Smith College

Smithies in short: gay/bisexual/pansexual/choosing not to put labels on sexuality and love, incredibly intelligent, naked at every opportunity, world travelers, is there a word that is far left of liberal?, articulate, international, enormously accepting, did I mention really naked?, beautiful women, transmen, and transgender students

The campus: deceptively large for its small student body; teeming with history; full of giant old trees and brick buildings covered in ivy; marked by an offshoot of the Connecticut River in which Smithies can kayak, canoe and swim; it has forty-some houses occupied by students, a couple of which will turn 300 years old the year that I graduate; and it is right in the heart of Northampton, lesbian capital of the country



I'm trying to figure out how I can possibly narrate the experience I have had thus far, and all of my words fall short of capturing this oh so queer (pun intended) intellectual paradise. (I literally live on Paradise St.)

Okay, who remembers Willamette's convocation at the beginning of the year? During my freshman year, Steven Pinker came and spoke to our class. He gave one of my favorite speeches I have heard in college. It was eloquent, interesting, and thought-provoking, but I now realize that it was also so square. A word you hear a lot at Smith is "tradition," and our convocation is one of everyone's favorite traditions. Convocation occurs the night before classes begin, and the entire student body attends this event either in costume or naked. (I wore an American flag and some fake lamb's wool.) The president of the college and various faculty members sit on stage, decked out in their wizard-like professor robes, in front of the student choir, which is in various stages of undress. Everyone is in a euphoric state of intoxication, shouting in celebration. The soccer team runs around the auditorium throughout the night in their jerseys and pride flags. Various faculty members take turns at the podium, welcoming Smithies back to school. They exclude no group in these speeches, making sure to welcome the trans community, the anarchists, the international students, the clothed and the naked, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, Pagans, and more demographics than I could ever remember. When the dean welcomes "those who are registered to vote" back to campus, the entire school begins chanting "O-bam-a!"

This is a beautiful, brilliant place. On a daily basis, I am moved almost to tears by this unusual and ridiculous community that surrounds me, my new community.

I want to write about classes, but I know that I have written too much already. Expect more later.

I think about you all every day, and as I read this blog, I am amazed by all of you, excelling in your new (and old) environments. You are all a part of who I am today, and I thank you for that.

Yours on the Right Coast,

Sars