Smith College Top Questions

To a certain extent. There is certainly a vibe of girl-power on the campus, but it's not full of bitter "femi-nazis." There is also a large group of Smithies who prefer women, are proud of it, don't attempt to hide it, and even flaunt it. But they are still a minority. I think Smith is just a safer place to be proud of whoever you are, or to figure it out, than many other colleges and universities. In terms of the "my daddy's a banker and I wear pearls and cashmere sweaters" girls, Smith also has it's fair share. But people change in college, and not everyone is waiting for a Yale man to come propose.

Though Smith is definitely a community where everyone is celebrated, I would say that the belief that everyone at Smith is gay is inaccurate. Most of the women who come to Smith would consider themselves feminists, but there is definitely not any man-hating going on.

Well there are SOME people who fit the description, but certianly not everyone.

There is a larger percentage of lesbians here than in the general population--for one thing, that's what you get just by having more girls, and for another, the idea of an all-girls school is pretty appealing to any lesbians applying, as is the fact that the school is situated in a very liberal, largely gay-friendly state. But orgy? While the student body uses as many excuses as it can (convocation, for instance, and celebration) to wear as little as possible, there are no orgies (no school affiliated ones, anyway), and no one is pressured to be any sexuality besides the one they are most comfortable with. Very tolerant, very nice. And yes, we study like crazy.

Nope! There are plenty of straight smithies!

Of some students- sure, but everyone is different here, I never feel like there's a typical smithie

I think our school is extremely politically active (or at least in comparison to most other campuses). You can see this as Smith wins more Fulbright fellowships than any other school, and you can also see this in the amount of organizations and activities going on, on campus. I like this a lot about Smith. It shows how much students care about the world, want to make a difference, make it better, and if you will ?save the world.? I don?t think the first stereotype mentioned is true. Yes of course some people exist that fit some part of this stereotype, as would occur at all schools, but this is not the majority of the population of students by far. I think that Smith is extremely diverse in every sense of the word, especially economically, and that the students at Smith are extremely supportive and loving of each other. So what is so great about Smith is that you have the freedom and support to be whoever you want to be, or try whatever you want to do and accomplish. This supportiveness and openness at Smith might lead to some of the stereotypes that are placed on the school. This stereotype only comes out though because no one has to hide who they are at Smith, and no one is ever held back from achieving their dreams, unlike at other institutions. So yes at time things that are normally hidden come out at Smith. This also means at times crazy hopes and dreams and activities to reach these hopes and dreams actually take place at Smith, whereas at other schools students wouldn?t even entertain the thought of putting one of their hopes or dreams into action. The support that is given so that all Smithies can go out and try new things and put ideas into action I think at times comes out to look as if we?re hippie dippie like or something, but I think it is more of an overall complex of everyone wanting to ?save the world?.

no

For the most part, the stereotypes are hyperboles of real situations. Smith's history and reputation make it an attractive place for legacies and sometimes wealthy families fit into this category. Smith also has a way of redefining femininity that creates a wide array of gender expressions, however it's a much wider spread than many assume. As for hating men, I'm sure some Smithies do. However, once again, it's a vast exaggeration.

of course not. in some cases yes, but not accurate for the whole school obviously.

Not at all.

We are smart women, we aren't easily pushed around, and we are confident in ourselves and our visions for our futures.

it's only true of the hockey team, the rest of us are pretty.

NO!

There are a good number of lesbians and feminists at Smith, but the majority of students are not lesbians. There's a group of friends for everyone, and there's no one prototype for a Smithie.

While these is a high incidence of vegetarian/vegan-ism on campus, it in not pervasive or intrusive to those who are not. (There is a lot of vegetarian/vegan food, but all the food here kind of sucks so no one seems to have a problem with the meat free options.) There is also a lot of open-mindedness about sexual orientation, but with a decline in middle-class college attendance in the past few years this acceptance has chipped away at (by many judgmental rich girls and small-town students). Smith's attempt at diversity has come at the expense of the student body (including minority students--- most of whom will transfer before they complete their sophomore year). The biggest stereotype walking around on campus seems to be WASP-y, rich white girls from horse farms in New England-- who are so overly 'color blind' that it actually borders on racism (but in the other direction). Additionally, being on campus can turn many (other wise normal) minority students into racial zealots. (Ex. A girl who was suspended on multiple occasions from her very expensive boarding school for selling drugs is here on a full-ride scholarship. She is extremely wealthy, not particularly academic-- and has never been. Why is she here?-- and better question, why is she here on a full-ride? .. She told the admissions office that she is African-American. ..she isn't, but they didn't know that when they gave her a 'women of color' scholarship..) Smith fucks up normal, well-meaning people.

neither of the above stereotypes are accurate. Smith students generally work their ass off, and do it right. You will rarely find somebody who just turns in whatever meets the basic requirements, most work hard to do it good! Of course, if you have a campus with 2500 female students, some of them are going to be LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi, or transsexual). But most are not, and it is a great opportunity to learn about all the various possibilites people chose to identify with. If you're straight: UMASS, Amherst and Hampshire are just a bus ride away, and it's really less isolating that you could think it would be considering it is an all-women's college.

Not really. We do have a lot of LGBT students, but if anything this only serves to give us a more diverse perspective on females! As far as the other stereotype, Smithies can be pretty confrontational, especially to each other because we're all academically competitive and have very different opinions on loads of issues.

Not very....the percentage of heterosexuals is way higher than that of homosexuals

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.

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.