You Know You're A Smithie When.... (encore)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Smith College
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<p>@CrewDad: you’ve answered the question already. :)</p>

<p>@RocketLouise: I think your view comes from the specific social and/or academic sphere you move in. Out of my daughter’s group of closest friends (about 6 women), only one was a lesbian, the exact ratio I had among my closest college female friends decades ago at a male-dominated college. For the LGBT community, Smith is a haven because it allows women to be open about their sexuality, and so it may seem more lesbian than it actually is, simply because you don’t often see that kind of openness elsewhere in society. </p>

<p>I do think that the satirical “You Know You’re a Smithie When” list does more harm than good because it plays into the Smith stereotype. People on the inside may laugh, but, from the outside, it seems like a confirmation of suspicions.</p>

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<p>I maintain that this social acceptance of a variety of backgrounds translates into lively discourse, both in and out of the classroom. If you take a couple of thousand of bright women who care about one another, quirks and all, then you have the basis for a compassionate, intellectually-innovative, and engaged student body. From open minds come great thoughts. Obviously, Smith’s environment (or Wesleyan’s, for that matter) is not the only kind of atmosphere that educates students to a high level, but I do believe it is partially responsible for the independent-minded women who graduate from Smith.</p>