Smith College Top Questions

The Smith Democrats was the largest club when I was there. Ultimate frisbee and rugby both have club followings. Athletic events go largely unattended, as far as I could tell. Guest speakers and theater fare much better. There are no fraternities or sororities. Everyone lives in a house and they become sort of freeform sororities themselves. The PVTA offers free bus rides to people with student id's which allows Smithies to go to the Holyoke Mall to see movies or shop at target or visit other schools and attend their events. Often, doors are open when people are in them, depending on the person and the house. Dating is an interesting thing. For those who like women, it can be a tumultuous and exciting scene. For those who like men, there is a bit more of a challenge but it gives us more space, which can be nice. Convocation sort of sets the tone for the school year each fall, when students dress in garish or sometimes nonexistant outfits and cheer and holler before listening to speakers and beginning the year. We work hard and we play hard. We are outspoken and independent. We can be the women we want to be and allow others to be also.

Social life at Smith can be awesome, but, like everything else, in order to have a good time you have to work at it. The other great thing about Smith social life is that we have three neighboring co-ed colleges, so if something isn't happening on campus we take the PVTA (public transportation) to the other schools and hang out there.

Crew is pretty popular. Some students leave their doors open. Smith is like one big sorority, except much, much better. I went to a horse show last weekend because I am on the equestrian team.

I am a member of the cross country team, and served as captain for two years. Our team is very close! We eat together, we workout together, we spend much of the weekend together, and we are usually together outside of practice hours either watching movies or studying. We have a very close relationship because we workout very hard during the weak and are a great support system when workouts and school work becomes difficult. I loved being a part of the team and enjoyed being involved with the community of athletes on the campus. Through cross country, I was able to become involved in the Athletic Association and the Student Athletic Advisory Committee. Yet I was also involved in other groups on campus. During my sophomore year, I was our house social chair and was involved in planning house events. I also have become increasingly involved in the Smith Democrats organization on campus, where I have participated and organized many events for the Barack Obama campaign. I have been able to be involved in many different groups and have been able to meet diverse Smithies! If I am awake at 2am on a Tuesday (which in fact is a usual occurrance) I am usually writing a paper or doing research. I can usually leave my room and enter into the common study room to visit with my housemates for a study break. Sometimes we take turns getting eachother coffee so that we make it through the night together. These close house bonds often flourish during these late night study sessions. One of the most exciting traditions is Mountain Day which is a suprise day off during the fall semester. On a nice day, the president of the college wakes up early and rings the church bells to declare a day off from school. When the bells begin ringing, the students wake up and run up and down the halls banging on their neighbor's doors shouting "Its Mountain Day!!!" The students spend the day hiking and picking apples with their housemates. On the evening before the students think the president will declare a Mountain Day, the students who live in the quad riot by having a giant food fight and marching over to the presidents house cheering for a mountain day. It is a very exciting day on campus.

there's always something to do, but the school could be more supportive of athletics

There are things going on and you can certainly make your own fun. However, many students prefer studying and small get togethers over wild parties. We are not a party school at all.

Many students do leave their doors open. Students get very close with the other students in their houses. There's a great feeling of house unity and pride. All of my close friends live in my house, which is quite convenient.

None.

It's hard to say what is most popular. The investment club is rather well-frequented, as is the International Students Organization, but it is hard to tell if you are not a member, and it also changes from year to year. I was involved with various groups over the years. Senior year I decided to quit the groups, and take advantage of the many lectures and other events, for which I would otherwise not have time. It depends on the house. Usually people leave their door open when they are not doing anything that requires a high level of concentration. Houses are also usually pretty quiet, so it's not hard to study in your room. I've never been to athletic events, but what I hear there are quite a few people that go to watch tehm. For guest speakers it depends on the topic, and what is going on simultaneously on other parts of the campus, Theater productions are usually well-attended. If you want to date you can, but you have to have some initiative. If you don't want to, nobody wil notice. I met them in classes and clubs, or just at dinner. If I'm awake, I do homework. There are tons of traditions: Mountain day, Rally Day, Otelia Cromwell Day, a Bulb Show, Convocation,... Most people limit their partying to the week-ends (friday and saturday nights). there are no fraternities or sororities, the entire college is considered to be one big sorority. I went to New York. Saturday night activities: dancing, watching a movie, homework, reading a book, hanging out with friends,... There are lots of cafees and small shops in downtown Northampton, there's Hapshire mall and Holyoke mall, trips to Boston and New York are always an option, visit one of the other 5colleges, etc.

ISO- group for int'l students- very wonderful sense of community and support network yes, there are always open doors met my closest friends during int'l students pre-orientation studying and facebooking if i'm up at 2am I was at a conference at Yale last weekend Watch movies and go shopping with friends...chat till 4am...

Most people meet their closest friends first semester in their house, and then I've found the doors are mostly closed after that. If you are awake at 2 am on a Tuesday, you are probably up having a breakdown in the hallway because you fucked up and now you have to do an all-nighter 10 page paper and you didn't do the reading and it's too late to ask for an extension. I think it happens at least twice a semester in my house and everyone knows someone who has gone through it. Activities that don't involve drinking/getting high and are actually a lot of fun: taking a canoe/row boat out on the pond in nice weather, sledding/ice skating in winter, student org shows a different movie every week, malls, coffee houses, billiards, bowling downtown, laser tag/roller skating at the mall, apple picking in the fall.

Most people meet their closest friends first semester in their house, and then I've found the doors are mostly closed after that. If you are awake at 2 am on a Tuesday, you are probably up having a breakdown in the hallway because you fucked up and now you have to do an all-nighter 10 page paper and you didn't do the reading and it's too late to ask for an extension. I think it happens at least twice a semester in my house and everyone knows someone who has gone through it. Activities that don't involve drinking/getting high and are actually a lot of fun: taking a canoe/row boat out on the pond in nice weather, sledding/ice skating in winter, student org shows a different movie every week, malls, coffee houses, billiards, bowling downtown, laser tag/roller skating at the mall, apple picking in the fall.

I met my friends in my classes and in my houses. We tend to spend a lot, A LOT of time studying. We'll often take big trips out to a cafe to study together or we'll sit in each other's rooms to work. Honestly, Smithies hardly EVER party and if we do, it's not an all-out, drunk fest either (since we have militant HRs). We have too much homework. However, there are houses that party more than others. Never fear, there are other campuses to go to if that's your bag. The cool thing is that Smith teaches you that you don't need to drink to have fun. Sounds like something you'd hear on Mr. Roger's neighborhood, but true.

The largest group on campus is probably ASA or KASS. Since Asians students make a the majority of the minority populations, which Koreans specifically in the majority, they are well known and visible all over campus. The Smith Democrats are also an extremely popular group. The school is not known for its partying atmosphere. There are smaller rooms parties with lots of drinking and some drugs, but they are sporadic and small. There are large Smith parties however, but they are dance parties, sometimes with a bar. Recently, Smith has made attempts to expand the Smith social life by establishing a pub for students in the Campus Center. Having a social life at Smith means that you should have a car. It makes it easier to get out and meet other people and go places. The bus is not always ideal or reliable.

My favorite aspect of Smith is our housing system. We do not live in residential buildings or dormitories, we live in houses. I live in Lamont house. In Lamont, we leave our doors open and wander the halls to visit our friends. It is also commonplace that students live in the same house all four years. The only semester I wasn't in Lamont was when I was studying in DC for my junior year fall. Smith is also full of traditions. We have a very active archive that has so many materials for students to browse, and from which to do research. Some of our favorite traditions include Opening Convocation, Mountain Day, Otelia Cromwell Day, House Teas, Rally Day, Intramurals, Ivy Day, Illumination and Commencement. Smith also has amazing programing. Every night of the week there is something going on. There are fantastic lectures, concerts, plays, art shows, student organization parties or events.