Smith College Top Questions

Mostly, but not everyone is gay, and it's totally possible to go to Smith if you are straight.

There is some truth to the stereotypes, but in a positive way. We're not a school of hippies, but we are very conscientious about the environment. There are people from all sorts of political backgrounds and perspectives. We're activists in the sense that Smithies will make their voices heard and are very involved in the political scene.

No, not everyone is gay, and not everyone is liberal. While there may be some people who are gay there are just as many straight people. As for everyone being liberal that is also not true, a large portion of the population is, but everyone has their own personal views on things.

To an extent. They get exaggerated a lot.

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No, none of these stereotypes are correct. Although they all exist on campus they cannot be generalized about the students at Smith as a whole. In fact the group labeled "Smith Student" is so diverse that I can not think of one single generalization that would encompass the extremely diverse Smith campus.

You betcha.

No, not entirely. The gay community is very prominent and everyone is very open and welcoming about differences. Also, there are some stuck up bitchy people (anyone can be at some point) but mostly because they're just stressed.

Not really, our campus is just more open and accepting

I think this stereotype is partially true. Many students self-select into Smith because they identify with some part of that. Now not all, some people come to Smith for the prestige of the degree or because of the financial aid package. Or because their parent(s) made them. Regardless, Smith doesn't I think reflect the stereotype as much as one would assume. Yes there is queer community (and not all of us identify as lesbian). But its not unanimously accepted on campus and has its own internal conflicts. Are there liberal and progressive political ideas circulating, sure, but how engaged is the larger community with major political action. I guess no stereotype is entirely accurate even if its partially true.

First, not so accurate, but accurate enough. Second, definitely accurate.

Some days it does seem like everyone is a lesbian, but that's not true at all. But Smithies are very politically correct and hard working!

There is a large proportion of gay students, but not the majority. There is a large variety of people from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

There are a lot of lesbians, but there are also a fair number of straight girls. Also, the annoying, stuck up, self-righteous Smithie is found but can definitely be avoided. For the most part, you can totally find someone who is like you and hates the same people that you do. That's part of what's wonderful about Smith -- for every stereotype, there's a good number of people who serve solely as a foil. Sometimes, Smithies are too smart for their own good. I've heard "You can always tell a Smithie, but you can't tell her much" more than once. I think Smithies tend to have such good friends in college because, sometimes, we're the only people who can put up with people like Smithies.

It is not true that all or most Smithies are lesbians and we certainly are not all ugly. While most are rather liberal there are moderate and conservative students here.

not entirely

to an extent

Sometimes this can seem true, but going to a women's college allows for women to have a stronger voice and more opportunities to express themselves. This also allows for many voices to be heard from the whole spectrum.

no

I would not say that we are crazy feminists, but we are fervent believers that women must be included in every dialogue none to humankind.