Mount Holyoke News - 9/25/2023

Mount Holyoke News

Danielle R. Holley inaugurated as 20th College president

BY MELANIE DURONIO ’26 FEATURES EDITOR

With the start of the 2023-24 school year comes a new era for Mount Holyoke College, as President Danielle R. Holley begins her term as the College’s 20th president. Her official inauguration ceremony took place this Thursday, Sept. 21. In an interview with the Mount Holyoke News, Holley spoke on how she hopes to use her education and legal backgrounds to lead Mount Holyoke to a brighter, more progressive future that continues to empower students through their education.

As the former dean and professor for the Howard University School of Law, a historically Black private research university, Holley has extensive experience in academic leadership. She has also served as associate dean for Academic Affairs and distinguished professor of education law at the University of South Carolina School of Law.

While chairing the curriculum committee of the University of South Carolina, she learned skills relating to finance, faculty leadership, collaboration and strategic planning.

“Those are all skills that, you know, I acquired along the way that have helped to prepare me to become a president,” Holley said.

Holley is also a scholar of education law and civil rights and an expert on diversity in higher education. Her scholarship focuses on the governance of public schools, increased access to higher education and diversity in the legal field.

As a presidential candidate, Holley had her own criteria when competing for the role.

“For me after being at Howard, it was really, really important for me to feel a strong connection with the mission of the college,” Holley said. “My interactions with the students on the Presidential Search Committee are what convinced me that this was the right place for me to come.”

She appreciated how frequently the chair and Board of Trustees called on students, and their community-oriented mindset and shared emphasis on opportunities for future students.

“I was pleased to see how outspoken [the students] were. They reminded me of my Howard students,” Holley said. “It felt very egalitarian, very equitable, and that to me was an important sign that [the College] was a place that had those values,” she continued.

During her time at Howard, Holley worked with a team composed mostly of women and gender-diverse individuals, and, upon reflection, realized what a “special” experience that was. which further drew her toward the College.

“There are so many issues that

Unexpected

BY NINA SYDORYK ’25 NEWS EDITOR

Anyone who has stepped foot on the campus recently has likely taken stalk of the various sections that are currently under renovation. Big changes are underway at Mount Holyoke College and some remnants from its past have been uncovered in the process.

At the end of the 2023 spring semester, the College’s administration announced a bold new geothermal energy project that would work to replace a 100-year-old fossil fuel system, thereby reducing the College’s carbon emissions by 80 percent. The project will be implemented over a seven-year period, which began in May 2023 and is slated to culminate in 2030.

Now, as students return to campus for the 2023-24 academic year, they can expect to notice the project’s impact — both on exterior and interior locations around campus.

The project’s 2023 summer initiative saw 100-year old-steam pipes replaced by distribution piping that runs from the Kendade Science Complex, to Safford and Skinner Halls. The construction required a depth of four to six feet to be dug in relevant areas around these buildings.

are challenging women and people who are gender diverse, that we need people who are educated in settings in which they feel that they can come out and be leaders and that’s very true at Howard,” Holley said.

Holley found Mount Holyoke’s mission of empowerment around identity to mirror her experiences at Howard.

“Even though Howard is an HBCU and Mount Holyoke is a women’s college that’s gender diverse, that’s what they have in common,” Holley said. “That’s what I saw I could bring in terms of experience, but also [my] feeling of wanting to lead in a place where people can come out feeling even better than they did when they came here.”

As president, Holley aims to be “out and about” on campus. She plans to have lunch in the Dining Commons alongside students once a week, and will hold open office hours both in person and on Zoom. She plans to attend sports events, art displays, performances and student activities and events. Students may even catch a glimpse of her dog, Blue, who always insists upon belly rubs.

Holley will also teach a class of her own in the Department of Politics during either the spring 2024 semester or the following school year.

“[President] Holley brings a strong vision for what Mount Holyoke is and, more importantly, what our College can become. She has a strong track record of strategic growth and innovation, which will serve us well,” Board of Trustees Chair Karena Strella ’90 said in an introduction of President Holley, published on the Mount Holyoke website.

Holley’s “strong vision” centers around the idea of future impacts; specifically, the positive effects the College can make for the campus and surrounding communities. It was the main theme of her inauguration, which was titled “The Future Is Now.”

This vision includes environmental sustainability, such as the recent geothermal energy project. Between 2023 and 2030, the project “will replace our 100-year-old fossil fuel powered steam heating system with a geothermal heat-exchange system powered by clean electricity, reducing our greenhouse gas emissions by 80%,” according to Mount Holyoke’s website.

“All of those things tie into the idea that what we’re doing right now has an impact on the future in terms of our current students … and faculty and staff for the next few decades,” Holley said.

Holley prides herself on being a teacher first and foremost. She values student voices and opinions as being equally important to those of

faculty and staff members and aims to partner with students to ensure that they have the resources for “a really … great college experience.”

Student participation was highly encouraged for the inauguration, with Holley envisioning it “to feel almost like you’re about to go to a concert.”

Events were planned leading up to the ceremony, including poster-making contests, a pep rally and a 90s-themed dance party held on Skinner Green, with food trucks and quiet spaces provided.

“It’s so funny. Of all the things during the inauguration, [including] a big ceremony, panels and a lunch, the thing I’m most excited about is the dance party,” Holley said.

On Wednesday, the symposium “When and Where I Enter: Reflec-

tions on Black Women’s Sojourns from Hortense Parker to Danielle R. Holley” was held to celebrate the legacy of Black women at the College.

Beginning with Hortense Parker, the first Black woman to attend Mount Holyoke and ending with President Holley, Mount Holyoke’s first permanent Black President, the symposium demonstrated the long history of Black students, faculty, and administrators at the College and their fight for inclusive policies and spaces like the Betty Shabazz Cultural Center.

“That didn’t just happen overnight. That was activism work,” Holley said. “It took a long time for students and faculty to make this place feel like it’s a community that anyone can belong to, and so I want to celebrate that.”

Now officially settled in, Holley feels like she “already [has] a special connection with the students here at Mount Holyoke.” She looks forward to continuing to familiarize herself with students, faculty, staff members and the South Hadley community. Ultimately, she hopes that everyone will see her primarily as a fellow faculty member — someone who is here to teach, advise and spend time with them.

“One of the most important things I want [students] to know [is that] when they see me, that really is me,” Holley said. “My values are always going to be the same, and they’re going to be shared with Mount Holyoke. [They will be] things that will be good for the College and propel us even further into excellence for the future.”

As a result, Skinner Green, a staple of Mount Holyoke student life, was closed during first-year move-in and orientation. Now, all excavation work pertaining to this summer phase has been completed, and Skinner Green is once again open.

According to Karla Youngblood, associate vice president for facilities management, 75 percent of phase 1a equipment has, as of time of publication, been installed. In addition, phase 2 of the project has been designed.

Students can expect an exten-

sive update on the status of the project to be published on the geothermal energy project webpage in the near future.

In an email to Mount Holyoke News, this incoming update was confirmed by Angie Gregory, the sustainability program manager at the Miller Worley Center for the Environment. This update will include further information on learning opportunities within the project for students and faculty, especially in the fields of geological study and campus history.

Notably, excavation work on July 18 resulted in the discovery of a portion of foundation from the original seminary building, along with several artifacts such as glass bottles and pieces of pottery. The artifacts are now in the possession of the College’s Archives and Special Collections.

The fall 2023 semester will see the remainder of phase 1 completed as new equipment continues to be installed in the buildings where new piping has been connected.

Modern equipment at the building level is set to provide air con-

ditioning in buildings that did not previously include it. The majority of this work is not expected to cause disturbances to the College community, as work will occur primarily within mechanical rooms. Landscaping for relevant areas of campus has been restored, and new grass on Skinner Green continues to grow. Students are encouraged to be mindful and respectful of designated work areas and temporary barriers. Students are also asked to be alert and aware of larger utility vehicles as they traverse campus.

discoveries unearthed during geothermal project excavation

Photo courtesy of Christian Feuerstein Newly-inaugurated on Thursday, Twentieth Mount Holyoke College

President Danielle R. Holley poses in the Stimson Room in the Williston Library.

Photo by Rose Martin ’27

A sign on Skinner Green asks students to allow the grass to recover following geothermal project.

Photo by Rose Martin ’27 Skinner Green has been fenced off to allow grass to grow back after summer work on the project.

The College’s Common Read “Disability Visibility” explores disability justice, visibility, and inclusion

futures. The world is ours, and this is for all of us.” The statement reflects Wong’s desire to show that disabled people exist and are living and thriving in spite of an inaccessible world. Her activism was born from a need to improve her own access and quality of life and to create the space for visibility and role models she never saw as a child.

BY EMMA QUIRK ’26 PHOTOS EDITOR & STAFF WRITER

Mount Holyoke College’s 2023

Common Read is “Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century,” edited by Alice Wong. The anthology, originally published in 2020, includes poems, essays, blog posts and stories that center on disability experience and justice written by disabled people.

Wong is a disabled activist, writer, editor and collaborator on many projects related to disability justice and founder of the Disability Visibility Project. The DVP began as a one-year oral history project and has become an “online community dedicated to creating, sharing and amplifying disability media and culture.”

The anthology “Disability Visibility” was born from this project.

A wide range of stories and experiences are explored by various authors throughout the anthology. Earl Wren ’24 was grateful for the authentic and full portrayals of the experiences of those living with dis-

abilities.

“It was incredible seeing disabled people talking about topics ranging from incontinence to Down Syndrome … to nonverbal and non-speaking people and people without ‘functional communication,’ to Dwarfism and nystagmus and facial differences and muscular dystrophy and so much more,” Wren wrote in an emailed response to Mount Holyoke News. They noted that these people and topics are not always represented in disability community spaces, let alone outside of them. Wren further shared that there were other parts of the book which resonated with them. “There were also intersections with Black, Asian, Indigenous, and other experiences of color in a way that is authentic and alive, mundane joys and everyday experiences and not just putting our trauma out for emotionless, perfectly worded, and perfectly presented education,” Wren said. A story that stuck with Director of Accessible Education and 504 Coordinator Madeline Peters was “Radical

systems

BY MELANIE DURONIO ’26 FEATURES EDITOR

When the state of Tennessee introduced legislation to ban drag and “adult cabaret performances” last March, Mount Holyoke College

alumna Melissa Stewart FP ’19 knew she needed to stop the ban. Stewart and her co-counsel at Donati Law filed a temporary restraining order against the state of Tennessee, preventing the law from taking effect until midnight of June 2, 2023.

Stewart and her team first sued the state in March on behalf of Friends of George’s, a Memphis-based theater group that produces drag shows and other performances. After taking the case to trial through multiple hearings, U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker found the drag ban unconstitutional, writing that it was “unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad.”

The ban was officially overturned just before midnight on June 1, 2023.

Stewart and her team spent that night at a venue for a Memphis Pride event where people loudly celebrated the victory together.

“It set the scene for the whole weekend … just the euphoria of everyone screaming ‘we won!’ It was a really beautiful moment,” Stewart said. “I felt like this community really deserved it. [Especially] after everything [the community in] Memphis had done to fight this.”

Stewart, who identifies as queer, found this case to be “intensely personal.” Although she considers it an uplifting and rewarding experience, it also took a toll on her.

“The most powerful people in the state [of Tennessee] had decided to openly and actively try to oppress us and the most vulnerable people in

our community … there was something about that which made it more difficult to compartmentalize,” Stewart said.

Stewart finds it important to hold systems of power accountable as a civil rights lawyer, “one person, one case at a time.”

“I view the work that I do as harm reduction. The flawed systems that we have, I’m not going to be able to fix them with this work,” Stewart said. “What I can do, hopefully, is make life less unjust for my clients. I can at least stop some of these laws before they start to harm people.”

Visibility: A Disabled Queer Clothing Reform Movement Manifesto” by Sky Cubacub. In this manifesto, Cubacub explores how mainstream clothing does not serve disabled and transgender people and how the few designers making accessible or gender-affirming clothing focus purely on function, ignoring aesthetics entirely. “I was happy to read [Radical Visibility] because I had worked with many students that used wheelchairs and did not have raincoats, covering for their feet, and other issues because there are no clothing that fit their needs,” Peters said. “I know Sky is one person but there was a lot of need for clothing for people with disabilities.”

“I found myself feeling so mad and upset that the struggle is so deep and so widespread, although I know it is,” Peters said of their experience reading the anthology. Still, they felt invigorated by the work that Cubacub has been able to do.

The book’s dedication reads, “To my younger self and all the disabled kids today who can’t imagine their

On Thursday, Sept. 7, members of the Mount Holyoke community gathered in Gamble Auditorium for a conversation between Wong, Wren and Professor of Religion Susanne Mrozik. The virtual event was also accessible through Zoom and included live captions and live ASL interpreters. Those who attended in Gamble were provided juice and cookies, and a staff member from Odyssey Bookshop sold copies of the book. During the conversation, Mrozik and Wren alternated between asking Wong questions — aloud and through text-to-speech technology, respectively — and Wong responded with answers through her text-tospeech device. Wong explained her journey of becoming an activist and looked to the wisdom of the other writers and activists in “Disabled Visibility.” The candor displayed throughout the conversation stood out to students. Bee Mayberry ’26 was struck by how open Wong was about her transition from wanting to be a researcher to becoming an activist. “While [Wong] loves where she is now, she was frustrated that she couldn’t do the things she initially set out to do. That feeling hits close to home because I have had many moments in life where I wanted to do something so bad but I couldn’t because of my disability,” Mayberry said. Technology was a major part of this event, as it was virtual, and two of the panelists used text-tospeech technology. “What stood out to me was the command and control that Earl and Alice showed using augmented speech,” Peters said. “It was a perfect example of how assistive technology works if people with disabilities are provided with the appropriate access.” Throughout the conversation, Wong emphasized the lack of visibility of disabled people as a whole, especially the lack of representation of BIPOC people in the disability rights movement and the

media. The book “Disability Visibility” centers disabled people of color and their experiences. After attending this event, Mayberry said they now truly understand how “disability justice connects to everything … if someone is talking about disability rights but isn’t also mentioning the interconnections between the disability movement and all of these other systems of oppression, then they simply aren’t talking about the full picture.” This sentiment was shared by many other attendees. “This common read is an opportunity for all of us to reflect on how disability intersects with what we do. Because it does! I hope our campus learns how to make our community more accessible for disabled students and disabled employees,” Mrozik said in an interview with MHN. “We have a lot of work to do.”

With that said, Mrozik and Wren emphasized that just improving access is not all that is needed. A key takeaway from “Disability Visibility” is the importance of listening to and learning from disabled people. “Disabled wisdom translates across communities,” Mrozik said. “I hope that our campus learns from this book that when we talk about disability, we are not just talking about accommodating disabled people … ‘Disability Visibility’ is talking about more than accommodating disabled people; it’s talking about learning from disabled individuals and communities. And, doing so in a way that — in Keah Brown’s words — ‘decenters whiteness.’”

The event was followed by enthusiastic applause, and lively chatter about the conversation followed everyone as they exited. “This is the start of finally recognizing disability as a complex and active identity with history and emotions and activism and labor, instead of something passive,” Wren wrote in their email to Mount Holyoke News. “Disability belongs in DEI … [and] belongs in academia … We belong everywhere … ‘Tradition’ and ‘we always did things like this’ have never been and will not be an adequate excuse for refusing to accommodate us. We deserve something more than the bare minimum, we deserve more than mere survival, we deserve thriving, and community and being truly included.”

gave me permission to have opinions without apologizing and to lead without feeling like I had to take a backseat to other people.”

Stewart recalls this time fondly and feels her “lived experience would have been completely different” if she had gone to another school for undergrad. She spent most nights in Shattuck talking and studying with friends. During their conversations, she “only ever felt loved or cared for.”

I view the work that I do as harm reduction. The flawed systems that we have, I’m not going to be able to fix them with this work. What I can do, hopefully, is make life less unjust for my clients. I can at least stop some of these laws before they start to harm people.

Steward studied English at Mount Holyoke and attended Duke University School of Law before becoming a civil rights lawyer for Donati Law.

– Melissa Stewart

According to Stewart, Mount Holyoke “opened up an entirely different world for me.” Raised by a conservative fundamentalist Christian sect, Stewart attended school through her church and received a limited education. When she entered the Frances Perkins Scholar program at 27, Mount Holyoke became the first place she could live as openly queer and “take up space.”

“When I left the church, I still was not able to speak up to authority, [and] especially [not] to male authority. Mount Holyoke gave me a space where not only was I allowed to do that, but I was actively encouraged [to do so],” Stewart said. “It

As an English major, Stewart learned how to organize her writing in a succinct and logical manner. Her focus in medieval literature frequently overlapped with law, and she wrote her senior thesis on medieval defamation law and “The Book of Margery Kempe,” the oldest known English autobiography. She found medieval logic and rhetoric to be transferable to legal writing: both require the development of a clear and engaging chain of logic for an argument.

Stewart credits Professor Wesley Yu for influencing her writing style and pushing her to improve constantly, emphasizing that “he taught me to write exactly the way I needed to learn how to write [for law school].”

“In law school, they tell you over and over again how academic writing is not the same as legal writing. Well, apparently, it is if you wrote for Professor Yu,” Stewart joked.

Moving forward, Stewart and her team will continue to fight against drag bans and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in other states. The team is currently working with lawyers in states including Texas and Montana, alongside organizations like the Texas Civil Rights Project.

For students who identify as queer and are interested in advocating for social justice, whether through law or another path, Stewart emphasizes forming connections and community.

“Prioritize finding queer community because you’re not going to be able to fix everything and sepa-

rate yourself from the awful things that are happening to queer people … what you can do is make sure you have a community that holds you up and keeps you safe, and that you do the same for them.

“My best advice is, cling to queer community … Mount Holyoke was my first experience with true queer community,” Smith said. “It’s something that like, I’ve tried to explain to straight people and can’t because it’s not just a group of friends. It’s different than that, and you deserve it. And it’s not probably going to magically fall into your lap, you’re going to [need to] find it.”

Melissa Stewart FP ’19 helps overturn Tennessee drag ban, holds

accountable “one person, one case at a time”

Photo by Emma Quirk ’26 Alice Wong’s “Disability Visibility,” pictured above, was selected as Mount Holyoke College’s Common Read for the 2023-2024 academic school year.

Photo courtesy of Melissa Stewart FP ’19 Stewart and her co-counsel at Donati Law helped overturn the drag ban legislation in Tennessee.

BY JESSE HAUSKNECHT-BROWN ’25 MANAGING EDITOR OF LAYOUT & FEATURES EDITOR

As a trans guy, I feel like I have been waiting for this film my entire life.

Vuk Lungulov-Klotz’s debut feature film, “Mutt,” dips into the life of Feña (Lio Mehiel), a recently out transgender man, for 24 hours. Notably, Feña’s story, set in New York City, centers on life after transitioning, rather than the process of coming out. Within the first few minutes of the film, the nuances of Feña’s intersectional identity are highlighted when he argues — in a mix of English and Spanish — with his Chilean father (Alejandro Goic) about his gender identity, which is followed by a stranger making a fetishistic comment about his bilingualism. These early scenes establish Feña’s frustration with society, family and himself.

After this exchange with his father, who is visiting Feña the next day, he spots his cisgender ex-boyfriend John (Cole Doman) in a bar. This reconnection is terse and in-

timate at the same time, and after spending the night together, John abruptly exits, leaving Feña confused and upset. These feelings are only compounded by the sudden arrival of Feña’s younger half-sister, Zoe (MiMi Ryder). While going through his own emotional difficulties surrounding John and his father, Feña now must take care of Zoe for the day.

What stood out to me the most was the way that Feña was portrayed as a flawed and messy person who has, and does, screw up. Trans people are messy and human and make mistakes just like everyone else. This is the exact reason we need trans people writing and playing trans characters.

“I think the director being trans and being able to tell trans stories is incredibly important, especially when so many trans stories have been directed and told by cisgender people from a very cisgender lens,” Rowan Phelps ’25, who identifies as non-binary, said. “The director, Vuk Lungulov-Klotz has a really unique perspective and this story could not have been told with such authenticity by anyone else…. [Feña] felt

very whole to me in the ways that he makes mistakes and the way that he navigates his relationships, sometimes successfully and sometimes not so successfully.”

The film was shot with a 4:3 aspect ratio, which is less common in modern filmmaking — although it has been coming back recently — and really elevated the cinematography. It was clear that the framing and color grading of every shot was purposeful and well thought out. The arrangement of characters and objects in front of the camera lens was beautiful and heightened the emotional drama of the film.

Phelps pointed to the soundtrack as one of the best stylistic elements of the film. “Immediately after leav-

ing the theater, I listened to the soundtrack over again,” Phelps said. All the scenes were played with the same severity, so the film could have used a pinch of humor and some lighter-hearted moments. Some moments came very close to humor but were ultimately played very seriously. A lot of young filmmakers fall into this trap, especially when creating a film about a subject so personal. I know I’ve done the same.

However, the script mostly struck me as being vulnerable and reflective of the queer trans experience. There were lines at the end of the film that hit me in the chest in a way that was painful and powerful. In a fight they have in the last act, John yells

at Feña, “the reason everyone hates you isn’t cause you’re trans, it’s cause you’re an asshole.” A little bit later in the argument, Feña shoots back with, “you’re just afraid of loving a trans guy!”

These lines, as well as the rest of that conversation, reflected something that I have rarely ever seen on the big screen. While I also appreciated the final act’s emotional argument between Feña and his father, the heated moments with John showed what it is like to be a trans man who loves men. This is what has been missing from trans cinema: the moment was bittersweet, leaving me relieved, melancholic and hopeful all at once.

“I think what made Mutt really interesting to me was the way it delved into the in-betweens. The in-betweens of identity, relationships and family dynamics,” Phelps said. “I don’t see many films about transness post-transition and I think that those stories are just as valuable as stories of coming out. Especially at a time when anti-trans legislation is so common, stories of transgender people simply living and navigating the world around them need to be told.”

“Mutt” brings a complex portrait of a queer, trans man to the big screen

I think the director being trans and being able to tell trans stories is incredibly important, especially when so many trans stories have been directed and told by cisgender people from a very cisgender lens... Vuk Lungulov-Klotz has a really unique perspective and this story could not have been told with such authenticity by anyone else.

– Rowan Phelps ’25

Supreme Court of Mexico rules to decriminalize abortion

BY KIERA MCLAUGHLIN ’26 STAFF WRITER

Content warning: This article discusses sexual violence.

The Supreme Court of Mexico recently ruled to decriminalize abortion across the nation in a decision on Sept. 6, 2023, BBC News reported. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, the decision was unanimous. The Center for Reproductive Rights further reported that Mexico’s large Roman Catholic population makes it the second-largest Catholic country in the world, leading the Center to remark in a recent online article on the significance of this decision for both the country and the region, as the Catholic Church does not support abortion procedures.

After the ruling, the head of the Supreme Court, Arturo Zaldívar, stated that “in cases of rape, no girl can be forced to become a mother — neither by the state nor by her parents nor her guardians,” BBC reported. “No other court in the region has stated this right as clearly and it is a strong example of how Inter-American System standards are being applied in national courts: by recognizing and protecting women’s right to decide,” Catalina Martínez Coral, senior regional director for

Latin America and the Caribbean for the Center for Reproductive Rights, said.

The Center for Reproductive Rights went on to explain that the ruling references people with gestational capacity, expanding beyond just the rights of women. Rebecca Ramos, director of the Grupo de Información en Reproducción Elegida

— the organization responsible for the lawsuit that led to this ruling — explained to Ms. Magazine that “the decision means that more than 70 percent of women and people with the capacity to get pregnant can now access a legal abortion in Mexico.”

The same Ms. Magazine article explained that this ruling comes from the success of the “Green Wave,” a Latin American movement focused on legalizing abortion in the region. It saw specific success in Catholic countries such as Argentina in 2020. This movement originated in Argentina in an effort to recognize abortion as a non-partisan topic, which led to the victory of the bill legalizing abortions in Argentina, Mariela Belski, the executive director of Amnesty International Argentina, wrote in an article for Al Jazeera. The green bandana, or “pañuelo verde,” was chosen because it represents liveliness and health in the fight for reproductive rights.

While there has been over-

whelming positivity from around the world and progressive politicians supporting the decision, according to the Catholic Review, the Mexican bishops’ conference tweeted in opposition.

The statement read,, “those of us convinced of the value of life have no need for a murderous law such as the one that is being approved … We hope that your option for life is not conditional on an ideology, rather motivated by faith, hope and

love.” Additionally, Di RAMONA, a pro-choice nonprofit in Mexico, highlighted the hope that comes from this decision in an interview with the Global Fund for Women, reminding everyone that “the cries of anger, pain, joy and sisterhood on the streets have certainly placed the feminist movement at the center of public attention as a strong and necessary movement that is requesting radical change in life as we know it. We can say for sure that this is

not going unnoticed! We are everywhere.”

Currently, 12 out of 32 states in Mexico have legalized abortion up to 12 weeks according to Mexico News Daily. The outlet further reported that state laws have been far behind the 2021 Supreme Court federal ruling, which decided that criminalizing abortion is unconstitutional, implying that there is reason to believe that this could happen with the newest decision.

Global representatives attend G20 Summit in New Dehli, India

BY MAAHI JAISWAL ’24 STAFF WRITER

From Sept. 9-10, the 18th annual Group of 20 Summit — an intergovernmental platform that includes 20 of the world’s largest economies — took place in New Delhi, India. Its members include 19 sovereign states alongside the European Union and the African Union. This group accounts for nearly two-thirds of the global population, as well as over 75 percent of worldwide trade and 85 percent of global GDP, according to the G20 Secretariat. It was founded in 1999 following the Asian financial crisis as a call to facilitate global economic cooperation.

Topics under the purview of this group include economic growth, sustainable development and international governance. Currently, the G20 does not have a permanent secretariat and instead has a rotating presidency model. Under this system, the current president, its

predecessor and its successor make up the three members of the G20 Secretariat.

This year, India holds the Presidency from Dec. 1, 2022, to Nov. 30, 2023, and will be supported by Indonesia and Brazil. Several countries and international organizations are also formally invited to the summit, including recognized international organizations like the United Nations, International Monetary Fund and others, as well as regional organizations like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. India hosted the G20 Summit this year in over 30 cities across the country.

There were several major developments at this year’s summit, one of which was the launch of the Global Biofuel Alliance. Started as an initiative by India as the G20 chair, the GBA works to increase the use of biofuels through investments in technological advancements and shaping certification standards. It has been created to serve as a body

of knowledge for speeding the global uptake of biofuels.

In addition to the alliance’s formation, this year’s summit produced another significant collaboration upon formally adopting the African Union (and its 55 member states) as a permanent partner. Before this, South Africa had been the only African country with representation in the G20. This move was pushed by various countries in the Global South to address the lack of African representation in discussions at the G20 Summit.

In keeping with the spirit of collaboration, this year’s G20 countries also moved to adopt less polarizing language in conversations about the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported. While they agreed that “states cannot grab territory by force” and emphasized the suffering of the people of Ukraine, they did not directly criticize Russia.

Last year, the G20 held a more critical stance when they condemned

Russia’s invasion and “demanded that it withdraw from Ukraine.”

Many foreign officials stated that there would have been backlash from the Russian Federation if an outright condemnation was issued, Reuters reported.

Prime Minister Kishida of Japan stated that “Russia’s aggression is exacerbating the difficulties of the global economy, including on food and energy, and that the G20 needs to address them,” according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

In the midst of the climate crisis, countries at the summit agreed to “pursue tripling renewable energy capacity globally by 2030 and accepted the need to phase-down unabated coal power.” However, no major climate goals were set, and no existing frameworks were amended to include new goals surrounding renewable energy. According to the Associated Press, no financial pathways were brought forward during the summit.

Even though the summit successfully produced a final joint declaration on climate change from world leaders, tensions were ever-present between the countries from the Global South and their northern neighbors. According to AlJazeera, French President Emmanuel Macron fervently advised against the West carrying the sole responsibility of climate change work.

Another area of contention between the Global South and the Western countries was the role of multilateral development banks, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

The G20 Summit was also not attended by two notable members of the P5 nations, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the Guardian. Nonetheless, the G20 Summit revived the multilateral process in international relations by centering the Global South in the governance agenda.

Thousands have been killed by a 6.8 magnitude earthquake in Morocco

BY JENDAYI LEBEN-MARTIN ’24

GLOBAL EDITOR & MANAGING EDITOR OF CONTENT

Content warning: This article discusses mass death.

On Sept. 8, 2023, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Morocco, killing thousands in the Al Haouz, Ouarzazate and Marrakech provinces, NBC News reported. Marrakech is the country’s most visited tourist attraction and home to a UNESCO World Heritage site. Video footage shared by NBC News showed people evacuating city establishments and attempting to find safety from crumbling buildings. According to NBC News, Morocco observed an official three-day period of mourning follow-

ing the earthquake to acknowledge the large death toll. As of Sept. 22, the British Red Cross has reported 3,000 people dead.

According to CNN, while the earthquake’s epicenter was in the High Atlas mountain range — 72 kilometers (44.7 miles) from Marrakech — the impact of the earthquake was felt as far as Casablanca, a city 244.8 kilometers (152.1 miles) north of Marrakech.

The total damage resulting from the earthquake is due to its strong 6.8 magnitude and because it struck somewhat closer to the earth’s surface, causing it to be more destructive. This is the most deadly earthquake in Morocco since 1960, which killed over 12,000 people. After being made aware of the

earthquake and advised by government officials, King Mohammed VI ordered potable water, food, tents and other supplies to be distributed to those affected. He also directed search and rescue efforts to find any people who may be trapped under the rubble, reported NBC News. While the totality of the destruction is still being uncovered, the most significant damage happened in Al Haouz, where 1,500 people had died as of Sept. 11. Eyewitnesses who spoke to CNN explained that many smaller villages were hit hardest and that in some areas, homes have been completely destroyed. Rescue efforts to these areas have proven complicated because damage from the earthquake makes them difficult to access.

Photo courtesy of Faruk Toklosglu via Pexels

Thousands of casualties resulted

Photo courtesy of ProtoplasmaKid via Wikimedia Commons

The “Green Wave” reproductive rights movement has worked to decriminalize abortion in Mexico, the unanimous decision was reached on Sept. 6.

Photo courtesy of Number 10 via Flickr Government representatives from nations across the world gathered in New Dehli, India from September 9 to September 10 for the gathering of the 18th annual Group of Twenty Summit (G20). India served as the president of the summit for this year.

U.S. sets record for most billion dollar weather events in a year

BY SARAH GRINNELL ’26 SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT EDITOR

What does climate change cost us? A new report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says that, for the United States, that number is $57.6 billion.

From flooding, tornadoes, heat waves and wildfires, 2023 has been fraught with climate calamities. The NOAA announced on Monday, Sept. 9, that the United States has now set the record for the most billion-dollar weather disasters to occur in a single year, USA Today reported.

According to Adam Smith, an applied climatologist at NOAA, the new report named 23 separate “weather and climate disasters” that cost at least $1 billion in damage. The 2023 disasters named by NOAA hold a combined total of more than $57.6 billion in damage and have resulted in the deaths of 253 people, Smith said in an interview with Mount Holyoke News. Among some of the costliest disasters Smith named were the decimating firestorms in Hawaii, Hurricane Idalia, hail storms in Minnesota and the “destructive tornadoes, severe hail and high wind” that occurred across parts of the Southern and Eastern United States.

However, these numbers are expected to climb even higher, as Smith added that the damages of Tropical Storm Hillary and the Southern/Midwestern drought are still being tallied.

According to Smith, “the second half of each year is typically the costliest for the U.S., and hurricane, wildfire and drought costs mount,” so U.S. citizens can expect the totals to rise even higher before the year ends.

According to Smith, the United States has a higher “frequency and diversity” of billion-dollar weather events than any other country due to its “expansive geography that is prone to many hazards, trillions of dollars of assets in harm’s way, and the fact that climate change is amplifying the frequency and intensity of some of these extremes.”

The global rise of temperatures and the increase in extreme weather that comes with it leads to a consequential “rise in vulnerability to drought, lengthening wildfire seasons in the Western states,” Smith said. As well as “the potential for extremely heavy rainfall becoming more common in the Eastern states,” sea level rise also “[worsens] hurricane storm surge flood potential.”

According to USA Today, some southern states have felt the effects of these severe conditions in a particularly visceral way, with many of them having recorded record-high temperatures over the summer. According to the NOAA report, Texas, in particular, has had upwards of 100 billion-dollar weather events that impacted varying parts of the state, CBS News reported. Texas native Amelia Anderson ’26 acknowledged that Texas summers are generally steamy but stressed that “this summer, in general, was so much hotter than even us Texans are used to. I remember as a kid, it often got up to 100 degrees, but it wasn’t every day. This summer, the high was almost always above 100.”

According to Katherine Jacobs, a climate scientist at the University of Arizona, “adding more energy to the atmosphere and the oceans will increase intensity and frequency of extreme events,” leading to weather that is “unusual and in some cases unprecedented.”

This has certainly been the case for Anderson, who said, “It has absolutely been hotter and drier than I’ve ever felt before. I fully believe this is a consequence of climate change

— I’ve never experienced anything even remotely like this before.”

Irregular weather has not been limited only to the South. Evelyn Fleming ’26, who hails from Vermont, described the “widespread flooding” that occurred in Barre, where she was doing her summer internship.

“The entire main street flooded, and there were multiple landslides. Many shops had to close for a time, and there were huge rebuilding efforts,” she explained.

Like Anderson, Fleming emphasized the irregularity of this weather. “We had hurricane Irene about ten years ago, but otherwise, this type of event is not usual for our state. It does feel like this is beginning to become more and more frequent. This flooding event is even worse than Irene.”

As such, many experts are stressing the urgency of the U.S. government adapting its disaster response to accommodate intensifying weather patterns:

“This kind of a dire situation is likely to happen year after year as climate change worsens,” said Rachel Cleetus, policy director and lead economist at the Union of Concerned Scientists’ Climate and Energy Pro-

gram, in a Common Dreams article.

“It’s imperative that U.S. policymakers invest much more in getting out ahead of disasters before they strike rather than forcing communities to just pick up the pieces after the fact.”

This urgency to reform U.S. disaster response is also underpinned by the fact that, in August, Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell cautioned in a CBS article that FEMA’s disaster fund could “dry up within weeks and delay the federal response to natural disasters.”

As such, former FEMA director Craig Fugate believes these disasters are accelerating at a rate that the U.S. government cannot keep up with unless significant changes are made, as he asserted in a Newsday article that “the climate has already changed and neither the built environment nor the response systems are keeping up with the change.”

While Fleming said that her state “typically responds well to these disasters, both on a governmental and on an individual level” with volunteers, flood surveying and federal funding, Anderson’s experience highlights the steep consequences of the U.S.’s lack of a systemized plan for handling weather

calamities across the country. “Nothing is being done for the sole reason that it benefits corporations — they get rich off of people constantly running their AC … It’s absolutely ridiculous that we keep experiencing these intense highs and lows, and politicians refuse to do anything,” Anderson said.

Thus, the extremes of 2023 — with four months still to go — have left many U.S. citizens, like Anderson, fearing for the future of the places they call home.

“I’m scared that the South is very quickly turning into Death Valley,” Anderson said. “Texas can be a beautiful, incredible place, and I’m terrified it will become inhospitable.”

Since 2017, there have been 124 billion-dollar disasters resulting in at least 5,100 fatalities and surmounting more than $1 trillion in damage, Smith said. According to Cleetus in the Common Dreams article, so long as progress continues to stall on a federal level, this “deadly and expensive reality” of the climate crisis that the NOAA report has laid bare will only continue to be felt in dramatic and increasingly destructive ways unless politicians rise to the wake-up call.

Catastrophic dam collapse in Durna, Libya causes death and displacement

BY LILY BENN ’24 STAFF WRITER

Content warning: This article discusses mass death.

Cyclone Daniel devastated the northeastern Libyan city of Derna, as well as much of the surrounding communities in the Mediterranean region, on Sept. 10 according to the British Red Cross.

According to National Geographic, cyclones are similar to hurricanes and typhoons, but the title of the typically disastrous storm is dependent on the region in which it develops. As reported by CNN, Cyclone Daniel’s worst effects fell on northeastern Libyan communities , with the highest death toll in Derna, a coastal port city.

As the cyclone traveled through, it caused two of Derna’s dam infrastructures to collapse, the CNN article explained. The rushing water unleashed by the collapse of the dams, combined with the strong winds and rain of the cyclone, caused entire neighborhoods to be washed into the Mediterranean Sea. The remaining areas were destroyed by debris, the article stated, showing pictures of entire cars and buildings buried in soil.

The death toll had risen to over 6,000 at the time the CNN article was published, and the number of people displaced was over 30,000. According to a CBS News article published on Saturday, Sept. 16, the Libyan Red Crescent has now reported at least 11,300 deaths thus far, with over 10,000 people still missing.

In a different CNN article the eastern government of Libya disputed this high death toll, instead reporting 3,252 deaths. CNN was not able to verify the conflicting figures. However, articles from reputable sources, such as CBS News, also

publish updated, higher death tolls.

According to CBS News, Libya’s General al-Sediq al-Sour said in a news conference on Sept. 15 that prosecutors will investigate previous Libyan governments and local authorities, as well as how funds for the dams were allocated in relation to their poor maintenance and resulting catastrophe.

Public health is also at risk following the flooding disaster, especially throughout Northeastern Libya and in Derna, explained CBS News. According to Haider al-Saeih, the head of Libya’s Center for Disease Combatment, at least 150 people have contracted diarrhea as a re-

sult of drinking contaminated water in the area around the floods. Furthermore, he warns of waterborne diseases spreading due to the lack of clean, bottled water. Explosive ordnance-military weapons and equipment from Libya’s recent political and military conflicts are also at risk of being set off from the debris and damage from the storm, PBS NewsHour reported. In a New York Times article, health officials reported that, because of the difficulty and high amount of victims to recover, as well as the amount of time that has passed since the storm began, the window for rescuing survivors is

becoming smaller. Rick Brennan, the director of the World Health Organization’s Eastern Mediterranean response, told The New York Times that most of the people who are missing are becoming less likely to be found alive. According to The New York Times, the government had been warned about the dams and their infrastructure in Libya for years. The article explained that the government in Libya has made it difficult for public issues, such as dam maintenance, to be addressed as political unrest and division have taken the main stage. The New York Times went on to

report that Libya’s coastal towns and communities are especially vulnerable in the face of climate change-related disasters, such as extreme storms. Before Cyclone Daniel, Osama Hamad, a top official in Libya, televised a meeting for Libyan news sources and reported that Libyan authorities were on alert. However, the article explains that Libyan residents did not receive a clear message to evacuate before the storm and the dam collapse.

According to CNN, health officials are attempting to honor the Islamic burial rites of the majority of the population by providing a burial within three days of death. However, this is proving difficult. For example, decomposition makes identification and retrieval more difficult, morgues are full, debris is covering bodies in the aftermath of the floods on the mainland, the currents in the Mediterranean Sea make it difficult to keep track of all bodies seen and the search and rescue teams can only access the moving bodies seen from the mainland by limited boat and diving equipment, according to CNN.

CNN reports that surrounding governments and communities have been sending search and rescue teams, including from Tunisia and Turkey. An Algerian aircraft delivered humanitarian aid, including food, clothing, tents and medical supplies. The EU has also released an initial $540,000 in humanitarian aid after a call for international assistance from Libyan authorities, according to CNN. Countries and organizations such as Germany, Romania, the United Nations, the United States, Britain, Finland, Italy and the United Arab Emirates have been reportedly offering supplies, funds and civil defense teams to assist with search, rescue, burial and community and governmental recovery.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard via Wikimedia Commons

Of the 2023 weather and climate disasters recently identified by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the recent firestorms in Hawaii were identified as one of the costliest incidents.

Photo courtesy of Syed Wali Peeran via OpenVerse

The skyline of Derna, Libya, seen prior to the flooding. The coastal port city has Cyclone Daniel’s highest death toll, with over 6,000 reported dead.

What the Vassar lawsuit reveals about wage discrimination in academia

BY MAX RHOADS ’25 STAFF WRITER

Five current and former female professors at Vassar College, another member of the Seven Sisters, have filed a wage discrimination complaint against the college. The class action complaint, which was filed on Aug. 30, 2023 alleges that Vassar has been paying them less than their male counterparts for decades.

According to The Miscellany News, Vassar’s student news publication, thirty-six other female professors have filed a joint statement in support of them that reads, “We do not take lightly the decision to speak out, but Vassar has left us with no other choice. [Vassar] has known for many years that it has unlawfully paid men more than women, but it has for years rejected our overtures and refused to address this discrimination in any meaningful or substantive way.”

One piece of evidence in the suit was a chart detailing the wage differences between male and female professors, tracked over 19 academic years. It is clear that this wage discrimination has been occurring for years, and with such data at hand, it is impossible to deny that

the pay gap is not gender-based. The decision to underpay women often comes from a conscious or unconscious assumption that women are less competent or have less important jobs than men; however, we are well into 2023. We know by now that women are just as competent at the same jobs, and play just as important roles in the workforce.

The lawsuit has garnered support from the Vassar student body as well. One Instagram account called @hearusout2023 has been organizing student protests. The account is calling on Vassar to pay its faculty equally and end gender discrimination at Vassar. The administrators of this account reported that, according to a survey conducted in 2011, “42.4% of female professors felt discriminated against at Vassar, and 11.9% reported that the discrimination was extensive.”

Unfortunately, wage discrimination is a pervasive problem in the workforce, especially in academia. According to U.S. Census Bureau data, as of 2016, the gender pay gap in the United States stood at approximately 20 percent across all industries. In a study conducted at Ohio State University, a male and female professor of the same rank were

found to have a pay difference of 5.2 percent. In the case of Vassar, the pay difference between male and female professors averaged out to 10.0 percent in the 2021-2022 academic year — about twice that. Although Vassar has been co-ed since 1969, it was founded in 1861 as one of the first higher education institutions to educate women in the United States.

It is terribly ironic that an institution meant to further the educational opportunities of women does not treat its male and female faculty equally. This sends a message to female students that no matter how hard they try and what education they achieve, they will never measure up to their male counterparts. It will discourage women from continuing their educa-

tion, which goes against the purpose of historically women’s colleges. On the Vassar College website, many statements promise to create a just environment for its students and faculty. Those words will mean nothing if they are not backed up by actions. To foster the just environment it wishes to, Vassar must close the pay gap.

The College celebrates Mountain Day following Dr. Holley’s inaguration

Every year on a day unbeknownst to students and faculty alike, church bells ring out of Abbey Chapel a hundred times, signaling the start of Mountain Day. All classes and college activities are canceled and students are encouraged to board a shuttle that will take them to the base of Mount Holyoke. Hoards of students hike up the 962 foot elevation to the Summit House at the top, where waiting for them is ice cream, temporary tattoos and other gifts from various college organizations. This year, the holiday took place on September 22nd, the day after the inauguration of Mount Holyoke’s twentieth president. Following a day of parties and school spirit the night before, the party continued as students enjoyed the day.

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Photo courtesy of sabatheus via Wikimedia Commons

The library of Vassar College, which is currently embroiled in a lawsuit which alleges gendered wage discrimination against female faculty members.

BY LIV WILSON ’24

PUBLISHER & BOOKS EDITOR

1) Students pass time together at the top of the mountain.

Photo by Rose Martin ’27. 2) Students posing for a photo.

Photo by Emma Quirk ’26. 3) President Holley posing with students. Photo by Zeyu Zhao ’27. 4) Students hiking up the mountain.

Photo by Rose Martin ’27. 5) MHC students hiking up the mountain.

Photo by Ella Shelton ’26. 6) President Holley with the Glee Club.

Photo by Zeyu Zhao ’27. 7) Students gathered on the mountain.

Photo by Rose Martin ’27. 8) Students putting on tattoos.

Photo by Emma Quirk ’26. 9) Students laughing at Mountain Day. Photo by Zeyu Zhao ’27. 10) Caroline Lamb ’26, Lia Di Lisio ’26, Amanda Weber ’26 and Ella Sloss ’26 enjoying Mountain Day.

Photo by Emma Quirk ’26.

J. Vanessa Lyon speaks at Odyssey Bookshop on new novel

BY

A queer romance set in Harlem’s art scene is the subject of “Lush Lives,” the first fiction book published by author J. Vanessa Lyon under her own name. On Tuesday, Sept. 12, the Odyssey Bookshop invited Lyon to speak about the book, marking Lyon’s first bookstore reading. Prior to “Lush Lives,” Lyon wrote “The Groves,” an Audible original, and “Meet Me in Madrid” under the pseudonym of Verity Lowell. Lyon is an art history professor at Bennington College, a liberal arts college in Vermont, and her academic background shines through in “Lush Lives.”

The book’s protagonist, Glory, explores the rich and storied history of the Harlem Renaissance, a time when Black creativity in the arts flourished, and how it connects to her own experiences in the modern day.

Lyon, a self-identified “lesbian of

color,” began fiction writing during the COVID-19 pandemic, and by working at a furious pace, was able to finish three books in three years.

“Lush Lives” was written in about six months. “It has been a little therapeutic … writing stories, endings and characters who I just, like, was excited to feel like existed … It was starting to take me out of what I think was starting to feel like a kind of confinement,” the author said of writing a positive queer romance.

“I needed to feel like I was part of a larger queer BIPOC community, and this is definitely both like in a real way with doing … residencies where I’ve met people, but also just feeling connected … So I think it’s made me feel much happier about my own life. … [it’s] made my own life lusher.”

During the event, Lyon referenced a study quoted in PEN America and originally published in the New York Times, which reported that of 3,471 fiction authors published by major publishing compa-

nies from 1950 to 2018, 95 percent were white. She then expressed that the art world is similarly lacking in diversity. Despite the novel being fiction, Lyon incorporates some of her own memories into “Lush Lives.” The novel’s protagonist, Glory, is taken to Harlem when she inherits her Aunt Lucille’s brownstone. The late Aunt Lucille in the novel has parallels with the author’s own Great Aunt Lucille, whom relatives called “The Colonel” and to whom the book is dedicated.

“I think The Colonel was a queer ancestor,” Lyon said, reflecting on the themes of inheritance within the book and her own experiences with queerness growing up. Similarly, the setting is based on the author’s own experiences in Harlem. Lyon had spent some time there prior to the pandemic and subletted in Harlem while writing the novel once travel restrictions had lightened. “There is a lot of archival-level research. I went to the

Schomburg [Center for Research in Black Culture] myself, but … part of it was imagined when I was sitting in my house in Vermont trying to think like, oh, you know, what was that street like,” she said.

“Lush Lives” is part of the first group of books published by author Roxane Gay’s imprint, Roxane Gay Books. Gay is the author of several books, including the essay collection “Bad Feminist,” as well as a contributing writer for The New York Times opinion section.

Lyon told the audience that she had looked up to Gay previously and that her agent when telling her the news, asked, “Are you sitting down?”

“I lost my mind,” Lyon said. The author affirmed that Gay was very involved in the process of editing “Lush Lives,” sharing that Gay helped her “take three pages [of background] and disperse it,” allowing the narrative to expand more organically.

Darwin Michener-Rutledge ’24, a

liaison for both the English and the Art History departments, attended the event.

“I came to the reading because a friend who knows me well recommended ‘Lush Lives’ before it was even released. … As a lesbian moving into the professional art world this book is especially important to me,” they said. “I loved Lyon’s candor throughout the event. Hearing her speak about the personal experiences that shaped the book gave ‘Lush Lives’ a new dimension. ... It’s incredible to see such a steamy and dazzling possibility presented for queer, BIPOC and disabled people. I hope [Lush Lives] will be very widely read.”

“Lush Lives” is available at the Odyssey Bookshop, with an audiobook available online. This author’s talk was the first in the Odyssey’s anniversary celebration, 60 Days for 60 Years. Each day until Nov. 11, 2023, the Odyssey will have an event, a presentation or a flash sale in honor of their 60th anniversary.

Coco Gauff takes U.S. Open title in several heated matches

BY GENEVIEVE ZAHNER ’26 STAFF WRITER

Coco Gauff, a 19-year-old tennis player from Delray Beach, Florida, has dominated social media and news outlets for her recent singles victory at the U.S. Open. As ESPN highlighted, Gauff is the youngest American competitor to win this event since Serena Williams’ 1999 victory.

In the finals, the stakes were high for Gauff, who was originally seeded sixth in the tournament. ESPN reported that her opponent, Aryna Sabalenka, had won 27 out of the tournament’s 28 previous finals. However, by the fourth game of the match, Gauff gained her footing and had an 81 percent win on her serves. In the final set, Gauff leaped ahead with a 4-0 lead over Sabalenka.

The final took over two hours to complete, including a medical timeout.

According to ESPN, once the match ended, Gauff collapsed on the court and sobbed in relief. After hugging her opponent, she went to the stands to celebrate with her parents. Gauff then thanked those who did not believe in her.

“I’ve tried my best to carry

this with grace and I’ve been doing my best. So honestly, to those who thought they were putting water on my fire, you were really adding gas to it. And now I’m really burning so bright right now,” she said, as reported by ESPN.

Gauff’s success did not begin at the U.S. Open. She competed in the

Wimbledon Championships in 2019 when she was just 15 years old and reached the fourth round. Since 2019, she has won five Women’s Tennis Association titles and competed as a finalist in the 2022 French Open.

This year, Gauff also reached the quarterfinals of the doubles tournament at the U.S. Open with her partner Jessica Pegula, attaining the top doubles ranking.

Gauff received $3 million dollars for her victory, as well as a number three standing on the women’s singles ranking, with her opponent, Sabalenka, at number one.

hopefully bring tennis to even greater audiences,” Allen said.

Before the nerve-wracking finals, tempers flared in the first round of the tournament. Gauff played Laura Siegemund, a German tennis player with two Grand Slam titles under her belt, and vocalized her discontent when time violations were not being called.

After her win at the U.S. Open, she will become even more of a household name, and she’ll continue to inspire young players and specifically young players of color and hopefully bring tennis to even greater audiences.

– Rachel Allen

According to Just Women’s Sports, Gauff spoke to the chair umpire, urging her to call the time violations on Siegemund, who consistently went over time and repeatedly stalled whenever it was Gauff’s turn to serve.

Rachel Allen ’27, a member of the Mount Holyoke Tennis team, offered what she thought about Gauff’s success at such a young age.

“After her win at the U.S. Open, she will become even more of a household name, and she’ll continue to inspire young players and specifically young players of color and

“How is this fair?” Gauff said to the umpire in the third set, Just Women’s Sports reported. “I don’t care what she’s doing on her serve, but [on] my serve, she has to be ready.” Gauff said she does not regret speaking to the umpire and only

wishes she had done it sooner to prevent the delays. The crowd eventually got involved, with boos and jeers directed at Siegemund.

Upset by the crowd’s participation in the action, Siegemund commented, “I am very, very disappointed [by] the way people treated me today … They treated me like I was a bad person,” according to ABC News.

However, Gauff claimed that the crowd’s participation in the match was a “vital momentum-changer” for her eventual victory over Siegemund, ABC News reported.

“I thought Gauff handled her situation very well,” Allen said, mentioning that their attendance at the match allowed them to watch this unfold in real-time. “In tennis, you have to play at the server’s pace, within reason, and Siegemund was playing very slowly,” Allen said.

Through the victories and frustrations that made this U.S. Open a historic and explosive event, Gauff persevered and took home the trophy, now engraved with her name alongside tennis greats such as Venus and Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka. Gauff now has $3 million dollars, a trophy and a Grand Slam on her resume, all at the age of 19.

Game of the Week: Cross Country places 13th at UMass Dartmouth Invite

BY EMILY TARINELLI ’25 SPORTS EDITOR

Mount Holyoke College Cross Country stormed to a 13th-place finish out of 37 competing teams at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Cross Country Invitational. At the event on Sunday, Sept. 17. , Boston University claimed first place in the women’s varsity 5K race with a total time of 1:27.47 and 26 points, followed by Stonehill College with 94 points and Connecticut College with 99 points.

“This was a big invitational, and the start line was packed,” Jane Arsenault-Miller ’27 said. Out of the four competing teams from the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference, the Lyons’ varsity team emerged on top of the women’s

varsity 5k, defeating fellow NEWMAC members Salve Regina University (16th), Springfield College (18th) and Wheaton College (22nd). To top it all off, Mount Holyoke placed fourth out of all competing Division III institutions. With a total time of 1:39.14, Mount Holyoke scored 407 points.

“Our team showed a very strong performance. To finish fourth in Division III is such a motivator for the rest of our training this fall as we start to think about championship races,” Arsenault-Miller said. Individually, Tessa Lancaster ’25 was Mount Holyoke’s fastest finisher in the women’s varsity 5K. With an average mile time of 6:05.30, Lancaster breezed past the finish line in 18:55.00 to claim 37th place out of 280 runners. Greta Trapp ’25 was the Ly-

ons’ team runner-up, coming in 58th place with a time of 19:20.80. Bridget Hall ’24, Kim Beaver ’25, Jane Miller-Arsenault ’27, Olivia Johnson ’25 and Katie Earle ’26 placed 73rd, 124th, 138th, 144th and 164th respectively. In the women’s junior varsity 5K, Anita Konopka ’27 was the first Lyon to finish, claiming 27th place out of 119 competitors with a time of 20:58.90. Maya Evans ’26 placed 46th with a time of 22:02.80 — a hair’s breadth ahead of Lily Nemirovsky ’24, who clocked a 47th-place finish in 22:02.90. Orion Griesmer ’24 finished 66th with a time of 23:02.60. The Lyons will next compete in the Keene State Invitational on Satur-

day, Sept. 30.

Editor’s note: Lily Nemirovsky ’24 is a member of Mount Holyoke News.

Photo courtesy of si.robi via Wikimedia Commons Gauff, pictured above, won the U.S. Open title.

Photo courtesy of Mount Holyoke Athletics Greta Trapp ’25 placed 58th in the women’s varsity 5K with a time of

JUDE BARRERA ’24

STAFF WRITER

Photo by Liv Wilson ’24

J. Vanessa Lyon, author of “Lush Lives” signs a copy of the book for a reader at the Odyssey. The bookshop’s opening event for its 60 year anniversary celebration marked the first time that Lyon has conducted a book signing or official author discussion.

BY LYDIA ENO ’26 HOROSCOPE WRITER, PHOTOS EDITOR & COPY EDITOR

Sept. 23 – Oct. 22

Many new energies are being awoken for you this week. Take advantage of new perspectives, but remember not to let your need for balance get in the way of having fun!

Do: Motorcycles | Don’t: Beaded curtains

Oct. 23 – Nov. 21

Watch your back. It’s not quite Scorpio season yet, so don’t rush into anything. Your time will come soon.

Do: Potted plants | Don’t: Dodgy deals

Nov. 22 – Dec. 21

Good things are on the way this week, Sagittarius. Be on the lookout for the little signs. Everything is coming together for your good.

Do: Knitting | Don’t: Fortune cookies

Dec. 22 – Jan. 19

The moon enters Capricorn at the beginning of this week. If you’re feeling ambitious, listen to the little voice telling you to “go for it!”

Do: Spooky | Don’t: Ceramics

i HOROSCOPES i

Jan. 20 – Feb. 18

As it starts to get cold, you’ll feel the energy of your seasons start to awaken. Be brave this week. Go out on a limb.

Do: Tapestries | Don’t: iPads

Feb. 19 – March 20

Things feel stagnant this week. Lean into the nothingness while you can. Do: Stop signs | Don’t: Pepper spray

March 21 – April 19

The culmination of your hard work corresponds with the full moon in Aries at the end of this week. Be proactive.

Do: Study buddies | Don’t: Think it through

April 20 – May 20

It’s okay to be wrong sometimes. Embrace the wisdom of others.

Do: Pickleball | Don’t: Goggles

Mount Holyoke News

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

Executive Board

Editor-in-Chief Mariam Keita ’24

Managing Editors of Content Jendayi Leben-Martin ’24 & Tara Monastesse ’25

Managing Editor of Layout Jesse Hausknecht-Brown ’25

Copy Chief Eliška Jacob ’24

News Nina Sydoryk ’25

Arts & Entertainment Eliška Jacob ’24 & Lydia Eno ’26

Opinion Silas Gemma ’26

Books Liv Wilson ’24 & Sophie Frank ’26

Global Jendayi Leben-Martin ’24 & Shira Sadeh ’25

Sports Emily Tarinelli ’25

Publisher Liv Wilson ’24

Managing Editors of Web Michelle Brumley ’24 and Artemis Chen ’25

Business Manager Diksha Batra

Editorial Board

Features Jesse Hausknecht-Brown ’25 & Melanie Duronio ’26

Science & Environmental Sarah Grinell ’26

Photos Lydia Eno ’26 & Emma Quirk ’26

Graphics Gabby Gagnon ’24

Layout Editors Orion Cheung ’25, Sophie Dalton ’25, & Rachel Adler ’26

Copy Editors Jude Barrera ’24, Max Endieveri ’25, Gemma Golovner ’25, Carson “Mae” Law ’25, Meghan MacBeath ’25, Indie Murphy ’25, Eva Ridenhour ’25, Kamlyn Yosick ’25, Liv Churchill ’26, Nyx Cieprisz ’26, Erin Deffely ’26, Lydia Eno ’26, Caroline Huber ’26, Kate Koenig ’26, Abigail McKeon ’26, Hema Motiani ’26 & Emma Quirk ’26

Web Editors Linlin Liu ’24, Yuke Jiang ’25, Elizaveta Kozlova ’25, Elle Zhao ’25, Melanie Duronio ’26 & Adwoa Owusu ’26

to, advertisements considered to be libelous, obscene, defamatory or discriminatory.

Subscriptions

Mount Holyoke News is a weekly publication that prints weekly throughout the academic year. To join our mailing list, please contact the Publisher at mhnews@mtholyoke.edu.

Letters Policy

Letters to the Editor appear exactly as they are sent to MHN, except for corrections to spelling, grammar and AP style. Letters cannot exceed 500 words. All letters must include the writer’s name and telephone number for verification purposes. Unsigned letters will not be printed. Names may be held upon request with the approval of the Editor-in-Chief. MHN reserves the right to decide which materials will be printed. Email submissions to mhnews@mtholyoke.edu by Sundays at 5 p.m. for publication the following week.

May 21 – June 20

Nothing feels exciting this week. Enjoy it, you deserve this period of rest.

Do: Daisy chains | Don’t: Wrestle

June 21 – July 22

Listen to the sounds around you. You already know how to keep an open mind, and that’s a start.

Do: Craft fairs | Don’t: Rolly chairs

July 23 – Aug. 22

Love is in the air, Leo! Remember to take in every angle. Don’t let your ego get in the way.

Do: Hopscotch | Don’t: Digging too deep

Aug. 23 – Sept. 22

This week will see the close of Virgo season. Don’t be afraid of things ending – it’s time for a new chapter.

Do: Goldfish | Don’t: Rom Coms

Event Highlights

Wednesday, Sept. 27

50 Years of Ms.: The Best of the Pathfinding Magazine that Ignited a Revolution

Join us to celebrate 50 years of Ms. Magazine and the most startling, most audacious, most norm-breaking of the magazine’s pieces on women, men, politics (sexual and otherwise), marriage, family, education, work, motherhood, and reproductive rights, as well as the best of the magazine’s fiction, poetry, and letters. We will be joined by speakers from the magazine.

The Odyssey Bookshop. 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 28

Careers in Nursing: Information Session with University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University and Johns Hopkins University

Looking for a fulfilling future within healthcare? Learn about the many possibilities that a future in nursing can provide. Visit with admission staff from each school to learn about program highlights and application requirements. A pizza lunch will be served. Hosted by Pre-Health Programs.

Kendade Hall, Room 303. 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 29

Mid-Autumn Festival

Are you interested in making your own Chinese-style fan, lantern, and getting traditional Chinese ornamental make-up on your forehead? If so, come on the evening of September 29th and join us to celebrate one of the famous festivals in Chinese culture --- Mid-Autumn Festival! We are looking forward to seeing you at this event! Hosted by the Chinese Cultural Association.

Community Center - Great Room. 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 30

Advancing LGBTQIA+ Equity: A Weissman Transformational Leaders Conversation With Naomi Goldberg ’04 Join the Weissman Center for a conversation about equity and inclusion with Naomi Goldberg ’24. Naomi Goldberg is the deputy director of the Movement Advancement Project (MAP). She also serves as MAP’s LGBTQ Program Director. MAP’s goal is to speed equality for all, including LGBTQ people, through research, insight, and communications. This work includes messaging research, policy work, and movement capacity research. Naomi’s work includes LGBTQI data inclusion.

Virtual Event (register on Embark for the link). 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Monday, Oct. 2

Fighting for Native Women and Indigenous Women: a conversation with Activist, Attorney and Playwright

Mary Kathryn Nagle

As a lawyer for the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, Mary Kathryn Nagle has been outspoken about the fight for increasing visibility around violence towards Native women. She’s authored numerous plays including one that will be screened at Mount Holyoke during the Indigenous Peoples’ Day Teach-In, “Sliver of A Full Moon.” During this conversation about Mount Holyoke, Attorney Nagle will talk about her activism and playwriting to raise awareness of these important issues.

Virtual Event (register on Embark for the link). 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.