The older I get, the more I realize how unfairly children and young adults with traditional academic interests are treated by both adults and their own peers. This criticism is a reflection of how intelligence is only valued in the classroom. This sentiment particularly affects children whose academic interests extend beyond the classroom. Furthermore, school has become less about actually learning new things and more about filling the requirements of academic proficiency that signifies success in education. Children are not being praised for being voracious readers because classes often treat reading as a checkpoint rather than a way to understand new material. Students whose interests aren’t being supported by their peers or teachers can feel as though their efforts and genuine interests don’t really matter. I know that was the case for me.

The extreme variation and polarized debate over sex education in the United States is indicative of a deeper ideological divide, and the legislation passed in individual states is a reflection of a central political message.

Content warning: this article discusses mental illness and mentions eating disorders and self-harm.

Using mental health terminology colloquially is extremely harmful to those who experience mental illnesses.

To make child care more affordable to American families and ensure that service providers have adequate resources, it is imperative that the government intervene and declare child welfare a public responsibility.

Medicare for all! Taxing the rich! Green New Deal! Student debt relief! These values are among those heard in the rallying cries of progressive politicians and voters in the 2020 election cycle. However, candidates who espouse these values are vastly underperforming on the national stage.

I have a distinct memory of waiting for Santa Claus in the middle of the night. I tossed and turned in my bed. I imagined presents, the tree, the nativity scene, glimmering slightly as if they were breathing in the soft glow of Christmas lights. The morning was wonderful, as usual. A year later, there was doubt.

Mount Holyoke plans to go smoke-free in 2020. Eliminating cigarette filter pollution and cigarette smell is possible without an outright cigarette ban.

BY GWYNETH SPINCKEN ’21

We’ve all been there — friendly smiles across the dining room table, looks of mild interest, curiosity and maybe a touch of skepticism.

“Political science major? What are you going to do with that?”

BY NINA LARBI ’22

Last Tuesday’s election saw many historic successes for women of color, including the election of the first NativeAmerican and Muslim women to Congress. These results have garnered support and celebration, as we, women of color, are finally seeing ourselves represented in legislative bodies.

BY CHLOE JENSEN ’20

This November, Democrats have the chance to vote out the Republican majority in Congress. For many liberals, this is an important opportunity to elect officials who will overturn many of the policies that Republican lawmakers have passed and replace them with their own more progressive legislation. An unrepresented voice in these elections will be inmates and former inmates, many of whom are affected by these very policies.

Like many colleges and universities around the United States, Mount Holyoke offered almost exclusively remote courses during the 2020-2021 academic year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This turn of events prompted some students to choose to take a gap year or semester instead of attending online classes. Mount Holyoke students who took one semester off were able to remain a part of the class year they entered college with. However, some who took a full year off are adjusting to a social life in flux and sometimes to a new class color and mascot, which has complicated the return to the College.

“One day, I’m going to just log off of Zoom and be in my bedroom and be alone,” Claire Glover ’21 said. “There's nothing to mark it being over at all.”

Glover is one of a handful of students graduating early from Mount Holyoke College this December rather than finishing their college experience after the traditional spring term. Students can apply to graduate in the fall if they have completed their major and distribution requirements and have enough credits by the end of the term. According to the Office of the Registrar, there are 78 undergraduate students and one graduate student scheduled to complete degree requirements midyear, a 2 percent uptick from previous years.

Last month, Missouri State House Representative Ben Baker introduced the Parental Oversight of Public Libraries Act, or House Bill 2044. The bill states that “no public library shall receive any state aid under this section if such library allows minors to access age-inappropriate sexual materials.”

BY ANNAMARIE WIRE ’22

Mount Holyoke’s first chief diversity officer Kijua Sanders-McMurtry began her work with diversity at an early age. Raised in Pasadena, California, her parents were activists who belonged to an organization that was in part responsible for the founding of Kwanzaa. “I really feel like my parents being in this very radical organization, [that was] honestly misogynistic in the way it treated women, made me really question and interrogate [...] differences, culture and diversity,” she said.

BY MADELINE FITZGERALD ’21

The snipping of scissors and a pile of hair on a dorm room floor — this is the start of a Mount Holyoke tradition. It’s not one listed on the College’s Wikipedia page, nor is it mentioned on campus tours. And it is certainly not one that every student will participate in. But for many students, the MoHo Chop is as much a part of their Mount Holyoke experience as Mountain Day or M&Cs.

BY MADELINE FITZGERALD ’21

Any mention of the name Sonya Stephens is sure to stir up a heated conversation. In student Facebook groups, memes and jokes criticizing her presidency abound. And in real life, she had a sparsely attended inauguration, where the few audience members were predominantly guests from other colleges. While Stephens’ personal conduct plays a major role in this controversy, the College and indeed the nation at large is experiencing a cultural upheaval. Mount Holyoke has become a microcosm for major debates involving the diversity of race, politics and gender.

BY MADELINE FITZGERALD ’21

This is the first in a two-part series on Sonya Stephens, Mount Holyoke’s newly appointed 19th president.

Warm. Kind. Funny. Aloof. Deceptive. Racist. In her three-year tenure as acting president of Mount Holyoke, a myriad of descriptors have been thrown at Sonya Stephens. She is alternatively depicted as a kindhearted academic striving for diversity and a closed-off fundraiser known among students for her perceived insensitivity. The Board of Trustees appointed her to the presidency with “unanimous enthusiasm” but her inauguration was sparsely attended, with fewer than 50 students present.

March is Women’s History Month, a time to highlight the accomplishments of women and reflect on centuries of work done to advocate for gender equality. These new nonfiction books amplify pivotal moments in women’s history and spotlight the lives of women who have made a difference in the world.

Hispanic/Latine Heritage Month takes place each year from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. As readers take this time to reflect on Hispanic/Latine presence in literature, it should be noted that there is a recorded underrepresentation for this demographic across genres.

After scouring both the internet and Mount Holyoke students’ to-read lists, the Mount Holyoke News compiled a list of books to put you in a romantic mood this Valentine’s Day.

Some international students who are in the process of getting fully vaccinated have expressed some complaints regarding the College’s distribution of the COVID-19 vaccination on campus.

BY VICTORIA WANG ’20

Prince Harry called for a U.K. ban of the online survival game “Fortnite” on Thursday, April 4, claiming the game was “created to addict.” His remarks are the latest in an ongoing global debate on whether online gaming is detrimental to human health.

BY VICTORIA WANG ’20

The world’s eyes were on the nuclear talks between North Korea and the United States on Thursday, Feb. 28, expecting a disarmament deal between the two countries. Despite expectations, the talks were inconclusive and ended before a deal was reached.

BY VICTORIA WANG ’20

With over ten years of experience working with international college students in the U.S., Bri Rhodes joined Mount Holyoke College this spring as the new Director of International Student Advising at the McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives. She will help international students navigate immigration issues and work to improve their experiences on campus.

BY CASEY ROEPKE ’21

President Donald Trump announced plans for an executive order to end birthright citizenship for Americans on Oct. 30. Political pundits and journalists were quick to announce that birthright citizenship is a constitutional guarantee that would take an act of Congress to amend. According to the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

“Solar Power,” the third album from New Zealand singer-songwriter Ella Yelich-O’Connor, more widely known as Lorde, is a sharp sonic departure from her earlier work. So far, “Solar Power” has been met with mixed reception from both long-time fans and critics. Released on Aug. 20, 2021, the album’s stripped-back, acoustic sound — reminiscent of pop songs from the early 2000s — ushers in a new chapter in her artistry.

BY MIRANDA WHEELER ’19

General audiences may feel they know Natalie Portman from her years as a Hollywood star, but she is hardly done evolving. Portman is a prolific, critically acclaimed and award-winning actress, already an enduring A-list household name at 37 and showing no signs of slowing down. Instead she’s speeding up and expanding her repertoire to include a turn in the director’s chair.