BY FALGUNI BASNET ’21
Kalyndi Martin ’20, creator of Instagram account “mohobathrooms,” always felt the Mount Holyoke bathrooms had character. Whenever Martin visited a new bathroom, they would take a photo without even thinking about it.
“When I was in a class spring semester, someone cited their favorite place on campus as a particular bathroom because of the view, and I decided I had to start an account to post the hundreds of photos I already had in my phone of the bathrooms. I mean, what else would I do with them?” said Martin. “It became a fun way to pass free time, and explore other dorms and academic buildings I hadn’t spent a lot of time in.” And so, their “mohobathrooms” was born.
Since February, the account has gained 364 followers and has an average of 71 likes per picture. Martin posts their own content and accepts submissions from other students. “I often receive ‘tips’ on bathrooms to visit. I post submissions based on how they fit in with the rest of the feed and if they embody the character and spirit of Mount Holyoke bathrooms.”
“Mohobathrooms” is one of several popular “of mount holyoke” Instagram pages created by Mount Holyoke students. Other accounts include “squirrelsofmountholyoke,” “dogsofmhc” and “clogsofmtholyoke,” to name a few. These accounts are popular among students and alums.
Samantha Abney ’17 said that she followed “mohobathrooms” because she wanted to know if there were any bathrooms in the College that she’d never seen. When “mohobathrooms” followed Rachel Salemi ’16, she thought the concept of the account was humorous and decided to follow back. “Now that I have graduated, the ‘of Mount Holyoke’ accounts make me feel nostalgic for Mount Holyoke, including the mundane, everyday activities such as using the bathrooms,” said Salemi.
Despite its popularity, there are several students who have never heard of this account before, including Rachel Urbano ’19. “I think it’s rather absurd, but I’m glad it’s not some sort of weird fetish somebody has for the bathrooms,” she said.
Martin wants to run the account for the remainder of their Mount Holyoke career. “We’ll see where it goes from there,” they said. “And who knows, maybe a future firstie will become the new “mohobathrooms” curator,” they said.