#Smith college

[teabooksmurder]

Smith College

[undonehomework]

dan and phil

[wellesleybooks]

Ria, our part time bookseller and full time student at Wellesley College made a book display. She calls it “Anything You Can Write We Can Write Better- Works by alumnae of historically women’s colleges.” It’s full of some fantastic books.

Ria's List

Wellesley College Madam Secretary - Madeleine Albright Mr. Churchill's Secretary - Susan Elia MacNeal Last Night at the Telegraph Club- Malinda Lo The Sweet Spot - Amy Poeppel Heartburn- Nora Ephron Dear Wendy- Ann Zhao Pieces of Blue- Holly Goldberg Sloan Barbara the Slut- Lauren Holmes Good Grief - E.B. Bartels We Have Always Been Who We Are- Sofia Romero Nancy Drew- Carolyn Keene (aka Harriet Stratemeyer)

Barnard College Eileen - Ottessa Moshfegh The Vulnerables - Sigrid Nunez The Death of a Jaybird- Jodi M. Savage Making It in America- Rachel Slade

Smith College The Feminine Mystique- Betty Friedan The Cliffs- J. Courtney Sullivan A Tale for the Time Being- Ruth Ozeki A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara Ariel- Sylvia Plath Mastering the Art of French Cooking- Julia Child The Starless Sea-Erin Morgenstern The Babysitters Club- Ann M. Martin

Bryn Mawr Crying in H Mart- Michelle Zauner The Trouble with You- Ellen Feldman The Brightwood Code- Monica Hesse Necessary Trouble- Drew Gilpin Faust

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

— Hanif Abdurraqib at Smith College  :: [Belles-lettres]

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

by Dion J. Pierre

Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts responded to recent antisemitic incidents on campus by condemning “Islamophobia” and pledging to review an anti-Zionist group’s demand that the school adopt the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.

Late last month, someone graffitied a swastika on campus and stole several mezuzahs, small parchment scrolls containing Hebrew verses from the Torah that members of the Jewish community fix to their doorposts. The Daily Wire first reported the story on X/Twitter.

The school’s president, Sarah Willie-LeBreton, addressed the incidents in a letter to the campus community last week. She proclaimed that there is “no place for antisemitism, Islamophobia, or any form of hate at Smith College,” demonstrating what higher education experts have described as a reluctance on the part of university presidents to address antisemitism as a standalone problem.

Willie-LeBreton continued, listing actions the college is taking in response to the incidents, including “considering  a divestment request” which was proposed by the anti-Zionist campus club Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). According to SJP, the school has already acceded to their demand that products sold by Sabra Dipping Company, LLC, owned by PepsiCo and the Israeli food manufacturer Strauss Group Ltd., be banned from campus. The group has repeatedly vowed to target Smith’s endowment, hoping to force the school to divest from companies that conduct business in or with Israel.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has noted in numerous reports and public letters that SJP is responsible for terrorizing Jewish college students.

On Tuesday, nonprofit leaders and academics castigated Willie-LeBreton’s statement, arguing that it betrayed her indifference to anti-Jewish hatred.

“I think it’s time to say that when you respond to a specifically antisemitic incident by condemning antisemitismandislamophobia [sic], you have exacerbated the original antisemitism by not taking seriously what happened, and instead placating antisemites who think that addressing antisemitism as such is problematic,” George Mason University law professor David Bernstein said on X. “But this one is even worse than usual, by noting that Smith is considering a request to divest from Israel, as if that’s somehow a proper response to an antisemitic incident as opposed to encouraging antisemitism.”

Hussain Abdul-Hussain of, Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a think tank based in Washington DC, challenged the college to cite one example of anti-Muslim conduct, and the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) on Campus denounced Willie-LeBreton’s response as “irresponsible and dangerous.” Other users weighed in, calling Smith College “beyond parody” and an “utter failure.”

Smith College did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

The school, a small liberal college for women, is not the only higher education institution that has subtly accused Jewish students of engaging in acts of discrimination of which anti-Zionists are guilty.

On Monday, after Jewish students at Tufts University were spit on and called antisemitic epithets during a student government session held to consider passing four BDS resolutions, university spokesperson Patrick Collins said “Islamophobic words” are entirely unacceptable. By chance, three reporters from The Tufts Daily who were present for the session did not record overhearing any utterances of anti-Muslim rhetoric.

Similar statements have been issued since Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, which was followed by a surge of antisemitic incidents on US college campuses.

In November, the English Department of the University of Colorado-Boulder proclaimed, “We stand against Islamophobia and antisemitism.” Days later, California State University said that “deplorable acts” of “antisemitism and Islamophobia” had taken place “on college campuses across the country,” without citing specific incidents of anti-Muslim discrimination.

Since Oct. 7, anti-Zionists have been accused of beating up, spitting on, and using antisemitic slurs against Jewish, Israeli, and pro-Israel students. Such behavior has been the subject of numerous civil rights complaints and lawsuits. Anti-Zionist student groups have in turn accused pro-Israel students of Islamophobia, citing instances in which anti-Israel activists have been punished for breaking rules, promoting hate speech, or times when they were denounced for supporting terrorism.

[lovingsylvia]

Today marks the 61st anniversary of Sylvia Plath’s death! RIP!

Sylvia Plath 27 October 1932 Jamaica Plain, Boston, Massachusetts, USA - 11 February 1963, Primrose Hill, London, England, United Kingdom

…

"I want to live each day for itself like a string of colored beads, and not kill the present by cutting it up in cruel little snippets to fit some desperate architectural draft for a taj mahal in the future."

–The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath, Excerpt: December II for December 1955

...

Photo: Sylvia Plath at Smith College Quadigras dance in May 1954

[smithiecollege]

Fall is here, and nothing screams fall more on Smith's campus than the tweeting of sparrows drowned out by the ground-shaking, teeth-chattering noise and reverberation of construction. Yes, Mountain Day came and went, and the once wide and welcoming Chapin Path, where any student was once welcome to be passive-aggressively passed by a cyclist, is still shuttered. Many students have so missed that crucial part of the campus experience that they've taken to walking to class in the bike lanes along Elm Street, hoping to replicate that same thrill Chapin Path usually provides.

While many students have complained about the construction all over campus (says one junior: "I'm a liberal. I believe in investing in more eco-friendly energy sources. But maybe--maybe not here."), some have managed to live amid the disruption. "The construction noise doesn't bother me. I'm just screaming in my head, constantly," said one senior. "God knows I don't have a job lined up after graduation. I'm going to have to move back in with my parents, and they're going to ask me why I'm not gay married yet, and that's just not something I can take."

Yes, while many gripe and groan about the construction, there is an objective argument to be made here: Construction is God.

Proof:

Is that not God, streaming through the clouds that cover the sky above the early site of the Kathleen McCartney building? No doubt--God Himself casts his gaze upon Smith, and He has decreed "You shall have only one stir-fry dining hall this year. Also, the price of Celsius at the Julia Child Campus Center will be increased by a half-dollar. But fear not--you shall have a building made of ghastly timber, like the remodel of a historic home in a morally dubious HGTV series."

And so we shall.

Therefore, if Construction is the word of God, it is our duty as a once-secular (but now, clearly, blessed) school to pursue this plan. Many students have suggested lights at crosswalks, to perhaps mitigate the number of students who end up in collisions with vehicles, or even functional elevators in every house, or possibly even better pay and treatment for all Smith employees. While these are all certainly options, do they honor the word of Construction God? We think not. Smith's next project will be Holy.

Now proposing:

The Barbara Bush Center for Eat (Construction 2025-2035)

This project will take the ultimate step towards Smith's final goal of centralized dining. The Barbara Bush Center (Or Bushie, as students will affectionately call it) will occupy Green Street. Blueprints require the entirety of Green Street and all student housing to be razed to the ground to complete this construction, but ultimately, we feel as though it will be worth it. Bushie will stand ten stories tall, as it must be built to represent the time it was conceived of. Furthermore, the building will be in the exact shape and design of the Oceangate Titanic Submersible, to honor the failures of science, and encourage Smithies to do better. Bushie will serve breakfast on floors 2,4, and 7 from 6:45 AM to 7:04 AM, and after that, there will be no meals until 8:30 PM, and they will always be sold out immediately, as a way to teach Smithies about scarcity and competition. However, Bushie will serve snacks on floor 5 during the third minute of every hour of the day, just so students can internalize the importance of punctuality. Bushie will also offer fifty-seven lactation rooms throughout the building, and while it is understood that there are surely never going to be that many lactating people in need of a designated room in Bushie at the same time, these rooms will serve as a location for people with roommates to respectfully have sex with someone on the rugby team. However, all lactation rooms will be noise-transparent, because we value womxn's voices.

Finally, we would like to announce that in addition to First Tuesdays and Second Thursdays, we are beginning a tradition called Every Other Fourth Wednesday where on every other fourth Wednesday of every month, community members stand silent on Burton Lawn and practice taking a bra off of someone with one hand, supervised by the most butch members of our faculty. Members of the 5 College Consortium are invited and encouraged to attend. All skill levels are welcome.

With love from the bottom of paradise pond,

Smith College

[queer-cinephile]

Enhanced and colorized 1960s photo of Halina Poświatowska, a Polish poet who studied at Smith College

[anthonycrowley]

if you were wondering the current state of this saga and are considering Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, 01063 phone number 413-584-2700 as a college you would like to attend or donate to: the registrar at 4:35 pm - after i put in a request for a digital transcript at 9 am yesterday, i called today to confirm i would get my transcript within 48 hours of submitting my request, the office confirming that and saying it should be released by 4 pm today, calling them shortly after 4 at which point they lied to me saying they would be released ‘around 4, not by 4’ and then waited with baited breath (and it has not come btw) - emailed me with a useless copy of my diploma (i have my original diploma ☺️) and when i gave her some follow up questions along with a desperate plea to just send me an unofficial copy of my transcript via pdf (which is usually not allowed but given the circumstances and I should be getting it anyway I feel this is reasonable) she ghosted me because we’re outside of business hours 😊. i asked repeatedly over two days for an unofficial transcript via pdf and she refused even under the circumstances (those being that i should have the pdf by now 🤪) and because of that unless the system spits out my transcript by midnight tomorrow i’m out $85 for my graduate application and will not have priority for classes because i’m not meeting the early decision deadline 🙂 i just think this is really disturbing and if i was actively considering giving these people hundreds of thousands of dollars and i heard about an alum who couldn’t get a transcript after begging for days and it being within the timeframe of it being promised and then not getting it and suffering academically and professionally for it (which, by the way, i’ve looked at how this process works for other schools via social media and they claim through the same process it’s instant or within hours. VERY interesting 🤔) i would reconsider going there for my undergraduate education ☺️

[teabooksmurder]

[study-with-emmy]

Reasons I want to go to a women's college

a higher concentration of women means a higher concentration of lesbians, as in higher chance of me getting a gf

more equitable access to STEM programs (students at women's colleges are 1.5 x more likely to be participating in a STEM program than women at co-ed schools)

getting a gf

women's colleges tend to be smaller schools with close-knit communities and involved professors (not to say that all professors are great, but there tend to be more research opportunities, etc at women's colleges)

getting a gf

they tend to be accepting towards lgbtq+ students, and many of them accept nonbinary students as well now.

many women's colleges have good leadership programs

getting a gf

[elenitrack]

Katherine Welsh (Smith College)

[raincitygirl76]

A terrific review of Young Royals Season 2 in The Sophian.

The Sophian is the student newspaper of Smith College in Northampton, MA, USA. I don't know how long college newspapers keep their archives up, so just in case, I copy-pasted the article below. But assuming the link above works (and it worked just fine right now), please go to the link, don't read my copy-paste.

All Things Real: a Review of “Young Royals” Season Two

BY CATE CHRISTINIDIS ON NOVEMBER 15, 2022 | 

ARTS AND CULTURE, POP CULTURE, REVIEWS AND TV

Photo by Robert Eldrim via Netflix.

Hillerska: a private boarding school tucked away in Sweden; horseback riding, rowing, rowdy parties and, most notably, 16-year-old Crown Prince Wilhelm. Still, “Young Royals” (2022) is no fairytale. A simmering pot of angst, romance, betrayal and battles of the conscience, “Young Royals” displays unadulterated teenage reality. Season One ended with Hillerska’s most scandalous term to date, and Wilhelm, played by Edvin Ryding, reluctantly left it behind to the promising tune of Elias’ “Revolution.” In the rubble of Season One, audiences couldn’t help but wonder: would Season Two be that revolution? 

The short answer is yes. The romance that blossoms between openly gay Simon Eriksson (Omar Rudberg) and closeted Crown Prince Wilhelm enters uncharted territory. Wilhelm’s self-discovery is thwarted by the looming sense of duty pressed upon him by Sweden’s royal court, who deem queerness as a threat to the monarchy. Yet, the essence of the story does not lie in Wilhelm’s royal title, but in the title of the show itself: “Young Royals.” It is easy to forget, and equally important to remember, that the students of Hillerska are just kids. Their mistakes are children’s mistakes, and their resilience and bravery are monumental. 

This also means that every catastrophe is that much more devastating. Both seasons deal with a case of child pornography –– a cellphone video of Simon and Wilhelm, recorded through Wilhelm’s dormroom window. Regardless of social power, money or fame, the problems that overwhelm Wilhelm and Simon’s relationship are unmistakably larger than they are. 

“Young Royals” is all things real –– the bodies and situations portrayed on screen all reflect some semblance of teenage existence; simultaneous chaos, uncertainty, imperfection and beauty. The series doesn’t shy away from the ugly side of teenage life: where partying and stress meet drug use and where jealousy leads to impulsive, criminalizing mistakes. “Young Royals” is both dark and refreshing, unusual in its ability to look life right in the face. 

The American media tends to place a beauty filter over the formative years. Audiences lapse into patterns of falsified viewing, scarcely aware enough to ask themselves: Hey, aren’t teenagers supposed to have acne? “Young Royals” doesn’t blink twice at these “blemishes” –– acne, crooked teeth, etc. In fact, they are clearly embraced, normalized and desirable –– clear skin and perfect teeth are not deal-breakers for being the most popular girl in school or the Crown Prince. 

“Young Royals” likewise considers the psychological realities faced in the war between authenticity and duty. Season one introduced Wilhelm’s struggle with anxiety, but Season Two pursues the extent to which anxiety and panic consume Wilhelm after Season One’s events. It may sound cliché –– the prince who can’t handle the pressure of the crown –– but Wilhelm doesn’t ask the audience to feel sorry for him, and neither does “Young Royals.” Wilhelm is much messier in Season Two. He explodes with emotion –– fear, pain, anger, guilt and sadness –– and, without Simon, there is nowhere for it to go. He is selfish, rude, depressed, spoiled and makes bad choices. But Wilhelm’s reasons for not wanting to be Crown Prince are rightfully selfish; at 16, he is resigning himself to an empty and dishonest life. Forced by his mother, the Queen, Wilhelm begrudgingly sees a therapist, and while he resents the need for it, Season Two’s “revolution” finds Wilhelm overcoming his personal barriers to enact change.  

Wilhelm and Simon are separated by class more than anything. Wilhelm, as a member of the royal family, is an elite, while Simon, a non-boarder, can’t afford to live at the school. While Wilhelm tries to understand Simon (and vice versa), there are times when their differences speak louder than they do. Simon’s inability to understand why Wilhelm, as Crown Prince, can’t disregard the crown and take a stand, clashes with Wilhelm’s inability to see how Simon’s social status caused him to receive the brunt of the backlash for the sextape. Season Two is a testament to revisions and the rightings of wrongs; as Wilhelm works through his own emotions, he learns to use his power and status for progress.

Season Two of “Young Royals” is all about decisions; specifically, revising and listening to one’s conscience to make the right one. Which decision will start a revolution, which will fuel it, which will kill it? Despite the tumultuous path to togetherness, Simon and Wilhelm have an incredibly realistic and healthy relationship. They show love through communication; their need to be seen, heard and understood by each other is unshakable. It makes the moments when they do touch –– which are surprisingly few and far between –– feel all the more worth fighting for. Wilhelm certainly agrees; each season begins and ends with his eyes locked on the camera. This is his story, and he’ll go to war for it.  

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Georgia O'Keeffe, Pink Moon Over Water , 1924 , oil on canvas

Smith College Smith College Museum of Art Elm Street at Bedford Terrace, Northampton Massachusetts

* * * *

"Emanations - everything has emanations. Earth, dog, that bottle, me, you - emanations are automatic, must go out from us, from every separate part, from all total, part go out automatically from every living thing. We each one surrounded by atmosphere of our emanations - some scientific apparatus can see these emanations. We each have atmosphere around us all the time - dog also, also bottle, also earth."‬

‪~ Gurdjieff, Katherine Hulme's diary

[Ian Sanders]

[no-taxis]

Smith College, Northampton MA

[lovingsylvia]

Exhibit: "The Bell Jars: Lyman Conservatory and Sylvia Plath’s Botanical Imagination"

September 15, 2023 through June 28, 2024 at Smith College Botanical Gardens, Northampton, MA

"The Bell Jars: Lyman Conservatory and Sylvia Plath’s Botanical Imagination tells this story, shedding new light on Plath’s life and work while also examining the power of interspecies encounters between people and plants. Using archival materials and Plath’s literary work as a guide, this exhibit invites visitors to inhabit Lyman as Plath once did. Cross-pollinating the humanities and natural sciences, we hope to examine Plath’s botanical imagination and Lyman’s role in cultivating it."

For more information on the exhibit, see The Botanic Garden website at: https://garden.smith.edu/explore/exhibits/temporary-exhibits/bell-jars-lyman-conservatory-and

...

Description & photo: https://garden.smith.edu/