<p>We were always Mt. Holyoke Alumnae, or singular Alumna. Much classier than thinking of a whore. A lot has changed in the 20 years since I graduated. That young women would put up with the “ho”, or laugh at it or celebrate it, is just sad, when women worked so hard to establish their place as intellectuals and not sexual objects or symbols. Young women today don’t have the same appreciation for that history. If they did, they would riot at anyone who dared use “Ho” as any part of a word referring to them, just as no one would accept other derogatory words I wouldn’t write here. No, I have never met anyone who was offended by “Alum”, “alumna” or “alumnae”. Just proud to be able to use the term.
(While students, we just were MHC students noted by class (we had freshmen then), sometimes “Uncommon Women” in reference to Wendy Wasserstein’s play about MHC students.)</p>