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Among the prominent women who have visited Smith recently or are expected to before the end of the semester are several writers, an actress, a former U.S. cabinet member and a peace advocate. First to arrive was Jody Williams, 1997 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who spoke at the all-college meeting that marked the opening of second semester. Williams received the Nobel Prize for her work as coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, a coalition of hundreds of grass-roots organizations from around the world that has pushed for an international agreement outlawing land mines, which kill and maim an estimated 26,000 people each year. During her appearance at Smith, Williams spoke of the moral compass that has guided her over time. She suggested that "real leadership means knowing who you are, having a personal vision and not worrying if you're going to make everybody happy." In early February noted actress, social critic and playwright Anna Deavere Smith brought her brand of "performance journalism" to John M. Greene Hall. Speaking first about the challenges presented by racism in this country, she moved on to a riveting group of what she has called "snapshots made out of words." Using deft mimicry of speech and mannerism, Smith captured several characters, including her beloved and comic Aunt Esther; George C. Wolf, director of the Broadway hit Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk; and writer Studs Terkel. Smith's performance offered a mere taste of the dazzling array of characters that people her plays Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 (which examined the Rodney King riots) and Fires in the Mirror: Crown Heights, Brooklyn and Other Identities. Other February visitors included renowned African-American poet and activist Sonia Sanchez and writer and social critic Wendy Kaminer '71. Sanchez's work transforms the unspoken and sometimes violent betrayals of our lives into a liberating vision of connection. She read from her latest volume of poetry, an exquisite and at times wrenching odyssey exploring the life of her brother, who was a victim of AIDS. Kaminer, who came to Smith to receive a Smith College Medal and deliver the Rally Day address, is a public policy fellow at the Radcliffe College Public Policy Institute. Her writings have been hailed as landmarks of contemporary social commentary. The author of several books, including I'm Dysfunctional, You're Dysfunctional and It's all the Rage: Crime and Culture, her essays have appeared in such publications as The Atlantic Monthly and The Nation and as commentary on National Public Radio. At Rally Day, Kaminer challenged popular notions about the value of single-sex environments. "In the end," she said, "there is no safety in separatism. Only as the sexes have become less separate have women become more free." This year's roster of noted visitors will be complete on the college's 120th Commencement Weekend, May 16-17. Elizabeth Dole, president of the American Red Cross and former U.S. secretary of transportation and secretary of labor, will be the speaker and receive an honorary degree. Other honorary degree recipients will be former Smith President Mary Maples Dunn, who is now director of the Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women at Radcliffe College; former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation Wilma Mankiller; soprano Jessye Norman; Middle East peace advocate Lea Rabin; and neuroscientist C. Dominique Toran-Allerand '55. |
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