowledgement of self or personal ownership of their value.
Me performing during Goodhart Performances.
