As a senior nearing the end of my time, I find myself reflecting on my years at Smith. In November, I attended WOZQ’s fall concert — a great performance by Mal Blum that made standing out in the cold worth it — and, as I watched students dance in cowboy hats and lingerie (for Fetish, which was happening the same night) and jump around in circles with their friends to the music, I couldn’t help but think: Smithies do love fun. I had a similar moment at Smith’s annual Celebration in the quad, at which several groups danced to Britney Spears and almost every performance included the dancers taking off their shirts and grinding on each other as the crowd went wild. What I saw on these occasions was not a student body that would prefer to hole up in their rooms writing essays as the stereotypes suggest. So, where are all the fun things?
These events — Celebration and Fetish — are two of the only big events (besides Convocation, of course) where students gather en masse (covid-safely of course) purely to have fun. But even Fetish was different from previous years — held outdoors with no drinks or containers allowed and a capped capacity. While some of these measures are just a side effect of navigating a pandemic world, this kind of party policing could be the answer to my question. Maybe it’s fear that at the first sign of fun you will be written up by a certain reslife-staff-member-who-shall-not-be-named. Since going to school now means wearing masks and getting tested twice a week, the college has been cracking down more on parties and gatherings, especially at the beginning of the semester. But, we can’t blame the pandemic for the lack of partying at Smith. They weren’t happening before either (as an elderly senior I remember the days before). Getting events approved by Smith has always been a challenge. Even with this semester’s aforementioned WOZQ concert, the radio station fought an uphill battle to be able to hold that event.
One thing I hear often is that it’s just not the culture. Students here aren’t big on partying and would rather spend time with a few close friends or inside with a good book. I have to disagree. Of course, a historically women’s small liberal arts college is probably less likely to attract keg-standers or ravers, but most people I know here are friendly, excited to connect with others and appreciate having fun with friends. One Facebook poster famously referred to us as “Satin’s school of gay communism.” Soon, merch with that same phrase on it began to circulate with students and alums. Does that not sound like a place where people know how to have a good time?
The Sophian has published many articles about Smith’s lack of mental health resources and the struggles students are facing. But one aspect of this that I think often gets swept aside is the importance of allowing for and encouraging unsponsored events where students can meet each other and just have fun — separate from work, school or productivity. I am constantly amazed by the revitalizing effects of one night out with friends or any break in the monotonous rhythm of school, work and clubs.
The best Smith party I can remember was our last hoorah before we got sent home in March 2020. Of course, looking back and knowing what we do now, gathering for a keg party on the quad lawn may not have been the brightest thing we ever did. But, this was before restaurants shut down or talk of social distancing and masking had even begun. We still thought we were just going home for a couple months and had plans to see friends from our hometowns and to visit each other over the summer. While we had no idea what was actually coming, that going away party was the first time I’d ever seen Smith rave like that. I remember yelling “pass/fail!!” with several people throughout the night because we had just learned the rest of the semester would be graded fully pass/fail. A few people streaked around the quad as music blared. Campo drove past and pretended not to see, likely because we had all just been given a few days to pack up our things and leave. I remember thinking: where was this energy before? And why did it take getting completely uprooted from campus for us to finally stop taking ourselves so seriously?
Of course there’s also the possibility that there are plenty of fun parties happening that I just don’t know about and haven’t been invited to … if so, how embarrassing (and please invite me next time).
