Mount Holyoke News AP Style Specifics

These guidelines provide our journalists with an A-Z guide on Mount Holyoke-centric terminology in order to produce articles with the proper punctuation, capitalization and abbreviations.

A

• Abbey Memorial Chapel

• ableism

• accents 

  • AP Style refrains from using accents in all cases. In the MHN, refrain from using accents on words unless in a person’s name; in that case, be sure to place the accents consistently and correctly.

• AccessAbility Services

  • accessibility (if a regular noun, not talking about MHC’s specific service)

• alum

  • alumna (feminine singular)

  • alumnae (feminine plural)

  • alumnus (neutral plural)

  • alumni (plural with at least one male)

  • Use alum if unsure of everything

• Alumnae Association

• Amherst College

• Archives & Special Collections

• Asian Center for Empowerment

• Auxiliary Services

C

• Campus Police

  • formerly Public Safety

• Career Development Center (CDC)

• Carr Laboratory

• Chapin Auditorium

• Chief Diversity Officer

• cisgender 

  • cis man

  • cis woman

• the Circulation Desk

• Ciruti Center

• Clapp Laboratory

• class years

  • The AP Stylebook says to capitalize “class” in “Class of 2020.” In the MHN, leave the word “class” lowercase in such usages.

• Cleveland Hall

• Cochary Pub & Kitchen

• Commencement Weekend*

• Community Advisor

• Community-Based Learning (CBL)

• Community Center

  • the Community Center consists of the Dining Commons, Blanchard Hall and the Great Room (Campus Center is not a thing anymore)

• Convocation

E

• Election Day

• Eliana Ortega Cultural Center

• Eliot House

• Equestrian Center

• emeriti

  • Professor Emeritus (for male)

  • Professor Emerita (for female)

  • emeriti (plural)

G

• Gamble Auditorium

• gender-diverse women’s college (GDWC)

  • For colleges like MHC that admit “female, transgender and nonbinary students” (instead of “historically women’s college” or “women’s college”)

• genderfluid 

• gender-nonconforming

• genderqueer 

• Gettell Amphitheater*

• Grab ’n Go

I

• Indigenous

• Information Commons

• Interlibrary Loan (ILL)

K

• Kendade Hall

• Kendall Sports & Dance Complex

M

• M&Cs

• Makerspace

• majors

  • languages (a French major, a Spanish minor, etc) always capitalised

  • Africana Studies

  • Ancient Studies

  • Anthropology

  • Architectural Studies

  • Art History

  • Art Studio

  • Astronomy

  • Biochemistry

  • Biological Sciences

  • Chemistry

  • Chinese

  • Classics

  • Computer Science

  • Critical Social Thought

  • Dance

  • East Asian Studies

  • Environmental Studies

  • Film Studies

  • Gender Studies

  • German Studies (NOT German)

  • Jewish Studies

  • Latin

  • Latin American Studies

  • Mathematics

  • Middle Eastern Studies

  • Medieval Studies

  • Neuroscience and Behavior

  • Philosophy

  • Politics

  • Psychology

  • Psychology and Education

  • Romance Languages and Cultures

  • Russian and Eurasian Studies

  • South Asian Studies

  • Theatre Arts

• Mary Lyon Hall

• Mary Woolley Hall

• the McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives

• Media Services

• the MEWS

  • Mediated Education Work Space

• the Miller Worley Center for the Environment

• Mo’Coffee

• MoHo

• Moodle

• MoRomance

• Mountain Day

• Mount Holyoke Athletics

  • But “the athletic department”

• Mount Holyoke College

  • the College

• Mount Holyoke College Art Museum

• Mount Holyoke News (MHN)

  • ‘The MHN’ when referring to the physical newspaper

  • ‘MHN’ when referring to the organisation

• MyMountHolyoke

P

• Pageant Green (the one in front of the Amphitheatre) 

• Pangy Day

• people

  • Jon Western

  • Jorge

  • Kijua Sanders-McMurtry

  • Marcella Runell Hall

  • Mary Lyon

  • Sonya Stephens

• percent

  • The AP Stylebook recommends using the percent sign (%). In the MHN, always write out “percent.”

• Pioneer Valley

• Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA)

• PLUMS

• positions (capitalise only when titular)

  • acting president

  • dean of faculty

  • dean of students

  • vice president for academic affairs

  • vice president for equity and inclusion

  • vice president for student life

  • chief diversity officer

• professor

  • If titular, like “Professor X said…” then capitalise Professor

  • If not titular (e.g. Chris Pyle, professor of politics, or Kavita Khory, a politics professor) then NO capitalisation

T

• Trans-

• transfeminine

• transgender

  • Use “transgender” on first reference, shorthand “trans” only on second.

• transmasculine

• trans people

U

• Upper Lake

• the University of Massachusetts Amherst (first time)

  • UMass Amherst (for the rest)

V

• Vespers

Z

• Zoom

• Zowie Banteah Cultural Center