My daughter just visited Smith for open campus day. Can a heterosexual woman survive there?
Of course! What did your daughter think?
Yes, but let me try to break it down for you a bit. First of all Smith is a very politically liberal place and gender politics often take center stage. Some Smith students are, in fact, so strident about their politics that some students complain that it can be difficult to have a more nuanced conversation about many issues. So if your daughter is uncomfortable with that that will be a consideration. While it might appear to her after a short visit that heterosexuals are in the minority they are not but the issues of hetero women get less play on campus. For instance, it can be difficult for students to meet young men. Other posters to these boards will tell you that any woman at Smith who wants a boyfriend can get one oversimplify. Women who want to meet guys either have to meet them in town or at bars, parties or activities at the other colleges. While bus service is free, getting back and forth to campuses can take long time – generally 45 min to an hour each way – and the buses stop running at 1 or 2, which can be a problem as many of the parties don’t start until 9 or 10.
All of this assumes that your daughter is comfortable with meeting guys this way and is willing to be a bit more direct about pursuing. There are parties on campus at Smith but in my daughter’s four years there were boys at only a couple of them – and there weren’t a lot of them. Still there are girls who do have boyfriends at Smith but it takes some work. This is after all a women’s college. Now having said all that there are many hetero women at Smith who find it worth the problems. Many of the young women find lifelong friends there (choosing the right house can be key) and many, particularly in the STEM fields, find Smith a particularly nurturing environment. Also, frankly, for those women who are making some kind of transition, in terms of sexuality or gender, or who are just looking for a more welcoming environment, Smith can be a godsend. It is a very specific kind of place and not for everyone.
It’s definitely not true that heterosexual women are in a minority at Smith and to be honest, if your daughter thought that way upon visiting she probably wouldn’t do well there to begin with. The general population at Smith is insanely open-minded and will not take well to those who feel attacked by being around queer people. Generally, if your daughter does not have a liberal mindset she probably won’t fit in well at Smith. Which is not to say it can’t be done, it’s just that she definitely won’t be in the majority.
That being said, I visited Smith for open campus as an incoming freshman in April and met a first year who has had several boyfriends from the area this year. It’s definitely not impossible. Boys do go to parties on the quad too. Your daughter just has to be comfortable taking initiative as is kind of the way of Smith girls in my understanding anyway. And don’t forget, she’s going there to learn and get her undergrad degree, not to meet boys.
What do you mean by “survive”? Is there some fear of succumbing to virulent rampant lesbianism? It’s not contagious.
My daughter spent four years at Smith. She had no “uncomfortable” moments being straight. A couple of times she had to indicate a lack of interest in an overture…just as she might have done in response to a guy whom she had no interest in. It was no big deal.
This question is appalling
Disclaimer: I go to Bryn Mawr, not Smith.
I think the way you phrased your question - “Can a heterosexual woman survive there?” - insinuates that there’s something wrong with people who are not heterosexual. What do you mean by “survive”? Is there something so wrong with a culture that is less heteronormative than the general population that heterosexual people can’t emotionally take it?
Yes, a heterosexual student will not perish at Smith for reasons related to her sexuality.
Hey, PN. I have a lot of respect for Bryn Mawr. It was outside my D’s desired geographical zone but it, too, would have been a great fit. Plus BM wins the award for “Dining Hall Most Like Hogwarts” I understand, which would have appealed to D.