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Students and faculty PE, Equestrian Center reflect on Ruth Bader face an external review Ginsburg’s legacy BY KATIE GOSS ’23 STAFF WRITER
On Sept. 18, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away after her battle with metastatic pancreatic cancer. Ginsburg had served on the court since she was appointed by Bill Clinton in 1993. At the time of her appointment, she was only the second woman to have served on the court. Before that, she had been appointed by Jimmy Carter in 1980 to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. A majority of her legal career was spent advocating and arguing for gender equality and women’s rights. “When I found out that she [Ginsburg] died, I didn’t truly believe it,” Briana Sapini ’23 said. “My mom was the one who told me, and when she told me that RBG died, she acted like it was a death in the family. After I got over the initial shock that she was dead, my concern for our future increased.” “It’s clear that the death of Justice Ginsburg has resulted in both grief and fear for many students and community members,” said Maggie Micklo ’21. “I know I’ve been grieving both the loss of RBG as a symbol and trailblazer for the rights of many marginalized communities and the loss of a more left-leaning voice on the Supreme Court.” Ginsburg was given the famous nickname “The Notorious RBG” over Tumblr by Shana Knizhnik, who was a second-year law student at New York University at the time. The name was a play on the New York rapper Biggie Smalls who went by “The Notorious B.I.G.” Knizhnik gave the nickname after Ginsburg’s dissent in the case Shelby County v. Holder, which found Section 4b of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 unconstitutional, and in turn invalidated Section 5. Section 5 prohibited dis-
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tricts fitting the criteria from Section 4b from changing their election laws and procedures without first getting federal authorization. Section 4b said districts that had a voting test as of Nov. 1, 1964 and less than a 50 percent turnout rate for the presidential election that same year were eligible districts due to their history of voter discrimination. The nickname stuck with her, and, as she grew more popular with those interested in the legal happenings in the U.S., she also rose to the status of a popular cultural icon in more liberal circles. She stood up for not only women’s rights, but for the equality and rights of other groups discriminated against. On Sept. 20, shortly after Ginsburg passed, the Women’s College Coalition, which includes Mount Holyoke, put out a statement on their website. “Ruth Bader Ginsburg … was a leader whose words and actions changed the lives of women across generations. She changed our lives — and the lives of our alumnae, our students and our colleagues,” the statement read. “Ruth Bader Ginsburg in life — and now in death — reminds us of the incredible value of women’s education.” The WCC statement said that Ginsburg “claimed” rather than “received” an education. She advocated for the value of women in the workplace, especially in leadership or higher-up positions. The ACLU Women’s Rights Project, founded by Ginsburg in 1972, is known for taking the case of Reed v. Reed to the Supreme Court. The court ruled in favor of the ACLU on the grounds that administrators of estates cannot be based on sex or favor men over women. She is also recognized for her rulings in the cases of United States v. Virginia, which allowed women to attend the pre-
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Photo courtesy of Mount Holyoke Athletics Reviews of the Equestrian Center and PE program will be conducted during the 2020-2021 academic year.
BY CASEY ROEPKE ’21 NEWS EDITOR
In a Sept. 17 financial update, College President Sonya Stephens and Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer Shannon Gurek announced the discontinuation of the College’s varsity golf team and stated that the Equestrian Center and physical education program will be undergoing external reviews. Director of Athletics and Chair of Physical Education Lori Hendricks said these external reviews are a normal procedure for academic departments, centers and other offices on campus, and they are typically held once a decade. The reviews aim “to assess the operations of the area and alignments with broader organizational priorities, identify future opportunities and needs and think about the strategic investment of resources.” The review process typically begins with an internal review, or “self-study,” conducted by the area or department
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in question, according to Hendricks. “There is data collection to answer [key] questions,” Hendricks said. “The reviewers will use this information to inform their interviews with key stakeholders, e.g. students, alums, employees, institutional leadership. The reviewers will develop their own report to share with the department and College. Out of the review, a strategic plan is created or updated.” A 2018 external review of the Department of Physical Education and Athletics and subsequent 2019 strategic plan recommended that the physical education program and Equestrian Center undergo separate and specific external reviews. The physical education program was last reviewed in 2010. According to Hendricks, it is likely that peer institutions will serve as barometers for external reviewers. Hendricks said that the focus of this review would surround CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
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