You are the reason we are here. You are the reason we stay. All of you — The trans students; DACA students; the first gens. The cis students; the US citizens; the international students; the third-generation Smithies
Posts published in “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 This graphic illustrated a profoundly outdated and two-dimensional understanding of diversity, reducing complex experiences to a hierarchy defined by race, class, sexuality and more.
On Oct. 20, former President Donald Trump donned a yellow-and-gray McDonald’s apron, complete with golden cufflinks, no hairnet and slippery dress shoes, to salt fries and pose for photos with supporters. It seemed he would do anything to win more votes and troll Vice President Kamala Harris.
“This is college; it is okay if you disagree,” my professor said inquisitively, prompting a long, awkward pause from the thirty students sitting in front…
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.
Editors' Note: The following statement reflects the opinion of only the undersigned members of The Sophian Editorial Board.
Saturday night; raucous laughter and the clipped, rapid sound of footsteps, accompanied by a flash of headlights as the PVTA B43 passes by my first-floor window. It’s 9:30 p.m. and I am holed inside my room, blue light radiating from my computer screen and burning the words from my Gender, Law and Policy reading onto the backs of my retinas.
During my first week on the Smith College campus, I was struck by the absence of outdoor trash cans. When I had something to throw out, there was nowhere to put it. I began to look for them, and after three weeks of searching, I only found a singular trash can outside of the bookstore — one that, as far as I could tell, wasn’t affiliated with the college.
This article was originally published in the September 2024 print edition. What’s lost in this pursuit of “efficiency” and “optimization” is the core value of a liberal arts education: the fostering of critical thinking, creativity and intellectual curiosity. These qualities cannot be reduced to market trends or job placement statistics.
Last Saturday night, my friend and I had resigned to have a night in — typical for both of us these days. We had both had exhausting days of sleeping in and existing in the world, but, at around 9:00 p.m., we decided to not be lame and go out. We walked around campus for about half an hour.