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.
Posts published in “Opinions”
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.
A warm, 75-degree Friday in late September calls for only one thing: a fresh, crisp matcha latte, cold as ice, from my favorite cafe. With a recently sprained ankle, a fresh Smith College Board of Trustees direct deposit and a dream, I hobbled down to Familiars Coffee & Tea.
In 2020, Smith College President Kathleen McCartney had “extraordinary news” to share with the Smith College community — the institution had received a $50 million gift from an anonymous alumna, with $40 million designated for student financial aid and $10 million for “re-envision[ing] [Smith’s] career development programs.”
Recently, I forced my girlfriend through the ordeal that any number of my friends, partners and casual acquaintances have been subjected to in the past — a showing of the 1982 classic “The Snowman.” Based on a picture book of the same name, “The Snowman” is a hand-illustrated silent short film accompanied by an original symphonic score. All aspects which my willing or unwilling viewers have no doubt found riveting. Not to mention that it inflicts more emotional damage than any children’s Christmas movie has a right to. Call it my artistic appreciation (or early onset depression) but its bittersweet mood is one of the many reasons it was my favorite film as a child.
Not I, nor anyone else, would dare to call Smith College a party school. It is not an overstatement or bad faith criticism to say weekends on campus are sometimes, perhaps often, dire. The underwhelming party scene is widely recognized and, for this very reason, also not particularly compelling to analyze.
A couple of years ago, media outlets including The Nation and The Washington Post were referring to the latest wisecrack (a clever or sarcastic remark) about Harvard University: the ivy-league institution had turned into a hedge fund with a university attached to it. Students called upon Harvard to ‘unhedge’ its endowment while others praised its financial planning strategies. An open letter in The Atlantic called it a ‘brand problem’ yet also a ‘literal truth.’ This characterization underscores a broader trend among universities and colleges, the apparent intent to accumulate the largest endowment ever seen. Maybe we should start thinking about how, and what we are getting this money for.
A big plastic box, a clothing rack on wheels, a heap of bags filled with clothes — Smith’s free bins come in many shapes and sizes. As the name suggests, each “bin” is a repository of discarded clothes and objects that are free for students to take. From sweaters to mugs to artwork, the free bins — located in every house — are a great way for students to expand their wardrobes and decorate their rooms without breaking their wallets.
Look around and observe the many characters of Smith College. Just about every “aesthetic” can be found here, whether it be “alt,” fairy-themed or maybe the recently popular “Lana-Del-Rey-vinyl.” There are distinct and observable archetypes of people that this school attracts, and more discernibly, a variety of fashion styles that never seem to stop evolving along the newest trends. The incessant upkeep with trends is a marked trait across campus, and it is without a doubt that the students of Smith express themselves through fashion with such nonchalance—but at what cost?
Dear Dedicated Readers, As a graduating senior, I have experienced Smith in many forms: completely online from my home in the fall of 2020, taking…