Smith College Top Questions

There are definitely people who fit the stereotype, but it is far from true for everybody. I suppose that is true at many colleges. I got a lot of culture shock my first semester here because there were a lot less modest people than I was used to. I felt like a complete nerd because I was one of the few people who didn't want to go 3/4 naked to Convocation. It is common to see people who party hard on the weekends and skip a class once in a while, but when it comes down to it, students will get really serious before papers are due. There are also an equal amount of students who can pace themselves so that they can have fun without having to worry about studying last minute. Then again, there are students I never see outside of the library. I think students just find whatever study habits work best for them and stick to it. Finally, there is a higher percentage of lesbian/transgendered students at Smith than at a large number of other colleges, but it is not as high as many think. There are a few students who are Lesbians Until Graduation (LUGs), but the majority of the student body is straight. It IS hard to meet guys while at Smith, especially if you're not out-going or into the party scene. Don't believe the college when they say there are lots of opportunities to socialize at one of the other 5-colleges by taking a class or through events. It's a pain to do.

Perhaps the reason why lesbians at Smith are acknowledged and seen is because we are a culture of acceptance, not just because we have "a lot of lesbians". I don't think that we have an unnatural number of women who identify as gay. Yes. Smithies are stressed out overachievers. We DO get caught up in analysis paralysis from time to time. But you'd be surprised at the variety of people here. Truth be told: we do have a Republican club.

Generally, these stereotypes are not accurate. This is not to say that the above mentioned student does not exist at Smith, they do. The problem is, the people who help create such stereotypes are louder and make more of an impression that the ones who do not perpetuate such stereotypes. The one stereotype that I will say is mostly true is the idea that Smithies get very defensive and angry very fast. It is not hard to offend most Smith students and being politically incorrect is not an option at Smith.

Yeah, Smith is a welcoming and open place to many groups of students, but there is still work to be done. We have a very diverse student body (class, race, ethnicity, sexuality), but more support systems are needed in all of these areas. Smith writes that it is committed to supporting all aspects of diversity, but we still need to see that commitment in action.