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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2021
South Hadley school district prepares for reopening BY KATIE GOSS ’23 STAFF WRITER
In late January, the South Hadley School Committee approved a phased-in learning process set to begin on Feb. 22. On this date, high needs students, or middle and high school students whose parents are essential workers or need critical child care, will start to return to school for four days a week. These students will attend Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, with Wednesday being a remote learning day to clean and sanitize the school buildings. According to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, all general student populations at both Plains and Mosier elementary schools will start a hybrid model of learning beginning March 15. On March 1, Plain Middle School kindergarten and first-grade students will return using this hybrid model. A major reason for getting students back into the school building is that many parents have noted their children are struggling with remote learning. On a school committee meeting held on Feb. 17, students and parents spoke out about wanting to return to in-person learning and sports. Parents spoke out about their children’s grades and mental health declining because of remote learning, and although they noted the severity of the pandemic, they maintained that their children need to return to in-person learning. “The reality is that this is not working for a lot of our kids. … We are receiving letters from families every day that are literally at a breaking point, and we have to listen to those as well,” Christine Phillips, a school committee member, said, according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette. In the same school committee meeting, the members voted to approve in-person sports for the fall season. Despite this, both teachers and staff have voiced their concerns about returning to in-person classes, even in a hybrid model. The heating, ventilation and air conditioning requirements are not properly up to the guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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However, they are expected to meet regulations in every building by March 1. Students, teachers and staff have been told they will be placed in buildings that meet these CDC regulations. Still, some would rather wait until all the HVAC work is done before starting a hybrid model. Larisa Millman posted on a Mount Holyoke Facebook group page to spread a message from her friend, a teacher at a local South Hadley school, who wanted to reach out to Mount Holyoke students about this. “Teachers are in phase 2 of MA’s [Massachusetts] vaccine plan, which means we could do this much more safe[l] y if we waited for like a month [to return to in-person learning],” the post stated. Another issue that teachers and staff have posed is that the recent decrease in the COVID-19 infection rate correlated with Mount Holyoke students returning to campus. Because students on campus must be tested twice a week and follow strict social distancing and mask guidelines, their infection rates have been incorporated into the district as a whole and have decreased the overall percentage. This leaves the district with falsely optimistic data. Millman’s Facebook post said, “Recently, our rate sunk to 2.85 [percent], which seems promising. However, this drop directly followed the return of Mount Holyoke students to campus. South Hadley is a very small town, so Mohos make a significant difference in our demographics.” According to Charles Miles, a school committee member, there has been a decrease in the district’s overall positivity rate since Feb. 9, leaving the rate at 1.46 percent. However, when they excluded Mount Holyoke students, that positivity rate rose to 4.64 percent. This altered rate excluding Mount Holyoke students still showed a decreased rate when compared to previous weeks in the district. Another issue discussed in the meeting was the number of cases recorded from students and staff who are remote
6 FEATURES: Remembering Jean Grossholtz
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Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons General student populations at South Hadley schools will start a hybrid learning model beginning March 15.
UMass students self-sequester after campus COVID-19 outbreak BY CASEY ROEPKE ’21 NEWS EDITOR
After a rise in community and student COVID-19 cases, with 393 active positive cases as of Feb. 18, the University of Massachusetts Amherst has declared a “high risk” operational level, implementing the most restrictive measures outlined in the university’s virus safety protocols. At the Feb. 8 Amherst Town Council meeting, representatives of the administration announced that the university would implement measures to control the spread of COVID-19, including transitioning to entirely online classes, canceling athletic practices and competitions and instituting a self-isolation order for the student body. In a presentation given at the meeting, UMass officials wrote that “all students, on campus or off, [are] required to self-sequester.” Furthermore, the Daily Collegian reported that 354 students are currently facing sanctions for violating the university’s Code of Student Conduct by breaking quarantine regulations, guest policies and social distancing rules, among other acts. According to videos obtained by the Daily Collegian, the Theta Chi fraternity
8 A&E: Artist profile: Kay Brown ’24
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house hosted two parties with masses of students without face masks or social distancing in the week before the outbreak in COVID-19 cases at UMass Amherst. Theta Chi has since been placed on interim suspension by the university. An investigation by the Daily Collegian revealed delays in university contact tracing and students refusing to follow safety protocols, both of which may have led to the outbreak. As a result of the rise in positive cases, two-thirds of UMass resident assistants and peer mentors published an open letter on behalf of the Resident Assistant and Peer Mentor Union communicating a “vote of no confidence” in UMass Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy. They attached a list of demands for the university to follow to restore trust in the community. The list includes increased sanctions for COVID-19 guideline violations, the hiring of more contact tracers and quarantine staff and continued employment and compensation for student workers, staff and faculty. “No one should have to choose CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
12 ENVIRONMENTAL: Upcycled bricks
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EVENTS
February 18, 2021
. Mount Holyoke News
Mount Holyoke News Mount Holyoke News is an independent student newspaper written by and for Mount Holyoke College students since 1917. VISIT US: www.mountholyokenews.com www.facebook.com/themhnews www.twitter.com/mtholyokenews_
EMAIL US: mhnews@mtholyoke.edu
Executive Board
Event Highlights Thursday, Feb. 18 Virtual Open Mic
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
This event is open to all current students. We want to hear your songs, your poems, your stories. If you can do it in front of a mic, you’re welcome to sign up. 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. EST Registration is required through Embark.
Workshop: Event Planning and Group Bonding
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
Environmental Meryl Phair ’21
Books
Sidney Boker ’21
Photos
Global
Ali Meizels ’23 & Rosemary Geib ’23
Layout Editors
Sophie Soloway ’23 & Amelia Luo ’23
Angie Romero ’24 & Zoe Tang ’24
Copy Editors
Hunar Anand ’21, Audrey Hogan ’21, Audrey Shannon ’22, Margaret Connor ’23, Lauren Leese ’23 Emma Watkins ’23, Raina Brown ’24 & 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 spring semester 2021. 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.
This workshop is designed to help you plan events for your organization, learn to schedule meetings with group members around the world, and arrange activities to bond with your group. 9:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. EST Registration is required through Embark.
Saturday, Feb. 20
Paula Gudmundson, ArtVocate and Flutist
Paula Gudmundson’s work focuses on collaboration, community engagement and bringing voice to the absent narratives in the arts including creating recordings, editions, commissions and collaborations which push our field beyond the concert stage. 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. EST Registration is required through Embark.
Sunday, Feb. 21
Communal Cooking with the Russian Department & Russian Club
Join the Russian & Eurasian department and Russian Club to make khachapuri, a delicious Georgian cheesy bread. Please email Nora Cyra (cyra22n) or Dominique Rampton (drampton) for the recipe and required ingredients. 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. EST Registration is required through Embark.
Tuesday, Feb. 23 Sleep Matters
This group is designed to teach strategies for improving sleep and combating insomnia. Facilitated by Devon Kelting, PsyD from the MHC Counseling Service. 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. EST Registration is required through Embark.
February 18, 2021
NEWS
. Mount Holyoke News
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Senate votes to acquit Trump in impeachment trial BY SOLEIL DOERING ’24 STAFF WRITER
Former President Donald Trump faced the Senate trial as a part of his second impeachment charges on Tuesday, Feb. 9. Trump, the first U.S. president to be impeached twice, was accused of inciting the attempted insurrection on Jan. 6 and was subsequently impeached by the House of Representatives on Jan. 13. In January, Trump’s defense team and Senate Republicans attempted to dismiss the trial, claiming that it would be unconstitutional to impeach a president that has left office. But the Senate voted 56-44 in favor of proceeding with the impeachment trials. Professor of History Daniel Czitrom commented on the question of the constitutionality of these trials. “I guarantee you that the vast majority of attorneys, including conservative lawyers and legal experts … say there is nothing unconstitutional about impeaching somebody who is no longer in office. It’s been done in the past,” he said. Kate Murray ’22, student organizer and co-founder of MHC Votes!, spoke about the value of this impeachment trial. “I think it’s extremely important to set this precedent by impeaching Trump for the second time,” Murray said. “There was an insurrection on our Capitol, an incitement of political violence, which I believe Donald Trump is personally responsible for. He should be held accountable for that.” Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, lead impeachment manager and former constitutional law professor, began his opening presentation with video footage from the Jan. 6 events in the Capitol with clips of the riot gathering outside, along with moments from Trump’s speech from that
day. Raskin set the tone for the afternoon, recounting what he and his colleagues in Congress faced as the pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol. “All around me, people were calling their wives and their husbands, their loved ones, to say goodbye,” Raskin said. “They thought they were going to die.” “The video that the managers screened at the start was pretty damning in establishing causality between Trump’s claims of election fraud leading up to and after the vote and his incitement of violence and the attack on the Capitol,” Assistant Professor of Politics Ali Aslam said. In his speech, Trump’s defense attorney, Bruce Castor defended the former president’s right to free speech and urged the Senate to stop the impeachment proceedings, claiming that if Trump had committed a crime, the Department of Justice would handle it. The New York Times reported on officials’ reactions to the defense’s opening arguments. “The president’s lawyer just rambled on,” Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said. Alan M. Dershowitz, who served on Trump’s defense team at his first impeachment, was critical of Castor’s performance, saying, “I have no idea what he’s doing.” The nine House impeachment managers presented their case on Wednesday and Thursday. They began with never-before-seen footage of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol that showed how close top officials, including former Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, had come to facing the mob. In one clip, Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman directed Senator Mitt Romney of Utah to run down a hallway to safety mere seconds before insurrectionists broke through the windows. On Friday, day five of the impeach-
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as well as in person. As of right now, those numbers are being displayed together. At the Feb. 17 meeting, a parent asked if the numbers could be split up so everyone knows how many cases are physically at the school and how many are from remote students and staff. Besides the standard guidelines — everyone in the building wearing masks, social distancing and sanitizing between classes and before and after school — other guidelines have been set in place. If a school nurse cannot attend school and
a substitute nurse cannot be found, then that day will be a remote learning day. Another precaution teachers are taking is “self-testing” themselves every day when coming into school. They will record if they have any symptoms or feel unwell in order to help with contact tracing if needed in the future. Students, however, are not self-testing and have signed a form to ensure that if they wake up feeling ill, whether their symptoms are COVID-19 related or not, that they will stay home and alert the school. The South Hadley school district is set to reopen Monday, Feb. 22, with these precautions in mind.
ment proceedings, Trump’s defense lawyers argued that House managers were being hypocritical by claiming the semantics of Trump’s speech led to the insurrection. They honed in on Trump’s use of the phrase “Fight like hell,” showing a montage of Democratic politicians using the word “fight” in their own speeches. One of the defense lawyers, Michael T. van der Veen, said, “Spare us the hypocrisy and false indignation. It’s a term that’s used over and over and over again by politicians on both sides of the aisle. And, of course, the Democrat House managers know that the word ‘fight’ has been used figuratively in political speech forever.” In the defense’s closing argument, Castor took issue with House Democrats’ use of the word “insurrection” in their impeachment charge of “incitement of insurrection” because the term implies a hostile takeover of a country. “These are lawyers’ word games as far as I’m concerned. They are using the most technical obscure claims to ignore what actually happened,” Czitrom said. “Even if you want to argue that it was not an insurrection in some legal sense or that Trump did not incite a riot — what did he do once the riot started? He did nothing.” Democratic House managers made a surprise request for witnesses on Saturday morning, the final day of the impeachment trials. Raskin announced that they wanted to subpoena Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler about her knowledge of the McCarthy-Trump phone call. The Senate initially voted 55-45 to call witnesses, but House managers ultimately decided against it because of the unpredictability of the endeavor and the fact that it could stall other Senate proceedings. That afternoon, the Senate voted to acquit Trump in his second impeachment trial. The vote came out 57 guilty to 43 not
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guilty, with seven Republican Senators joining the Democrats. “I think it’s worth noting that this was the most bipartisan impeachment in history, both in terms of the indictment in the House and the verdict in the Senate,” Czitrom said. “Nonetheless, it underlines the deep political division in the country and the deep divisions within the Republican Party.” Trump’s second acquittal raises important questions about the future of the Republican Party as an entity now even more closely tied to Trump. “Establishment Republicans made a nihilistic pact with Trump by sacrificing their principles for court appointments and regulatory rollbacks,” Aslam said. “They went along with his anti-immigrationist and white nationalist agenda. That is who they are now, and it will be hard for other candidates to move the party away from that because the record does not support it.” After the vote to acquit Trump was finalized, former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell gave a speech in which he condemned the former president’s actions surrounding the Capitol riot as “a disgraceful dereliction of duty.” He added, “Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day.” Despite his claims, McConnell voted to acquit Trump. Czitrom attempted to explain the contradictory behavior of McConnell and other Republican senators. “Republicans in large part could not vote for impeachment in the House or to convict in the Senate because that would have meant impeaching and convicting themselves,” Czitrom explained. “Ultimately, I think they all understood that they enabled and benefited from Donald Trump.”
Correction
An article in the Feb. 11 edition of the Mount Holyoke News titled “Online controversy raises allegations of racism against the CDC” contained misleading information regarding the online representation of the company Matcha Alternatives. Although a source described the company’s viewpoint of matcha as “disgusting,” this term was never used by the company or their spokesperson. The folo headline, which previously appeared
as “Exploitation in internships illuminated, cont’d,” was also misleading and has been removed from all Mount Holyoke News platforms. Other information in the article remains the subject of debate from leading sources, although contextual information has also been added to the article. The revised version of the article is available to read at www.MountHolyokeNews. com.
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NEWS
February 18, 2021
Kathleen Hicks ’91 sworn in as deputy defense secretary in Biden Cabinet
Photo courtesy of Mount Holyoke College Office of Communications Kathleen Hicks ’91 began a substantive career in politics after graduating from Mount Holyoke.
BY LIZ LEWIS ’22 & REHAT THUSSU ’23 PUBLISHER, NEWS EDITOR & STAFF WRITER
Dr. Kathleen Hicks ’91 recently solidified her place among Mount Holyoke alumni to be appointed to a leadership position in the federal government. On Feb. 9, 2021, Hicks was sworn in as the 35th deputy secretary of defense. She is the first woman to serve in this position. The main duties of this position include executing the defense secretary’s priorities and leading the Department of Defense’s day-to-day business, such as managing the defense budget. Hicks graduated magna cum laude and with Phi Beta Kappa honors from the College in 1991. After her time at Mount Holyoke, Hicks went on to earn a Master of Public Administration from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a Ph.D. in political science from MIT. Hicks has had a decades-long career within the Department of Defense, with her journey through the ranks beginning in 1993. In 2012, she was confirmed by the Senate as principal deputy under secretary for policy for the Obama administration. When President Joe Biden nominated Hicks as deputy secretary of defense alongside Colin Kahl as under secretary of defense, he released a statement advocating for their confirmation. “Dr. Kath Hicks and Dr. Colin Kahl have the broad experience and crisis-tested judgment necessary to help tackle the litany of challenges we face today, and all those we may confront tomorrow,” Biden said.
Much like other alumni success stories, the College shared this announcement with the rest of the Mount Holyoke community via social media. The announcement has received mixed reactions from the community. While some students and alumni are ready to celebrate Hicks’ appointment, others raised concerns about the Mount Holyoke community with uncritical support. Nabeeha Noor ’20 expressed how she felt about this announcement. “My concern is that MHC and the people celebrating Hicks’ appointment are far too excited about representation for representation’s sake and aren’t thinking about how her actions — and the actions of the administration she’s a part of — affect the world as a whole,” Noor said. “There are Mount Holyoke students from countries that have been and will be affected by Biden’s previous and current policies, and we need to think about that if we’re going to celebrate being a global community — and market ourselves as such.” Elena Frogameni ’22, events coordinator for the Mount Holyoke College Democrats, also commented on the nuances of how she is approaching Hicks’ achievement. “Personally, it means a lot to see diverse identities and perspectives in government roles,” Frogameni said. “I think we can be incredibly happy to see that happen while at the same time not assuming that any sort of barrier has been permanently broken. I don’t think we can see one woman assume a new role and believe everything has changed, but those steps are an important piece and deserve to be celebrated.” According to The New York Times, the Biden administration transition team has assembled a Cabinet more diverse than any in American history. To accompany the announcement of his staff picks, Biden released a statement in which he expressed a commitment to building an administration that “looks like America.” Frogameni, like Noor, expressed a wariness that too much emphasis on representative politics may lead to complacency. “I appreciate the Biden administration’s interest in diversity and representation in Cabinet appointments, but more important to me are the policies those appointees are pursuing,” Frogameni said. “I want to see them do good and ethical work.” Still, many students, like Lasyapriya Rao ’23, view this primarily as a promising development. “I think it’s really cool that MHC alums are doing so well for
themselves and are holding leadership positions at the national level,” Rao said. “I think representation is very important in politics, and it helps inspire others to dream of being in and work toward being in important political positions where they can make [a] change. I can also understand why there have been mixed reactions to her appointment from MHC students, but I hope that those who reacted negatively will be pleasantly surprised when she — I hope — makes [a] positive change.” Shanthini Ragoonaden ’24 also expressed excitement about Hicks’ appointment. “I find it very encouraging to see an alum achieving such a great position. Kathleen Hicks is not … only a representation of our school but also a dynamic leader in the female world,” Ragoonaden said. “I believe that her career is and will always be a milestone among the network of alumni.” To Frogameni, pride in Mount Holyoke has less to do with simply seeing alumni in high profile positions and more to do with the tangible work those alumni are doing. “Having alums reach incredible heights in their careers is amazing, and I think having alums be leaders in their fields is a huge benefit for current MHC students who can potentially use these connections as they themselves embark on their own careers,” Frogameni said. “One of the wonderful things about Mount Holyoke is that we have graduates that are doing all sorts of amazing things and making tangible differences in people’s lives — be that as an elementary school teacher or an accountant or a parent or a high-ranking government official.”
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. Mount Holyoke News
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between paying rent or risking COVID[-19] infection,” representatives of the Resident Assistant and Peer Mentor Union said in their letter. “UMass must make critical investments to stop both the current and future spread of COVID[-19] and ensure the economic well-being of our entire community.” This growth in COVID-19 cases positions UMass Amherst as the most infected campus in the Five College area. Both Amherst College and Mount Holyoke College remain operating at a “heightened awareness” level, the second degree in each college’s operating plans. Smith College, which began its spring semester this week after an extended January break, remains in “Initial Operating Mode,” which requires all on-campus students to quarantine for 14 days.
Graphic courtesy of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst Represents daily COVID-19 cases at UMass
COVID-19 Counter New Positive Cases Past 7 Days Feb. 1-7 Jan 25-31 Jan 18-24 Jan. 11 - 17 Aug. 12–Jan. 10
Total Tests Conducted 1 3 5 8 5 12
Updated Feb. 17, 2021
1,727 1,916 1,919 1,946 1,021 12,011
February 18, 2021
. Mount Holyoke News
OPINION/EDITORIAL
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Mount Holyoke’s new restricted dining plan lacks transparency BY ELIZABETH SPY ’23 STAFF WRITER
When winter break ended this year, many students were excited to come back to campus for the first time since it closed last spring. The campus had reopened, though students had to agree to some restrictions for the sake of the community’s health, such as staying within a 10-mile radius of campus, biweekly COVID-19 testing, mask wearing, social distancing and certain dining hall restrictions. MHC announced most of these restrictions early and clarified them in messages sent to students and families. But one thing that was never advertised were the changes to the meal plan. Although in previous years students enjoyed unlimited meal swipes, this semester, the meal plan for full-time residential students has changed to 25 swipes a week. This change came in under the radar for most students — I was not even aware of it until a dining worker mentioned it when I accidentally swiped twice — and school administrators seem to want to keep it that way. When I went to the College website, I was shocked to see a totally new dining plan page that contains no note that there was ever an unlimited plan or that this meal plan is in any way different from usual. After asking around, I found that nobody I talked to knew anything about the change either. I understand that the school is hurting for money, and 25 meals a week is, in theory, enough — but the
problem is not really the number of swipes — the issue is the lack of communication. While Mount Holyoke has routinely sent students emails about the other changes this semester, communication regarding the changes to the meal plan have been noticeably absent. And yet, this is one of the most significant changes because of how it affects daily student life. I cannot see how administrators could possibly think a change like this was not worth communicating to students. Fionna Kennedy ’23 spoke to this, saying, “The lack of transparency … is unsettling and frankly seems like an intentional decision made by the College in an attempt to squeeze more money from students. When institutions have the best intentions in mind, they don’t go about changes under the table.” As Mount Holyoke tries to attract students and desperately needed revenue back to campus, duplicitous and unexpected moves like this do not help administrators convince wary students that campus is where they want to be. Besides the fact that the school’s lack of communication violates students’ and parents’ trust, students for whom food restrictions may be particularly worrisome are especially vulnerable. Amanda Windsor ’22, president of MHC’s First-Generation and Low-Income Partnership, said, “This change … presents a concern for first-gen [and] low-income students and the future structure of the meal plan.”
Graphic by Trinity Kendrick ’21
Unlike the restricted dining hours, which will end when deemed safe, there have been no announcements about whether the meal plan change is permanent. Additionally, the reduction of meal swipes during a pandemic is questionable. According to The Washington Post, the World Food Program “expects to need to serve 138 million people this year — more than ever in its 60-year history.” To say that now is a bad time to start limiting access to food is an understatement, and brings the school’s commitment to equity and inclusion into question. Mount Holyoke claims that it values collaboration and discussion with students and the community, but changing the meal plan without a price reduction or an open discussion directly contradicts these values.
‘Opening the Gates’ proves a successful college campus safety plan BY JAHNAVI PRADEEP ’23 STAFF WRITER
As the spring semester came around this January, colleges across the U.S. opened their campuses to students. These institutions each laid out their own plans to combat the Coronavirus pandemic’s spread and usher in their students safely. However, many colleges have seen uncontrollable case numbers in just the first few weeks, reflecting their inadequate COVID-19 measures. In light of this, Mount Holyoke’s gradual reopening policies and COVID-19 measures have proven to be comparatively far more successful. Mount Holyoke invited about 60 percent of its population back to campus on Jan. 16, Jan. 17 and Jan. 18 for the spring semester. All on-campus students follow the Community Compact: They get tested twice a week, live in singles with allocated bathroom facilities and eat takeaway food from the Dining Commons. Most campus buildings are closed, with a few designated spots, such as the Williston Library and Blanchard Hall, being partially opened for use since Feb. 1, 2021. The College’s gradual opening of campus has specifically contributed to the lower numbers of positive cases. All students were required to observe a campus quarantine for 14 days, until Feb. 1, 2021. During this period, they were not permitted to leave campus, even to go to the adjoining Village Commons. The campus has moved to its second operating level — Modified Normal COVID-19 Operations with Heightened Awareness — during which students are still mostly restricted to staying on campus and the Village Commons and are only permitted to step out
via weekly campus shuttles to CVS, Big Y, Trader Joe’s and Walmart for essentials. Given that students have come to campus from all over the world, regulating their movement in the first couple of weeks has proven essential to containing the pandemic. So far, Mount Holyoke has had 34 cases since August. This contrasts with the numbers and measures observed by a college such as the University of Massachusetts Amherst. As of Feb. 17, UMass Amherst’ COVID-19 dashboard stands at a staggering 1,657 cumulative positive cases since August, with 402 active cases at this time. UMass Amherst has a much larger student population. There are about 13,000 UMass Amherst students in total, both on and off campus, who are in the area for the spring semester. However, having more students back is not an excuse for more significant case numbers, and instead reflects a greater need for more stringent campus rules and guidelines regarding the pandemic. This is something that UMass Amherst has not adhered to — their COVID-19 plan has not been anywhere near as comprehensive as MHC’s. While Mount Holyoke has barred off-campus students from entering the Dining Commons or campus buildings and from attending in-person campus activities and classes, UMass Amherst has no such rule. Its roughly 8,000 off-campus students have meals in the dining halls, attend classes and spend time in UMass Amherst dorms and buildings. This increases contact between individuals and chances of spreading the virus. Once they have invited students back, it is a college’s responsibility to ensure that rules are put in place, that students follow them and that students are educated on the importance of social distancing.
Thanks to this, Mount Holyoke is now moving to more relaxed rules, unlike UMass Amherst, which is regressing into a state of chaos. It was only two weeks in, with cases passing 400, that UMass Amherst declared the campus to be “high risk” and suddenly imposed restrictions far more stringent than Mount Holyoke’s pre-Feb. 1 policies. Most students, except those with dogs, were not even allowed to go for walks outside. According to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, in a letter to campus sent Feb. 7, UMass Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy wrote, “By acting aggressively now, we are confident we can contain this surge and more quickly return to normal operations, including a resumption of in-person classes and organized student activities.” While the situation calls for immediate and strong action, this delayed response demonstrates the need to have a set plan from the start, like the one followed by Mount Holyoke. Suddenly imposing rules once numbers have skyrocketed only does so much — planning needs to happen from the beginning. UMass Amherst and Mount Holyoke are a couple examples of this process to reopen college campuses. Other institutions in the U.S., mainly larger state colleges, have seen surges in numbers — UNC-Chapel Hill and Auburn University are such examples. In contrast, smaller liberal arts colleges such as Mount Holyoke, Smith College and Amherst College have seen fewer numbers and implemented stricter policies. Perhaps the larger colleges have something to learn from these smaller ones and should try to replicate some of their rules and strategies as soon as possible before their situations deteriorate further.
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FEATURES
February 18, 2021
. Mount Holyoke News
Reflecting on the life of feminist scholar Jean Grossholtz ..
she wished to see on campus for the betterment of Mount Holyoke. In 1977, she critiqued the Mount Holyoke education, Content warning: The folsaying, “It seems to me that lowing article contains menone thing you can say about tions of sexual assault, battery the curriculum on this campus and rape. is that it’s systematically patriarchal. It’s white boys’ curIn 1971, Professor Emerriculum taught to white boys’ itus of Politics and Women wives.” Studies Thelma “Jean” GrossThrough her establishholtz, with the help of Smith ment of the women’s studies College’s Professor Emerita of program, Grossholtwz began Government Susan Bourque, the process of changing Mount taught the first ever women’s Holyoke’s approach to edustudies course in the Five Colcation to include women in a lege Consortium. The class more holistic manner. “[Womwas initially taught at Smith en’s studies] always existed in College and focused on sex my early years [at Mount Holyand violence, hoping to broadoke] on just the barest of shoeen students’ perspectives to a strings. And I mean, that was a new curriculum that specifilabor of love from [Grossholtz] cally focused on women. to get that up and running,” In October 1977, GrossProfessor of History Lynda holtz told the Mount Holyoke Morgan explained, detailing News, “I have always tried to Photo courtesy of Sonali Gulati ’96 the effort Grossholtz put in to make feminism an issue, to Grossholtz was known for her activism. On multiple occasions, she was arrested at nonviolent protests, including in Chicopee in 1990. keep the program afloat, even raise questions about students’ assumptions. I have to use brute force against stu- in Europe. Grossholtz recalled the experience, saying, in 1988, when Morgan joined the Mount Holyoke facdents who don’t want to hear it. I think students don’t “Sleeping on the asphalt, under the floodlights, in mud ulty. Over the years, the women’s studies program think it’s legitimate in the classroom.” Even so, Gross- puddles, with other women … there’s just nothing like would evolve, eventually morphing in the 2005-2006 holtz was determined to forge a new area of study for it!” Despite being a pacifist, Grossholtz found herself academic year to become the gender studies departMount Holyoke students to consider, becoming one of the founders of the women’s studies program, the arrested for nonviolent civil disobedience on numer- ment. Despite her foundational role in the creation of precursor to the College’s present-day gender studies ous occasions. According to Professor of History Dan- the program, Grossholtz was always open to new ideas iel Czitrom, he and Grossholtz had been arrested at on the direction the program would take. department. According to Professor of History Mary Renda, On Feb. 9, 2021, Grossholtz died at the age of 91. the Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, MassaBut the impact her life had on Mount Holyoke and its chusetts, on Dec. 1, 1990, while protesting U.S. involve- Grossholtz’s encouragement had a profound effect community continues on. To commemorate Gross- ment in Iraq and the impending first Gulf War. While on her first years at Mount Holyoke. “I remember one holtz, we at the Mount Holyoke News have collected only spending one night in jail, both Czitrom and point in the history of women’s studies … Jean saying, Grossholtz had their arrests published in the paper, very clearly, ‘We have to listen to the next generation. the stories of her life. After receiving her Ph.D. in philosophy at the Mas- agreeing to go to court and use their trial as a forum to We have to let them lead,’” Renda said. “Jean valued what other people brought to the tasachusetts Institute of Technology, Grossholtz began try the war. In the end, their case was dismissed and ble,” Renda continued. “She supported us and cheered teaching at Boston University in 1961. Her time there, the district attorney declined prosecution. Czitrom described Grossholtz as “a one-of-a-kind us on. She wanted women’s studies to be a powerthough, was short-lived, and the next year she began teaching at Mount Holyoke, where she would remain force of nature who always stood on principle and re- ful presence, for all of us and for the world. She saw the difference it could make, the difference we could as a professor of politics until she retired in 1999 after mained a committed activist her entire life.” Grossholtz’s activist spirit influenced the way she make.” 37 years. Grossholtz lived by her teachings, demonstrating Those who knew Grossholtz at Mount Holyoke taught at Mount Holyoke, as she took every opporturemembered her as an activist who advocated for nity to broaden the perspectives of her students. “My her views in her everyday life. In 1994, at the age of 65, students — who loved her classes — told me that she Grossholtz entered the Gay Games in New York City, change wherever she could. According to an article published by the Mount often began a class by drawing the image of a baby on winning a silver medal in bodybuilding. She entered Holyoke News in 1995, Grossholtz taught anti-racism the blackboard and asking the class to tell her about this competition to combat body shaming, a subject and anti-homophobia workshops in the Pioneer Val- the child’s future. They were always stymied and al- that she lectured about at Mount Holyoke. “I couldn’t believe that because I never really ley in an attempt to teach her community about social ways asked for the sex or gender of the child. And, of issues. Additionally, Grossholtz worked with the vio- course, that was just her point: … to expose our hidden thought of Jean as athletic,” Morgan said. “And all of a lence against women movement to create resources biases, assumptions [and] expectations,” Professor sudden, Jean has become a bodybuilder. But she did it for victims of sexual assault and battery, establishing Emeritus of Religion Jane Crosthwaite, who worked to combat body shaming and stuff like that. … So even crisis hotlines and shelters on local, state and national with Grossholtz, said. “Jean had this startling abili- that was part of her activism.” Above all else, Grossholtz wanted to support the ty to be clear, to make us all think and rethink what levels. A 1983 article published by the Mount Holyoke we thought we knew — students, faculty and friends students at Mount Holyoke, whether that be to achieve their goals or to accept themselves. Barbara Smith ’69, News recalled Grossholtz as having taken part in the alike.” Grossholtz’s advocacy wasn’t just contained to her Seneca Women’s Peace Encampment in Romulus, New York, where she protested the distribution of missiles revolutionary teaching style. She also had changes CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 u BY ZOE FARR ’21 MANAGING EDITOR OF WEB
February 18, 2021
FEATURES
. Mount Holyoke News
7
RACE AND...Dance celebrates African diasporic dance BY ANSLEY KEANE ’23 STAFF WRITER
On Friday, Feb. 12, Five College Dance and Mount Holyoke College’s Division of Student Life hosted the final session of RACE AND...Dance, a six-session series that began in October 2020 and was designed to teach Five College students about a variety of forms of African diasporic dance and culture. RACE AND... Dance was curated by Five College Joint Lecturer of African Diasporic Dance Shakia Barron. According to the Five College Dance webpage, “RACE AND...Dance allows students, regardless of their dance experience or training, a creative mode by which to learn about and appreciate these diverse cultures, whose contributions to contemporary dance are often underexplored.” The RACE AND...Dance series was co-sponsored by Five College Dance; the dance departments of Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Hampshire College, Amherst College and UMass Amherst; Mount Holyoke’s Division of Student Life; Mount Holyoke’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; and Mount Holyoke’s cultural centers. The
sixth session was also part of Mount Holyoke’s Black ing these workshops, Denson befriended Five College History Month series. Dance Director Alex Ripp. “The vision [for RACE AND...Dance] was to look at Denson told Ripp about the success of Barron’s ways to incorporate different workshops, and they looked to styles of dance, particularly see how they could collaborate related to Black identity; in“The vision [for RACE AND... with Barron and the Five Coltersecting both Black art and lege and Mount Holyoke dance Dance] was to look at ways to dance together,” Associate departments to offer similar incorporate different styles of dance, opportunities in the academDean of Students for Community and Inclusion Latrina particularly related to Black identiic year. Despite the challenges Denson explained. Denson of teaching dance online, the ty; intersecting both Black art and also noted that the event’s tionline format of RACE AND... dance together.” tle emphasized the intersecDance created some new possitionality of the program. bilities. In sharing how RACE “We would not have been - Latrina Denson AND...Dance came to fruiable to afford the caliber of tion, Denson explained that artists that we provided. The during the summer of 2020, Barron provided a couple people we got were from all over the country,” Denof small workshops for students of African and Carib- son said. From African folkloric dance to jazz to East bean descent who had previously been in her classes. Coast hip-hop, RACE AND...Dance represented a diDenson noted that these workshops served as a healing and learning space for students after the murder CONTINUED ON PAGE 15 u of George Floyd. At the same time Barron was hold-
Grossholtz, founder of women’s studies department, dies at 91, cont’d on her life, Gulati described her as “my speed dial person, my rock, my anchor who pulled me through some of the darkest times of my life.” a renowned activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, According to Renda, Grossholtz’s support and found support in Grossholtz in 1977. dedication to the people in her life was felt by everyAccording to Morgan, a group of African Amer- one around her, as she actively worked to better the ican women activists approached Grossholtz about lives of everyone she knew. “Jean cared so much about their desire to convene and discuss a new intersec- us and about other people. … She thought a lot about tional approach to politics, specifically pushing at the how to make things go well for people,” Renda said boundaries of gender and race. Grossholtz offered the about Grossholtz. “When she saw that somebody was group her house for a retreat in order to discuss their in trouble, that they didn’t have the resources they ideas and plans, allowing them the space to gather and needed, when things were going awry in some way, communicate. The group would eventually become she was always thinking about how to support people.” the Combahee River Collective, In the quieter moments a socialist Black feminist orgaof Grossholtz’s eventful nization that gained importance “When she saw that somebody was life, she enjoyed watching and traction in the 1970s and the annual Miss America in trouble, that they didn’t have the 1980s. Beauty Pageant and insisted resources they needed, when things upon teaching her classes at Her support for her students extended past activism and into Mount Holyoke on Fridays were going awry in some way, she their personal lives. In 1970, in order to see which of her was always thinking about how to Grossholtz came out as a lesbistudents were truly commitsupport people.” an to the Mount Holyoke comted to the coursework. When munity. Despite facing challengasked about her life after es from her colleagues at the retiring from teaching, she - Mary Renda time, Grossholtz felt her coming mused about the world of out was important to any clospossibilities open to her. eted members of the student body at Mount Holyoke. In a 1995 interview with the Mount Holyoke News, She said in 1994, “[Coming out has] been important to she told the paper she planned to spend her retirement me, and I think it’s been important to the students for in an RV with her dog in order to “travel around and me to be out.” see all the women I know in the country.” She went on Sonali Gulati ’96, a former student of Grossholtz, to mention her plans to become a stand-up comedian reaffirmed that sentiment, saying, “Jean made it okay and write murder mystery novels. for me to accept myself as an out, proud lesbian.” While not every student who knew Grossholtz Grossholtz’s support of Gulati transcended gradu- shared a bond with her for the rest of their life like Guation, as she set up a room for Gulati at her home after lati, she still impacted those she taught in a way that Gulati’s mother passed away, took Gulati to her driv- was fundamental to their development. Sue Dodell ’76 er’s license test and went to the hospital the day Gu- took an introduction to politics course with Grossholtz lati’s son was born over 15 years after her graduation. during her first year at Mount Holyoke and doesn’t reWhen thinking about the impact Grossholtz had call the specifics of the class — yet she was inspired
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and continued to take courses in the department, ultimately becoming a politics major and going to law school after graduation. She credits her interest in politics and subsequent 40-year-long career as a lawyer in New York City government to Grossholtz’s class. After hearing the news of her passing, Mount Holyoke alumni have taken to sharing their stories about Grossholtz on various social media platforms. Smith tweeted on Feb. 16, “I was so sad to hear that Prof. Jean Grossholtz died last week. Jean was extraordinary as a teacher, an intellectual, an activist & a friend. We held the first Combahee River retreat in 1977 at her home in S. Hadley, which she & her housemates vacated for the weekend.” As stated in her obituary, she left behind generations of fueled activists who are following her unfinished dream of smashing the patriarchy, dismantling racism, defeating capitalism, fighting for equality and caring for the environment. The legacy of Grossholtz lives on through the Mount Holyoke community and her surviving family. Grossholtz brought her love of activism and education to all aspects of her life, encouraging growth in her students, in her community and in her friends. “I think she had an abiding belief that no matter where anybody came from, or what difficulties they might be facing, she had complete confidence in their ability to face whatever it was that they had to face and their ability to overcome it. And she was always there, very supportive,” Morgan described. A virtual memorial service for Grossholtz will be held on March 7, 2021, at 10 a.m. Scan the QR code below to RSVP, share a memory or send a tribute.
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
February 18, 2021
. Mount Holyoke News
Artist Profile: Kay Brown ’24 embraces ‘Disturbance’ in art BY MARIAM KEITA ’24 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
From a young age, Kay Brown ’24 has had an affinity for the arts. As a Black woman, she often did not see herself represented in the fields she was interested in. Using her Southern roots and a passion for racial justice dialogue as her inspiration, Brown launched the e-magazine “Disturbance” in August 2020. The Mount Holyoke News recently met with Brown to ask her some questions about the last six months of publication and what the future might hold for “Disturbance.”
KB: I went to Florianópolis, Brazil, in the state of Santa Catarina, which is a really white space. Not a lot of Afro Brazilians. I was there for almost a full year. I came back to South Carolina in March of 2020, because of the pandemic, and I’ve been here ever since. When I was in Brazil, we had internships, [and] everyone was matched up with a host family. I lived in a community called Barra da Lagoa, which is a historical fishing community. I worked in engineering [and] sustainable environmental things because that was really the path I thought I was going to go on in high school. I worked in the water quality analysis lab at the Federal University of Santa Catarina. I think I got there in August, I started working in September and I think by November, I realized that I didn’t really want to be in a lab all day. It’s something I still care about — environmentalism and sustainability. But I feel like I can explore it and I’ll be more passionate about it if it’s
E d i tor’s note: The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Mariam Keita: So I understand that you run a web magazine called “Disturbance.” What can you tell me about it? Kay Brown: “Disturbance” was an idea I was sitting on since high school. I felt like there was a strong need for representation, and also to explore the arts and activism and politics hand in hand. The arts have always been very powerful to me. Sometimes even I need to remind myself that the arts can create real change. That’s what I tried to do with “Disturbance.” MK: You said that you thought it was important to create representation. Representation for whom? KB: “Disturbance” focuses primarily on Black artists. It’s really hard when you’re passionate about something, but you feel like your art form doesn’t love you back, or you can’t see any representation or anyone else who looked like you before you. I research and actively seek out other artists of color who have come before me and before other people in those areas [to] encourage [others] to keep going because representation and the lack of our presentation can cause someone to change their career path or not pursue something. MK: Who all is involved with “Disturbance” right now? KB: Right now it’s me. And my sisters helped me with graphics, because we’re all kind of artistic. My mom was an English teacher for 13 years, and she’s a writer and editor so she edits a lot of stuff. And, like, I would like to take submissions and have it be more collaborative, but that takes a larger following. We have to build that up first before anything else could happen. MK: You’re a first-year student, and you spent a year abroad before enrolling at MHC. Can you tell me a little bit more about what you did during that time?
through the arts. MK: What else were you able to explore while you were in Brazil? KB: When I wasn’t working, I pretty much got to do whatever I want[ed]. I joined an Afro Brazilian bloco, which is like a group of people who are dancing … and playing instruments [together]. We got to perform [at the Brazil] Carnival, which was around this time last year. So that was really fun. It got me involved in like, … Afro Brazilian activism and politics. That was also a really pivotal moment where I saw the arts being used to disturb the peace. We were literally using our song that one of my block leaders created and singing a song about Afro Brazilian resistance. That was a really big full-circle moment. It’s like, they’re literally disturbing the peace through their artwork, and it was really great. I also did capoeira, which is like Afro Bra-
Photos courtesy of Kay Brown ’24 Kay Brown ‘24, founder of Disturbance magazine, is pictured above (top) with two Afro-Brazilian capoeira artists (middle) and in Brazil (right).
zilian martial arts dancing that the slaves used to do to defend themselves. MK: I heard you say that this form of dance that you learned was an example of the arts being used to disturb the peace. How are you using the word “disturb” in that sense? KB: “Disturbance” is inspired by a James Baldwin quote that says, “Artists are here to disturb the peace,” and when I’m writing pieces for “Disturbance,” or writing social media posts or just like, looking at new artists, I think of the word “disturb” as anything that is comfortable that people have gotten complacent with. In Brazil, and with the bloco, there’s this idea of racial democracy, and it happened really quickly after they abolished slavery. They never had a civil rights movement for Black people. There’s this idea that, like, you put your country before your race even though there’s still systemic racism. By performing and dancing, we were disturbing the assumed space of protection and peace that Brazil has tried to, like, play off. MK: So with “Disturbance” the magazine — You named it that way in order to embody some of that spirit? KB: Yeah, definitely. I think that’s like, one of the things about art that’s really empowering, is that it can disturb the peace. Artists are, like, the greatest architects of society because if anything, artists can change the consciousness or help to shape the consciousness that then empowered people will get to see. People who can maybe more directly change systems, like in law, will be impacted by that. MK: Where do you see yourself, ideally, one year from now? KB: Ideally, one year from now, we w[ill] have had our first collaborative issue come out. I’m also really into podcasts. I listen to a lot of podcasts, and I feel like the podcasts would be really cool to pursue. Maybe those are like, my two goals. MK: Are there other e-magazines from which you’ve been able to draw inspiration during these last six months? KB: Rookie magazine was started by Tavi Gevinson. Rookie magazine was online but then they also had this big yearbook they used to come out with. There’s also this other online magazine called The Messy Heads. I just followed them on Instagram. They also had an online form and a print version. More recently, changing womxn collective is a really cool platform, but also an online magazine. You scroll through their website and it’s like, “Okay, here’s prose,” or like, “[Here’s] essays, here’s visual arts,” and everything’s kind of separate together. I really like their formatting. I also take a lot of [inspiration from] other people in the artistic world. CONTINUED ON PAGE 15
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February 18, 2021
. Mount Holyoke News
HEALTH & SCIENCE
Race in health care must be acknowledged tists have not been able to find a genetic difference between people of different races. It is dangerous to lay such heavy emphasis on the race of a patient as an indicator for prognosis because it does not reveal The views and opinions expressed in this article much more than their marital status does. Most of the arguments that use race as an indiare those of the author alone and do not necessarily cator of one’s physical health or odds of survival are reflect the views of the Mount Holyoke News. gross oversimplifications. We tie a non-biological The 11-year-old girl sat by her bay window, looking factor into predictions about somebody’s health and up at the stars against the dark skies of her hometown avoid the stark reality that people of color are often seof New Delhi, India, and thought back to the woman in verely economically and socially disadvantaged. Their the white coat who had patched up the torn ligament higher death rate is not due to an inherited genetic in her arm that afternoon. Something inside her tiny difference, but due to the fact that, over the course frame forced her to imagine that woman could, some- of their lives, many have lived in less than ideal condiday, be her. Over the years, she held onto her dream, tions, received a lower quality of health care, experiand watched it bend and twist into something new enced higher levels of stress, and lived lives that have each year. As she chased the intangible promise of a put them in closer proximity to factors detrimental better tomorrow that this dream brought, she found to their health. Simply put, the societal framework of herself, seven years later, thousands of miles away America allows white individuals more privilege, and this privilege is very literally from home at Mount Holyoke reflected in their bodies. College. I was that girl, and I As such, physicians should watched in awe as my dream While my immediate responsibility not consider race as a factor began to piece itself together. will be to treat individual patients, influencing health, but considThere was something so inmy larger and equally essential reer the individual life circumcredibly whimsical about it. stances and socioeconomic However, like every fairysponsibility is to protect humanity. factors of patients when pretale, mine had its own villain. scribing treatments. Reinforc2020 and a medical ethics course brought the harsh realisation that perhaps I ing the idea that race is biological allows policymakers had been a little idealistic. The reality of the medical to not face the physical consequences of systemic racism. We cannot allow this. system was not all I perceived it to be. I once heard the role of a physician described as It has been disheartening for me to realize that medicine — an institution I long believed to be free of “nebulous.” I must say that I respectfully disagree. bias, racism and politics — is inherently biased toward This role is only nebulous if we make it so, if physithe racially privileged, racist in the way it favors white cians and future physicians hide behind the idea of individuals and deeply political. Through this piece, I “equality” and refuse to fight to change societal realhope to walk through some of the many thoughts that ities that impact the very bodies of their patients. If we are in pursuit of a career in the service of humanihave found a home within my mind over the last year. A question that I considered and unfortunately ty, then it is our responsibility to raise our voices and was quick to answer was: Should we, as physicians change our systems, change our curricula and train and human beings, treat everyone equally? Yes, with- future generations of health care workers to be on the front lines of such change. out a doubt. I simply refuse to accept the idea that a patient of I initially thought that treating every patient equally — regardless of their race — was essential. color would have to be turned away by a hospital — a Our implicit biases must be controlled, and it is in the place human beings turn to for refuge — because they very nature of a physician’s duty to treat everyone could not afford health insurance. This ties into why I have come to believe that medicine is political. It is equally. But over the course of the fall semester, I began to political because politicians have given themselves understand how wrong such an approach may be. The the power to dictate the terms under which people can question that triggered my change in view was this: access our health care institutions. This is wrong. We Would we take two oranges from a person who has six should not have the right to choose who gets to live. Human beings, including politicians, do not have that and another who has two for the sake of equality? The society within which the health care system right. If we, as human beings and physicians, realise operates, as was evidenced this past summer, is simi- that our decisions are detrimental to certain patients, larly unequal. In the context of COVID-19, individuals then we simply cannot let our promise to serve huof color are far more likely to lose their lives to the manity be eroded or tarnished. I now believe that while my immediate responsiillness. Because of this, it at first seems only logical that physicians should consider the race of an individ- bility will be to treat individual patients, my larger and ual before treating them. Still, I was reminded of the equally essential responsibility is to protect humanity, pressing fact that race is not biological. We often find even when it means protecting humanity from those correlations in nature — unmarried men are likely to who value power over service or hide behind fears of die earlier, for example — but correlation does not im- socialism creeping into our society. Saving lives and ply causation. Because there is no difference between caring for others is and must remain above politicized the appearance of married and unmarried men, it is fears, and I believe that it falls upon us, as future phyeasy to dismiss this. Visible physical differences be- sicians, writers and people of the world, to highlight tween those of different races, though, have long been this truth and fight for those who are not granted a used to further the idea that race is biological. Scien- fair chance to protect their right to life. BY KESSHNI BHASIIN ’22 HEALTH & SCIENCE EDITOR
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Dr. Katherine L. Kraschel ’06 gives talk on reproductive technologies
Photo courtesy of Harold Shapiro Kraschel’s research specializes in the field of bioethics and law.
BY LILY CAO ’21 STAFF WRITER
On Feb. 9, the biological sciences department invited Dr. Katherine L. Kraschel ’06, an alumna of Mount Holyoke College and the current executive director of the Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy and lecturer in law at Yale Law School, to give a talk on “Regulating the Promises and Perils of Innovation in Reproductive Technologies.” Through this talk, the audience was given the opportunity to learn and ask questions about Kraschel’s research on reproductive technologies. Before stepping into the field of bioethics and law, Kraschel had previously worked as a research scientist at Pfizer Inc. Before that, she was a student in Mount Holyoke’s biology labs. “What planted the seed and got me so excited about all of this [embryology] was that developmental biology lab, watching the fertilization envelope lift off before my eyes,” Kraschel said, recalling her time taking Professor of Biological Sciences Rachel Fink’s lab course BIOL-200: How Organisms Develop. The talk began with a brief introduction to in vitro fertilization, the process of fertilizing eggs and sperm with 23 chromosomes each inside a Petri dish in a lab. If IVF proceeds successfully, it becomes a blastocyst with 46 chromosomes and is transferred to the uterus of the patient, resulting in pregnancy. CONTINUED ON PAGE 13
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GLOBAL
Environmental improvements in Africa linked to farmers
February 18, 2021
Former Nazi secretary tried for murder of thousands 70 years later “The core of this [secretary’s] case follows the decision [in the cases] of Demjanjuk and Gröning, that being part of the functioning of this machinery of death Content warning: This article references anti-Sem- is sufficient for an accessory to murder conviction.” Jeremy King, professor of history and chair of the itism and contains discussion of the Holocaust. department, commented, “This latest case of belated The German government prosecuted a former attempts at justice seems to be near the end of a long Nazi secretary for being an accessory to the murder tail. After all, the Holocaust was stopped early in 1945, of more than 10,000 people in concentration camps something like 76 years ago — when the secretary in during World War II. Although there is no evidence of question was about 16 years old. The effort is largely the defendant’s specific involvement in these deaths, symbolic at this point.” Karen Remmler, chair of German studies at Mount she is being tried for her role in the operation of the concentration camps, the functioning of which led to Holyoke, commented on this as well. “The prosecution of Nazi criminals in the 1960s the murder of thousands. in (West) Germany did not fulThe secretary, whose idenly acknowledge the deep infratity is not confirmed, is cur“The prosecution of Nazi criminals structure of systemic violence rently 95 years old. She will be in the 1960s in (West) Germany in German society during the tried in juvenile court, as she Nazi period that went well bewas under 21 years of age at did not fully acknowledge the deep yond the acts of Nazi leaderthe time of the alleged crimes. infrastructure of systemic violence ship or SS or even members of According to The Associated in German society during the Nazi the Nazi party.” Press, she has made state“In some ways, the current ments to the German broadperiod that went well beyond the — and belated — prosecution casting station NDR that she acts of Nazi leadership or SS or even of Nazi bureaucrats could be was not aware of the murders members of the Nazi party.” seen as a symbolic measure in that took place in the camps. the midst of the failure of the She is one of three people to be German law enforcement to acquitted within the past year - Karen Remmler promptly and effectively idenfor their compliance with the tify current neo-Nazi and reNazi regime. The other two, a 100-year-old man and a 93-year-old man, were both lated right-wing attacks on German citizens, residents and refugees and their supporters,” Remmler continNazi guards, reported The New York Times. Visiting Lecturer in German Studies Catherine ued. “That is, such acts are still treated as exceptions McNally spoke about the relationship between these to an otherwise changed German society that is committed to learning from the murderous mistakes of its people and the atrocities of the Holocaust. “Overall, the Holocaust was enacted and carried past.” In recent years, the German political party Alterout by bureaucrats — signing deportation orders, as Adolf Eichmann [a Nazi high official] did, or those native for Germany has risen in popularity. Also rechanging legislation around citizenship laws,” McNal- ferred to as AfD, the party is known for its far-right, ly said. “The Holocaust would not have been possible extremist views on immigration and Islam. According without thousands of bureaucrats, the vast majority to BBC News, the party’s rhetoric is also considered to of whom themselves were sitting at desks and physi- have influences in Nazi ideology. One of the leaders of cally far removed from the act of killing, but as many the party, Björn Höcke, has been known to oppose Gerwould argue, were no less responsible for it. Almost all many’s remembrance of Holocaust victims, referring members of the Nazi party who stood trial defended to the Holocaust memorial in Berlin as a “monument themselves by saying they were ‘just following orders,’ of shame,” The Independent stated. In 2019, the AfD thus absolving themselves from any personal respon- Party gained popularity and added seats in Parliament. In recent months, though, the party’s popularity sibility,” she continued. Until 2011, it was not common practice to prose- has been declining. McNally was skeptical of the impact that meacute those who were not directly involved in the murders of victims by the Nazi establishment. It was only sures to convict former Nazi workers at such a deafter the trial and subsequent arrest of John Dem- layed period will have on Germany’s internal politics. janjuk, a former guard at the Sobibor extermination “Germany as a country, politically, socially, culturally, camp, that anyone who played any role in a Nazi con- has aggressively confronted the Nazi past — although, centration camp was considered complicit in the vio- prosecution and accountability for individuals has not lence committed there. Although Demjanjuk died be- been as successful as it could have been,” McNally fore he could begin his sentence, his arrest led to large said. “It strikes me that an event like this gets internascale reform regarding how the legal system should tional attention and I wonder how much international audiences are aware of the constant racist violence treat former Nazi administrative workers. As Cyrill Klement, the lead investigator of the against nonwhite Germans and refugees that occurs 100-year-old former guard told The Guardian last year, at the hands of neo-Nazis in Germany today.” BY MADHAVI RAO ’24 STAFF WRITER
Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons A reduction of biomass burnings led by farmers in Africa has proven to have decreased NO2 emissions on the continent.
BY SOPHIE SOLOWAY ’23 GLOBAL EDITOR
Two recent environmental developments in Africa have highlighted the role that farmers may play in sustainability for the continent. Levels of pollutant gases have lowered in areas, and a recent lawsuit in favor of local farm owners appears to signal a renewed sense of urgency around the issue of climate change. In Nigeria, farmers have spent over a decade facing the impacts of oil spills which occurred in 2006 and 2007 and devastated local water sources and arable land. Recently, a collective of local farmers accused Shell Petroleum Development Company, a subsidiary of the Royal Dutch Shell oil company that operates in Nigeria, of negligence in both spills. After initially being found not guilty in 2013, a Dutch appeals court ruled on Jan. 29 that the subsidiary was responsible for both the initial spills and the failure to undo the resulting damage. While this ruling can be appealed to the Dutch Supreme Court, the appeals court instructed Shell to build better warning systems in Oruma and Goi, the villages impacted by these specific spills. This case followed research on the environmental impacts of socioeconomic progress in another African region. On Feb. 16, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences released a study proving that NO2 emissions over north equatorial Africa have decreased substantially. This change is occurring despite increased fossil fuel use and has been traced to a decrease in biomass burning by farmers during the dry season, which is from November to February. According to this study, there is a well-established parallel between the growth of countries and their rising pollution levels. According to The Borgen Project, development often relies on the mass exploitation of natural resources and increased use of fossil fuels, both of which increase pollution levels. CONTINUED ON PAGE 11
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Chinese Cultural Association adapts annual Lunar New Year event
Photo courtesy of Yuxi Zhu Zhu shared her experience cooking celebratory meals for her family.
BY JOCELYN ZHOU ’22 & AMELIA LUO ’23 & SOPHIE SOLOWAY ’23 STAFF WRITER; GLOBAL EDITOR, PHOTOGRAPHER & GLOBAL EDITOR
China Night is an annual event held by the Chinese Cultural Association to celebrate the Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, with song and dance. In past years, it has been an evening of food, music and community. Because of the need for social distancing and remote formats for large events this year, however, the CCA directed students to watch the live CCTV Spring Festival Gala, a variety show broadcast on the eve of the Lunar New Year featuring an array of performances. The CCA posted traditional Chinese customs on Instagram while the Spring Festival Gala aired. “In the past, [the] CCA usually delivered a show at Mount Holyoke, and many people came to celebrate Lunar New Year together,” Dorothy Wang ’22, co-chair of the CCA, said. “But this year most students cannot go back to campus, and we cannot get together to rehearse a big show.” Besides the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, the CCA shared cooking videos and Instagram posts to help attendees celebrate the special occasion together online.
“We will also post pictures about how Chinese students celebrate their Spring Festival,” Dorothy said. On Feb. 12, people in China and across the world celebrated the Lunar New Year. Some Mount Holyoke students shared their experiences welcoming the Year of the Ox during and despite ongoing COVID-19 restrictions. Xingran Wang ’24 spoke about a day shared with family. “In the evening, we made dumplings together and watched the Spring Festival Gala. On the first day of the new ox year, I went to Zhanshan Temple, which is the only temple with an abbot in Qingdao,” Xingran said. “The tradition is for us to pray for good luck by burning incense and worshiping Buddha. I paid tribute to all the Buddha, then put the incense in the biggest incense burner, which was in the middle of the temple’s yard,” Xingran added. Yuxi Zhu ’22 spoke about her family’s traditions. “I’m from Dalian. My family has lots of traditional customs,” Zhu said. “Red is the color of [joy]. It means good fortune, so for [the] New Year, my family was all dressed up in red. All of the drinks have to be red too, which means we can only have Coca-Cola, Wangzai Milk — a milkish drink — or Wuliangye — a spirit.” This year, Zhu, who was at home rather than on campus due to COVID-19 restrictions, was responsible for the family dinner on Lunar New Year’s Eve. “Those dishes I cooked all have beautiful meanings that hope for good fortunes and happiness,” Zhu explained. “Dishes were the most important component of the night. I made rice cake (Niangao), which means next year will be better than this one; cabbage rolls, which looks like jade; eight-treasure rice pudding, which contains eight different seeds and dry fruits; and fish, which means the family would have enough to spare every year.” Zhu reflected that some conflicts arose during the happy holiday. “We also have the tradition of set[ting] off firecrackers. Due to the time zone difference, I was in class the night of Lunar New Year, and because of the sound of the firecrackers, I c[ould] hardly hear
Photo courtesy of Yuxi Zhu Zhu’s family prepared traditional foods for the Spring Festival, including rice cake (Niangao), cabbage rolls and eight-treasure rice pudding.
my professor despite … ha[ving] my noise-canceling headphones on,” she said. Wenjun Liu ’22 spent her Spring Festival in the U.S. “This year’s Spring Festival, I stayed in America. I didn’t reunite with my family,” Liu said. “I always remember how my family celebrated this festival. They usually play Mahjong all night and we [watch] TV shows together. At midnight, we watch fireworks together. I really miss my family now,” Liu added. Emma Xue ’23 experienced the Lunar New Year differently this year due to the pandemic. “I spent my holiday in Shanghai at home because I had plenty of homework so I only ha[d] a little time [to spend] on this [the celebration of the Lunar New Year],” she said. “My family tradition is to have a reunion dinner on [Lunar] New Year’s Eve and then we visit my father’s family on New Year’s Day, but because of COVID-19, I have to quarantine before I get to my father’s family’s village. This year, I chose to stay in the city.” While these initial celebrations have been completed, the holiday is not yet over. Lunar New Year’s celebrations continue for up to 16 days. The first seven days, until Feb. 17, are public holidays in China.
Shell lawsuit in Africa is environmental victory for farmers, cont’d u
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Assistant Professor of Sociology Ayca Zayim noted that this relationship is tied to the structural agreements that often precede such development efforts. In her view, globalized economic systems do not incentivize sustainability. “We live in a world where anything that is shipped is not accounted for, so CO2 emissions do not go under any country’s record,” Zayim explained. Zayim added that this system widely benefits those profiting from such pollution, saying, “Those organizations that designed this global trade system prioritized international trade over climate and the environment. It was a deliberate decision.” Assistant Professor of Economics Theodore Gilliland noted that these transformations are also impacted by changes in consumption patterns. “As you industrialize, there’s going to be a reallocation of how goods are produced and what people are consuming,” Gilliland said. While these recent developments are indeed prom-
ising, they are not necessarily long-lasting or replicable. “Things can be case specific. It’s hard to draw an overall conclusion that as you industrialize pollution will follow a particular pattern. In some cases it’s true, and in some cases it isn’t,” Gilliland explained. Environmental studies major Corrine Celupica Liu ’23 made a similar observation regarding the recent lawsuit, noting that the win for local farmers in the Shell case may not be as impactful as they hoped. “While it’s obviously good that these locals will get compensation, courts will never rule [or] force polluters to compensate local communities enough that it would even out to the profit that could be made if sustainable practices were in place, or if such companies actually collaborated and empowered local communities to create jobs and infrastructure,” Liu explained. However, rather than repairing the harm already done to the Niger Delta region, the lawsuit may have real value in future response actions. “I hope that the court ruling that these local farmers are entitled to monetary compensation will create a new warning that corporations cannot take advantage of less developed [or less] stable nations in order to profit,” Liu
said. Instead, Gilliland highlighted that understanding farmers’ motivations in halting biomass burning might be more helpful in predicting these patterns. “Once you know the mechanism of how industrialization links to the pollutant, you’d be able to say whether or not this is going to happen in a similar or different place,” Gilliland said. Because pollution is the leading cause of death on the African continent, both the lawsuit and the scientific findings will likely benefit local citizens, according to The New York Times. Still, they do not disrupt larger trends of increased emissions and resource extraction. These systems of environmental disruption are not unrelated to the history of imperialism that has shaped African countries. As Gilliland noted, “There’s a risk if you have an imperialist approach where one of the main interests for Western nations establishing colonies was to extract resources, and that’s what they did. The goal wasn’t to help those countries develop or make sure that value stayed in the country. That establishes certain pathways and institutions that are good at extracting resources without helping anyone.”
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Kenyan engineer and entrepreneur Nzambi Matee invents sustainable bricks made from recycled plastics BY DNYANESHWARI HAWARE ’23 STAFF WRITER
Tired of waiting for her local government to find a solution for the plastic waste produced by households and factories, Nzambi Matee, a Kenyan materials engineer, invented a process and designed a machine that converts plastic waste into bricks. These bricks are denser and around five to seven times stronger than concrete. Her work has been seen as an important capital resource for Kenya’s economy, as the machine simultaneously solves the issues of plastic waste disposal and a lack of durable housing. “Plastic is a material that is misused and misunderstood. The potential is enormous, but its afterlife can be disastrous,” Matee said in an article for designboom. Matee founded her own factory, Gjenge Makers Ltd., which produces 1,500 bricks every day in Nairobi. The bricks are made out of multiple types of plastic, including high-density polyethylene used in shampoo bottles, low-density polyethylene used in plastic wrap and polypropylene used for buckets. Before founding Gjenge Makers, Matee worked as a materials engineer in Kenya’s oil industry. Matee’s frustration with the accumulation of plastic waste in her hometown of Nairobi prompted her to find a sustainable solution that would solve multiple problems at once. While the process utilizes different types of waste,
there are some limitations as to what kind of plastic can be used. For example, Matee does not work with polyethylene terephthalate, a polymer commonly used to make plastic bottles, because these substances do not bind well together. To make the bricks, the plastic waste is mixed with sand, heated and then compressed. They come in a variety of colors and densities. They are sold at approximately 850 Kenyan shillings ($7.70) per square meter, making them both affordable and durable. In the designbloom article, Matee further explained that her company works with plastic that cannot be recycled or processed any Photo courtesy of Pixabay Over 24 million plastic bags are disposed monthly in Kenya, creating a challenging issue to waste managemore. Packaging factories ment in the country. Nairobi, the capital city, faces particular difficulty due to its increased population. provide the plastic waste for year, and she plans to accomplish this by tripling the free, while she pays other recyclers for their plastic. So far, Gjenge Makers Ltd. has recycled 20 tonnes number of bricks produced each day. The startup has (around 22 tons) of plastic waste since 2017. Matee’s also provided 112 jobs to local garbage collectors, factory is estimated to break even by the end of this women and youth groups in Kenya.
Deb Haaland makes history as Indigenous Cabinet nominee Haaland spent her childhood moving from one state to another as part of a military family before returning to New Mexico, where she raised her daughter and worked to put herself through law school. “I know what it’s like to be on food stamps. I know what it’s like to piece together health care for me and my child. And so I feel like, in this day and time, in the middle of a pandemic, with economic struggles and environmental injustice, we need folks who are ‘close to the pain,’” Haaland said in a recent interview for the podcast “Living on Earth” from media company PRX. After working a variety of jobs, from starting her own salsa company to working as a tribal administrator, she became one of the first Indigenous women seated in Congress after being elected in 2018. If confirmed as the secretary of the interior, Haaland would be removed from her seat in Congress, along with Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge of Ohio and Democratic Rep. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, to work for the Biden administration. Democratic leaders have expressed their concern about the possibility of losing their already slim majority in the House. While no official strategy has been announced, leaders such as House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina have recommended that Haaland’s confirmation hearing be delayed until special elections for the vacant House seats occur.
BY CATELYN FITZGERALD ’23 STAFF WRITER
In his first weeks in office, President Joe Biden announced his nominations for what will likely be one of the most diverse presidential Cabinets in American history. One unprecedented nominee was Democratic Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico to head the Department of the Interior. Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe, would make history as the first Indigenous person to be seated in the Cabinet. Her ancestry is particularly significant due to the responsibilities of the DOI, which manages the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Education. According to the Interior Inspector General Mark Lee Greenblatt, these bureaus have previously seen poor leadership from the DOI, and the BIE in particular struggles with “fraud, waste, and mismanagement.” Haaland’s leadership in the department could elevate Indigenous people’s affairs and bring attention to the years of neglect faced by their communities. The DOI is also responsible for the care of America’s public and protected lands, including the National Park Service, wildlife conservation initiatives and natural resource management. “I’ll be fierce for all of us, for our planet and all of our protected land, and I’m honored and ready to serve,” Haaland said in her nomination acceptance speech.
Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons Deb Haaland, above, at El Cabo Wind Farm in New Mexico in 2019.
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Tech advancements in IVF, cont’d Deb Haaland at the recommendation of their physicians. From the viewpoint of the IVF clinics, there are no incentives for them to transplant aneuploidic embryos even if the IVF underwent much evolution from 1992 to 2010 patients ask them to do so because if they do not result and has become more widely accepted by the general in a pregnancy, then it would not contribute to the clinpublic in the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease ic’s success rate data. Concerning the regulatory landscape of the U.S., Control and Prevention, by the end of 2018, there were many say that America is the “Wild West” of innova456 reporting IVF clinics in the country. During the course of her talk, Kraschel touched tive reproductive technologies considering barely any upon some of the broad concerns surrounding IVF regulations exist. Kraschel disagrees and argues that technology in the U.S. today. Preimplantation genetic “if it is, it is due to a lack of coordination.” In 1992, Congress passed screening — today called prethe Fertility Clinic Success implantation genetic testing for Rate and Certification Act, aneuploidies — was first introScientists argue that a problem with the first legislation that dealt duced in 1990, yet it has been PGT-A is that only one piece of an specifically with IVF due to a met with growing concern from rise in the number of clinics the scientific community. PGT-A embryo is extracted for the screenin the U.S. While this legisscreens for chromosomal abnoring. Given that different parts of the lation is limited in its power, malities, such as an addition or embryo become different parts of it requires the clinics to relack of a chromosome that is unlikely to lead to a viable embryo an organism, is having chromosomal port pregnancy rates. It also directs the Food and Drug or a successful pregnancy. Studabnormalities in one piece of the Administration to screen ies suggest that patients over embryo physiologically relevant for infectious diseases, but the age of 35 are more susceptistates that the FDA should ble to such chromosomal errors, to the normality of the rest of the not interfere with the praca source of pressure for those embryo? tice of medicine. An issue who dream of becoming genetic arises then, as many IVF parents one day. clinics argue that the PGT-A Scientists argue that a problem with PGT-A is that only one piece of an embryo is technique is a medical practice since it increases their extracted for the screening. Given that different parts patients’ success rates, and therefore the FDA has no of the embryo become different parts of an organism, authority over this new standard of care. The Federal Trade Commission is in charge of filis having chromosomal abnormalities in one piece of the embryo physiologically relevant to the normality ing cases against IVF clinics that purposefully overof the rest of the embryo? Additionally, there have state their success rates. Kraschel suggested that the law doesn’t have to been cases of IVF patients whose embryos tested positive for chromosomal abnormalities but resulted in be the only solution. Scientists and embryologists can come to an agreement about certain medical stansuccessful live births. Despite concerns about the reliability of PGT-A dards and inform the IVF clinics what procedures are and its expensive cost unlikely to be covered by in- and are not necessary for their patients without the surance, many IVF patients still choose to order them interference of law enforcement.
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nomination, cont’d
Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons If confirmed, Haaland would leave her seat in Congress to serve.
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Haaland is currently facing resistance to her nomination from House Republicans, who are concerned about her stances on environmental issues. In contrast to former President Donald Trump’s efforts to open up as much public land to natural resource extraction as possible, Biden has made his refusal to issue any new oil and gas drilling permits clear. Instead, Biden is looking to expand the development of renewable energy sources. Haaland would oversee this moratorium on gas and oil leasing and has additionally shown support for the Green New Deal, which she co-sponsored during her first term in Congress. Many Congressional Republicans have also expressed their fears about what this might do to the economies of their states and their constituents’ job security. States like New Mexico, which Haaland represents, rely heavily on the fossil fuel industry. “It will hurt a family who was able to send their children to a better school, take a nice vacation in the summertime. … It will destroy their livelihoods,” Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana commented in a recent interview.
Weekly Climate News Feb. 18, 2021
Air pollution has been confirmed to result in 1 in 5 deaths annually around the world. A NASA research team is going back to researching cloud formations after being impeded by the COVID-19 pandemic. They are working to understand how variations in aerosol particles from human and natural sources affect clouds. A winter storm hits Texas, leaving
many in frigid temperatures without power and electricity. Elon Musk announces a four-year-long carbon capture contest that will award $100 million funding for the development of carbon removal technology. American government scientists have said the U.S. has the potential to achieve a carbon-free future by 2050 if projected changes are made to begin widespread use of to wind and solar power.
Disha Ravi, a climate activist in India, was placed in jail for sharing information about the farmers’ protest with Greta Thunberg. The U.K. government put a stop to construction plans for a deep coal mine after accusations of hypocrisy in regard to its current climate action arose. Protests began in northern Minnesota to halt the progress of Line 3, an oil pipeline from the U.S. to Canada.
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Climate refugee rights brought to the forefront by Honduras caravans
Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons Hurricane Eta rendered around 85,000 homes uninhabitable when it hit Honduras in November 2020. Two weeks later, Hurricane Iota struck.
BY HELEN GLOEGE ’23 STAFF WRITER
Over the past year, devastating hurricanes, wildfires and other extreme weather events have destroyed homes and displaced people around the world. The International Organization of Migration estimates that by 2050, there will be between 25 million and 1 billion environmental migrants, or climate refugees, globally, with 200 million the most frequent estimate. This issue is further compounded by international refugee law, which does not currently protect climate migrants. In 2018, a task force on displacement gave recommendations for such measures at U.N. climate talks in Katowice, Poland, but these recommendations have yet to be pursued. In the U.S., immigration law defines refugees as “unable or unwilling to return home due to a well-founded fear of persecution on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” Despite extreme weather events, including droughts and wildfires that have displaced around 21.5 million people every year for the past decade, according to Internal Displacement Monitoring Center data, many governments cannot provide adequate support for those affected by these types of natural disasters. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, this means “extreme weather displaces nearly three times more people than conflict and nearly nine times more than fear of persecution.” It is often difficult to define the impacts of climate change, as it can indirectly contribute to causes of migration. For example, a study from 2018 predicts that by 2100, major tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean will rise 29 percent from previous levels recorded from 1986 through 2005 due in part to climate change. This increase will place Central American and Caribbean countries at greater risk of natural disasters, leading to increased migration within their own countries and toward the U.S. Starting on Jan. 15, a group of around 8,000 mi-
grants left San Pedro Sula, Honduras, hoping to travel to the U.S.. Economic difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic, hurricanes Eta and Iota, which hit in November 2020, and preexisting chronic poverty and gang violence prompted the caravan to head for the U.S. Hurricanes Eta and Iota hit Honduras two weeks apart, affecting more than 4 million people — equivalent to about half the population — and costing an estimated $9 billion in damages. Around 85,000 homes were damaged and 6,000 destroyed. According to UNICEF,
contaminated water systems still expose around 1.5 million children and teenagers in Central America to disease. Gerardo Chevez, a journalist reporting for Radio Progreso de Honduras who traveled with the caravan, noted, “The caravans have a female face,” as many in the group were single mothers. On Jan. 18, when the caravan reached the Guatemalan border, around 2,000 soldiers and police officers deployed tear gas and used physical force to disperse the group. To enter Guatemala, ID cards and negative COVID-19 test results were required. However, few can afford a COVID-19 test. Some Hondurans from the caravan still plan to seek asylum in the U.S., while others hope to stay in Mexico on humanitarian grounds. According to Guatemala’s immigration authorities, over 2,300 migrants have been returned to Honduras On Feb. 4, President Joe Biden ordered National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan to produce a report within six months on how to resettle migrants displaced by climate change. It is unclear what this report will involve, but the move is considered extraordinary by many. Any permanent resettlement is likely to deal with Congress, where it is probable that the extension of temporary visas will be a potential solution. One option for climate migration is a humanitarian visa called Temporary Protected Status, which is generally granted to migrants already in the United States who are unable to return to their home countries because of an environmental disaster. TPS doesn’t currently give beneficiaries a pathway to permanent residence. CSIS is arguing for a new version of TPS specific to people temporarily displaced by climate-related disasters that would be under the control of climate science and migration experts.
2020: Earth’s second hottest year on record BY ABBY WESTER ’22 STAFF WRITER
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2020 was Earth’s second hottest year on record. Ten of Earth’s warmest years have occurred since 2005. Rising temperatures are threatening the planet, and one of the most at-risk regions is the Arctic. The Earth’s poles are warming faster than anywhere else on the planet. According to NASA, in the past 40 years, the Earth has warmed about 1.44 degrees Fahrenheit, while the Arctic warmed more than 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit. This increased warming in the poles was especially evident in June 2020 when there was a heat wave in Siberia, with the eastern town of Verkhoyansk reaching 38 degrees Celsius, or 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit. The heat wave in Siberia resulted in melting sea ice, wildfires, loss of permafrost, infrastructure destabilization and pest invasion. Research finds that these heat waves are not a part of the Earth’s natural warming process. According to BBC News, a team of U.K. Met Office scientists found that “record average temperatures were likely to happen less than once every 80,000 years without human-induced climate change.”
Photo courtesy of Pixabay The record for hottest year has been broken 10 times since 2005.
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RACE AND...Dance, cont’d u BY ANJALI RAO-HEREL ’22 STAFF CARTOONIST
‘Disturbance’ in art, cont’d u
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Kimberly Drew is a really great curator and writer. And they actually graduated from Smith College. So yay, Seven Sisters! Kimberly is really cool, and they just published or co-authored a book called “Black Futures.” When they were in college, they started a Tumblr page to like, share more about art. MK: Which piece that you’ve published so far have you been the most proud of? KB: I released a piece analyzing a song called “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” on Christmas Eve. It’s kind of funny because I was talking to my mom about it and it’s like, “Oh, Merry Christmas, look at how this Christmas song is actually lowkey about coercion and not respecting boundaries and consent.” I feel like that’s “Disturbance” in a nutshell. It’s like, you think everything is okay. And
you feel like there’s some peace happening, but if you dig deep enough, you’ll realize that everything is a little bit disturbed. And it’s okay to call that out. … My senior quote was by Lucille Clifton, who’s one of my favorite poets. Clifton said, “I come to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” I thought this was a really good mantra because a lot of people don’t like to call things out, but you kind of have to. MK: If other people were interested in writing for “Disturbance,” how would they go about doing that? KB: On our website, we have the “Contact Us” page. And that can be found on our social media. So right now we’re not looking for any contributors, but in the future, it will be on “Disturbance”s website. Any announcements about that will probably be made on social media. To find out more about “Disturbance,” visit disturbanceemag.com.
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porary African dance into the workshop. He explained that, in communities with traditional dances, elements of verse selection of styles. The sixth session focused on con- those dances appear in that communitemporary African dance and fea- ty’s contemporary and social dances. Denson emphasized the value of tured Ronald K. Brown. Brown is an award-winning choreographer and the having arts-based events, like RACE founder and artistic director of EVI- AND...Dance. “Some of them would do a DENCE, A Dance Company. Over the mini-lecture before, some of them would course of his career, he has taught in 11 go into the history. The majority of the countries and at several United States sessions were about workshopping how to dance,” Denson said. “It’s a lot better universities. The contemporary African dance [to include a workshop], because it’s interactive.” session was strucShe contured as a dance “Art provides the opportunity tinued, “Art workshop during provides the which attendees had for healing. It’s a form of exopportunity for the opportunity to pressing who you are … [and] healing. It’s a learn three phrases, what you’re celebrating.” form of expressor short dance seing who you are quences, followed by … [and] what a Q&A session with - Latrina Denson you’re celebratBrown. The workshop ing.” began with warm-up Denson sees RACE AND...Dance exercises that went along with the tempo and pace of three different songs. as an overall positive experience. “It During the warm-up, the choreography definitely was a success, particularly was fairly simple, and Brown demon- in a pandemic. We always had at least strated each step to ensure that experi- 30 people. I would have loved to engage enced and inexperienced dancers alike more, particularly new, students of colwould be able to participate. Brown also or, but we always had good numbers,” provided coaching and advice to partic- Denson said. RACE AND...Dance offered paripants. At multiple points throughout the workshop, Brown reached out to ticipants from all the Five Colleges to individual attendees to coach them on engage with an interactive format that different steps and provide feedback provided them with the opportunity to on how they could perform the phrases learn not only about the historical significance of these dance styles, which better. In addition to teaching the phrases, has frequently been overlooked, but Brown wove information about contem- also the dances themselves.