Mills Quarterly, Summer 2020

A CAMPUS UNDER COVID  HELPING VETERANS  RAISING BOYS

Mills Quarterly Summer 2020

ANNIE PEARCE ’20 A hardworking environmental science major, student employee, and houseplant enthusiast determined to graduate in the age of COVID-19

As we face the coronavirus together, gratitude matters.

Here’s to the: • Mills faculty and students who transitioned to 100% online learning in just two days, ensuring students could complete their spring semester • College staff who quickly configured tech equipment for loan to students, adapted housing and dining services, and organized an optional pass/no pass grading system • Donors who contributed to the Student Hardship Fund, which made grants of $300 each to students facing unexpected costs for travel and technology • Alumnae and friends who supplied over 400 masks to students sheltering on campus, sent words of support, and made gifts to the Mills College Annual Fund

Thank you for making Mills possible.

With family livelihoods threatened, how many students will feel pressure to quit their studies? Your gift to the Mills College Annual Fund can help reinforce Mills’ commitment to educating all students regardless of financial need. We know not everyone can donate at this time, but if you can make a gift, we hope you will.

Please make a gift to the Mills College Annual Fund by calling 510.430.2366, visiting alumnae.mills.edu/give, or returning the enclosed envelope.

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Mills Quarterly

CONTENTS

Summer 2020

12 Placing the Mission First by Sarah Ventre Jean Jones Gurga ’92 has found her life’s work in helping those returning home from active duty in various roles at VA hospitals.

16 Boys Do Cry by Elissa Strauss Among the many lessons we teach our children, one is to prepare daughters for a world that sees them as lesser than. But how should we teach our sons to respect everyone in the first place?

20 With a Little Help from Their Friends by Allison Rost and Lila Goehring ’21 The alumnae who own these Bay Area businesses could use a boost during recovery from the pandemic.

Departments 2

Letters to the Editor

3

President’s Message

4

Mills Matters

22 AAMC News 24 Class Notes 32 In Memoriam

On the cover: Like many schools and colleges, Mills shifted to remote learning using online tools such as Zoom when COVID-19 upended the remainder of the school year. But learning was just the beginning—year-end performances and goodbye celebrations went streaming as well. Read our coverage of the pandemic starting on page 6.

Volume CIX, Number 4 (USPS 349-900) Summer 2020 President Elizabeth L. Hillman

Letter to the Editor Imagine my surprise when I read in the

birth state of Kansas—a clear example of

winter 2020 issue of Mills Quarterly

her comment.

that 19 Mills students, accompanied by

The sorrow and shame I felt during my

President Hillman, were in Alabama vis-

journey was held and comforted by our

iting all of the same historical sites that

group singing, exquisitely led by Reggie

I visited during my recent pilgrimage

Harris, who was one of our five leaders. I

organized by the Unitarian Universalist

hope as a group that you also had shared

Design and Art Direction Nancy Siller Wilson

Association. Thank you, Carrie Milligan

moments of singing.

Hall, for the captivating photo on the

Upon my return, I looked for my col-

Editorial Assistant Lila Goehring ’21

cover, and to you, Lila Goehring ’21, for

lege American history textbook that

your thoughtful article.

Reynolds Wik had selected for our class.

Interim Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement Nikole Hilgeman Adams Managing Editor Allison Rost

Contributors Kate Robinson Beckwith, MFA ’13 Elissa Strauss Sarah Ventre Editorial Advisory Committee Angela Bacca, MBA ’12 Sheryl Bize-Boutte ’73 Melissa Bender Henley ’99 Sarah Lehman ’86 Mira Mason-Reader ’15 Mari Matoba ’03 Livi Perez ’14, MA ’17 Mason Stockstill, MFA ’09 The Mills Quarterly (USPS 349-900) is published quarterly by Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613. Periodicals postage paid at Oakland, California, and at additional mailing office(s). Postmaster: Send address changes to the Office of Institutional Advancement, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613.

Copyright © 2020, Mills College Address correspondence to Mills Quarterly, Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613.

Email: quarterly@mills.edu Phone: 510.430.3312

Personally, I had always been frightened

Imagine my surprise, again, that even

to visit Alabama and Mississippi where

in my studies at Mills, white suprem-

we also journeyed, but my daughter-in-

acy was addressed. It’s a tribute to our

law from Alabama reminded me of the

beloved Mills that studying, discussing,

obvious racism here in the North. And

and experiencing difficult and painful

as I solemnly honored the women, men,

truths of our shared history is supported

and children lynched and remembered

and encouraged both when I was a stu-

at the National Memorial for Peace and

dent and today 51 years later.

–Kay Picker Lamer ’68 Arlington, Massachusetts

Justice, I was shocked to see two columns commemorating persons lynched in my

WE HATE TO BE THE BEARER OF BAD NEWS, but if you haven’t already heard, Reunion 2020 has been officially postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Your health and safety are top of mind for us at Mills, and we couldn’t risk those with so many unknowns still in play. But don’t worry: Reunion 2020 will join forces with Reunion 2021 (September 23-26, 2021), which we’ve already started planning. We’ll celebrate the anniversary years of ’0s and ’5s along with ’1s and ’6s at a big bash that’s twice the fun.

If you have any questions, please contact Alumnae Relations at 510.430.2123 or alumnae-relations@mills.edu.

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Printed on recycled paper containing 10 percent post-consumer waste.

POSTPONED

2020

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M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

E EG

(Please use outline)

S COLL L L I

NION

A Message from the President of Mills College

By Elizabeth L. Hillman

Springtime arrived at Mills this year as it

lors from dozens of San Francisco

does every year: wisteria bloomed, tree

Bay Area colleges and universi-

branches grew heavy with flowers, duck-

ties are sharing ideas and insight,

lings sped across the ponds, and frogs

and educators across the world

croaked alongside the streams. Unlike

are reassessing how to be good

other years, however, this year’s seasonal

citizens and responsible teachers

burst of life occurred mostly unseen by

and students under COVID-19.

the usual crowds. Everyone—save for

Our relatively expansive campus,

those students housed in independent

small student body, and temper-

living spaces or isolating in their campus

ate climate each pose advantages

residence halls, the residents of Faculty

as we plan to blend distance

Village, and my own family at the

and in-person learning once the

President’s House—disappeared abruptly

shelter-in-place order is modified.

from campus in mid-March, when the

Here’s a sense of how much space

first public health orders to shelter in

Mills and other schools will need:

place were issued. Mills is now closing

a classroom that seats 30 students

out an academic year, and a springtime,

in ordinary circumstances can

like no other.

seat perhaps eight under social-

As we plan both virtual celebra-

distancing guidelines; a 100-

tions for this year’s graduates and a fall

person classroom might fit 18

semester of hybrid (some online, some

students who are spaced six feet

in-person), low-density learning, I’m

apart. The very ways we think

tremendously

proud

of the generosity and creativity that this otherwise unfortunate situ-

“I’m tremendously proud of the generosity and creativity that this otherwise unfortunate situation has brought out at Mills.”

ation has brought out at Mills. We’ve moved art exhibitions, thesis presentations, and

of time and space are changing as we

cation. To leverage the strengths of both

performances online, as well as regu-

reconsider the academic calendar, the

institutions, and to secure Mills’ ability to

lar teaching, advising, and counseling.

class schedule, and the potential uses of

pursue its mission long after the COVID

Students, faculty, and staff have risen to

outdoor and indoor teaching areas. And

-19 pandemic has waned, UC Berkeley

the occasion, and our campus-essential

the way we think of budgeting is chang-

Chancellor Carol T. Christ, a former presi-

staff and residential community have

ing too: As in recent years, Mills will oper-

dent of Smith College (and proud graduate

worked together to keep our community

ate at a deficit. This time, however, that

of Douglass College, the women’s college

informed and cared for during the pan-

deficit will be larger and less predictable,

of Rutgers University), and I have char-

demic. A cross-divisional recovery plan-

given the tremendous uncertainty that

tered a group of faculty leaders from Mills

ning team of staff and faculty leaders is

the pandemic has created in our antici-

and UC Berkeley to design a proposal for a

supporting the College’s eventual return

pated revenues.

new academic program. That group began

to campus activities, as is our COVID-

As we develop a hybrid, low-density

meeting this spring under the leadership

19 incident response team, which first

approach to learning at Mills in the fall,

of co-chairs Cathy Koshland, vice chan-

began to meet in February. They are

we are also reimagining the potential of

cellor for undergraduate education at UC

figuring out how to implement chang-

Mills College’s growing partnership with

Berkeley, and Chinyere Oparah, provost

ing public health guidelines, reduce risk,

UC Berkeley. This exciting new chapter in

and dean of the faculty at Mills College.

enable learning, and respond quickly to

the College’s long, shared history with the

I look forward to sharing more news of

new information.

University of California is taking off just

this expanding partnership as our vision

Fortunately, Mills is not alone in facing

as the COVID-19 crisis reveals the need for

for the future adapts to the new economic

down COVID-19. Presidents and chancel-

greater collaboration across higher edu-

realities of global higher education.

SUMMER 2020

3

Mills Matters Mills receives full accreditation

Five professors say their goodbyes

A cap to news we reported in the

celebration on Thursday, May 7. “We’ve never had a retirement celebration like this!”

winter 2020 Mills Quarterly: the WASC Senior College and University

A collective 75 years of service were celebrated at a virtual faculty retirement said Provost Chinyere Oparah as she kicked off the event, which brought together family, friends, and colleagues on Zoom to pay tribute to the five new faculty emeriti.

Commission has formally issued

They are:

an eight-year accreditation to

• John Bischoff, MFA ’73, professor of

York City. A ground-breaking dancer

Mills as a wrap-up of the long

music and holder of the Luther Brusie

herself, she has run her company

accreditation process. The standing

Marchant Professorship of Music, who

Molissa Fenley and Dancers since

is the second highest offered by the

has taught at Mills since 2005. He is

1977. Colleague Ann Murphy attrib-

commission, which also highlighted

a world-renowned pioneer of com-

uted Fenley’s unique sensibilities to

the College’s “dedicated faculty

puter music whose farewell concert

her childhood in Nigeria. “She has

and staff,” “effective evidence-

will hopefully be held in 2021. He

an inner calm that allows her to be

based, equity-minded approach to

remarked that he first saw Mills men-

an extraordinary master teacher,”

institutional research,” and “social

tioned on the back of an album by

Murphy said.

justice mission,” among a number

Dave Brubeck, MA ’46. “I didn’t find

of characteristics. The commission

Mills. Mills found me,” Bischoff said.

is also scheduled to make a special return visit to Mills in fall 2023 to address financial and staffing concerns.

• Molissa Fenley ’75, professor of

• Lynn Delker, adjunct professor in physics, who has been at Mills since 2009. Delker was unable to attend

dance, who has taught one semester

the online event, but Chemistry

per year at Mills since 1999 to split

Department Head Beth Kochly cred-

her time between Oakland and New

ited Delker for her reworking of the entire physics curriculum and creating science days for younger children.

• Carol George, professor of psychology, who has taught at Mills since 1986. Her expert work in the field of infant attachment informed valuable training that she provided to many future psychologists. She also served as department head for years and on various campus committees. George herself said that she’d be back: “I’ll be in my lab with my research projects if we open!”

• Margo Okazawa-Rey, the Barbara Lee Distinguished Professor of Women’s Leadership, who wrapped up two years on the Mills campus working with the women’s, gender and sexuality studies and public policy programs. Her focus on social

The Chronicle of Higher Education reported in February that Mills College has been named a Fulbright Top Producing Institution by the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Three Mills alumnae/i received Fulbright awards for the 2019-20 school year. Alumna Judith James ’74 represented Mills at the reception honoring the awardees in Washington, DC, on February 18.

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M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

justice served as an inspiration to her colleagues, one of whom—Priya Kandaswamy—said, “She has shown me what feminist collaboration in the academy can look like.”

Campus kudos A selection of recent achievements by faculty, staff, and students Mills College’s MFA in Creative

data informs federal

Writing program was ranked in the

funding streams.

top 25 2020 Best Master’s in Writing

President

Programs by the website GradReports.

Elizabeth L.

The list is compiled based on alumni

Hillman was the

earnings in the year immediately after

keynote speaker at

graduation and median student debt.

a February confer-

Shirley Acuna Heredia ’20 shared

ence hosted by the

her story of identifying as queer as a

University of New

first-generation American and discussed

Mexico and the

LGBTQIA+ workplace rights as part of

US Department of

the KQED series Perspectives in April.

the Navy, which

Associate Professor of Art History Meryl Bailey has been awarded the Arnold L. Graves and Lois L. Graves Award in the Humanities. The honor

Mark Henderson

Jenn Smith

focused on changing the culture surrounding sexual

in February and was staged by the non-

misconduct within institutions.

profit arts venue Gray Area.

Assistant Adjunct Professor of Art

Associate Professor of Biology and

comes with a $10,500 prize, which will

History Sarah Miller and her publisher,

Biology Department Head Jenn Smith

fund a visit to Venice to study the use of

Ryerson, received a $15,000 grant from

was featured in two articles in February:

print media by painters in the Venetian

the Wyeth Foundation to facilitate

one for the Save Mount Diablo land

tradition.

publication of her forthcoming book,

trust and conservation organization,

Berenice Abbott’s Unseen Changing New

which covered her involvement in

March story on Sacramento-area public

York, which Miller discussed in the fall

research surrounding the “secret lives”

radio station CapRadio about young

2019 issue of Mills Quarterly.

of squirrels; and in a Discover Magazine

Emerald Druffel ’22 was quoted in a

voters and their concerns around cli-

Professor Emeritus of Studio Art Ron

piece titled “From Animals to Human

mate change, stressing the importance

Nagle staged the exhibition Handsome

Society: What We Learn When Women

of candidates’ dedication to marginal-

Drifter at the Berkeley Art Museum &

Lead,” in which she discussed the lead-

ized groups and the environment.

Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), which

ership roles of mothers in the animal

Professor of Education Tomás

featured his sculptures and drawings

world.

Galguera and Melinda Bellone, MA ’21,

dating from the 1990s to 2019. The

Professor of Studio Art Catherine

co-authored an article called “Healing

show was planned to run until June

Wagner was commissioned to create a

the Phoenix” in the March/April

14, but then became available to view

mural featuring photos that are laser-

2020 issue of Childhood Education:

online as a result of pandemic closures.

etched onto anodized aluminum panels

Innovations. The piece examined the

Provost and Dean of Faculty and

for the Tampa International Airport. The

practice of trauma-informed teaching

Professor of Ethnic Studies Chinyere

Tampa Bay TV station WTSP covered the

for students impacted by California

Oparah was quoted in a March 1

airport’s new art installations in March.

wildfires and the importance of recog-

Diverse Issues in Higher Education

nizing both trauma responses and PTSD

magazine article in which she

Walkup gave a lecture on the history

within children.

addressed the question of faculty

of women printers at Vallejo’s John F.

members’ roles in student protests

Kennedy Library in January.

Associate Professor of Public Policy

Professor of Book Art Kathleen

School of Education Dean Wendi

Mark Henderson and Assistant

such as those held in response to

Professor of Practice Adam Parker were

recent racist and anti-Semitic

Williams was quoted in a November

featured in TeenVogue’s February article

incidents at Syracuse University.

2019 Education News article, “How

“What College Students Need to Know

Art and Visual Culture Department

Educators Can Foster Resilience in

About the 2020 Census.” They discussed

Head and Assistant Professor of Studio

Students Affected by Trauma,” in which

their fall 2020 course on the subject

Art Yulia Pinkusevich was one of 12

she discussed the capacity of young

as well as the role LGBTQIA+ students

artists featured in an immersive art

people to cope with trauma, and their

will play in the census, and how census

exhibition, The End of You, which ran

resiliency in the face of life’s challenges.

SUMMER 2020

5

How the Coronavirus Crisis Unfolded at Mills FEBRUARY 28

MARCH 16

MARCH 23

MARCH 6

An email appeal to support the the Student Hardship Fund, intended to help students with unexpected transportation and Internet connectivity costs related to the pandemic, is sent to alumnae. More than 400 students apply for $300 grants.

MARCH 25 A tweet from Assistant Adjunct Professor of

Two days after San Francisco Mayor London Breed declares a pre-emptive state of emergency, President Elizabeth L. Hillman sends her first email to the Mills community about the coronavirus. In it, she asks recipients to monitor their health, follow proper hygiene, and contact the Vera Whole Health Center if experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.

President Hillman also says that the College is monitoring upcoming study-abroad trips, boosting housekeeping and hand-sanitizing stations in high-traffic areas, and setting aside areas in residence halls if they’re needed for quarantine.

An Incident Response Team is formed to respond to the situation.

In her third email, President Hillman reports that remote learning options are being evaluated if needed in case in-person classes are no longer permitted to help stem the spread of the virus.

MARCH 11

An initial announcement goes out that large classes will go online through March 29, and small classes with 30 students or fewer will continue to meet in person until after spring break (March 23–27). In addition, medium- and high-risk events are cancelled throughoutcampus.

After Alameda County and other counties in the Bay Area issue a shelter-in-place order, the Mills campus closes to everyone except residents and essential personnel.

MARCH 18

130

The number of students at the Tea Shop for dinner. Bon Appétit, the company that provides dining services at Mills, moved operations exclusively to the Tea Shop soon after Mills shifted to remote learning, and also began stocking groceries so students wouldn’t have to venture off campus.

MARCH 12

The announcement broadens: all classes for the remainder of the semester will go online starting Tuesday, March 17, with classes cancelled on Friday, March 13 and Monday, March 16, so professors can prepare for remote learning. Everyone who lives on campus can continue to do so, though some choose to move out for the remainder of the school year.

MARCH 13

It’s an irony that to protect against COVID-19, we must isolate ourselves and cease doing many of the things we love most. Our community’s kindness, diligence, and faith will see us through. –President Elizabeth L. Hillman, in her weekly Inside and Out message 6

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

MARCH 20

Seven weeks into his Fulbright trip to Brazil to study Candomblé music, Robert Lopez, MFA ’13, (center) is recalled to the United States. “What I want more than anything is to go back to Brazil and finish this project,” he tells KQED.

Testing for COVID-19 is made available on campus. As of press time, no one had tested positive.

Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies Natalee Kēhaulani Bauer, who lives in Faculty Village with her family.

MARCH 27 On the day the College observes César

Chávez Day, residential students and essential campus personnel spend the afternoon assisting at the Mills Community Farm.

President Hillman reports in an email that “pulling piles of insidious Bermuda grass out of a soon-to-be-planted bed (while staying six feet apart) was especially satisfying after another difficult week.” Farm Manager Julia Dashe continues harvesting throughout the shelter-in-place order, even putting together Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes of vegetables for members of the Mills community to pick up.

APRIL 30

MARCH 30

On the program Women’s Magazine on KPFA, Barbara Lee Distinguished Professor of Women’s Leadership Margo Okazawa-Rey speaks to four current and former students at Brown University about how the coronavirus is affecting vulnerable populations, including people with disabilities and those who are incarcerated.

Faculty members have been telling us that they’re impatient to get back into the classroom with their students!

APRIL 1

The amount Mills receives from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, half of which becomes available for student financial relief.

–Associate Provost Maggie Hunter

$1,139,000

Admissions extends first-year enrollment deadline for the 2020–21 school year until June 1.

APRIL 2

#MillsConnected launches across all Mills social media networks, illustrating how the campus community is maintaining ties despite the physical distance imposed by the pandemic. As just a few examples, Director of Spiritual and Religious Life Dara Olandt begins holding online spaces for community members seeking emotional support, and athletic coaches join with the Division of Student Life to reach out to students who need help with academics. Search for the hashtag on Twitter and Instagram to see more examples.

APRIL 20  A plea that Professor of English Kirsten

Saxton ’90 posts on Facebook for face masks that students sheltering on the Mills campus can use is amplified across multiple social networks. Assistant Adjunct Professor of Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies Natalee Kēhaulani Bauer asks fellow parents at the Children’s School to contribute. More than 400 masks soon arrive from many members of the Mills community, including Jade Sales-Lee ’12, who is pursuing a PhD in biochemistry at UCSF. She contributes more than 100 masks of her own making.

MAY 6

Seven Mills alumnae authors—Eve Bauman ’14, Sheryl Bize-Boutte ’73, Lisa Buchanan ’89, liz gonzalez ’99, Carmen Hartono ’90, and Lauren Speeth ’81—participate in a first-ever virtual writers’ salon hosted by the Alumnae Relations office.

We are asking questions we’ve never had to ask before. –Dean of Students Chicora Martin, in a virtual town hall for faculty and staff

APRIL 6

Kjersti Aagaard ’91, a professor of maternal fetal medicine and obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital, weighs in on the effects of COVID-19 on pregnancy on PBS NewsHour.

APRIL 9

Professor of Education Priya Shimpi Driscoll speaks with Forbes about the educational use of YouTube for kids during quarantine (spoiler alert: with parental guidance, it’s OK).

APRIL 17

Teaching and learning at Mills look very different today. Like the #ResilientFaculty teaching across the nation and world, Mills faculty and staff have risen to the unimaginable challenge of taking an entire college online.

APRIL 24

165

Approx. number of students still living on campus (97 in traditional housing; 68 in independent living). Throughout sheltering in place, the Division of Student Life coordinates activities such as virtual scavenger hunts and Netflix watch parties to keep them connected.

 With the closure of the Mills College Art Museum, senior studio art majors have no physical space for their final show, Fault Lines. Instead, their works go online in a digital catalog. Other arts events go virtual as well, including the interactive exhibition Home/Body and the final dance performances of the year.

MAY 16  The original date for Commencement

2020, which is postponed until 2021.

To commemorate the end of the school year, a series of seven virtual celebration events are held on Zoom between May 14 and 18, split up by school and division. Students are invited to include their families and friends in the online festivities.

–Provost Chinyere Oparah, in a virtual town hall for Mills staff

SUMMER 2020

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Commencement in a Time of COVID On March 20, Commencement festivities for the Class of 2020 were officially postponed, later announced to take place in the same timeframe as graduation for the Class of 2021. We still wanted to celebrate these newest alumnae/i as they wrapped up their time at Mills, whether they return for their official ceremony or not. The Quarterly reached out to graduating students to share their thoughts; read what several had to say.

Clockwise from upper left: Sarah Shaffer, Klarisa Freitas, Claire Lawry, Jen Sharkey.

Jen Sharkey, MBA My heart hurts to leave Mills without

open to the direction your life may

so impacted me over these past three

Claire Lawry, double BA in economics and data science

years. My first introductions to Mills

I may be the third person in my fam-

have expected my life to change the

were full of warmth and personal care—

ily to go to Mills, but I am the first

way it did at Mills. One of my reasons

I was told in person at a campus event

to experience ending in the time of a

for choosing Mills was that I am pas-

that I had been accepted to the MBA

global pandemic, so I have one heck of

sionate about environmental issues

program. I know our Commencement

a story to add to my family archives!

and I wanted to do a sustainability

would have been filled with that love.

Nothing says “hindsight’s 20/20” better

concentration for my economics major.

I still feel it, but it just has to travel

than the Class of 2020 having its grad-

Eventually, I had to come to terms with

further between us now. It was always

uation postponed! There is definitely

the fact that I was not able to do it,

going to feel bittersweet to leave Mills,

a disconnect between what is actually

but during that time, I realized there

but leaving during a time like this has

happening and thinking about what

are other branches of economics that

amplified the bitterness.

should be happening. If I think about

are just as wonderful. I expected to do

what could be happening right now

my senior thesis on something to do

under normal circumstances, it would

with sustainability, but instead I did it

be totally different.

on something to do with healthcare.

getting to see the people who have

Sarah Shaffer, MA in literature I have so much gratitude for all the

take you. Even with that, I never would

I will miss being a part of the Mills

Overall, Mills has taught me to embrace

my professors and classmates. You have

community overall, but as I found out

what is meant for me and let go of what

made my time at Mills such a blessing.

from sheltering in place, the commu-

is not meant for me, and that is a lesson

nity comes with you no matter where

I will always treasure.

wonderful people at Mills—especially

Klarisa Freitas, BA in business administration, minor in dance

you are. It is what you make of it. I am

I would also like to thank all my

moving to Canada soon, and I can’t wait

family and friends who have been with

I’m going to miss the relaxing and beauti-

to take that community spirit with me.

me every step of the way at Mills. I

ful campus the most. Although I’ve lived

My favorite times at Mills are any that

especially would not have been able to

in the Bay Area my whole life, going to

have to do with my friends. We have the

do this without my dear mother who

Mills always made me feel like I was step-

greatest conversations and fun times!

has seen me through the best and worst

ping into a new environment. I will defi-

My philosophy in life is to set your

nitely be coming back for weekly walks!

goals and follow your dreams, but be

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M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

times of my life, and I will love her forever!

Clockwise from upper left: Lucciana Caselli, Al Wong, Danielle Johnson, Greer Delaney Gates.

I have cultivated from my studies here have turned into steps towards a solution. The Mills MFA program has allowed me to find my artist voice, made it louder, and boosted my confidence that strengthened my convictions in presenting my work to others. My time at Mills has given me new adaptive practices, helped me hone

Greer Delaney Gates ’19, MBA in marketing and nonprofit management

the entirety of the program, there have

my research and development, and

been a multitude of instances that

made me extremely comfortable in my

cannot be summed up here, but I will

artistic skin.

I have spent the last five years at Mills,

attempt to: Firstly, I am forever grateful

and this is a hard transition into “the

to the committees that helped motivate

real world.” For many graduates, this

and mentor me through this incredible

Al Wong, BS in environmental science

transition is going to be hard—we are

process. Next, the more than knowl-

Don’t be afraid to ask for help, and

being left without the hallmarks of the

edgeable and helpful faculty have not

don’t date other Mills students in

end of a chapter. And there is some-

only become my friends, but also facili-

your first year.

thing to learn from that: not everything

tated my educational journey. My class-

is always wrapped up in a perfect box

mates and I have also had the privilege

with a beautiful ribbon, but that doesn’t

of building relationships and bonds

Danielle Johnson, MBA in management

mean we should be any less proud of

over these last two years, establishing

What I will think about most is the new

these accomplishments. We have to find

priceless and lasting connections. We

knowledge that I have learned being in

the joy and pride in the little things that

learned, laughed, and grew artistic con-

this program and the excitement I have

we can and continue to get up when

cepts collaboratively in a space that was

to get into a new career path. I will miss

things are hard. Mills has been a place

safe and infinitely supportive.

my classmates and all the fun we had

of immense growth for me through my

The program pushed my intense

before class and after.

My favorite memory is my first day of

undergraduate and graduate degrees.

focus and drive, which helped me nar-

And I can truly say (crying while I write

row in on my concepts, visions, and

class and just thinking that “I’m finally

this) that I am proud of the strong,

communications within and around my

here.” Knowing what I know now, I

smart, and determined woman I have

artwork. The discipline of zooming in

would tell myself that the grind is real

become through my time at Mills. I am

on research has added a new layer to

and you will be tired, but the journey is

proud of you, Class of 2020.

my practice. I will always see this deep

all worth it.

dive into an idea, researching it heav-

Lucciana Caselli, MFA in studio art

ily, as a forever-updating step in my

Megan Hinton, MFA

practice, a constant expansion. Some

I will miss my MFA studio art cohort

Throughout my time within the Mills

challenges that face me still, and I think

and faculty the most. Be present to find

fine arts graduate program, I’ve had

might always, start with engagement

the goodness in every moment at Mills.

heartfelt experiences that changed me

and giving back to my surrounding

on an artistic, professional, and per-

communities both in and outside of the

sonal level. Furthermore, I am a part of

fine arts realm by means of my artwork.

an artistic community that has never

How can I continue to make work

felt stronger and more grounded. Over

that supports my livelihood? The skills

Courtney Lain, BA in art and technology I’m going to miss Mills. I wish I could do it all over again!

SUMMER 2020

9

In Quarantine Few of us have experienced something this sweeping in our lifetimes: a global pandemic bringing nearly everything around the world screeching to a halt. Many of you shared how you were being affected via an online survey sent out in the April issue of the (e)ucalyptus email newsletter. Read those responses below, and update us on how you’re doing by emailing us at classnotes@mills.edu.

Our house went on the market on March 13, right when COVID-19 came to a crescendo. Fortunately, we were under contract by March 17, which is fantastic!

We’re purchasing our next home all at the same time. While it is a welcome distraction, and I am immensely grateful to be able to be in the homeowner game in the first place, it is a very stressful time.

–Dana Maralason Edwards ’12, MBA ’14; Nederland, Colorado I am a writer and have worked from home for the last 15 years, so I have had the flexibility to be a mom to three children... who are presently now at home 24/7. Thankfully (!), they are fairly independent and motivated to do schoolwork remotely. Although it seems like “life as usual,” with their dad leaving early in the morning, we know it’s not. As an essential employee, he is required to work. It’s hard to not worry about him and our general health every day. –Joycelyn Fung Yee ’90, San Ramon, California I’ve been in full time isolation for weeks now since I’m a very high risk chronically ill and disabled person. My whole family is also in the high risk category so we are stuck relying on others for food right now and to keep us safe. I’ve also been told to cut some of my meds in half and taper others since important meds for autoimmune disorders and even my needles for my insulin are no longer available as they are being used to treat patients with COVID-19. –Jessica Reff ’12, Los Angeles I postponed my wedding in May, which was heartbreaking. –Kelsey Mercado ’12, Santa Rosa, California I am a public health physician with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

We are deeply involved in the COVID-19 pandemic. Some FDA employees inspect all sites that are involved in developing products regulated by the FDA— including vaccines, prescription and nonprescription drugs, and medical devices (from simple devices such as intravenous lines and inhalers to artificial lung machines). The FDA works closely with sister agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health. Not only are we sup-

10

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

porting efforts to contain and eliminate the coronavirus, but some employees among us have been infected with COVID19. I am unaware of their health status and carrying them in my heart. –Susan Kay Cummins ’77, Bethesda, Maryland As a teacher, I am one of many quickly trying to adapt to distance learning. I have more experience with online platforms such as Google Classroom, so I’ve also become one of three “tech leads” at my school to help train and support my colleagues in using online platforms to teach. Of course, we are all concerned about our students and how to support their education while also considering their mental health and well-being, and worrying about their home situation or ability to access computers and internet.

The world is turning upside down and teachers are feeling the effects just as much as we struggle to care for ourselves and our families, but there’s also this pressure to achieve unattainable standards. – Melanie Vega ’15, MA ’16; San Jose Life has slowed down. I am currently working from home with my spouse, and our dogs couldn’t be happier. –Priscilla Falter ’14, Panorama City, California At the end of January, it was interesting to leave my home in Saigon where the virus was already taken very seriously.

Everyone on the plane then was wearing masks. Entering California, it was a different story for nearly two months until awareness sunk in here. –Sue McKinney ’75, Oakland I’ve found that the smallest kind gestures go a long way these days. Waving at a neighbor, buying an impacted friend groceries or supplies, supporting local businesses that I can’t bear to imagine going under, calling a family member I haven’t talked to in an embarrassingly long time, or just wishing a good day to someone randomly passing by seems to make a difference. –Shivangi Bhatnagar ’14, Long Beach, California Never in my life have I seen a grocery store with no paper products, no meat, no produce, no eggs, whole categories of foods just not available all at once, and not because they are some exotic thing we

can no longer import. I am sad and angry that my only child, who is four years old and too young for video chats to be in any way meaningful, has no friends, no playgrounds, no activities, and no social life except for his parents. We are doing our best to manage our anxiety about money, jobs, and our family members who don’t have forever to wait for a vaccine. –Pamela Prober Trounstine ’99, San Jose I had already been at home two weeks when my husband’s job moved home after Santa Clara County’s shelter-inplace order, the first in the nation, went into effect. I’ve sewn homemade masks.

I’ve picked our tangerine tree clean of fruit and taken several small boxes to a local food bank. (Please do the same if you have a harvest.) I’ve communicated with relatives in Italy, some of whom are in the medical profession and are on the front lines of their war against COVID19. I have a close friend in Connecticut at home with COVID-19 as well, and I worry about her. She said it’s wicked— you feel like you’re on the mend, and then it comes back the next day. –Louise Leck ’11, Fremont, California In part due to the virus, my nonprofit New Plaza Cinema, which brings newly released international and foreign films to the Upper West Side of Manhattan, lost its theatrical venue. Since then, we changed our business strategy to bring some of these films to our 15,000 supporters through the internet and hold virtual film Q&As with our audience through Zoom. –Norma Levy ’65, New York My husband and I know we’re doing the right thing and our part to help save lives by staying home and helping to flatten the curve, but it’s difficult with a three-year-old who doesn’t understand why his routine has been turned upside down and why he can’t see family and friends. At the end of the day, we know this is temporary, and we are very grateful for our safety and recognize the privilege we have. –Dee Montero Iacopelli ’03, Ventura, California For me, it’s been a moment to pause and evaluate my own changes. What I have learned, what I am ready to let go of, what

I am still learning. And a lesson in finding joy and pleasure where I can. I think this is a microcosm of what’s happening at a global scale as well. –Stephanie Der ’13, Napa, California We have been sheltering in place since early March. My husband and I pass the time doing jigsaw puzzles, quilting (me, not my husband), reading, and gardening.

By the time you read this I hope we are all free to move about our neighborhoods, cities, country, and the world. –Maurine Harkness ’71, Stockton, California It turns out that sheltering in place is something I like to do. The Cody grocery store—yup, there’s only one—is open for two geezer hours twice weekly. Our church has gone virtual, and since I still work there, I’m in our home basement making video puppet shows (I can hear people groaning!) and resource sheets for each week. –Nancy Fardelius Fees ’71, Cody, Wyoming Despite all the interruption to our lives, we are doing OK. Mills taught me how to be forward-thinking, and I took my business remote as soon as I returned from a wedding anniversary interrupted. If this had happened when I was a resident student at Mills, I’d have chosen to hunker down (shelter in place) with all my intellectual sisters. –Victoria Frost ’80 Our likelihood of being infected is low, if I can keep myself from going to town to buy groceries. I have folded myself a bandana mask, and we’re creating a small vegetable garden using last year’s seeds. But my 85-year-old husband has had his heart surgery postponed indefinitely, and my little job with Mendocino County’s tourism bureau is gone, possibly forever. –Kathy Miller Janes ’69, Navarro, California SUMMER 2020

11

Placing the Mission

FIRST Jean Jones Gurga ’92 finds joy in working with veterans in her role at the VA—even after COVID-19 has entered the picture.

Words by Sarah Ventre • Photos by Jason Carter

12

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

J

EAN JONES GURGA ’92

Nations. The Navajo Nation in

has never shied away from a

particular has been hit extraor-

demanding job. But lately, it’s

dinarily hard by the virus, and

gotten even more intense.

the situation is compounded by

“This is probably the first non-

lack of access to resources and

COVID conversation I’ve had in

geographic isolation. As of press

a month. So it’s actually good to

time, the Navajo Nation had the

talk to you,” Gurga said over a

highest number of coronavirus

recent Zoom interview.

cases per capita in the country.

Then she added, “But we can

It’s part of Gurga’s job to think

still talk about COVID if you

about how to reach these veter-

want to.”

ans, and she worries about their

Gurga was talking with me

higher likelihood of contracting

from her office in Prescott,

the virus. “They have a lot of

Arizona, late on a Sunday after-

chronic health conditions too,

noon. Her workload has only

and that’s who’s most vulner-

increased

COVID-19

able . . . those people with pre-

began spreading. That’s because

existing chronic conditions,” she

she’s the interim medical center

said. She’s also mobilized nurses

director of the Northern Arizona

from other parts of Arizona to

Department of Veterans’ Affairs

assist.

since

(VA) Healthcare System, which is akin to being the CEO in the private sector.

So, she is utilizing her resources to assist in an area where many are relying on much smaller

Nationwide, the VA provides financial, medical, and employ-

health care centers. That means coordinating between state,

ment assistance, and the Veterans Health Administration

local, and tribal agencies, elected officials, and community

serves about 9.7 million veterans. In her role, Gurga is responsi-

organizations to address pressing health issues, including the

ble for an area that covers 65,000 square miles across a rugged,

physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing of veterans who

almost entirely rural landscape. And part of her job is to over-

are affected by everything from coronavirus to depression,

see the care of veterans far from city centers who are affected

to unemployment, to homelessness. Her responsibilities have

by the coronavirus.

grown a lot since taking her first position with the VA in 1996.

“If you take out Phoenix, but you draw a line across the state

“If you would’ve told me 30 years ago that I’d be talking to a

[of Arizona], that entire territory north of that line besides

congressional representative or a senator and talking to them

Phoenix is Northern Arizona VA,” she said. “We have outpa-

about veterans’ initiatives and veterans’ concerns and now,

tient clinics in Kingman and Lake Havasu, which are very

COVID-19 and the Native American population, I would have

rural. And from what I hear, a lot of the veterans out there like

probably laughed. I would have never thought that I would be

to live off the grid.”

doing something like this. But here I am,” she said.

Her coverage area also includes the Grand Canyon, vast

Gurga got her bachelor’s degree in business economics from

stretches of tribal land, and four clinics on the Navajo and Hopi

Mills, and said that she began developing her leadership skills SUMMER 2020

13

during her time as treasurer of the Associated Students of Mills

just does not have the understanding of military culture or

College (ASMC). “I would consider myself a pretty shy, reserved

the understanding of the complex care needs of veterans,” she

person,” Gurga said. But over her two-year tenure on the board,

said. “I really do feel that the VA is the best place to take care of

she became more confident: “There’s just all that kind of slow

veterans. And then when you work with veterans, it’s just that

incremental learning, stretching yourself just enough to chal-

sense of commitment.”

The unique set of needs that veterans have extends far

lenge but not overwhelm yourself.”

She had always been interested in healthcare, and wanted to

beyond just physical care. Addressing mental health needs like

bring her knowledge of business into the healthcare field. When

depression, PTSD, and high suicide rates is key. According to

she learned about occupational therapy, it was a natural fit.

the VA, the suicide rate for veterans is 1.5 times higher than

“Occupational therapy, in my mind, is not just focused on mobility or exercise, but really looks at the whole person,”

non-veterans, which means the VA has to create better systems to address these urgent issues.

Gurga said. “For example, if you have a stroke, a [physical ther-

“The VA has one of the most comprehensive mental health

apist] may teach you how to walk again...but an occupational

and behavioral health programs in the country,” Gurga said.

therapist is going to teach you how to dress, how to take a

“The type of behavioral health services we offer is unheard of

shower, how to cook for yourself.”

in the private sector.”

After getting her master’s in occupational therapy at

Before Gurga came to the Northern Arizona VA, she was the

Tufts University, Gurga received a VA Health Professional

associate director at the VA Long Beach Healthcare System in

Scholarship. It was her time in that program that cemented her

Southern California, which received recognition for creating

passion for working with vets.

an innovative approach to mental health interventions.

“Serving veterans has to be the best mission in the whole

The idea is that veterans best understand what their peers

world. I mean, who could deny that?” Gurga said. “I have a

are going through and what they may have experienced, so

smile on my face as I’m talking about it. And it’s so hard to

they’re better equipped to assist. So a trained VA officer along with a social worker (all of

describe.”

Gurga recognizes that veterans have a unique set of needs and challenges that are difficult to meet, which is why she says the VA is the best place for them to receive care.

“Your basic primary care provider

“Serving veterans has to be the best mission in the whole world. I have a smile on my face as I’m talking about it.”

whom are veterans themselves) will respond to calls for help, rather than just let law enforcement handle it.

And they go to the veteran needing assistance, rather than asking the vet to come to a VA center when they’re in the middle of a crisis. The

program is done in conjunction with Los Angeles County.

It’s so unique and was so well received that according to an article in the Washington Post last year, a similar program is in the works at the VA West Los Angeles Medical Center, and the VA in Spokane, Washington, is interested as well.

“It’s the only one of its kind in VA right now,” Gurga said.

And even in her new position, mental health remains an important focus area for Gurga. “In my role as a CEO now, I’m not providing care on a daily basis, but it’s my job as the mental health leadership to make sure I have the resources and the staffing in place to implement these programs,” she said.

For Gurga, in the end, it’s all about the people. What drew her to occupational therapy still drives her in her CEO role: helping vets, and working with others who are passionate about doing

Jean Jones Gurga ’92, photographed at the Northern Arizona VA Health Care System in Prescott, Arizona. Gurga started as the interim medical center director there on January 5.

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M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

The Northern Arizona VA is located on the campus of Fort Whipple, a former US Army post that had previously been the capital of the Arizona Territory. During World War I, it was reactivated to serve as a US Army hospital that specialized in respiratory diseases.

the same. “I’ve learned and grown from my mentors within the

you literally say, ‘Welcome home.’ Because these veterans were

VA and the people that I get to know. Like it’s weird, like 24 years

not welcomed home.”

later, I’m the mentor, right?” Gurga reflected. “And I just think of

It might be these projects that keep Gurga grounded in her

how I can help people learn, grow, and develop in their careers.

job, which requires her to take on big, systemic tasks, while at

And especially women. When I became an executive, I realized

the same time remembering the individuals who are affected.

how other women in the organization looked up to me.”

One of Gurga’s tasks is to help honor Vietnam veterans who

Gurga said she refers often to the Mills College motto, “Remember who you are and what you represent.”

never received a homecoming. Recently, she attended a cer-

“I’ve used this as my personal mantra for 30 years,” said

emony in the far reaches of northern Arizona near the Utah

Gurga. “Whenever I’ve had a big public presentation, an inter-

border. There, she gave each veteran a pin, and read an execu-

view, etc., I use this motto to center myself and get ready for

tive order from the president saying that in the coming years,

the challenge.”

the VA will continue to do this work to recognize the service of these vets.

“We drove from the Navajo Nation over to Page, Arizona,

And there are plenty of challenges on the horizon, but Gurga finds ways to stay motivated. “It’s just a very complex, demanding job and you can’t do it all yourself,” she said.

and we got into Page that night around 6:15. I was at the VFW,

“One of the things that I always hear about my leadership

and we were supposed to start our ceremony at 6:30, and the

style, and I honestly don’t know where this comes from, is just

parking lot was full. And I’m like, holy cow. And so I go in and

how calm I am and how focused I am,” she added. “And I think,

there are probably 25 veterans. And then on top of that, with

especially in times of crisis, just being able to be that calm

their families, there were probably at least 50 to 60 people in

leader who can hold everyone together and then still have

the room, including the mayor of Page,” Gurga said.

goals and objectives and push an organization forward... those

“You want to talk about emotional: Each veteran comes up and you shake their hand and you give them the pin and then

are some of the highlights that I know that I’ll always reflect back on.” ● SUMMER 2020

15

BOYS DO CRY How can parents help reset gender expectations when raising their sons?

By Elissa Strauss

W

A L K A R O U N D A C H I L D R E N ’ S B O O K S T O R E T O DAY—or, more appropriate to our times, browse one online—and chances are you’ll see a section dedicated to girl power. There will be books that encourage girls

to be strong, others that teach them about feminism, and others that seemingly exist only to tell them how awesome they are.

There is not, unfortunately, a parallel, gender-

some of us for the first time—and feel awful for all

stereotype defying genre for boys. With little excep-

those who have been victims of it.

tion, there is no body of literature aimed at helping

We’ve also started worrying about the men and

boys understand the patriarchy, including the ways

boys who are expected to uphold it. How might the

it might lead them to hurt others or the ways they

expectation to be macho hurt our sons? What if

are limited by it. Very few books or toys are cheer-

it leads them to hurting others? And how could a

ing on boys to be more vulnerable, empathetic, self-

background at a historically women’s college like

reflective, or even just to be different.

Mills affect a parent’s approach with their sons?

It’s a blind spot, though one for which we can

Today, more and more parents are asking them-

forgive ourselves. It’s natural to prioritize those

selves the hard questions and attempting to, at last,

with less power—in this case, girls and women—in

reenvision boyhood. Experts have some advice.

the fight for equality. Girls need to learn how to protect and empower themselves in a world that

THE FIRST THING TO REMEMBER when raising

was designed to hold them back. Mills alumnae

boys is that biology isn’t destiny. While gender may

have been working on this for decades, and to

influence personality to some degree, it is far from

great success.

the only factor. Humans are far more complicated

So we’ve thought a lot about the girls, and oh

“Nurture vs. nature? That is a very old and passé

break away from feminine stereotypes, but we

question as far as researchers are concerned,”

haven’t taught the boys to shrug off the ways

said Dean Morier, professor of psychology at Mills

they’re expected to be masculine. We’ve taught the

College. “With any of us, it is a complex interaction

girls how to fight back against oppression, but we

between hormonal influences and socialization fac-

haven’t taught the boys how to resist the cultural

tors, which include experience and upbringing.”

cues that can turn them into the oppressors—and prevent them from realizing who they truly are.

16

than that.

so little about the boys. We’ve taught the girls to

Research shows that many parents, including those with the best intentions, enter parenthood

The reckoning around the #MeToo movement has,

with a lot of biases. Even when children are young,

thank goodness, begun to change things. Between

parents are more likely to tell girls to be careful,

the Harvey Weinstein trial, Brett Kavanaugh’s con-

thus making them more fearful of taking physical

firmation hearings, and other incidents, we have all

risks. They also tend to speak less to boys, thus mak-

had front-row seats to the aggression and entitle-

ing them less comfortable with communication. As

ment that “real men” are taught from a young age.

a result, we impose gender ideals on children from a

We’re seeing manliness in all its cartoonish excess—

very young age, often without realizing it.

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

Still, even with this socialization and whatever

“We have to educate boys and girls about how to

biological factors are at play, very few of us are exclu-

treat others at shockingly early ages,” Morier said.

sively from the binary worlds of “Venus” or “Mars,”

This can begin with teaching them how we all have

as that popular ’90s self-help book put it. One 2015

the right to say “yes” or “no” about what happens

study, an analysis of four large data sets of brain

with our bodies, and why we need to respect the

scans, found that most human brains aren’t neatly

same in others. Such lessons can be shared through

“male” or “female” as previous research described.

everyday encounters. In fact, some teachers at the

Instead, it’s more common for individual brains to

Children’s School give their students a choice of

have a “mosaic” of features that include traits typi-

what kind of greeting or farewell they’d like to use,

cally associated with both men and women.

from a handshake to a high five to a hug.

Parents can help make sure their boys don’t get

Tracy Clark-Flory ’06, a staff writer for the feminist

stuck in the “man box,” or buying into the stoicism

website Jezebel, said she weaves lessons on consent

and aggression often associated with masculinity,

into everyday encounters with her two-year-old son.

by nurturing all of their sons’ sides from early on. In

“It’s the little things. Instead of instructing my

fact, such nurturing can even shape them on a cel-

son to hug friends or relatives goodbye, I try to ask

lular level, thanks to what scientists call “neural plasticity.”

One way to do this is to focus, from the very beginning, on boundaries and respect. Whereas girls are often socialized to be deferential, boys are socialized to be aggressive. We need to be teaching boys a bit more on when—and how—to stand back, and to understand the value in it.

Parents can help make sure their boys don’t get stuck in the stoicism and aggression often associated with masculinity by nurturing all of their sons’ sides from early on.

SUMMER 2020

17

whether he wants to wave, blow a kiss, or give a hug.

and expressing preferences around physical inter-

If I go in for a hug and he resists or pushes away, I

actions, and more accepting of homosexuality than

think it’s important to be responsive and respectful

those who weren’t.

instead of begging for one,” she said. “There’s no,

However, teaching consent on its own isn’t

‘Oh, please, can’t mommy have just one little hug?’

enough. Raising good boys also involves teaching

which I’ve observed as a pretty standard parental

them to challenge outdated and often stymying

behavior that, although not at all ill-intentioned,

notions of masculinity, and learn to feel empathy

doesn’t communicate values around consent.”

for others. The stronger a man adheres to strict

Clark-Flory adds: “Similarly, when I’m tickling my son, if he says, ‘Stop,’ I stop and say something acknowledging him, like ‘No more tickling, because you said stop.’”

ally harass or assault a woman.

Parents should introduce their sons to a wide variety of toys and clothes that represent all gen-

As the children get older, and sexuality enters the

der stereotypes, and encourage cross-gender friend-

mix, it’s important to be explicit about the impor-

ships that help open up children’s ideas about

tance of respecting people’s choices in romantic

identity and self-expression. But—and this is impor-

relationships. This used to be referred to as “the

tant—don’t force it, said Priya Shimpi Driscoll, a pro-

talk,” but it really can’t all be done in one evening.

fessor of early childhood education at Mills College.

“You have to begin before they get to puberty and then continue with it,” Morier said.

Research from the Netherlands, where it’s com-

18

norms of masculinity, the more likely he is to sexu-

“We need to really listen to our children, to focus on who they are, and offer them opportunities to support them,” she said.

mon for kids to receive education about consent

Driscoll explained that in order for parents to

and sexuality at a much younger age than their

teach their children empathy, they must model

American counterparts, suggests that learning

empathy themselves. If your son or daughter

early and often about these matters works. Dutch

expresses toy or clothing preferences that don’t

tweens who were exposed to school-based sex ed

match your ideas of what they should enjoy, don’t

from an early age were more knowledgeable about

challenge them. This is the case whether your son

their bodies, more confident in setting boundaries

prefers something typically designed for boys like

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

Nerf guns, or typically for girls like tea sets. Instead,

him that the world might see him differently than

encourage them to explore themselves in a non-

he sees himself.

“My son has always been the big, Black kid.

judgmental atmosphere.

Driscoll said that her own son has moved between

Today, he is 6’4”, 220 pounds. Over the years there

preferring toys typically marketed toward girls, like

were tons of incidents where he was singled out,”

baby dolls, to those typically marketed toward boys,

she said. “For one, he was the Black guy, and two, he

like swords and shields, and it has taught her to

was the big guy.”

treat all his interests with curiosity and respect.

For example, when a relatively small white boy

“It is important for us adults to not see the world

kicks a ball hard on the field and it hits someone,

through adult eyes. Try to see the world through

people don’t tend to assume malintent. Black boys,

their eyes. Ask them lots of questions, and give

on the other hand, aren’t afforded the benefit of the

them lots of choices,” she said. “Our kids are always

doubt no matter their size.

changing. I don’t want parents to think that because

“Every situation that we found to be possibly

their child plays with gender typical toys, that tells

racially motivated, we had to walk him through,”

them who they are going to be in terms of how they

Granberry said.

She also believed that it was important to balance

will treat others.”

More importantly than fixating on what children

these conversations about racism with giving her

play with, teach them the power of caregiving and empathy. Driscoll said this can happen with a doll, stuffed animal, pet, or even simply helping out around the

Once a boy learns to deny his vulnerability, he lacks the ability to acknowledge—let alone work through—his weaknesses or needs.

house.

The key is to help them see that people are interdependent, and the myth of the solitary, tough guy is exactly that:

son reasons to cultivate and respect his sensitive

a myth. We rely on others, and others rely on us,

side and Black culture. As a family, they did this by

and through relationships we develop empathy for

taking pride in African American literature and art,

the other.

and keeping tight family bonds.

Another way to develop empathy for others is to

As a result, she believes family dinners, regular

discuss popular culture—including television shows

routines, and being raised around lots of strong

and video games—and the news with them, and

women helped him feel comfortable expressing

help them identify incidents of racism, sexism, or

himself—especially around the opposite sex.

other forms of intolerance.

“He has always been pretty mature and vocal

“If I see something with my son, we will stop and

with me,” she said. “We have that kind of relation-

talk about why this is not OK,” Driscoll said. “It’s

ship where he is open, and if I ask him questions, he

important to normalize these conversations, and

will tell me more than I wanted to know.”

make them conscious of other perspectives.”

Possibly the worst part of the “man box” is how

Equally important is helping boys understand the

easy it is to get trapped in it. Once a boy learns

prejudices they might face. The “boys will be boys”

to deny his vulnerability, he lacks the ability to

attitude, which assumes they can’t sit still and are

acknowledge—let alone work through—his weak-

prone to violence, is still ubiquitous. It hurts all

nesses or needs. How can he challenge gendered

boys, though especially boys of color. When boys

expectations when he is not even comfortable say-

learn to detect and unpack these biases, they gain

ing that something feels wrong?

insight into how the world sees them, and the ways in which they might be harmed by it.

Of all the things we can do to help boys right now, the most important one might just be to simply

Myila Granberry ’05, special education teacher

communicate with them. Listen to their thoughts

and co-chair of the AAMC’s Alumnae of Color

and feelings, treat them with empathy, and—over

Committee, said that while raising her now 23-year-

time—help them do the same for others. The safe

old son, she and his father had to make it clear to

space begins at home. ● SUMMER 2020

19

A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS

Use our custom map to locate alumnae-owned businesses in the Bay Area that could use a post-pandemic boost.

When we were first envisioning the summer 2020 issue of the Quarterly, we wanted to highlight alumnaeowned brick-and-mortar shops near the Mills campus before Reunion rolled around in October—so those coming to town could stop by and support their fellow Millsies. Since then, the six counties of the Bay Area were placed under shelter-in-place orders, effectively shutting down or majorly altering the operations of most businesses, while the ongoing pandemic has canceled this year’s Reunion entirely.

So, while the main point of the article has disappeared into thin air like so many things have this year, we decided to push ahead. All of the businesses listed on these pages need help to recover from unexpected setbacks due to the coronavirus. Whether that’s through purchasing gift cards, ordering takeout, or coming by for a socially distanced visit (depending on the shelter-in-place orders in place by the time you receive this), please read on to find out what you can do.

Note: The shops, restaurants, and studios listed here all came from our most recent records, and we know that we likely missed a few. Add yours (whether you’re in the Bay Area or beyond) to our new online alumnae business directory; visit alumnae.mills.edu to learn more. –Allison Rost, Managing Editor

1. HOLLY FURGASON ’06

3. PAULA TEJADA ’08

Miss the community feeling of the gym, in addition to the workouts? Blue Sparrow Pilates teaches live group classes online for general conditioning, as well as live private sessions.

Founder Holly Furgason ’06 also offers Pilates education workshops through Udemy, for those interested in becoming instructors themselves, and the company’s app Fit Pregnancy outlines safe, effective Pilates for pregnant people.

Chile Lindo Empanadas was always intended as a walkup window only, so its basic functionality has remained intact during the shelter-in-place order.

Founded by Paula Tejada ‘08, Chile Lindo is located in the Mission District, and its South American delicacies are available for takeout Monday through Saturday and for delivery on DoorDash.

Orders of more than 12 empanadas or cocktail empanadas can be placed online at chilelindo.com.

2. AMANDA MICHAEL ’92

4. ELISABETH KOHNKE ’02

Blue Sparrow Pilates 1740 Buchanan St., San Francisco, CA 94133 bluesparrowpilates.com

Jane the Bakery 1881 Geary Blvd., San Francisco, CA 94115 Jane on Larkin 925 Larkin St., San Francisco, CA 94115 itsjane.com

Amanda Michael ’92 owns the three Jane restaurants in San Francisco. While the location on Fillmore is closed for the length of the shelter-inplace order, her two other spots, Jane the Bakery and Jane on Larkin, are still open with the following restrictions: Jane the Bakery, on Geary, offers baked goods, healthy salads, and other comforting meals available for takeout only on Caviar, with free delivery. Jane on Larkin features a more expanded menu of breakfast and lunch favorites from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco.

20

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

Chile Lindo Empanadas 2944 16th St., San Francisco, CA 94103 chilelindo.com

Outer Orbit 3215 Mission St., San Francisco, CA 94110 outerorbitsf.com Outer Orbit, the historic restaurant-meets-pinball center Elizabeth Kohnke ’02 started with partner Christian Gainsley in 2018, temporarily closed during the shelter-in-place order, but the online shop featuring everything from T-shirts to hot sauce is still up and running. Additionally, patrons can support staff members by sending tips, and gift cards are available for purchase. To support them, visit outerorbitsf.com/shop.

5. MALENA LOPEZ-MAGGI ’13

The Xocolate Bar 1709 Solano Ave., Berkeley, CA 94707 thexocolatebar.com The Xocolate Bar, owned by Malena Lopex-Maggi ’13, is open Tuesday to Sunday from 12:00 pm until 5:00 pm for curbside pickups. Customers can also order chocolate online, with free shipping on orders over $49. In the case of items being out of stock, they will be substituted with similar items of equal or greater value. “I can’t think of a better gift for brightening the spirits of someone sheltering in place, or for thanking someone who works on the front line,” Malena writes on her website.

6. JULIA PRENTISS DIEZ ’63

Pot-Pourri 2108 Vine St., Berkeley, CA 94709 pot-pourri.com Pot-Pourri has been around since the mid-1960s, after Julia Prentiss Diez ’63 and husband Andy took a pottery class together, and were inspired to open a shop centered on ceramics. Since then, their inventory has expanded to include a variety of glass art, jewelry, all kinds of decor, and gifts for any occasion. Though both locations are currently closed, gift cards can be purchased at pot-pourri. com, and customers are able to book appointments to shop at the Burlingame store in-person or via Zoom.

7. DORIS MOSCOWITZ ’90

Moe’s Books 2476 Telegraph Ave., Berkeley, CA 94704 Moesbooks.com

10. JANA ROGERS PASTENA ’07 Chop Bar 190 4th Street, Oakland oaklandchopbar.com Calavera 2337 Broadway, Oakland calaveraoaklandcom

12. KRISTINE VEJAR ’01

A Verb for Keeping Warm 6328 San Pablo Ave., Oakland, CA 94608 averbforkeepingwarm.com The yarn and fabric store co-owned by Kristine Vejar ’01 is still selling gift certificates and its wares online, including the shop’s signature dyed yarns as well as fabric and notions for those looking to keep their hands busy during quarantine. One of A Verb for Keeping Warm’s newest additions, a kit of naturally dyed fabrics to turn into face masks, sold out in a matter of days.

13. JENNIFER LYNCH ’94

Potliquor 2701 Eighth St., #105, Berkeley, CA 94710 potliquorsf.com As a catering business, Potliquor has been hit hard by the pandemic, but owner Jennifer Lynch ‘94 remains hopeful and creative. Potliquor is providing a pickup location for produce boxes through F.E.E.D. Sonoma (short for Farmers Exchange of Earthly Delights), largely to provide affordable food to staff members. But the business can be supported financially through those who sign up for their own produce boxes, which can be picked up at Potliquor’s address in Berkeley. Additionally, Lynch suggests restaurantworkerscf.org as a good place to donate.

Tribune Tavern 401 13th Street, Oakland tribunetavernoakland.com A lawyer by education, Jana Rogers Pastena ’07 is now the co-owner (with her husband Chris) of three restaurants: Chop Bar in Jack London Square; the Oaxacan spot Calavera in uptown Oakland; and a renovated spot, Tribune Tavern, nearby in the old Oakland Tribune Tower. All three are closed for the duration of the shelter-in-place order, but gift cards are available for purchase on each establishment’s website—the main goal of which is to continue health insurance coverage for the staff during the closures. “We can’t wait to reopen!” Jana says.

11. YOSHIE AKIBA, MA ’76

Yoshi’s Restaurant and Jazz Nightclub 510 Embarcadero West, Oakland yoshis.com Even one of the most famous nightclubs in the Bay Area is not immune to the coronavirus; the restaurant is closed and all events have been cancelled or postponed. To learn about new future event dates and to purchase gift cards and branded apparel, visit yoshis.com.

Though website and curbside sales are available and booming, Moe’s Books in Berkeley (owned by Doris Moscowitz ’90, whose father founded the business) can also be supported through its GoFundMe at tinyurl.com/moes-books. The fundraiser has two important goals: to employ a cohort of 21 people, and to buy vast quantities of books from individuals, libraries, and art museums.

8. SARAH RYAN ’07

Star Meats 3068 Claremont Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705 star-meats.com Star Meats in Berkeley, co-owned by Chez Panisse alumna Sarah Ryan ’07, is offering curbside pickup, which can be arranged over the phone.

Though the sandwich counter is not currently operational, Star Meats employees (including Robin Mitchell ’23) are wearing their gloves as usual. They will be open as long as there is meat to sell, though on a reduced schedule—Monday to Saturday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.

9. ANN DYER CERVANTES ’80

Mountain Yoga + Wellness 6116 La Salle Ave., Oakland, CA 94611 m-yoga.org Online classes have been quite popular at Mountain Yoga + Wellness since the shelter-inplace order took hold, though trying new things is part of the M.O. of studio director Anne Dyer Cervantes ’80. Since taking over in 2010, she’s introduced classes such as sound yoga, incorporating her own background as a former professional jazz singer. (Sound yoga and meditation are two of the virtual offerings.)

SUMMER 2020

21

AAMC NEWS & NOTES A Message from the AAMC President Spring at Mills had a very different look

“you can’t make me laugh” with some

and feel as we had to cancel so many of

hilarious fourth graders. There were

the events we host celebrating graduat-

dogs dancing, baby sisters, invisible

ing students in light of the current global

buckets of water, and many goofy faces

health crisis of the novel coronavirus.

and dumb jokes. She lost every single

Despite the disappointment of cancel-

round because she couldn’t stop gig-

ing events I look forward to every year, I

gling at their joyful faces! One of her

have been touched by acts of kindness

beloved students brought Rennie a

by family, friends, and strangers I have

mask she had sewed for her, a gesture

witnessed all around me. I have also

that filled Rennie’s heart. She plans

heard many stories of how our alumnae

to wear it to protect the known and

have been helping and serving during

unknown faces of those whose laugh-

this time of crises, and I thought it would

ter she longs to hear in person, but it

be nice to share some of them with you

cannot hide her smile.

all here.

Lynette Williams Williamson ’72,

Beth Terhune ’90 is a palliative care

Julia Almanzan ’92, and other alum-

nurse practitioner at Hebrew Senior Life

nae have made and donated masks for

in Boston, Massachusetts, and these days

our students, staff, and essential work-

that means being hands-on with COVID-

ers at Mills. I hope you are as encour-

19 patients in a high-stakes environment

aged as I am by the acts of kindness

with ever-shifting protocols. Beth must

and empathy by our alumnae.

be at the top of her game without ceas-

AAMC news isn’t all about the

ing, grappling with her own mortality

pandemic, though! This summer we

while trying to be a source of comfort

welcome a handful of new governors

to others around her also shouldering

(profiled on the facing page). With

the care. She does not know whether

gratitude, we say goodbye to our

she will have access to the protective

outgoing AAMC governors and vice

gear she needs moment to moment

presidents, Marina Simenstad ’68 and

and struggles to maintain connections

Lynette Castille-Hall ’75, who have

between patients and their frantic loved

served two full terms with dedication,

ones while buried under the anonymity

commitment, and creativity. We have

of layered masks. Beth hopes that the

been richer for their presence and

inequities in care and access to care that

participation. They will all be greatly

the pandemic spotlights so clearly will

missed.

change because of all of this, and that

I look forward to the time we can

communal memory will continue to pro-

safely return to Mills to enjoy the

vide momentum for that change and for

beautiful campus and the Mills com-

continued resilience.

munity.

Rennie Joynt Walker ’92 is an elemen-

Wishing you a summer of rest and

tary school teacher in Washington who,

recreation and moments of joy with

like many others, is juggling teaching,

loved ones.

mastering online technology, and shel-

Warmly,

tering in place with her own family.

Viji Nakka-Cammauf, MA ’82

When her school announced it wouldn’t

President, Alumnae Association

resume in-person classes for the rest of

of Mills College

Viji Nakka-Cammauf

Rennie Joynt Walker

the year, Rennie was on Zoom playing

22

Beth Terhune M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

AAMC board gains six new members serves as a mentor for the James Jordan Foundation and volunteers with service projects of the Metropolitan Board of Urban League Young Professionals.

• Christina Hannan ’91 (Seattle/Pacific Northwest)

oversees

the

accounting

team, financial systems, and fiscal controls for a $15-million budget as controlAri Wolf

Pam Roper

ler for Sound Generations, a company

Christina Hannan

providing support services to seniors in King County, Washington. As a member of Seattle’s Anti-Racism Coalition, she works to remove structural barriers based on race, gender, etcetera in non-profit organizations. She has been involved with the Puget Sound Mills Club.

• Ferhiz Dinshaw ’92 (London/Europe) is an IT professional with expertise in the implementation of technical systems. In

Ferhiz Dinshaw

Ellen Hines

Catherine Ladnier

addition to being a mother of two, she has been active with the London Mills Club

The following alumnae will serve three-

with the Mills College Club of New York,

and has volunteered with the Kingston

year terms on the AAMC Board of

Catherine also serves on the President’s

Association for the Blind and local schools.

Governors starting July 1. All six were

Leadership Council, National Wildlife

In her free time, Ferhiz enjoys writing

approved by the BOG at its May meet-

Federation Board, and is an associ-

short stories, choir singing, mentoring

ing. Three are regional members, a posi-

ate member of Greenwich Democrats,

students and alums from Kings College

tion that has been re-introduced to the

among other charitable works.

and Mills, and offering IT support to small

board to build relationships with alumnae domestically and internationally.

• Ari Wolf, MFA ’19,

works

as

an

Americorps member doing outreach,

• Ellen Hines ’74, associate director of

recruitment, and curriculum building

the Estuary & Ocean Science Center, is

for Changeist while freelancing as a

a geography professor at San Francisco

marketing consultant based in Berkeley.

State University. She has been involved

Ari’s creative writing was nominated for

with many nonprofits, including the

two national awards in 2018. She cur-

Society

Biology,

rently serves on the Modern Language

Oikonos, and the Society for Marine

Association’s Committee on the Status

Mammalogy. Currently, she is chair of

of Graduate Students in the Humanities

the Equity, Inclusivity, and Diversity

and is a member of the communications

Committee for the Board of Governors

team of Standing Up for Racial Justice.

for the Society of Conservation Biology.

• Pam Roper ’92 (Los Angeles) has been

• Catherine Ladnier ’70 is returning to

a general pediatrician for 18 years. As a

the Board of Governors, having previ-

clinical site lead, she supervises other

ously served from 2014-2017. Through

physicians and is responsible for imple-

her

menting

for

Conservation

company,

Catherine

Ladnier

business owning-moms in her area.

Developmental

and

ACES

Compliance, she provides expert wit-

(Adverse Childhood Events) screenings

ness to counsel in arbitration and con-

and the development of a community

ducts supervisory inspections. Active

resource guides for providers. Pam also

Gifts for grads This year’s Commencement ceremony was postponed, but you can still honor 2020 graduates— and note their transition from student to alum— with a eucalyptus leaf pin. Hand-picked on campus and preserved in 18-karat gold ($45) or sterling silver ($40), these pins remind Mills graduates of their time on the lovely campus of our alma mater.

See more gift options and purchasing information at alumnae.mills.edu/aamcMerch Eucalyptus leaf pins, hand-picked on campus, preserved in 18-karat gold ($45) or sterling silver ($40)

SUMMER 2020

23

Class Notes do not appear in the online edition of Mills Quarterly.

Alumnae are invited to share their news with classmates in the Mills College alumnae community.

To submit notes for publication in the next available Quarterly, send your update to classnotes@mills. edu.

Class Notes do not appear in the online edition of the Mills Quarterly.

Alumnae are invited to share their news with classmates in the Mills College Alumnae Community, alumnae.mills.edu. To submit notes for publication in the next available Quarterly, send your update to classnotes@mills.edu.

We Will Persevere Mills was built on the vision of its founders and the generosity of its supporters. During these times of change and uncertainty, we want to pause and thank all of our supporters, including our wonderful legacy donors, for your generous support. Thanks to you, the Mills mission will continue.

To discuss your Mills legacy, and how you can share that legacy for coming generations of Mills students, contact Mark Jones at 510.430.2343 or markjones@mills.edu.

Sixteen Days At 1:52 in the afternoon, May 3, 1990, several key Mills College people step out of a plywoodwindowed room in old Mills Hall and into the bright sun of Toyon Meadow. The bells of the Campanile have been ringing, calling the campus community to hear a long-awaited announcement. Some 400 staff, alumnae, faculty, and students wait.

Chairman of the Board of Trustees Warren Hellman, flanked by President Mary Metz and Alumnae Trustee Sue Tucker Farrar ’68, and backed by a somber row of College Officers, speaks. “The Board of

Trustees has voted to admit men to its...” His further remarks are drowned in a massive noise of rage and grief as students cry, shout, scream, boo, and jeer.

Hellman continues to try to explain to the gathering the reasoning behind the Board’s decision to admit men as undergraduates, but his words are unheard. A trustee standing in the audience at the time recalls later, “The pictures in the media showed grief and tears, but what you felt there at that time wasn’t grief. It was rage. I was afraid, at that moment, for the safety of

everyone.” A faculty member recalls, “I was standing there feeling pretty good. I thought there was a chance [the Board would continue a women’s college]. Then Warren spoke and everything went crazy.” After the Chairman of the Board finishes, Mary Metz, then Dean of Students Patricia Polhemus, try to address the students. They cannot be heard. In the audience are outgoing ASMC President Robyn Fisher and incoming ASMC President Melissa Stevenson-Dile.

In an instant they have formed a partnership of leadership which is

to continue throughout the next two weeks. Robyn takes the microphone. She says, “You have been betrayed.” The student response has begun.

It’s been 30 years since the historic events of the Strike of 1990. To mark the occasion, we’ve digitized nearly 20 pages of coverage from the July 1990 issue of the Quarterly, including the extensive retelling of those 16 days that starts above.

Continue reading stories from our archive on our website, quarterly.mills.edu.

“It was like having a beloved family member in the hospital,” said one woman.

A cartoon by Kristen Baumgardner Caven ’88 that accompanied strike coverage in the July 1990 issue of Mills Quarterly.

28

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

In Memoriam Notices of deaths received before April 10, 2020 To submit listings, please contact alumnae-relations@mills.edu or 510.430.2123

Alumnae Mary Paulson Kuehn ’39, June 19, 2017, in Rio Verde, Arizona. A longtime Minnesota resident, Mary and her late husband, Jack, also spent much of their time over the last 30 years in the second home they built in Arizona. She loved playing tennis, pickleball, golf, and bridge, and she was an active volunteer in her church and at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. She is survived by three sons and seven grandchildren.

Annette Williams Brown ’40, April 20, 2016, in Allison Park, Pennsylvania. Annette was a U.S. Army nurse in the Philippines during WWII. On the boat home, she met her husband, the late Andrew John Brown, Jr. She and Andrew enjoyed golfing, skiing, horseback riding, traveling the world, and attending the symphony and theatre. For over 40 years, Annette led a program which recorded audio books for the blind. She is survived by three sons and six grandchildren.

Elizabeth “Pan” Coffin van Loben Sels ’41, February 9, in Courtland, California. Just two months after celebrating her 101st birthday, Pan passed away in the home that she and her husband built on a farm.

After Mills, she graduated from Stanford University. She met her late husband, Carel, on a Sierra Club trip, and the two moved to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to farm and raise their five children, where they enjoyed many outdoor activities. She is survived by four children and 16 grandchildren.

California with a master’s degree in occupational therapy and completed her clinical training at Columbia University Medical Center. Later in her career, she headed the OT department at Sonoma State Hospital, where she also started the student program. She is survived by four children, including daughter Lorna Romano ’71, and six grandchildren.

Caroline Peters Rockwood ’43, February 20, in Lancaster, Ohio. Carol was just four months shy of her 100th birthday. She married her late husband Ralph Kanouse Rockwood, Jr., in 1943, and they lived just outside Lancaster on a family farm. A lifetime participant in many organizations, she initiated three in particular: the volunteer nurses’ aide program at the Lancaster Hospital during World War II, the Fairfield Heritage Association, and the Decorative Arts Center of Ohio. She is survived by four children, including daughter Dorothy Rockwood Mitchell ’67, and nine grandchildren.

Alice Huntington Allen ’45, June 28, 2019, in Amherst, Massachusetts.

After Mills, she attended Smith College, and during those years met her husband on a blind date. They married in 1948 and lived in Maine and Istanbul, Turkey, before moving to Amherst. With the experience of providing care for her developmentally disabled sister, Alice established an integrated nursery school for children with disabilities, and later founded the Parents Center in Northampton. She is survived by three children, seven grandchildren, and four step-grandchildren.

Phyllis Moritz Guard ’45, August 20, 2018, in Honolulu. Her sister-inlaw, the late Barbara Montague Sheehan ’39, also attended Mills.

Phyllis is survived by four children.

Betty Jane Soules ’45, July 10, 2017, in Berkeley. At Mills, she earned her teaching credential, and later worked as an occupational therapist at UCSF.

Ethel Robinett Romano ’42, January 25, in Medford, Oregon. At Mills, she majored in music and minored in drama, and at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 1940, she played the leads in three productions. Ethel graduated in 1947 from the University of Southern

Dorothy Berrigan Davis ’46, April 30, 2019, in Snohomish, Washington.

Gifts in Memory of

Steven Givant by Ferhiz Dinshaw ’92, Daniella Smith ’14, Kirsten Sumpter Pearce ’01

Received December 1, 2019 – February 29, 2020 Annis Aiyar by Suzanne Alexander Nancy Avakian-Thompson ’72 by Christine Finch Clancy ’71, MA ’72; Beverly Curwen ’71

Shirley Bertolotti Buschke ’46, October 17, 2019, in Newark, California.

She had lived in Newark for 94 years and raised a family there with her husband, Howard “Doc.” Shirley taught thousands of Newark High

Flora Burkhard Gladwin ’40 by her granddaughter, Juniper Bacon ’93 Denyse Gross ’72 by her spouse, Kenneth Morrison Roy Hansen by Gretchen FitzGerald Chesley ’68 Rebecca “Beccy” Davidson Karlson ’69 by her spouse, Douglas Karlson

Patricia Beall ’70 by Lisa Macchia ’71

Ann Stern Kloman ’56 by her spouse, Henry “Felix” Kloman

Marilyn Frye Bettendorf, P ’75 by Marilyn “Lyn” Barrett ’75

Claudia Sklueff Lamp ’51, P ’78 by Anonymous

Cynthia Brown ’76 by Mary Brunner Blessing ’76

Susan Lamp, MA ’78 by Anonymous

Barbara McCall Bryant ’50 by Laurel Burden ’68, Susan “Susy” Stern Fineman ’68

Charles Larsen by Darlene Holbrook ’64

Sara “Sally” Matthews Buchanan ’64 by Mura Kievman ’64 Juliet Burkett, P ’65 by her daughter, Juliet Burkett Hooker ’65 Willa Wolcott Condon, MA ’32, P ’69 by her daughter, Ann Condon Barbour ’69, P ’13 Findley “Fin” Randolph Cotton, MA ’58 by Roberta Fox Alfred Frankenstein by Laura “Lolly” McKeon Scholtz ’62 Patricia Ducommun Frey ’56 by Ruth Lima ’56

32

M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

Diane McEntyre by Elizabeth “Liz” Kelley Quigg, MA ’89 Robbyn Panitch ’79 by Betsey Shack Goodwin ’76 Anna Perry ’30 by her daughter, Anna “Christina” Kardon Edith Lieberman Plotinsky ’59, MFA ’71 by Barbara Christy Wagner ’59 Elizabeth Pope by Reena Singh ’73, MA ’74 Marion Ross ’44 by Martha Sellers ’86 Florence Fox Rubenstein ’38, P ’64 by her daughter-in-law, Lisa Rubenstein, P ’06

School students during her time as a science teacher and chair of the department. She was one of the original board members of Washington Township Hospital Development Corp., serving for 33 years.

Additionally, she was involved in PTA, was a scout den mother, and spent her time gardening, cooking, and making jewelry.

Nancy Campbell Schell ’46, February 16, in San Jose. Nancy met her future husband, Harold Schell, when she was 8 years old and Harold 11.

After World War II, she and Harold both completed their degrees at Stanford, where she majored in economics. After Harold joined his father’s medical practice in San Jose, Nancy managed the business finances. She was ordained in 1987 and served 10 years at Los Altos Union Presbyterian Church. Nancy resigned from active ministry in September 2019 at the age of 94. She is survived by four children; 11 grandchildren; sister Elizabeth Campbell Robinson ’46; and nieces Carol Robinson Middleton ’72 and Martha Robinson Wood ’74.

Mary Craig Findeisen ’46, October 5, 2018, in Kaneohe, Hawaii. She is survived by three children.

Norma Davies Huff, MA ’46, March 23, in Atlanta, Georgia. Norma spent her youth living in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University and an MA in dance from Mills. She and her late husband, Winston, raised their family in Atlanta, where she was involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Norma was involved in many dance groups and schools, eventually focusing on international folk dance. She taught dance at Spelman College and Emory University. She is survived by four children and seven grandchildren.

Carol Lotz Wenzel ’46, MA ’47, December 16, 2018, in San Carlos, California. Carol earned both of her Mills degrees in biology and worked as a scientist her entire career. She is survived by her husband, William, and two children.

Helon Moore Oder ’46, March 4, 2019, in Coronado, California, where she was a longtime resident. She earned a scholarship to attend Mills

and was referred to as “hell-on-wheels,” prompting her to change her name from Helen to Helon. She met her late husband, Bob, at a ball for young Naval officer candidates hosted by the College. They had three children, and Helon taught elementary school for 36 years. She and Bob enjoyed sailing and cruising, and traveling the world. She is survived by her children and two grandchildren.

Margaret Selby Stark ’46, March 5, 2019, in Webster City, Iowa. Margaret married the late C. Richard (Dick) Stark on March 29, in 1948 in Glendale, California, and they raised their four children on their family farm in Iowa. She is survived by four children and 16 grandchildren.

Virginia Cabot Wood ’47, January 3, in Needham, Massachusetts. A proud Boston native and activist, Virginia was nicknamed Chris Mouse due to the timing of her birth. After Mills, she raised her family while returning to school to earn a master’s degree in special education, eventually co-founding a company to help develop methods for teaching students with learning disabilities. In retirement, she found joy in writing and continuing to pursue her education. She is survived by four children and five grandchildren.

Barbara Chudley Williams ’48, February 6, in Manhattan Beach, California. A 57-year resident of Manhattan Beach, Barbara became a social worker after graduating from Mills and later went on to work for the Manhattan Beach Gas Company and City Hall. She enjoyed sailing to Santa Catalina Island and Mexico, traveling, camping, golf, tennis, and soaking up the sunshine in her front yard. She is survived by a son and three grandchildren.

Jean Wright Charlesworth ’50, February 20, in Pleasant Hill, California.

After graduating with a degree in chemistry from Mills, she took a job as a chemist at Dow Chemical. In 1952, she married her late husband, Bob, and they raised four children in Walnut Creek. Jean was a champion golfer, with four holes-in-one on record, and she was passionate about politics, bird-watching, and the Golden State Warriors. She is survived by four children and nine grandchildren.

Marilyn Marston Seifert ’51, January 20, in Sonoma, California. She is survived by four children.

Sarah “Sally” Siverling Sanders ’50 by Laurel Burden ’68, Susan “Susy” Stern Fineman ’68 Eleanor Marshall Schaefer ’29 by Nicole Bartow Marilyn Marston Seifert ’51 by Joanna Shelton vonBehringer ’50, MSK ’51 Dorothy Lamar Skelley ’48 by her cousin, Susan Farr Armstrong ’62 Rodney Skjonsby, P ’11 by his daughter, Kristen Skjonsby ’11 Wayne and Doris Stutzman, P ’74 by their daughter, Sandra Stutzman ’74 Ariel Eaton Thomas ’63, P ’92 by Penelope “Penny” Tonkin Garris ’63, Anita Aragon Kreplin ’63 Nancy Thornborrow, P ’93 by Yvette Andrews ’84, Brisen Vannice Brady ’93 Reynold Wik by Darlene Holbrook ’64 Betty Chu Wo ’46 and husband Robert Wo by Ronald Goo, P ’82 Bradley Wyatt by Lisa Macchia ’71 Dorothy and Millard York, P ’71 by their daughter, Nancy York ’71 P=parent. For information about making a tribute gift, contact 510.430.2097 or donors@mills.edu.

Nancy Day March ’52, March 17, in Ukiah, California. Nancy attended Mills before a chance meeting with her late husband, John, in Potter Valley, where they later settled for 63 years and raised two sons. John was a farmer, and Nancy spent 26 years working for the Bank of America. She was a highly involved member of the community, including as an integral force in getting Potter Valley Unified School District back up and running. She is survived by a son and a grandson.

Lillian “Lanny” Marson Tomich ’52, January 20, in Orangevale, California. Lanny was raised by Italian immigrant parents and remembered standing on boxes to be able to reach the sink to wash dishes at her family’s “Venice” Italian-American restaurant in Detroit.

Throughout her life, she treasured memories and friendships created during her time as a biology major at Mills. She met her late husband Tom on a blind date at Picnic Day at UC Davis. Together, they joined in the Tomich family’s Orangevale farming tradition. She is survived by four children and four grandchildren, who knew her as “Nonnie.”

Patricia Heskins Gumbiner ’52, March 6, in Calabasas, California. Born in San Francisco, Pat settled in Southern California after Mills, where she was involved with Hadassah of Southern California, AntiDefamation League of Los Angeles, Temple Israel of Hollywood, and Brentwood Country Club. She enjoyed playing cards and golf, attending UCLA sporting events, and spending time with her family. She is survived by three children and four grandchildren.

SUMMER 2020

33

Patricia “Ann” Hunt Lindeen ’54, March 21, in Simi Valley, California.

While at Mills, where Ann graduated with a degree in home economics, she met her husband, Gordon, who was studying at Stanford Law School. Before moving to Simi Valley and living as a homemaker, Ann worked for the Stanford Research Institute, weaving core memory for early mainframe computers. She later became dedicated to volunteer service, and enjoyed sewing, quilting, and cross-stitching. She is survived by Gordon; their four children, including daughter Janeen Lindeen McBride ’79; and three grandchildren.

Elizabeth “Betty” Tapley Hoyt ’54, February 21, in North Conway, New Hampshire. After Mills, Betty graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1953. She met her late husband of 61 years, Charles, on Governors Island in Gilford, New Hampshire. She and Charles built a ski camp, and Betty founded Hoyt Gloves, a company that manufactured gardening gloves and sold them worldwide. She was an avid fundraiser, golfer, traveler, and reader, and she organized numerous garden club flower shows. She is survived by three children and six grandchildren.

Mary “Suzie” Johnson Foraker ’55, February 16, in Chico, California.

After attending Mills and Katherine Gibbs College in New York City, Suzie worked for the Bechtel Corporation in San Francisco. She and her late husband, Andy, raised three sons. Mary was an avid cook and entertainer with passions for art, Mexico, classical music and opera, and her beloved dachshunds. She is survived by her three sons and seven grandchildren.

Irene Jones Thurston ’57, December 21, 2019, in San Rafael, California.

Irene loved music, books, hiking, cats, and family. She also valued education and received a scholarship to Mills, later completing her bachelor’s degree in music from San Jose State University, and earned an MBA from UCLA. She worked as a systems analyst and database administrator for Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque for 25 years. Additionally, she was an accomplished organist and sang in many civic choirs. She is survived by five children and 12 grandchildren.

Nancy Gustavson Hendrickson ’60, March 2, in Los Altos, California.

After receiving a BS in home economics from Framingham State University in 1959, she completed an internship in dietetics at Mills.

She met her late husband, Yngve, in Berkeley, and the two spent 53 years together and raised two daughters. Nancy worked for more than 20 years in special education and reading intervention in the West Contra Costa County Unified School District, and she was passionate about women’s education. She is survived by her daughters and four grandchildren.

Dorothy Pinneo ’62, December 2, 2019, in Orangevale, California.

Donaldina “Donnie” Cameron Klingen ’63, March 22, in Corte Madera, California. Donnie spent much of her childhood in Manila, the Philippines, and graduated from Mills with a degree in art, later earning a teaching credential at the University of California, Berkeley.

She was a much-loved art teacher at Piedmont High School for many years. She and her husband, Alan, enjoyed adventure diving and spending winters skiing near their Lake Tahoe cabin. She will be remembered for her sense of humor; her passion for art, sports, and the outdoors; and her love for her dogs.

Margo Lion ’66

Louise Ware Still ’64, December 21, 2018, in Fullerton, California.

On February 29, more than a dozen theaters on Broadway in New York City dimmed their lights in honor of Margo Lion ’66, who died on January 24 in the city where she cemented her reputation as one of theater’s biggest risk-takers.

Marion “Kathie” Wanger Dietz ’66, February 6, in Mountain View, California. Kathie was a homemaker, marrying Peter Wanger in 1965 and raising two daughters in Burlingame, then remarrying into the family of Peter Dietz in 1997. Kathie was actively involved with the Girl Scouts of America, and she was a lover of theater and traveling. She was passionate about politics and was a devoted Christian, attending churches such as Saint Joseph’s Parish, Abundant Life Christian Fellowship, and Menlo Church. She is survived by her husband, Peter, and two daughters.

Margo only spent one year at Mills, transferring to George Washington University after her Baltimore-based parents were killed in a plane crash. She majored in history and politics with initial plans to work in DC, but after the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, she left the field. It was when her then-husband went to study playwriting at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop that she rekindled her own love for the form.

Over the course of her career, she often staked her reputation on what she considered promising shows—and occasionally offered her own apartment as collateral to get a project bankrolled. Some of those included Jelly’s Last Jam, Angels in America, and Hairspray. On the latter, which won the Tony Award for Best Music, she worked directly with John Waters, who wrote the film on which the musical was based.

Margo’s classmates Mary Bauer ’66 and Abbe Ryan Hensley ’66 were in attendance as the lights of Broadway dimmed to honor their dear friend. She is also survived by a son and two grandchildren.

William Smith, MFA ’66, February 29, in Seattle. He was a worldrenowned clarinetist and composer whom jazz legend Dave Brubeck , MA ’46, once called “one of the all-time greats.” Known as Bill Smith to the jazz world and William O. Smith in classical circles, he served on the University of Washington faculty from 1966 to 1997. He was a winner of the Prix de Paris and the Prix de Rome, which led him to study and work in Europe for nearly a decade. He is survived by his wife, Paquette; four children; and three grandchildren.

Judith “Judy” Henderson Munz ’68, April 1, in Ottawa, Illinois. Judy loved animals, especially her cats, and she always wanted a pet donkey. She was always in touch with nature and appreciative of her wonderful neighbors of 25 years. Though she kept to herself most of the time, her family knew that with just a phone call, she would be there for them. She is survived by her daughter, Denali, and four brothers.

Judy Scalin Garretson, MA ’74, January 23, in Los Angeles. Judy was a former associate dean at Loyola Marymount University, where she also served as the director of dance and was a former dance professor. She was well-loved by her students and fellow faculty members. She is survived by a daughter.

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M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

Marcella Harrison ’75, January 3, in Davis, California. Marcella grew up in Richmond and graduated from UC Berkeley with a bachelor’s degree in rhetoric. She had a noteworthy 18-year career working for Caltrans.

Marcella dedicated her life to social justice causes and improving the lives of young people through volunteer involvement. Additionally, she was an avid reader, world traveler, and Zumba enthusiast. She is survived by two children and a grandson.

Katharine Wilson ’79, October 22, 2019, in Oakland. She is survived by aunt Lynette Kennedy Robinson ’44 and cousin Margaret Kennedy Greene ’68.

Susan May Bailey, MA ’97, December 23, 2019, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Susan was the principal of Bailey International, a licensed customhouse broker, and while working full time, she continued her college pursuits and obtained two master’s degrees that specialized in Renaissance art. She taught art history at Mills, San Francisco State University, the University of New Mexico, and Santa Fe Community College. A defining characteristic throughout her life was her love of animals; she was especially fond of German Shepherds. She is survived by her significant other, Rick; and three sisters.

Spouses and Family Frieda Caplan, mother of Karen Caplan ’77, January 18, in Los Alamitos, California.

A. Dowsett Barry, husband of Sharon Pinger Dowsett ’65, January 12, 2019, in Tigard, Oregon.

Grace Eto Shibata ’00 In 2014, Grace Eto Shibata ’00 released a memoir about her impressive life. Bend with the Wind: The Life, Family, and Writings of Grace Eto Shibata started with her childhood as the youngest of eight children in a farming family near San Luis Obispo. She was 16 during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and despite their best efforts, she and her entire family were eventually placed in internment camps.

After World War II, she married Yoshimi Shibata, who also came from an agricultural background; his family grew flowers in Mt. Eden, California (now part of Hayward). Grace pitched in with the business for decades, and their family grew to include three children.

It was only after the children left home and she retired that Grace returned to college, enrolling at Mills and graduating with a degree in English at the age of 74. Writing her memoir built upon short stories she composed while at Mills, and the project was completed in collaboration with Grace’s daughter, Naomi. The duo interviewed three of Grace’s sisters, visited Manzanar and other locations vital to the story, and sorted through many years of family photographs to bring justice to her story.

Grace died on February 29 in Atherton. She is survived by her three children.

Marion Euphrat, mother of Judith Euphrat Castaillac ’70 and Janice Euphrat-Hepper ’73, April 28, 2019, in Atherton, California.

Roy Hansen, husband of Cisca de Larios Hansen ’68, November 9, 2019, in South San Francisco, California.

Paul Hodge, husband of Ann Uran Hodge ’62, November 10, 2019, in Seattle.

George Kinnally, father of Assistant Adjunct Professor of Psychology Erin Kinnally, January 19, in Boston, Massachusetts.

Faculty and Staff

Margaret Lee, mother of Lynne Lee Ehlers ’65 and Stephanie Lee ’71, March 3, in Los Gatos, California.

Georgia Summers Wright, former professor of art, December 20, 2019, in Berkeley.

Richard Lee, husband of Patricia Taylor Lee ’57, February 14, in San Francisco.

Claire Underwood, former instructor in the School of Education, February 11, in Hawaii.

William Penland, husband of Cynthia Byrd Penland, MA ’50, February 11, in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Milbert Price, husband of Rachel Pratt Price ’55, December 19, 2019, in Seattle.

William Romoser, husband of Martha Chandler Romoser ’63, November 6, 2018, in Fort Valley, Virginia.

Elaine Steele, mother of Linden Steele ’03, MA ’05, and former professor of English, December 27, 2019, in Berkeley.

Bradley Wyatt, husband of Isabel Davies Wyatt ’70, August 21, 2019, in Sonoma, California.

Sammel Goodwin, former piano instructor, January 16, in Berkeley.

Friends Fritz Brevet, January 10, in Oakland.

Mildred DeScala, January 25, in Ross, California.

Charlotte Dethero, former Associate Council member, December 13, 2019, in Lafayette, California.

Bessie Francis, January 26, in Edmonds, Washington.

Alfred Heller, December 20, 2019, in San Rafael, California.

Ilene Herman, March 15, in Fairfield, California.

Douglas Karlson, January 1, in Palo Alto, California.

Donetta Reese, November 7, 2019, in Castro Valley, California.

Patricia Weeden, former Associate Council member, August 19, 2019, in Walnut Creek, California.

SUMMER 2020

35

Creative works inspired by the pandemic submitted by Mills graduates.

If you wish to contribute to the online edition, email quarterly@mills.edu.

Shelter in Place

At Mills We Walk, Unless We March

Perhaps today is the day the creatures of the earth take it back

We walked,

I miss touching you in the late afternoon, but by nightfall I am

Through the Civil War

grateful for solitude

As Young Ladies,

A day to be empty to watch time without time crawl along the wall

We walked

as sunlight

Through the centuries’ page turning

We make shadow puppets by the fire, animating the void,

19th to 20th

filling with mimicry

Then 20th to 21st,

what life once was now bound up in the home, purely, ventures out

We walked through

among the throngs

The flu pandemic

Limited

Of 1918–1920 We walked

My cup runneth over

Through the first world war

Spilling out little ways to perform aliveness and rainwater as a

And the second, too

form of contact

Korea

It’s a haphazard way of cleaning

Vietnam

I mop up the spillage with my hair while singing an ancient song

We walked and marched through

Repetition protects what is tender, makes it forget

Integration

Like a brace against the dissipating reality

Each ’60s assassination, Through civil unrest

Your stability lends itself to certain righteous indignation over

AIDS

people walking outside

Apartheid

Masks on or off, it makes no difference

The strike of 1990

The “true self” has always been a lie

9/11

A self could form around aspiration

And all the rest.

The body extends into a sphere of mist Or maybe it’s smoke from a wildfire

For one hundred and thirty one years, Mills Women have walked

Stay away to come near

Across the meadow

Find messages in the heat of the pavement

For our degrees.

Think back to licking to make clean, to soften

And now,

In a way we’ve been preparing for this

We walk . . . in place.

Our whole lives, a niggling feeling in the back

The world

Of the mind, or your throat

Still turns

Reminding you you don’t know what’s coming

But we—

Your anxiety a search for meaning in the unknown

Stand still . . .

But here is a picnic blanket laid out in the sun The abrupt transition from spring to summer temperatures Drawing us out of our hunkering Shouting “I LOVE YOU” from the sidewalk to your open window –Kate Robinson Beckwith, MFA ’13; Madison Davis, MFA ’13; Ivy Johnson, MFA ’13; Leslie Martin, MA ’13

Freeze frame, Holding our Collective breath Until We can Walk Again . . .

And walk, We will.

–D. Lynise (Debra Conick ’85)

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M I L L S Q U A R T E R LY

Like some apocalyptic fashion show the lines wrap around the block are you ready for your close up Our bodies like haunted sacs ventilating on their own while a woman dies in New York and another woman lies quiet behind a pulled curtain, the stark bird call of machinery works alone, steadily, without interference, without touch and we too work steadily without touch The strain of a smile behind a mask is too much and we resort to waving or a nod, no less human but no less machine, our bodies funneling nutrients and expanding the lungs, heedless to the space they now occupy, a wide girth between us now, Six enforceable feet We have laid the evidence at the feet of our minds, and they have succumbed, suppressing desire, arresting the impulse to reach out for that stranger’s drooping basket, to retrieve the oranges that have rolled away, over the curb “Solace” (2020), by Andi DuFlon ’69

To reach out for our brother and nestle between his fleshy arms, to touch the hands of the sick and the dying, to grip the fingers and slide yours inside, one hand, one living, one world, one dying, and we are somewhere in between.

–Ashley Stewart ’09

ALUMNAE TRAVEL WINTER 2021 AAMC trips provide an exciting array of educational and cultural opportunities for Mills alumnae and their families and friends.

Each trip is designed to offer unique experiences and life-long memories. Adventures scheduled for winter 2021 include:

Galapagos Islands: February 8–16, 2021 Aboard the small ship Santa Cruz II, enjoy firsthand the natural biodiversity of this UNESCO World Heritage-designated archipelago, still intact much as it was when first encountered by happenstance in 1535.

Panamá Canal and Costa Rica: February 21–March 1, 2021 Cruise aboard the new small ship Le Dumont d’Urville from the Atlantic to the Pacific and experience one of the greatest accomplishments of the modern age—the ingenious Panamá Canal!

Morocco—Land of Enchantment: February 26–March 7, 2021

Hassan II Mosque, Casablanca, Morocco

Thrill to Morocco’s captivating fabric of colors, intricate architecture, and African, Arab, and European cultures. From luxury hotel “home bases” in Marrakech and Casablanca, embark on discovery excursions and local enrichment programs.

Our tour operators are monitoring the evolving COVID-19 global pandemic and related travel restrictions. Updates to our offerings as a result of the pandemic as well as additional trips in 2021 will be posted on the AAMC Travel Program website at alumnae.mills.edu/travel.

Mills Quarterly Mills College 5000 MacArthur Blvd.

Oakland, CA 94613-1301 510.430.3312 quarterly@mills.edu www.mills.edu

From January 1919:

“MILLS THUS FAR HAS ESCAPED” At the onset of the current COVID-19 pandemic, we were curious about how the Quarterly covered a similar situation more than 100 years ago: the Spanish influenza outbreak of 1918–1919. Our search found the following article in the January 1919 edition, which we reprint here in its entirety. May we soon have the opportunity to pursue all of our “necessary errands” off the campus.

With due humility Mills Alumnae cannot but rejoice that thus far not a single case of the Spanish influenza has developed on the campus. To be sure, the students went into voluntary quarantine for three weeks, and foreswore street cars and theatres. Guests coming to the campus wore masks and were received out of doors. Classes were frequently conducted on the Oval; and there was a general fresh air and sunshine campaign. An honest sneeze was

A reprint of an article about the Spanish flu in a 1919 issue of Mills Quarterly.

a source of mortification, and two healthy sneezes sent the offender posthaste to the clinic and the thermometer.

The “chance to stay at home” had many salutary results, for neglected notebooks were brought up to date and loose buttons were securely fastened. Ingenuity in impromptu programs asserted its original self, and everyone showed a fine uncomplaining spirit of co-operation with the ruling of the resident physician—even when she postponed the Junior Prom. In an incredibly short time the students made five thousand masks for the Oakland Red Cross and the S.A.T.C. at Berkeley, and yet maintained a high standard of scholarship in their classes.

However, on the eleventh of November the ban was lifted for the afternoon and some one hundred and fifty masked maidens in specially chartered cars attended the great mass meeting of rejoicing in the Greek Theater in Berkeley. When quarantine was lifted on the following Saturday, there was scarcely a girl who did not have a “necessary errand” off the campus.