Mount Holyoke News
AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1917
WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 16, 2024
President Holley discusses College’s new strategic plan at Senate
BY MADELYN DALLEY ’27 NEWS EDITOR
The Oct. 1 Senate meeting began with the Mount Holyoke College land acknowledgement, which was introduced by SGA President Julia Keane ’26 and Vice President Cindy Ntembe ’27. The Board officially began the meeting by providing a brief list of club events taking place this week, rather than holding an open floor. These events included “Noche Latina” on Oct. 4, MHCASA’s “All Black Party” and the Office of Community and Belonging’s “Autumn Reels” event on Oct. 5.
After the club event announcements, the SGA Executive Board introduced themselves before listing upcoming SGA events. Archivist interviews, hall senator elections, and an SGA meet-and-greet were all announced, as well as SGA president office hours on Wednesdays from 6–7 p.m.. After this, the E-Board introduced the Senate Community Guidelines, which are rules to follow and respect when attending Senate meetings. These guidelines included community care, defined as respecting the opinions of other Senate attendees and the E-Board; mindfulness, defined as using respectful language and content warnings when speaking; respect, defined as no heckling as it is not effective for change; and presence, defined as practicing active listening and not holding side conversations. After establishing these guidelines, the SGA Board proudly introduced MHC President Danielle Holley to speak about the College’s forthcoming strategic plan, “MHC Forward.”
The room burst into applause as Holley walked up to the stage. Holley opened her presentation by promising that her new strategic plan would be “in [the student’s] lives as students and alums,” as the plan would stretch beyond current students’ times at MHC and continue to support them as well as future students. She presented the early phase of MHC Forward, provided to the Senate last year, before introducing a “revamped” version of the plan she named “MHC Forward.” This plan consists of a refreshed mission statement, “articulated vision and values,” four priorities, 10 “strategic pathways,” and 39 “initiatives” while embedding the principles of “diversity, equality and inclusion” in every part of the plan.
To begin her presentation of the plan itself, Holley shared the new mission statement with attendees. The statement reads: “Mount Holyoke, the leading gender-diverse college, immerses students in a vibrant, intellectually adventurous global community to develop their voices and vision for the future, preparing them for lives of purposeful leadership in a culturally diverse world.” Following the mission statement, Holley then shared the new “MHC vision.” The vision reads:“Where Bold Leaders and Boundless Learners Make a Better World.” Holley stated that the language for this vision was chosen by a Col-
lege alum.
After introducing the new MHC mission and vision, Holley then dove into the values of MHC Forward. First, Holley introduced the core values of MHC: academic excellence, active engagement, inclusive learning and purposeful leadership. She then clarified the values of the MHC Forward mission and vision statements.
The four statements are as follows:
“Academic Excellence,” the first value, aims to strengthen the College’s centers, enhance curricular connections, expand tenure tracks and create an institute for faculty research. Academic Excellence also aims to support interdisciplinary co-teaching, faculty-student mentorship and project-based learning.
“Student Experience,” the second value, plans to support students so they “graduate ready to start careers and shape the future.” The changes for a more “seamless MHC experience” include more coordination for Disability Services, academic support advising and TGNC10, the College’s year-long initiative celebrating ten years of gender-inclusive admissions.
“Operation Leadership,” the third value, indicates that “MHC Forward makes bold and necessary investments to advance teaching and learning, preserve the beauty of our campus and support our commitments to accessibility, sustainability and inclusive excellence.” These plans include continuing the geothermal project by starting work on the rugby field, as well as renovating Rooke Theatre, Clapp Laboratory, Williston Library and Mead and Rockefeller Halls. The plan to have air conditioning in 50% of all dorms by the end of the MHC Forward initiative was also revealed as a part of this value.
The final value introduced was “Resource Stewardship,” aiming to “manage and grow revenue in ways that advance our mission in a changing world.”
After finishing her presentation, Holley then participated in an interview with SGA Chair of Senate Nathania Amadi ’26. To begin the interview, President Holley was asked
to explain what she does for her job as College president. She explained that she is the chief executive officer of the College and is in charge of supervising and working with all groups on campus, from student life to faculty. She also sits on the Board of Trustees and makes sure everything at MHC is “running smoothly.”
Amadi then asked President Holley what her vision was for the College and how she would incorporate students in said plan. While she explained that a good portion of her vision for the College was included in her presentation, she added that she aimed to lead the college as one of the greatest higher learning institutions in the country and strengthen academic centers and programs. However, she clarified that since the values of MHC Forward were completely developed by the MHC community, most of the change implied by the vision will be executed by the community themselves.
Furthermore, she aims to include students in her plan by monitoring four already existing “student focus groups” that operate difficult parts of the plan. She also said that she wants to focus on career readiness and residence hall accessibility and sustainability, as well as incorporating student participation into her plan.
Amadi then asked Holley about improving the sense of belonging on campus among the student body. Holley explained that she plans to bring more social life to campus through holding more community events as well as establishing a mandatory Living Learning Community for first years. When asked about the accessibility of this LLC, Holley added that Student Life is brainstorming solutions in order to meet the needs of all students, and that this LLC will not be officially established until 2026 or 2027.
Next, Amadi asked how Holley plans to equally meet the needs of all departments. Holley said that she simply plans to ask each department what they need and communicate with them directly. Although this process has not been fully completed yet, she mentioned that fill rates
for meeting department needs are “high.”
To further gauge student need, Holley told Amadi and the Senate that she has students sit on the Academic Programs Committee, which is largely made up of faculty. Keane said she was appointed due to the need for student input, and that other students would be required to go through an application process and interview in order to join.
When asked about how finances will be included in the strategic plan, Holley said that she plans to create a sustainable resource system for the College, consisting of a strategic enrollment plan, assessment of student support and clearer tuition philosophy. She also disclosed that most of the College’s spending has and will go towards faculty salary and benefits.
Amadi then asked Holley how she plans to keep the community informed about the changes taking place due to MHC Forward. Holley stated that, as of the time of the interview, she had already sent out as much information as she could. She also mentioned that the student working groups would contribute to keeping the student body informed.
Holley then clarified that since MHC Forward is still a “very new” plan, not a lot of its core objectives have been fulfilled quite yet. She did mention, however, that the lengthening of the Sophomore Institute has been put in place for the winter of 2024, showing a progression of MHC Forward.
For her final question, President Holley was asked by Amadi what she wants students to take away from her presentation and interview. Holley said that the MHC community is crucial to the new vision, encouraging participation and input even post-graduation.
As the final section of the Senate meeting, a Q&A with President Holley was held, with senators and attendees being encouraged to ask questions about MHC Forward. To begin the Q&A, attendee Autumn Larsen ’25 asked Holley about the “sunsetting” of the German and Russian departments despite student pushback and what her plan was for supporting existing departments. Holley explained that she was contacted as President-elect about this issue by many students, and cited the reason for the “sunset” as the College’s inability to sustain and hire staff for these departments. To combat this, Holley says that MHC Forward plans to evaluate all departments and decide ahead of time whether or not to keep them, and said that a “sunset” of this nature “will not happen again.” She also said that merging departments would also help in preventing “sunsets.”
Accessibility Justice Club and Jewish Student Union board member Stevie Wilensky ’27 then asked Holley how she plans to address the inaccessibility of the religious centers on campus, as disabled religious students do not currently have many dedicated places to practice their
faith. Holley stated that accessibility was at the forefront of her priorities for MHC Forward, acknowledging the campus’s inaccessibility. She said that she plans to communicate with Campus Accessibility Planners and Student Life in order to address the inaccessible areas of campus.
Mount Holyoke Outing Club member Erin Wilson ’27 asked about how President Holley plans to support first-year “springies” — first years who start in the spring — in adapting to campus life with their fall class peers. Attendee Tanvee Sai ’27 also had a similar question about how spring students and LLC members would be incorporated into Holley’s plan for a mandatory first-year LLC. Holley said that MHC Forward was designed to assist all students, including spring students, and that the needs of spring students will be better addressed in years to come. She also stated that first-year spring students would be incorporated into the first-year LLC, stating that community building among first years is crucial for maintaining student engagement and retention.
Building off of questions about the first-year LLC, Wilensky asked about accessibility and housing accommodations for the students in the LLC, stating that it would be “impossible” to meet all student accommodation needs with a singular dorm building. Holley assured attendees that there will be at least one dorm hall that will fit accessibility criteria, and that renovations will be made if there is not. She also stated that there will be student and alum feedback opportunities regarding the first-year LLC in the future. Planned Parenthood Generation Action Event Coordinator Karis Knoll ’25 inquired about how the College plans to keep its students informed about ongoing violent worldwide conflicts. Holley stated plans by faculty and students to educate the MHC community on these conflicts, as according to Holley, the new mission cannot be fulfilled without the acknowledgment of them. She then encouraged the Senate attendees to talk to faculty about education. August Longtine ’26, Ice Hockey Club Senator, asked Holley about how she plans to protect the safety of club sport players. Similarly, Ballet Club Senator Molly Brown ’25 asked Holley about the lack of an accessible person or place for club athlete injury recovery, as their current options are “expensive and inaccessible.” Holley stated that she plans to hire new associate coaches for NCAA sports and a fulltime club sport director to help this issue. She said she also plans to raise the issue of injury recovery with someone in hopes of resolving the problem.
Holley then proceeded to answer miscellaneous questions about tenure professors, notices about geothermal project progress and expectations for tuition increase.
After concluding the Q&A session, the Oct. 1 Senate meeting was dismissed.
Madeleine Diesl ‘28 contributed fact-checking.
Mount Holyoke News celebrates 107th year of reporting
On Oct. 3, 2024, Mount Holyoke News celebrated 107 years of student reporting since its first print issue was released in 1917. Since its creation over a century ago, MHN has grown to include over 160 staff members from all academic disciplines and journalistic backgrounds. Student journalism at the College began with “The Mount Holyoke,” a newspaper published between June 1891 and June 1917. As written by former MHN reporter Lindsey McGinnis ’18 in a 100-year retrospective, The Mount Holyoke’s coverage of “both alumnae and campus news” was not highly regarded by students.
Mary Emily Aplin, class of 1918, recognized the need for a student publication that actively engaged with students on campus and acted on it. A former editor of The Mount Holyoke, Aplin went on to become
the first Editor-in-Chief of MHN during her senior year.
“The Mount Holyoke News” was published on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 1917, by Aplin, classmate and Business Manager Catherine McClausand, and a small roster of student journalists.
“Welcome, 1921!” a note from the first issue read, addressing the incoming class of 1921. “We’re glad to see you—the whole 255 of you. The News is beginning its college career, too. Here’s hoping that neither of us proves a bore, and that we both make a success of college!”
MHN has evolved throughout the century to adapt to the needs and interests of the student body it serves.
With the rise of the civil rights movement and calls for divestment from South Africa’s apartheid, The Mount Holyoke News rebranded as “choragos,” a newsmagazine that focused on politics and human rights, in February 1968. By 1982, choragos was retitled “Mount Holyoke News” and
has remained MHN ever since.
MHN has been recognized for its excellence in reporting by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, and received the Pangynaskeia Student Organization Award from Mount Holyoke in 1996.
For 106 years, MHN published its print edition on a weekly basis. Due to funding constraints at the end of the Fall 2023 semester, MHN made the difficult decision to switch to a weekly, online-only publication from January to May 2024.
MHN returned to print on Sept. 16, 2024, this time on a biweekly publication schedule; the first of its kind in MHN history. Today, in addition to publishing a biweekly print edition, MHN also regularly updates its website and social media outlets with student reporting adapted to the digital format.
The release of The Summit, MHN’s first weekly news recap podcast, on July 1, 2024 also marked the introduction of a dedicated podcast
team to the organization’s staff. For every print issue, a team of script writers, voiceover talent and audio editors works to produce a brief podcast episode recapping the biggest stories of each publication. Dedicated readers can access MHN stories in print around campus; on Instagram, Facebook and X; at mountholyokenews.com and issuu.com/mhnews; and through its podcast, The Summit, on Spotify. Thank you, from our desk to yours, for your continued support of independent student journalism. As always: Don’t Give Up The News.
Photo by Althea Shaw ’27
President Holley discussed the College’s new strategic plan, MHC Forward, at a Senate town hall.
Photo by Tara Monastesse ’25
Quill Nishi-Leonard ’27, copy chief (left) and Rachel Adler ’26, managing editor of layout (right)
greet prospective Mount Holyoke News members at the Involvement Fair in September.
2 FEATURES
President Danielle R. Holley discusses the Supreme Court’s 2024 term: “They’re not worried about history”
BY LILIANA STINSON ’27 CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Supreme Court of the United States is more political than ever.
In just its most recent term, the Court has — led by a 6-to-3 conservative majority — overturned a major precedent for administrative agencies, granted broad immunity to the office of the president and drawn criticisms for the alleged corruption taking place among its Justices.
It is in this context that the Roberts Court — the name for the Supreme Court led by current Chief Justice John Roberts — began its October Term on Monday, Oct. 7, during which the Court will hear cases on topics including capital punishment, gender-affirming care bans, firearm regulations, flavored vapes and the administrative state.
To preview this term, legal scholar and Mount Holyoke College President Danielle Holley gave an interview to Mount Holyoke News with her analysis. She explained that while this is a less high-profile term — at least compared to the Court’s recent terms — the Supreme Court’s agenda remains deeply ideological. “I think the work of the Trump-Roberts Court will be very significant this year, and in fact, maybe more dangerous in terms like this because there’s less attention [on it],” Holley said. More than anything else, Holley said, the docket is indicative of “extreme activism on the right.”
“It’s almost like the conservative legislatures and litigants are teeing [cases] up and … the Supreme Court is … knocking out whatever comes to them,” Holley said.
One of the Supreme Court’s most notable cases this term was heard on Oct. 9: Glossip v. Oklahoma, a case regarding capital punishment. The independent publication SCOTUSblog describes the case as asking “whether due process of law requires reversal where a capital conviction is so infected with errors that the state no longer seeks to defend it.”
weeks after the Supreme Court refused to block the execution of Marcellus Williams, who was executed despite evidence of his innocence and testimony that the prosecuting attorney excluded at least one juror due to their race, which is illegal. These two cases are striking in their similarity. Richard Glossip has spent 26 years on death row for the murder of Barry Van Treese, the owner of the Oklahoma City motel that Glossip managed. However, following Glossip’s conviction, it came to light that he did not receive a fair trial, to the point where the Oklahoma Attorney General has stated “the record … does not support that he is guilty of first degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt.” Yet, Glossip may very well be executed by the state of Oklahoma if the Supreme Court does not intervene.
However, as Holley explained, “Glossip v. Oklahoma is a substantive due process case [and] this court is not a fan of substantive due process,” limiting the likelihood that the Court will step in and ensure Glossip receives his due process. “It sounds so outrageous and visceral,” Holley said. “You could know that the person’s innocent. They’re innocent to the point where the state refuses to continue to represent that they’re guilty, and yet, they’re still being executed.”
It’s dangerous, what they’re doing … and if [the Court] allows the Tennessee law to stand, we know there are other states who have passed these kinds of laws. There’s a Florida law that bans health care for transgender minors and restricts it [for] transgender adults. … We could end up with 20 states that make it illegal to do any form of transgender affirming care.
– Danielle Holley
This case comes not even two
Given the recent attention and activism that the death penalty has garnered, Holley said that “it’s so important to vote for governor, it’s so important to vote for state legislators, because [the death penalty] can be solved on the state level … if people are activists around human rights, it’s hard not to be an activist around the death penalty, and we need to see more activism.”
Garland v. Vanderstock was heard on Oct. 8, a case which questions whether “ghost guns” — untraceable guns that can be assembled via kits — can be regulated as firearms by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
This case is notable in two primary areas. The first, Holley explained,
is how it serves the Court’s agenda regarding the Second Amendment, “which is expanding the Second Amendment to the point where, basically, there is almost no tolerated regulation of firearms.”
The case is also notable because of how the justices will interpret Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, a landmark Supreme Court decision last term which overturned the Chevron doctrine, or the ability for administrative agencies to interpret their own statutes.
As Holley noted, without the Chevron doctrine, this case’s central question is almost “is the ATF going to be allowed to interpret its own statute?” As such, “this will be an interesting case to see how the Supreme Court uses their new ‘Loper Bright test’ to determine how much power agencies really have,” Holley said.
There are many other cases this term which will prove just how far the Justices will interpret Loper Bright, including City and County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency, a case regarding the EPA’s ability to regulate pollution; and Food and Drug Administration v. Wages and White Lion Investments, a case concerning the FDA’s decision to deny marketing authorization for flavored vapes and e-cigarettes made by Triton Distribution.
Perhaps the most consequential case of this term, however, will be United States v. Skrmetti: a case which challenges Tennessee’s ban on access to all gender affirming
care for transgender minors.
The American Civil Liberties Union describes this case as a “landmark legal challenge,” as it will decide whether or not gender affirming care bans — which have been instituted in 24 states — are constitutional. Additionally, the ACLU reported that “U.S. v. Skrmetti will be a major test of how far the court is willing to stretch Dobbs to allow states to ban other health care. The court’s ruling could serve as a stepping stone towards further limiting access to abortion, IVF and birth control.”
Crucial to this case is the fact that the Tennessee law allows cisgender youth to receive hormone therapy, which blatantly violates the Equal Protections Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
However, despite the law’s discrimination based on both sex and gender identity, the Court has been engaged in what Holley called “the clear shrinkage of the meaning of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment,” so that it is only viewed “from the perspective of cisgender white men.”
Holley noted major decisions such as Dobbs vs. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard as cases that fall in line with that perspective. Accordingly, she continued, “I have a feeling that the Supreme Court is not going to recognize transgender affirming care as a fundamental right.”
“It’s dangerous, what they’re doing … and if [the Court] allows the
Tennessee law to stand, we know there are other states who have passed these kinds of laws,” Holley said. “There’s a Florida law that bans health care for transgender minors and restricts it [for] transgender adults. … We could end up with 20 states that make it illegal to do any form of transgender affirming care.”
“The Supreme Court is going to do nothing but embolden people who want to participate in legalized discrimination of the kind we see here,” Holley said.
This is “another reason why people need to go vote,” Holley emphasized for the second time. “When we talk about elections, we unfortunately end up talking just about the top of the ticket and not the things that matter so much in everyday people’s lives, which we only start to notice when the Supreme Court all of a sudden is taking that rug out from under us.”
“Once your court doesn’t respect precedent, they’re essentially a rogue court. Along with [their] ethical problems, [the Court’s] refusal to respect precedent … will make them one of the most infamous collections of a Supreme Court we’ve ever had. … They’re going to go down in history in an extremely negative way, but I don’t think they care about that,” Holley said. “I think they’re much more interested that they’ve been able to successfully push forth their ideological agenda. They’re not worried about history.”
Quill Nishi-Leonard ’27 contributed fact-checking.
MHC Democrats host vice presidential debate watch party
BY JO ELLIOTT ’28
STAFF WRITER
Democrats provided refreshments for the duration of the viewing.
The MHC Democrats is a student-led organization that hosts politically-based events for students on campus. According to their Embark, their mission is “to promote progressive values and inspire political activism.” Mount Holyoke has been ranked fourth by The Princeton Review for most politically active students. The MHC Democrats aim to uphold the same ideals and values
of the Democratic Party and create a space in which Mount Holyoke College students can push the party to be more inclusive of the values of other students. During the debate, Republican Senator JD Vance of Ohio and Democratic Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota were given a variety of topics to present their positions on. The debate was hosted by CBS News in New York at the CBS Broadcast Center, with moderators Norah O’Donnell
and Margaret Brennan. O’Donnell is an anchor for CBS news and the host of Person to Person. Brennan is a substitute anchor for CBS news and chief foreign affairs correspondent. Both were chosen for the position as moderators for the debate because of their extensive and successful journalism careers. The rules of the debate were similar to the presidential debate; however, there were no opening statements and mics were muted if a candidate spoke over their allotted time. The candidates still ended the debate with closing statements, during which they had two minutes each to give their final remarks. A coin toss was done on Sept. 26, which Vance won. He chose to give his remarks after Walz.
Similarly to the presidential debate, the turnout for the vice presidential debate watch party was plentiful. “We’re really excited, we’re optimistic,” Emma Cranage ’25, president of The MHC Democrats, said prior to the start of the vice presidential debate. “We had an incredible turnout out last time, and I think it was really great to see the student body come together, definitely at a time where there are so many divisive policies.”
“I think the turnout will be good,” Laura Sattler, the director of Student Involvement, said before the watch party began. “We had well over 200 students packed into the Great Room [for the presidential debate] so I am optimistic we’ll have a similar turnout.”
Some students reported feelings of stress and anxiety while watching the debate. “There is a possibil-
ity that Counseling Services will be provided at the presidential election watch party,” Rebecca Sandoval ’26, vice president of the MHC College Democrats, said during the night’s opening remarks. Nothing is set in stone yet, but Sandoval stated that something is “in the works.”
“I think [the debate] was a little bit more coherent to follow, given the change of the demeanors of the candidates,” Sandoval said. According to the media outlet Brookings, citizens that were interviewed after the debate expressed that the debate “wasn’t painful to watch and actually stuck to their major issues.”
The results for the debate were tied according to late Tuesday polls such as Focal Data/Politico and YouGov/CBS News that displayed results showing a tie or a slight edge towards Vance. ABC News described the debate as “an unsurprising result in which both candidates had both weak and strong moments.”
Polling taken by CNN/SSRS polled both Harris and Trump supporters that viewed the debate. They found that 82% of Harris supporters thought Walz won, while 90% of Trump supporters thought that Vance won. “I think [Walz] came out with that dad core jokes persona tonight, which I love about him,” Sandoval said.
“We had a good majority come out … estimates were about 130 [viewers] for the night,” Sandoval said. Sandoval added that the turnout gave the Mount Holyoke College Democrats “a lot of hope for our election watch party.” Quill Nishi-Leonard ’27 contributed fact-checking.
The vice presidential debate watch party, just like last month’s presidential debate watch party, was hosted by the Mount Holyoke College Democrats in collaboration with the Division of Student Life. All community members were invited to the viewing of the debate in Gamble Au-
Photo courtesy of Mark Fischer via Flickr The Supreme Court began its October Term on Monday, Oct. 7. They will hear cases addressing gender-affirming care bans, flavored vapes and more.
Photo by Althea Shaw ’27
Students gathered in Gamble Auditorium to watch the first and only vice presidential debate between candidates JD Vance (R) and Tim Walz (D).
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Audrey Hanan ’28 discusses Jorge oil paintings and her future in art
BY ASPEN PEARSON ’28 STAFF WRITER
After only three days of being on campus, Audrey Hanan ’28 sat down in her Pearsons Hall dorm room and painted Jorge, Mount Holyoke College’s unofficial pilgrim goose mascot. Unbeknownst to her, her artwork would become a campus-wide sensation and lead to a business selling prints of both the beloved goose and campus locations she had painted.
Hanan painted her first Jorge oil painting on Sept. 2 during her orientation. Upon its completion, she posted it to Fizz, an anonymous campus social media app, where it blew up instantly. It is currently the #1 Fizz post of all time among Mount Holyoke College students, with 823 up-votes, and numerous comments begging Hanan for prints of the painting. At first, she was selling them by meeting individual students in Blanchard Hall whenever someone messaged her about ordering one. Then, due to the sheer amount of interest in them, Hanan started booking the tables outside of the Dining Commons to sell her artwork.
While she didn’t know it at the time, her simple post to Fizz helped her integrate into the arts scene on campus. “[When] people were ordering prints, and [when] I was either delivering or having them come to me, it was so much to organize,” Hanan said of the process. She described the time as stressful and overwhelming, as she was often running around campus delivering to the whole community. When asked about that process, Hanan said, “I would give them a time where I
would just sit in Blanch, and then they could come pick it up. But that made me [feel] stuck, and I actually had to sit there that whole time, and it got really boring.”
But the hard work paid off. She sold what she estimates to be close to 100 prints, the first 30 coming from Fizz direct messages. In order to expedite the process, she switched over to the tables outside of Blanch, where people can purchase stickers and prints of various sizes.
Hanan’s business was something that came as a surprise, even to her: “I never imagined … that many people would want it.”
Hanan has yet to take an art class at Mount Holyoke, and intends to major in chemistry and possibly environmental studies. While she has no plans to continue a career in the arts, she has plans to create more art and continue selling her pieces to the campus community. When asked about a future in the arts, she said, “I just want to do it on my terms.”
Hanan has dedicated a lot of time to her craft, and when she is not doing her Jorge paintings, she’s doing gouache, a paint medium similar to watercolors. She has always been involved in the arts in one way or another and is open to other creative outlets, too. She stated, “I feel like I could still use my skills to make t-shirt designs or posters or whatever. So I don’t know, it’s another kind of thing like that, doing something for the community with my skills.”
When asked what she plans to do with the arts on campus, she answered, “I would hope that there would be things I could do with art on campus, but I also haven’t done enough to even comprehend what that can be at this point.” Even with
classes and clubs taking up most of her time, Hanan hopes to continue her art and help her new community. “I’m just very thankful for all
the support people have given me. It feels like I’ve been very welcomed. ... Nothing like this has ever really happened to me before … it’s very
nice that people appreciate my art so much,” she concluded.
Quill Nishi-Leonard ’27 contributed fact-checking.
Sapien Joyride, Pulse, Stoplight Makeout perform at Chapin Auditorium
BY SARAH BERGER ’27 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
As the doors of Chapin Auditorium opened on Sept. 28, a small crowd gathered at the foot of the stairs. It was the first show of the semester put on by Mount Holyoke College Students for Alternative Music, also known as MHC Alt, a student group who organizes concerts on campus. The show was free and open to the public, and though the crowd was primarily made up of Mount Holyoke College students, there were several people from the wider area in attendance as well.
MHC Alt members pointed to the shows as a way to form community. “On campus, we feel a little isolated from the other colleges,” Pach Pacheco ’25 said. “So it’s also just giving our students on campus a community. If they’re not able to get to the other shows at other campuses, [we are] able to have that here as well.”
own music, although they closed out their set with “Head in the Ceiling Fan” by Title Fight. It was the second show they had ever performed. After Pulse came Stoplight Makeout, a screamo band. It was also their second show, and they expressed excitement at the unconventionality of playing in Chapin. They played entirely original music. Sadie, the group’s singer, outlined their songwriting process. “We’ll set up in the garage and they’ll start playing some shit and I’ll just start screaming over it and the lyrics kind of follow. So not too much of a professional process, but yeah. It’s fun.” The DIY spirit inspired by the first two bands continued with Sapien Joyride, who closed off the night. In addition to playing their own music, they brought an alternative twist to some much loved classics, like “Say it Ain’t So” by Weezer.
Vic Klapa ’26, co-president of MHC Alt, spoke to the need for a space for music. “I feel like sometimes people don’t really have enough to do on this campus on the weekend, and they’ll kind of end up outsourcing it at [the University of Massachusetts],” Klapa said. “So, you know, we just kind of really wanted to bring that kind of scene here.”
Audience members formed a
Oct 16, 2024: Crossword Puzzle
BY QUILL NISHI-LEONARD ’27
CHIEF
COPY
Down:
1. Mount Holyoke Volleyball competed against this college on Oct. 15.
3. The number of initiatives in Mount Holyoke College’s new MHC Forward strategic plan.
4. The Supreme Court heard a case on Oct. 8 concerning whether these can be regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
7. How the speaking order of the vice presidential debate’s final remarks was decided.
8. The new assistant coach for MHC’s varsity swim team.
11. This first-year student has recently become a campus sensation for creating oil paintings of Unofficial LITS Mascot Jorge.
Across:
2. In addition to recognizing same-sex marriage, Thailand recently changed the language of its civil codes to be this.
5. This former freelance journalist for The Jewish Chronicle has recently faced allegations of dishonest reporting.
6. According to President Holley, this Supreme Court case is evidential of the erosion of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
9. The color of the cover of Sally Rooney’s latest novel.
10. On Sept. 28, this club hosted a concert in Chapin Auditorium.
12. One of Eleanor Freed ’25’s favorite temples in Japan.
13. This food from the dining hall reminded Angelina Godinez ’28 of home.
14. The College recently eliminated this high-performing sports team.
packed group close to the stage, which helped to counteract the enormity of the venue. There were approximately 60 people in attendance, although more filed in as the night
continued. The first band to play was Pulse, who hail from Eastern Connecticut and Rhode Island. They described their music as alternative rock. They primarily played their
The show concluded before 10 p.m., but it had the energy and spirit of a late-night affair. Band members joined the crowd after their performances. They also interacted frequently with audience members, creating an atmosphere of a mutual exchange of joy.
Quill Nishi-Leonard ’27 contributed fact-checking.
Photo courtesy of Audrey Hanan ’28
This Jorge oil painting, one of Hanan’s first, quickly became a viral sensation on social media. The attention eventually spawned Hanan’s art business.
Photo by Sarah Berger ’27
The alternative rock group Pulse performed their second ever show in Chapin Auditorium at a showcase hosted by MHC Alt at the end of September.
4 GLOBAL
How Thailand is changing the game for queer rights
BY ANNA GOODMAN ’28 STAFF WRITER
Content warning: This article briefly mentions homophobia and the death penalty.
Thousands of people took to the streets in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 1, 2024, decked out in colorful makeup, brandishing rainbow flags and cheering their support for pride. But something was different this year. The crowd of activists was waiting with bated breath for an announcement over a quarter-century in the making that could change their lives: same-sex marriage would finally be legalized in their country. It would take four more months, until the end of September, when Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn gave his assent and made it official. Though it didn’t reach Parliament before early this year, this specific bill has been in the works for at least two years. It has gone through several different committees who all had their own opinions on the precise wording of the bill. What they eventually settled on is groundbreaking: not only allowing same-sex marriage, but changing all language in the civil codes to be completely gender neutral. The law “grants married couples full legal,
financial and medical rights regardless of gender,” according to NBC News. When the bill finally reached Parliament, it was passed 400-15 and 130-22 in the House of Representatives and Senate, respectively.
This law is important not just for the country, but for the whole continent. With the passing of this law, Thailand becomes only the third country in all of Asia — after Taiwan in 2019 and Nepal in 2023 — to allow same-sex marriage. According to the South China Morning Post, this comes at a crucial time in the region, when other countries are slowly moving forward when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights. Last year, a Hong Kong court ruled that same-sex partnerships must be legally recognized, and two Japanese courts ruled that Japan’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
But in some countries, like Korea or Mongolia, same-sex couples are unrecognized. In others, like Iran or Afghanistan, the punishment for “same-sex sexual activity” — as per the text of the laws — is death. However, the bill passed overwhelmingly through both houses of Thai Parliament.
Yet many people haven’t heard of this law. Mount Holyoke College student Victoria Sullivan ’28 stated,
“It’s a great step forward [but] it’s such a normalized thing in America that it’s not a thought that crossed my mind that it wouldn’t be normal there.”
A key part in the campaign of normalization has been queer media. According to the Thailand Foundation, “Thai queer cinema has progressed so much over the decades. … [Now] it displays the nuanced experiences of the LGBTQIA individuals in modern Thai society …
[it] provides space for the marginalized.” The genre ranges from early movies like “The Last Song” (1985), which focuses on a trans woman, to docudramas like “#BKKY” (2015), which contains the interviews of a hundred Bangkok teenagers, to modern TV shows like “Moonlight Chicken” (2023), which follows three generations of queer men. Slowly, through the works of filmmakers, activists, politicians and everyone in
between, Thailand has gone from a country where homosexuality was banned 100 years ago to a country whose prime minister went on social media the day after the act was passed to say, “Congratulations on everyone’s love! This was a fight for everyone. #LoveWins.”
On Jan. 22, 2025, thousands of people will again take to the streets in Bangkok, Thailand. Something will be different this time, because queer couples will finally be able to register their marriages and achieve the same rights as their cisgender, heterosexual counterparts. They will be able to make medical decisions, to adopt children and, most importantly, to build lives together in a way that was unthinkable 20 years ago. This creates hope that 20 years from now, the rest of Asia — and the rest of the world — will follow suit, making a better, more inclusive world for everyone.
The Thailand Foundation concluded, “Today, Thailand still has progress to be made in terms of social inclusivity, yet we see the hope in the continuous attempt to promote LGBTQIA+ rights … Thailand is and will always be a friendly place for all.”
Kamlyn Yosick ’25 contributed fact-checking.
Mount Holyoke students return from studying abroad in Japan
BY QUILL NISHI-LE0NARD ’27
COPY CHIEF
On Oct. 1, four Mount Holyoke College students who recently returned from studying abroad gathered in Ciruti 109 to present their experiences at the Japan Study Abroad Information Session. While the experience of studying abroad isn’t an uncommon one at the College — over 40% of students will have studied abroad by the time they cross the stage at Commencement — only seven of the over 150 study abroad programs available to Mount Holyoke College students are located in Japan. Mount Holyoke News interviewed two of the students who presented to understand their experiences, stories and takeaways from studying in Japan.
Associated Kyoto Program Eleanor Freed ’25 studied abroad in Japan with the Associated Kyoto Program, also known as AKP. AKP students study at Doshisha University’s Imadegawa campus, which is located in Kyoto. In an interview with Mount Holyoke News, Freed elaborated more on why they chose AKP. “AKP was my first choice … being in Kyoto would mean that I could easily spend time with my friends in Nagaokakyo,” they said.
gram, which is what initially inspired them to study abroad in Japan.
In addition to their personal ties to the area, Freed said that another bonus of studying in Kyoto was the city’s “history, much of which is visible in the older architectural styles and the shrines and temples.” They spent much of their time abroad studying Japanese history, culture and traditions, and found that physically exploring Japan often “helped contextualize” what they were learning in class.
“Forming a relationship with [my host family] was a key part of making my experience in Japan so meaningful.”
– Eleanor Freed ’25
Students participating in AKP are able to go on one overnight group trip as part of the program. For Freed’s trip, students spent several days exploring Himeji, Hiroshima and Miyajima. “Miyajima is an island off of Hiroshima known for its shrines … We stayed in a traditional Japanese inn … and had most of the day to just explore the island,” Freed said. It was in Miyajima that Freed found Daisho-in. “Daisho-in … may be my favorite temple that I saw,” Freed said. “[It] has a miniature version of the Shikoku pilgrimage; there was also a ceremony going on to bless old kitchen knives that are no longer usable.”
All AKP
Freed’s hometown is sister cities with Nagaokakyo, which is located only a few miles away from Kyoto. In the past, their family had “hosted students through” a separate pro-
students take an eight-credit Japanese course, alongside two four-credit electives. Every elective class “goes on at least one field trip,” according to Freed. During their presentation, Freed said they “highly recommend” taking an elective course called Religion, Tradition and Temple-Tourism in Kyoto be-
cause of its frequent field trips to temples and shrines.
Freed “loved that Kyoto is such a wanderable city” and spent much of their free time exploring, aided by Kyoto’s robust public transportation system. “I would often get off at a train stop [part way] home and wander around for a bit,” Freed said. “I found some awesome little shops and shrines by just walking around without much of a plan.”
“I can’t talk about my semester without giving a shout-out to my host family … for doing so much to make my semester as fulfilling as possible,” Freed said. For Freed, living with a host family was integral to the development of their conversational Japanese skills. “Forming a relationship with them was a key part of making my experience in Japan so meaningful,” they said.
CIEE Arts Tokyo
Gillian Tomlinson ’25 went abroad with CIEE Arts Tokyo; CIEE is an acronym for the Council on International Educational Exchange. CIEE operates various programs in different countries and cities, but Tomlinson was drawn to study abroad in Japan because they “wanted to go somewhere … completely different” that they wouldn’t have normally been able to “stay in for a long period of time.”
Tomlinson chose to study abroad with CIEE specifically because of its partnership with Sophia University, its robust support system for students and various field trips. According to Tomlinson, Sophia University has “a big international student draw” and much of the academic programming “felt very similar to Mount Holyoke.”
Students at CIEE Arts Tokyo take a total of 16 credits, with four
credits in Japanese language and 12 credits in the School of Faculty of Liberal Arts. Tomlinson opted to take classes in history, film and Japanese literature for those 12 credits.
As a film media theater and English double major, Tomlinson found that their elective classes “felt very familiar, but still very different.”
Like Freed, Tomlinson found that public transportation played a key role in their independent explorations of Japan. Students enrolled in CIEE Arts Tokyo are given commuter passes for Tokyo’s train system. Since Tomlinson was given their pass by CIEE, rides between Yotsuya Station and Musashi-Kosugi Station — which are located by the university and student dormitories, respectively — were free.
“It was so clean and so efficient, and people are so polite,” Tomlinson said. “The train system looks really confusing, and then once you get a hang of it, it is not.”
“Because I rode for free between those two stations … I could basically get a discount sometimes, when I
would come home from somewhere else,” Tomlinson added. While Tomlinson was able to go on a variety of field trips as part of CIEE’s program — their favorite of which was to Yokohama and its Cup Noodles museum — one of the trips they remember most fondly was actually one they arranged by themselves.
“I went [to Hakone] at the end of May, which is nearly the halfway point of [CIEE’s program],” Tomlinson said. “It’s nestled in the mountains, it’s beautiful, it’s scenic … It was like, the first trip I truly went on by myself. … That felt very special to me.”
For students who are interested but unsure about studying abroad in Japan, Tomlinson recommends taking advantage of the Japanese courses offered at the College. “For my comfort, it was very helpful to have those four semesters [of Japanese] under my belt,” Tomlinson said. “The professors here are amazing.” Kamlyn Yosick ’25 contributed fact-checking.
The Jewish Chronicle faces questions of fabrication and ownership
BY MIRA CRANE ’27
GLOBAL EDITOR
Columnists Jonathan Freedland, Hadley Freeman and David Aaronovitch have recently broken relations with the United Kingdom’s Jewish Chronicle, the world’s oldest Jewish newspaper, after the publication faced accusations of false reporting. According to The Forward, the most prominent Jewish newspaper in the United States, the resignations are due to allegations that some of the paper’s stories about the Israel-Hamas war were fabricated to fall in line with comments made by Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
The BBC reported that The Jewish Chronicle launched an investigation into one of their freelance journalists, Elon Perry, after concerns were voiced about his record, and they were unable to prove claims about Perry’s background. The Jewish Chronicle deleted his articles after finding some of his claims to be unsatisfactory, and has ended their association with him.
According to The Forward, Perry had reported that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar had plans to escape from
Gaza with some of the remaining Israeli hostages via the Philadelphi corridor, in an attempt to get to Iran.
Much the same story was published in the German tabloid BILD, which is also facing criticism.
Netanyahu made some similar statements about Sinwar’s plans the day before the article’s publishing, and the ongoing Israeli military
presence in the Philadelphi corridor has been a major issue hampering ceasefire negotiations. Perry also wrote a story on Israel Defense Forces soldiers living undercover in Gaza before a hostage rescue, a story no other news source has corroborated.
The New York Times reported that Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the IDF’s chief spokesman, ex-
pressed that he was not aware of any intelligence indicating that Sinwar planned to escape with hostages.
Other officials termed the claims “wild fabrications.”
There is also some uncertainty about The Jewish Chronicle’s ownership. According to the left-leaning Israeli newspaper Haaretz, in 2020 the paper was rescued from liquidation by BBC Non-Executive Director Sir Robbie Gibb through a consortium he led. This has led to some questions, as many considered it unlikely that Gibbs was in possession of the financial means to save the paper. There has been subsequent speculation over the paper’s true owner. The New York Times reported that Gibbs resigned as the paper’s director in August and was replaced by two new directors.
The Forward reported that The Jewish Chronicle’s Editor, Jake Wallis Simmons, issued an apology for the fraudulent articles. “I take full responsibility for the mistakes that have been made and I will take equal responsibility for the task of making sure nothing like this can happen again,” Simmons said, as reported by The Forward. He added that he hopes the columnists that resigned
will choose to return at some point in the future.
According to The New York Times, The Jewish Chronicle has an important place in Britain’s Jewish community and a long history. Founded in 1841, The Jewish Chronicle has a weekly community publication that records births, weddings and deaths, and British Jews have marked milestones by putting a notice in the paper for decades.
According to Mount Holyoke College Visiting Professor in Jewish Studies Madeleine Cohen, “Especially since the late 19th century through the 20th century, [Jewish newspapers] have served to keep Jewish communities informed on both local and international matters related to Jewish and general topics, usually through different political and religious perspectives. … They have also been extremely important spaces to keep Jewish communities connected in diaspora.” The historical and social significance of The Jewish Chronicle is part of the reason why this incident has been a source of sorrow and anger for the paper’s long standing contributors. Kamlyn Yosick ’25 contributed fact-checking.
Graphic by Summer Sit ’25
Photo courtesy of Chainwit. via Wikimedia Commons
The 2024 Pride celebration in Bangkok took place as a same-sex marriage bill awaited approval.
Lack of Hispanic/Latinx representation in Dining Commons is alarming
BY ANGELINA GODINEZ ’28
STAFF WRITER
We don’t talk enough about the alarming lack of Hispanic/Latinx foods in the Dining Commons. According to Mount Holyoke College’s enrollment data, in the fall of 2023 Hispanic/Latinx identifying students were the third biggest campus identity with 202 students, or 9.14% of the student body. Despite Hispanic and Latinx-identifying students being a solid percentage of the campus community, there is no dedicated dining station to serve them.
We occasionally find Latinx cuisines during lunch or dinner, but it is hard to consider it “Latinx food” when some of the biggest components of Latinx cuisine are the rich flavor and spices not present in a Mount Holyoke hard shell taco. I rarely consider any of the food marked as Latinx or simply “Mexican seasoned” to actually be Latinx or Spanish food. Rather, it is no different from the American food found in all stations at Blanch. Even Baraka, Wok and Global are closer to American versions of ethnic foods and do not deserve the title of “diverse.” Everything within the College’s dining options ultimately serves to cater to the school’s historic majority of white students and their taste buds.
Despite priding themselves on their number of international students, the College fails to consider that Hispanic/Latinx students may also identify as being international. Although I understand the difficulty in recreating dishes that require money and resources, it is a disservice and an insult to all students for Mount Holyoke to claim to be “creating meals that taste good and do good for our whole community” when a significant portion of said
community is Hispanic/Latinx-identifying students who are largely unrepresented in dining options. With two stations serving assimilated Asian cuisines and a “Global” station that tends to serve only variations of noodles, marinara sauce and pizza, there is arguably no representation for various ethnic groups on campus, whether they are domestic or international.
In my short time on campus I have struggled greatly with finding food that I feel I can even slightly recognize. Most days I find myself skipping out on meals, eating from my dorm or waiting for late night snacks to eat something I can stomach. At home in California, I was notorious in my family for absolutely hating breakfast food. Don’t get me wrong, I loved chorizo con huevos, chorizo con potatoes and pretty much any other plate that had chorizo, but other than that my breakfast was always just an early variation of lunch or simply a cup of cafe con leche.
But here, my favorite meal is breakfast. It’s consistent. A sausage and cheese omelet, a side of seasoned potatoes dosed with a heavy portion of black pepper and a cup of black coffee with sugar is my morning ritual. I find myself getting upset when I wake up too late on a weekend or am far too exhausted after a late study night to get breakfast, because that means I might not eat an adequate meal until dinner. Occasionally I find myself indulging in one of my favorite meals I’ve had since arriving at Mount Holyoke, although it is not even a meal found at the Dining Commons: a beef flavored cup of ramen drowned in tapatío with a side of hot fries, also covered in tapatío. I try not to indulge in it often out of fear of running out and ultimately not being able to get more due to not having transportation or
enough money to pay $10+ in DoorDash shipping. In my short time here, I have tried several ways of accessing ingredients or exploring restaurants in hopes of finding something familiar, to bring me the comfort of belonging and understanding. I recently attempted to take the bus to the Salvation Army and “JJ’s Tacos and Market” to buy some more winter appropriate clothes and hopefully Mexican produce. Once, I found myself sitting on the PVTA, and as the bus was just leaving UMass on the way to the Hampshire area, a woman had the courage to ask me, “What are you?” I was baffled. What do you mean, what am I? I don’t know. I am speaking in English, I was born in America, English is my first language and I have gone to school in America all my life. What am I? Not much different from you, I am assuming. I reluctantly said Mexican, because that is what I am. I have only ever known myself and my family to be Mexican. I am a third generation Mexican, born
in Whittier, California. My grandpa is from Anguilla, Michoacan, and my grandmother is from Penjamo, Guanajuato. I was raised where both English and Spanish were dominant languages in my house. Despite this, she still responded with an “Ohhh, okay,” and the expectancy in her voice rang a bell in my head telling me she assumed that I was not from America. Not only am I not from Massachusetts, but that I was somehow different from her and the other students on the bus. As I stood in the 30-minute line at the Salvation Army with tears in my eyes, this question lingered in my mind. All alone, I looked around and saw no one who looked like me. I felt panicked as if I did something wrong. I told myself for the billionth time, “I don’t belong here,” and the deep pit in my stomach grew a little deeper. I have never had to explain myself until my move here. I don’t know what people expect me to say when I feel I am not much different from them. While maybe from my clothes, the way I talk and my lack
of preparedness for the winter might show I am not from the East Coast, it is my skin color that attracts offensive stares, questions and hesitation. Unfortunately, I was not able to get the one thing I was most excited for: Mexican food and produce. I longed for the taste of something familiar, and the ability to cook my own food. My own desperate attempt to tie myself to something, to convince myself that I still have something left through food, had failed. I couldn’t stomach the idea of going back to Blanch after hours of tears shed just to have chicken tenders, so I ordered the closest thing I could find: $25 dollars worth of soggy Taco Bell. What me and my family already considered American fast food was my temporary and fleeting sanctuary for the night.
For the next few days I survived off of food I didn’t enjoy. It was hard for me not to call my family and tell them, “I give up, I must change my diet to strictly American food.” I have even walked miles to the closest Dollar General and failed to find even lemon lime hot Cheetos. I have taken Ubers to the closest Target where I had to stock up on packaged protein such as peanuts and beef jerky because I went from a diet rich with fresh meat to frozen chicken tenders, and it has taken a great toll on my health. It was disappointing to be met, time after time, with the East Coast impersonations of staples of my life just to return to the College and stomach another insulting meal of rice labeled “Spanish rice” that tastes no different from plain, boiled white rice.
Now, I have not been exactly quiet about this struggle. One of the
To elevate its athletic programs, Mount Holyoke should leave the NEWMAC
BY EMILY TARINELLI ’25
MANAGING EDITOR OF CONTENT
Competitive greatness awaits Mount Holyoke Athletics: far, far away from the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference.
In May 2024, Mount Holyoke College abruptly cut two of its 11 varsity teams: squash, which was transitioned to a club sport, and tennis, which was eliminated entirely. Previously, Mount Holyoke News reported in its coverage of this decision that the College had been facing pressure from the NEWMAC for almost a decade to take action to increase its competitive standing in the conference. As a result, the College removed tennis and squash from varsity status so that their funds could be reinvested in the remaining programs, a measure which, in theory, would help boost the College’s athletic rankings.
As a student-athlete, I am deeply grateful for new initiatives supporting our coaches and students, such as our recently renovated varsity weight room, highly successful Athletics Day of Giving and hiring of full-time assistant coaches. However, the College’s decision to abruptly cut two of our best performing teams to appease the NEWMAC has left me fearful for what is to become of the athletics program. The elimination of tennis and squash in response to a decade of scrutiny from the NEWMAC has demonstrated that remaining in the NEWMAC is not a sustainable option for Mount Holyoke Athletics.
Mount Holyoke and the NEWMAC: A history
According to the NEWMAC webpage, the NEWMAC began in 1985 as the New England Women’s 6 Conference, or NEW-6, which included Babson College, Brandeis University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Smith College, Wellesley College and Wheaton College. In 1988, Mount Holyoke and WPI joined the league, and the NEW-6 was rebranded as the NEW-8. By 1998, Brandeis had left the league, Clark University had joined and the NEW-8 became the NEWMAC, expanding its competitive offerings to include men’s athletics. Today, the NEWMAC is a body of 12 selective, academically-rigorous institutions competing within Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. In addition to Mount Holyoke, the roster consists of Babson, Clark, Emerson College, MIT, Salve Regina University, Smith, Springfield College, the United States Coast Guard Academy,
Wellesley, Wheaton and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. As stated on the NEWMAC website, the Conference is “committed to academic and athletic excellence strengthened by the diversity of our selective institutional membership.”
As previously reported by Mount Holyoke News, the NEWMAC has pressured Mount Holyoke to take more action to increase its competitive ranking within the Conference since as far back as 2015. According to an email sent to the tennis team from President Danielle. Holley and obtained by Mount Holyoke News, the NEWMAC had “issued several letters of serious concern and documented conversations with previous presidents and athletics leadership emphasizing the need for immediate and sustained change to maintain the College’s standing in the conference.” It was this mounting pressure that resulted in the discontinuation of the varsity tennis and squash teams so that their funds could be reallocated throughout the rest of the department, as stated in the May 2024 announcement, which claims that the goal of the reinvestments is to “increase competitiveness” within the NEWMAC through the restructuring of the Department of Athletics.
An ever-shrinking athletics program
This reallocation of athletic resources is not the first of its kind,
either. As previously reported by Mount Holyoke News, the College eliminated its varsity golf team in 2020 to, in part, “allow the Department of Physical Education and Athletics to reallocate the resources from the program to support the broader-reaching priorities of the departmental strategic plan, enhancing the overall student-athlete experience at Mount Holyoke.” This was announced in a press release on the Mount Holyoke Athletics website by former Director of Athletics Lori Hendricks ’92.
The language behind this decision is strikingly similar to the College’s most recent justification for eliminating the tennis team. A College webpage discussing the changes to the Department of Athletics stated that an internal and external study “outlined the reorganization, reallocation and investments required to support universal success” and that those findings were considered “in the context of the College’s strategic planning process and investments needed to ensure universal success in athletics.”
While the elimination of the golf team did not necessarily correlate with pressure from the NEWMAC to increase Mount Holyoke’s competitive ranking, its discontinuation marked an early instance in the College’s history of cutting varsity programs to invest more in the remaining ones.
To stay or to leave My question is simple: why do we want to remain in a conference that has spent almost 10 years scrutinizing our athletics program and is a leading cause for shrinking it?
Mount Holyoke’s longstanding association with the Conference makes me doubtful that the College would easily part ways with the NEWMAC. In addition, it is unlikely that Mount Holyoke would leave behind fellow Seven Sisters institutions Smith and Wellesley. Furthermore, leaving the conference may affect the reputation of the college.
Staying in the NEWMAC — a body which prides itself on being a collection of selective, academically-rigorous institutions — could be a means of maintaining Mount Holyoke’s reputation as an elite, small liberal arts college that competes in an elite conference. Thus, to leave the NEWMAC would essentially be to “move down” a conference. From a marketing standpoint, this would not be desired.
Nonetheless, if it’s a question of competitive standing — which it is — then the issue of our competitive ranking would be immediately rectified by leaving the NEWMAC and joining a conference with members we could realistically compete against. In terms of our athletic capability, Mount Holyoke is much better positioned to build its success in a conference like the Great North-
east Athletic Conference, or GNAC — a body of 16 private, Division III institutions located all across New England. According to the GNAC web page, the conference is committed to “balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience,” a mission that I believe is far more aligned with Mount Holyoke than the NEWMAC’s.
What’s more, Mount Holyoke already competes against schools from the GNAC in their regular seasons, including fellow historically women’s college Simmons University and co-ed institutions Elms College and Dean College, among others. If we are already basing a portion of our regular season win-loss statistics off of a consistent number of GNAC schools, it makes sense to consider looking into how to request membership to their conference.
The present is just as important as the future
It seems to me that the College is invested in a future for the athletics program that does not equally prioritize its student-athletes of today. While, again, I am grateful for the new initiatives detailed previously, these initiatives will not necessarily see us — the student-athletes of today — ascend in the NEWMAC by the end of the year.
Instead, we have seen the loss of two varsity programs. Those students were the student-athletes of today, too, and the College failed to invest in them.
The bottom line is that the College cannot keep cutting varsity programs to stay in the NEWMAC. This will not sustain a competitive athletics program at Mount Holyoke. Joining a conference that better aligns with our competitiveness would enable the College to further invest in its current student-athletes while simultaneously boosting the College’s competitive ranking.
What the College needs to do now is rebuild its trust with current student-athletes. After the abrupt elimination of the tennis and squash teams and their alleged lack of support in its wake, I can’t help but fear for the survival of my own team, be that in five, 10, 15 years or beyond. Considering that the College has now repeatedly invested in Mount Holyoke Athletics by dismissing its own coaches, student-athletes and programs in order to cling to the NEWMAC, it is difficult to feel any other way.
Which one of our teams is next? Sofia Ramon ’27 contributed fact-checking.
Photo by Emma Quirk ’26 Godinez believes that the Dining Commons has so far failed to represent Hispanic/Latinx cuisine.
6 OPINION
Lack of Hispanic/Latinx food in the Dining Commons, cont’d
most comforting conversations and interactions I have had on campus was with Pilar Guevara, the professor of my Intro to Latinx Studies course who also teaches the U.S. Latinx Foodways course. She was born in the highlands of Ecuador and attended various colleges in the United States, including one of the other Seven Sisters, Wellesley. Although she is fairly new to Mount Holyoke, she is not new to the difficulties and failed efforts in trying to recreate aspects of her culture.
Very similar to my fading optimism, Guevara mentioned how when searching for produce or restaurants that bear a passing similarity to her culture, she “get[s] tired of looking because I already realized that there’s not a lot of diversity in terms of Latin American cuisine in this area, so I kind of like give up, and then just end up eating at home whatever, and cooking whatever I can, the best that I can.”
Although we have different cultures and experiences, we are both tied under the term “Latina,” a word itself coined by Anglo colonizers as a way of ignoring our individuality and only grouping us by the color of our skin. Despite our differences, we also share similarities. Our desire to recreate different ethnic foods, the challenge in doing so, and the shared disappointment and comfort that is brought from foods that tie us to home are very similar.
Guevara spoke further on the importance that culturally specific
foods bring to a person in our interview, stating that, “You have a connection with your heritage, with your cultural heritage, with your family, wherever they are, or if they are here, you’re able to share with the people that you connect through these foods similar to, very similar to language.”
Food you can connect with goes much deeper than “good taste” and “flavor.” For me, it is home and a part of me that is essential to my way of living. Without it, I feel I walk these halls of campus as a ghost. Not only do I not feel seen or represented, but I also lack the energy and nutrition my home foods bring me, and I end almost every class with a feeling of lightheadedness and a need for a 3+ hour nap and an IV.
On Oct. 3, I checked the lunch menu; although I was reluctant, I knew I had to try it. The grill was serving “beef cheeseburger quesadillas, cheddar jack cheese quesadillas, tacos (hard shell) with ground beef, frijoles pintos, Mexican street corn and Tex mex rice pilaf” and various toppings for tacos and nachos. I got a little bit of everything: a beef hard shell taco, rice, a small portion of frijoles, a “cheeseburger” quesadilla, salsa and “Mexican street corn,” or, as I know it, elote or esquite.
The elote was certainly the best. It instantly fueled me with warm feelings I haven’t felt for what feels like a year. Finally, something somewhat familiar. I found myself going back for seconds and even added parmesan cheese with help of the cooks. I felt comforted. I felt seen. I
Event Highlight
TONIGHT: Wednesday, Oct. 16
What It Takes to Heal with Prentis Hemphill ’04 and Kai Cheng Thom
As somatic practitioners and healers, both Prentis Hemphill and Kai Cheng Thom have been vital voices in the movements of healing, justice and liberation. In this important conversation between Prentis Hemphill and Kai Cheng Thom, the two will discuss Hemphill’s new book, What It Takes to Heal: How Transforming Ourselves Can Change the World. Reception to follow in the Art Museum Lobby. Gamble Auditorium, 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
felt for a second I wasn’t here.
Guevara recalled a similar feeling she gets when she finds plantains. “I always say, like, when I find plantain and I cook it at home, I feel free. I mean, it’s a sense of happiness, like, almost like, the same way I feel when I get to speak in Spanish, because Spanish is my mother tongue.’’ I found myself feeling very similarly once I found the first thing that tasted just an ounce similar to my culture, to my home. It’s sad to admit I feel I haven’t found my “MoHome” due to the food.
The students do a great job at making us firsties welcome and I have had an all right time finding people I mesh with, but I find it hard to stay awake and be my best self when I go from eating meals with plenty of meat, fresh vegetables and flavor to my daily sandwich, an omelet or pink unseasoned chicken. It has gone beyond the feeling of alienation, but now to where I fear for my health and mental well-being.
It is almost impossible to find imitations of any of these foods within the town of South Hadley, but specifically within the Dining Commons ... I crave to be connected to my culture again.
ing to find cultural foods. Despite this, most of the food I ate was made at home. My mouth salivates and my eyes tear up as I recall warm meals and some of my favorite dishes. Caldo de Albóndigas, my favorite food, is a meatball soup with numerous different vegetables and Mexican seasonings. It can be served with rice in the soup or on the side — my personal preference — with flour tortillas toasted just enough so they crack when you touch them, but soften into delicate wraps once dipped in the caldo and with a nice serving of meatball, veggies, salsa and lime.
– Angelina Godinez
In Southern California, specifically Riverside, California, I can name at least 5 mercados and authentic Mexican restaurants within a 10-minute drive from my apartment. There was never a question of feeling out of place due to the color of my skin or impossibilities of try-
For me, Albodnigas aren’t eaten right unless I am sitting at the dinner table for an hour, my caldo is dark red from all the salsa and lime added, and I am sniffing from the heat. A few other traditional meals are carne con chile, caldo de res, chilaquiles, chorizo con huevos, tacos de milanesa, arroz con leche, flan, café con leche, any of the many variations of chorizo, carne asada, pollo, al pastor, and arroz y frijoles. My stomach aches as I recall the warmth and feeling of safety these foods bring me.
Before leaving for Massachusetts, I spent time learning from my grandma and father important family recipes. I could taste, smell
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and touch my culture through these foods with my very own hands. The way pinto beans feel when I take them out of the bag, when I separate them one by one with my bare hands. I wash them several times under cold water looking for flaws and allow them to soak overnight before setting them to boil. The smell the beans get when they boil and begin to rise to the surface. The taste from the sample chip my father offers me to let him know if they are ready. How my bare hands ache from the freezing mixture of ground beef, rice, eggs and various seasonings as I help mix and shape the Albóndigas. The conversations, laughter and arguments at dinner with family and friends are all deeply rooted in my identity. It is a connecting piece between our lives, our blood, our heritage and our feeling of belonging. All these things have been lost through the lack of representation of Latinx students on campus.
It is almost impossible to find imitations of any of these foods within the town of South Hadley, but specifically within the Dining Commons. As Hispanic Heritage Month comes to an end, I fear it will become even harder to find safety and comfort on campus. I crave to be connected to my culture again.
I feel almost unfamiliar to myself as I struggle to find something to fill this missing puzzle piece of my life, stolen from me by the assimilation and imitations of food from my culture that Mount Holyoke uses for “Taco Tuesday.”
Sofia Ramon ’27 contributed fact-checking.
Dear Emily, I can’t seem to fall into a regular sleep schedule. I used to be able to fall asleep pretty easily, but for the past few months I’ve been staying up later and later. Even when I get into bed at a reasonable hour, I end up lying there and overthinking instead of sleeping. I want to be well rested for my classes, but I don’t know what else to do. Help!
Sincerely,
A Sleep-Deprived Student ’27
Hey Sleep-Deprived, Thanks for writing in! I’m sorry you’ve been having trouble falling asleep. Here are some tips for establishing healthy sleep habits. Hopefully, they will help you get back on track with your regular sleep schedule in no time!
Try to keep a consistent sleep schedule that gets you eight hours of sleep each night. This means getting up and turning the lights off at the same time each day — even weekends. I’m sure that sounds like a no brainer — so how do you actually fall asleep? Trust me: I’ve spent many a night stuck in a frustrating nether-space of tiredness and wide awakeness, staring at a dark ceiling from my bed and desperately willing sleep to come.
To ensure your brain shuts down before bed, be sure to stay away from screens and bright lights. I know that essay needs to get written, but your best work will come when you’re well-rested — not when your brain is trying to clock out. In addition, avoid consuming caffeine and alcohol in the evening.
During the day, consider exercising or engaging in some form of physical activity. Not only is this a healthy habit in general, but after a day’s workout, your body is bound to better respond to its very own call for rest.
When it’s finally time for lights out, try experimenting with heat and sound. I tend to sleep better in a chillier room — that way I can bundle up in my soft blankets — against the quiet white noise of my fan. Others may prefer to keep the window shut and maintain absolute silence — and if that’s what works for you, then that’s what works for you! If you’re like me and sleep best in complete darkness, try placing a towel against the bottom of your door to block the hallway light from spilling into your room. If you like a little visibility, consider a night light. I hope these tips help you return to your sleep schedule, Sleep-Deprived. It may not happen overnight, but give it a few tries — with consistency, restful sleep is bound to come. Love, Emily
Sally Rooney’s latest novel is released at the Odyssey Bookshop
BY ISABEL DUNN ’27 STAFF WRITER
Sally Rooney released her latest novel, “Intermezzo,” on Tuesday, Sept. 24. In celebration, the Odyssey Bookshop held a launch event for those who preordered the book. Along with the novel, readers were treated to refreshments, themed collectible items and a raffle for a larger giveaway.
The event, which ran from 4:30-5:30 p.m., began with a book collection. A mix of Mount Holyoke students and other community members who had pre-ordered copies of the book arrived at the front of the store and were presented with signed first editions.
The rest of the event took place near the young adult section of the bookstore, where a table was set up with various “Intermezzo”-themed goods. The cover of the book is yellow and depicts a chessboard with several characters casting shadows in the shape of chess pieces. Inspired by the cover design, several yellow foods, including lemonade and sugar cookies with lemon icing, were passed out.
Also featured on the table were various giveaway items. Stickers and pencils with the book’s logo on them were available for free, as were a limited number of Baggu bags sporting the “Intermezzo” design and enamel pins in the shape of chess pieces.
Throughout the event, customers were encouraged to write down their names and phone numbers to enter a raffle for a grand Sally Rooney-themed prize. The gift bag consisted of each of the aforementioned prizes, as well as a puzzle and a signed hardcover copy of Sally Rooney’s third novel, “Beautiful World, Where Are You.”
Robin Glossner, the adult events coordinator for the Odyssey Bookshop, was pleased with the turnout. The “Intermezzo” event was the first book launch that she had planned since taking up the position in 2021, but she already has plans for the future.
“The saddest thing is to throw a party and have no one come … But we’re excited. We’ve got another [event] coming up for the book called ‘Onyx [Storm],’” Glossner said in an interview with Mount
Holyoke News.
“Onyx Storm” by Rebecca Yarros is the third of five installments in the “Wings of Fire” series, popularized by the first book, “Fourth Wing.” “Onyx Storm” releases on Jan. 21, 2025 and is available for preorder now.
Glossner also emphasized the importance of preordering books. “I’m really trying to encourage people to preorder because it helps us know how many [books] to stock. It helps the authors. It helps everybody,” she said.
When asked for her thoughts on the novel, Glossner had glowing reviews. “I have read it, and I’ve loved it. I have to say, it is my favorite Sally Rooney ever. I read ‘Conversations with Friends’ and ‘Normal People,’ and I thought they were okay. … This one felt more mature. It was an exploration of grief and love and family, and it rang so true,” Glossner said.
The novel follows two brothers, Peter and Ivan, shortly after the death of their father. The two young men lead very different lives, but both are struggling to find a sense of purpose. Peter is grappling with
two complicated relationships with women from his past and present, and Ivan, a chess prodigy, is finding his footing in the world with a newfound sense of maturity.
“I’m
putting it in the hands of people. I think they’ll love it,” Glossner said. Karishma Ramkarran ’27 contributed fact-checking.
Dirty Dancing: Exploring the history behind a campus favorite tradition
BY HONORA QUINN ’27 STAFF WRITER
In the years since its 1987 release, “Dirty Dancing” has taken over the world and made its way into the hearts of countless Mount Holyoke College students. Now, a new book released last spring is exploring the history behind the film and its legacy.
Andrea Warner’s book, “The Time of My Life: Dirty Dancing” delves into the film’s world beyond the fictional resort Kellerman’s to that of “Dirty Dancing” screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein and her vision, and how the film has impacted culture beyond the gates of the College.
Since 2013, a staple of new student orientation has been the annual screening of “Dirty Dancing” in the Gettell Amphitheater. But the film has always had ties to the campus community, starting as early
as 1988. From the moment the audience learned from the iconic line that “Baby’s starting at Mount Holyoke in the Fall,” Baby became a part of the cultural history of the College and a perennial film staple.
“The Time of My Life: Dirty Dancing” is the 13th installment in ECW Press’ “Pop Classic Series”: short books that argue, dissect and investigate the cultural impact of various movies, TV shows, albums and even the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” Warner is a Canadian music journalist, previously writing about artists like Buffy Sante-Marie, Celine Dion and Shania Twain, exploring the lives and legacies of change makers in the music industry.
“Dirty Dancing” appears, at first, to be an outlier in her bibliography. A short but sweet book dedicated to what seems to be just another teen dance movie, it seems a far cry from her previous coverage of some of the most influential female
musicians of the 20th century. However, Warner delves into the iconic film with much honed care and her critic’s eye, seamlessly meshing her criticisms and accolades while sprinkling in her personal relationship with the film.
Her narrative is incorporated throughout but comes across most blatantly in the first chapters, beginning with how she first came across the film as a young girl. The story’s dance-related narrative prompted her to analyze her own love of dance, as well as the external pressures that made her feel that with her “fat-since-birth body,” dance was the last thing she should be doing. She related to the use of dance as a controversial and revolutionary medium, as shown through the actions of protagonists Baby and Johnny.
Warner spends a lot of time in her book on the film’s production, namely through writer Eleanor
Bergstein. Bergstein is the reason Warner even has a movie to write about. She grew up vacationing at places like Kellerman’s. She was a dance champion in her own right, and was even called ‘Baby’ until she was in her early 20s. She is also the one who created the mixtape of iconic and eclectic music that features in the movie and would later become a best-selling hit. This is a particular section in which Warner’s writing really shines, and her music journalism background becomes most apparent. In Chapter 3, she breaks down the music track by track, from The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby” to “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes. She ranks, dissects and explains the role these songs play within the larger narrative. The movie is set in a very idealized version of the 1960s, but the score includes music all the way up to the mid-’80s.
It’s contemporary and classic, the mixtape of Bergstien’s life in dance, and Warner enlightens readers on how this came together and why it works.
“The Time of My Life” is a love letter. It is a deep sea expedition. It is music journalism and a film history, and it changed the way I think about Baby carrying that watermelon up the stairs to her fate and future fortune.
Karishma Ramkarran ’27 contributed fact-checking.
Kevin Walker welcomed as new assistant Swimming and Diving coach
BY GENEVIEVE ZAHNER ’26 AND GIA GU ’26 SPORTS EDITOR | STAFF WRITER
After a three-year career coaching swimming at Elms College, Kevin Walker has joined the Mount Holyoke College athletic community as the assistant coach to the varsity swimming and diving team. A former member of Springfield College’s swim team, which competes with Mount Holyoke in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference — also known as NEWMAC — Walker brings his experience as both a coach and an athlete to the Lyons.
Beginning as a junior coach for his club team at just 14 years old, his passion for coaching swimming only grew after realizing the impact his own coaches had on him as an athlete. “That kind of lasting impact was eye opening to what the sport of swimming could do for others,” Walker said.
Following his graduation from Springfield, Walker began coaching at Elms after he was recommended by a parent of a swimmer he coached. “One of the swim parents actually saw a job opening at Elms College, and knew some people in the athletics department and sug-
gested my name as someone that they should reach out to,” he said.
He also commented on the small size of the program when he started out. “There [were] only two swimmers at the time when I first started, and we didn’t have a pool. So in those three years, we grew the team to 16. We broke four school records, and we came in 5th out of our conferences last year.”
After three years of successful coaching experience, Walker set his sights on greater goals. “I always knew that I wanted something a little bit more,” he said. “A career goal of mine has always been to be a coach within the NEWMAC conference.”
His former swim coach, who had served as his mentor, heard about the full-time coaching position at the College and immediately saw it as a good fit for Walker. “And here we are, four months later,” he said.
Walker’s addition to the coaching staff has been warmly received by the team. “I’ve never met a team that’s so, for one, happy but also just welcoming,” he said. “They were so accepting and open right off the bat, which kind of catapulted my confidence on the team.” Being new to the College, Walker already feels at home. “They really made me feel
like I have a solid place.” Walker expressed his excitement about this new chapter in his career, noting the uniqueness of coaching at a gender-diverse women’s college. “It’s really cool,” he said. “That’s some[where] that I never really saw myself being, but this experience has kind of opened up my eyes to how awesome this place is. It’s a really special place, and I’m really happy.”
The training approach of the Mount Holyoke swimming and diving team differs from what Walker was previously accustomed to, but
it’s one he has fully embraced. Instead of focusing on general fitness, which Walker now sees as a less effective strategy, at the College the emphasis is on building a strong foundation by focusing on small but crucial details early in the season.
“We’re focusing a lot on the little things, and a lot of drills and really, just making sure that our strokes are all set, so that we can put in the work later,” he explained. By refining the foundational techniques upfront, the team can avoid major corrections after going into the season.
The dynamic between Walker
and the team members has been characterized by openness and a collaborative spirit. Walker noted the team eagerly listens and offers support when needed. “Everyone’s been very open on listening to what I have to say,” he remarked. If he has a question about a drill, the team is quick to provide an explanation, since terminology can vary from coach to coach. “Then I’m kind of on the same page with them,” Walker said. The sense of collaboration extends beyond training, creating a warm bond between team members. The team has cultivated an upbeat and happy energy, where hard work is balanced with fun. “For me, swimming is usually a little bit of a quieter sport, and I would say [has] that kind of whole family atmosphere,” Walker said.
Looking ahead to the season, Walker is optimistic about what the swimming and diving team can achieve. With the alum meet around the corner on Oct. 26, Walker is eager to witness the results of the team’s hard work and preparation. “I’m really excited to see what this team can do,” he said. Gemma Golovner ’25 contributed fact-checking.
Mount Holyoke Volleyball falls 3-0 to Massachusetts Institute of Technology
BY AYLEN DALKE ’28 STAFF WRITER
On Saturday, Oct. 5, Mount Holyoke Volleyball went head to head with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, whose team is ranked fifth in the nation. The visiting Engineers pulled away with a 3-0 win to remain undefeated in their season. MIT attacked with a 0.273 rate in the first set and a 0.220 rate in the second, holding the Lyons to rates of 0.008 and -0.062. The third set included eight lead changes and 15 tie scores; however, at 22-22 MIT secured the game with three straight points in a final rally.
Mount Holyoke senior Lucie
Berclaz ’25 had seven kills on 31 attempts while Madeline Barton ’26 had seven kills on 39 attempts. Barton also had three blocks, and both Barton and Berclaz came away with 11 digs each. Kyra Staples ’27 led Mount Holyoke in digs with 18 while Amelia Ringor ’26 ranked second with 13. Sadie Duffrin ’26 had 21 assists as the team’s setter. The volleyball team has since competed in home games against the University of Hartford on Friday, Oct. 11, and Wheaton College on Tuesday, Oct. 15. Next up, the Lyons will compete at Springfield College on Saturday, Oct. 19. Gemma Golovner ’25 contributed fact-checking.
Photo courtesy of Tourism Victoria via Flickr
Photo by Isabel Dunn ’27
Sally Rooney’s latest novel, “Intermezzo,” as seen during the Odyssey Bookshop’s Sept. 24 event.
glad we’re
Photo courtesy of Molly Malloy ’26 Kevin Walker was hired as the full-time assistant coach for Mount Holyoke Swimming and Diving.
Photo courtesy of Mount Holyoke Athletics Mount Holyoke Volleyball played Massachuesetts Institute of Technology on Saturday, Oct. 5, where Lucie Berclaz ’25 had seven kills on 31 attempts.
BY ELSPETH HOWLAND ’26 AND AMELIA POZNIAK ’26 HOROSCOPE WRITERS
Sept. 23 – Oct. 22
Good morning, Libra. Wake up and smell the coffee. You’re being irrational, so you must ground yourself. Grounding activities include going to class barefoot, picking up worms from outside and putting them in your first-year plant pot, birthday suits (happy birthday), and making your own burgers. Don’t be afraid of the dirt.
Do’s: Extra greasy slicked-back bun, treading water, chocolate milkshake Don’ts: Trundle beds, Pinterest nails, squeaky brakes (get those checked!)
Oct. 23 – Nov. 21
Are you a bit confused? Walking a fine line? Are you their friend, lover, foe or classmate who does not say hello in Blanch? It is up to the universe to decide, but up to you to find out. Reach out and communicate, or important relationships may pass you by.
Do’s: Apple bobbing, shorts over leggings, smelly cheese
Don’ts: Crime podcasts, influencer podcasts, political commentary podcasts
Nov. 22 – Dec. 21
Sweet sweet Sag, you are hiding something important. Not a secret, but a teeny tiny person–you! Bust out of your shell, show the world what you do best and make it known to all! Put on a performance! Speak loudly in class! Make a self portrait and post it all around the academic buildings! Find what you do best and flaunt it to the world
Do’s: Spellbooks, Washi tape, neck massages Don’ts: Tanning booth, Blanch cotton candy cake, ambivalence
Dec. 22 – Jan. 19
Small things are making you anxious, and they are piling up high. This is a reminder not to care. Live life like a comedy. Practice making a fool out of yourself so it gets easier if — and when — you do it by accident. Say something stupid in class, drop your Grab and Go ketchup container, cry a little in front of strangers and worry not.
Do’s: Crossy Road, shirtless firefighter calendars, digging for bugs
Don’ts: Upselling on @mhcfreeforsale, vacuuming at night, Spotify AI playlists
Mount Holyoke News
Mount Holyoke News is an independent student newspaper written by and for Mount Holyoke College students since 1917.
Executive Board
Jan. 20 – Feb. 18
You are worried about your future. Find your niche, but don’t sweat trying. Life is far too long to be worrying about your career, salary, cost of living and size of household 10 years down the road. Instead, focus on the WNBA finals, the status of Timothy Chalamet and Kylie Jenner’s Relationship and other important current events.
Do’s: Trail of Screams, Toca Boca Hair Salon 2, preventative cold remedies
Don’ts: Holding up lines, four hour naps, Domino’s pizza
Feb. 19 – March 20
As a Pisces, you are a fish in the sea. That means it is time to put yourself out there! Whether it is a romance, a fling, a friendship or a D&D group, the stars are telling you to reach out. It may be hard, but you are an absolute catch. Everybody wants to be the tiefling to your orc.
Do’s: Slurping broth, Golden Pear baking, animal birth live-streams Don’ts: Problematic musical artists, untied shoelaces, flat soda
March 21 – April 19
You can handle more than you give yourself credit for, yet your values are at risk of being compromised. This week, carve out time for yourself in a space that feels like home. Call up someone whose presence makes you happy.
Do’s: Alone time, scenic drives, study playlists
Don’ts: Checkered vans, short phone calls, ugly socks
April 20 – May 20
Keep an eye out for your lucky number. Fortune will soon fall in your favor. Dwelling on doubt won’t ease your conscience, so believe it can be done and it will.
Do’s: Tarot readings, Mary Janes, flowers in your hair
Don’ts: Fortune tellers, grasping at straws, suffering in silence
Editor-in-Chief
Tara Monastesse ’25
Managing Editor of Content
Emily Tarinelli ’25
Managing Editor of Layout
Rachel Adler ’26
Copy Chief Quill Nishi-Leonard ’27
News
Madelyn Dalley ’27
Arts & Entertainment
Sarah Berger ’27
Opinion Paige Comeau ’26
Books Sophie Frank ’26
Global Elizabeth Murray ’26 & Mira Crane ’27
Sports Genevieve Zahner ’26
Publisher Melanie Duronio ’26
Managing Editors of Web Scarlett Han ’25 & Cal Smith ’26
Business Manager
Gabriella Rodriguez ’27
Human Resources Abigail McKeon ’26
Editorial Board
Features Jesse Hausknecht-Brown ’25
Photos Emma Quirk ’26 & Zeyu Zhao ’27
Graphics Betty Smart ’26
Layout Editors Jiyang (Barbara) Chen ’25, Sophie Dalton ’25 & Leah Royes ’27
Social Media Editors Olivia Russo ’25, Jennifer Zhuang ’25, Abigail McKeon ’26, Ria Miller ’26, Hanh Minh Pham ’26, Rachel Allen ’27, Khanh Dinh ’27, Denise Grant ’27, Kristina Link ’27 & Althea Shaw ’27
Publication Guidelines
Copy Editors Gemma Golovner ’25, Meghan MacBeath ’25, Kamlyn Yosick ’25, Sophie Glasco ’26, Kate Koenig ’26, Abigail McKeon ’26, Sofia Ramon ’27, Karishma Ramkarran ’27, Gabby Tonn ’27, Madeleine Diesl ’28, Adeyla Hoenck ’28, Paige Horning ’28 & Alayna Khan ’28
Web Editors Ama Abrokwa ’26, Amanda Adjei ’27, Casey Chee ’26, Annette Martekuor Darpoh ’27 & Sadia Tijjani ’27
Mount Holyoke News does not endorse any of the opinions or views expressed within the pages of the paper, excluding staff editorials. All content copyright of Mount Holyoke News. All rights reserved. Mount Holyoke News does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or age.
Advertising in MHN
Interest in advertising in MHN can be directed to mhnews@mtholyoke.edu for pricing and deadlines. MHN reserves the right to refuse submissions on the basis of, but not limited to, advertisements considered to be libelous, obscene, defamatory or discriminatory.
Subscriptions
Mount Holyoke News is a biweekly publication that prints throughout the academic year. To join our mailing list, please contact the Publisher at mhnews@mtholyoke.edu.
Letters Policy
Letters to the Editor appear exactly as they are sent to MHN, except for corrections to spelling, grammar and AP style. Letters cannot exceed 500 words. All letters must include the writer’s name and telephone number for verification purposes. Unsigned letters will not be printed. Names may be held upon request with the approval of the Editor-in-Chief. MHN reserves the right to decide which materials will be printed. Email submissions to mhnews@mtholyoke.edu by Sundays at 5 p.m. for publication the following week.
VISIT US: www.mountholyokenews.com www.facebook.com/mountholyokenews www.twitter.com/mtholyokenews_
EMAIL US: mhnews@mtholyoke.edu
May 21 – June 20
The people around you are waiting for you to let them in. The holidays may call for disguises, but you don’t have to wear a mask. The right people like the real you.
Do’s: Hot chai, pumpkin carving, letting go
Don’ts: Holding on, double standards, mint ice cream
June 21 – July 22
Even superstitions are born of some truth. Your recent inclinations about the future are a sign of what’s to come. If you look too hard, you’ll miss what’s in front of you. Buy a digital camera.
Do’s: Deleting Hinge, flower bouquets, study schedules
Don’ts: Downloading Tinder, leaving it to the last minute, needless secrecy
July 23 – Aug. 22
With new friends come new ideas. Your world is about to expand, and so will your mind. Bridge the old and the new with your own authenticity. We think you’ll enjoy the fall flavors at Thirsty Mind.
Do’s: Cat stickers, Zillow listings, scary movies Don’ts: Guilt tripping, forgetting your Usefulls, first impressions
Aug. 23 – Sept. 22
Check your words before you speak. Even if you’re right, is it what you want to say? Memories last longer than the moment that formed them. Don’t resign yourself to the path of least resistance, and don’t take the hardest route just to prove a point.
Do’s: Monthly budgets, purple hair dye, Halloween nails
Don’ts: The number 34, watching the same movie again, paraphrasing
