Mount Holyoke News AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1917
MOUNTHOLYOKENEWS.COM
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.
u
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
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
u
u
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
u
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
u