During winter vacation, my parents and I visited Northampton, Massachusetts, home to Smith College, another Seven Sisters college. Smith is almost twice the size of Bryn Mawr. The campus is right next to the town’s business district. Northampton is a lively and trendy but still elegant old New England town with warm colors and plenty of good restaurants, with aromas wafting through the air.

A unique aspect of Smith College is its impressive Botanic Garden (the campus itself is a virtual arboretum) and the Lyman Plant House, dating back to 1895. The day we visited was especially cold (even for Massachusetts), and the winds were sharp. We took refuge inside the steamy, 80-degree tropical plant room under a banana tree. Right across the street and down the hill from the plant house is a lovely lake, with its own boathouse.

Smith College has more red brick buildings than Bryn Mawr and fewer Canada geese. Hanging from the fences along the main campus quad were tiny plastic placards, with student responses to the inauguration of Donald Trump. I thought this was a particularly interesting response to his election. The little placards were linked together, as if the students themselves were linked in resilience and opposition.

If you are near Northampton, definitely explore Smith!