Take a quick walk around Swarthmore and you’ll gain a close look at the most common affliction of our era. No, it’s not the cough that lingers two weeks after the cold, neither is it our collective caffeine addiction, not even the simple malady of attachment disorders that too many Swatties harbor, nor Swatties’ desperate need for their professors’ validation. Rather, it is what the internet has deemed the RBF, or resting bitch face, which is most notably sported by celebrities like Kanye West and Kristen Stewart.
While the other ailments I noted are concerning, the cruelty of our facial expressions is a recent development which is sweeping across our campus with alarming haste. Thus, an accurate measurement of the prevalence of Swarthmore’s RBF epidemic is not to be evaluated across locations. Rather, to understand the devastation this epidemic has had on our campus, we must focus our attention on the near exponential rate it has grown over time.
The gravity of concern for the RBF’s uprising can clearly be exemplified by an admissions blog published in SwatStories focused on unspoken traditions. The blog ranked the “Swat Smile” #3: a friendly warm smile people extend to those they have a distant or even tenuous relationship with.
Written by a then-senior in Fall 2021, the blog post was published during the class of 2025’s first semester. This was a time that most of us seniors remember with a rosy haze from the vivacity that pass-fail affords. Even so, back then, the warmth that was espoused amongst peers across all class years was of a magnitude which far surpasses the present.
Flash-forward to today: when queried about their peers’ resting faces, Gabrielle Nash ’26 and Noor Ahmed ’26 simultaneously exclaimed, “Everyone has RBFs!”
In direct contradiction to the Swat Stories blog, Nash mentioned, “If I was someone coming to tour the campus as a high school senior and I walked into Sci or Cornell, I would be terrified to come to Swarthmore.” So what has happened in these few years?
As most can imagine, it could certainly be the case that this evolving affair is primarily the result of growing social and political divides that extend far beyond Swarthmore. However, it could also be the case that there is some local factor that is contributing to the demise of the once prevalent Swat Smile.
For the case of the latter, there are a number of factors that could be influencing this phenomenon. As explored in my previous article, campus hate could be one local factor that impacts individuals’ facial expressions. Other factors might include constant hunger from the up-hill food desert in the post-Essie Mae’s Swarthmore, sleep deprivation from uninsulated residence hall walls, or our retroactive disgust from Saturday night escapades.
“As someone from New York City, I do not have a natural resting bitch face, but I am used to [putting] one [on] because you have to do that to defend yourself, so people don’t come up to you,” expressed Angela Kwateng ’27. “But being at Swarthmore does worsen it. I’m not going to lie.”
Matt Silvestre ’25 highlighted the pressures of academic stress, stating, “There are definitely a lot [of RBFs] here, but I think it’s just because of the academic stress that people are not in the mood to be interactive.” Kwateng also underscored the role of stress in contributing to the prevalence of RBFs at Swarthmore.
Silvestre added, “It’s just one of those ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ kind of things… I have a lot of friends who have RBFs and they’re sweethearts.”
Now don’t get me wrong, even I am not unaffected by the facial malady. I can often be seen with a less than satisfied or, at times, judgemental expression on my face. I can assure you, though, my expressions are reflective of my current mental state. That is, I am likely harshly judging something within my line of sight.
While I like to think my RBF is a result of emotional openness, it is not to say that this is any more justified than all of the other reasons contributing to our unpleasant resting states. However, I do believe it is necessary for us Swatties to find a way to develop a balanced emotional expression to reflect our lighthearted, picturesque campus.
At the end of the day, we are all endowed with a resting face that can be perceived as a variety of affective states. Some really do have resting bitch faces, others simply need an attitude check. Whether or not you fall in either of these categories, it is important you take the necessary steps to minimize the campus stress that has evidently amplified our distress in these recent years.
I propose the following tried-and-true method I have picked up over my three-plus years at Swarthmore: take things one day at a time. While some foresight is good, we are at a very transient period in our lives and planning every step you’ll take over the next five years can only lead to further stress and, in effect, proliferation of RBFs. So please, do your part in masking your bleak emotions to reduce the spread of RBFs.
