Why Club
The Why Club was founded in 1928 in “response to the need for a liberal non-partisan organization to study and discuss present day conditions – economic, political, and social.” (Smith College Weekly, Feb. 8, 1928) President William A. Neilson addressed its first meeting with “The Meaning of Liberalism” on February 15, 1928. By 1930, it had thirty-five student members and ten faculty advisors, including Newton Arvin, Merle Curti, Harold Faulkner, William Orton, and Samuel Harlow. The club organized lectures and participated in political activities on campus including the Japanese Silk Boycott of 1938.
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