Sociolgy

Aside from the Student Center and athletic facilities, a student at Smith finds time to enjoy right at home. A unique concept brings comfort to a whole new level here. Even though some girls may be hours or even countries away from their native home, Smith offers a pleasant alternative. While their interior may not differ much from that of a typical UMass dorm, Smith students experience campus housing much differently. Instead of towers or low-rise buildings, Smith students live in large colonial style houses. I visited one of the houses on Upper Elm Street. Each home looks different, and you can enter the front door with your key or by knocking and having someone answer it. Depending on its size, each house can hold anywhere from 13 to 100 students. Upon entering the house, I was greeted by two girls who ended up being my tour guides around campus. We sat in the common room, on large couches in front of a fireplace. I thought to myself, “ The last fire I saw at UMass was the one burning outside of my dorm last year during the riots.” There is a piano in the common room as well, and pictures on the wall. Ten minutes in there and I had almost forgotten that I was on campus and not at a friends house. When I went to grab my jacket and purse to move and go look around the rest of the place, the girls told me I could leave it on the couch, that no one would take it. So off I went bags out of hand, downstairs to the dining area.

In terms of the education itself, Smith has many beneficial attributes. An honor code permits students to take exams and finals without the professor in the room, and on dates that fit their own personal schedule. Here again is this idea of choice and freedom. Students have more opportunity to interact and work one on one with professors, even in introductory classes. At UMass, the student teacher ratio is too large to get to know your professor. Even in small classes, you are likely to be taught by a graduate student. Even when you have a professor, they are hardly available after class, but at Smith, all professors are required to hold open hours. Again, you come first, not research, not anything, you are what matters.

First of all, it is important to understand the many dimensions of class. When evaluating the dynamics of a school that is supposed to represent a higher class, we must first know what to look for. What are the social markers that indicate class in education? When I think of upper class, what types of words pop into my head? I compiled a list of a few things that I would expect to find at Smith College based on my ideas about class. These included such things as prestige, comfort, space, attention, power, money, influence, competition, independence, opportunity, luxury, leadership, honor, and alliance. These are all things that taken together, create and perpetuate a situation where someone is placed at an advantage over another both economically and socially. The more apparent and insistent these factors are in an educational institution, the more prepared a student is for future success in the world. While walking around the Smith Campus, there were extensive examples of what I had expected to see.

In terms of the way the campus I set up to be comfortable and spacious, we can look just about anywhere and find a beautiful place to sit, surrounded by a pond or tall trees. The house-style living is geared to make the students feel like they are at home, like they belong. Living amongst other homes gives a sense of community, as do all of the group activities and house councils tat students are encouraged to participate in.

The dining room is set up much like a kitchen at

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