Mount Holyoke News — Feb. 4, 2021

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Carmen Yulín Cruz named distinguished fellow in leadership

BY KATIE GOSS ’23 STAFF WRITER

After serving as a member of the House of Representatives and mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, for a combined 12 years, Carmen Yulín Cruz was recently appointed the Harriet L. Weissman and Paul M. Weissman distinguished fellow in leadership at the Weissman Center for Leadership. She will hold the position in the Weissman Center through December 2021, though her contract could extend another year.

Cruz became affiliated with Mount Holyoke in 2018. She was invited to deliver a talk about her leadership during the crisis following Hurricane Maria, as well as the subsequent response from the Trump administration. She had spoken with Jennifer Matos, assistant professor of psychology and education, before her speech, which led to a discussion of what more they could do between the College and San Juan.

Eventually, a summer camp in San Juan developed through the Weissman Center to help young girls and women advance in STEM fields.

“We developed this entire program on ensuring that not only children but young girls knew that their voices were important no matter where, in which[ever] field they wanted their voices heard,” Cruz said.

After attending the 20th anniversary of the Weissman Center in 2019, Cruz said the College asked her to consider coming to work at Mount Holyoke if she ever wanted a change of scenery and platform from her political position in San Juan. After losing the reelection, Cruz was thrilled to join the Mount Holyoke community through the Weissman Center.

“I came to not only know the Weissman Center and the opportunities it brings for discussion and, moving forward, agendas of change and raising the levels of awareness of social issues, especially pertaining to women, but I also got to see Mount Holyoke College lives the values that it espouses,” Cruz said.

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Cruz already has three goals she plans to accomplish at Mount Holyoke, one of which includes holding virtual town halls with guest speakers to talk about topics that interest students. Although she will be interviewing and engaging the guests in discussion, she also emphasized that the town hall is open for all people to talk and ask questions.

“Platforms are not to be hoarded. …

I think as long as I keep that perspective in mind to ensure that what I have access to I share, that would be important,” Cruz said.

She also plans to write a book and participate in an outreach program with people outside of the College who are trying to help young women and girls gain access to opportunities and have a voice on all platforms. Cruz hopes to start a “ripple effect” of conversations stemming from Mount Holyoke discussions.

“How do we use Mount Holyoke College and the Weissman Center as that place where we have those uncomfortable but necessary urgent conversations?” Cruz asked. “Use Mount Holyoke as that rock in the pond that begins the ripple effect of larger and larger waves of women [who are] fierce, unapologetic, prepared, fearless but filled with the commitment to changing things for all?

I think that’s what we all strive to get out of my visit.”

Cruz feels that her time as mayor of San Juan has given her the unique experiences of governing through a pandemic, two major earthquakes, two hurricanes and a yearlong argument with former President Donald Trump over disaster relief. Along with those experiences, she also gained a different perspective of herself and what she is capable of.

“I do not pretend to know all of the answers. I never have,” Cruz said. “Having that world stage, which I accept very humbly, also gave me a perspective of what people think they can, and … cannot do well. Honest to god, you never

7 GLOBAL: Farmer protests in India

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Graphic courtesy of the Mount Holyoke department of Film, Media and Theater Carmen Yulín Cruz (right), distinguished fellow in leadership, poses alongside Harriet Weissman ’59.

College COVID-19 restrictions lower as cases continue to rise

BY CASEY ROEPKE ’21 NEWS EDITOR

After an initial two-week quarantine period, Mount Holyoke College has officially marked a shift into Operating Level 2: Modified Normal COVID-19 Operations with Heightened Awareness. Residential students received a series of communications from the Office of Residential Life alerting them of the new restrictions and guidelines beginning on Feb. 1.

Operating Level 2 is marked by several criteria, as outlined by the College’s COVID-19 Dashboard. According to the dashboard, this level has a “moderate number of cases with most from a known source,” and students must “limit further exposure … and continue all precautions.”

Restrictions were at their tightest during the first two-week period of the term. Residential students are now permitted to leave campus, although only to go to the Village Commons, CVS, Big Y, Trader Joe’s or Walmart via campus shuttle or off-campus health appointments.

Students are also required to maintain a 6-foot distance from others on their

FEATURES: Snow day photo spread

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off-campus excursions. In an email sent to residential students on Jan. 29, Rachel Alldis, associate dean of students and director of Residential Life, wrote, “Although it may be tempting to look for loopholes, please remember that your community — your on-campus peers and essential College employees — are relying on you to help limit the spread of the virus.”

As of Feb. 3, there have been 23 positive tests on Mount Holyoke’s campus since the move-in process began in early January.

“We have and will continue to expand and contract campus access for residential groups, by floor, for example, as the result of testing and tracing data,” Alldis said. Those directly affected by a positive test or through contact tracing are notified, while the entire campus community is only told about changes in operative levels. “This protocol was followed in all recent incidents of modifying campus access among members of a residence hall,” Alldis said.

The College declined to comment more specifically on these “incidents” or other reports of floor closures.

9 A&E: ‘Bridgerton’ misses the mark

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EVENTS

February 4, 2021

Mount Holyoke News Mount Holyoke News is an independent student newspaper written by and for Mount Holyoke College students since 1917.

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Executive Board Editor-in-Chief Lily Reavis ’21 Managing Editor of Content Flannery Langton ’22 Managing Editor of Layout Rose Sheehan ’22

Publisher Liz Lewis ’22 Managing Editor of Web Zoe Farr ’21 Business Manager Sarah Nam ’23

Copy Chief Kelsey Thomas ’21

Editorial Board News

Casey Roepke ’21, Kate Turner ’21 & Liz Lewis ’22

Arts & Entertainment Mariam Keita ’24

Health & Science

Kessh Bhasiin ’22 & Zoe Greenberg ’23

Features Mimi Huckins ’21 & Tishya Khanna ’23

Sports

Opinion/Editorial

Gigi Picard ’22

Nina Larbi ’22

. Mount Holyoke News

Event Highlights Thursday, Feb. 4

3D Modeling Virtual Workshop

Learn the basic skills of building 3D objects with CAD modeling software. Then Fimbel Lab will print out your models with our 3D printers. Models created during this workshop can be used to create custom molds.

4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. EST Registration is required through Embark.

Virtual Community Application Kickoff

Virtual Cohorts are completely optional and open to any enrolled student, and have been developed to help students connect to one another and build relationships while living across the globe. To facilitate these communities we are offering a variety of ways to connect. We will have theme based virtual communities that align with our Living Learning Community options and allow students to connect based on a shared interest or identity. We will also have virtual communities based on where you live, so you can connect with students who are living in the same region or time zone.

Registration is required through Embark.

Environmental Meryl Phair ’21

Books

Sidney Boker ’21

Photos

Global

Ali Meizels ’23 & Rosemary Geib ’23

Sophie Soloway ’23

Layout Editors

Angie Romero ’24 & Zoe Tang ’24

Copy Editors

Hunar Anand ’21, Audrey Hogan ’21, Audrey Shannon ’22, Margaret Connor ’23, Zoe Latham ’23, Lauren Leese ’23 & Ella Jacob ’24

Web Editors

Audrey Hogan ’21, Shloka Gidwani ’22, Georgia Fish ’23 & Aarushi Sharma ’23

Publication Guidelines 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 weekly publication that will publish online-only throughout the fall semester 2020. To subscribe through email, please visit the following form: https://forms.gle/VPCyskE4kMTDeDan8.

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.

Saturday, Feb. 6 Campus Tours

Join some of Mount Holyoke’s finest tour guides for a guided experience of Mount Holyoke’s campus. If you’re new to living on campus this is your opportunity to learn where buildings are, understand the shortest routes, and get some insider knowledge about the campus grounds.

This event is limited to students who are approved to stay on campus.

11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. EST Space is limited and registration is required through Embark.

Blanchard Games

Come to Blanchard to play some video games! We will have 15 minute slots for you to play Mario Kart and Jackbox Games with other residential students.

This event is limited to students who are approved to stay on campus.

2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. EST Located in the Great Room of the Community Center.

Tuesday, Feb. 9

Tuesday Crafternoon: Collage Art

Want to vision board with Reader’s Digest? Make poetry with a cut up New Yorker? Or maybe create your own scenic imagery from a national geographic? Enjoy an hour of Zoom crafting with friends or come to meet some new folks.

4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. EST Registration is required through Embark.

February 4, 2021

NEWS

. Mount Holyoke News

College honors MLK with week of virtual events

BY SOLEIL DOERING ’24 STAFF WRITER

Mount Holyoke continued its second annual Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King Week of Racial Justice and Reconciliation with a series of events and virtual talks.

On Jan. 24, Mount Holyoke alumna Quanita Haley ’12 gave a sermon entitled “Let Justice Roll Down: A Christian Service in Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” On Monday, Jan. 25, Mount Holyoke Reference and Digital Projects Archivist Micha Broadnax facilitated a conversation between interim Dean of Faculty Dorothy Mosby and Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Kijua Sanders-McMurtry titled “Confronting Our Racial Past” through a discussion of the books “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents” by Isabel Wilkerson and “Stamped from the Beginning” by Ibram X. Kendi. The three speakers participated in a joint conversation about each book’s analysis of America’s historically racist structures and ideals.

They explored how the themes of these books can teach readers about race relations today.

Maryam Ware ’22, a student fellow at the Weissman Center for Leadership, introduced Thursday’s public lecture, “The Half Life of Freedom: Race and Justice in America Today” with Dr. Jelani Cobb. Cobb is a staff writer for The New Yorker and a speaker on race, history, politics and culture in America.

He also created the PBS documentary “Policing the Police.”

Cobb talked about Martin Luther King Jr.’s discussion of “white backlash” as a continuation of the historical prejudices against the Black person in his last book, “Where Do We Go from Here?”

“We see this backlash, and it has animated a great deal of what we have seen in the past five years,” Cobb said.

Cobb also spoke about his coverage of the 2015 church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina.

“One of the things that was notable to me at the time was the extent to which it echoed with the resounding terms of history,” he said. “[Considering that it] happen[ed] [on] the 150th anniversary year of the end of the Civil War and on the 100th anniversary of the release of the film ‘Birth of a Nation.’”

Ware thought Cobb’s lecture brought necessary insight to understanding U.S. history. “History is paramount to understanding the present,”

Carmen Yulín Cruz honored, cont’d u

Photo courtesy of the Mount Holyoke College Archives Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addresses Mount Holyoke students in Gettell Amphitheater on Oct. 20, 1963.

Ware said. “For example, the history of policing can correlate to the issues we are having with police brutality today.”

Sanders-McMurtry brought up the common issue of a lack of motivation or discouragement among students to continue in the work of racial healing when being consistently opposed.

“The people who last [in this work] have very realistic perspectives,” Cobb said. “It took us a very long time to get these problems, and it will take us a very long time to get out of them. So I think I’ve just tried to adopt the attitude of a marathon runner.”

Gaby Alverez ’24 said she could relate to this feeling of discouragement.

“Coming from an immigrant family into the Mount Holyoke environment, where I’m alongside peers who are in a higher social class, it’s easy to feel inferior,” she said. “But hearing what Cobb said about setting realistic goals gives me a different perspective.”

The event closed with the question: “What is wrong with the soul of America?”

Cobb responded by comparing American society to an “insecure person that can only talk about its good attributes, but not its areas that need improvement. And because we’ve accepted this idea of ourselves as exceptional, we have no room to actually grow.”

“As a nation, we need to grow and move forward, and the only way we can do that is to dissect the past, admit the wrongs and create new laws, new policies and a new culture where the wrongs are rewritten into spiritual righteousness,” Ware said.

On Friday, the program of events closed out with a commemoration of the radical activism of Coretta Scott King. Sanders-McMurtry began the event with a presentation on Coretta Scott King’s evolution as an activist in her own right. She said that King “countered the narrative of symbolism” surrounding her status as a widow and discussed King’s rejection of being seen solely as the widow to Martin Luther King Jr. The event focused on King’s work as an activist for not only racial justice but also immigrant rights, LGBTQ+ issues and food justice. Although King was often criticized by Black male leaders in the Christian community, she continued to fight for the civil liberties of all people.

To speak more on food justice, Mount Holyoke invited organizer, activist and researcher Fabiola Ortiz Valdez, a Ph.D. candidate in anthropology at Syracuse University. Valdez coordinates the advocacy efforts of the New York Immigration Coalition’s members and partner organizations around issues of deportation, workers’ rights and access to services.

Valdez discussed farmworkers’ lack of workers’ rights and the history of racist colonialism within the food industry.

“This industry is what it is because it was built on the backs of people of color,” she said.

“The civil rights movement changed not only America but the world,” Ware said. “And if we study the history of it, it may lead to solutions and new revelations on what we should all be doing moving forward.”

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know what you’re going to be capable of until you give it a try.”

Sticking to her principle of not wanting to “hoard” the platform stage, Cruz is excited to also learn from students and faculty.

“As long as I know that we will learn from one another, as long as I know that we will share with one another, as long as I know that there are some experiences uniquely that I have experienced, not because of me, but because of life, and keep myself really grounded, I am hopeful and quite sure that we will be able to develop a ripple effect,” Cruz said.

Cruz is excited to start down the path of academia after 12 years of holding a political office.

“I think the Weissman Center is where academia, ideas and action meet. I think Mount Holyoke College is where expectations meet motivations. It opens that world of academia,” Cruz said. “When you are in office, you are always putting out fires … and there is very little time to sit back and look at things from a different perspective and understand what you did right and what you did wrong and what you could’ve done better. [Academia] also opens up the possibility of seeing beyond, and looking at things never imagined, but now through the student body [and] the professors, my ideas will come into constant questioning.”

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NEWS

February 4, 2021

. Mount Holyoke News

Community Compact required for COVID-19 residential life

BY REHAT THUSSU ’23 STAFF WRITER

It has been 10 months since Mount Holyoke announced its campus shutdown. This spring, the College reopened its doors to nearly 700 students across 12 residence halls and one apartment building, which is reserved for Frances Perkins scholars.

Before arriving, students attended a mandatory Community Compact training session. The Community Compact is a set of guidelines and rules that the College has prepared in accordance with the COVID-19 safety guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to minimize the risk of the spread of COVID-19 on campus.

These rules include consenting to twice weekly testing, wearing masks in both indoor and outdoor public spaces and not housing guests, which are defined as anyone not living in a student’s residence hall. Each resident is required to adhere to the Community Compact to help maintain the safety of themselves and others on campus.

Rachel Alldis, the associate dean of students and director of Residential Life, explained that the College created the Community Compact through “a re-

Photos by Rehat Thussu ’23 Mount Holyoke College adapts to new regulations for campus life during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

view of recommendations from a variety of sources, including the CDC [and] various higher education organizations who offered guidance on bringing students back to campus.”

Alldis added that the College wanted to emphasize what health and safety measures to take in order to prevent possible exposure to the virus. She mentioned that many departments within

the College reviewed this plan before it was approved and shared with students.

“The Community Compact was created to provide guidance on how we can all live together in a way that protects one another and ourselves,” Alldis said.

“I hope that students will take this document to heart and know that it is coming from a place of health and safety. If everyone wears a mask, … maintains

physical distance and gets tested twice a week, we can quickly identify concerns and limit the spread of this virus within our campus. If we all agree to follow these guidelines, I feel confident we can get through this semester as a stronger community.”

Dining Services has also been working to ensure students receive their meals with limited risk of infection.

Alan Anderson, a dining manager, explained how Executive Director of Auxiliary Services Richard Perna has been working with his managers, the local board of health and other food service directors from the Five Colleges and across the country to create a plan to safely feed students.

“Initially, we were planning on having a good portion of the population come back this past fall semester, but at the last minute, we had to pump the breaks and only let necessary students stay,” Anderson explained. “This gave us more time to work out any potential bugs, learn from other colleges’ successes and failures and throw ideas around, which I believe helped with our success.” He also said that Dining Services has fewer staff members working this semester, but so far it seems like a “normal hectic fall semester opening.”

Letter to the Editor To whom it may concern, My name’s Mariam and I’m a firstyear low-income student who is on campus this semester. While speaking with some other low-income students on campus these past few weeks, I realized that many of us have been struggling to acquire adequate personal protective equipment (i.e. disposable face masks, rubber gloves, etc.) and cleaning products (i.e. paper towels, disinfectant spray, etc.).

Last week, students received an email from Residential Life stating, “Cleaning materials will be provided for you in all bathrooms starting tomorrow, January 26, 2021 or you can purchase your own. If you need assistance purchasing materials, please consider accessing the Safety Net Fund.”

While the Safety Net Fund does present one point of access for these materials, there are still some things to consider.

MHC has a limited amount

of Safety Net funding available each semester that could hypothetically go towards acquiring personal protective equipment. However, there are a couple of drawbacks that come with this.

First, many of the first-year, first-generation and low-income students I have spoken to are simply not aware that these funds are available to them, nor do they understand how to access them.

Secondly, students may hesitate to tap into this funding for things like per-

sonal protective equipment when they have more urgent needs to be met. One portion of the Safety Net Fund application form reads, “Funding is not guaranteed, and students may be awarded less than the full amount requested.

Each funding application is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The Safety Net funds are available on a first come, firstserved basis until the fund is depleted.”

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February 4, 2021

. Mount Holyoke News

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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‘Bridgerton’ review: Historical fallacies fall flat tors did not play Black characters, but simply played characters.

Unfortunately, just as I was making my way through the season and my respect for the show was growing, it all shattered in one scene.

In the fourth episode, Lady Danbury (Adjoa Andoh) explains how racial Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons relations in their soWilton House (above) was a primary filming location of “Bridgerton.” ciety came to be. She JENDAYI LEBEN-MARTIN ’24 reminds Simon (RegéCONTRIBUTING WRITER Jean Page) that the marriage between “Bridgerton,” a show released on Netflix on King George and Christmas, is a period drama and romance series that Queen Charlotte, who has become so popular it’s brought Regency-era jew- is Black, has given elry back into style. The show centers on the wealthy Black people the opBridgerton family and the people surrounding them portunity to integrate as they embark on a journey to find love in one of the seamlessly into somost affluent towns in Regency London. With Netflix ciety with no lasting being recently criticized for a lack of diversity in its negative effects or casts and its portrayal of characters of color (when biases. While I unthey are cast), many eyes were on “Bridgerton.” The derstand that “Bridshow comes close to breaking through the standard gerton” is a romance Netflix has set for the storylines of Black and queer and that the creators characters, but regrettably misses the mark. are more committed The drama features characters of all races living to the sex scenes than in historically inaccurate harmony in wealthy London. they are to historical For several episodes, “Bridgerton” doesn’t acknowl- accuracy, the blatant edge the question that seems obvious to me: How did disregard for race and this racial harmony come to be? the struggles underThe casting directors used a method called “blind gone by people of color casting” where they didn’t select actors based off of is hard to ignore. Put their race. While “Bridgerton” is not the first project plainly, Black people to use this method (ever have been literally risking their heard of a musical called lives for hundreds of years just “Hamilton”?), it is not as to be seen as equal to white peo“woke” a decision as many ple under the law, and in 2021, we might think. Aside from “For the writers of ‘Bridgerton’ to are still so far from that goal. For the pros and cons of blind say that all racism and racial biases the writers of “Bridgerton” to say casting itself, I thought that that all racism and racial biases end with the union of a white king the writers and producers end with the union of a white king (including Shonda Rhimes, and an incredibly light-skinned queen and an incredibly light-skinned who is also responsible for queen is a slap in the face to the is a slap in the face to the bitter TV sensations “Scandal” bitter reality of racism that has reality of racism that has been at the been at the forefront of many of and “Grey’s Anatomy”) chose to completely ignore forefront of many of our minds for our minds for the past year. the idea of race in the show Unfortunately, race is not the the past year. ” and simply have the characonly heavy theme “Bridgerton” ters interact with no menbrushes over. When Benedict, tion of their differences. one of the Bridgerton brothers, Though I can’t say I comattends a party with his friend pletely agree with this method or with blind casting in Henry Granville, who happens to be a successful artgeneral, I initially thought that this was a refreshing ist, he finds Henry in a room making out with an unway to produce a show. I appreciated that the Black ac- known man. I had been anticipating something like

Graphic by Mariam Keita ’24

this, as I sensed sexual tension between the two from the moment they met. However, the show does not go anywhere with this story. Benedict simply confronts Henry, who is married to a woman, and he responds with a short monologue that can be summed up along the lines of “love is love.” Of course, we can all agree that representation is important in shows and movies, but one of the troubles of trying to include different types of marginalized characters simply for the sake of including them is that the characters often fall flat.

This is exactly what happens with Henry Granville.

All in all, “Bridgerton” does a good job of creating a beautiful, whimsical world for viewers to escape into for eight episodes. However, shows shouldn’t haphazardly include Black or queer storylines that they are not prepared to flesh out. When writers, directors and producers add diversity to their casts and characters simply in order to say that they have done so rather than because they actually care about those stories, it shows. I regret to say that “Bridgerton” comes across as one of those projects.

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FEATURES

February 4, 2021

. Mount Holyoke News

From the Archives: Two quarantines, 103 years apart

BY MIMI HUCKINS ’21 FEATURES EDITOR

As COVID-19 has changed how we attend college in 2021, Spanish Influenza changed the lives of Mount Holyoke students in 1918. Students in 1918 may offer today’s students perspective, they suffered from similar struggles and at times, extreme sickness. The epidemic of 1918 was documented in the Mount Holyoke News and student’s freely shared their experiences and opinions about the epidemic.

CONCERNING THE PLAGUE.

Thus saith the august authorities of the state of Massachusetts: “There shall be a quarantine at Mount Holyoke College for lo these many days, and no one shall betake herself to Holyoke or to Springfield or to any of the centers of the dread disease. And upon a trolley car shall no one ride, but each one shall walk as though her life depended upon it, and in the warmth of the sun shall she remain all the day.”

And they said unto the Faculty, “Serve thou the food unto the sick; and about catching the influenza you should worry. For of what use is the older generation if it will not die for the younger?”

And they spoke again, and said: “Behold, go not into any store, neither mail your laundry at the village post office, but line the streets without the stores, and say unto the minions within, ‘Come out unto us and serve us.’ Do this faithfully, for it will make for health.”

And when the College heard this news there was great rejoicing. And Monday was set aside as a holiday wherein everyone should climb the mountain sides like the young ram. But if it rained this would not be so. Then said the students, “We will do no lessons for Monday. And if the heavens open and floods descend upon the earth who cares, we will all be in the same boat.”

Oct. 2, 1918

INFLUENZA IN THE MAIL My Dear Father:—

Please do not be alarmed at this strange writing; my roommate is writing for me. It’s not that I’m really very ill, but I can’t seem to lift my head from the pillow, and I’m just burning up with fever—my bones ache and ache!

Tell M. to be thankful she isn’t here—. Not that you could do anything—but just to pat me on the head and say good doggy!

Don’t be alarmed—I’m not Very sick—but I thought you ought to know. I’m going to the infirmary tomorrow! Good-bye, dear. Don’t worry!

Lots of germy love, HARRIET (per M. C.)

DEAREST DAD:—

I was so surprised to get your special deliver letters I’m not serious any more—and I never was— terribly. I’ve still got a fever—but it’s not nearly so high (it went ‘way up to almost 103° the first day). There are so many sufferers, it became necessary to move some of them in here—I suppose they think they can suffer with more abandon when en lump, so to speak. I leaned out of the window and watched Mr. B bring the wrecks in. Most of them wore their stockings all wrinkly, and their hair in wisps. He lugged all their bed clothes in baskets— red, grey, and pink woofies with tassels trailing. He never laughed once—only grinned like a cheshire cat all the time.

I tried to drink a bottle of grape juice yesterday, but it didn’t like me inside and wouldn’t stay.

Well, the nurses have come —out of Somewhere into Here, I guess; and they are always hopping in at interesting moments. One just came and took my temperature, smiled ghoulishly, and told me to stick my neck in! I stuck. She has a sort of Queen Victorian way about her.

Would fruit keep if you sent it all that way?

Very lovingly, HARRIET DEAR FATHERKIN:—

I am all better now; sat up today. Why the dickens can’t we have something to eat? How do they expect us to get strong if we don’t eat? I haven’t had enough to satisfy a canary in two days. I got one of the girls to get me some fruit uptown—but she couldn’t go in—Miss Woolley quarantined the stores.

Besides, they are making us have Mountain Day on Monday. One mean trick, I call it—a college holiday, and a quarter of the college too sick to see a mountain!

I think I am a martyr; the noise in this house is something awful. Between the patients and the nurses and the piano there is enough racket to wake the dead. I get so tired of hearing that somebody has a backache and somebody else a sore head or what not. I don’t believe they are one bit sicker than I am—just putting it on to get attention! Attention! I could do with less. I get my temperature taken every few minutes, and they do it out of spite.

I know, because they know I haven’t had a temperature for two days. You don’t need any doctor to tell you that I am well. I may not have any temperature, but wow, what a temper!

Your ferociously, HARRIET DEAR FUZZY:—

I am discharged, but not to go to work yet.

I haven’t got any pep at all. I hate to move. I hate to do everything but ear. Downstairs we have a table to ourselves and use paper napkins and hygienic soup and rot like that. I am yearning for a regular feed—oysters, bluefish, chicken a la Maryland, olives, salad, ice cream, and petti-fours. Yum, yum!

I am afraid I’m not Herbert Hoover’s little brother

after all.

I gamboled in the sunshine this afternoon.

Some gambol! It consisted in drooping my weary frame in a chair on the lawn of Brigham. College would be quite passable, if it weren’t for classes interrupting. My ambitions lie along other lines.

Very lovingly, HARRY. P.S.—Do send me some grapes.

Post Card.

DEAR DAD:—

Boo hoo, going to classes. It is fierce. Please don’t forget my allowance; I have used it all up eating.

Yours till quiz time, HAT. Oct. 9, 1918

IT DOESN’T REALLY MATTER.

How many of the things that we grumble about really matter? We bother about the weather, about the rush of work, and just at present about the quarantine. But the quarantine, beside being a necessity, may also be a blessing to us. Here we are in one of the most beautiful spots in the Connecticut Valley, surrounded by girl whom we know and love, and girls whom we would like to know.

We have all come to college with the purpose of making this year, which so many of our own age are giving to the war, mean even more to us than earnest preparation for our coming tasks.

Conservation, in the big and little things of life, have become more habitual to us. We feel the need of positive as well as negative service—work more directly and openly of immediate help. And yet some of us rebel at quarantine—chafe at the restraint which keeps us here! Have you ever stopped to think what it would mean to you if you couldn’t be here; or if our college had been turned into a Government training s[c]hool? And how does South Hadley compare with the big, dusty, treeless camps in which so many thousands of soldiers are quarantined now?

We want to give our best this year—our best thoughts to our studies, our best selves to our friends. Let’s begin by giving out “best” spirit— cheerfulness. Just think before you mumble out a complaint, perhaps one that will put an unhappy idea into someone else’s head. There are so many truly unpleasant things in the world that we need not add to the list. And just as truly, “The world is so full of a number of things I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings.”

The others don’t really matter.

Oct. 23, 1918

February 4, 2021

. Mount Holyoke News

FEATURES

7

Snow day: Storm closes campus, raises questions for remote format

BY LILY REAVIS ’21 & TRINITY KENDRICK ’21 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF & STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER, GRAPHIC ARTIST

On-campus residents woke up to 10 inches of new snow over the weekend, the first winter storm to pass over South Hadley since nearly 700 students moved back three weeks ago.

On Feb. 1, all community members were alerted that campus buildings would close early for the storm via email. In the early hours of Feb. 2, a second message came in, extending the closure into the morning. Facilities such as the Kendall Sports and Dance Complex and Williston Library were closed until 12 p.m., when the buildings reopened for normal COVID19-safe activities. The on-campus testing center, located in Carr Laboratory, was closed until 10 a.m., a three-hour delay during a period often booked by staff members (the hours between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. are reserved for students daily).

One thought-provoking occurrence during this snow day could be found in the official weather alerts sent out by the College. “Classes scheduled to begin prior to 10:00 a.m. will be remote,” it read. “Remote classes will take place as usual unless otherwise directed by the teaching faculty member.” It is difficult to predict what sort of influence this pandemic will have on the future of Mount Holyoke’s academic schedule, but it appears that the College’s administration may not be opposed to adapting virtual teaching formats for other uses — alas, like snow days — after COVID-19 is cured.

That being said, one crisis at a time is enough.

Campus correspondent, Staff Photographer and Graphics Artist Trinity Kendrick ’21 ventured into the snowy Tuesday morning to capture the snowfall on campus.

8

OPINION/EDITORIAL

Biden’s annulment of the Keystone XL pipeline is politically detrimental

Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons Protesters gathered in California to speak out against the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline between U.S. and Canada.

BY KAVERI PILLAI ’23 STAFF WRITER

On Jan. 21, history was made in the Oval Office when Biden signed 17 executive actions on his first day as president. Landmark decisions include rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement and repealing the Trump administration’s “Muslim ban,” setting an optimistic tone for supporters of Biden’s presidency. Moreover, after a turbulent four years for Indigenous rights and environmental activists, the nomination of Rep. Deb Haaland as secretary of the interior, making her the first Native American Cabinet member, and former Secretary of State John Kerry as the special climate envoy were seen to be major wins for these overlooked communities. These voices and protests were also recognized by the Biden administration when the Keystone XL pipeline project was finally blocked in one of the executive orders.

The Keystone XL pipeline was an oil pipeline used to help transport oil from Alberta, Canada, to Steele City, Nebraska. While the end of this oil pipeline project is a success in protecting Indigenous lands and encouraging renewable sources of energy, this monumental move made by the Biden administration will have severe political consequences that cannot be ignored.

U.S.-Canada relations are bound to sour with the aftermath of the Keystone XL pipeline shutdown, which will inevitably affect the Canadian oil market.

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February 4, 2021

. Mount Holyoke News

GameStock frenzy reveals financial illiteracy

BY NINA LARBI ’22 OP-ED EDITOR

2021 is shaping up to be an eventful year, but one unexpected development was the GameStop short squeeze. After finding out that gaming retailer GameStop had the most shorted — or bet against — stock on the market, a group of Reddit users organized themselves and individually bought GameStop stock en masse. They drove up the cost of stock, forcing hedge funds that had bet GameStop stock would decrease in value and had hence borrowed stock to sell at a low price. This practice is known as “short selling” — buying borrowed stock back at a much higher value than anticipated, which created the “squeeze.”

Some media outlets have painted the GameStock short squeeze as a populist uprising, “a David and Goliath story,” according to CNN, or a usurpation of power from the financial sector via a group of frenzied gamblers seeking to play a prank on those who have earned the right to make a profit from the stock market. But a lot of people, including myself, had questions: What is short selling? What do hedge funds do?

How were the Reddit users able to organize? Exchanges over social media explained short selling using bike metaphors, and news outlets backtracked, publishing articles with basic information on the stock market.

From the financiers’ outcry to the confusion of the average citizen, the GameStock saga has made it clear that financial literacy is a necessary skill that many Americans, including myself, lack.

The GameStop short squeeze was initiated by Keith Gill, a former financial educator for an insurance firm, who posted on Reddit in mid-2019 detailing his $53,000 investment in GameStop. Since GameStop was considered struggling for years, his choice was originally criticized.

Gill widely publicized and made content regarding his investment in GameStop. Others began to follow him in the r/WallStreetBets subreddit and were able to execute the short squeeze by buying up stock themselves. Trading was available to them via platforms like Robinhood that allow users to easily trade from their phones without paying an initial fee. Thus, the average day trader was able to play on the same level as hedge fund managers. The short squeeze they executed dealt a blow to hedge fund managers, who were already doing something dubiously legal, which is naked short selling, or short selling more stocks than GameStop had available, and made their bets fail miserably.

Now, hedge fund managers are crying out over social media and news segments that they were taken out by a bunch of nothing-to-lose-type gamblers who know nothing about the stock market and thus have no legitimacy to participate. On CNBC, CEO of Omega Advisors Leon Cooperman expressed that traders, who “don’t have any idea what they’re doing,” are inappropriately attacking the wealthy.

The job of a hedge fund manager is to gamble.

Neither a degree nor money can change that. Cooperman’s assertions reflect that he and others like him feel intruded upon, that participation in and knowledge of the financial sector is only privy to them and that the average investor has no business in “their”

territory.

Many are still anxious about the major financial decisions they will have to make regarding credit and debt, buying a house and even investing for retirement. Additionally, there is lingering resentment from the 2008 crisis toward the financial sector, so people avoid it. We understand that what happens on Wall Street affects our livelihoods and security because of how banks and investors sought to make money from mortgages in risky, predatory ways prior to the 2008 crash. But most of us lack the right education to make beneficial financial decisions and understand how we can be informed participants in the financial sector, which works to our disadvantage. Credit card companies will camp out on college campuses and bait freshmen with free T-shirts and pens; banks will give out high-interest subprime loans to Black and Latinx people disproportionately, and so forth. Clearly the financial sector is in the wrong in both situations, but because the government is unwilling to meaningfully regulate them, we must become more financially literate.

Financial illiteracy is an enduring problem worldwide. In 2006 the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that only 28 percent of respondents in Australia had a decent understanding of compound interest and that most British respondents acquired financial information by chance.

However, they also found that, on average, American workers increased their participation in 401(k) plans when their employers offered financial education programs. Education can come in many forms, including workplace seminars, brochures given out on college campuses and even a television drama. In Mongolia, a series made to increase financial literacy called “The Course to Become a Millionaire” fomented a 14 percent increase in financial options expansion.

The GameStop short squeeze, executed by a group of day traders, illustrates that average people can impact the stock market greatly and that, with the right financial education, it won’t always be the investors and banks taking advantage of people who don’t know any better. As parasitic as the financial sector is and as deferential as the government is toward it, financial literacy is essential for people to make more informed decisions and resist exploitation.

Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons Keith Gill, a former financial educator, initiated the GameStop short squeeze. Gill publicized his investment in the company on Reddit.

February 4, 2021

. Mount Holyoke News

OPINION/EDITORIAL

9

Letter to the Editor: MHC needs accessible protective gear, cont’d Finally, there will undoubtedly be a delay between the time it takes students to request Safety Net funding and the time it takes the funding to hit their hands.

Additionally, the most recent “Dean’s Corner” This translates to a longer amount of time during newsletter reiterated that. which students do not have adequate personal proFrom this, I understand that I would be able to tective equipment on campus. Any barrier toward the reapply for Safety Net funding later on. I also underdistribution of these materials stand that I am less likely to is not only an issue of access receive the amount that I need Any barrier toward the distribution but a risk to the entire camevery additional time that I pus community in the face of a ask. As a result, I am anxious of these materials is not only an isglobal pandemic. to request funding for my imHowever, there are a few sue of access but a risk to the enmediate needs (read: personpotential solutions to this probtire global community in the face al protective equipment), lest lem. Another MHC first-year of a global pandemic. something financially signifiwith whom I recently spoke cant come up later on in the sesuggested that disposable face mester. Other students might masks and/or other materials echo this sentiment. I currently know of students who be made available for pick-up at the Carr Lab during are planning to request funds for things like winter testing. This is an excellent idea, as it would be an efgear while still struggling to locate personal protec- fective and low-effort way to make sure these materitive equipment. als quickly make it into the hands of those who need

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them most. One institution here in Massachusetts provided a friend of mine with a set of 50 disposable face masks (which lasted her almost the entire semester) upon her arrival. They did the same for all students who were on campus in the fall. If MHC could replicate this model, even if only on a smaller, need-based scale, it would make campus safer for everyone.

We have brought a significant number of students back on campus during a pandemic. With that, we need to make sure that they have access to adequate resources to live and thrive here safely. If we are going to “open the gates,” then we must do it with caution.

Best, Mariam Keita ’24 Author’s Note: An earlier version of this letter appeared in the form of an email that was sent out to members of SGA, FLIP, Health Services and Mount Holyoke admins.

Without oil from Canada, US will turn to the Middle East, cont’d u

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The 1200-mile-long pipeline, connected to the preexisting Keystone pipeline, was going to create a direct route for the transport of U.S.-produced oil and Canadian oil. Currently, 550,000 barrels of oil per day are brought to the U.S. from Canada, which was anticipated to go up by 830,000 barrels of oil per day after the construction of the pipeline.

The Canadian National Energy Board approved the Keystone XL pipeline project in 2000, but the development process was blocked in 2015 under the Obama administration. The Environmental Protection Agency was said to have advised Obama on making this decision because the project would not create long-term jobs for either of the countries and would result in a toxic dependence on non-renewable sources of energy. Despite this information, former President Donald Trump overturned the project block within the first days of his presidency.

While the EPA’s warning regarding the unlawful extraction of natural resources still remains true, it is the political relationship between Canada and the U.S. that is under duress.

With over 300 miles of the pipeline being constructed and the goal of providing oil to an international market at low prices being threatened, it is Canada that is unfortunately facing harmful losses. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau echoed his disappointment with the U.S.’ decision on the pipeline, considering that this project was important for economic and energy security reasons.

Another political consequence that both countries will face is the loss of potential jobs.

The Canadian Indigenous groups in the province of Alberta were looking at the construction of the pipeline as a solution to poverty. According to Andy Black, who is the president and CEO of the Association of Oil

Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons Pipes (above) laid out for the construction of the Keystone pipeline. Further construction was halted in 2015 under the Obama administration.

After his inauguration, Biden officially prevented any further work on the pipeline via an executive order. This decision is not without consequence.

Pipelines, this bill is “killing 10,000 jobs and taking $2.2 billion in payroll” from the American workers.

The case of the Fort Belknap Indian community and the Rosebud Sioux tribe in the United States demanding sovereignty over their native land and natural resources, which fueled the shutdown of the pipeline project, champions Indigenous groups on an international level, and it cannot be undermined. However, the thousands of people who were looking at the pipeline as a source of temporary income during the pandemic could now be in devastating economic situations. The blurry line between livelihood and the protection of land comes into question in such a situation.

The developed oil sands in Alberta were supposed to be the answer to the Middle Eastern oil dependency problem. The quantity and availability of oil was expected to rise in the oil sands in Alberta that would

make it possible for the American oil demand chain to move away from the Middle East oil supply. With sanctions in Iran heating up U.S.-Middle East relations and the fear of over-extracting oil from a world producer that already produces one-third of the global oil supply, the Keystone XL pipeline was supposed to be an opportunity for the U.S. to branch out and find reserves closer to home.

Investment in renewable sources of energy will take time. Until then, the U.S. might have no other option than to depend completely on the diminishing Middle East oil tank.

2021 began with promises of protection and preservation, but the losses that the U.S. will face, either of American jobs or a valuable ally, will be destructive in the long run, and the duality of the Keystone XL pipeline issue cannot be ignored.

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GLOBAL

February 4, 2021

. Mount Holyoke News

International students reflect on decision to return to campus

BY ADITI PARASHAR ’22 STAFF WRITER

turn to campus for many international students, there were other logistiThe spring semester cal reasons why many desaw Mount Holyoke Colcided that living on camlege open up its campus pus was the right choice for almost 60 percent of for them. Saee Chitale its student population, ’22, a student from Ina move that prompted dia, had other reasons many students to make for returning to Mount the journey back to Holyoke. Chitale’s main South Hadley. Among motivation “was the fact this group were nuthat labs will be accessimerous international ble soon,” she said. students, who chose to “As a neuroscience return to campus for stamajor who hopes to do a Photo courtesy of Sohini Bhatia ’23 Photo courtesy of Saee Chitale ’22 bility in the online learnthesis next year, it is very Differences in time zones movitvated Bhatia to move back to campus.

Chitale’s room this year overlooks snow-surrounded Buckland Hall. ing environment, a closimportant for me to have er connection to campus the required exposure to and academic reasons, the practical aspect of among others. my discipline as well as The difference in face time with my protime zones when living fessors for me to be able at home helped influto make an informed deence some students, cision when it comes to such as Sohini Bhatia my thesis topic,” Chitale ’23. “Tanzania is eight explained. hours ahead of the U.S. For Nicole Lutalo ’24, The time zones were just a first-year student from not working out. My fall Uganda, the decision to classes were between 3 move to campus meant p.m. and 12 a.m. my local dealing with the contime. However, [if I had] cerns of parents. “In the Photo courtesy of Saee Chitale ’22 Photo courtesy of Sohini Bhatia ’23 any class later in EST, beginning, my mom was Chitale’s main motivation for returning to campus this semester was to Up to 60 percent of the student body was invited back to campus for I would have to stay up gain experience in the labs to prepare to write a thesis in the next year. the spring semester. A little over 700 students currently reside there. a little hesitant for me to later directly limiting the come back, but she came number of classes I could take and messing with the of “stability and … a level of independence [and] focus around eventually,” Lutalo said. “Once campus quarroutine and schedule I had to set up for myself,” Bha- that was severely missing back home,” Hareem Khan antine ends, I’m excited to be able to meet some people tia explained. at least and enjoy the gym and library, even with their ’22, a student from Pakistan, said.

Being in the same time zone has the added benefit While time zones were a prominent reason to re- restrictions.”

Indian Republic Day celebrations interrupted by protesting farmers

BY MADHAVI RAO ’24 STAFF WRITER

In New Delhi, India’s 72nd Republic Day celebrations were underway, but in another part of the city, a group of farmers protested laws passed by the Indian government in September. This latest protest on Jan. 26 follows two months of peaceful demonstrations against three agricultural bills which have been widely received as harmful. The protest began when farmers on tractors broke away from the established Republic Day parade route and were met with harsh responses from the Delhi police.

Since the Dilli Chalo (“Let’s go to Delhi”) march in late November, Indian farmers have camped outside the border of the capital city in protest against what have come to be known as the farmer’s bills. These reforms will essentially strip away regulations on farmers’ produce, making them vulnerable to the low com-

peting prices of the free market. The New York Times reported that these laws have been suspended until the government can conduct talks with the farmer unions that are calling for the abolition of these bills.

On Jan. 26, tens of thousands of the farmers who were camped outside of the Delhi border entered the city to take part in a planned Republic Day parade.

According to the Indian publication The Hindu, the farmers were to drive down a predetermined parade route in tractors, as was agreed upon by the joint front of all protesting unions, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha.

However, chaos ensued when some of the farmers deviated from these predetermined routes, though it is unclear whether or not this was intentional. Farmers on tractors who were not a part of the official parade broke down barricades at the city border and drove into Delhi as part of a demonstration, reported the BloombergQuint.

The protests reached a peak when some of the farmers managed to reach Red Fort in the older part of

the capital. The police responded strongly against the farmers’ dissent as the farmers were met with lathi, or batons, charges, water cannons and tear gas. The day’s events also led to a ban of internet and mobile services across the city. These violent interactions with the police resulted in the death of one protester, Navreet Singh, reported CNN. In response to Tuesday’s events, Assistant Professor of History Abhilash Medhi expressed his discomfort with the prevalent narrative. “The Delhi Police’s reaction to the parade and subsequent reactions within the media appear to fit rather nicely with what Ranajit Guha called ‘the prose of counter-insurgency,’” he explained. “In [this prose], the violence of protesters is used, first, as a ruse for retributive violence and, second, to delegitimize the protesters’ legitimate demands in the public eye. To me, that is the more interCONTINUED ON PAGE 11

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GLOBAL

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Japanese Language Tables connects with Doshisha University

Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons Doshisha University, once the site of a Mount Holyoke College exchange program, begins Language Table partnership with the College.

BY JOCELYN ZHOU ’23 STAFF WRITER

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mount Holyoke Japanese Language Table has adjusted to a virtual setting, which is different from their usual in-person format. Now, Mount Holyoke students are able to form new connections instead of just meeting with other

Mount Holyoke students.

The Associated Kyoto Program at Doshisha University is conducting the Japanese Language Table online to connect MHC students with the students at Doshisha University.

According to Mount Holyoke’s website, the Associated Kyoto Program at Doshisha University is the official study abroad program at Mount Holyoke College, which is sponsored by a consortium of American colleges and universities.

“This is different from the live table where only Mount Holyoke students take Japanese,” Emily Nishikimoto ’23 said. “While I enjoy the live [table], [it] was nice to get to know someone from Japan that was a native speaker to help me improve my Japanese.”

According to Tori Halsey ’23, another participant, the setting of the table is welcoming to new attendees.

Halsey said, “I was a little nervous because there were a lot of faces that I didn’t know, especially when we were all together before the smaller breakout rooms.

But once we split up, it was a lot of fun because everyone was eager to practice and talk to each other.”

The online table encourages students to speak in Japanese more by splitting students up into groups with some native English speakers and some native Japanese speakers. Attendees spend 30 minutes talking in both languages about a given topic. Nishikimoto said that these topics range from the weather,

current events, politics and hobbies to cross-cultural issues and pop culture. Halsey explained that she once attended a session in which everyone brought an object to show and talked about it.

Halsey appreciated the opportunity to talk with native speakers. “It’s usually easier to speak from behind a screen but I’ve never had the opportunity to practice my Japanese with someone from Japan before and it was very encouraging,” Halsey reflected.

The online table allowed second-language users to practice Japanese in conversations and engage students in a cross-cultural exchange.

“My speaking in Japanese isn’t very good, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to practice,” Halsey added. “One thing I learned was that native speakers are always really enthusiastic to listen to people who are learning their language, so that was encouraging too. I also wanted to be more involved in AKP,” Halsey added.

The online table has also prepared students who would take an exchange semester at Doshisha University in the future to make friends with Japanese students before their arrival. Nishikimoto is one of these students.

“I am planning on studying abroad through the program that organizes this conversation partner program, and it will be nice to have friends at the university when I arrive in Japan,” Nishikimoto shared.

Farmer protests surge after reform legislation is announced, cont’d u

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esting aspect of what played out [on Tuesday].”

The blanket farmers union Samyukt Kisan Morcha denounced the protests, stating, “We also condemn and regret the undesirable and unacceptable events that have taken place today and dissociate ourselves from those indulging in such acts,” reported Al-Jazeera.

Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons Demonstrators left the assigned Republic Day parade route to form their own protests against Indian farming reform efforts on Tuesday.

Prakruti Nikam ’22, an Indian student at Mount Holyoke, voiced her frustrations with the Indian media’s portrayal of the farmers’ protests. She said, “It’s very sad to see that the media in India have such polarized opinions since they have been forced to speak a certain way because of the government. They have repeatedly called the farmers’ protest[s] ‘violent’ and that is only to keep the Modi government happy.”

“The farmers just want to be heard and they are trying to make a living,” Nikam continued. “The Delhi police have a history of violence when it comes to curbing riots and protests,” Nikam concluded, referencing the similar treatment of protesters by the police during the demonstrations against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act in 2019.

On Saturday, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi said in a statement to a meeting of legislative assembly leaders that the government’s proposal to suspend the farmer’s laws still stood. He said that the problem would only be resolved through dialogue with the government. As reported by The Hindu, Modi, reiterating a statement made by Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, said, “We’ve not reached a consensus but we are giving you [farmers] the offer and you may go and deliberate.”

In response to Modi, Samyukt Kisan Morcha indicated that they are interested in holding talks with the government, but will stand by their demand that the bills be withdrawn, according to The Times of India.

“I do expect a change in the way this government negotiates with farmers going forward. I would be surprised to see any overtures before the budget,” Medhi explained, speaking of the central government’s poten-

tial decision to provide the country’s farmers with financial grants. “The government might see the budget as a convenient time to make some concessions. Quite how concrete any of those concessions are remains to be seen. Knowing this government and its history with budgets, the overwhelming desire would probably be to hide behind promises and big numbers.”

Photo courtesy of Ted Eytan After the protests, a ban on internet and mobile services was enacted.

12

ENVIRONMENTAL

February 4, 2021

. Mount Holyoke News

Climate change will shift tropical rain belt, impacting agriculture

children under 5 years old suffer from chronic malnutrition. Asia is likely to experience the effects of the moving rain belt faster than the rest of the world because of compounding glacier melting in the Himalayas and loss of snow cover in northern areas brought on by climate change. The tropical rain belt is what is known to drive Indian monsoons and the southern peninsula in India is likely to witness impacts in the form of frequent severe flooding. Parts of southern India are already witnessing extreme flooding and numerous episodes of extreme rainfall events. In the Western Hemisphere, there will be increased drought stress in Central Asia.

Additional changes are already occurring with the rain belt shift. The tropics are found to be increasing in size by at least 30 miles per decade. The boundary of the tropics is marked by the Tropic of Cancer to the north and the Tropic of Capricorn to the south. The lines are at about 23 degrees north and south, determined by where the sun lies directly overhead on the solstices. A little over a decade ago, scientists noticed Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com the dry belt appeared to be enlarging. The dry edges Earth’s tropical rain belt produces humid and precipitous ecosystems around the world, amassing a major contribution to the global food supply. of the tropics are expanding as subtropics push north and south. This resulted in drier weather in places like will be complete between 2075 and 2100. The weaken- the Mediterranean and the development of a smaller

BY HELEN GLOEGE ’23 STAFF WRITER ing of the Gulf Stream current and deep-water for- equatorial region with heavy rains that are contracting known as the “tropic mation in the North Atlantic will squeeze.” The boundary Climate change will cause an uneven shift in the likely cause a southward shift in The shift in the belt will have between decreased precipEarth’s tropical rain belt, an area that covers almost the tropical rain belt in the Westcascading effects on food produc- itation and increased pretwo-thirds of the world, stated a recent study pub- ern Hemisphere over the Pacific has been pushed and Atlantic oceans. In the Eastlished in scientific journal Nature Climate Change. tion and water availability around cipitation farther north.

This causThe tropical rain belt, also known as the Intertrop- ern Hemisphere over Africa and the world. The shift in the Eastern es countries as far north ical Convergence Zone, contains equatorial areas con- the Indian Ocean, the rain belt will Hemisphere will likely result in as Germany and Britain sidered the warmest in the world. The belt is a meet- shift north. become drier while alThe shift in the belt will have ing point for trade winds from the planet’s Northern vdrought stress over Madagascar to ready dry Mediterranean cascading effects on food producand Southern hemispheres, which bring in humidity and intensified flooding over south- countries are seeing the and precipitation. The rain belt oscillates annually tion and water availability around changes. It is likely that ern India. from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemi- the world. The shift in the Eastern the changes in the sea surHemisphere will likely result in sphere tropics in movement with the sun. face temperature are causThe study entitled “Zonally contrasting shifts of drought stress over Madagascar ing half of the shift. the tropical rain belt in response to climate change” and intensified flooding over southern India.

Similar changes are occurring in the Sahara DesThe country of Madagascar is already seeing the used projections from 27 state-of-the-art climate models. The study shows climate change will cause the position of the rain belt to move in opposite directions in two longitudinal sectors. Based on the model, the shift

impacts of a continuous drought. In December 2020, the country only had one day of rain. Madagascar has the tenth highest rate of stunting, as almost half of

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Bering Sea environmental protections restored under Biden’s order

BY CATELYN FITZGERALD ’23 STAFF WRITER

The Biden administration recently delivered a major victory for environmental protection by reinstating the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area.

The protected area off the coast of Alaska was originally designated in a 2016 executive order issued by the Obama administration. The designation was then revoked in the early weeks of Trump’s presidency. The NBSCRA was restored as part of Biden’s first executive order, the Executive Order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis.

The 2016 order called NBSCRA a “home to numerous subsistence communities, rich [I]Indigenous cul-

tures, and unique marine ecosystems, each of which plays an important role in maintaining regional resilience.” The melting of sea ice due to climate change has left the region vulnerable to an increasing amount of commercial activity. Several regions of Alaska’s Outer Continental Shelf were withdrawn from future oil and gas leasing due to the order. The order also authorized the formation of a task force which would be made up of representatives from multiple government departments and agencies along with a Bering Sea Intergovernmental Tribal Advisory Council.

Authorization of additional research on and limitation of commercial activity in the NBSCRA makes up the second half of the executive order. This includes limitations on vessel traffic as well as provisions to take more severe action, such as the designation of

zero-discharge zones to protect aquatic ecosystems.

Specific shipping routes would also be designated under the order to limit ocean pollution and avoid sensitive areas. Existing protections of the NBSCRA region were reinforced by the order, such as a ban on trawling, a type of fishing that causes damage to ocean floor life.

The executive order also emphasizes the value of tribal knowledge in environmental protection efforts, stating that “These communities possess a unique understanding of the Arctic ecosystem, and their traditional knowledge should serve as an important resource to inform Federal [decision-making].” Input CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

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Executive order emphasizes importance of Indigenous land and culture preservation by restoring protection to the Bering Sea, cont’d u

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

from Alaskan tribal governments will be channeled through the Bering Sea Intergovernmental Tribal Advisory Council, which will consist of 9 to 11 representatives from Alaska tribes “with a breadth of interests in the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area.”

The inclusion of an advisory council as well as the support for Indigenous knowledge in the executive order has been applauded by many tribal leaders and organizations. A press statement released by multiple consortiums representing over 70 tribes in the Bering Strait and Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta regions celebrated the reinstatement of the order and issued an additional call to action. The release asked Congress to create “complementing legislation to provide permanent protections for the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area, so that our home waters are not used as a political football from administration to administration.” Their concern about the long-term fate of the NBSCRA reveals the impermanence of actions accomplished through executive orders, dozens of which have created and undone environmental protections across administrations. An issue as long-lasting as climate change requires consistent and permanent solutions, which, as the press release points out, is often best achieved through congressional legislation.

The restoration of the NBSCRA is just one of a number of actions being taken by the Biden administration to protect areas made vulnerable by climate change. With encouragement, the actions taken in this region could set a precedent for the inclusion of Indigenous groups in creating future environmental legislation.

Photos courtesy of WikiMedia Commons and Pixnio The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (top) and Bering Strait regions are home to Indigenous tribes and diverse ecosystems across the Pacific Ocean.

Weekly Climate News Feb. 4, 2021

New Zealand climate advisers are encour- Due to long-standing environmental injusaging steep cuts in carbon emissions to tices, Chicago’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout align with the 1.5 C global warming limit. plan put polluted communities last, which left poorer communities of color among the last to Exxon Mobil, one of the world’s largest in- receive the vaccine. ternational oil and gas companies, invested $3 billion in carbon capture.

U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order that strongly encourages the federal govGeneral Motors announced a phase out of ernment to exclusively purchase zero-emispetroleum-powered cars and trucks, prom- sion vehicles. ising to sell only zero-emission vehicles by 2035. The company has also set goals for A U.S. research institution that studies the imcarbon neutrality by 2040.

pact of climate change in the Arctic has announced that it will be significantly enhancing efforts to connect the science it funds with the communities that live in the region.

Greenland’s glacier retreat is accelerating as a result of warming seas in response to climate change.

Human pollution has been found deep in the world’s oceans.

14

ENVIRONMENTAL

February 4, 2021

. Mount Holyoke News

Arctic warming directly linked to East Coast snowstorms, scientists uncertain if colder winters are ahead

Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons Ten inches of snow fell on campus on Feb. 1. Research suggests that larger winter storms such as this may continue as climate change progresses.

BY DNYANESHWARI HAWARE ’23 STAFF WRITER

An increase in harsh winters around the world may seem contradictory to the phenomenon of global warming. Yet recent research has found that global warming could be causing increased snowfall, lower temperatures and even the polar vortex.

NASA records show that the 10 warmest years have occurred since 1997, and the National Atmospheric and Oceanographic Administration reports that recent decades have been the warmest since around 1000 A.D. In 2006, higher temperatures caused Ohio’s Lake Erie to not freeze for the first time in history and led to increased snowfall due to greater evaporation from the lake.

Racism in the built environment: The modern implications of redlining

BY ABBY WESTER ’22 STAFF WRITER

Throughout the U.S., the old practice of redlining in cities has been shown to have negative environmental effects on the majority-Black neighborhoods once marked off on maps. With global temperatures on the rise, the effects of this practice are becoming more and more noticeable.

According to NPR, “redlining” is a term used to describe the discriminatory practice of the government “rating” neighborhoods to help banks and mortgage lenders determine which neighborhoods were considered “risky.” “Risky” neighborhoods, so identified by the federal Home Owners’ Loan Corporation, were shaded red on maps. These neighborhoods were labeled “risky” largely because of their Black and immigrant residents. These segregated neighborhoods did not receive equal resources, as investments were often diverted away from them because of their ethnic makeup. Redlining began in 1934 and aided in the cre-

ation of American segregation in the housing market.

While redlining is not technically in practice today, it created a cycle of disinvestment that still has residual effects — even on the environment. A study conducted by the scientific journal Climate on 108 urban areas in the U.S. found that in 94 percent of these urban areas, the formerly redlined neighborhoods had higher land surface temperatures relative to the non-redlined neighborhoods. These hotter temperatures are due to fewer tree-lined streets and greened areas and more cement areas.

Because of this history of redlining, neighborhoods that today house mostly those belonging to racial minority groups will bear the brunt of rising global temperatures. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2004 to 2018, an average of 702 heat-related deaths occur each year.

With hotter temperatures in formerly redlined neighborhoods, these communities are at greater risk because of their zip codes.

In the past week, snowstorm warnings on the East Coast have been linked to the Arctic’s increased warming. As the area is heating faster than any other on Earth, research suggests that the warmer temperatures are “weakening the jet stream, which encircles the pole and holds in the frigid air,” according to The New York Times.

The polar vortex is a large area of low pressure and cold air surrounding both of Earth’s poles. The term “vortex” refers to the counterclockwise flow of air that helps keep the colder air near the poles. The occurrence of the “sudden stratospheric warmings” directly affects the polar vortex which causes the arctic air to spread downward through the atmosphere, cooling areas more intensely. This phenomenon is also behind the unusual amount of snow received by Madrid this winter, which has been the city’s highest recorded snowfall in the last five decades.

While some research predicts that winters will become shorter and milder, other reports state harsher winters with more intense snowstorms, illustrating the extreme and disruptive nature of climate change.

Research regarding this topic is ongoing, and connections between the transition of climate and environmental phenomena like the polar vortex are being studied more closely.

Shift in tropical rain belt expected due to climate change, cont’d u

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

ert which already covers 3.6 million square miles, an area almost as large as the U.S. The desert’s borders are defined by rainfall. It is estimated that the desert has grown 10 percent bigger since 1920.

Across most of the Sahara, the change is only tens of miles. In other countries, the change is more pronounced and dramatic. Libya went from lacking desert in 1920 to being mostly desert in 2013 with the line advancing 500 miles. Lake Chad on the southern edge of the Sahara shrank from 9,600 square miles in the 1970s to less than 770 square miles in the 1990s in part due to reduced rainfall in the region. About two-thirds of the change might be due to natural climate cycles from the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation that help determine rainfall. Yet, the remaining one-third is likely due to climate change, as the northern edges of the desert appear to be moving because of the poleward movement of the tropics.

February 4, 2021

. Mount Holyoke News

HEALTH & SCIENCE

15

Understanding antibodies: Researchers investigate COVID-19 cure

BY NANCY JIANG ’23 STAFF WRITER

Several reports on how COVID-19 affects the immune system have emerged since the beginning of 2020, exploring topics ranging from the molecular mechanism of how the virus binds to our cells to the additional effects on those who have other medical concerns.

To understand how SARS-CoV-2 affects the immune system, we must closely examine the structure of its spike protein. Once the virus invades the body, spike proteins enter host cells. The protein does so by binding to a cell surface receptor called angiotensin-converting enzyme 2. The ACE2 and receptor-binding domains on proteins can be imagined as specific puzzle or Lego pieces shaped to fit each other.

ACE2 can bind with S1, a subunit of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which induces its conformational change. The structure or shape of the “S1 puzzle piece” changes, leading to the transition of another subunit, S2. After the two changes in structure, the puzzle is complete, and the protein can successfully enter the cell. This oversimplified explanation shows how antibodies can prevent COVID-19 infection. Antibodies, or other “puzzles,” come into the system and take over the place that ACE2 means to occupy. Our immune system detects the virus and produces antibodies to prevent infection. This reaction explains why some infected COVID-19 patients are asymptomatic but can still transmit the virus: The antibodies produced by their

immune systems win, but the virus is still present in their bodies.

A common misconception about immunity against COVID-19 is that those who recover from the virus have corresponding antibodies in their systems that can sufficiently combat possible future infections. A study funded by the National Institutes of Health tested whether antibodies could neutralize SARS-CoV-2 to the point at which further infection was prevented.

Conducted by Dr. Davide Robbiani and Dr. Michel Nussenzweig at the Rockefeller University, the research studied blood samples from 149 volunteers who had recovered from COVID-19. Results revealed that only 1 percent of the samples had a high enough concentration of antibodies in their systems to neutralize the virus. Moreover, the antibodies will eventually disappear at a rate that is different for each individual. Therefore, it is important for those who have had COVID-19 to get vaccinated too. If they have received treatments involving monoclonal antibodies or convalescent plasma, they should wait 90 days and consult their doctors before the vaccination.

Since nationwide inoculation began in mid-December, the United States has administered more than 32 million doses of vaccines at a rate of approximately 1.3 million doses a day. That means 8 percent of the total U.S. population has received at least one dose of the vaccine.

College students are ranked second on the vaccination priority list after health care personnel, frontline workers, educational sector workers and elders.

Photo courtesy of Roche Research on COVID-19 antibodies is crucial for vaccine development.

This means a Mount Holyoke student who wishes to receive their first dose will need to wait until April.

International students currently located outside of the U.S. will need to consider their vaccine options, as vaccine types approved in their own countries may not be authorized in the U.S. Currently, the Food and Drug Administration has only approved two mRNA vaccines: the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine, both of which require two doses for sufficient concentration of antibodies to stimulate immune responses. According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, different vaccines are not interchangeable, and neither the safety nor the efficiency of the combination of different vaccines has been evaluated.

Biden administration acknowledges climate crisis in executive orders

BY ANOUSHKA KUSWAHA ’24 STAFF WRITER

President Joe Biden took action this week to fulfill one of his campaign promises when he signed multiple executive orders on Jan. 27. His executive orders focused on three main themes: job creation, environmental justice and taking a whole-of-government approach to the climate crisis. In his remarks prior to the signing, Biden stated that climate change should be seen as “an essential element of U.S. foreign policy and national security.”

The vision laid out by the executive orders signed on Wednesday has significant implications for the Biden-Harris administration’s direction on trade, foreign relations and defense strategy. Executive actions ranged from pausing new federal oil leases effective immediately to using the government’s purchasing powers to electrify all government vehicles. These executive orders promise to be beneficial to the cause of environmental justice and to the economy.

The legislation’s emphasis on the economy, which the pandemic has severely weakened, served as a plug for the administration’s “Build Back Better” jobs and economic recovery plan. It was also an attempt to counteract the long-standing Republican criticism that Biden’s climate policies will lead to further job loss and damage to the economy.

Nonetheless, both prominent Republicans and Democrats were unconvinced by the administration’s

attempts to make the words “climate justice” and “job increase” synonymous.

Legislation with such a broad scope will be tough to put in place; indeed, many of the actions proposed in the new executive orders may take up to two years to be realized and are vulnerable to removal from another administration without the support of Congress.

However, despite the challenges ahead, the Biden administration has unlikely support from corporations such as General Motors, Honda, BMW, Volkswagen and Volvo — all of whom have pledged to work with the administration toward a car market dominated by electric vehicles.

The executive orders face skepticism not only from Congress but from leading economists. David Popp, an economist at Syracuse University, finds it “hard to believe” that Wednesday’s executive actions — such as auto emissions regulations and government procurement of electric vehicles — will lead to, as Biden claims, 1 million new auto manufacturing jobs. Popp, along with other economists, is cautiously optimistic about a job increase in the environmental sector, citing several economic studies concluding that the implementation of policies combating climate change has led to a decrease of jobs in polluting sectors, but is in conjunction with an increase in jobs in sustainability, clean energy and environmental justice sectors.

Some economists also hesitantly praised the administration’s plans to actively find employment for fossil fuel workers displaced due to climate change policy.

Despite the rocky road ahead, environmentalists,

such as Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, were jubilant to hear that the new administration is taking swift action against climate change, especially after years of former President Donald Trump’s denial of the climate crisis and dismantling climate policy.

“The conditions are at last in place for a real solution,” Whitehouse said.

The Biden administration also formally announced that it would hold a climate summit on Earth Day, April 22, 2021. John Kerry, the special presidential envoy for climate, said that the U.S. hopes to announce a more specific set of targets for lowering its carbon dioxide emissions under the Paris Agreement by that date. Biden rejoined the treaty on his first day in office, reversing Trump’s withdrawal in 2017.

The U.S. has struggled to meet its commitments under the Paris Agreement, having previously promised to slash emissions up to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. Energy analysts in the U.S. predict that the Biden administration can realistically pledge to cut emissions between 40 and 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. European countries and environmental activists have urged the government to aspire to more ambitious goals, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent.

With these lofty goals ahead and numerous challenges present, the Biden administration appears to have clarified its stance on the climate crisis. What the future holds for climate policy in the U.S. and the world remains to be seen.

16

COMMUNITY

February 4, 2021

. Mount Holyoke News

Let’s get cookin’ with these Mount Holyoke brownies

BY FLANNERY LANGTON ’22 MANAGING EDITOR OF CONTENT

Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons

After a blizzard in the Northeast, who wouldn’t want to sit down with some warm brownies and unwind after a long week of online classes?

Try out this recipe for Mount Holyoke brownies from Patricia Seymour’s book “The Seymour Family Cookbook.” Gooey and chocolate-y, these brownies are the ultimate dessert for the early spring semester.

Living at home and missing campus? Try baking them with some friends over Zoom. On campus and unable to use the kitchen? Try convincing a pal to livestream the cooking process.

Either way, the power of baked goods will bring the College community closer this winter.

Ingredients:

Instructions:

•

1 cup butter

1. Cream butter.

•

2 cups brown sugar

2. Add brown sugar and eggs to butter.

Beat together.

•

4 eggs beaten

•

1 cup flour

•

1 pinch salt

•

4 squares melted chocolate

•

1 cup chopped walnuts

3. Add flour and salt to the mixture.

4. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

5. Spread in a well-greased or floured 9x13 pan.

6. Bake at 325 F for 35 minutes.

COVID-19 Counter New Positive Cases

Total Tests Conducted

Past 7 Days

2

1,333

Jan. 25-31

6

1,910

Jan. 18-24

8

1,946

Jan. 11-17

5

1,021

Jan. 4–10

3

616

Aug. 12–Jan. 3

9

12,011

Updated Feb. 3, 2021