<p>I must say I found it profoundly disturbing to read as a woc and I wanted to know if this type of racism exists on campus, or more specifically, if any past or current Smithies could speak on this.</p>
<p>This makes me really sad because I worked really hard to get in, and now I'm not sure if I want to go!</p>
<p>edit: Actually there are a lot of articles in the Sophian that have me worried, here's another:</p>
<p>One of the important things to remember about Smith is that, like any college, it isn't perfect. We have our share of problems, and the Opinions section of the Sophian is one forum in which students can express their personal view of Smith's problems. Those two articles were written for the Sophian's special "Race Issue", where professors and students were invited to speak out on their perceptions of race relations on campus. </p>
<p>I think it's a positive thing that we try to address our problems openly, so we can work towards improving the college. You'd probably find similar problems at any college or university in this country, but you probably wouldn't find the issue addressed so honestly, if at all. The purpose of the special issue was not to discourage people, but to bring up problems that sometimes get ignored in the busy lives we lead. The Sophian wanted to encourage discussion on campus about sensitive issues, and it worked fairly well. </p>
<p>I would hate to see you decide against Smith after working so hard to get in, but I would also hate to see you put Smith on an impossible pedestal. I love going here, I love being a woman of color here, but I acknowledge that life is not perfect at Smith. You have to be willing to take the bad with the good (and work against the bad to get more good) if you want to succeed here.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I would hate to see you decide against Smith after working so hard to get in, but I would also hate to see you put Smith on an impossible pedestal. I love going here, I love being a woman of color here, but I acknowledge that life is not perfect at Smith. You have to be willing to take the bad with the good (and work against the bad to get more good) if you want to succeed here.
[/quote]
Amen. Mer, I think you're over-reacting to a single datapoint. Moreover, not only is life not perfect at Smith as S&P says, it's not perfect anywhere. You shouldn't put any place, any person, on a pedestal. Doing so dooms you to disappointment.</p>
<p>Well it's not just this article. It seems like every alum of color I have spoken with has warned me of racism at Smith. You both are right, I should have a more realistic viewpoint of the school, I just didn't expect there to be racial problems.</p>
<p>Merdavis: Unfortunately, there is racism everywhere. </p>
<p>That said, I understand your reluctance. New England isn't exactly an ethnically diverse place. However, Smith is known for being a progressive, politically aware, activist campus. Because I am white, I cannot venture a guess as to how it will be for you, but I suspect (and SmithieandProud's post seems to bear this out) that Smith's political atmosphere will mostly embrace you. </p>
<p>Only you will be able to determine whether Smith is a comfortable place for you.</p>
<p>Mer, I find neither of these articles surprising or particularly troubling. These discussions are (or should be) common on evey campus as students struggle, sometimes awkwardly, to define themselves, their vision and their community. </p>
<p>Some students (lke you) are farther along, more self-aware and probab have a more nuanced understanding of these issues. My daughter (entering in Sept), has yet to grapple w/ many of them. There are also students who will be equally far along and as self-aware as you are, but who just come down on the other side of an issue. It would be a terribly boring campus if in addit to racial, geog and economic diversity there wasn't also a diversity of opinions. </p>
<p>Just b/c Smith/Noho is know for its liberalism and activism doesn't mean that there aren't internal struggles or that one's liberal/activist notions are challenged from time to time. You certainly should NOT go to Smith if you are not willing to engage in that dialogue or if you are uncomfortable defending your ideas.</p>
<p>Feel free to PM me or check the Alumnae Assoc page for BASC (Black Alumnae of Smith College) contacts.</p>
<p>The thing is, I am extremely comfortable talking about race issues in the classroom, in the public sphere, wherever...it's just one of the articles mentioned that race issues are seen as taboo at Smith and how no one really wants to talk about it for fear that their opinion goes against the mainstream.</p>
<p>I, of course, am not going to base whether or not I am going to Smith on the editorial (in all truthfulness, I am definitely going) it was just a bit alarming to see it in their student newspaper. Maybe I'm a bit spoiled, being from the bay area, where nothing is ever taboo. :)</p>
<p>But NYC, I highly regard your opinion, and if you say that it's not that big of a deal, then I will take your word for it.</p>
<p>When I visited Smith, there seemed to be a certain degree of racial self-segregation. Specifically, I saw groups of African American students hanging out together and groups of Muslim/Middle Eastern/Central Asian looking students together. I suppose that may be a negative to many people. However, I feel like that's true of most places, not just Smith.</p>
<p>I think the author of the second piece was just trying to illuminate the fact that that discussion of race related topics on campus are largely taboo due to an overwhelming fear that one might give offense and be thought of as a "bad person". Thus, honest race-related (and class and gender related) discussions tend to go underground to non-official forums like the Jolt or the lunch table, with the resulting effect being that little real progress gets made. It isn't that Smithies don't talk about race, it's just that I've noticed we don't tend to talk about race where it matters. </p>
<p>The hope of the race issue was to break through this barrier by offering Smithies an official forum in which to express their opinions. Unfortunately, the Sophian didn't receive enough submissions to make a full issue like they wanted to, so they published these pieces as op-eds instead. It's very telling IMO that the Sophian couldn't drum up enough submissions, but you can make your own judgements on that. </p>
<p>it isn't that Smith is a police state, but if you ask around, people will probably tell you that there is a sort of "general consensus" on campus surrounding how certain issues can and can't be approached. Unfortunately, race is usually one of those issues, but as the editorials reveal, we're working on that.</p>
<p>Race, gender and class are hot topics everywhere - - and on many of the lefty NE campuses, students are somewhat guarded, at least initially, lest the branded racist, sexist, classist or homophobic (you know, the full array of hetero-normantive evils). And at Smith, as elsewhere, activist students are impatient at the pace of the discussion/progress. As S&P notes, however, Smith is hardly a police state and despite a concensus regarding how a subj is broached, I doubt race or any other topic is truly taboo.</p>
<p>I think the big difference at Smith, relative to other institutions, is CLASS. With 59.2% of the student body receiving need-based aid, and a full 25% on Pell Grants (i.e., family income below $45k)), the shape of the student body is substantially different than you will find at, for example, Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Yale, etc. (on another forum, I posted all the comparatively data, and you can see it for yourself.) The character of discourse is likely to be well different as a result.</p>
<p>Class is becoming the really interesting conversation on campus, especially because people feel more free to talk about class issues than race issues. My friend was actually in a really great campus dialog group this semester about class issues and some of the members of her dialog ended up making a documentary about class on Smith campus that was really good.</p>
<p>Mini's point is well taken, but I think it always easier to discuss issues of class than it is to discuss issues of race - - especially on an elite college campus. The students from families of modest income (59% finaid and 25% Pells) are obviously upwardly mobile and a not insignif number of the affluent students probab have working-class, poor or immigrant grand/parents. Thus, there is at least some understanding of the "other" and the status as "other" may be viewed as transitional. </p>
<p>This is not true of race or gender, making those discussions prickly and intractable.</p>
<p>"Class is becoming the really interesting conversation on campus, especially because people feel more free to talk about class issues than race issues. My friend was actually in a really great campus dialog group this semester about class issues and some of the members of her dialog ended up making a documentary about class on Smith campus that was really good."</p>
<p>As one datum, I'm fairly cautious about discussing issues of race with people I don't know very well. There are a number of minefields and assumptions to be negotiated and I think most people don't want to risk giving offense. And then there are always projections that may or may not be true. I was musing on this just yesterday when I was at a food court and was just finishing my lunch and saw a black man with young daughter & son walking by looking for a table. I stood and called out to him, "Here's a table, I was just leaving." I was surprised to see a look of surprise in his eyes and then we chatted for a moment about young daughters as I picked up my tray. What I don't know and never will is whether or not that surprise was rooted in any racial component or not, or that it was just <em>anyone</em> was giving up a seat for him and his kids.</p>
<p>Another pointless anecdote brought to you by...TheDad.</p>
<p>Can't help but notice that the exchanges here are all responsive, well-reasoned and civil - - quite diff than the posts on many other "racism" threads.</p>