Smith College Top Questions

Smithies are extremely diverse, yet united by the institution they comprise. There is no typical Smith student. She could be rich/poor, black/white, American/international, gay/straight, political/artistic/book-worm/fashionista/athlete, she/he, and-or a thousand other things.

Smith has opened my eyes to so many different worlds/lifestyles/experiences. One thing that I like is that there isn't just one "smith girl". There are all kinds of people from all over the world from so many different backgrounds. Social tensions are still present, yet they are slim compared to other places i've experienced. One more thing--the vast majority of people here are liberal democrats. In fact, people come here from all across the country to be in that kind of environment.

I've had many experiences on campus with racial, religious and socio-economic groups on campus most were to gain or share experiences and views. Students wear an array of different things to class, but most students wear what make them comfortable and not unselfconscious. Students talk about everything from their political ideas to their social and religious ideas to share their points of view and never to discredit others points of view.

I have been active in multiple orgs on campus. And I enjoyed the experience of each. I like that there are spaces for us to do the kind of social activist work on campus. However its usually the same 15 or 20 people circulating from group to group. That frustrates me. Regardless whatever you want to invest your time in you will find at least two or three other people who will do it with you.

Smith is sort of self-selecting. Strong, democratic, intelligent women are prominent on campus. There are a few republicans, but they are definitely in the minority. House community is very strong, so four tables in the dining hall would almost certainly be divided into two houses.

Smith's student body isn't as diverse and they would like you to think. However, there are a lot of gay and trans students on campus, so the community is very welcome to gender identities of all kinds. EVERYONE is liberal.

Smith has a semi-diverse campus. There are people from all over the world and all different races, religions, sexualities, and socio-economic classes, but the majority is still white middle/upper class. It is kind of cliquey between races and other groups, but all groups still intermingle. I have close friends who can fit into almost every group on campus. Most students here are very liberal and I think it is a difficult environment for conservative students because the campus is very politically aware and active.

There are issues, just like every other college, around racial, LGBT, socio-economic, etc. groups on campus. No one is ever going to be completely happy; someone will always have a problem with something. Sometimes, it feels like "it's always something" and it can get annoying and frustrating. When people complain about Smith I often just want to tell them that if they hate it so much, they should just go to another school. For the most part though, students are smart, friendly, and wonderful people to be around.

The Smith student body is very diverse. We tend to respond to incidents involving adversity by coming together to learn about the root of the problem.

I feel that overall Smith is very open but, we have had isolated incidents of racial or sexual orientation attacks. I also feel that there are way too many sex offenders in the local area.