'Strategic Planning' Needs Student Participation for Real Success
by in Opinions
We have been given a tremendous gift in the Strategic Planning Initiatives-we have the chance to affect real, substantial change in our school: change that students of Smith College will live with for years. It is quite something that someday the students who are at Smith right now will be able to come back and look at something that can become a full part of life at Smith, like the Campus Center or the new museum, and know that they played a part in creating it.
by Julia Kiefer in Opinions
As Smithies, we tend to have the refreshing ability to set standards for ourselves that go beyond and outside the traditional strictures of society, academia and the professional world. Despite our "can-do" attitude, however, events such as "Love Your Body Day," which took place on Feb.
by Caitlin Flynn in Opinions
The murder of 11-year-old Carlie Brucia is one of the most disturbing crimes to make headlines in the past two years. Carlie, a 6th-grader from Sarasota, Florida, was walking home from a weekend sleepover at her friend's house when she was abducted by Joseph P.
by Kirsten Steinke in Opinions
The effects of the prophet cartoons published in a Danish newspaper have been extremely and unpredictably far-reaching. Muslim extremists have made clear that they do not intend to take these drawings lightly, and the resulting violence and destruction has been absolutely terrifying.
by Julia Reed in Opinions
Get ready for a shift in the unofficial dress code of Capitol Hill. Traditional blue suits are nice of course, but I predict that orange is what the well-dressed politicians will be wearing this season, for safety's sake if nothing else. Not that orange did much to protect Harry Whittington last Saturday when Vice President Dick Cheney peppered him in the neck, chest and shoulder with birdshot pellets fired in a single shot from the veep's 28- gauge shot gun.
by Sara Barz in Opinions
As Carol Christ wanders near and far to engage the Smith Community in her series of strategic planning conversations, it behooves us to humor her and take part. Even though these conversations may seem like blabfests with no direct consequences, 10 years ago these very same planning conversations resulted in the births of the Brown Fine Arts Center, the Campus Center, the expansion to the Lyman Botanical Gardens, the Olin Fitness Center, the Center for Women and Financial Independence, PRAXIS, the Poetry Center, the Kahn Liberal Arts Institute and the engineering program.
by Fatoumata Soumaré in Opinions
We as college students are under the spell of a new pop culture phenomenon: the Facebook. The majority of us have Facebook accounts, and if the Facebook progresses and adds cooler features like being able to add video to our profiles or, god forbid, collaborating with iTunes, most of us will need rehab just to function normally.
by Sidnie D. Davis in Opinions
On Thursday, Feb. 16, a U.N. report was officially released calling for the U.S. prisoner camp at Guantanamo Bay to be closed. The 54-page report was commissioned by the United Nations and was carried out by a team of independent researchers consisting of five scientists, international lawyers and academics from various fields.
'I Am Charlotte Simmons' Deserves Less Praise than Given in Recent Review
by in Opinions
Dear Editor,
I'm writing concerning Meena Dev's interesting article "Co-Ed Versus Single Sex: The Message Behind I Am Charlotte Simmons." While I understand and agree with Ms. Dev's conclusion that Tom Wolfe largely disregards aspects of the so-called American college experience for the purposes of satire, I disagree with her on her main point, namely that "I Am Charlotte Simmons" is a book worthy of praise, especially when I think about the promotion of female empowerment that is such a part of Smith.
Research Shows Clear Health Risks of Infant Circumcision
by in Opinions
To the Editor:
Infant circumcision (male foreskin amputation) is declining nationwide. NO national medical group worldwide recommends this painful, harmful surgery, but health myths still persist. Few people-physicians included-understand the protective, sensory and sexual functions of the foreskin, or the resulting losses from circumcision.
