Mount Holyoke News – October 21, 2022

Mount

Student Financial Services begins new counseling initiative

BY ANOUSHKA KUSWAHA ’24 & TARA MONASTESSE ’25 NEWS EDITORS

The executive director of Stu dent Financial Services, Tayler Kreutter, recently announced in an email to the College community that Mount Holyoke College students would each be assigned a financial counselor. The email, personalized for each student, notified them of their respective counselor’s name and email address.

“After an office-wide reorganiza tion, we have shifted our model and are excited to debut our new high touch, student-centered vision,” Kreutter wrote. “This means you now have a consistent ‘go-to’ coun selor, regardless of your question within SFS.”

A total of eight counselors have been assigned to undergraduate students, with students grouped based on the first letter of their last names. A ninth counselor will work exclusively with Professional and Graduate Education students. Through an online portal available on the College website, students can schedule a 15-minute meeting with their assigned counselor and select a prompt explaining why they are seeking assistance with their

finances. Kreutter explained in the announcement e-mail that the new counseling initiative will allow SFS to “fit [students’] needs and busy schedule[s].”

In an interview with Mount Holyoke News, Kreutter explained that the new initiative was based on student information and feedback about satisfaction from the past few years when working with SFS. The feedback was collected through the Student Conference Committee sur vey and focus groups conducted by external consultants, according to Kreutter. Kreutter illuminated that the data showed the SFS team that “while [we] were working hard, that work wasn’t translating as care for our students.” Kreutter went on to explain that upon her joining the SFS office as executive director this past March, the College had recog nized this student feedback as a “top priority.”

Kreutter explained that the goal of the SFS office was to be “seen as a valued and reliable partner and resource in [students’] success jour ney [at] Mount Holyoke College.”

In the eyes of the First-Genera tion and Low-Income Partnership, the new initiative is a step in the right direction. In a statement issued to the Mount Holyoke News, the or

ganization revealed the thoughts of some first-generation and low-in come students at Mount Holyoke when interacting with SFS, describ ing the process as “difficult … and even more challenging without the help of family.” The First-Generation and Low-Income Partnership looks to the new initiative as a potential means for more effective interac tion, describing previous models of communicating with SFS as “often feel[ing] draining, alienating and un supportive.” An individualized, more personal approach was expressed as potentially “reliev[ing] some anxiet ies when getting through financial aid processes.”

The need for SFS to become an office that is more personalized and approachable to all students has been recognized by both the student body and the SFS administration. Kreutter describes the new initiative as part of their bottom line goal of “creat[ing] an office where comput ers do the work computers can do; and humans do the work that only humans can do.” In support of the new initiative’s more interactive ap proach to financial aid and services, as per Kreutter’s interview, SFS has hired three new staff members, with two serving as SFS counselors: Bri an James, Chris Campbell and Jen

nifer Holstrom serving as the Assis tant Director of SFS. The three new counselors will be joining an exist ing staff of eight, including Kreutter.

With enthusiasm, Kreutter de scribed that the reasoning behind making SFS more personable as an administrative office was to give

students at Mount Holyoke the op portunity “to get to know their coun selor, from the time they are a pro spective student, all the way through to the graduation stage.” Kreutter expressed that she would like stu

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Biden administration extends Public Loan Service Forgiveness program

BY BRYN HEALY ’24 STAFF WRITER

College graduates previously employed in public service are get ting a break this month. The Biden administration and Federal Student Aid office announced that the ongo ing Public Service Loan Forgiveness program will extend its services to previously-ineligible borrowers. The deadline for this small expansion is Oct. 31.

The Public Service Loan For giveness program was introduced in 2007 by California representative George Miller’s College Cost Reduc tion and Access Act according to the Congress website. The American Bar Association explained that they and other organizations lobbied for this program due to the public ser vice sector experiencing a lack of workers. The worker shortage was partially due to massive student loans that many workers didn’t feel

they could pay off by working in the field, the American Bar Association explained. According to Glassdoor, the2022 average annual salary for

service field, graduate school is of ten necessary to attain professional licensure for certain jobs like in law, American Bar reported. As a result, the PSLF was created to incentivize college graduates to seek govern mental and nonprofit jobs.

ing that they were covered by this program as per an article from The Washington Post.

a public service worker is $47,040. The average college debt owed by former-student borrowers is $28,950 as per Forbes. For many in the public

Students prepare for midterm elections

age.” Cranage explains that “it’s re ally important to realize that a lot of the people running the campaigns and creating that messaging are, in fact, typically between the ages of 21 and 28. … I think that it’s really im portant to think about how to build winning coalitions among younger people, to support the politicians that we’ve currently got, and how creating that network of knowledge within younger people will eventual ly … create opportunities for [candi dates] who are younger.”

To facilitate student voting, the Mount Holyoke College Democrats have been actively working to get members of the Mount Holyoke com munity registered to vote. The MHC Democrats have also worked with the College’s Planned Parenthood Generation Action chapter to table in Blanchard Hall and help students register to vote.

In 2018, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported that 99 percent of PSLF applicants were denied loan forgiveness. In theory, according to Federal Student Aid, college graduates who have worked in public service full time for a total of 10 or more years for a qualifying employer are eligible for PSLF. This employment includes all levels of government — state, tribal, local, federal and nonprofit work. Appli cants must have completed 120 sep arate monthly payments However, these guidelines fail to answer all potential applicants’ questions sur rounding qualifying jobs, employers and payments, and have led to nu merous people incorrectly believ

This recent waiver will allow those who have older types of loans, payments under other plans, those previously employed in public ser vice programs and more to get loan forgiveness, as per the Federal Stu dent Aid website. As highlighted by The Washington Post, this would include the large number of people who were incorrectly told by their employers that they qualified under PSLF. According to the Department of Education, as of Oct. 31, it is pre dicted that over 550,000 graduates “who had previously consolidated their loans [will] see their progress toward PSLF grow automatically” and 22,000 “will be immediately el igible to have their federal student loans discharged without further action.”

COVID-19 booster offered to students via shuttle service

BY CYDNEY SOCIAS ’25 STAFF WRITER

With less than a month until the Nov. 8 midterm elections, Mount Holyoke students have started pre paring to vote in pivotal elections.

All House seats are up for election, as well as 35 of 100 Senate seats. 36 states will also be electing governors according to Ballotpedia.

Mount Holyoke College has sup ported voter preparation by facili tating resources via weekly emailed newsletters. The College highlighted an 84.7 percent voting rate among students in 2020 as “significantly above the 66 [percent] national aver age for students at U.S. institutions of higher education,” according to

the Sept. 28 edition of email news letter MHC This Week. Whether the 2022 midterms will have a similarly remarkable turnout is to be deter mined.

Mount Holyoke’s political stu dent organizations have been spreading the word about the im portance of voting in these elections.

Emma Cranage ’25, the president of the Mount Holyoke College Demo crats, is passionate about the impor tance of these elections.

Cranage notes that many young voters choose not to vote in elec tions because they do not resonate with political leaders who tend to be much older than them. She urg es them to “pay attention to a can didate’s ideology more than their

Cranage also made sure to ex tend resources. “I think one of the biggest challenges that we face is be ing able to reach people beyond cam pus limits. …While we were tabling, we tried to make sure that we were passing on the resources to staff and faculty as well as just the students because they are vital members of our campus community too. Obvi ously, they deserve to have a voice.”

“I think the biggest obstacle that a lot of students might see this late in the election is [if] their voter reg istration deadlines have already … passed, or their absentee ballot dead line requests [have] passed. But that should be the exception, not the rule,” Cranage said. With Nov. 8 only weeks away, time is essential as el igible students ensure they are reg istered and have requested absentee ballots if needed.

BY PAIGE COMEAU ’26 STAFF WRITER

The Division of Student Life recently announced that Mount Holyoke will be providing shuttles to the University of Massachusetts Amherst COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic. The statement also provided up dates to its shuttle service to a CVS in Chicopee, Massachusetts, for el igible students to receive a bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccination. The UMass shuttle will run every Thurs day and Friday through Nov. 17 and 18, respectively. The CVS shuttle will run every Wednesday and Sunday through Nov. 13 and 16 respectively.

Students are urged to get their vaccinations through the shuttle ser vices or independently. The Division for Student Life, in their recent email regarding the shuttles, underscored the importance of vaccination within the community: “COVID-19 vaccines

and boosters provide strong protec tion against severe disease, hospi talization and death. If you are eli gible for the new bivalent COVID-19 booster vaccination, you are strong ly encouraged to get one.”

In the same email, the schedules for the shuttle services are listed, with both routes running two days a week. The shuttle to the UMass Amherst clinic will run on Thurs days from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Alternatively, the shuttle to CVS on Memorial Drive in Chicopee will run on Wednesdays from 5- 8 p.m. and Sundays from 3-6 p.m. If a student is planning to take a shuttle, they should first schedule a vaccine ap pointment either at the UMass Vac cine Clinic or CVS and then sign up to take a shuttle on a link provided in the email. Students may ride the shuttles without signing up if space is available.

Photo by Carmen Mickelson ’24

The Student Financial Services office, pictured above, is located in the basement of Skinner Hall.

Photo courtesy of The Association of Community College Trustees In August of 2022, Biden announced his adminstration’s plan on tackling student loan forgiveness.

Photo by Ali Meizels ’23 The College will be providing shuttles to the UMass Amherst COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic and CVS.

Photo courtesy of The Michigan Review Mount Holyoke College reported that 84.7 percent of the student body voted in the 2020 election.

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President Tatum reinstates College Yom Kippur tradition

be fasting for Ramadan. “I did that every year that Ramadan fell during the academic calendar while I was the president at Spelman, and I look forward to working with our Muslim chaplain to plan that event,” Tatum said.

People who attended the din ner were excited that the presi dent wished to celebrate with them. “It was a really big deal. … It was nice to have the presi dent reach out to us instead of us having to reach out to the president in the context of a problem,” Natalie Glick ’23, co-president of the Jewish Student Union, said.

“[The event planners] went above and beyond to make sure that all of our food needs and timing needs and everything [were] just like what we wanted,” Glick stated.

It was a really big deal. … It was nice to have the president reach out to us instead of us having to reach out to the president in the context of a problem.

Tatum is grateful for the work that dining services put in to cre ate a traditional menu. “I thought it was a delight ful gathering. The students seemed to real ly enjoy being there,” Tatum said.

– Natalie Glick

BY EMMA QUIRK ’26 STAFF WRITER

On Wednesday, Oct. 5, students, faculty members and their families walked the path to Interim Presi dent Beverly Daniel Tatum’s house to break the Yom Kippur fast. As people trickled in, Tatum personally introduced herself to each person in attendance. Guests were then treat ed to a dinner that featured bagels with lox, apple cider in wine glass es and fresh fruit. During the meal, people sat at dining room tables, lounged on couches and perched on

folding chairs.

This was the first time in sev eral years that the Mount Holyoke president hosted Break the Fast for Yom Kippur. While this used to be an annual tradition, it has not been held consistently since Dr. Joanne V. Creighton, who unkempt the prac tice, was the president of the College from 1996-2010, Tatum reasoned.

“[Tatum] brings a very stu dent-centered perspective and lens to the presidency … [and she hopes to] recognize that there’s a diversi ty of faith and human experience at Mount Holyoke,” Kijua Sanders-Mc Murtry, vice president for equity and inclusion and interim Title IX coor dinator, said.

Sanders-McMurtry explained that while the College has discussed how it can better support Jewish people, this event was held because “[Tatum] wanted to open her home for something so important.”

When Tatum knew that she would be back at the College this year, she decided that she wanted to hold an event to break the fast as [she] wasn’t aware that the tradition had been discontinued. “I always thought it was an important way to acknowledge and affirm the Jewish students on campus following the fasting that is part of Yom Kippur,” Tatum said.

Additionally, Tatum plans to host as Iftar for Muslim students who will

Newer students were pleased with how the event reflected the president’s commitment to the Jew ish community. “It meant a lot to me to be invited by President Tatum … because it showed the value that [Tatum] feels Jewish people have at Mount Holyoke,” Amanda Weber ’26 said.

The invitation validated the ex periences of the Jewish community on campus, according to another stu dent. “It’s not very often that we get to celebrate our Judaism with peo ple who have so much power,” Axis Familant ’25 explained.

Tatum reached out to the Jewish Student Union in August to begin planning this dinner. Members of the JSU, chaplain to the College and ad viser to the Jewish community Ame lia Ender, The Office of Community and Belonging and the president’s staff all collaborated to organize ev erything.

Overall, stu dents and faculty agree that being all together in the President’s House was the best part of the night. “It was just really amazing to be in community togeth er,” Glick said. Sanders-McMurtry agreed, stating that the most mem orable part of the actual event was getting to spend time with students.

Familant felt the atmosphere was comfortable and enjoyed shar ing the space and is looking forward to related events being hosted in the future. “We’re getting to celebrate together, almost as a family,” Fami lant said. “This very much felt like [Tatum] going out of her way to do something for us. … I hope future presidents feel inspired by this.”

Likewise, Weber said she would like to participate in similar gather ings in the future and is hopeful that the College will continue to provide these opportunities when Tatum’s interim presidency is over.

After facing multiple antisemitic incidents throughout her four years at Mount Holyoke, Glick said, “I’m happy that for once we were able to be Jewish and it was happy.”

Student group Gender+ hopes to create safe space for trans students

BY MELANIE DURONIO ’26 STAFF WRITER

Although there are several re sources and spaces available on campus for transgender, nonbina ry and gender-nonconforming stu dents, none have previously been led by students themselves. Gender +, an organization reinstated this year, aims to change this by creat ing a safe space for trans students to gather and meet one another.

The group originally began in 2018, but later dissolved due to COVID-19. Currently, Gender + has three new officers — co-chairs Katya Ivanenko ’25 and Oakley Marton ’25, and treasurer Gemma Golovner ’25 — who are bringing the club back.

Ivanenko remembers stepping onto the Mount Holyoke campus their first year and having difficulty finding a community for trans and nonbinary students.

“I would be one of few trans or nonbinary students in my classes,” Ivanenko said. “We just wanted a space and an organization that would help build a community sur rounding trans and nonbinary stu dents, because it didn’t exist when we came here our first year.”

In order to form that space, es pecially for incoming first-years, the three co-officers decided to bring back Gender +. The organization plans to hold events throughout the year encouraging trans students to come together, make new friends and have fun. Potential activities range from small gatherings, such as making s’mores around a camp fire, to larger events like a winter formal.

The club also offers support

and resources to its members. All standard Gender + emails include a list of links to local counseling and health services available for trans students both on and off campus. Ad ditionally, Gender + has a Discord server that allows members to com municate and share resources with one another, as well as an Instagram account, @genderplusmhc, to alert students of upcoming events.

“I’m pretty excited because I think it’ll be good to have that space that centers [trans] voices,” Ivanen ko said.

Gender + is also looking to col laborate with the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and the Jeannette Marks Cultural Center, a community center and safe space for LGBTQIA+ students, staff and facul ty. Kijua Sanders-McMurtry, the vice president for equity and inclusion and interim Title IX coordinator, has contributed to trans-inclusive work and policies at Mount Holyoke, and worked briefly with the original Gender + in 2018. Now, she is collab orating with Ivanenko and the new co-officers to re-establish Gender +, connect with local trans alumni for additional resources and generate a greater sense of community off cam pus.

“With Gender + not being in ex istence, it made it more difficult to figure out how students we wanted to connect with and to be involved in this work could get plugged in,” Sanders-McMurtry said. “Then I heard one of the students who’s in volved say, ‘We’re restarting Gender +.’ … I had to [be mindful not to] overwhelm them with my enthusi asm.”

Past Gender + members created

Student Financial Services starts new program, cont’d

dents to know there will always be someone looking out for each student’s respective financial needs throughout the course of their col lege education.

The First-Generation and Low-Income Partnership expressed in their statement that the personal ized counseling approach is “a good start, [but] there is more to be done [to make SFS] more accessible to low-income students.”

The organization described its members’ interactions with SFS and offices like it at MHC as “highly-in timidating.” The idea of SFS taking

on a more personal approach can especially help FGLI students erase what they explained was an of ten-felt “disconnect” between them selves and the unfamiliar adminis trative offices they have to interact with as college students.

The First-Generation and Low-Income Partnership expressed that a further individualized ap proach for first-generation and low-income students, providing them with a counselor at SFS solely dedicated to helping them navigate their financial situations, or perhaps the creation of a center dedicated to assisting FGLI students, would fur ther benefit both students and the College as a whole.

resources and advocated for trans rights. Their work shaped some of the trans-inclusive policies in place at Mount Holyoke today, such as the College’s Chosen Name Policy established in August 2020. After the original Gender + disbanded in 2020, Sanders-McMurtry preserved their research. She will return it to the current Gender + co-officers so they can continue building upon the previous members’ work.

While most of Mount Holyoke’s current resources are focused on

supporting trans students, it does not focus on disrupting cisgender privilege. Sanders-McMurtry and the DEI team acknowledge this, and are working on new policies that center around the experiences of trans people, such as the College’s new pronoun policy.

“We’re not going to always get it right, and ‘right’ doesn’t have to look perfect in some kind of neat and simple way,” Sanders-McMurtry said. “When we create a policy, like the pronoun policy, [it does not] fix

all the ways that trans people are be ing oppressed. It’s just one step. It’s progress.”

She is also passionate about dis rupting the gender binary at Mount Holyoke. Although it is gender di verse, there are still questions about what it means to attend for students who do not identify as women.

“It can be very isolating,” Ivanenko said. “[We] asked people what they [wanted] to see and the majority were like ‘I just want to meet other people.’ The best way to build community is to just have a place where you can do that.”

This is why Ivanenko and Sand ers-McMurtry both believe that Gen der + is important. “What I hope is that not only will [trans students] create a community for themselves, but as we continue to create a com munity together … we can actually see all these ways that gender is so messed up.” Sanders-McMurtry said.

As a newly reinstated organi zation, Gender + is still searching for board members and finding its footing on campus. However, Ivanen ko remains excited for the future of Gender + and creating a sense of community for all trans students on campus.

“Hopefully, we create something that’s lasting,” Ivanenko said. “Hope fully we can create something where people feel comfortable being them selves and surrounded by people who may share similar identities to them.”

Editor’s note: Oakley Marton ’25 and Gemma Golovner ’25 are members of Mount Holyoke News.

Previously ineligible borrowers now qualify for Public Loan Service Forgiveness, cont’d

In reaction to the U.S. Govern ment Accountability Office’s report, the Office of Federal Student Aid under the Biden administration has clarified the requirements for loan forgiveness as well as to create a database for eligible employers. The Biden administration has also an nounced federal student loan debt relief for non-public service work ers. The seemingly quick and easy process, as expressed by The Phila delphia Inquirer, will grant qualified individuals or families up to $10,000 in loan forgiveness for non-Pell Grant workers and up to $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients as per the Fed

eral Student Loan Debt Relief. Qual ified individuals count as those who have earned less than $125,000 in 2021or 2020. Qualified families count as those who have earned less than $250,000 in 2021 or 2020. However, according to an article in The New York Times, Federal Family Educa tion Loan borrowers are excluded from both PSLF and the new Biden debt forgiveness plan. According to NPR, some progressive politicians, like Sen. Bernie Sanders, say that this is not enough and are calling for no student debt through making col lege free to all.

Mount Holyoke students can find out if they are eligible for PSLF through studentaid.gov/pslf/. The program will continue, but restric

tions will tighten again after Oct. 31, unless the government continues to expand the application process. Stu dents can also reach out to Student Financial Services or the Career Development Center to find employ ment at an approved PSLF employer.

Content warning: This article men tions antisemitism.

Photo courtesy of Dr. Travis Tatum For the first time in several years, the College president welcomed Jewish students to their home on Wednesday, Oct. 5 to break the Yom Kippur fast.

Photo courtesy of Katya Ivanenko ’25 Gender + co-officers set up a booth to promote their organization at the Student Involvement Fair.

Photo courtesy of Marco Verch Professional Photographer via Flickr The Biden administration has expanded the Public Loan Service Forgiveness program.

Velma comes out as a lesbian in ‘Trick Or Treat, Scooby Doo’

BY OAKLEY MARTON ’25 STAFF WRITER

The “Scooby-Doo” franchise’s bright colors, wacky catchphras es, easily recognizable characters and supernatural high jinks have wormed their way into millions of fans’ hearts. But as the franchise re imagined itself for a new generation of viewers in the 2000s, one ques tion kept coming up: Would Warner Bros. allow gay characters into its beloved, nostalgic cartoon universe? After years of cut scripts, subtextu al relationships and queer coding, the answer is finally yes, with the new direct-to-TV Halloween release “Trick or Treat, Scooby-Doo!” clear ly portraying character Velma Din kley as a lesbian.

“Trick or Treat, Scooby-Doo!” begins with Scooby, Shaggy, Daph ne, Velma and Fred catching a ma jor villain, Coco Diablo, a costume designer behind the disguises of many of the villains the gang has faced over the years. When Velma first meets Coco, she immediately blushes, her glasses fog over and she says her catchphrase “jinkies,” as invisible arrows that surround Coco point out her “brilliant” brain, her love for animals, her “amazing turtleneck” and “incredible glasses” that may look familiar to fans. Vel ma’s crush isn’t subtextual or blinkand-you-miss-it. It’s immediate, ob vious and over the top, akin to how the franchise represents crushes for any character. But Coco is quickly put behind bars, leaving the mystery gang without any wacky mysteries to solve and a sad, indie parody of the original “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?” theme song. When a true supernatural mystery does eventu ally turn up, Daphne dramatically suggests, “I think it’s time we paid a visit to our old friend, Coco Diab lo.” Velma immediately chimes in, “I love that idea!” Her tomato-red face fooling no one, she emphasiz

es, “I mean, it’s completely logically sound.”

The gang meets Coco in prison and arranges, albeit with suspicious ease, to have her help them solve the mystery for a reduced sentence. Vel ma, barely containing herself, jumps at the chance to wear the matching, heart-shaped bracelet that broad casts their location to the prison warden. As the gang and Coco team up to solve the mystery, Velma con fides her crush in Daphne, who sup portively advises Velma to “just be herself,” which Velma slowly learns to do while spending time with Coco. The two look for clues together and go on an iconic Scooby-Doo style rollicking chase through a spooky library, hitting all the right notes of Scooby-Doo nostalgia, Halloween fun and nerdy lesbian adventures.

At the end of the movie, Velma and Coco go their separate ways — she is a supervillain, after all — but not be fore Velma blushes so hard at Coco’s confessing to returning her feelings that her glasses melt off of her face, and, in true Scooby-Doo fashion, one of the last scenes is her looking for her glasses.

While this is the most blatant portrayal of Velma as a lesbian, she has long been seen as a lesbian icon.

Velma’s original design from 1969 was based on Sheila Kuehl, who played a tomboy in the 1950s family series “The Stu Erwin Show” and grew up to be the first openly gay California legislator, Bitch Media re ported. Her signature pageboy hair cut, oversized orange turtleneck and boxy glasses make her easily identi fiable for the millions that grew up with Scooby-Doo, differentiating her from more traditionally feminine characters like Daphne, and earn ing her a special place in the hearts of many queer fans. Bitch Media ar gued that, in some ways, Velma is a blueprint for lesbian characters on screen today, like Robin from “Stranger Things” and Ellie from

“The Half of It.” These characters dive into mysteries and academ ics rather than the predominantly straight social scene surrounding them, and have a sharply sarcastic sense of humor that complements their male best friend’s earnestness.

The success for lesbian repre sentation in “Trick or Treat, Scooby Doo” didn’t come from nowhere, as the distinction follows a long line of attempts by former cast and crew from earlier years.

Since June 2020, former writers have openly complained on Twitter about Warner Bros. and Cartoon Net work blocking their plans to portray Velma as a lesbian. Tony Cervone, the producer of the 2010 Scooby-Doo series “Scooby Doo! Mystery Incor

porated,” posted a picture of Velma against a pride-flag background and the word pride with her arm around Marcie, whom fans have long specu lated was meant to be a love interest. He wrote in the caption: “We made our intention as clear as we could ten years ago. Most of our fans got it. To those who didn’t, I suggest you look closer. There’s no new news here.”

Two weeks later, James Gunn, the writer of the early live-action Scooby-Doo films, tweeted, “In 2001 Velma was explicitly gay in my ini tial script. But the studio just kept watering it down & watering it down, becoming ambiguous (the version shot), then nothing (the released version) & finally having a boyfriend

(the sequel).”

Perhaps the most heartfelt reac tion to the recent adaptation came from Haley Kiyoko, a singer famous for queer songs like “Girls Like Girls,” who played Velma in various Scooby-Doo live-action adaptations.

Upon hearing about Velma being gay onscreen, Kiyoko subtweeted a clip from the movie with five million views with “Happy for her,” saying she felt “alive and seen,” in response to another thread.

“I remember booking Velma in 2008,” she reflected later on Twitter. “It was my first big role in a movie. I also remember thinking ‘I wonder if they know they hired a lesbian as Velma.’ Here we are, 14 years later. … Love you all so much.”

Ten horror movies to watch this spooky season: An October guide

BY N. CIEPRISZ ’26 STAFF WRITER

Fall is upon us, and at Mount Holyoke it’s easy to tell due to the beautiful foliage, an increase in Doc Martens worn around campus and whispers of spooky season in the air. Halloween isn’t that far off, and if you’re looking for a way to get into the spirit of the season, here are some horror movie recommenda tions to guide you. If you’re looking for…

A classic: ‘Scream’ (1996)

Some may argue with this “clas sic” designation, as “Scream” is only 26 years old. Yet, the film is a mustwatch for anyone interested in hor ror. Parodying the classic slashers of the 1970s and 1980s such as “Hallow een” (1978), “Friday the 13th” (1980) and “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984), seasoned horror director Wes Craven’s “Scream” is perfect for vet eran horror fans and newbies alike with its tongue-in-cheek references to other classics and the genre’s typ ical tropes, such as the killing off of those who engage in illicit activities. The film follows a group of teenagers as they investigate a string of mur ders committed by a masked killer in their small town, and the plot twist will have you “Scream”-ing.

Despite the film not taking it self too seriously — it’s satire, after all — it is still an incredibly detailed critique of horror movies. Its char acters highlight or subvert common horror tropes, with Neve Campbell’s incredible performance as the “final girl,” the last person, usually a wom an, to confront the killer, and Court eney Cox’s portrayal of the nosy re porter playing up classic character types. The film and the numerous se quels it has spawned are incredibly bingeable and perfect for a Hallow een-themed movie night this season.

Something lighthearted and fun: ‘The Lost Boys’ (1987)

If you missed the film society’s recent screening of this campy hor ror-comedy, watch “The Lost Boys” for a good laugh. When teenagers Michael and Sam move with their single mother to their grandfather’s house in Santa Carla, dubbed “the murder capital of the world” in the film, Michael begins to spend time with a strange biker gang and soon finds himself averse to sunlight and hungry for blood.

Together, the brothers, along with some friends from the local

comic book store, must find and kill the head vampire before it is too late. The movie is quintessentially ’80s, with an abundance of leather jack ets, mullets galore and a post-punk soundtrack. The vampire-killing scenes themselves — which feature a water gun filled with holy water — are deeply entertaining.

‘The Evil Dead’ (1981) and “Evil Dead II” (1987)

These two movies work togeth er to tell the story of Ash and his bizarre encounters with the “Necro nomicon Ex-Mortis,” a book that, when read aloud, has the power to summon demons who possess any one in the vicinity. “The Evil Dead” stands out for its impressive special effects and the intriguing gender politics of the rare “final boy” in hor ror, while “Evil Dead II” ventures further into comedic territory with its outlandish CGI. Both provide the perfect ratio of creepiness to comedy for this spooky season.

Something more serious or psycho logical:

‘Fresh’ (2022)

While definitely on the more psychological side of horror, “Fresh” pairs the macabre with black com edy in a story that is both a deeply satisfying satire of the modern dat ing scene and a commentary on the exploitation of women’s bodies. Al though these themes are not neces sarily new, “Fresh” puts a creative spin on them from a horror perspec tive.

Fed up with online dating, Noa meets someone who seems to be the perfect guy — until she learns his dark secret. All of the details, from the set dressing to the music to the dialogue, work together to set the stage in a way that feels both realis tic and horrifying.

‘Rosemary’s Baby’ (1968)

“Rosemary’s Baby” feels espe cially timely given the current state of affairs — the #MeToo movement and the fall of Roe v. Wade. It tells the story of a pregnant woman who becomes convinced that her hus band, their new neighbors, her doc tor and all their friends are secretly a coven of witches after her baby.

While the accusations may seem unrealistic, the movie poses very real questions about bodily auton omy and how we react to victims of gender-based violence, all while maintaining a deeply unsettling and creepy tone.

A high school horror flick that actu ally passes the Bechdel test:

‘Jennifer’s Body’ (2009)

While the film was a box office failure, likely due to its marketing to teenage boys much more interested in seeing lead actress Megan Fox na ked than enjoying the movie’s social commentary, a recent “Jennifer’s Body” renaissance has elevated the film to cult classic status. The titular character Jennifer falls victim to a botched human sacrifice that leaves her with the need to feast on human flesh. Jennifer uses this new power to lure teenage boys to their deaths in an attempt to satiate her hunger and regain her autonomy. Her fraught relationships with these boys are contrasted with the deeply homo erotic relationship she maintains with her best friend Anita “Needy” Lesnicki (Amanda Seyfried), leading to a surprisingly touching reckoning at the movie’s end. 13 years after its release, the film is finally being rec ognized for its innovative pairing of horror and feminism.

‘Ginger Snaps’ (2000)

Photo courtesy of Nicki Dugan Pogue via Flickr “Jennifer’s Body” (2009), a cult classic starring lead actresses Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried, has a garnered a growing fanbase since its release. or torture rumor-spreading ex-boy friends can connect with this movie. By the end of the movie, the theme of empowerment takes a backseat to the larger theme that too much pow er is harmful. While the mixed mes saging is admittedly disappointing, the movie’s characters and visually appealing aesthetic make it worth watching.

“Ginger Snaps” takes advan tage of the under-utilized parallels between lycanthropy and menstrua tion. When high school outcast Gin ger Fitzgerald is bitten by a were wolf the night of her first period, she ignores her sister Brigitte’s warn ings and simply writes off the extra body hair and mood swings as a part of puberty. But when she discovers a deep hunger satisfied only by car nage, it becomes clear that Ginger is no ordinary girl. The interplay between masculinity and femininity in the monstrous puberty she under goes makes the film deeply relatable to a queer audience as well as any one who has felt out of place in their own body.

‘The Craft’ (1996)

“The Craft” focuses on three teenage witches at a Catholic school who, when joined by a more power ful fourth witch, begin to exact their revenge on those who have wronged them. Anyone who has ever wanted to cast a spell to make racists go bald

An extra-spooky house: ‘The Conjuring’ (2013) For a haunted house movie with all the classics — satanism, witch craft, curses, demons — look no fur ther than director James Wan’s “The Conjuring.” Following the formula of other successful haunted house mov ies such as “The Amityville Horror” franchise and Wan’s own “Insidious” (2010), “The Conjuring” begins with a family moving into a new house that seems increasingly strange. After they call in noted demonolo gists Ed and Lorraine Warren, the house’s grim history is revealed as the paranormal phenomena begin to intensify.

Graphic by Gabby Gagnon ’24

Professor Manu Karuka discusses effects of American imperialism

BY KIERA MCLAUGHLIN ’26 STAFF WRITER

Content warning: This article dis cusses anti-Indigenous and imperi alist violence.

Imperialism has had roots in the United States since the beginning of the nation’s history and has pro duced direct consequences for the rest of the world. This was highlight ed in a keynote on “The Imperialist Roots of the U.S.A.” on Oct. 3, 2022, as part of the “Confronting Empire: The 2022-2023 Feinberg Family Dis tinguished Lecture Series” at the University of Massachusetts Am herst. This lecture was presented by Manu Karuka, an assistant profes sor of American studies at Barnard College. Karuka discussed his work on the United States’ imperialist ties with the international community and how it has affected current glob al issues.

Karuka has been an associate professor at Barnard College since 2014, where his work, “centers a critique of imperialism, with a par ticular focus on anti-racism and In digenous decolonization,” as stated on his description page on the Bar nard website. He is also the author of “Empire’s Tracks: Indigenous Nations, Chinese Workers and the Transcontinental Railroad.” This book focuses on the “transcontinen tal railroad from the perspectives of the Cheyenne, Lakota and Pawnee Native American tribes, and the Chi nese migrants” as summarized by the publisher, the University of Cal ifornia Press.

The lecture began with Karuka explaining the history of imperial ism in the U.S. and the way it is dis cussed in the country. Imperialism, as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is “the policy, practice or advocacy of extending the power and dominion of a nation especially by direct territorial acquisitions or by gaining indirect control over the political or economic life of other ar eas.”

Karuka directed attendees to pay attention to how the U.S. capital izes on imperialism for its own ben efit. He further built on how this ex ploitative tendency of imperialism is not a problem of the past alone, and is relevant to the 21st century. “Some began to imagine that imperialism was a thing of the past — going so far as to suggest that the United States played a pivotal role in this turn. As it quickly became clear to leaders of

newly decolonized nations, while the imperialists retreated, imperialisms remain in the same form,” Karuka said.

Karuka’s statement finds rele vance in modern examples of U.S. imperialism. This has been especial ly clear in Puerto Rico, a U.S. terri tory that has been treated extremely differently than the 50 states. For example, when the need for hurri cane relief and future protection arose, the governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro R. Pierluisi publicly spoke to the U.S. President Joe Biden. “We want to be treated in the same way as our fellow Americans in times of need. All American citizens, regard less of where they live in the United States, should receive the same sup port from the federal government,” he said. Despite Biden’s promise of $60 million in aid, per The New York Times, Pierluisi’s need for a statement shows that American im perialism has resulted in prominent inactive disregard for American ter ritories.

While Karuka doesn’t mention Puerto Rico himself, he instead dis cussed the economic benefits that imperialism brings to the U.S. that crosses national borders. Karuka

focuses on a more rational approach to explain the complexities of im perialism, instead of the emotional appeal used by American society. He expressed how using an emotional approach through engaging a per son’s feelings to win an argument seems to manip ulate a common understanding of American im perialism, and therefore he pre fers to focus on factual evidence and examples throughout his tory. “Against an emotional ap proach to under standing imperi alism, resting on faith, we can con sider a rational approach based on evidence. Im perialism is not an idea or a feeling. Imperialism is a set of material re lations,” Karuka said. This is shown directly through the North Ameri can Free Trade Agreement between Canada, the United States and Mex

Some began to imagine that imperialism was a thing of the past — going so far as to suggest that the United States played a pivotal role in this turn.

As it quickly became clear to leaders of newly decolonized nations, while the imperialists retreated, imperialisms remain in the same form.

ico. In reaction to the formation of NAFTA on July 22, 1993, American activist Teresa Gutierrez reported in Worker’s World, “No agreement be tween the U.S. and a Third World na tion can be characterized as between equal partners. NAFTA must be recognized as an agreement between an op pressed nation and two oppres sor nations, with Canada the ju nior partner of the U.S. Mexico has historically been dominated by U.S. finance capital. NAFTA will not change this.”

– Manu Karuka

While dis cussing this material and economic aspect of imperialism, Karuka further ex plained that as Samir Amin, a fa mous Marxist economist, coined, “Capitalism and imperialism are the two inseparable faces of the same re ality.” Karuka also talked about how

American capitalism has grown and prospered off of other nations’ land, resources and labor and clarified that, “Imperialism is not a particular policy of a particular government, political party or political leader. Im perialism is a method of class rule.” This is evident in NAFTA and proves that the U.S.’s pursuit to imperialize third world countries is still promi nent today. Guiterrez reflected in the same article on the status of cap italism in America and its influence globally, she wrote, “These monop olies do not want ‘free trade.’ They want the freedom to exploit and make more profits.” The promise of free trade, as Guiterrez defined it, was supposed to come with capital ism, but the completion that capital ism promotes makes it impossible for free trade to be truly free.

Karuka further contextualized U.S. imperialism by situating it in the colonial history of North Amer ica. He stated, “North America is part of the colonized world. … The political, economic, cultural and eco logical transformations taking place in North America in the 21st century

Court case in China revitalizes conversations around #MeToo movement

accusers for defamation.

This is a phenomenon that Kev in Henderson, a feminist scholar and visiting instructor in politics, also observed. In an interview with Mount Holyoke News, Henderson discussed this through the lens of colleges in the United States. “Many colleges have been sued for not re specting the rights of the accused,” he said. This leads “women and oth ers who have experienced … sexual assault [to] doubly feel like justice hasn’t been served, because they chose this extrajudicial route, only to see their rapists get money in a lawsuit.”

itations.” According to Vogue, there is a well-known image of successful white women in the American film industry bringing down powerful executives. Then, there’s the ver sion of the story that includes the activist Tarana Burke, who coined the phrase “me too” in the context of sexual violence, and focuses her activist work on the experiences of women of color, NPR reported.

Content warning: This article dis cusses sexual assault.

On Oct. 1, 2022, a settlement was announced in a sexual assault case that The New York Times called “a landmark episode in China’s strug gling #MeToo movement.” The case followed a former college student at the University of Minnesota, Liu Jingyao, who accused Richard Liu — a billionaire entrepreneur — of sexually assaulting her in 2018. The two share no familial relation. In offi cial reports, Liu Jingyao said she at tended a dinner hosted to celebrate a volunteer effort she had been part of at the university that year. After the dinner, Mr. Liu escorted her back to

her apartment, came inside “uninvit ed” and assaulted her after a “‘pro longed struggle.’”

According to The New York Times, Liu Jingyao — further re ferred to as “Liu” — is not the first person to accuse a prominent Chi nese businessman of sexual assault. For example, Zhou Xiaoxuan is cred ited by the publication as becoming “the face of China’s #MeToo move ment” after coming forward about being assaulted in 2014 by a TV an chor when she was an intern.

The #MeToo movement has a notable presence in China. After the hashtag #MeToo became well known in the United States, women in China began tagging their stories using the hashtag #RiceBunny, and the bowl of rice and the bunny emo jis, as reported by The Conversation.

In Chinese, this is pronounced “mi tu,” and allows social media users to get around censorship laws. How ever, more direct hashtags such as #MeTooInChina have also been used.

Despite the activist efforts of women such as Xiaoxuan before her, Liu was subjected to a widespread online public shaming campaign following the allegations, The New York Times reported. Social media users described Liu using vulgar, gender-based terms, with many in sisting that she was lying about her assault. The New York Times at tributed this partly to the fact that the #MeToo movement was begin ning to lose momentum when Liu came forward. Men accused of sex ual violence were beginning to fight back legally, some even suing their

Another possible explanation for the campaign against Liu can be found in cultural norms. Aysha Baqir ’95, a Mount Holyoke College alum and author of “Beyond the Fields,” discussed this idea in an article for the College’s Alumnae Association. Baqir wrote, “In many Asian communities, … patriarchal … norms prioritized family honor over individual wellbeing. Why would a survivor risk speaking out … if she feared being blamed and shamed by her own family and communi ty?” The New York Times explained that Liu’s case came as a “challenge to rape culture” in China, inspiring hashtags like #NoPerfectVictim which protested the public shaming of survivors and created online spac es for women to speak of their expe riences of sexual assault.

CNBC reported that the details of the settlement have not yet been disclosed, but shared a statement by representatives for both parties, which reads, “The incident … result ed in a misunderstanding that has consumed substantial public atten tion and brought profound suffering to the parties and their families.”

Henderson also described the politics of the #MeToo movement, stating, “There was kind of a reck oning [surrounding] who had start ed #MeToo,” as well as discussion surrounding “its promises and lim

Sandra Russell, a visiting lec turer in gender studies at the Col lege, explained in an interview with Mount Holyoke News that “months before #MeToo took off on Twitter in the U.S. in [2017], Ukraine had its own “#MeToo” movement started by journalist and activist Anastasiya Melnychenko who used the hashtag [#ImNotAfraidToSayIt].” Russell explained, “The biggest shift, which I don’t think is unique to Ukraine, is the way that #MeToo brought conversations around rape, sexu al violence and domestic violence to a more visible, accessible public sphere. This has allowed people to build stronger networks and coali tions against these systemic prob lems.”

Considering the legal and socio political side of sexual assault pro ceedings, Henderson said that there have been “unexpected consequenc es of these massive policy changes that have happened … in response to the last two decades of radical cultural activism, but particularly #MeToo.” He sympathized with the “conflicting messages” and “lack of clarity” relating to the “necessity of addressing sexual harm.” This was supported by The New York Times, who said Liu’s case, the #MeToo movement and protest movements such as #NoPerfectVictim are allow ing people in China to “[question] widely held ideas about rape culture and consent.”

The story has already proved to be a catalyst for wider con versations surrounding rape culture in China.

SOPHIE FRANK ’26 STAFF WRITER

Photo courtesy of Emily Harding Manu Karuka, an assistant professor of American studies at Barnard College, gave one of the 2022-2023 Feinberg Family Distinguished Lectures at the University of Massachusetts Amherst on Oct. 3.

Photo courtesy of Ravenpuff92 via WikiMedia Commons Since Zhou Xiaoxuan came forward in 2018, activists across China and the globe have protested against pervasive sexual harassment in the country.

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Women found to be underrepresented in scientific article citations

BY SHIRA SADEH ’25 SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT

EDITOR

A study published on Oct. 6, 2022, in Nature Physics demonstrated a pattern of under-representation of scientific works authored by wom en in physics articles citations. The study revealed that the bias towards citing research authored by men primarily occurs among male writ ers and researchers, as well as when the citing author has less familiar ity with the subject they are writ ing about. “When you’re in a place of uncertainty, you want to choose something that has all the status symbols associated with quality, for right or wrong,” Cassidy Sugimoto, professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Public Pol icy, said to Science magazine on the issue. “You are going to overselect men and underselect women who may have similar quality [of work] but not necessarily be associated with those status symbols,” she con tinued.

The results of this study were further supported by a study pub lished by Springer Nature on Oct. 13, 2022. This study approached the issue from what they defined as a “first-mover advantage” viewpoint, arguing that those who are the first to publish work on a topic tend to be cited more than those who come after them. The researchers per formed a “paper-matching analysis” that compared papers that had sim ilar bibliographies. They found that women’s papers tend to have lower overall visibility, and that authors who published earlier had more ci tations. They attributed these two findings to men’s longer “cumula tive” history of published work and

women’s shorter history of visible participation in physics research, resulting in men’s work obtaining more visibility — and by extension, citations — among physics research.

To explore how citation prac tices differ based on gender, the Proceedings of the National Acad emy of Sciences conducted a study of “prominent scholars who were elected to the National Academy of Sciences” in August of 2022. Accord ing to its website, the National Acad emy of Sciences is a nonprofit orga nization made up of elected leaders that aims to recognize the work of scientific scholars through awards and publications in its journal. The study found differences in citation structures strong enough to make it possible to predict the author’s gen der based on their references page, meaning that the network of written works referenced by authors differs among male and female researchers. The study found that while men have a wider “net” of cited works, women have a higher density of mutually cited works.

The study further explains that men tend to cite a broader variety of sources, most of which are authored by other men, while women tend to cite within a smaller, interconnect ed collection of works. The sources cited by women are often created by the research community that they are embedded in, which tend to be smaller than men’s but more prolific in their relative number of publica tions. Overall, the study found that male researchers make an average of almost 1,400 more citations than women in their lifetime due to their affinity for a wider net of citations.

The Springer Nature study went on to highlight barriers to women’s

success in the world of scientific re search. In addition to the first-mover advantage, women often face disad vantages in both academic and pro fessional settings, the article said. For example, underrepresentation in academic settings can create a high er dropout rate for women, and un equal expectations of familial com mitments can affect academic and professional success.

According to a Science article on the issue of women’s dropout rates in science, technology, engi neering and math related academic programs, there are multiple factors that contribute to this issue. One factor, the article explains, is the ways in which science is taught, and how it often excludes women’s per spectives. The article argues that science curriculums often use “out moded stereotypes, an emphasis on scientific knowledge independent of real-world uses and an image of scientists as obsessed with science to the exclusion of other human en deavors.”

This argument, when combined with studies that show that men often prioritize “abstractions and theories” while women tend to pri oritize “social values,” explain why women often lose interest in sci ence-related classes, the article ex plained. While these studies serve as generalizations, even critics of these theories agree that there is a pattern of women studying subjects that connect directly with people rather than abstractions, the article said. Furthermore, the article explains that within the sciences, women more often choose to study biology, medicine or psychology, which are considered more people-centered sciences, while men more often

choose to study inorganic sciences like physics or engineering.

Other arguments for why women are underrepresented in STEM-re lated academic fields describe how representation can affect women’s self-perception. For example, an article published by the American Psychological Association describes the results of three studies that measured the impact of same-sex representation for women in STEM. All three studies found that having contact with experts of the same sex — advanced peers, professionals and professors) — “enhances wom en’s self-concept in STEM, attitudes toward STEM and motivation to pur sue STEM careers.”

According to the United States Census Bureau, women made up 27 percent of the STEM workforce in

2019, despite accounting for 48 per cent of the overall workforce. Ac cording to the PNAS study, the fail ure to give women authors adequate recognition through citations results in a deficit of women in high author ity positions, which in turn means that aspiring women in STEM have fewer role models that can encour age their participation.

For example, the study cited that female physics professors in four-year colleges and universities represent 23 percent of assistant professors, 18 percent of associate professors and only 10 percent of full professors. The study explains that these barriers to academic and professional success not only limit individual women, but also hinder gender diversification within STEM fields as a whole.

Nobel Prize winners unlock new discoveries in quantum mechanics

BY DIKSHA BATRA ’26 STAFF WRITER

On Oct. 4, the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Alain Aspect from Université Paris-Saclay and École Polytechnique, research phys icist John F. Clauser of J.F. Clauser & Associates and Anton Zeilinger from the University of Vienna for their work in the field of quantum information science.

The Nobel Prize first arose from the last wishes of Alfred Nobel, as written in his will from 1895, Nobel Prize reported. An excerpt from No bel’s will said that the prize “shall be divided into five equal parts,” with one of those parts going to “the per son who shall have made the most important discovery or invention within the field of physics.”

This year’s Nobel Prize in Phys ics was announced at a conference hosted by Secretary General Hans Ellegren of the Royal Swedish Acad emy of Sciences, and Nobel Commit tee for Physics members Eva Olsson and Thors Hans Hansson. The Royal Swedish Academy is in charge of de

termining the recipients of the Nobel Prize in Physics each year, according to the organization.

Ellegren started the conference by introducing everyone before of ficially announcing the prize recip ients. Olsson went on to describe the study of quantum information science as “a vibrant, rapidly devel oping field with broad and potential implications in areas such as secure information transfer, quantum com puting and sensing technology.”

After the winners were an nounced, Hansson gave an overview of the research that won the Nobel Prize. The work of Aspect, Clauser and Zeinlinger demonstrated the potential to investigate and con trol particles that are in entangled states, he said. An article from Sci ence Insider explains that “the tale of entanglement stretches back to 1935 and Einstein’s discontent with the contingent nature of quantum mechanics.”

Einstein called entanglement “spooky action at a distance.” When two quantum systems known as “c-ons” are entangled, “information

about one improves our knowledge of the other,” according to Quanta Magazine. “Entanglement in quan tum systems arises naturally — for example, in the aftermath of parti cles’ collisions,” Wilczek explained.

The first teleportation exper iment on entangled particles was completed in 1997 by Anton Zeilinger

and his colleagues. The research ers discovered the phenomena of quantum teleportation, a “way of transferring an unknown quantum state from one particle to another,” according to the Nobel Prize web site. The website then explains what happens when two particles “in an entangled pair travel in opposite di

rections and one of them then meets a third particle in such a manner that they become entangled.” When this occurs, the two particles “enter a new shared state. The third parti cle loses its identity, but its original properties have now been trans ferred to the solo particle from the original pair,” the website said.

According to the Nobel Prize website, Clauser “became interested in the fundamentals of quantum me chanics as a student in the 1960s.” He was fascinated with physicist John Bell’s idea that the world cannot fully be described by quantum mechanics — or “Bell’s inequality” — according to the Nobel Prize website.

Science Insider writer Adrian Cho helps explain Bell’s theory, say ing, “Quantum theory states that the properties of an object such as an electron depend on how the thing is measured. Precisely measure the electron’s position and its momen tum becomes uncertain and unpre dictable, and vice versa. So it can have a definite position or momen

World Wide Fund for Nature report discovers wildlife population decline

BY CATELYN FITZGERALD ’23 SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT EDITOR

On Oct. 12, 2022, a press release from the World Wide Fund for Na ture announced the findings of the 14th edition of their biennial Living Planet Report, revealing a 69 percent average wildlife population decline alongside other cutting-edge wildlife and ecosystem health data.

According to their website, the World Wide Fund for Nature was first established in Switzerland in 1961 with the aim to “secure the funding necessary to protect places and species that were threatened by human development.” Wildlife con servation initiatives remain at the organization’s core, but it has since grown to support a range of scien tific research and climate change action.

The Living Planet Report 2022 is based on the Living Planet In dex, which is managed by the World Wide Fund for Nature and the Zoo logical Society of London. The re port defines the Living Planet Index as “an early warning indicator” that records “trends in the abundance of mammals, fish, reptiles, birds and amphibians around the world.” The Living Planet Index is a calculation of population trends among selected wildlife populations. To confirm the findings of the publication, the index was calculated again while exclud ing species and populations with the most extreme changes in size, and

found that these outliers did not af fect the final results of the study.

The report explained that the Living Planet Index data that in formed this year’s report represents its largest dataset yet with over 5,230 species included, calling it the “most comprehensive analysis of the global state of nature from a wide array of voices and perspectives.” Research ers placed special emphasis on spe cies in Latin America and the Ama zon, the report stated.

New research methods were implemented to make the 2022 Liv ing Planet Report better-informed, including biodiversity risk maps cre

ated for a 2022 publication from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. These maps used data from the report to visually indicate chang es in wildlife population rates. The report also used data from the In ternational Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, which determined “threat hotspots” for wildlife, or areas where key threats to wildlife populations, such as logging and agriculture, are present.

The Living Planet Report’s pri mary finding of a 69 percent global wildlife population decrease was further broken down throughout the

publication. The report found that, while all of the defined geograph ic regions experienced declines in wildlife population abundance, the level of population decline greatly varied among regions. Latin Amer ica showed the greatest average decline in population abundance at 94 percent. In contrast, Europe and Central Asia experienced the lowest level of decline at 18 percent, with North America following closely be hind at 20 percent.

The report also investigated population changes among differ ent types of species. According to the publication, freshwater species showed the greatest decline at 83 percent. This number was deter mined by The Freshwater Living Planet Index, a subset of the Living Planet Index based on freshwater mammal, bird, amphibian, reptile and fish population trends.

The IUCN, which helped inform the work of the World Wide Fund for Nature, issued its own quadren nial publication that summarizes “the conservation impact of the The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017–2020.” According to the IUCN, the organization added 43,662 new species to the Red List between 2017 and 2020. The Red List now monitors a total of 128,918 species, 28 percent of which are “threatened with ex tinction.” New species highlighted by the publication include the Gi ant Pseudoscorpion — a scorpion relative that can only be found on

the five-hectare Ascension Island, a territory of the U.K. — and the Kali mantan Mango, a wild mango which was listed as “Extinct in the Wild.”

Additionally, the report highlight ed species that had recovered from extinction, including the Guam Rail, which — through the help of captive breeding — is now the “second bird in history to recover after being de clared Extinct in the Wild” after the Carolina Condor.

The data presented in the Living Planet Report has applications that go beyond wildlife conservation, the publication stated. It explains that “declines in abundance are early warning indicators of overall ecosys tem health.” For the same reasons, abundance also reacts quickly to beneficial environmental changes, meaning that scientists will know when conservation efforts are effec tive soon after they are implement ed.

According to the publication, the data presented is aimed at spurring a change towards better biodiversi ty conservation. The report leaves readers with plenty of ideas for how this change can be achieved by out lining conservation solutions from agricultural diversification to taking a new approach to the economy. The executive summary of the publica tion concludes, “The planet is in the midst of a biodiversity and climate crisis, and that we have a last chance to act. … [W]e hope it inspires you to be part of that change.”

Photo courtesy of Flickr via Argonne National Laboratory New studies show women researchers receive less recognition through scientific article citations.

Photo courtesy of Flickr via Ray in Manila African Forest Elephants are threatened by poaching and habitat loss due to industrial agriculture.

Photo courtesy of Public Domain Pictures Aspect, Clauser and Zeilinger shared the Nobel Prize for their research on quantum mechanics.

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‘Freshman 15’ instigates a harmful discussion on weight gain

social desirability and an unrealis tic universal body type that we see the freshman 15 implying that what number you get on your scale deter mines your value.

I think it’s a light-hearted … thing to joke about, but I also feel like it’s weirdly normalized … how people talk about their food [in] unhealthy ways.

– Elsie Howard

Tanisha Li ang ’26 has also considered the phrase. “You don’t really hear people [saying], ‘Don’t eat too much because then you’re gon na [gain] the freshman 15. [This is a] good part about being [at] a small lib eral arts college, but it also comes from your family. Trying to destig matize weight gain and college, in your nuclear family and everyone around you is important.’” Liang said.

joke and misguided caution against weight gain.

Photo courtesy of Flickr The discourse around the phrase “freshman 15” promotes negative ideas about weight gain and harms college students’ physical and mental health. experiences and debated whether or not the concept was real. In a video, TikTok user @col2swag stated that there is no way that the freshman 15 could be real since “dining hall food sucks [and] off-campus food is expensive.” Another user, @sh31bs, stated that they get six meals per week with their meal plan and skip breakfast to avoid being late. Sever al TikToks like these circulated this summer, gathering 10,000 to 100,000 likes and views per video.

BY HAILEY BALINBIN ’26 STAFF WRITER

Content warning: This article men tions fatphobia and disordered eat ing.

This summer, before I began my freshman year of college, I found myself bombarded by college-re lated content from peers and social media influencers alike. Their ad vice ranged from classes, making friends, dorm setup, organization, grades and discourse on the “fresh man 15” — which refers to the ad ditional weight some students gain during their first year of college.

I encountered a lot of freshman 15 posts on TikTok, where some col lege students shared their personal

These TikToks about the fresh man 15 show a lack of understand ing on topics related to weight gain. The dismissive use of this phrase bolsters and normalizes harmful language surrounding body image, weight gain, eating habits and ap pearance.

I was shocked to be getting so many videos of students talking about the freshman 15 — a phrase that I thought was outdated. I was under the impression that we’d moved past harmful terms regarding body image and diet culture since the term was first printed in an 1989 issue of Seventeen Magazine. How ever, having now moved into college, I noticed that the problem was not exclusive to TikTok. The term is still used extensively on college campus es where students use it both as a

Elsie Howland ’26 spoke about her experience in hearing the phrase both on social media and before starting college. Howland said, “I think it’s a light-hearted … thing to joke about, but I also feel like … it’s weirdly normalized … how people talk about their food [in] unhealthy ways.” Howland directs us to think about the harms of joking about terms relating to weight gain and body image. “I think [joking about the ‘freshman 15’] normalizes … weight-watching,” Howland stated.

The idea of the freshman 15 may be true in the sense that it is com mon for incoming college students to gain weight during their first year, but weight fluctuation is not standardized and every body func tions differently. A 2004 study by Cornell University found that “fresh men gained an average of 4.2 pounds during the first 12 weeks of school,” WebMD reported.

Similarly, an article from The Atlantic explained that it is natural to gain weight in certain stages in life, especially during the onset of adulthood. A Reuters study cited by The Atlantic showed that college freshmen gained half a pound more than people their age who don’t at

tend college, highlighting the impact of the transition from adolescence to college on initiating bodily changes. As cited in a Thrillist article on the phenomenon, a study conduct ed in 2008 by the American College Health Association found that “of the participants mon itored, only half gained any amount of weight, suggest ing that the fresh man 15 isn’t a trend at all, but rather a case-by-case con sideration.” While it is true that weight can fluctu ate during college, creating and popularizing a single, negatively-connotated term for this phenomenon is dangerous. This can be insensitive toward many people, including those who have difficult experiences with food, through perpetuating the idea that gaining weight is bad.

Complementing the frequent usage of the term freshman 15 is the media-propagated ideal of thinness. In the United States, it’s easy to be engulfed by societal values that idolize thinness. For instance, these values are easily seen in the fashion industry’s promotion of convention ally-thin runway models and harm ful diets that promote unrealistic body standards.

When looking at any clothing site — especially those marketed toward younger women — there are consistently more thin models rep resented and a small range of sizes represented. One example of this phenomenon is Brandy Melville, a popular clothing brand which “of fers one size fits most” clothing that grossly ignores diverse body sizes, PopSugar reported.

The fashion beauty industry’s favor of thinness perpetuates Ameri ca’s scornful attitude towards weight gain. Here, Brandy Melville’s “one size fits most” policy reinforces the fact that any deviation from a thin body type, as portrayed by the cloth ing website and media as a whole, is seen as inherently bad because a body with more weight is not mar keted within the industry as desir able. It is because of this dangerous link between industry-perceived

Liang’s experience shows how the term has crept into collegiate discourse beyond the college cam pus. The extent of this usage points to an increasing need to minimize such language. The more the term gets thrown around — jokingly or not — the more it perpetuates the idea that weight gain is inherently bad and needs to be avoided.

Sophie Latham ’26 stated, “If [college is] the first access you have to genuine meals, … it can be so harmful to shame [first-year stu dents] for eating.” When a term that demonizes weight gain is constantly thrown around it can feel hard to escape the pressure to obsessively keep track of weight.

The inclusion of terms such as freshman 15 in our conversations regarding first-year undergraduate student experiences is incredibly dangerous. It promotes an exces sive focus on body image and shines a negative light on weight gain.

Throwing around harmful terms re lated to weight, even as a joke, can be damaging to how young people think about their relationship with food. No one should ever feel bad about nourishing themselves, and gaining weight is not a bad thing. The culture around terms like fresh man 15 lead us to think otherwise, and we must make efforts to mini mize the integration of such terms into our vocabularies.

Nobel Prize winners pave a way for quantum communication, cont’d

u CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

dictable, and vice versa. So it can have a definite position or momen tum, but not both.” Einstein believed that the reason behind quantum uncertainty was that “hidden vari ables” predetermined these mea surements. In 1964, Bell proposed a test for Einstein’s idea, stating that if two particles can be entangled “their two states are entirely correlated,” the Science Insider article said.

Clauser and three other re searchers designed an experiment to test Bell inequalities. The result demonstrated “a clear violation of Bell Inequality and agreed with the predictions of quantum mechanics,” the Nobel Prize website said. Claus er and other physicists continued to discuss the experiment and its lim itations. There was something miss ing from the experiment according to the website, as “particles could still be carrying hidden informa

tion.”

Then, Aspect “built a new ver sion of the setup that he refined over several iterations,” according to the Nobel Prize website. “[He] closed an important loophole,” the site stated. “His research group has demonstrat ed a phenomenon called quantum teleportation, which makes it pos sible to move a quantum state from one particle to one at a distance.”

The work of these three scien tists is “paving the way for the bur

geoning fields of quantum commu nication and quantum computing,” Cho wrote. “Clauser and Aspect were able to prove quantum entan glement, and Anton showed how en tanglement can be used to ‘teleport’ information from one subatomic par ticle to another.”

In an interview with Reuters, Caluser said that the research was his work “from more than 50 years ago” and that he is “happy to still be alive.”

Reactions to the award-winning research around the world have been extremely positive, according to Re uters. French president Emmanuel Macron congratulated the winners, saying that “Einstein himself did not believe in quantum computing based on this phenomenon.” “I’m absolute ly thrilled,” Adrian Kent, a quantum physicist at the University of Cam bridge, said in an interview with Science Insider. “The recognition is overdue for these giants in the field.”

can be understood in relation to historical processes underway in other parts of the colonized world.”

By explaining the United States’ co lonial past of endless wars and vio lence, Karuka was able to connect the current situations in the world to American imperialism. These in fluences are accounted for in what Karuka defined as the “three major crises” created by American impe rialism: the threat of nuclear war, destruction of the atmosphere and mass poverty around the world, in cluding in the U.S.

To explain how the threat of nuclear war is a consequence of im perialism, Karuka described the di rect relationship between European warfare and the U.S. and both their histories with imperialism. This re lationship can be shown through the 1823 Monroe Doctrine, and its goal as reported by Students of History, “to help protect Latin America from European control.” But as history has proven, the U.S. used this oppor tunity to exercise their own imperi alist control over Latin America.

Karuka then explained how it af fects the current warfare landscape in the world. He stated that the Unit ed States’s war on terror post 9/11, and weapons testing on Indigenous lands in the states of New Mexico, Nevada and the Pacific region have impacted the people there. Karuka explained some of the detrimental

consequences of the United States’ goal to maintain and achieve mili tary and nuclear weapon sufficiency, stating, “Depleted uranium ammuni tion left by U.S. occupation forces lit ters the Iraqi countryside, triggering shocking spikes of cancer and infant mortality.”

Next, Karuka delved into the impact of imperialism on climate change. He explained that “A tran

sition away from fossil fuels to re newable energy sources revolves around key resources, especially lithium and rare earths. So far, this transition is taking place under [the United States’] monopoly control. It repeats and renews the militarized control of resources that has defined the fossil fuels” and isn’t helped by the endless fracking used by the United States to gain new resourc

es of oil and natural gas. He further included that, “Climate change has already exposed millions people to acute food insecurity and reduced water security. Indigenous people are particularly affected by sudden losses of food production and access to food.”

Finally, Karuka elaborated on poverty and its connection to impe rialism by sharing examples about the United States. He said, “In De cember, 2017, the U.N. special rapporteur on extreme pover ty and human rights visited the United States finding that the immense wealth and expertise of the U.S. stand in shocking con trast with the conditions in which vast numbers of citizens live,” he explained.

bers can understand the uses of im perialism to maintain class rule.

Imperialist roots of the U.S.A. [are like] a tree’s roots. … In parts there are characteristics to every branch, every leaf, every fruit the tree produces.

Karuka ended his presentation by sharing what he believes the right steps are to working towards an an ti-imperialist nation, based on the work of famous American sociolo gist, W. E. B. Du Bois. “It begins with the return of land from the colonizer to the colonized, from the landlord to the cultivator, the tennant,” he explained. “Land reform has taken shape in relation to a social rev olution, which across the colo nized world, has focused particu larly on women’s rights, educa tion and access to health care.” Each of these movements are also relevant to American poli tics and the current conversations about U.S. ideals.

“The U.S. has the highest rate of income inequality, the highest youth poverty and the highest infant mor tality among comparable [Organiza tion for Economic Cooperation and Development] states.” Karuka ex plained that this is a direct result of imperialism and American capitalist ideals in relation to class rule that extends externally and internally. By analyzing the situation in the United States, students and audience mem

Karuka ended with a powerful final statement, “Imperialist roots of the U.S.A. [are like] a tree’s roots. … In parts there are characteristics to every branch, every leaf, every fruit the tree produces. This suggests that for the sake of our professed ideals, for the sake of our humanity, for the sake of life on planet Earth, we ur gently need to cultivate different trees. We need to reforest this land.”

Graphic by Natasha Nagarajan ’26

Manu Karuka talks about American imperialism on the global stage, cont’d

– Manu Karuka

Photo courtesy of the UMass Amherst Department of History Above, Manu Karuka of Barnard College discusses detrimental effects of American imperalism.

Riding takes first place at Williams College Show

entrances, including Hallie Phillips ’26, Helena Weiss ’25, Olivia Simon ’26, Kate Smith ’26, Emma Canta lupo ’26 and Marlene Healey ’25. In Open Fences, Weiss placed first, Si mon placed third and Georgia Fish ’23 placed fourth. In the Pre-Novice Flat, Smith placed second. In Novice Flat, Cantalupo placed second in her round. Healey placed just out of the ribbons in Open Fences.

Emmie Mirarchi ’24 was named the Overall High Point Rider of the show, which aided the team in beat ing UMass by just one point. Mirar chi also earned the Limit High Point Rider title by competing in a quiz bowl based on IHSA regulations. In addition to earning these titles, Mi rarchi qualified for Regionals in Lim it Flat, which will take place in the spring.

“Emmie Mirarchi rode extreme ly well, and it was exciting to see her earn the top High Point Rider Award for the show,” C.J. Law, director of intercollegiate coaching, said. “She is a serious, knowledgeable rider. She has excellent instincts on horse back.”

BY GENEVIEVE ZAHNER ’26 STAFF WRITER

Mount Holyoke Riding competed at the Williams College Show at Bon nie Lea Farm in Williamstown, Mas sachusetts on Saturday, Oct. 15. With 39 points, they came in first place, beating five other teams: the Uni versity of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst College, Worcester Poly

technic Institute, Williams College and Smith College. UMass came in second place with 38 points, and Am herst came in third with 33 points.

Team member Caroline Sullivan ’23 discussed the rigor involved in getting ready for the weekend’s com petition. “Preparing for this show was particularly difficult this week because there is a big Dressage sym posium happening at the [Eques

trian] Center this weekend, so we unfortunately did not have the op portunity to ride for the week lead ing up to the competition,” they said, adding that the equestrian team left campus before 5 a.m. on Saturday to arrive at Williams by 6:45.

Sullivan also talked about how getting ready is a big part of team culture. “We help each other run through our course, clean our boots

off and relax before going into the ring. It is a great team bonding mo ment, and it makes everyone feel supported before competing.”

The team participated in sever al events, including Open Fences, Intermediate Fences, Limit Fences, Open Flat, Intermediate Flat, Limit Flat, Introductory, Pre-Novice Flat and Novice Flat. Several riders made their first Intercollegiate Horse Show

Johanna Sullivan ’23 spoke about how she feels about the rest of the season. “Mount Holyoke [has] always been a competitive team, so I’m not worried about our chances at progressing into the post-season. Plus, the team dynamic is great this year, and I’m really looking forward to getting to know all the new mem bers,” Sullivan said.

The Mount Holyoke Riding team will continue to compete in shows throughout the fall season, with their next show, the UMass Amherst/ Springfield Show, scheduled for Oct. 22 at Grindstone Mountain Farm.

Editor’s note: Georgia Fish ’23 is a member of Mount Holyoke News.

Club Corner: Introducing Western Riding and Rugby

BY LAUREN LEESE ’23 STAFF WRITER

Club Corner is a new biweekly column dedicated to highlighting Mount Holyoke College club sports. This week, Club Corner spotlighted Western Riding and Rugby.

Western Riding Answers by Julia Pollard ’24, cap tain.

1. Describe Western riding in three words. Communication, tech nique, balance.

2. What are the basics of West ern riding? Western is a style of horseback riding that developed from ranching — think cowboys! We compete with other colleges in the region at [competitions] called “shows.” At shows, we ride a ran domly-selected horse and are judged on our Western horsemanship — our position and horse-handling skills. Most of the time we ride a horse that we’ve never ridden before!

3. When and where do you practice? We practice at the Mount Holyoke Equestrian Center, Monday and Wednesday from 7-9 a.m. The barn is open to all, so feel free to come and watch!

4. What is your favorite team memory? My favorite team memory was at my first competition. The out fits we wear are very complicated, so they’re difficult to put on on your own. Right before I was supposed to go, I had one person helping me with

makeup, two helping with my hair and four helping with chaps — so seven people total, all of whom also had their own outfits to worry about. I remember thinking to myself, “Oh, this is what being part of a team feels like!”

5. Tell me about your coach. We have two wonderful coaches: Head Western Coach Kelli Wainscott and Assistant Coach Amanda Golembes ki. If I had to capture the two of them in a single word, it would be “in volved.” Both are horse show judges, [Head, Heart, Hands & Health horse program] leaders, competitive riders and so much more. … They go above and beyond for all of these different things. I honestly don’t know when they sleep! We really appreciate all that they do for us.

6. What’s the best part about Western riding? When you and your horse have very clear commu nication, it almost feels like they’re reading your mind and doing what you want before you even ask. For me, moments like these — when you really click with a horse and work as partners almost effortlessly — are the best part of Western riding.

7. If you had to pick a song to describe Western riding, what would it be? There have been very few times that I’ve been to a West ern event or rodeo and not heard the song “Back in Black” by AC/DC, and our competition outfits feature a lot of black!

8. Who would Western riding be perfect for? Western riding is

perfect for anyone who loves ani mals and wants to spend time with them! No experience is necessary to join; we will teach you everything you need to know about handling and riding horses.

9. How can someone join the team? We have an [information] ses sion at the beginning of each semes ter. After that, we have “tryouts” to determine each potential member’s skill level, and you’ll be sorted into a group according to your perfor mance. We call them tryouts, but ev eryone makes the team!

10. Anything else to add? Our “home game,” [otherwise known as our] home show, is on Nov. 6, and spectators are welcome!

Rugby Answers by Eli Mancini ’24, board president.

1. Describe rugby in three words. I think rugby can be summed up in four words, actually! “Ruck, maul, tackle, win!” is a cheer we say as a team right before our games! It gets everyone excited about playing and helps get the nervous energy out.

2. What are the basics of rug by? Rugby is kind of a combination of soccer and football. There’s a lot of tackling, as well as passing and kick ing the ball. There are two teams, and the objective is to get the rugby ball to the end zone, called the “try zone.” A “goal” in rugby is called a “try,” which comes from the phrase

“try at goal.” Unlike a lot of other sports, the ball can only be passed backward.

3. When and where do you practice? We practice on the rug by pitch next to Kendall — on top of the hill to the left of the building — Monday [through] Friday from 4:45-6:45 p.m. Games are usually on Saturdays.

4. What is your favorite team memory? I don’t think I have just one favorite memory. Between silly moments at practice, getting cozy meals after practice/games and play ing rugby in prom dresses, there’s a lot to choose from.

5. Tell me about your coach. Our head coach is Julie LeGrand! She lives in the area and teaches math at a nearby high school. Julie has a very quirky sense of humor and is always very passionate about the sport and making sure that we’re prepared for our games. We also have an assistant coach this sea son, Hailey, who is a Mount Holyoke Rugby alum! They’re super sweet and helpful when it comes to under standing how to play the game.

6. What’s the best part about rugby? I think the best part of rug by is how tight-knit the team is and how committed we are to maintain ing a healthy environment on the team. Everyone on the team is real ly friendly, and most of us are good friends outside of practice as well. We communicate with each other a lot about how we can improve our team in terms of athleticism and in

clusivity.

7. If you had to pick a song to describe rugby, what would it be? Something that surprised me about rugby is the amount of singing there is. There are a lot of songs that are either about playing rugby or are a part of rugby culture. We’re a club sport first, and an underground a capella [group] second. If you want to hear some rugby songs, join the team and come to one of our socials.

8. Who would rugby be perfect for? Rugby is for everyone! A really nice part of the sport is how unique each position is, so there’s a perfect spot on the team for every type of person. Most of the people on the team have never played rugby [or] any sport before joining, so it’s a really great choice if you’re new to athletics.

9. How can someone join the team? You can join the team by sign ing up on our Embark page, email ing the board at rugbyboard-l@ mtholyoke.edu or just showing up to practice and letting one of the board members know that you intend on joining!

10. Anything else to add? It’s never too late to join the rugby team! We accept players at any point throughout the season/semester. Although our main season is com ing to an end, we do play and attend competitions in the spring! We also have two home games coming up: Brandeis … at 12 p.m. on Saturday, [Oct. 22], and Wellesley at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29.

Photo courtesy of Julia Pollard ’24 Mount Holyoke Western Riding urges spectators to watch the team at its Nov. 6, 2022, home show or at its weekly practices.

Photo courtesy of Mount Holyoke Athletics Mount Holyoke Riding beat five other teams to make first place with 39 points at the Williams Show on Oct. 15 despite difficulties preparing for the show due to a prior Equestrian Center symposium.

Photo courtesy of Lex Horger ’26 Mount Holyoke Rugby welcomes all students to try out the sport’s many unique positions, no matter their experience level.

BY CARRIE LEWIS

HOROSCOPE WRITERS

& MADDEN LACOSTE

Sept. 23 – Oct. 22

Take a moment to be still. It is better to look into yourself for the answers that are most important. Watch out for Wednesday of this week.

Do: Be gentle | Don’t: Spill

Oct. 23 – Nov. 21

You should try to go outside. The wind blows, and the birds sing. Turn over every rock you come across. Surprises lurk around every corner.

Do: Heating | Don’t: Radiators

Nov. 22 – Dec. 21

You are not ready yet, and that is alright. Every one has their own timeline. Watch the birds for a sign.

Do: Coat hanger | Don’t: Couches

Dec. 22 – Jan. 19

As the weather changes, don’t lose yourself. The wind is meant to push you, but not into the cold. Seek comfort in the warmth of others.

Do: Avocado | Don’t: Tangles

f HOROSCOPES f

Jan. 20 – Feb. 18

When you feel the most silent is when we all see you. We’re waiting to see what’s next. There is no way you could disappoint.

Do: Boldness | Don’t: Underline

Feb. 19 – March 20

When the well dries up, it may seem like all is lost. But that is where the sun shines best. Soak in the sun instead. It’s a beautiful day.

Do: Plug | Don’t: Crawl

March 21 – April 19

Eat cantaloupe. Plant the seeds. Blooming fruit is the gift of a job well done. Your garden is about to grow.

Do: Cantaloupe| Don’t: Forget

May 21 – June 20

A wolf is dressed in sheep’s clothing. Be wary of those you allow close to you this week. You will have good luck by Thursday.

Do: Flowers | Don’t: Pretend

June 21 – July 22

Everyone knows you’re tired. Everyone except you. Put on some pajamas! Your nightlight is about to turn on.

Do: Tums | Don’t: Fish

July 23 – Aug. 22

The sun may be setting, but the moon is rising. The dark isn’t so scary after all. Swap your sun glasses for a telescope.

Do: Introspection | Don’t: Talk

Aug. 23 – Sept. 22

April 20 – May 20

You think you’re already done, but check again. Abundant attention is required for this circum stance — and it will all be blue.

Do: Amherst | Don’t: Northampton

Control your temperament. There are many dif ferent decisions coming your way. With patience, all will fall into place.

Do: Flow | Don’t: Make a plan

Event Highlights

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Friday, Oct. 21, 2022

Fall Craft Night

Join the Office of Student Involvement for a fall-themed craft night!

Blanchard Hall Great Room

6:30- 8:30 p.m.

Friday, Oct. 21, 2022

Family & Friends Weekend Jazz Concert: ‘Wild Life!’

Kick off Family & Friends Weekend with a fun-filled performance by the Jazz Ensembles of Mount Holyoke, Big Band, Chamber Jazz and Vocal Jazz, featuring music inspired by the animal kingdom. This event is directed by Mark Gionfriddo.

Chapin Auditorium 7:30-8:30 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022

Fall Jam A Capella Concert

Experience a Mount Holyoke tradition and enjoy talented and diverse a cappella voices! In the case of inclement weather, this event will be held in the Blanchard Hall Great Room. This event is for the entire Mount Holyoke community, we warmly encourage all to attend! To re quest accessibility accommodations, please email stu dent-involvement@mtholyoke.edu at least 72 hours before the event.

Gettell Amphitheater 2-3 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022

Fall Fest

Celebrate autumn at MHC with crafts, games, mini-golf and more! This event is for the entire Mount Holyoke community, we warmly encourage all to attend! Rain or shine! To request accessibility accommodations, please email student-involvement@mtholyoke.edu at least 72 hours before the event.

Pageant Green 2-4 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022

Calico Concert

Join us for an evening of rousing tunes from Calico! Wash away your worries with some wonderful folk music by some local friends. New to folk music? Drop by to see what all the buzz is about and get a taste of the type of music New England contra dancing is famous for! Get ready to tap your feet and bounce in your chair.

Shattuck Hall Cassani Room 6:30-8 p.m.