Ann M. Martin ‘77 returns!

31Dec09

According to the New York Times, the Baby-Sitters series is being reissued! Yes, there will be minor updates (all references to”cassettes” have been replaced, etc), but in essence, it’s the original series. In addition, though, Ann M. Martin is releasing a brand-new prequel in April 2010.

This is all very exciting. What are your memories of the books? Did you read them? Did your children?

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Tags: '77, ann m. martin, baby sitters club, books

Smith Alumnae Quarterly Centennial

23Dec09

I always enjoy receiving the Smith Alumnae Quarterly. It’s like a little surprise in my mailbox. Unlike most folks, I tend to read front to back; I don’t start with the class notes. This issue, of course, is the centennial, and was full of Smith and the SAQ over the years. It’s amazing to see the timeline of things, to note, for instance, when house mothers left and HRs came in. To see that Tori Murden has not only crossed the Atlantic but been to the South Pole as well. To read about all the presidents over the years, etc.

However, I was saddened to read that the interim presidency of John Connolly in 2001-2002 didn’t merit a mention. Obviously I (Sarah, class of 2005) am slightly biased, given that I was there when he was in office. But it was a very memorable year.

Apparently he was promised a quiet reign in between Ruth Simmon’s departure and the arrival of the not-yet-chosen Carol Christ, but it was not to be. There was September 11th right after the year began. Professor Connolly called everyone into JMG hall and gave a speech I will never forget. Then the spring had the racial and homophobic slurs and tensions that included another emergency all-college meeting.

And all this during the normal chaos and craziness of typical Smith life. All the while, Professor Connolly exuded a steadfast calm and thoughtfulness. I know he doesn’t count as one of Smith’s official presidents, but I consider him an integral part of my Smith experience.

What else was left out of the Quarterly’s Centennial issue?

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Tags: carol christ, john connolly, SAQ

‘Twas the month before Christmas…

19Dec09

…and all through the blogosphere, Smithies were doing a variety of things:

Some went sledding with their kids, like Katherine ‘04:

Some went running in 15 degrees (Running into the Sun ‘97, we salute you!):

Some decided to do Christmas a bit early, like Scoobydoobeach ‘75:

And some decided to go into labor (congrats, Kate ‘04!:

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Tags: babies, christmas, pictures, running, sledding, snow

Oh hey, yeah, we’re still here.

20Nov09

So maybe life got a little busy. So maybe Sarah’s new life could be titled The Very Busy Job and maybe Amanda’s could be titled Yes, He’s Just That Into You and Now You’re Into a Wedding Dress.

We’re sorry for ignoring this project. But we’re back, inasmuch as we can be. We’ve gone through the email account (smithalumblogs at gmail dot com) and updated things as appropriate. Below is a sampling of new and updated blog links. As always, we continue to be amazed and humbled at the diversity of subject and class years represented. Rock on, Smithie bloggers!

• oh hay, it’s kk ‘08
• The Tomato Knife ‘02
• Living in a Bacterial World ‘08
• Subway Daze ‘07
• Dancing Through the Years ‘63
• Transitions… where endings meet beginnings ‘85
• America Comes Alive ‘73
• Spits at Mirrors ‘99
• Elephant Voices ‘79
• Where to Go After Buffy ‘03
• Becoming Crow Lady ‘94
• Top Tightwad Tips ‘86
• Efficient Midwife ‘00, ‘00, & ‘04
• Simple Marketing Blog ‘83

and last but not least: Cancer: The Musical! ‘07

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Tags: all classes, blogs, smith college

Art imitates Life?

19Jul09

As an update, the Cybill Shepherd movie “Mrs. Washington Goes to Smith” premieres on the Hallmark Channel on August 1, 2009, at 9 pm/8 central. There’s a nice article about the actress here, and you can see a very short (literally, it’s 8 seconds long) video from it here.

In other news, Commencement, the first novel by J. Courtney Sullivan ‘03 seems to be everywhere lately. You can read the New York Times book review here and the first chapter here.

Why the fascination with fictional representations of Smith? Good question. For myself (Sarah), I am always examining fictional Smith works to see how closely they align with my own Smith experience. I realize that this may be somewhat futile, given that every Smithie has a different experience, even ones from the same class year. But I also am always interested in seeing how my alma mater is presented to a general audience. If someone saw just that one movie or read just that one book, what would that person think of Smith?

We’ll have to wait until August to ask that question of the Cybill Shepherd movie, but many Smithies are already launching head-first into discussion around Commencement. If you’ve read it, what do you think of the book? How well does it match up against your Smith experience?

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Tags: commencement, cybill shepherd, j. courtney sullivan, mrs. washington goes to smith, smith college

Are Women’s Colleges a Relic of the Past?

02Jun09

A recent op-ed from the Daily Hampshire Gazette, a local paper in Northampton, Mass., states that women’s colleges have no reason to exist anymore:

True, 150 years ago when women were excluded from male academies, colleges and universities, affirmative action was needed to create these special schools. We owe a debt of gratitude to women’s colleges for taking an early stand to fight discrimination, raise awareness of gender issues, and crack the glass ceiling in government, business and even academia itself.

But today, schools like Smith and Mount Holyoke, Wellesley and Mills, are hypocritical in their fight against gender discrimination since they are among the few remaining U.S. institutions allowed to exploit a federal loophole that permits them to segregate their own admissions on the basis of sex…

[There is no] empirical evidence that today’s young women do better in the classroom when set apart from more aggressive and assertive males. This might have been true in the past but it’s not true now, according to Wendy Kaimer, a women’s issues expert. Today’s women are thriving at coed colleges and in their careers.

You can read the whole article online (if you pay), or in full for free at the Smith Alum.net forums. Mildly put, the whole thing’s pretty outrageous. Both of us (Sarah and Amanda) are relatively recent alums, and I (Sarah) think I speak for both of us on this: Even 150 years after Seneca Falls, women’s colleges are very, very relevant.

Reading this, I thought, “Well, the author’s a man, what does he know about it!” I mean, he’s been living in the land of male privilege. Without some serious self-awareness, how could he know the benefits of a Smith education? But who’s this Wendy character? Why doesn’t she get it?

This is where it gets awkward: There’s no Wendy Kaimer, as far as Google and Amazon can say. However, there is a Wendy Kaminer. And she’s a Smith College alumna, class of ‘71. So which is it: A noted “expert” that never wrote a book or article? Or a Smith College graduate whose words are being used against her alma mater?

Wendy? You out there? Anywhere?

While we wait on Wendy (apologies about the alliteration… again), what did you enjoy most about attending a women’s college?

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Tags: '71, male privilege, Mills College, Mount Holyoke, single-sex education, smith college, Wellesley, women's colleges

Congratulations, Class of ‘09!

17May09

…And welcome to the world of Smith Alums. We’re thrilled to have you.

If you’re an ‘09 with a blog and you’d like to have it listed here, let us know!

Congrats also to Smith Alum Blogs founder Sarah, who receives her MBA today.

[Photo: From the archives, via Smith College Archives blog.]

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Tags: '09

Swine Flu & Smith College

06May09

Quote of the week, from a Smith alum’s boyfriend: “So if Hamthrax gets bad, it’ll be an aporkalypse?”

From Smith’s page on Swine Flu:

May 2, 2009
A Smith student with mild flu symptoms has been identified as among the close contacts of one of the Amherst College students with probable swine flu. Samples are being sent to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for evaluation. The student has been placed in isolation with her own kitchen and bathroom facilities, and her classroom and residential contacts are being notified.

May 5, 2009
A Smith student with mild flu symptoms who was recently placed in isolation has tested negative for H1N1, also referred to as swine flu. The student has been advised that she may return to her normal activities. The college continues to consult with health officials at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health on the department’s evolving recommendations for testing and treating H1N1.

Basically, some poor Smithie went through all the craziness of being isolated, getting scared, and freaking out everyone around her before finding out… nope, she just has the regular flu.

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Tags: H1N1, smith college, swine flu

A Very Honest Proposal

03May09

We are amused by Sarbani Hazra ‘05 in this piece:

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Tags: comedy

Student Voice: Cuts to the Libraries

24Apr09

It seems that everyone lately wants to contact blogging Smith alums. We received an email from Sarah Mischner ‘10, asking us to spread information about the proposed cuts to the Smith College libraries to alumnae. You can also follow the online conversation in the independently-run forums at Smithalum.net.

To my fellow Smithies!

As you may have heard, the administration of Smith is proposing serious budget cuts, one of which is the closing of the Werner Josten Performing Arts Library to consolidate into Neilson. I’m spearheading a group of current Smithies who are very concerned about this proposal, and are reaching out to fellow students, alums, and other friends to try and get support.

• This proposal will result in the already over-crowded main library needing to buy new shelving, place large portions of the collections into storage, convert existing rooms into listening rooms, and buy new equipment so  students can listen to and watch materials.

• The plan proposes to convert the performing arts library space into additional classrooms, a costly venture which would negate the cost benefits of consolidation.

• The administration believes that dividing and re-sorting the nationally renowned collection from Josten would result in a fully functional and accessible collection, but, as students, we have determined that this would make the collection very impractical and much less accessible. In addition to a completely different manner of organization of materials, the loss of three specialized staff librarians who are an incredible resource would make the distribution into Neilson even more confusing and incredibly hard to navigate.

• The administration has proposed that many materials may be placed online in order to save space. However, many of these resources, including scores and scripts, would be unusable in a virtual format due to the necessity of having a physical score from which to learn.

Josten is the only performing arts library among the Five College Consortium, and a large number of Five College students use the space. In considering of how many people utilize Josten, Smith’s administration has only counted the number of music, theater, and dance majors, without including the huge number of people involved in musical ensembles, theater productions, and dance programs. Please help us communicate these thoughts to the administration, Trustees, and President of Smith College in an effort to change the plan. You may write your own letter or use whatever part of this post you deem necessary. With some effort, I believe that we can make our voices heard and hopefully provoke a change.

If you would like further information, or to discuss in more detail what kinds of effects will result from these changes, please feel free to contact me. If you would like to do more than send a letter, we have a petition which I would love to add your names to! If you would like to be added, please send me your name, major at Smith, and graduating year.

Thank you!

Sincerely,
Sarah Mischner
smischne@smith.edu, smischner@gmail.com, 609-947-0780

To contact President Christ: cchrist@smith.edu

Rebecca Lindsey, Secretary to the Board of Trustees and Assistant to Pres. Christ: rlindsey@smith.edu

For contact information of trustees: http://www.smith.edu/trustees/Biographies.html

Proposed reduction plan for the libraries: http://www.smith.edu/president/financial/proposedplan/libraries.php

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