Mount Holyoke News – April 21, 2023

Mount Holyoke News

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MHC hosts Professor George DeMartino for economics talk

BY NINA SYDORYK ’25 STAFF WRITER

Throughout the 20th century, the field of professional economics has had an increasingly influential role within the realm of policymaking. Now, professor and scholar George DeMartino says it may be time for economists to step back.

DeMartino is a professor of international economics at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. He holds a doctorate degree in economics from the University of Massachusetts and specializes in political economy, professional economic ethics, international trade and economic harm.

In his recent talk at Mount Holyoke College, which took place in Williston Memorial Library’s Stimson Room on April 12, he discussed some of the topics outlined in his most recent book “The Tragic Science: How Economists Cause Harm (Even As They Aspire To Do Good).”

DeMartino’s initial presentation centered around the theme of harm in economics, and how the grossly important question of economic ethics has gone largely unconsidered by its internal community.

“The project I’ve been involved in for the last 15 years or so is to create a new field of scholarship that doesn’t exist,” he began.

“Most professions that have

influence over the lives of others have [a body of professional ethics] associated with the profession and the professional training … In some fields this is very well developed, such as in medicine, law, journalism and so forth … in economics, we’ve had none of that for … well over 100 years,” DeMartino continued.

He emphasized that while economists have written to the American Economic Association to inquire about an economic code of ethics, the answer that is given to them remains the same: It is not needed. DeMartino maintains that it is and

that economists deal with issues on very large scales based on the theory of quantifiable and compensatory harm.

The professor argued, however, that there are some harms that may not be compensatory, and that economists are trained to think about harm through what he calls “moral geometry.” In essence, economists work under the assumption that there are some means of compensating an individual to bring them back to the state of happiness or utility that they possessed before.

He uses the instance of the Sioux

Nation being offered money by the United States government as means of compensation for the violation of the Fort Laramie Treaty and subsequent removal of land in 1868. In the pursuit of justice, the Sioux have continuously refused this monetary compensation. The message from the United States government is clear: land being returned to the Sioux is not under consideration. Thus, by choosing to not accept the money, they enforce the notion that not all harms can be remedied with alternative action, goods, services or money.

DeMartino points to this case as just one exemplifying the faulty operations of moral geometry.

“The question is, are there some harms that compound over time that don’t dissipate? If there are such harms as a consequence of what Congress does, then we can’t use strategies like short-term adjustment costs to dismiss the harms because, in fact, the harms don’t go away — it’s nothing short-term. They become a long-term feature of our society.”

After explaining the idea of economic and compounding harm, DeMartino also pointed to cascading harm: when one kind of harm sets off others.

“Economic harm can generate physical harm in the form of increased morbidity or premature

mortality, or … a reduction in education. That’s a harm you might think of as an autonomy harm. It also leads to diminished income, it leads to increased economic insecurity, it can lead to a whole range of other harm.”

While the issues brought up in DeMartino’s book and presentation are gaining more traction within the economic community, some within the audience questioned whether the professor’s ideas needed further research to be fully understood and accessible for implementation, as well as the implications of the elimination of harm.

Katherine Zuily ’25 wished that “DeMartino elaborated on what his ideas would look like in practice. I think it is difficult to establish what harm means in economics because it is far more arbitrary than what harm looks like within other fields he mentioned, such as medicine. I wish that DeMartino spoke more about how decisions could be made by governments using his framework.”

Zuliy also noted that economic departments within institutions such as MHC have limitations in regard to implementing issues of ethics as mentioned by DeMartino into their curriculums: “I don’t think that it is possible for them to establish a

Trader Joe’s workers in Hadley organize for national contract

BY TARA MONASTESSE ’25 NEWS EDITOR

Nine months after successfully unionizing at a store location in Hadley, Massachusetts, the Trader Joe’s United independent labor union has continued to advocate for workers’ rights. Since becoming the first Trader Joe’s location to have a formally recognized union following a 45-31 employee vote last July, the Hadley store and its workers have served as key players in the ongoing effort to negotiate a national contract between Trader Joe’s and the workers at its over 500 locations.

“I feel like every worker benefits from a union because it’s the only thing that gives you a legal power at work,” Maeg Yosef, communications director for Trader Joe’s United, said in an interview with Mount Holyoke News. “When we sit down at the negotiating table, we’re sitting down as legal equals with our employer to bang out a contract, which is incredible because in most cases your employer has power over you.”

Currently, only two Trader Joe’s locations have formally unionized — these include the location in Hadley whose vote took place last summer and a location in Minneapolis for which a union was certified two weeks later. A third location in Louisville, Kentucky voted 48-36 to unionize in January but has been obstructed from official certification after Trader Joe’s filed an objection with the National Labor Relations Board, the government agency which oversees union elections. Two

additional locations — one in New York City and one in Oakland, California — filed for union elections on March 22. A union election can be triggered when at least 30 percent of employees at a workplace sign union authorization cards.

Located on the outskirts of the Hampshire Mall complex, the Trader Joe’s store in Hadley is especially popular among Five College students for its variety of dorm-friendly snacks and meals.

The store’s push to unionize began in January 2022 when a committee of workers organized a protest in response to dissatisfaction with how the company had handled pandemic protocols, as well as what a background information sheet for the union describes as, “the steady erosion of benefits and wages over the past decade.”

Yosef said that Trader Joe’s United seeks to address major concerns related to health and safety, as well as wages and benefits.

“Wages have stagnated — they’re not keeping up with the cost of living or inflation,” Yosef said. “There’s a number of situations where veteran crew members are making the same, or sometimes even less, than more recent hires. And there just isn’t wage transparency.”

According to the company’s Inside Trader Joe’s podcast, as of December 2022, approximately 36 percent of crew members had been employed for five or more years. Yosef, who has worked at Trader Joe’s for over 18 years, said that the current bargaining process feels as if

the company is “dragging its feet.”

“They just want to maintain the status quo, because [they think] what we have is good enough. But we unionized because it wasn’t. And there’s just a lot of surface bargaining where we don’t feel like they are really digging in to negotiate in a serious way.”

Trader Joe’s provides its own updates regarding union contract negotiations on mytraderjoes.com, a portal accessible by crew members.

A brief notice at the top of the page notes that Trader Joe’s “remains committed to treating all of its Crew Members fairly and bargaining in good faith with unions.” An update posted on March 20 that summarized union negotiations taking place on March 7, 8 and 9 described the

union’s own update as “mischaracteriz[ing], in three important ways, what occurred at the bargaining session.”

Yosef mentioned that the lawfulness of these updates is currently under investigation by the NLRB, stating that they have a potential “chilling” effect on crew members seeking to organize.

While not yet formally certified as a union, workers in Louisville are currently working alongside workers in Hadley and Minneapolis in an effort to secure a national contract.

“According to the NLRB, anyone has seven days to file objections to the election on certain grounds,” Connor Hovey, a worker and organizer in Louisville, said in an interview with Mount Holyoke News. “And the

company filed objections saying that union supporters were threatening and coercing and intimidating employees to vote ‘yes.’” Hovey noted that it could potentially take additional weeks or even months for the union to be certified or rejected, describing it as an example of company retaliation against union supporters.

Originally from West Springfield, Hovey has been employed at the Louisville Trader Joe’s location for roughly four and a half years after relocating to Kentucky. While Hovey had believed that a union would benefit the store prior to last summer, the public announcements in Hadley and Minneapolis inspired him and other organizers to start taking official steps toward unionization.

“We all kind of stand in solidarity with each other because we’re trying to fight for one national contract instead of hundreds of individual store contracts,” Hovey said. “So that way we can bounce ideas off of each other, and we can really make sure that everything we’re doing is in good faith and in good standing with what our collectives at our stores want.”

While a hearing with the NLRB concluded on March 31, there is no set date for the Louisville union’s status to be finalized. At time of writing, the results of the union elections in New York City and Oakland are anticipated to be announced soon.

Senate hosts LITS, updates on Gloria Anzaldúa LLC and election results

BY PAIGE COMEAU ’26 STAFF WRITER

Senate opened on April 18 with a reading of the land acknowledgment, followed by welcoming administrative staff of the Library, Information and Technology Services to the floor. The presentation, comprised of both general information and answers to the senators’ questions, was given by eight members of the LITS staff — Alex Wirth-Cauchon, the chief information officer and executive director of LITS; Debbie Richards, the head of archives and special collections; Margaret (Peggie) Stevens, associate director of budgets, contracts and procurement; Krista Denno Bader, strategic operations manager and summit change management lead; Marie DiRuzza, director of campus technology and media services; Rachel Smith, director of discovery and access; Chrissa Lindahl, director of research and instructional support;

and David Powicki, director of technology infrastructure and systems support.

To begin the presentation, LITS provided background information on their department. There are currently 65 people staffed at LITS, which is a little under their normal number of over 70. Although there are several units within the department, LITS has a OneLITS policy, meaning that should a student go to any member of the staff for help, that member should be able to connect the student to the right services. The presenters then went on to describe the spaces that are a part of LITS. There is the LITS complex, which includes Williston Library and the Miles-Smith extension, the archives and special collections and MEWS in Dwight Hall, the Eleanor Pierce Stevens Music Library in Pratt Hall and the Language and Culture Commons in Ciruti.

LITS asks that students keep a

few common guidelines for use in mind. The stacks are open; students should feel free to browse and check out a book. There are both group study spaces and solo-study spaces, which can be reserved for up to three hours. Keep the noise zones in mind — if students are in a talk zone, they should feel free to speak, just make sure to keep quiet in the quiet zones. Finally, in response to a commonly asked question, LITS stated students are free to eat in the library, although they ask that students try and keep the spaces clean.

LITS then moved on to answer pre-submitted questions, sent anonymously by senate members. The first asked if LITS could host M&Cs in the library. LITS stated that they were open to the idea and would work with Dining Services to hopefully bring the tradition to their department a few times a semester.

CONTINUED

Photo by Nina Sydoryk ’25 Community members gathered in the Stimson Room on April 12 to listen to Professor DeMartino.

Photo by Ali Meizels ’23 LITS staff joined SGA senate on Tuesday, April 18, and responded to questions from the senators.

Photo courtesy of Maeg Yosef Trader Joe’s crew members at the Hadley store wore their union buttons together in March 2023.

Fiber arts project ‘Devotion’ reflects community and connection

each other and actually building something together instead of tearing each other apart … whether that means showing up once a week to crochet and knit with your friends or making dinner together,” Biery explained.

The original inspiration for the concept of the project came to Biery during the pandemic. After working on a farm in Wisconsin with a friend’s mom as a way to get out of the house, Biery returned home to Chicago. Shortly after, Biery overheard people talking outside the window about the same small town they had gone to in Wisconsin.

“[I realized] if I shouted out the window, I could have this connection with these people. And that’s what originally sparked this thing of [how] there are literally millions of ways that people are connected to each other. But we never get to see that or even really feel that without actually talking,” Biery said.

throughout the process of brainstorming and creating Devotion. In Professor Ren-Yo Hwang’s Foundations in CST course they did a collaborative project with Solei Doering ’24. The two students crocheted together and discussed decolonization, and left with a physical embodiment of their community building. Biery cites Doering as their first collaborator, and Hwang as being their advisor for the capstone project.

Last summer Biery used Lynk funding to work at Olympia Gallery in New York City. Ali Rossi ’15, runs Olympia, a cooperative gallery. Biery was inspired by the way Rossi fosters “community building through art,” and the fact that Rossi started Olympia because of a project they worked on at MHC.

oke recipient of the Davis Peace Project scholarship, a grant that allows students to design and engage in a project over a summer that addresses the root causes of conflict in a community and promotes peace. Through the Davis Peace Project, Biery is going to work at a youth art and music summer camp. It is usually hosted in New York, but this year “we were invited to go by this amazing artist in Loíza, [Puerto Rico],” Biery said. After this, Biery is applying for a Fulbright Scholarship, and hope to work with a crochet artist who makes “installations about relationships.”

BY EMMA QUIRK ’26 STAFF WRITER

Karla Biery ’23, a critical social thought major and Spanish minor, is always thinking about “how our communities are built … and the ways that they’re split up.” Throughout her three years at Mount Holyoke, Biery has taken a combination of dance, art, religion and Spanish courses, eventually deciding to major in CST with a focus on how people connect with one another, as well as what divides them.

All CST majors must complete a capstone project, which is “a thesis, research paper, performance or multimedia project that serves as a culminating intellectual experience of a self-designed course of study,” according to the CST department page. Biery’s capstone is a “collaborative crochet project” and an installation spanning multiple walls entitled “Devotion.” It will be displayed in the Williston Library Atrium, with the installation starting on April 20, and the opening event occurring on April 28 from four to six p.m.

According to Biery, “Devotion” is the result of “trying to represent

wanting to make something visible.”

“I started just by painting all these patterns, where there’s these intersecting parts and that kind of represents the [interconnected] web of relationships. But it was kind of hard just to do it on canvas because you’re constricted to four sides, but then with crochet, you can just make it as big as possible. And now it’s 30 feet long,” Biery said.

Biery started calling this project “Devotion” when it was still only on canvas because they painted the same pattern on it every day. “It was kind of like a ritual of painting. Which brought me back to the whole religion [idea], so I was like, I’m very devoted to this and devoted to making these connections,” Biery said.

Adrienne Maree Brown’s “Emergent Strategy,” in which Brown discusses the idea that “small scale interactions create large scale changes,” inspired Biery. In this project, Biery focused on these interactions and small but powerful ways to be devoted to, and engage with your community.

“Devotion is being devoted to

At this point, Biery began focusing on the notion of patterns. As a child, her house had radiator covers that have an “optical illusion looking star pattern.” “If you focus on one point of it, you can see all the individual stars. But then if you relax your eyes … they look like they’re all moving,” Biery said. “[I thought] you can focus on individual parts of a community, like one person, but then when you look out, the whole image or the whole community becomes something different and more impactful.”

Biery felt that transitioning to crochet as a medium was a perfect addition to this metaphor of patterns and community building, because a fiber artist physically ties together the yarn, “building something with your hands that you can see grow … and if you miss a stitch … there’s a hole.” At Mount Holyoke, Biery has noticed the effects of divisiveness and wanted to do something to combat it. Devotion is a metaphor for community building and “the ways that we can connect with each other and grow with each other,” Biery said.

Biery made numerous connections with the College’s community

Major assistance with the physical aspect of the project came from Knit Happens, a fiber arts club on campus. At the first meeting this year, Biery walked around the room and asked who would be interested in being a part of this project, and many members of Knit Happens donated crochet and knit projects for Biery to use in Devotion. During this time, Biery was also in a capstone seminar with Gender Studies Assistant Professor Sarah Stefana Smith, who helped with the theorizing factor of the project.

Biery credited the Fimbel Maker and Innovation Lab with allowing her to complete this project. They attended a “Stitch and Bitch” event hosted by Fimbel where Shani Mensing ’15 — a design mentor and technical lead at Fimbel — told Biery to do a Fimbel Lab independent study. Through this independent study, Biery was given a grant to complete the project, space to store it and mentors to help them. Fimbel also connected Biery with the Carpentry Team, a part of Facilities Management, to complete and install Devotion.

As this is Biery’s last year at Mount Holyoke, Biery has started planning out the next phase of their life. This summer, Biery is interning as a design fabricator for a women-led art installation and fabrication design company.

Biery is this year’s Mount Holy-

Biery has a few words of advice for underclassmen. The first: get involved and “go to the Fimbel Lab right now. Go there, talk to somebody and learn how to use some machine because there are not many places where that type of equipment is available.” In addition, if one feels lonely or disconnected, Biery suggests to “go to the clubs and go to events, there [are] so many amazing speakers that come to the Five Colleges, even just to Mount Holyoke, I have learned so much about life [and] who I am just by attending these events.”

The second, which is inspired by a guest speaker: “It’s important to have dignity and not just confidence … it’s knowing that you have selfworth beyond what anybody else [gives] to you.” Biery attended an Interfaith Lunch where Phakchok Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist teacher and spiritual leader, spoke about this idea of dignity, and it really resonated. Rinpoche explores these ideas in a book he co-wrote with Sophie Wu, titled “Awakening Dignity: A Guide to Living a Life of Deep Fulfillment.”

Biery’s third piece of advice is to take classes that you’re excited about, and “know that you have worth and [that] your ideas are valuable and you don’t have to be anybody that you don’t want to be” while pursuing what you’re drawn to.

The final piece of advice: “Extend generosity and kindness to yourself and others … love yourself and love the people around you. Because this is a special place to be.”

SGA Senate discusses Gloria Anzaldúa LLC and hosts LITS staff, cont’d

u CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The second question wondered if there was any sort of textbook and device donation program at MHC. LITS confirmed that there is a used-textbook program, hosted by the First-Generation and Low-Income Partnership and that there had been device recycling programs hosted at MHC in the past. They declared that they would look into if there was one being hosted this year. LITS then confirmed that they occasionally host workshops on research, citation and how to use LITS, but they often went unattended. If interest arose, they would offer more. Addressing the school’s subscriptions to publications, LITS stated that they have over 6,500 subscriptions, many of which contain

College hosts Professor George DeMartino, cont’d

u CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

course about this subject given that the field doesn’t really exist,” she said.

DeMartino however, acknowledges that “economic harm can never be eliminated.” “It’s a tragedy … It’s something that has to be managed. You can’t get rid of it. You have to manage it,” he said, maintaining that this is the focus of his study and his proposal of de-influence.

“Critique doesn’t come from the left or the right,” DeMartino said. “Instead, … It’s a request to the profession.”

Overall, these types of conversations are valuable to be had, and Zuliy acknowledges that “there should be more events like this because they help students to think more deeply about topics discussed in class and think about how ideas can be applied in real-life situations.”

more than one publication. To find the titles, LITS suggested the online Journal Locator, the News Sources Library Guide, Discover! Search or a librarian. One student wanted to know why Adobe access was revoked.

LITS explained that Adobe was available during the pandemic thanks to emergency funding used to finance online learning. Currently, Adobe is available on all campus computers, but expansion beyond this would require a new budget request that would have to be weighed against other college priorities. Another senator asked if there were accessible versions of books available from the library.

LITS replied that there are over one million eBooks that are able to be used with accessibility technology. A final question was asked about

the circulation desk — was there any way to put items on hold? In short, LITS said, most circulation items are in high demand and meant for short use. If they allowed students to put items on hold, which can be held for a week at a time, those important items would not be available to people at the moment.

To end their presentation, LITS asked the senate for their opinion on the best way to communicate and interact with students. Most senators agreed that LITS should focus on more social media and creating engaging emails.

After thanking LITS, the senate proceeded to other matters. The winners of last week’s senate elections were announced and are as follows: the new chair of the senate is Julia Madonick ’24, the new chair of halls is Serynn Nowlin ’25 and

the new chair of interests is Lillian Wade ’26. Then the senate reported E-Board updates.

This upcoming week, on April 25, is the last senate and the Dining Services town hall. Tiny Business Tuesday is also being held on April 25 on Skinner Green from 11:30 to 1:30. Since the last senate meeting, the potholes around campus have been filled, and there is an update on the Gloria Anzaldúa LLC. The update reports that there is currently work being done on the Rockies, but there is still much to do. However, the LLC has found a new home for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year — Abbey Hall.

Senate then opened the floor to any announcements, questions and concerns. A student representative asked a question pertaining to a recent email to all club E-Boards.

Starting this upcoming school year, all clubs are required to have a staff member as an advisor.

The student wanted to know why and how this was supposed to be implemented, especially since most student organizations have had considerable autonomy up until this point in time. Laura Sattler, the Director of Student Involvement, answered this question by stating that advisors were simply meant to provide a role as a mediator, contact and support — they were not meant to take away student leadership roles. Many student organizations already work with staff, but if they do not, Sattler noted, the Office of Student Involvement is happy to connect them with someone. She also made a point to mention that there is no plan to penalize clubs that cannot find an advisor by the fall semester.

Photo by Emma Quirk ’26 Biery’s art project, “Devotion,” was installed in the Williston Memorial Library atrium on April 20. the feeling of connection between people …

Fifth season of ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ shows promise

BY KELLYN NORMAN ’26 STAFF WRITER

Amazon Prime Video’s Emmy-winning comedy “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” has returned to the streaming service for its fifth and final season. In an attempt to stir up some hype for the show after a disappointing fourth season, only three episodes of the last season have been released.

The remaining episodes will be released one at a time in the coming weeks. Hopefully, the upcoming episodes will be just as exciting and fresh as their serialized method of release because so far, season five is carrying on just like season four — redundant and forgettable.

Since the end of season three, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” has used the same arc for its protagonist, Miriam ‘Midge’ Maisel. Just like viewers found her at the beginning of season four, Midge’s stand-up comedy career is on the rocks because of a reckless decision.

While Rachel Brosnahan does pump out a considerable amount of charm as Midge, her likeability is

not what it was in the early seasons, nor does it seem like it will improve based on the flashforwards shown at the beginning of each episode, in which her children barely hide their resentment for their world-famous mother.

However, when one character fails, others shine. Everyone’s favorite nightclub employee-turned-manager, Susie Myerson, is still hard at work supporting Midge and oddball magician Alfie. Susie, played by Alex Borstein, is still a grade-A curmudgeon with hilarious one-liners, like “I am so glad we figured out the size of the box you’re gonna bring on Monday when they fire you!”

While this season may not have started with a bang, there is a chance that it may redeem the failings of previous seasons and leave viewers with some final episodes akin to the early ones that made people fall in love with the show.

Midge’s ex-husband Joel, played by Michael Zegan, struggles to keep his head above an ever-deepening sea of familial turmoil. It is a fun

twist when the character introduced as an unfaithful husband becomes an object of sympathy. Not all things are rotten in this season. The unnecessary Lenny Bruce hookup plot has finally been put to rest, and Kelly Bishop’s evil matchmaker, Benedetta, has made a triumphant return, albeit behind bars. Conversations between characters are still sharp and fast, the costumes and sets are entrancing and episode three was entertaining enough to make up for the slow-paced nature of episodes one and two. While this season may not have started with a bang, there is a chance that it may redeem the failings of previous seasons and leave viewers with some final episodes akin to the early ones that made people fall in love with the show.

Nicolas Cage is a bloodsucking professional in new Dracula film

BY WOODLIEF MCCABE ’23 STAFF WRITER

“Renfield” is a ridiculous, campy and excessively gory new adaptation of the story of Dracula — it is fantastic, provided that those adjectives appeal to you. The film pays its dues to the Draculas that came before it, even making direct cinematic references to the 1931 “Dracula” starring Bela Lugosi. The backstory comes in a “flashback” montage that recreates moments from that film, including the iconic lighting that illuminates just his eyes. Set in present-day New Orleans, Robert Montague Renfield (Nicholas Hoult), Dracula’s familiar, finds himself hoping to escape Dracula’s control. He has been serving Dracula (Nicolas Cage) for 90 years, bringing him victims and defending him from his enemies. In exchange, he receives agelessness and a fraction of Dracula’s powers, which he activates by eating insects.

Renfield attends a support group for those seeking to exit codependent relationships, where he finds the encouragement to become independent. Elsewhere, Officer Rebecca Quincy (Awkwafina) is desperate to do something to take down the Lobos, a local crime family, who killed her police officer father, but the cops are all on their payroll. When Renfield saves Quincy’s life against the Lobos, Teddy Lobos (Ben Schwartz) vows to track him down. Having done a good deed for the first time in decades, Renfield discovers a new sense of purpose but has inadvertently led Teddy to an even greater source of power for his family: Dracula.

The film attempts to push a budding romance between Renfield and Quincy, but it ultimately focuses instead on Quincy’s relationship with her sister. The two leads still make a good team, as they both attempt to exit situations in which they are exploited and undervalued. Quincy must leave the force to actually make positive changes in her community.

BY LUCY OSTER ’23 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

When violence dies down, the film has a few sensitive moments and discussions about life’s purpose and how we find ourselves in toxic relationships. And then Renfield eats a bug and kicks a guy so hard he explodes.

Remakes and reimaginings of old classic horror media often attempt to reinvent the genre and the monster. “Renfield” is smart because it does not try to change the mythology around the vampire. It is a horror-comedy that roots itself in the original “Dracula” while opening up the classic caped villain to more dimensions of character than before.

Cage echoes the stylings of previous Draculas, but he brings the eccentric personality that only Nicolas

Cage can: he focuses on embodying

his interpretation of the character through his movements and voice. Cage does not hold back from either the comedy or the horror. He manages to be both threatening and overdramatic, slashing someone open one minute and getting into a domestic spat with Renfield the next.

Hoult plays Renfield well as a meek servant who has lost sense of who he is, in the midst of learning to be a hero for the first time. We see him try to stand up for himself under Dracula’s withering gaze as he shakily reads from a book about dealing with narcissists. This scene mimics a sort of exorcism, but instead of Latin chants, Renfield reads aloud positive affirmations: “I am enough, I have enough, I’ll be the one at full power!”

Bringing horror and comedy together is a specific art form; “Renfield” does this well. The comedy is well-written and acted, as much of the humor comes from the plot and the dialogue as it does from the actors’ choices, costumes and the spaces they are in. It is also wildly gruesome. The fight scenes are creative and well-choreographed. There are moments when characters lose more blood than I think any human could possibly have. Bones are crushed, heads and limbs are ripped off and there is more than one pile of bodies. Dracula starts the film weakened, appearing as though he is decaying, essentially a walking corpse. The makeup is very well done here and Cage looks quite revolting. As the movie progresses, and his power

grows, he appears less rotted. The gross-out factor is played up when Renfield puts a lot of bugs in his mouth.

The attention to visual detail in this film is part of what makes it so engaging to watch. The aesthetic is maximalist to the max. One of the first fight scenes takes place in a warehouse filled with colorful animal statues, and Teddy Lobos meets with his mother in a room full of threatening-looking instruments, presumably for mob-related torture.

Dracula’s home base is in an abandoned hospital.

The crumbling walls set the scene, the room is filled with candles and in the center is what I can only describe as a blood tree — dozens of empty blood bags, strung up and connected to Dracula’s chair.

Dracula’s costumes are all opulent, consisting of long capes and many rings, which we see through closeup shots. Renfield wears the same moth-eaten suit jacket and pants for the first part of the film, but after finding his independence, he is seen in a colorful sweater. His new apartment is the polar opposite of Dracula’s lair, made up of color block walls of pink and orange and furnished with a comfortable couch and pillows. It makes for a humorous confrontation when the Dark One himself, Dracula, lets himself in thanks to the welcome mat on the doorstep.

Horror-comedies and campy films tend to do poorly in initial reviews. This one is for those of us who are excited by what this film has to offer — not everyone does. It succeeds in its ridiculousness, through a somewhat absurd premise of Dracula’s assistant in a therapy group, and the comically graphic, over-thetop violence. Viewers will find themselves cringing at the gore, laughing out loud at the comedy and wanting to come back to catch all the details they missed the first time. “Renfield” might have mediocre scores on Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes now, but I expect that in the coming years, it will be a cult classic with immense rewatch value.

Senior Letters: Lucy Oster & Lauren Leese

I joined the Mount Holyoke News while desperate for something to do the spring of my sophomore year — the spring of a year that I’d spent the entirety of in Zoom class, desperately missing the extracurriculars and real-life experiences of in-person college. I have had a lifelong interest in reading arts reviews and remembered a friend of mine from my first year getting to go to Tower Theaters and write reviews of films, and so based on the existence of a rumored “Arts and Entertainment section,” I applied to write for A&E, and every day I am so glad I did. Writing for the Mount Holyoke News has deepened my Mount Holyoke experience in almost every way. I am so much more aware of events going on campus because my ears are always pricked for something to write about, and at events I feel myself prepping potential ideas in my head. I have gotten the opportunity to interview pro-

fessors and local members of the South Hadley community, and have reached out to so many peers I otherwise would not have connected with. I got to see live music for free! The Mount Holyoke News has been one of the all-around objectively best parts of my college experience.

BY LAUREN LEESE ’23 STAFF WRITER AND COPY EDITOR

I began my time at the Mount Holyoke News in my first semester of college, when I joined the copy editing team. I’m enough of a dinosaur to remember when we printed out each flat on paper and marked them up with a red pen. Since the pandemic, we’ve used the more efficient Google Docs for edits, but I do kind of miss the incomparable feeling of slashing an article to shreds with a literal red pen. The joy of being a copy editor is getting to work on all different sections of the Mount Holyoke News. I was able to read and improve articles from Features to Science to Opinion, and my attention to detail improved a thousandfold through my time in the role. My soul died a little every time I had to delete an Oxford comma, but it was a small price to pay to work on such a great team. Copy editors may not get a byline, but they truly are the backbone of the Mount Holyoke News.

One of the things I’m most proud of from my three-year stint as a copy editor is helping to streamline the fact-checking process. During my sophomore year, I suggested to the copy chief that we ask writers to cite their sources in a Google Docs comment attached to the relevant statement. I think it’s a hallmark of the care the MHN staff puts into their work that the copy chief listened and brought it up to the E-Board, and the change was implemented. I felt much more efficient in my copy editing work after that.

In my senior year, I was interested in trying out another role on the paper, so I switched to staff writing for the Sports section. My experience as a student-athlete made me excited to highlight the stories of other student-athletes on campus. I conducted my first-ever interviews and found that I love hearing someone else’s story and crafting a narrative around it for an article. I also loved getting an inside look into the Mount Holyoke Lyons’ athletic

As I nail down my plans for after graduation, I find my experience working on the Mount Holyoke News coming up time and time again in my applications and interviews. The skills I learned at MHN over these past four years have opened more doors than I ever thought possible.

My parting words are as follows: check your facts, hug a copy editor today and GO LYONS!

Left: Photo courtesy of Nicolas Genin via Wikimedia Commons. Right: Photo courtesy of Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons. Nicolas Cage as Dracula and Nicholas Hoult as Renfield team up for a contemporary, ridiculous and gruesome rendition of the classic horror movie.

Photo by Ali Meizels ’23

Photo courtesy of Brecht Bug via Flickr

The first three episodes of the fifth season of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” are on Amazon Prime.

Photo by Ali Meizels ’23 achievements.

Military unification efforts in Ethiopia lead to violent protests

BY KIERA MCLAUGHLIN ’26 STAFF WRITER

Content warning: This article discusses mass death and state-sanctioned violence.

Large protests, which began on April 5, 2023, have taken place in Ethiopia’s Amhara region in reaction to the government’s decision to create a unified paramilitary force, BBC reported. According to Reuters, members of Amhara’s special forces and militias opposed Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s command to merge the regional military with the national force. Ahmed has claimed that the new plan was made “for the sake of Ethiopia’s national unity.”

Reuters reported that these protests escalated, and on Sunday, April 9, while thousands of people protested, residents in at least two towns in Amhara heard gunfire. Such demonstrations have led to further violence. Mohammed Amin, the mayor of Kombolcha, said in an interview with Reuters that “there were those who were injured from stones, gunshots and were taken to hospital. It includes the members of the city security, ENDF (federal army) and the protesters.”

According to The Guardian, protesters blocked roads and burned tires; local shops and banks were closed because of the violence. In response to the violent protests, the regional government has imposed a curfew and restricted the internet in some areas, including Gondar, one

of the region’s most popular tourist destinations.

According to Al Jazeera, at least four people were killed during the protests, including two Catholic Relief Services workers who were killed on April 9 in the town of Kobo. Zemede Zewdie, the CRS country representative in Ethiopia, said that “the depth of our shock and sorrow is difficult to measure and we are

angered over this senseless violence.” He went on to say that CRS is an organization dedicated to helping vulnerable citizens in Ethiopia. According to Al Jazeera, Ahmed commented that “appropriate law enforcement measures will be taken against those who deliberately play a destructive role.”

The history behind the regional paramilitary forces in Ethiopia in-

volves conflict between the 11 different regional states and is cemented in their national constitution, which allows federal member states to have a “police force” that preserves “peace, law and order,” The Guardian reported. The two-year-long civil war ended last November when Ahmed signed a peace deal with the Tigray rebellion, according to The Washington Post. Along with

the civil war, there have been uprisings in the Oromiya region, in which mass killings have targeted Amhara civilians. BBC explained that there are also historical ties to land and resources that Amhara recently gained control of after the war, and while both Tigray and Amhara claim that the land has historically belonged to them, the disagreement has not been settled.

Reuters reported that leaders and activists in Amhara recently accused Ahmed’s government of ignoring the brutality by the Oromiya region and fear that the government will return Amhara historical land previously captured by the Tigray military during the war, to Tigray. In an interview with the Washington Post, an anonymous resident of Amhara said that many Amhara said that the Amhara regional military “want reassurance from the federal government [that their] land will not go back to [Tigray].” Another anonymous citizen told the Washington Post that “the Amhara people are facing an existential threat.” He continued by asking, “why did they start the disarmament with Amhara?” On Monday, April 10, the community elders spoke to both sides and the shooting finally stopped, residents told The Washington Post. As of April 12, businesses and government buildings were reopened around the Amhara region, reported Reuters. In an interview with Reuters, an anonymous resident of the city Debre Berhan said their “city is now almost returned to normalcy.”

Air National Guard employee leaks classified Pentagon documents

One member of the group told The Washington Post that Teixeira, who according to BBC News, was an administrator of the group, had wanted to “‘keep [them] in the loop’” by sharing the classified information he had access to. BBC reported that despite signing a lifetime binding non-disclosure agreement, Teixeira began by posting text from the documents and eventually graduated to posting images of entire documents.

Pentagon officials became aware of the leaked documents after images surfaced outside of the group chat, BBC News reported. This prompted a federal investigation, which led the Federal Bureau of Investigations to Teixeira. U.S. President Joe Biden stated that law enforcement was conducting a “rapid” investigation and that military intelligence had been instructed to take care to prevent any further leaks of classified information.

vice (FSB) disagrees with the Defense Ministry on the total number of Russian deaths that have resulted from the war in Ukraine.

The information in the leaked documents also negatively affects Ukraine, which is one of the U.S.’ most important allies, CNN explained. The leaked information exposes weaknesses in Ukraine’s defense against Russia at a crucial time during the conflict, and at a time when Ukraine has begun to develop a more amicable relationship with the U.S., especially in regard to national intelligence.

The leaks have greatly embarrassed officials in Washington, and Ukraine has already been forced to change its now-exposed defense strategies in order to defend itself against Russia.

BY JENDAYI LEBEN-MARTIN ’24 GLOBAL EDITOR

On April 14, 2023, Jack Teixeira, who was charged with releasing classified government documents, appeared in federal court for a hearing, NBC Boston reported. According to BBC News, the documents contained information describing

how the United States government views Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, along with information about allies of the U.S. and their involvement in the war. The leaked documents have raised concerns about how safe classified information is in the U.S..

According to CNN, Washington D.C. has been greatly affected by the leak of the documents, which Teixei-

ra had access to through his position in information technology for the Air National Guard in Massachusetts. Teixeira posted multiple documents painting a negative image of the U.S. involvement in the war in Ukraine to a Discord group. The group, which had around two dozen members, was dedicated to interests such as firearms and the military.

According to CNN, the documents — which were confirmed as authentic by Pentagon officials — have revealed that the U.S. has been spying on rivals as well as allies, including those on both sides of the Russia/Ukraine conflict. Some of the documents expose that the U.S. government has been spying on the Russian Ministry of Defense, along with confirming how much information the U.S. has been able to gather on the organization. The documents also track conflict within the Russian government.

According to BBC News, the Pentagon documents contain proof that Russia’s Federal Security Ser-

According to CNN, since the documents were leaked, the Pentagon has heightened its security to prevent any other information leaks that can negatively affect the U.S.’ reputation. While documents are normally available to hundreds of government officials in a day, a stricter process to monitor who accesses documents and when has been put in place.

The Guardian reported that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has suggested that Teixeria will be sentenced under the Espionage Act, which can carry a sentence of ten years. It is also possible that prosecutors will argue each leaked document as its own act of espionage, potentially resulting in separate sentences for each document.

Mexican immigration officials charged for the Ciudad Juárez migrant center

BY ELIZABETH MURRAY ’26 STAFF WRITER

Content warning: This article discusses mass death.

On Tuesday, April 11, criminal charges were brought against Mexico’s top immigration official, Francisco Garduño, for the fire that killed 40 people in March 2023, NPR reported. Five other lower-ranking officials have also been charged, as well as a Venezuelan migrant. The fire occurred on March 27 in a facility housing 68 men, CNN explained. It started when a group of detainees set fire to mattresses in protest of their presumed deportation. Detainees were kept behind a locked gate in the facility, in addition to locked doors. In the aftermath of the fire, a video emerged of two guards fleeing the center, but they did not unlock the gate — the president later stated that they did not

have keys. As of April 12, 31 of the bodies have been returned to their homelands, NPR stated.

According to an NBC news article, the officials were charged after an investigation found that there was a “pattern of irresponsibility.”

CBS News stated that three of the guards and the Venezuelan migrant all face homicide charges. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador stated that “from the beginning, we maintained that there would be no impunity for anyone,” according to CNN, however, the investigation is still ongoing.

– President Andrés Manuel López Obrador

Ciudad Juárez is a city situated in Northern Mexico near El Paso and the United States border. Because of the U.S.’ pandemic policies — which are set to expire in May — cities in this region have become overburdened with migrants who hope to cross into the U.S., according to CNN. The New York Times explained

that Ciudad Juárez has a long history of being a stop for many migrants, who either come to work in Mexico or continue into the U.S.. Under the Biden administration, new policies

were created to curb illegal border crossings. Migrants who had illegally crossed would be sent to Mexico, where a pathway would be created for them to legally immigrate to the

U.S.. This plan went into effect in October 2022 and has since left many migrants stranded in dire conditions in Ciudad Juárez waiting to be able to go to the U.S.

Photo courtesy of AMISOM Public Information via Flickr Military unification efforts by the Ethiopian government have caused protests in the country’s Amhara region, causing many local businesses to close.

Graphic by Ayo Olowole ’26

Photo courtesy of BBC World Service via Flickr Francisco Garduno and five other immigration officials have been charged with homicide following a fire at a migrant center, which killed 40 people.

From the beginning, we maintained that there would be no impunity for anyone.

Mount Holyoke College selects two students for Beckman Scholars Program

BY CATELYN FITZGERALD ’23 SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT EDITOR

Erin Desmond ’25 and Illia Kawash-Cooper ’25 have been selected by Mount Holyoke College to participate in the Beckman Scholars Program, a research scholarship and mentorship program available to students at select institutions across the country, according to their website. Beckman Scholars receive a $21,000 award to pursue a 15-month research project, which is divided across the academic year, two summer sessions and associated conferences and events. Participating institutions are selected each year, with 2023 marking the first year that Mount Holyoke was chosen. According to the College’s website, colleges and universities are selected by the program based on their “outstanding science, technology, engineering and mathematics credentials and the excellence of their faculty as both researchers and mentors.” Five professors from the Biology, Chemistry and Computer Science departments were selected as possible mentors for the student awardees.

Desmond is a current sophomore at Mount Holyoke who will continue their ongoing research with Professor Katie Berry through the Beckman Scholars Program. “I was really drawn to the fact that I could work here for two summers,” she said, explaining that it was a unique opportunity to pursue long-term research as an undergraduate student. Des-

mond became interested in the program due to the time and resources it offered to engage in their research as well as the mentor-mentee relationship which makes up an integral part of the program. The Berry Lab studies non-coding small RNA found in bacteria, Desmond explained. RNA is a nucleic acid found in all living cells which play a critical role in many biological functions, according to the National Human Genome Research Institute. sRNA is a type of RNA which is known for regulating various cell processes and influencing gene expression, ScienceDirect reported.

Desmond and Berry have studied the interaction of sRNA with different “chaperone” proteins, Desmond explained, but this research is hindered when the proteins have additional interaction with the sRNA’s terminator sequence, a segment that marks the endpoint of the sRNA. The interactions between the selected protein and terminator make it difficult to discern the degree of interaction between the sRNA and the chaperone protein. Through the Beckman Scholars Program, Desmond hopes to alter the sRNA of interest in order to eliminate these confusing interactions.

Desmond first met Berry when she was assigned to be their firstyear academic advisor. Desmond also took an introductory chemistry course taught by Berry. “I hated chemistry in high school but took it here and loved it,” Desmond said.

In the spring of her first year, Des-

mond applied to join Berry’s lab and has been working there ever since. Desmond commented that Berry had always offered them mentorship and support and that the Beckman Scholars Program offered a natural continuation of this relationship.

Kawash-Cooper is similarly using the Beckman Scholars Program to continue her ongoing research in chemistry. Working in Professor Kyle Broaders’ lab, Kawash-Cooper studies Acetalated Dextran, or ACdex. AC-dex is modified dextran, or sugar polymer, which is used to deliver medications to different parts of the body. While dextran is water-soluble, AC-dex is modified to become hydrophobic, or insoluble, until it enters acidic areas of the body, where it dissolves and releases the encap-

sulated drug. This can be an important function when producing drugs that are intended to target inflamed areas rather than spread throughout the entire body. Kawash-Cooper has been experimenting with using different catalysts to facilitate new, “more versatile” AC-dex molecules, but outcomes of these reactions are currently unpredictable, she explained. With Broaders as her mentor, Kawash-Cooper aims to generate “more predictable results,” during the 15-month program, she said.

Kawash-Cooper first met Broaders when she enrolled in his Organic Chemistry I and II courses, but it was not until she interviewed Broaders for an Introduction to Research course that she learned more about his research and decided to join his

New auto emission limits could accelerate transition to EVs

BY SARAH GRINNELL ’26 STAFF WRITER

As the biggest source of carbon emissions in the United States, the transportation sector is a key focus of Biden’s push to usher in a greener economy, according to The Washington Post. On Wednesday, April 12, the Biden administration issued new restrictions that will crack down on auto emissions harder than ever before, The Washington Post reported. According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposals, as detailed in an NBC article, the new rules could cut as much as 10 billion tons of carbon emissions by 2050. Per NPR, the policy will achieve this by issuing “regulatory penalties on companies that do not move quickly enough toward electric cars,” thereby accelerating the shift to cleaner vehicles. According to NBC, the rules will go into effect for any cars made after 2027.

According to NPR, the limits, based on the size and type of each car, are placed on tailpipe emissions rather than the actual quantity of gasoline or diesel vehicles produced by auto manufacturers. The restrictions are expected to put pressure on auto companies to manufacture more electric or zero-emission vehicles in order to comply with the regulations, The Washington Post explained.

In fact, according to NPR, as much as 67 percent of all vehicles manufactured by auto companies could be electric by 2032 because the standards are “so stringent.” This would surpass the 50 percent goal that Biden initially set in his first year in office, NBC reported.

A number of officials have spoken out with certain concerns about the efficacy of these ambitious pro-

BY CATELYN FITZGERALD ’23 SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT

posals. Larry Burns, a former General Motors executive and current industry technology advisor, expressed that this kind of transition necessitates the construction of entirely new factories, assembly lines and supply chains, which would be a years-long process to implement, The Washington Post reported. Furthermore, according to The Washington Post, the reengineering of one car model alone can take up to five years. Washington State Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee, expressed her concerns that the new standards will “make cars unaffordable” and especially hurt low-income families, NBC reported.

The implementation of these new rules will direct the more than $31 billion-worth of subsidies set aside for climate and infrastructure in the Inflation Reduction Act towards tax credits for EV manufacturers, additional tax credits to encourage consumers to buy vehicles

and roughly $7.5 billion to construct more EV charging stations, which could help lower the cost of electric vehicles significantly, The Washington Post reported. The shortage of charging stations has long frustrated current EV owners and deterred potential buyers, Car and Driver points out.

According to EPA administrator Michael Regan, the short-term structural difficulties will be worth the long-term environmental benefits. In a Washington Post article, Regan stated, “[T]he stakes cannot be higher. … We must continue to act with haste and ambition to confront the climate crisis and to leave all our children … a healthier and safer world.” As Regan said in an NPR article, roughly 7.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide, “equivalent to four years worth of the entire U.S. transportation sector” emissions could be eliminated with the new standards. Margo Oge, a former EPA official and the chair of the board of

lab the following semester. “He has a very unique style of bringing people into his lab,” she said, explaining that each new student works one-on-one with him for their first semester as part of the lab. “The styles he chooses to mentor in was very compatible with the way that I want to interact with my professors,” she said.

The application process was “chaotic” due to the quick turnaround from the announcement of the program to the final deadline, Kawash-Cooper said. Rather than the most traditional resume and transcript, the application consisted solely of four essay questions. “It took a lot of self-discovery,” she said of the writing process. Professors, friends and family proved to be an important support system.

Both Desmond and Kawash-Cooper recommended the program to students interested in pursuing research or continuing existing lab work. “I think it’s a really great program,” Desmond commented, emphasizing the opportunities it provides to connect with other scientists. “I think that there is unfortunately an inaccessibility to research at Mount Holyoke,” Kawash-Cooper said, adding that while the program does not necessarily alleviate this concern, it provides alternative ways for students to engage in research.

Following their selection, both students must submit their research proposals to the Beckman Foundation for final approval, after which they will be considered official awardees.

Consent 101

BY CATELYN FITZGERALD ’23 SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT EDITOR

Content warning: This article discusses sexual assault and rape.

the International Council on Clean Transportation, has heralded the proposal as “the single most important regulatory initiative by the Biden administration … to really reduce the worst impacts of climate change,” NPR reported.

The new proposals will build on the momentum of increasing consumer interest in EVs. According to The Washington Post, fully electric cars comprised seven percent of new U.S. vehicle registrations in January, versus 4.1 percent from the prior year. Tom Van Heeke, a senior policy adviser at EV manufacturer Rivian Automotive, told The Washington Post, “the industry can’t sell them fast enough, as far as I can tell.” For this reason, the EPA believes that, despite the potential financial and infrastructural concerns raised by Burns and Rodgers, consumer support and their demonstrated willingness to invest in EVs will help smooth this transition into a greener future.

Senior Letter: Catelyn Fitzgerald

EDITOR

To the Mount Holyoke News staff, board and readers, I have had the honor of serving as a writer, editor and pro crossword maker for MHN throughout my four years at Mount Holyoke. I started writing for Mount Holyoke News in my first year of college. I hadn’t had any experience in the world of journalism, but I loved to write and I was starting to get the idea that I was pretty good at it. Nothing was more exciting (and scary) than the idea that for the first time, I had the opportunity to share my writing with other people. Joining the Environmental section was an easy choice, but I had no idea how integral it would become to my college journey. Environmental was a bit of an experiment when I first came on board as a writer, the section had just been created when I joined and

it was a newsletter rather than part of the print publication. It has been an honor to watch the section evolve into S&E. My very first article for the news was on the Miller Worley Center’s Eco-Reps program. Still today my favorite articles to write are the ones that take place right here on campus. I am so grateful to have been able to gain wisdom and new perspectives from students, faculty and staff at the college, all under the guise of an interview. I never could have predicted the connections and opportunities that being part of the news brought me, my time here has truly impacted every aspect of my college experience. My time at MHN would not have been as great as it was without the support from my fellow editors, writers, friends and family. I offer my thanks in chronological order. Thank you to my parents, who not only literally put me into this world

but have always been the biggest supporters of my writing and who read nearly every one of my articles. Thank you to Meryl, who started the Environmental section and was an incredible editor. Thank you to Emma, who joined the news not long after me and has since been my greatest source of support, a person who I can always rely on for a good rant or gossip session and has had so much tolerance for the millions of questions that I ask her about AP style rules. Thank you to my former co-editors Anoushka and Shira for your passion and enthusiasm for the news. It was such an honor to be able to watch you both grow in your roles and become incredible editors and leaders. Last but not least, thank you to the MHN eboard for always being S&E’s biggest fans.

There are so many things I will miss about the news. I will miss giggly moments during pitch, hours spent making layouts and connect-

ing with people who I may not have met otherwise. I am also lucky to be taking a lot with me after I leave. I have become more confident in myself, more outgoing and hopefully a little smarter during my four years at MHC, and I am sure that the news played no small part in that.

According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 81 percent of women and 43 percent of men have experienced a form of sexual assault or harassment in their lifetime. For female rape victims, a majority of incidences were perpetrated by an intimate partner. Consent has unique legal definitions that vary in different places and contexts, but in general refers to an agreement between people to engage in sexual activities, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.

Under the law, there are three ways in which consent is usually assessed: affirmative consent, freely given consent and capacity to consent. RAINN explains that an affirmative expression of consent refers to parties saying “yes” to sexual activity through explicit words or actions rather than being passive or neutral. Freely given consent takes place only in the absence of “fraud, coercion, violence or the threat of violence.” Capacity to consent to sexual activity is affected by multiple factors; someone who is below legal age requirements has a mental or physical disability that incapacitates them, is a subordinate of the perpetrator, is considered a “vulnerable adult” or is intoxicated or unconscious may not be able to legally consent to sexual activity.

It is important that all parties consent each time sexual activity is performed. Consent is also reversible, meaning that it can be withdrawn at any time, according to Planned Parenthood. Consent should also be informed and specific, meaning that participants have a full understanding of the activities they consent to and are not assumed to consent to any other activities.

Anyone who wishes to speak to an expert about sexual assault and learn more about local resources and next steps can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) or visit online resources such as RAINN.

Photo courtesy of epSos.de via Wikimedia Commons Auto manufacturers will be required to limit production of fossil fuel-powered vehicles under the policy released by the Biden administration in April.

Graphic by Sunny Wei ’23

Photo courtesy of Illia Kawash-Cooper ’25 Kawash-Cooper works for Professor Broaders.

Photo courtesy of Erin Desmond ’25 Desmond works in Professor Katie Berry’s lab.

Photo by Ali Meizels ’23

Defunding humanities departments is hazardous for democracy

BY SILAS GEMMA ’26 OPINION EDITOR

On March 30, Mount Holyoke announced it had placed the Russian & Eurasian Studies and German Studies departments on a “sunset” timeline. This announcement has sparked backlash among the student body, with some arguing the importance of foreign linguistic, cultural and historical study for broadening personal perspectives. These departments provide not only linguistic capabilities that increase travel and employment opportunities for graduates, but also critical analyses of historical events and structures that inform current political and social climates. Some programs, such as Film Media Theater, are the result of mergers, while others, such as Latin American studies, used to be offered as majors but are now only available as minors for students entering the College after fall 2022.

I have heard various students bemoaning the lack of classes and the availability within them, particularly those required for their majors. The Five College Consortium allows students to take classes not offered at Mount Holyoke, but Mount Holyoke students should not have to be dependent on the other proximal colleges to fulfill their major requirements. Additionally, other college campuses or the PVTA buses may not be accessible to some students. Concerns about the decline of humanities are not restricted to Mount Holyoke. Higher-education institutions nationally and internationally are jettisoning humanities programs, often in favor of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics departments. Decreasing humanities-based education has widespread implications for interpersonal relations, professional success and the prevailment of democracy. It is imperative that humanities programs across the globe are salvaged in order to promote skills and attributes such as critical reasoning, transcultural understanding, intergroup dialogue and interpersonal communication.

A Bioethics Today article, written by Craig Klugman, historicizes the development of liberal arts colleges within the United States, as well as their initial objectives. The end of World War II, and the contemporaneous promulgation of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (also known as the G.I. Bill), led to a significant increase in the number of men, particularly returning veterans, able to access higher education.

Although in the U.S. the Cold War called for technical training in the sciences for military purposes, this period also brought increased interest in liberal arts education.

Humanities were thought to be essential for preparing citizens to think critically and analyze information for veracity, therefore preventing the fascism and authoritarianism that marked regimes such as Stalin’s. Klugman argues that there is a connection between the rise, and public backing, of authoritarian regimes and the decline of humanities-based education. This connection demonstrates how pivotal the humanities are for preparing students to critically evaluate information, educate themselves on issues

BY JAHNAVI PRADEEP ’23 OPINION EDITOR

I joined Mount Holyoke News during the first week of my first year at Mount Holyoke College. I began, based on a random unpremeditated decision, as a writer for the Op-Ed, now renamed Opinion, section. I came to the first meeting mildly nervous and utterly clueless and pitchless — What was a pitch? What was an Op-Ed?

Over the years at MHN, I have learned not only what a pitch and an Op-Ed actually mean, but so much more. I have learned to listen, to collaborate, and to be inspired by those around me. My first thank you is to Nina Larbi ’22, my patient editor for two years. Thank you to them for being such a wonderful editor and helping me shape my voice as a writer, especially at a time when I did not believe in that voice at all.

Even with the support system of a great editor and incredible fellow Op-Ed staff writers, my time as a writer was not without challenges. When the COVID-19 pandemic shut

using reliable sources and consider issues on a multidimensional level. Humanities-based education promotes and maintains democracy.

Compounding the crisis, some students are unable to envision how a humanities degree could directly translate into a satisfying job that offers them financial stability. An article by The New Yorker highlights this uncertainty by discussing student trends at Arizona State University. When questioned, a staggering proportion of ASU students were unaware of what subjects fall under the umbrella of humanities, while others expressed an inability to see career outcomes for humanities programs. This survey represents a common idea that humanities degrees are not practical for securing a job post-graduation that helps pay off debts and achieve financial stability.

On the contrary, many humanities programs help students develop robust skills that are valued by employers within various fields. Indeed’s Top 11 list of most valued skills by employers include “communication skills,” “teamwork skills,” “interpersonal skills,” “learning/ adaptability skills,” “problem-solving skills,” “open-mindedness” and “strong work ethic.” Although it is a myth that STEM programs do not help students develop skills such as these, humanities programs are key for teaching and reinforcing a broad range of skills valued across industries.

With regards to income gaps, an article by the United States Census Bureau reports that STEM graduates who go on to work in STEM fields generally earn more than their humanities graduate counterparts, with an average of $101,100 versus $87,600, respectively. Nonetheless, as the article points out, salaries vary across the broad orbit of science and technology careers. The Census Bureau found a $38,760 difference in median earnings between those employed in computer-based professions and those within the life science field, with the latter group earning less. A key finding is that 62 percent of STEM graduates pursue employment in non-STEM industries. The gender pay gap presents additionally confounding comparative statistics on post-graduation earnings.

An article by BBC states that a majority of humanities graduates are women, possibly accounting for the average lower salary outcomes for humanities graduates. The article references findings by The New York Times that suggests that the average pay within an industry falls as more women enter it. These statistics demonstrate the interlocking factors that determine professional and financial outcomes. The reductive thought that majoring in STEM guarantees professional and economic success needs to be further analyzed in light of this evidence. Students must keep in consideration that economic divisions between STEM and humanities graduates are far from clear-cut and predetermined as they are deciding what major to pursue.

Colleges and universities must look at broader evidence when considering the distribution of funds and resources. The belief that the career prospects are bleaker for humanities majors than for STEM ma-

jors has made it seem most prudent to encourage studies in the STEM fields. This focalization of economic growth is problematic, however, as it elides the benefits of a liberal arts education. According to a Forbes article by Willard Dix, “If cost-benefit analysis becomes the only measure of worth for universities, then we are faced with a true cultural crisis. Institutions of higher education … are the repositories of human history and culture.”

In other words, churning out students purely as agents of economic growth poses hazards for future generations to be able to think critically, analyze different perspectives and collaborate with people of different backgrounds. The economic, business-focused framework suggests that prosperous economic outcomes are the only important objectives of a college education.

Meanwhile, other majors, such as philosophy and English, are considered non-practical for the ever-automatizing and technology-dependent economy. Dix argues that far-right ideologies lead to bureaucratic college administrations that ditch humanities departments for fear of students “think[ing] critically about social systems, culture and history,” reminiscent of book bans put forth largely by conservative governments on texts that offer perspectives other than heteronormative, cisnormative, Eurocentric and fundamentalist Christian ones. Hallmark conservative ideals are represented by this decentering, or even rejection, of curricula that highlight multiple perspectives, yet so-called liberal colleges are also slashing humanities departments despite claims that they prioritize a balanced education.

Despite the justifiable outcry for the contemporary elimination of humanities departments across the globe, Heidi Tworek, in a 2013 article for The Atlantic, points out that en-

rollment rates in humanities departments have been decreasing for the past half-century. The most drastic drop occurred between 1967 and the early 1980s, during which time the number of students who matriculated in humanities programs plummeted from 17.2 percent to 7 percent, where it plateaued.

Tworek argues that this decrease was largely influenced by the increase in women in higher education during this time period. Women have remained a majority in the U.S. undergraduate population since the early 1970s, bespeaking their pivotal role in influencing statistics on department-specific enrollment rates. In other words, their decisions about what to major in have significant effects on data about enrollment and graduation rates within different programs.

Additionally, although higher-education institutions have the responsibility to allocate their funds appropriately to serve their students, the atrophy of humanities departments can be partially attributed to a more general decrease in government funding for higher education. As the Bioethics Today article mentions, the reduction of humanities departments at universities accelerated after Reagan-era policies that cut funding for higher education. Yet the slashing of humanities departments is increasing even in recent years. [title] Jill Barshay, in a 2021 article for The Hechinger Report, mentions that the quantity of humanities graduates in the United States had fallen for eight consecutive years, with only 200,000 humanities degrees conferred in 2020.

This is between a 16 to 29 percent decrease from the 2012 statistic. Barshay does critically mention that the scope applied to the humanities category can influence statistics drastically. According to the same article, if communications is eliminated

Senior Letter: Jahnavi Pradeep

down Mount Holyoke in 2020 during the second semester of my first year, I returned to stay with my family in India. Sophomore year was spent in a remote limbo. The pitch huddle around the sofas of the newsroom was replaced by stacked boxes on a Zoom screen congregating every week. At this time, the team was Nina, myself, and one other writer — Kaveri Pillai ’24 — who would soon become my amazing co-editor for the section. The year came with challenges and opportunities.

Remote writing felt hard in its own ways — while I had the opportunity for virtual interactions with my team, I felt distanced from MHN and the newsroom processes. However, on the plus side of my MHN sophomore experience, the small team size meant that I had to write more frequently. With an increased chance to write, I slowly began finding my writing voice and the stories that I wanted to tell with it.

When summer came around at the end of my sophomore year, I began editing for the Opinion section. I appreciate all the support that both

Declan Langton ’22, editor-in-chief at the time, and Liz Lewis ’23, managing editor of content, provided in my translation to editorial responsibilities. Thank you to them for making the newsroom such a welcoming environment!

After editing alone for the summer, I was joined by two other co-editors for the fall semester — Ladin Akcacioglu ’24 and Tasnia Mowla ’23. If it were not for the two of them, I would still fear using InDesign and avoid it with a passion. A big thank you!

And an equally big thank you to Kaveri, my co-editor for fall 2022. It was an absolute blast editing with you Kaveri, and I wish you all the best for next semester. I will miss editing by your side and co-writing articles with you. Thank you also to all the other editors I have had the chance to work with. Emma Watkins ’23, Sophie Soloway ’23, Lenox Johnson ’24 and Lydia Eno ’26 — you all are the best for being so patient and supportive during the editing cycles. I can’t wait to see all the amazing things you will go on to do!

from the humanities grouping, making it so that “English, history, philosophy and foreign languages and literature” are the only majors within the humanities categorization, “only 4 percent of college graduates in 2020” graduated as a humanities major. Barshay reports that English departments have been disproportionately affected, with significant decreases in the number of students that opt to pursue a degree in the field. The continuing decline in humanities departments on both a national and international scale calls for further analysis of why students do not value a humanities degree, or possibly why they believe that the labor force or larger society does not value humanities graduates.

Higher-education institutions such as Mount Holyoke must not give in to pressures to defund humanities in favor of STEM fields that will supposedly lead to greater economic outcomes for graduates. The humanities have proven to be essential for the development of attributes needed for effective and responsible communities as well as employable skills and tools that promote democracy while shunning political extremism, fascism and authoritarianism.

In light of Mount Holyoke’s dedication to “always … be an innovator in designing and delivering an inclusive and exploratory liberal arts education,” it is imperative that students resist the defunding of programs that directly inhibit the College’s ability to fulfill its objectives by continuing to vocalize their concerns and enroll in classes that are important to them. In addition, colleges across the globe must revalorize humanities in order to provide a varied liberal arts education that prepares graduates to think critically, conduct thoughtful analysis, consider various perspectives and interact with and understand those of different backgrounds.

tor. I cannot wait to continue reading all of the great articles you will write in the upcoming semesters. A special note to Silas Gemma ’26 — I am so glad to have been able to edit with you, even if it was for a short period. All the very best for the years to come — I hope MHN and the Opinion section inspire you the way they did for me!

Last is my thank you to the writers of the Opinion section. You are all so brilliant and bring such unique perspectives to the section. It has been an amazing experience to learn from all of you, and I hope that I have given you the right support as an edi-

I am so glad to have joined MHN during my first week, and gladder to have stuck with it through the years. I have had the chance to learn the importance of impactful storytelling and understand the power of non-fiction writing in being able to challenge and empower. The Opinion section has taught me to trust in my voice and to speak with confidence. I am constantly inspired by every single person that makes up this team, and am grateful to have been one of you all! Being part of MHN has not just been about a journey of learning to write like I had imagined it to be. Rather, I leave feeling like I have learned to be more confident, to listen more carefully to others and to belong to a community!

Photo by Ali Meizels ’23

As schools throughout the United States allocate less funding toward humanities programs, Gemma worries that critical thinking skills will suffer.

Photo by Ali Meizels ’23

Mount Holyoke Rugby navigates safety issues and trans inclusion

BY EMILY TARINELLI ’25 STAFF WRITER

As one of six club sports at Mount Holyoke College, Mount Holyoke Rugby has received less support from the institution in comparison to varsity sports, in terms of access to athletic facilities, athletic trainers or medical treatment, according to representatives from the team. This year, the support became more restricted after the removal of concussion baseline testing for club sports, which is used to assess for concussions in the event that symptoms are present. While the Office of Student Involvement confirmed in an email to the Mount Holyoke News that concussion baseline testing will be reinstituted in the fall of 2023, the rugby team has spent the past year navigating this change along with other ongoing challenges, including the need to take extra steps to keep rugby a gender-inclusive sport.

Concussion Baseline Testing

Removal

Unlike varsity teams, club sports do not have access to athletic trainers in case of injury. However, just like varsity athletes, club sport athletes were afforded concussion baseline testing — until this year.

“They took that away from us. We’re a full contact sport, and there’s a lot of risk of concussion,” forwards captain Skye Gorman ’24 said. “It wasn’t just a rugby thing. Club sports as a whole were very upset that they got rid of concussion baseline testing. They also no longer require us or even let us require medical clearance.”

According to Gorman, the reason for this year’s removal of concussion baseline testing that was provided to the rugby team was that “they didn’t use it” and that “club sports were never supposed to have it in the first place.” Varsity athletes always begin their seasons with concussion baseline testing.

For the rugby team, the fall was especially fraught with concussions,

given an unusually quick start to play. “We usually get at least a few concussions every season, and this time we saw more than a few,” Gorman said. “We were already pushing for things, but that was definitely [something that had us saying], ‘No, this is really serious.’”

Members of the rugby team met with the Office of Student Involvement in Fall 2022, where the news broke that they would no longer be provided concussion baseline testing. Unlike varsity teams, club sports are not governed by the Department of Physical Education and Athletics and instead, fall under the wing of OSI. This, forwards captain Bella Besag ’25 described, creates problems in and of itself.

“[It’s] difficult for us because

when we have sport-specific issues, they’re not the best equipped to handle them,” Besag said. “If you work in Athletics, you understand athletic problems just inherently.”

To make up for the removal of concussion baseline testing and lack of medical support provided by the College, OSI implemented a guideline that requires two players to serve as safety officers for their team. Backs captain Shanen Arellano ’24, one of the team’s safety officers, attended a four-hour training session to become certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid. As a safety officer, they are also tasked with creating and leading back-to-play procedures should a concussion occur.

“I sat in the fire station and watched videos of how to do CPR and how to wrap an open wound, but I really don’t think that’s the equivalent of having an AT who can treat sport-related injuries,” Arellano said. “And even in the training, they didn’t tell us how to treat or how to recognize a concussion. They kind of just said, ‘If you’re concussed, then go to the hospital.’ [Except] a lot of people don’t know if they’re concussed.” Arellano stated that she possesses some knowledge of concussion symptoms and care, but that

this knowledge was solely based on personal experiences with concussions, not something they learned from the College, the College’s resources or the first aid training.

“[It’s] as if a bunch of kids who get a four-hour training [are supposed to be able to] do the same thing as a medical professional,” Arellano said.

In an email to the Mount Holyoke News, the Office of Student Involvement provided a statement that confirmed the return of concussion baseline testing next year and reaffirmed the College’s commitment to keeping students safe.

“Student safety is one of the College’s highest priorities,” the statement read. “The College does have trained medical professionals to oversee club matches — we hire EMTs for each match. Referees know that if there is no EMT present at a match, the match will not be held. We ask that each club team designate a safety officer who will be at practices. This safety officer position is meant to serve in consultation with a coach and can allow students to practice, within limits, if a coach could not be present. Additionally,

CONTINUED ON PAGE 8 u

Mount Holyoke Rowing competes in regatta at Lake Quinsigamond

BY GENEVIEVE ZAHNER ’26 STAFF WRITER

Mount Holyoke Rowing competed in a regatta on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester County, Massachusetts, on Saturday, April 15, against Clark University, Connecticut College, the University of Rochester, Pacific Lutheran University, Washington College, Williams College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Mount Holyoke’s first of three varsity eight-boat lineups included Meghan French ’24, Liv Romanowsky ’25, Jocelyn Greer ’23, Jill Slatch’25, Piper LaPointe ’23, Gwyn Munroe ’26, Emma Waldron ’24 and Lilla Carroll ’25 with Miranda Hull ’25 as the coxswain. With a time of 7:09.72, this boat achieved second

place out of four boats in its first 2,000-meter race ahead of Washington and Pacific Lutheran, but behind Clark. This finish allowed the Lyons to advance to the Grand Final, where they placed fifth out of five other competing boats after clocking a time of 7:36.31.

The second varsity eight-boat was made up of Annika Smart ’25, Máire Kettner ’26, Piper Davidson ’26, Elsa Kulatunga ’26, Ava Rawlings ’26, Clay Halpern ’26, Caroline Odlin-Brewer ’24 and Mack Windus ’24 with Jen Butler ’25 as the coxswain. In the morning heat, this boat placed third out of four with a time of 7:48.13, finishing in front of Pacific Lutheran and behind Clark and Washington. This boat advanced to the Petite Final in the late morning and placed second out of three with

a time of 8:05.14, 3.88 seconds behind Connecticut College and ahead of Pacific Lutheran, which Mount Holyoke surpassed by 47.34 seconds.

Butler spoke on the conditions of the race, as well as the team environment.

“The weather was beautiful, cool in the morning with blue skies, and the competitive energy between boats was just electric,” they said. “To be honest, I am not the biggest fan of rain, cold weather or waking up early, but my crewmates make all of those things worth it to me.”

Kettner agreed about the team environment, stating, “Whether on the water, training or spending time doing fun events, [Mount Holyoke Rowing] has made me feel welcome [and] supported and helped [me feel] that I am an essential part of the

team.” Mount Holyoke’s third and final boat consisted of Emmy McCormack ’26, Dina Markovich-Koyfman ’24, Holly Wrampelmeier ’26, Avni Vallab ’26, Evelyn Griffin ’26, Abby Files ’25, Zoe Wolfel ’23 and Leyla Guven ’26 with Dara Weingarten ’24

as the coxswain. This boat competed against Clark and came in second at 8:19.27. Mount Holyoke Rowing will next compete on Saturday, April 22, at Lake Quinsigamond to face off against Assumption College and the Coast Guard Academy.

Usage of AI spikes in publishing Book bans continue to rise

BY JUDE BARRERA ’24 STAFF WRITER

With the popularity of chatbots like ChatGPT on the rise, the functions of artificial intelligence have garnered greater interest around the world. In the publishing industry, AI has been used in two distinct ways for content creation. On an individual basis, AI has been used to generate stories to send to magazines that are accepting submissions or to upload to self-publishing platforms. On a larger scale, companies have begun to use AI to create content for their websites.

When individuals create AI-generated stories to self-publish, there isn’t an employee to approve, deny or edit the books, leading to little quality moderation. According to Reuters, “over 200 e-books in Amazon’s Kindle store as of mid-February list[ed] ChatGPT as an author or co-author … and the number is rising daily.” As these AI-generated books gain more traction on social media, more creators are encouraged to follow suit. While some authors are upfront about the usage of ChatGPT and other AI tools, others decline to disclose the use of chatbots, “in part because Amazon’s policies don’t require it,” according to Reuters. A failure to disclose this usage makes it hard for people to discern what is or isn’t AI-generated.

While self-publishing platforms like Amazon put the pressure to sift through AI-generated work on the customer, employees at traditional publishing platforms must do this labor at unprecedented rates. Clarkesworld, a science fiction and fantasy magazine has been inundated with AI-generated submissions. In a blog post, Clarkesworld editor-in-chief Neil Clarke shared a graph detailing a spike in banned users throughout the year. In January 2023, Clarkesworld banned just over 100 users for fraudulent submissions to the magazine. On Feb. 15, when the chart was made, over 300 users were banned. Five days later, when Clarke updated his blog post with a new graph, it

showed that more than 500 submissions were flagged for plagiarism. This flood of plagiarism led Clarke to close submissions for nearly a month. On March 12, the Clarkesworld Twitter account tweeted, “We quietly reopened submissions tonight. Already banned someone.” The labor involved in filtering through these submissions is not Clarke’s only concern. “I worry that this path will lead to an increased number of barriers for new and international authors. Short fiction needs these people,” Clarke stated in his blog post. While the industry learns to differentiate between AI-generated and human-made writing, resources to tackle fraudulent submissions are limited. Having to navigate a surplus of fraudulent submissions may motivate some publishers to place restrictions on or temporarily close them. Some publishers have openly embraced AI as a way to create more content without increasing the size of writing teams. Buzzfeed publicly announced its venture into AI content by producing AI-generated personality quizzes back in January 2023. These quizzes disclosed that results were generated by AI in the headline, and credited another writer in the byline. Unlike regular

personality quizzes, these quizzes allowed users to type in answers to prompts, rather than choose from pre-selected answers. The result is that the generated result of the quiz will directly quote the user’s responses to fill out a template. Yet, according to Futurism, Buzzfeed has begun using AI to create “SEO-driven travel guides,” however only Buzzfeed’s AI tool “Buzzy” is named explicitly in the byline. The human employee that used the AI to create the article is not named in the byline, but rather later in a clarification note. Futurism noted that the employees credited in these articles are not part of Buzzfeed’s journalism staff, but rather “non-editorial employees who work in domains like client partnerships, account management and product management.” Futurism then pointed out two turns of phrase that were used repetitively within these articles. The phrase “I know what you’re thinking” appeared in seven different articles, and the phrase “hidden gem” appeared in 16 articles. While these phrases are common enough, all 44 of the travel articles with the byline “As Told to Buzzy” were posted within a week of each other. Both approaches to AI-generated content prioritize speed and cutting down labor, often at the expense of quality, and while differences between man and machine are still noticeable, every use allows AI to adapt.

“I wonder if the most significant changes wrought by AI won’t necessarily be the introduction of new tools and practices, like the large language models everyone’s up in arms about at the moment. Rather, there will be … a deep and lasting impact as existing technologies we use are ‘enhanced’ through the integration of AI components,” Lindsey Freer, head of Ed-Tech said. “So when we think about the impact AI might have on any given industry, it’s important to think about what tools that industry already uses, and how changes that are integrated into those technologies might further change that sector of our economy.”

BY AMELIA POTTER

STAFF WRITER

Book banning is no new concept; for several centuries it has remained a galvanizing issue within U.S. politics. According to the Harvard Library, the first recorded instance of book banning in the U.S. occurred in Quincy, Massachusetts, back in 1637.Recently, The New York Times has reported a drastic increase in book-banning efforts in schools within the United States.

This movement does not reflect the independent actions of individual parents, but rather “deep-pocketed organizations whose actions can change long-standing policies in a matter of months.” Since the beginning of the pandemic, the powerful scope of these conservative organizations has only risen. Their influence ranges from possessing local sway all the way to having a broad national impact. The Times reports that “over the past two years, they have become vastly more organized, well funded, effective — and criticized.” Within this recent explosion of censorship efforts, a report by the free speech organization PEN America reveals that a significant portion of these groups was formed after 2020.

School libraries have taken the brunt of this wave of censorship.

The New York Times cited a report done by the American Library Association which found that in 2022, “some 60 percent of complaints that the association tracked were direct-

ed at books and materials in school libraries and classrooms.” Comparatively, public libraries received just 40 percent of challenges.

In previous years, controversies over which book titles were inappropriate for public school libraries mainly occurred on an individual level, between “a concerned parent and a librarian” and “resulted in a single title or a few books” being reassessed and possibly pulled. Now the wider pattern of book banning, as reported by The Times, results from an “influential constellation of conservative groups.” These Republican organizations, whose efforts have outpaced their liberal counterparts, work at all levels of the political spectrum. They portray their motivation as an attempt to protect the “innocence of children” against “indoctrination” and cite the “inappropriate” and even “pornographic” nature of the books in question as grounds for removal. The American Library Association reported via the New York Times that the targets of the bans are predominantly books “by or about Black or LGBTQ people,”

These conservative organizations are quick to denounce targeted books as “indecent or offensive,” and stretch this boundary to encompass books with no explicit indecency or pornography. Indeed, voices in fiction portraying the perspectives of POC and LGBTQ+ narratives are often unfairly antagonized. An in-

’26

Graphic by Mari al Tayb ’26

Photo courtesy of The San Jose Public Library via Flickr Libraries and schools have achieved some victories in fighting book bans, but continue to struggle.

Photo courtesy of Lynn Sleiman ’24

As a club team, MHC Rugby is governed by the New England Wide Collegiate Rugby Conference.

Photo courtesy of Mount Holyoke Athletics

Members of MHC Rowing stated that the team environment adds to their enjoyment of the sport.

MHC Rugby navigates trans inclusion, limited College support, cont’d

u CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

concussion baseline testing for those who participate in club sports will be re-instituted in the fall of 2023.”

Limited Athletics Support

Because club sports are not supported by the athletics department, they are not given priority when it comes to using athletic spaces, such as the varsity weight room or the fieldhouse. Club sports can only use the varsity weight room, nicknamed the “Lyons’ Den,” after 8 p.m. during the week or on weekends. If it is raining and rugby needs to practice inside the fieldhouse instead of outside on the rugby pitch, varsity sports get seniority and rugby will often have to push their practice schedule later than usual, to 8:45 p.m. through 10:00 p.m..

Additionally, because club sports do not have access to varsity athletic trainers, general medical support is also limited. In a meeting with the

athletics department in February, club sports captains and coaches were told that they did not need the athletic trainers because they could access College Health Services instead. However, the health center closes before the start of rugby practice, and not all athletes can afford the Mount Holyoke student health insurance, meaning the emergency room is not necessarily open to them.

“I don’t really feel like I’m seen as a student-athlete,” Besag said.

Ensuring Trans Inclusion

Current legislation from the New England Wide Collegiate Rugby Conference, the rugby team’s governing body, requires the team to take extra steps when it comes to making sure transgender athletes — especially individuals who are taking testosterone — have a space on the team.

“We have people on our team who take [testosterone] for gender-affirming reasons,” Besag said.

“But when we contacted our governing body about it, they were like, ‘Hey, just so you know, we go by the professional, Olympic-level rugby policy that says if you’re on T, you cannot play on the women’s team.’” This means that athletes on testosterone could only play on a men’s team, which is not a possibility at Mount Holyoke.

Team members raised this point with the NEWCRC, who told them that they would contact USA Rugby, the national governing body for the sport, and get back to them about the issue. They never responded, so team members offered an alternative solution. They suggested that before each match, they contact the opposing team to ask if they would still be willing to play against Mount Holyoke with a few team members on testosterone.

“So far, we’ve never had anyone not be okay with it. Everyone’s been very, very accepting of it, but it’s still an extra barrier that we have to take,” Besag said.

The banning of books continues to rise, cont’d

u CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

stance of this, as reported by The New York Times, was the inclusion of the children’s story “And Tango Makes Three” — a book about “two male penguins who adopt a baby penguin” — by the Florida Citizens Alliance in their “Porn in Schools Report.”

In response, advocacy groups argue that the premature banning of books based on such profiling results creates “a pervasively hostile atmosphere for LGBTQ+ students.”

Critics argue that book banning “infringe[s] on students’ right to access a broad range of material without political censorship,” The Times reports.

Certain librarians point out the unjust reach of book censorship:

The problem is not with individual parental concerns, but instead with “advocacy groups who rise up and demand that everybody read the books that they approve of and not read any other books, and deny that choice to other families.”

Amidst the flood of bans, there have been moments of victory for those that oppose them. In Texas, for instance, The Guardian reports that the “Round Rock Black Parents Association’’ campaigned and succeeded against a ban effort, thus allowing the book “Stamped (For Kids): Racism, Anti Racism, and You” to stay on the library shelf. Parents also succeeded in New Jersey in banding together with anti-censorship advocates to keep various LGBTQ+-themed books on the shelves. Nevertheless, The Guardian warns, these progressive parent

groups and activists are up against “formidable foes” — deep-pocketed conservative agendas with “links to prominent, wealthy Republicans.”

These high rates of politically-motivated bannings are unlikely to simply peter out soon. As Amedeo DeCara, a researcher in the MHC library, points out, “legislation like this is poisonous,” and despite the “insulation” of Mount Holyoke, and more broadly Massachusetts, the College is “protected from book bannings and similar attacks only so long as the government is unwilling or unable to pass legislation allowing them.”

DeCara puts forth the sobering reality that “Mount Holyoke is not an island. All of this impacts us” and that “increasingly, it feels like we’re teetering on the edge, one election away from disaster.”

Mount Holyoke News

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

Executive Board

As a club sport, rugby has more freedom than a varsity team when it comes to gender inclusivity. According to the Lyons Athletics website, varsity teams at Mount Holyoke are labeled as women’s teams regardless of the student-athlete’s gender identity, and as it relates to medically prescribed testosterone, a student-athlete taking testosterone is not permitted to participate on a varsity women’s team.

Because they are not varsity sports, club sports do not need to follow these eligibility requirements, however, they must adhere to the requirements set forth by their individual governing bodies.

“It’s frustrating to see that these governing bodies are doing this. When we talk to every single team, every team is like, ‘Rugby is an inclusive sport. It’s always been an inclusive sport. We want everyone to be a part of this sport,’” Gorman said. “So it’s just like, why do we have to jump through these hoops if everyone’s on the same page?”

The Future

In addition to the reinstitution of concussion baseline testing for the fall of 2023, there was one other positive outcome from club athletes’ advocacy this year.

Mount Holyoke requires most students to complete four physical education units as part of its distribution requirements in order to graduate. In the past, these credits could only be fulfilled in two ways: through taking P.E. classes or competing for at least two seasons on a varsity team. Thanks to the advocacy of club sports, club sport athletes will be eligible to earn P.E. credits from their club sport involvement beginning in Fall 2023. Even so, rugby will likely continue to navigate many of these challenges in the coming years. When asked if they thought rugby would have received more support for these issues if they were a varsity team, especially the medical ones, Besag did not hesitate in her answer. “Without a doubt,” they said. “Without a doubt.”

f HOROSCOPES f

BY CARRIE LEWIS ’23 & MADDEN LACOSTE ’23 HOROSCOPE WRITERS

TAURUS

April 20 – May 20

Think about the best gift that you have received. This gift was so loved and maybe unexpected. You brag to all of your friends about what you were given. Now look in the mirror.

Do: Get vaccinated | Don’t: Bubbles

GEMINI

May 21 – June 20

Don’t be shy when asking new people new questions. Maybe you both need to break out of your comfort zone. Do something that would make your reflection and public persona unrecognizable.

Do: Hammer | Don’t: Hold

SCORPIO

Oct. 23 – Nov. 21

I’m sure you know. Recently, you’ve been doing both good and bad. How are you going to balance this out?

How can you decipher the bad from the good? Use your knowledge to answer this riddle.

Do: Puzzles | Don’t: Caffeine

SAGITTARIUS

Nov. 22 – Dec. 21

Take some time for yourself this week. I know you’ve been swimming in the deep end. Why not lay out in the sand? Wash your towel and get on your way.

Do: Dragon | Don’t: Baked goods

Editor-in-Chief Sophie Soloway ’23

Managing Editor of Content Emma Watkins ’23

Managing Editor of Layout Jesse Hausknecht-Brown ’25

Copy Chief Lydia Eno ’26

News

Tara Monastesse ’25 & Bryn Healy ’24

Arts & Entertainment Eliška Jacob ’24 & Lucy Oster ’23 Opinion Jahnavi Pradeep ’23 & Silas Gemma ’26

Books Olivia Wilson ’24

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

Sports Emily Tarinelli ’25

Publisher Ali Meizels ’23

Managing Editor of Web Artemis Chen ’25 & Michelle Brumley ’24

Business Manager Katie Goss ’23

Human Resources Hannah Raykher ’23

Editorial Board

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

Science & Environmental Catelyn Fitzgerald ’23

Photos Rosemary Geib ’23 & Ali Meizels ’23

Graphics Gabriella Gagnon ’24 & Sunny Wei ’23

Layout Editors Summer Sit ’25, Orion Cheung ’25, Sophie Dalton ’25, Rachel Adler ’26 & Melanie Duronio ’26

Publication Guidelines

CANCER

June 21 – July 22

Cut ties this week. There are things and people in your life that don’t need to take up space in your brain. Spring cleaning is here. Take this week to account for what and who you want to be a part of your life.

Do: Remember | Don’t: Splice

Copy Editors Jude Barrera ’24, Eliška Jacob ’24, Max Endieveri ’25, Gemma Golovner ’25, Meghan MacBeath ’25, Kamlyn Yosick ’25, Liv Churchill ’26, Kate Koenig ’26, Abigail McKeon ’26, Hema Motiani ’26, Emma Quirk ’26 & Caroline Huber ’26 Web Editors Maira Khan ’25, Aditi Menon ’25, Chloe Wang ’25, Lily Hoffman Strickler ’23, Thao Le ’25, Sophie Simon ’25 & Ramisa Tahsin Rahman ’25

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 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.

LEO

July 23 – Aug. 22

Infections can come in many ways. Think about something you have been having a hard time letting go of. Will it go away on its own, or do you need help? Use antibiotics when necessary.

Do: Trust science | Don’t: Slime

VIRGO

Aug. 23 – Sept. 22

When we think of you, we first think of all the expectations you have for yourself. No one wants these things from you, but you. Go easy. The world is a lot more forgiving than you think.

Do: Crack your knuckles | Don’t: Measure

LIBRA

Sept. 23 – Oct. 22

Did you get my text? I’ve been waiting to hear from you, and you ghosted me again. What are we going to do next? The decision is in your hands. Take some deep breaths and make wise choices.

Do: Sheep | Don’t: Nudity

CAPRICORN

Dec. 22 – Jan. 19

All those laptop stickers won’t cover the cracked case. Do you feel the need to hide who you truly are?

Stickers on your phone or your face, I think you’re perfect.

Do: Return | Don’t: Three Cameras

AQUARIUS

Jan. 20 – Feb. 18

our time is running out! What are you going to do next? Everyone wants to know (even you), but the answer doesn’t matter. Right now, take a minute to look behind you.

Reminisce on all you’ve done. We are so proud of you.

Do: Cry | Don’t: Suppress

PISCES

Feb. 19 – March 20

Are you hard-wired like that? Or do you force yourself? I think you find it hard to show others who you really are. Don’t take the time to practice how you present yourself; just be.

Do: Pop | Don’t: Tap Dance

ARIES

March 21 – April 19

Honestly, I can’t tell which is worse: how you think or how you act. I’m not saying you should reflect this week, but probably at some point in the future. Your light has been hidden recently.