April 24, 2002
All-college meeting
After participating in the College Hall sit-in, class walk-outs, and other forms of protest, over 2000 students and other Smith community members gathered in John M. Greene Hall for an afternoon all-college meeting. Papers with a timeline of relevant events from that school year were distributed. Acting President Connolly addressed the audience, as did Dean of the College Maureen Mahoney, Director of Institutional Diversity Brenda Allen, and Dean of Religious Life Jennifer Walters. When Mahoney acknowledged that “some incidents were badly mishandled,” there was applause. After the administrative speakers, students came up to the microphone to address the racial harassment of residents of Cutter House and Gillett House, the homophobic messages in Gardiner House, and general campus climate issues. One student from Gillett said that she had been forced to move off campus because of an ongoing, racially-based dispute. Other students spoke up in anger after a white student commented on reverse discrimination. Although some students talked about their positive experiences at Smith, many expressed frustration with the administration for how they had handled the spring’s issues. The meeting lasted nearly three hours.
Descriptions of the students’ other forms of protest can be found here.
A Daily Hampshire Gazette (Northampton) article on the meeting can be found here (1, 2).
A Union-News (Springfield) article on the meeting can be found here.
The Smith College timeline of these events can be found here (1, 2).
Connolly’s address to the audience can be found here (1, 2).
[Last updated on October 18, 2018]