Student Organizations & Groups
Through student organizations and groups, the intellectual experience of students is broadened to encompass ideas which enrich and extend the Smith curriculum.
Student Org | Council for Students of Color | Students Impacted by Ableism (formerly Disability Awareness Group) | TGNC Group | Jewish Student Alliance | Students with Children | Spanish Speaking Clinicians | Los Hispanoablantes Clìnicos | Unlearning Racism Group | Support Groups | XA GroupStudent Org
Student Org is the central, elected, organizing body for students at the School for Social Work. It has several functions that have developed through the years and has a commitment and ability to respond to the changing needs of Smith students.
Student Org’s established roles include providing student representation and input into all aspects of the school, taking an active role in shaping school policies and procedures, organizing extracurricular activities, both social and intellectual, providing a forum within which all groups and special interests of the student body can be heard, and working together to share and allocate resources.
Council for Students of Color
The Council for Students of Color extends membership to all students of color. The council was founded to acknowledge and support minority students’ experiences at Smith. It raises issues relevant to the total Smith community concerning the relationship of race and clinical practice, and plans an annual symposium on these issues. The council is dedicated to the training of social workers better able to meet the needs of the minority community.
Council for Students of Color Leadership
Students Impacted by Ableism
Formerly the Disability Awareness Group
The Students Impacted by Ableism group strives to promote awareness, education and support around ableism and issues of impairment and disability, on campus and in the field, for students, faculty and staff. The group is open to the entire School for Social Work. We are made up of people with disabilities; friends, allies and family members of people with disabilities; and allies and persons of Deaf culture.
Neither disclosure of a disability nor identifying as having a disability is necessary to participate in this group.
We recognize that individuals impacted by ableism constitute a diverse community made up of people with visual impairments, psychiatric disabilities, chronic health issues, HIV+ status, hearing impairments, developmental disabilities and cognitive impairments. We also see ourselves in alliance with the Deaf community. The group’s goal of social justice, civil and economic rights and inclusion for persons with disabilities are part of the school’s anti-racism work, which honors experiences of internalized oppression.
TGNC Group
Formerly the Gay Straight Alliance
More information coming soon!Jewish Students Alliance
The Jewish Students Alliance embraces a full spectrum of Jewish experiences and identity, from those with a strong religious background, to those for whom being Jewish is important culturally, to those with little knowledge about being Jewish, and to those students who wish to connect with an aspect of Judiasm. The group meets weekly for an informal discussion on a topic related to being Jewish, and to plan events that including speakers and community-building activities.
Students with Children
Students with Children focuses on the challenges of being a full-time student while also being a caretaker of children. The group provides a forum to exchange information concerning daycare, camps, and other child-oriented services in the Northampton area. They meet weekly to exchange information, share experiences and provide mutual support. Students with Children plans activities for students and their children during the summer. They may also plan educational actions for the Smith community on issues that affect parents and children in this country.
Spanish Speaking Clinicians
Smith SSW Spanish Speaking Clinicians is a group for any student or member of the SSW community who is fluent in Spanish and uses the language in their clinical field internships. This group meets weekly during the SSW summer to enjoy food, share stories, discuss clinical questions, and support one another through the English only structure of the SSW program. The group speaks exclusively in Spanish during meetings. All who identify as Spanish speakers are welcome.
Los Hispanohablantes Clìnicos
Los Hispanohablantes Clìnicos de Smith SSW es un grupo para cualquier estudiante o miembro de la comunidad del SSW que habla español con fluidez y usa el idioma en su trabajo del campo. Este grupo se reúne seminal durante el verano del SSW para almorzar, compartir historias y discutir preguntas clìnicas, y apoyar a cada persona en un programa que solo enseña en ingles. El grupo se habla español exclusivamente cuando se reúne. Todos que se identifìcan como Hispanohablantes están bienvenidos.
Unlearning Racism Group
Unlearning Racism meetings are a weekly student-led open space to build skills for a personal and collaborative practice of anti-racism and accountability, especially for students who benefit from white privilege. Unlearning Racism meetings are also an opportunity to process and learn from experiences of harm in the classroom, and to move with these stories to a place of solidarity with our colleagues of color.
Support Groups
Every summer, students develop a number of support groups and interest groups such as twelve-step programs, a working class support group, children of adoption and a support group for friends and family members of persons with HIV/AIDS.
XA Group
XA is an anonymous, “all kinds of recovery welcome" group open to any and all recovery for any and all behaviors.