Smith College Top Questions

smithies are generally left-of-center and full of opinions. expect to be challenged if you're a republican or a zionist.

LGBTQQA students are certainly the most ____ed minority on campus. Homophobia is not tolerated, though lingering awkwardness and antipathy towards transgender students has recently been brought up. Religious freedom is well-defended, but Smith is a very secular school. Though there are many resources for people of different faiths and exploring religions different from your own is strongly encouraged, most Smithies feel strongly that the practice of religion has no place in the classroom, and act accordingly. This does not mean that Religion majors have nothing to study, in fact the opposite is true, but much of the student body identifies as athiest or agnostic, and Smithies require that courses and interactions with others are not imbued with preference for one religion. The sentiments of racial minorities at Smith were raised this year, as many feel that Smith does not provide adequate resources for these groups, especially African-American students. The reorganization of some courses and organizations, as well as various events focused on this issue, hope to make students in the racial minority feel more a part of the Smith community and better cared for. Smith College has a very liberal campus, and consequently those with very conservative views are likely to feel out of place. Allegedly, after the 2004 elections members of the Smith Republicans were taunted in some manner, but the administration, members of Smith Democrats, and of the student body as a whole soon decried this behavior as hypocritical and out of sync with Smith's character. However, there certainly are conservative Smithies, and the political leftist swing of the campus should be seen as an interesting experience to engage in rather than a deterrent for conservative prospective students.

diverse

Smith tries very hard to be diverse, but is predominately white, middle class students. There are many culural groups on campus for minority students, such as the Black Student Alliance. There has been some tension around race relations this year, and the college is trying really hard to improve things. Smith is very tolerant of the queer community, and some people are transgendered, although this has caused some tensions too. Most students lean to the politial left, but there is a small but active Republican population too. There are a lot of people from the New England states, and from California. Most people just throw on a sweatshirt and jeans for class, but there are some people that just look fabulous all the time. People generally find a niche of friends that they hang out with; some with housemates, others with people in their major, and others with clubs or teams.

Discussed above.

It's true that most Smith students are white and upper-middle class...but there are a lot of international students. Most students are fairly liberal, of the fairly well-off and fairly well-educated variety. Very conservative and non-white students would probably feel out of place to some extent.

Smith is a very diverse community. In my residence house alone, we have 2 Korean students, one Turkish student, and students from all over the country (as well as other countries that I'm sure I've missed). I've had students from all over the world in my classes, and it's very interesting to hear about their experiences. It's very hard to feel out of place at Smith, because there's always somewhere to feel "home" at, whether it's a favorite club or you house. It's also nice, because everyone seems to get along; there usually isn't the "drama" that one would find in a high-school setting.

Smith students are sometimes too polarized, and do not know how to listen. However this means that people care, and if too much, it is better than not caring at all. Smith is incredibly diverse, not only ethnically, but financially, politically, and even in age.

You are exposed to all different types of people on the Smith campus which really opens your eyes, especially when you come from a very small town with not much diversity. Everyone is really casual and friendly. Girls come from all over the world to Smith which allows you to get a feel for different backgrounds and cultures that you may not have learned about before.

Smith has an incredibly diverse student body in every sense of the world: ethnically, intellectually, socio-economically... Smithies come from all over the world and bring thousands of different perspectives, opinions, and life experiences to campus. What's more amazing is that there isn't a "typical Smithie." Every woman here is unique in her own right, and we are all encouraged to discover our own voices and be who we want to be.