Words I Never Expected to Hear out of Northampton: Smithies Protest for More Meat

I know that many of you won’t get the headline, but for those who do, well, you understand. For those who don’t, I’ll just let the article sum up why I’m shocked.

All last week, students at Smith College were buzzing over a rumor that the school was going completely vegetarian and locavore. There were protests and counter-protests, with slogans chalked on walkways. There was a Twitter feed that caught the attention of VegNews, “America’s premier vegan lifestyle magazine.’’ At a student government meeting, the dining services manager came under attack: How did she expect students to pass their midterms without coffee?

The rumor was started on purpose by two professors teaching a logic class. Half the class was to drum up support for a ban on meat and non-local goods while the other half was to demonstrate against it. Suddenly, it made sense. There’s no way that Smith students would actually protest in favor of meat unless it was an assignment.

What amazes me is that the rumor managed to get serious traction even though there were clear signs that it was fake. A fake student group was speaking out on favor of it, and yet the rumor spread. Did no one look the group up? On top of that, even the college staff pointed out that the campus would at least demand a committee to come to a decision like this.

For those of you not in the know about why this is newsworthy regarding Smith, there was one rumor that they could not get to catch on: grassroots support for an ROTC program.