BY THEA KASTELIC ’22
Mount Holyoke’s Outing Club (MHOC) is the largest student organization on campus, with over 1,000 members, numerous leaders and a sizable board. During tours of the College, in admissions information sessions and smattered throughout advertising pamphlets, the Outing Club is referenced for its incredible opportunities and cultivation of an outdoors-y and sustainable community on campus. The enthusiasm of the College, however, is manufactured and does not match the general understanding among many of the members of the Outing Club, which is that the College is not on their side.
For the past year, MHOC has appealed to the administration almost every week, asking for a set stipend to finance their trips and adequate storage space for their gear. Currently, the storage space consists of half an office cubicle with two stuffed bookcases and a tiny desk jammed in the corner. Stoves and cooking utensils are piled as neatly as possible on top of each other, sleeping bags sit in their stuff-sacks, deteriorating and marinating in months of dirt and grime. Tents rest in their bags, missing poles, unable to be aired out and properly checked. Since the Dining Commons were centralized in 2018, the Outing Club has pushed to make the old dining space in Ham Hall their new gear storage headquarters, but they have been met with resistance from the administration.
Despite the fact that the dining space would need to undergo no alterations for storing gear — which would be easily removable if the space were to ever need to serve another function — the administration would rather find a long-term solution, claiming that there are plans in the works to convert the old dining hall into an academic space within the next five to six years. The Outing Club has proposed that they store gear in the dining hall during these five to six years while continuing to look for a permanent solution, as the space currently remains empty and unused. What the administration seems to misunderstand is that the issue at hand needs to be given immediate attention.
The continued degradation of gear from incorrect storage is not only a monetary concern, but also an enormous health hazard. The longer the gear is improperly stored, the more bacteria builds up, leading the gear to degrade and lose its durability. For instance, the longer you store a sleeping bag in its stuff sack, the less effective it becomes. If a student were to rent the sleeping bag or take it on a trip with the Outing Club, they may not know how damaged it is as the damage may not be visible, and sleeping outside in even 40-50 degree weather in a sleeping bag that no longer can retain a safe heat level is extremely dangerous for the health and safety of the individual using the sleeping bag.
In addition, the degradation of gear is a huge monetary cost, as the cost of even a sub-par sleeping bag is upwards of $80. The degradation of such gear makes it inaccessible and unsafe for those who cannot afford to have their own personal gear, further segregating an already divided industry.
The outdoor industry has long been governed and controlled by men, making it an uninviting space for women. It has been found that spending time outside can decrease mental health issues, improve physical health and increase overall quality of life, making it an important space all people should have access to and be able to reap the benefits of. It is essential that more women be able to enter and flourish within the outdoor industry, especially women within minority groups who are often grossly underrepresented in outdoor recreation.
By dismissing the Mount Holyoke Outing Club and the importance of addressing their situation, the administration at Mount Holyoke College is creating a roadblock, impeding the ability of the Outing Club to access funding and new gear, maintain old gear, cater to the overall Mount Holyoke community and lead more ambitious outdoor trips. Thus, Mount Holyoke is inadvertently hindering the diversification of the outdoor industry and therefore perpetuating the idea that the outdoors are not a space for women.
Mount Holyoke touts itself as an institution that cares intensely about diversity and inclusion, and it’s legacy as a groundbreaking gender-inclusive women’s college is a huge pull for students who want a safe space to grow in a currently male-dominated world. For Mount Holyoke to use their resources to extend that safe space into the world of wilderness activity would be a huge step in furthering women’s involvement in the outdoor industry. Doing so would not only draw interest from prospective students who have a background in outdoor activities or have wanted to try them, it would also expand the outdoor community on campus. Students need healthy ways of enhancing their abilities and improving as leaders, and being involved in hiking trips, kayaking expeditions or a trail work crew would be a perfect outlet to grow in each of those areas. However, in order for these things to hap- pen, the gear needs to be available, the money needs to be set and the students need to feel supported.