..............................................................................................................................................................

Smith Through a Distorted Looking Glass

A "Visit to the Distinguished Seven Sisters"
 
By Michiyo Yamada GR '97
 
Michiyo
 
Michiyo Yamada is a graduate student in the one-year Diploma in American Studies program. She came to Smith after graduating from college in Japan because she thought Smith was the place where she could acquire, as she puts it, "inner strength, independence and confidence." She was born in Kyoto and lived there all her life until coming to Smith. When she graduates in May, she plans to stay in the United States to pursue another graduate degree in international relations and journalism.

............................
 
............................
Smith College, where you can enjoy your campus life like a Dream!" That was the catchy phrase I noticed recently in the December 1996 issue of JJ, a popular women's fashion magazine published in Japan.
 
Eagerly looking inside for the illustrated article, titled "Visit to the Distinguished Seven Sisters," I found that Smith and Wellesley College were the main subjects, chosen because they are known worldwide as the alma maters of several First Ladies of the United States. I was suddenly fascinated and eager to see how one Japanese women's magazine might describe a celebrated American liberal arts college such as Smith.
 
The problem was, I was soon disappointed. The coverage was not only sloppy but very superficial. It did not convey the richness of academic life at an American liberal arts college but was simply a report of the fashionable lifestyle of some students at Smith. These reporters missed a perfect chance to introduce young Japanese readers to a real inside look at American women's baccalaureate colleges, a subject about which the Japanese general public knows very little.
 
What's more, they did not photograph Japanese students or interview them about their lives at Smith. They also failed to notice the serious parts of American college life, such as the regular semester schedule, academic assignments and the exam system. If I had been the reporter, I would have pointed out the use of the honor code at Smith during exams. In Japan, professors supervise undergraduate students in exam rooms to prevent cheating.
 
The JJ journalists also failed to notice two other distinctive opportunities at Smith: student employment and internships. In Japan, both in public and private institutions, campus jobs are all held by full-time professionals. Students do not have the opportunity for on-the-job experience. I think the idea of campus employment and on-campus internships should be introduced to Japanese colleges and universities because both students and administrators could benefit from these cooperative educational programs.
 
Our brain citadel, Neilson Library, was mentioned only briefly. From my perspective, an American college library is the most fascinating aspect of a student's academic life, not only in terms of the numbers of books, but also because it provides such easy access to all sorts of information. In Japan, I remember the difficulty I had when I tried to check out books and documents that belonged to an academic department other than my own or to a graduate body of my university. The due date always came too fast, and I never could check out enough books at one time.
 
Recently, a Japanese newspaper article mentioned the differences between Japanese and American libraries. Traditionally, Japanese libraries are considered to exist for the preservation of resources, not primarily for students' academic advancement. At my home university, Doshisha University in Kyoto, professors and graduate students had most of the library borrowing privileges to conduct their research; they clearly had better access. In American colleges, students start their first serious academic research as undergraduates; such research is reserved for graduate students in Japan.
 
What perhaps embarrassed me the most in the magazine article (and then made me laugh) was the statement "Even the first years must go to the library after classes to study." Yes, it's true, most first-year students in Japanese colleges and universities do not need to be serious in their academic course work until about a month before the examination period.
 
Typically, in Japan, you are encouraged to enjoy the freedom of college life after you have made it through the severe and extremely competitive preparation period required for college entrance examinations and before you are expected to begin the stressful hunt for a job and, in most cases, to commit for a lifetime to that "first job." But once you are settled in at college, you can relax. You go out every two or three days after school for dinner and drinks with juniors and seniors who belong to the same student clubs. Clubs are for recreation; whether the focus is playing tennis, speaking English or rehearsing as a student rock band, it doesn't matter.
 
Social life, not academics, dominates the life of many a Japanese college student. Consequently, you have to be extremely self-motivated to be a high academic achiever in college.
 
A photo caption in the JJ article made another point about Smith women I found interesting because it applies the Japanese point of view and assumes it is unusual for a woman to desire physical fitness. It said, "We are also confident in our physical strength! Though we are in a women's college, we are strong in Rugby, Tennis and Lacrosse!" Although the reporters are supposedly quoting Smith students, I don't think this kind of comment would ever be made by an American woman.
 
For students at Smith, to be physically fit is commonplace; it is not a special attribute or an exceptional goal to strive for. Physical strength is something anyone can have. Perhaps the Japanese writers found this quest for fitness and love of competition among Smith women surprising because in Japan this is not valued by college women. There, most women students play tennis and lacrosse only as a way of socializing, or being "cool" and fashionable.
 
Finally, although the reporters traveled far from Japan to come to the United States and observe Smith and the lives of its students, their report was disappointing because it did not go beyond the superficial scope of most Japanese fashion magazines, which often misrepresent many facts of American life.
 
Of course, you can say, "Well, this is just a popular magazine that we do not have to take too seriously." But I do take it seriously, because it is yet another example of poor journalism. It leaves me cynical and concerned about the vast role the media can play in forming public opinion.

..............................................................................................................................................................

Back to the Smith College home page | Back to NewsSmith's home page