Students share their favorite ice cream flavors at Blanch

Graphic by Aspen Pearson ’28

BY ASPEN PEARSON ’28

STAFF WRITER

One of the most popular items at Blanchard Dining Commons is the ice cream. With warm weather right around the corner, I polled the Mount Holyoke community on ice cream preferences. The Dining Commons cycles through a wide range of flavors throughout the year, but a few clear favorites stood out in student responses.

The most popular picks were Graham Central Station and green tea ice cream. Graham Central Station is a creamy graham cracker-flavored ice cream with notes of brown sugar. This is one of the more common flavors in the Dining Commons, popping up often in the coolers and usually disappearing quickly once people notice it’s there. It’s a pretty reliable choice if you want something classic and sweet after dinner.

Green tea is a more rare occurrence in the freezer. When it does appear, it tends to generate excitement among students who enjoy its lighter, more subtle flavor. Emily Berg ’28 noted in a survey conducted by Mount Holyoke News: “Part of me wishes the green tea flavor was around in the winter, but perhaps it would be less special … something to look forward to for spring/summer.”

Green tea is a pale green, creamy ice cream with a light matcha flavor that isn’t overly sweet. It also pairs surprisingly well with other flavors if you’re the type of person who mixes scoops. Green tea and strawberry together is a popular combination, but it also works well with vanilla.

Another campus favorite seems to be strawberry cheesecake, a spring flavor that's been out the last couple of weeks.

The ice cream comes directly from Maple Valley Creamery, just down the road in Hadley, Massachusetts. The Dining Commons rotates its flavors often, and over the course of the year students might see flavors that feel tied to different parts of the semester. Some of these seasonal flavors include my favorite, eggnog, along with apple, pumpkin oreo, and peppermint.

For some students, these seasonal flavors become tied to specific memories on campus. McKenzie Phelan ’28 wrote about her favorite, peppermint: “I first found out about this flavor in December during finals week, and it became a kind of coping mechanism for me. The candy cane vibes of it all reminded me that Christmas was soon, and I needed that hope of something beyond my next essay.”

Ice cream seems to provide a common comfort to the Mount Holyoke community. Whether you are stressed from a long week of classes, grabbing dessert after dinner with friends, or just wandering through the Dining Commons looking for something sweet, a scoop from the freezer has become a small but familiar ritual.

Barrie Ashby ’28 summarized these sentiments in words I’m sure all of us can relate to: “I love Blanch ice cream.”

Madeleine Diesl ’28 contributed fact checking.

ODotteMita: Meet the College’s very own J-Pop dance troupe

Photo courtesy of ODotteMita

ODM members pose at VariAsians 2024 after having performed “No Brand Girls” from LoveLive!

Aspen Pearson ‘28

Staff Writer

As a dance group focused on bringing J-Pop to the stage, ODM is a community at Mount Holyoke College with performances that reach across the Five College Consortium.

The group’s name stands for Odottemita, a Japanese term that translates to “try to dance.” The style traces back to amateur dancers in Japan who learned choreography from anime, comics, games, or music and uploaded their performances online with “odottemita” in the title. These routines were designed to be fun and accessible, often performed in living rooms and shared widely across platforms like YouTube. While the genre now includes professional dancers, its origins remain rooted in openness and creativity: Values ODM emphasizes in its own practices.

ODM began as a Five College-club, but has become centered at Mount Holyoke over time, with occasional members joining from Smith College and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The group is best known for its appearances at cultural events across campuses. In recent years, they have performed at VariAsians, hosted by the Asian Students Association, China Night with the Chinese Cultural Association, Korea Night with the Korean Students Association, and Japan Night with the Japanese Cultural Club. They have also appeared at Smith’s Asian Culture Show and at Amherst College’s Night Market.

Past performances have highlighted ODM’s range, spanning J-Pop, anime dances, and even occasional K-Pop routines. At VariAsians, the group performed “No Brand Girls” from LoveLive! alongside “Salamander” by DECO*27. At China Night, they presented “Ci Ke Memories,” choreographed by Miyuki, and at Korea Night, they performed “La Vie en Rose” by IZONE.

This year, ODM is preparing for a new round of performances. At Japan Night, they plan to showcase “Living Beautifully” by Takaneno Nadeshiko, while Korea Night will feature their version of “Secret Story of the Swan.” Other members are working on additional projects, including duets and wota-inspired choreography, which blends fan chants with dance.

The group emphasizes accessibility and openness to all students. There are no auditions and no requirements for prior dance experience. At the beginning of each semester, members release a sign-up sheet with available dances, which functions on a first come, first serve basis. Dances are selected and run by instructors, who are club members themselves. Practices vary in format; sometimes groups learn together directly from a video, while other times an instructor breaks down choreography step by step.

“Most of our members are beginners with no dance background,” explained Joyce Jiang, a veteran ODM member. “I’ve danced for many years, but teaching has been just as valuable for me. It gives me a chance to think carefully about movement and how to explain it. Watching beginners gain confidence is one of the best parts.”

For Jiang, the group’s greatest value lies in its spirit of encouragement. “ODM is a very inclusive and chill place,” she said. “You don’t worry about making mistakes. It’s about working together, sharing happiness, and having fun.”

Leah Dutcher ’28 contributed fact-checking.