Press "Enter" to skip to content

The Sophian

How Smith and Mount Holyoke Have Responded to Student Demands About Daniel Hect’s Hiring

In January 2019, Daniel Hect was hired as the campus police chief for Smith and Mount Holyoke. After students from both schools saw the anti-immigrant, pro-Trump tweets he had liked and retweeted, they spoke out against the newly appointed Hect.

Heart-Wrenchingly Tragic and Unabashedly Gay: ‘Wild Nights With Emily’ Dramatizes Poet’s Love Life

“Wild Nights With Emily,” a dramatization of the passionate and untold love life of American poetry icon Emily Dickinson, premieres in Amherst this spring at local theaters. Initially produced as a play in 1999, the film revels in Dickinson’s unacknowledged status as an infamous gay woman.

An Interview With Professor Evgeny Dengub

“I think people should learn a foreign language, period,” Professor Evgeny Dengub said when I ask him why students should study Russian at Smith. “Whether it’s Russian, French, Italian, Japanese or Arabic, it’s good for your brain. It’s good for your overall development and intellectual growth. It’s good for your soul.”

Sex and the Smithie: What’s Sex Got to Do With It?

Spring has finally arrived in the 413. Coincidentally, it has also arrived in the 603 where my friend Ryan is at Dartmouth. She and I exchange letters every now and then, discussing weird elitist traditions of the east coast, physics, relationships and sex.

Representation, Humor and the Solo Performance: Emma O’Neill-Dietel on ‘What?’

A few weeks ago, in Acting Studio 2 of the Mendenhall Center for the Performing Arts, a one-night performance was staged for a small but attentive audience. Emma O’Neill-Dietel ’21 describes her show “What?” as a solo, memoir-based performance about her experience growing up with hearing loss.

From Elm and State Streets Comes ‘Houses From Another Street,’ a Novel by Professor Michael Thurston

While his office seems comfortable, with stacks of papers and piles of books customary to the English professor, Professor Michael Thurston noted: “I write everywhere except [in] my office. I do teaching stuff here, meet with students here and do college stuff here, but this is a place where I have never been able to write a decent sentence, either of academic prose or of fiction.”

The Perks of Being Single

Roughly around this time last year, when I told my friends that I was going to a women’s college, almost all of my friends asked me the same question: “You sure? How are you going to find a boyfriend at Smith?” As a straight prospective student at a women’s college, I am pitied by my friends for not being able to date in my college years.

“Special” Is the TV Show I Never Knew I Needed

On April 12, 2019, Netflix released all eight episodes of "Special," a new series from Ryan O'Connell, the creator, writer and star. It is based on his 2015 memoir, “I'm Special: And Other Lies We Tell Ourselves” in which he writes about being gay and disabled. O'Connell was born with a mild form of cerebral palsy, a congenital disorder that affects movement and balance.

You have successfully subscribed to The Sophian newsletter.

There was an error while trying to send your request. Please try again.

The Sophian will use the information you provide on this form to be in touch with you and to provide updates and marketing.