#substance-free

[digiknow]

[smithbysmithies]

Does anyone know how difficult getting into Chase is? Do they get a lot of requests? If I go to Smith, I'd love to live on one of the substance-free flooring, but I don't know how selective it is...

Hi there! It depends on the year and the demand for sub-free housing. On your housing application, once you rank the areas of campus you want to be in (Chase is on Lower Elm, rank that the highest), there is a space for extra comments. If you have specific reasons for wanting or needing to be there, you can write it in, and Res Life does their best to accommodate everyone to the best of their ability. You could also get in touch with them via email if there is a more pressing need; I’ve found everyone in ResLife to be very responsive! To be honest though, Smithies are incredibly kind and accepting when it comes to the partying/substance choices that each person makes. If you want to participate, it is there, but if you don’t, there is no pressure and it’s really easy to avoid even. I know many people who don’t use substances or do so very minimally who live all over campus and have never had an issue with others pressuring them or judging them. It’s your choice and Smithies respect that! 

-Hannah ’19

[michaelinwords]

Belonging

I just wish I had a substance-free circle of some sort.   I've committed myself to this principle out of both sincere disgust for substance use and an aspiration to bodily purity, and for as long as I can remember, it has been a part of "me".  It is one of my most deeply-rooted beliefs.  But I could use the support every now and again, and especially in the recent months.  It's lonely to be one in so many, to be so disconnected, so misunderstood, in a world that seems to be constantly seeking an escape from reality, whatever that might mean.

I guess all I really want is to feel like I belong somewhere again.