<p>The renowned former Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown has made a sizable pledge to help bolster Smith's Ada Comstock Scholars Program. Although the amount of the magazine magnate's gift has not yet been revealed, it sounds as if it will give the financially-strapped program for non-traditional students a much needed boost.</p>
<p>"Adas," as they are called at Smith can actually be as young as 24, but there have also been program participants in their 80's and even 90's.</p>
<p>Of course, Smith’s other big booster from the magazine world is Ms. magazine’s Gloria Steinem, also an alum. The contrast here is amusing. Maybe Hugh Hefner will hop on board next. :)</p>
<p>Don’t go there, Sally…it’s not clear whom Hefner would hop on board. <glyph of=“” bleaching=“” eyes=“”> </glyph></p>
<p>But, seriously, that’s great news for the Ada program. I’ve met several Adas and they’re an impressive group, as are Smithies in general. And they stood out at graduation for the esprit d’corps and their exultation at having finally graduated from college after a deferral of years, often many many years.</p>
<p>Not sure that Hef would get the warmest reception at Smith. Though some years back (15? 20?) when Playboy did a “Women of The Women’s Colleges” spread (so to speak :eek:), there was a mix of interest and protests on campus.</p>
<p>Re the Adas … They definitely bring a lot to campus, and the traditional-aged undergrads seem to enjoy having them in class. As a group, they do have a special esprit, but my Smith faculty pals tell me that the older women can be more obsessed with grades than the younger ones. Personally, I think I’d be the opposite … I’d work harder now if I were in college now, at 59, than I did at 18 or 20, but I wouldn’t be all that invested in the grades, if I could be happy with the work myself.</p>
<p>Being an engineering major who was invited to find another major, which I did by 3pm (Political Science), I had short shrift in Humanities classes. Several years after I graduated, I started taking English Lit classes through UCLA Extension and ultimately petitioned into taking some classes for Extension credit in the regular UCLA program. I was the oldest student in a seminar on Henry Fielding and I was a <em>much</em> better student by that time than I was when I had been in college “for real.” I imagine that if I found myself in class today, I’d be an even better student. My time management has improved of necessity and my standards of what constitutes “good enough” have gone up considerably. I’d be the type who would have a hard time scaling an assignment to a 5-10 page paper instead of 20.</p>
<p>Hah. We <em>are</em> of an age, to the year.</p>