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Posts published in “Opinions”

‘The War on DEI’ and the Systemic Deconstruction of Higher Education  

By Karen Colmán Martínez on March 10, 2025 |

Opinions

This article was originally published in the March 2024 print edition.

One week after the 2025 Presidential Inauguration, the United States Office of Management and Budget issued a directive abruptly suspending federal grants, loans and other financial aid programs. The official explanation? A “temporary pause” to reassess fiscal priorities. Though the freeze was lifted within 24 hours, its purpose was clear: to initiate a sweeping overhaul of public funding, focusing on cutting expenditures linked to so-called “woke” ideologies.

Who’s Afraid of Protest?

By Karen Colmán Martínez on December 9, 2024 |

Opinions

This article was originally published in the November 2024 print edition. On Oct. 24, 2024, President Sarah Willie-LeBreton announced a review of the college’s policies…

What Smith Doesn’t Understand About Diversity

By Poorvi Sarkar on November 15, 2024 |

Opinions

This article was originally published in the October 2024 print edition. What does true diversity look like in an era of systemic inequality? At a recent Smith College training conference, I encountered a reminder of the work that still lies ahead. The conference focused on refining our leadership skills, but what struck me as most compelling was the presentation of a “power wheel” that ranked marginalized identities based on their proximity to power. This graphic illustrated a profoundly outdated and two-dimensional understanding of diversity, reducing complex experiences to a hierarchy defined by race, class, sexuality and more.

Why Colleges Should Prioritize Self-Defense Training?

By Cindy Zhang on October 29, 2024 |

Opinions

In a Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality seminar, Gender and Violence, taught by Professor Carrie Baker during the fall of 2024, a discussion on self-defense classes highlighted the availability — or lack thereof — of such resources at Smith. As early as the turn of the twentieth century, self-defense, particularly physical training, emerged as a means of personal and political empowerment for women.