Below are some, certainly not all issues plaguing the Ada Class currently. While there are many issues the class faces, it would be impossible to mention them all here.

Admission

Today, the Ada Class is made up of 62 students, and our numbers are steadily decreasing every academic year. Recently, Admission has made the requirements for accepting Adas more rigorous and the new requirements are detrimental to Adas who had previously struggled in their previous academic institution; in turn, putting potential new Adas at a disadvantage. These new requirements are in direct conflict with what the program was intended to be in its inception.

Housing

Ada housing has always been a struggle throughout the program’s history. While I was not able to touch upon these issues in my project, today Ada housing is endangered. In the past few academic years, rooms in Ada houses have been given to traditional students, allowing Ada only spaces to be diminished. Allowing traditional students in Ada housing creates tensions relating to age differences, life experience, among other things. As Adas are a minority on campus, it is imperative that the class be given spaces for Adas only as it is hard for us to find community outside of our class.

Administration

The Ada Class has repeatedly expressed concerns about the current and future state of the class. In response, administration consistently tells us that Smith College has no intention of getting rid of the program as the college values us. However, that remains to be seen. With dwindling class numbers, removal of college resources that traditional students have, and often being forgotten in college planning (i.e., COVID protocols, etc.), the Ada class worries about our future.