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Smith
Lore Now Available to the Public
Go
ahead, ask a question about Smith, any question. 1. After
whom was Lawrence House named? 2. How did the tradition of
Rally Day begin? 3. What famous actor donated the sculpture
by Auguste Rodin that stands in the Museum of Art atrium?
[*See answers below]
 Chances
are the answers to your Smith questions can be found in the
online Smith encyclopedia, known as ,
which was launched on Moodle in spring 2008. There you can
find backgrounds and histories of Smith clubs and organizations,
its founders, popular culture, traditions, activism and much
more. The resource is easy to use, arranged in broad categories,
such as Smith and Politics, then broken into more specific
categories—Civil
Rights and Smith College Before 1960—that link to compendia
of information on the topic.
Until now, however, Smithipedia
has been accessible only to those with Novell access—mostly
current students, faculty and staff. This past weekend, during
Celebrating Collaborations—the annual event in which students
present their research in collaboration with faculty—a team
of STRIDE students who have worked with President Christ
and College Archivist Nanci Young announced the opening of
Smithipedia to the world during a presentation about their
experience working on the site. The resource from now on
will be available to anyone with Internet access, without
use of a password to enter.
“By opening up the Smithipedia site to the public we hope that anyone interested
in Smith history can learn something new from it, or share a memory,” said Young. “After
all, Smith history is not limited to the confines of campus. A lot of our history
is created by graduates and others who have stepped beyond the Grécourt Gates.”
Smithipedia was developed and
launched by Young with the encouragement of President Christ.
The resource continues to grow with ongoing additions of
information investigated and prepared for publication on
the site by STRIDE students, under Young’s editing and supervision.
“Although it will never be truly complete, Smithipedia covers a wide range of
subjects in Smith history,” said Katy Hovanes ’12, one of the student contributors. “Many
of the events, issues and even organizations in Smith’s past still have bearing
on the college in the present. Smithipedia provides an easy way to learn about
that history, as well as a jumping-off point for more in-depth research by individuals
who would like to learn more.”
As the encyclopedia goes public,
users of Smithipedia will be able to contribute items as
well, in similar fashion to the ubiquitous Wikipedia, the
Internet encyclopedia with millions of entries, which allows
users to write and submit items.
“By officially launching Smithipedia to the public, students can explore the
offerings, make suggestions and submit their own work, and learn the history
of many organizations, buildings, people and traditions,” said Alexandra Ghiz ’12,
who also works on the resource.
As it grows and goes public,
Smithipedia’s administrators
hope to add other media, such as images, audio and video links. And always, more
information about Smith.
“Hopefully, more people will post comments now that we can share or follow upon,
and perhaps Smithipedia users will be compelled to add their own entries,” invited
Young.
To submit entries to Smithipedia,
send information to Young at .
[*Answers,
cited from Smithipedia: 1. Lawrence House, built in 1892,
was named after Elizabeth Crocker “Tippy” Lawrence, Class of 1883, who served as president
of the Alumnae Association, 1909-1911; 2. Rally Day began in February 1876 as
an annual celebration of George Washington’s birthday—it was first called Rally
Day in 1906 because of the “rally” that marks the tradition; 3. Richard Burton
donated the Auguste Rodin work following his visit to campus, with Elizabeth
Taylor in 1966, to film the movie Who’s Afraid of Virginia
Woolf?] |
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