The Local Motion from an Anthropological Perspective

By Maple Bottinelli

The Local Motion bus has a sort of hum. Not only the sound of the engine, but that of students chattering and laughing. Often, they sit in pairs, or awkwardly spaced trios where one always has to lean over another to join the conversation (this friend is also usually the one that gets squeezed off the sidewalk, doomed to walk behind the other two, chiming in here and there). 

Of course, many of them are also studying, only glancing up once in a while to catch a glimpse of the passing city. Objectively, the ride is better at night, when the skyscrapers are lit and reflect on the water under the bridge. There is the clichè novel-reader, toting the likes of Brontë, or even worse, Wilde. Those intellects go into the city to sit in a coffee shop and read their books with an oat milk latte and an air of superiority, procrastinating on their English paper due the following week. The other “studiers” are no better; their destination is often the MIT library because studying at a top-five university is bound to make one smarter. This phenomenon is yet to be proven, but there’s considerable evidence to suggest it holds true. 

Perceptibly, there remains an optimistic air across all the rows of seats, the promise of whatever waits in the city is contagious and energizing. This scene is almost a daily occurrence, with a larger, different set of travelers on Friday afternoons and weekends. The typical Wellesley student often struggles to tear themself away from campus during the week. There’s simply too much to do: too many e-board meetings, movie nights, office hours, and readings. 

In traffic, the hum of the engine subsides and the student conversations can be heard more clearly. On Fridays, they often discuss parties, usually frats: the idyllic MIT ones or the second-rate BU functions. Or, dinners; there are plenty of fine places to eat in the city. And any passenger on the bus always gets a show of a wide array of fashion types for a night out—from the trendy urban corset to a resurgence of punk/Victorian/retro garb. 

All criticism aside, the daily pilgrimage into Boston is a lovely sight to see. Many of these young people chose Wellesley for its proximity to Boston, and rightly so. The commute isn’t too long or tiresome. Rather, it’s something that brings all these students together who have a common destination, regardless of their specific plans. Even if it is sometimes a few minutes late, the Local Motion provides this community a service. 

Maple Bottinelli ‘26 (mb115) is a first-year and frequent rider of the Loco! From the December 2022 issue.