<p>CrewDad is correct. In four years of Smith, plus visits beforehand, D never experienced <em>any</em> GUG “recruiting” pressure, let alone “intense”. Trollstool is a toad with an agenda.</p>
<p>I attended Smith and had many good friends, gay, bi, and straight. While there are definitely situations where a queer Smithie will have a crush on a straight one, I’ve found that queer students will make an effort to find out whether their crush likes women before asking them out (hey, no one wants to be rejected!) and that saying “no thanks” is always appropriate and respected, whether it’s because you don’t like girls or because you don’t like that particular girl. While there are people at every college with bad social skills or who harass people or actually commit crimes, I certainly don’t think Smith has more sexual harassment than other colleges–in fact, I think it has a lot less (certainly less per capita than the large state school where I did my graduate work!).</p>
<p>In the three+ years since I’ve graduated, some friends who only/mostly dated women in college have dated/married men and some folks who only/mostly dated men in college have dated/married women. Most stuck with the gender they originally preferred (as my best friend says, “if I spent four years at Smith and didn’t want to date any women, I’m definitely straight!”) It’s ok. People are tolerant and just want their friends to be in good relationships, regardless of the gender of the people involved.</p>
<p>Cheers and whistles for Stacy’s post. </p>
<p>And LOL about “If I spent four years at Smith and didn’t want to date any women, I’m definitely straight.”</p>
<p>And
deserves a Bravo Zulu. It captures the Smithie ethos perfectly.</p>
<p>A pertinent fact that I believe is being overlooked is Toad didn’t have a dtr who attended Smith. She was at a Smith summer camp, which might or might not have had any Smith employees/students involved with his dtr’s particular program.</p>
<p>Stacy, tr</p>
<p>Let me assure you that while men are scarce, they’re not difficult to meet. </p>
<p>I met my first college boyfriend on the Smith campus during my first semester here. I’ve met many guys at parties, five-college events, etc. My current boyfriend now is a UMASS senior and we met at a New Year’s party (non-Smith) this year. My friends have taken classes at Amherst and UMASS and have formed great friendships with men and women alike. It’s not like you’ll be completely devoid of men at Smith. Trust me! If you’re really concerned, take a five-college class or two.</p>
<p>However, don’t try to meet men at Smith parties. They generally come here for one thing, the 75:1 female:male party attendee ratio.</p>