<p>Is there a large lesbian and/or bi-sexual population on campus??</p>
<p>Yes, however the population is not as large as some people will tell you (the substantial majority of Smithies are straight).</p>
<p>The community of lesbian and bisexual students at Smith is more visible and vocal than at most other colleges, and some students who do not date women before or after Smith do so during their college years. Furthermore, Northampton and surrounding towns have a large lesbian population, so the area “feels” pretty gay. </p>
<p>Smith students as a whole are very accepting of different sexualities…when I attended, I had friends who were gay and straight and transgender and bisexual and not sure, and we were all happy to see our friends in good romantic relationships, regardless of who it was with. This is the rule rather than the exception at Smith.</p>
<p>Wow, stacy, that’s pretty much the most succint and honest answer to this persistent question that I’ve ever seen. Kudos.</p>
<p>My daughter’s subjective experience echoes what stacy described. </p>
<p>She quoted me the following statistics from a campus-wide sexual orientation survey done last year by the Government 312 class. </p>
<p>The survey asked, “Which of the following categories BEST characterizes you?”</p>
<p>(N=1510)</p>
<p>Asexual (not attracted to any sex/gender): 1.6%
Bisexual (attracted to people of both sexes and/or genders): 16.7%
Gay/lesbian (attracted to people of the same sex): 10.7%
Heterosexual (attracted to people of other sex): 63.6%
Other: 2.3%
Questioning (unsure of attraction to others): 5.1%</p>
<p>I hope this helps.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your answers!!</p>
<p>S&P, the question persists from the time of women being admitted to the academy like good old whatshername…Aspasia (thank Google).</p>