Reviewing a Smithie author’s debut: ‘The Last Bookstore on Earth’

Graphic by Brianna Stockwell ’28

By Emily Finnila ’27

Contributing Writer

In her debut novel, “The Last Bookstore on Earth,” Smith College senior Lily Braun-Arnold imagines our modern world after an apocalyptic event. In this novel, the “Storm” has brought intense acid rain down all over America and left the nation in shambles, as seen in New Jersey, where the main character Liz Flannery lives. After tragedy strikes her family in the Storm, Liz chooses to live in her old workplace: A bookstore nestled in the abandoned suburbs. As she survives by bartering books with the few customers who still visit her bookstore and eating old stockpiled food, Liz learns of another impending acid rainstorm that her broken-down store is not prepared to handle. 

Luckily for Liz, one night a stranger breaks into her bookstore looking for shelter, and she just so happens to be skilled at repairs. This is Maeve, the book's second main character, who agrees to help Liz fix up the bookstore in the hopes that its shelter will protect them both from the approaching storm. The book then follows their lives in this still recently-apocalyptic world, as they deal with their past trauma from the Storm, their current impending doom and their feelings for each other.

While the premise is exciting, this novel also has a few pitfalls. The book confronts the idea of the end of the world for a very specific and privileged group. Told from a first-person perspective, the reader hangs out with Liz for the entirety of the novel, and Liz doesn’t get out much. Having never left the bookstore for a year, Liz hasn’t seen how the rest of the world is fairing after this massive event. The story only explores Liz’s personal world ending: The world of an upper-middle class white family from the American suburbs. There is no mention of the wider world. 

When Liz receives visitors at the bookstore, she writes down their stories of the Storm and their new lives, so we get a glimpse of how other parts of the U.S. were affected; mostly places in the East Coast and Northampton are mentioned! But the worldbuilding details stop there. This leaves readers with multiple questions, like did the Storm happen globally? How did this world’s population lose the ability to communicate online? What’s the state of the U.S. government? What happened to all the cars and infrastructure? None of these questions are really answered because the protagonist, Liz, doesn’t know the answers herself. 

So, this book isn’t one to pick up if you’re looking for a rich new apocalyptic/dystopian world, like “The Hunger Games.” Instead, it would be one to read if you were interested in an introspective story about someone coming to terms with a changed world and life that will never be the same. Liz isn’t someone you would expect to have survived an apocalypse. She has zero survival instincts or skills and is entirely reliant on Maeve for everything. This makes her a very realistic protagonist in an apocalypse — albeit a frustrating one — that readers may find themselves in. This book often prompts you to question what the end of your life as you currently know it would look like. How would you deal with it, and how would you move on? 

You may survive by becoming a hermit like Liz, or you may go out and explore this new world like Maeve. Either way, the end of the world may be closer than you think because — reminiscent of the movie “Don’t Look Up” — this book’s apocalypse comes when everyone is trying to pretend that everything is fine, much like the world today. 

Despite my criticisms of “The Last Bookstore on Earth,” if I had discovered this book in my local library when I was younger, I would’ve devoured it. Reading about queer women taking on an apocalypse from a bookstore would’ve been right up my alley. And so, I’m immensely glad that this book will be discovered by other queer kids searching for these stories. This is the first of hopefully many books from Lily Braun-Arnold, and I’m excited to see what she writes next in the world of queer literature. 

Abigail McKeon ’26 contributed fact checking. 

College alum Yutian An lectures on judicial power in China

Graphic by Betty Smart ’26

By Kennedy Olivia Bagley-Fortner ’26

Staff Writer 

On Nov. 21, Yutian An ’13 returned to Mount Holyoke College to present her collaborative research on how juries extend judicial power in China. During her time at Mount Holyoke College, An majored in political science and economics. Currently, she is a Ph.D. candidate in politics at Princeton University, and in January 2026 she will join the UCLA School of Law faculty as an assistant professor.  

An “examines how legal systems structure state-building activities, sociopolitical legitimization and administrative entrenchment in both authoritarian and democratic regimes, with a focus on criminal law institutions.” 

An began her lecture by sharing the framework and hypothesis of her research, which surround the judicial system in China. While China is led by an authoritarian government, “we should not assume that judicial institutions are irrelevant to political life in authoritarian politics.” 

Through her research, An wants to ask and answer these questions: Why are autocrats turning towards law? How can a legal institution create support for the regime? Similarly, she wants to show how authoritarian leaders solve the participation dilemma without creating backlash against the regime. Finally, she wants to reflect on the importance of the lay assessor system. While the lay assessors might not understand everything about a given case, she highlights that they are an important part of Chinese politics. 

In 2018, the People’s Assessors Law was enacted which made “improvements for lay participation.” According an article by Zhiyan Guo’s  in the Chicago-Kent Law Review, the People’s Assessor System can be divided into three phases starting from the late 1970s to 2018: The Restoring Phase, Fast Development Phases, and the New Era, which is what An focuses on. 

While China doesn’t have an explicit “jury system” like other countries, they utilize people’s assessors, who, with the judges, form a panel to hear cases. Most ordinary cases consist of a three member panel which has one judge and two jurors. A high profile case would consist of a seven member panel: Three judges and four jurors.

The People’s Assessor System allows assessors to “attend hearings in civil, criminal and administrative cases involving public interests, [which] attract widespread public attention or have crucial social impact,” stated Li Chenglin, an official from the Supreme People’s Court in an interview with Dawn News. 

In her lecture, An discussed her research which examines why autocrats are turning towards the law and how a legal institution can create support for the regime. According to An, the institutionalization of the lay assessor system in China serves to “promote democratic participation in judicial decision-making, enhance justice and improve judicial legitimacy.”  

As China Justice Observer reported, “the people’s assessors have equal rights and obligations as judges. Therefore, in court, they sit at the bench,” and the assessors have the same ‘one person, one vote’ right. In these ways, the Chinese lay assessor system is significantly different from the American jury system. In America, anyone can be summoned to participate in a jury case, but in China not everyone is allowed to participate. In China, there is a designated pool of assessors and they are selected every 5 years. There are about 300,000 assessors, which is only 1 out of 4,000 people. 

With this in mind, An transitioned to her last segment of her lecture: The “why” behind the lay assessors. Since China is a single-party authoritarian state, how and why could there be “democratic participation" in their judicial system? Through her research, An comes to various conclusions. 

Her general theory is that autocrats establish participatory institutions for various benefits. In the case of China, she argues these institutions neutralize political opponents, reduce information asymmetry and increase governance quality, and can generate legitimacy effects through participation which in turn creates a sense of voice. 

However, these institutions also show the dilemma of authoritarian participation. To the general public, lay assessors and similar institutions can be seen as performative and a political show, which could negatively impact the authoritarian regime. According to An, once people begin to enter the sphere of political participation, they might want more participation. This then leads into An’s point about the way in which the government’s legitimacy might decrease because of this greater political participation. 

To conclude her lecture, An showed her empirical data about how effective the lay assessor system is. She found that, based on interviews, most assessors don’t actively engage or participate during the trial. Additionally, she found that people had little knowledge about the lay assessor system as a whole. 

She did find that there was a high supply and demand for lay assessors. According to her research, 83.5% of Chinese citizens were willing to serve as a lay assessor; however, she also found that many Chinese citizens don’t understand the job of a lay assessor is. Almost 77% think that jurors should have some form of expert knowledge, which is different from the American context, where jurors are expected to judge fairly and neutrally, without having any background knowledge. 

Her findings led her to two major hypotheses: Firstly, that the existence of jurors would help create the perception of fairness; secondly, jurors with voting power would enhance the perception of government legitimacy. 

Maeve McCorry ’28 contributed fact checking. 

'In Bloom': Asian Student Association celebrates VariAsians

Photo by Karishma Ramkarran ‘27

VariAsians is an annual celebration of Asian culture and creativity hosted at Mount Holyoke College; it began in the 1970s as a potluck by the ASA.

BY KARISHMA RAMKARRAN ‘27

COPY CHIEF

On Nov. 14, students and members of the Mount Holyoke College community gathered in Chapin Auditorium for the College’s 51st celebration of VariAsians, an annual cultural showcase of Asian culture, talent and heritage. The event was hosted by the Asian Student Association — abbreviated as ASA — a Pan-Asian organization dedicated to increasing awareness and appreciation of those of Asian descent on campus and in the wider community. 

The theme for this year’s VariAsians was “In Bloom,” a choice that was not only visually stunning but teeming with complex Pan-Asian references. When introducing the theme, the ASA board members pointed to inspiration from the 2025 Nepalese Gen Z protests, numerous flower festivals throughout Asia and the Hindu holiday Diwali. Each table donned hand-painted flowers as centerpieces, through which ASA aimed to demonstrate the uniqueness of Asian culture and both demographic and environmental diversity. 

In an interview with Mount Holyoke News, ASA Senior Co-Chair Maggie Doig ’26 described the process of planning one of the College’s largest cultural events of the year:  “The obstacles faced were ensuring we represented as many cultures as possible and correctly. We made sure to get the information out to as many student organizations and students as possible to represent different cultures through performances while expanding the restaurants we catered from to include more, within our budget restraints.”

Indeed, this year’s VariAsians included an impressive amount of variety in terms of both catering and performances. Students at Mount Holyoke were able to register for free tickets for both dinner and the show; food was provided by Kiao Wan Thai, Priya’s, India House and Ichiban Chinese and Japanese Restaurant, and entertainment by Five College performers such as Raunak Bhangra, Lion Dance and Rainbow Jelly. 

Although VariAsians brought vibrant energy to both the stage and the audience, the event harmoniously balanced both an appreciation of Asian culture and an awareness of issues facing the Pan-Asian community today. Throughout the showcase, the audience was reminded of the intersection between heritage and activism: “ASA would not be here today without the activism and petitioning done by those who came before us to establish our organization in 1973. We would like to recognize and remember that this event is one of many that created space for unity and allows us to celebrate our cultures,” Yurim Oh ’26 said. 

As a preface to the elaborate performances, the ASA board members spoke of VariAsians of the past. The event, one member noted, originally began as a potluck in 1977. It was not until 1999 that VariAsians bloomed into the massively successful cultural showcase held each fall semester. 

VariAsians has come far from its origins, with 14 performances necessitating extensive organization and collaboration. The event was planned in three months, with most preliminary planning of the theme “In Bloom” taking place during last year’s VariAsians 2024: All Around Asia. 

“The most rewarding aspect of planning was seeing everything come together as we envisioned after countless hours of planning and collaboration. Hearing the board, audience and performers enjoying the event was what made everything worth it,” Doig said. 

The event kicked off in a darkened Chapin, with the only light centered on the stage’s runway. Cheers and applause filled the room as numerous students from the College walked the runway in their cultural clothing, ranging from Myanmar’s Burmese longyi from the Konbaung dynasty to Pakistan’s kurta originating from nomadic tunics in ancient Central and South Asia. 

Immanuelle Niez ’28 orchestrated the cultural fashion show. “Each ensemble represents the story of a unique cultural heritage, offering a window into the craftsmanship and prosperity of the past and present civilizations,” she said in an interview with Mount Holyoke News. 

The diversity of Asia was not only demonstrated through beautiful cultural wear, but also through the variety of performances that took place. 

For Doig, the Pan-Asian focus of VariAsians inspired her in 2021 when she saw a virtual recording of it as a prospective student. “I wanted to be part of an event that brought together students from different backgrounds to create a space of community and celebration of our differences and similarities,” Doig said. 

Siyan Zhang ’28 commenced the live performances with a self-choreographed classical Chinese dance that was inspired by the novel “The Dream of the Red Chamber.” Zhang was perfectly emblematic of the theme, “In Bloom,” as she exercised almost effortless command over the stage. Although the performance was classical in nature, it promised a night filled with vibrant energy in Chapin. 

Amherst’s K:NETICS, DJB Dance Crew, Smith K-Pop Dance Crew and Mount Holyoke’s very own Rainbow Jelly Dance Crew brought a wide range of high-energy and high-production performances inspired by the K-Pop genre. With excellent synchronization and intense passion, each dance demonstrated how group performance could be both an incredible source of community and of individuality. Rainbow Jelly Dance Crew performed KATSEYE’s “Gnarly,” which was a particular crowd favorite. 

The sound of ankle bells behind the curtains was followed by energetic performances by Raunuk Bhangra and Jhumka, which represented South Asian dance culture. The performers utilized various props, from suitcases to poles, to aid in their celebration. Bursts of energy in the performance elicited ecstatic crowd reactions. 

“Bhangra isn’t just a dance,” one ASA board member said, “but an explosion of energy, laughter and love.” 

Puja Chakraborty ’27, Ishita Panigrahi ’27 and Lam Dinh ’29 performed an amalgamated combination of “Mora Saiyaan” and “Burn” from the American musical “Hamilton.” On the stage with just their instruments and their cultural clothing, the trio demonstrated with ease the convergence and divergence of Asian identity. In fact, most performances of the night represented how Asian students at the College personally interpret and interact with their heritage. 

Asian American Students In Action — also known as AASIA — took center stage to share poems from  Palestinian writers. AASIA board members read out loud Refaat Alareer’s poem “If I Must Die,” and Mosab Abu Toha’s “What is Home?” Alareer was killed by an airstrike on Dec. 6, 2023 during Israel’s still-ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people. 

“If you’re enjoying the culture tonight, sit with the fact that culture is never apolitical … The joy you see on stage exists because our communities and our ancestors have lived through and continue to live with and resist those colonial legacies, occupation, displacement and genocides,” one AASIA board member said. 

The student organization left the audience with a moment of reflection: “Tonight, consider what it means to stand in solidarity with all of those ongoing struggles, because none of us are free until all of us are free.” 

Leah Dutcher ’28 contributed fact-checking.

Dr. charlie amáyá scott gives her Indigenous transfeminine manifesto

Photo by Elizabeth Murray ‘28

dr. scott came to MHC to speak about her life.

BY ELIZABETH MURRAY ‘28

FEATURES EDITOR

To mark the start of Indigenous Heritage and Trans Awareness Month, Mount Holyoke College’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the Zowie Banteah Cultural Center and the Office of Community and Belonging welcomed Dr. charlie amáyá scott for a two-day residency on campus. scott gave a talk on Thursday, Nov. 6 about the Indigenous transfeminine experience, intergenerational wisdom, ancestors and community, which was held in Gamble Auditorium and featured a Q&A segment.

Emma Quirk ’26 opened the talk with the College’s Land Acknowledgment. This was followed by Kijua Sanders-McMurtry, vice president of equity and inclusion at the College, who highlighted Mount Holyoke’s Indigenous alums, such as Zowie Banteah and Ruth Muskrat, and their work to advance the rights and representation of Indigenous people on campus. Sanders-McMurtry also highlighted the work around inclusion of trans and gender-nonconforming students on campus. 

scott was then introduced by Ashley Mantanico ’27, who is an assistant at the Zowie Banteah Cultural Center. scott, who is a member of the Diné nation, also known as the Navajo, has a Ph.D. in education and has amassed a substantial following on social media, where she shares her culture and advocates for Black and Indigenous people of color as well as decolonization. 

scott began by introducing herself and her background. She was raised in the Diné nation and uses the English pronouns of she/her; the Diné language does not use pronouns. scott explained that her content addresses serious topics with humor and education. She also took a moment to recognize the genocides and wars occurring across the globe, and reminded the audience that they can make the world a better place.

The talk began with a poem of scott’s called “In My Dreams,” which was written in 2021, and features artwork done by her sister. scott then explained that she dreamed of a world where Two-Spirit and Indigenous LGBTQ+ people are “offered reciprocity rooted in radical kinship and unconditional love.” 

The second part of the talk focused on scott’s manifesto. She first began by giving a crash course on what a manifesto is. scott, a self-described “theory ho” finds healing in theory and its use as a tool for liberation. In Indigenous culture, stories are a tool to pass down memories and lessons from generation to generation. 

Her manifesto was broken down into several parts, with each title written in a drawing of several flowers joining at the stem. The first two parts of the manifesto highlight the sanctity of Indigenous womanhood and its traditions, with scott telling the story of her people’s survival of U.S. colonization and their intergenerational healing journey. The third part is a reclamation of sovereignty and power, followed by the importance of listening to others’ experiences with our hearts to understand them. 

The next part focuses on a relationship with one’s environment. scott highlights how, on her reservation, recycling is not an option, and they must find their own ways to use and reuse local materials and support local artists. 

The final part of scott’s manifesto ties back to intergenerational healing and decolonization. scott shares the story of how her mother came to accept her gender identity. She had originally come out as nonbinary, but later realized she felt more gender euphoria with she/her pronouns. 

scott never made this known to her mother, but one day her mother began referring to her with she/her pronouns. She shared an anecdote about when her mother first referred to her as her daughter, which occurred when her mother was in the process of adopting scott’s three younger siblings. Her mother told the social worker that she had two older daughters. This moment served as a marker of healing in their relationship.

The talk closed with a Q&A with Lily Rood ’27 and Ashley Mantanico ’27. This discussion drifted into different topics around what is currently happening across the U.S., processing the feelings of grief for what is lost and hoping for better in the future. The Q&A also touched on the work of education, and specifically how institutions of higher learning benefit off of the work, or “heartwork,” of activists and academics of color, while also having profited off of colonization and the Atlantic Slave Trade. scott noted the importance of rest and care, and making sure one’s well-being is not taken away by oppressive institutions.

Leah Dutcher ’28 contributed fact-checking. 

SJP calls for greater financial transparency from College

Photo by Karishma Ramkarran ‘27

Students for Justice in Palestine in South Hadley rallied outside the Williston Memorial Library on November 19, 2025, gathering in the morning.

BY QUILL NISHI-LEONARD ‘27

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

On Nov. 19, Students for Justice in Palestine in South Hadley —1837 SJP — held a rally outside of the Williston Memorial Library. The event coincided with the National SJP’s Day of Action protesting Israel's ceasefire violations in Gaza, which have killed at least 242 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The event was also held in protest of a series of U.S. military strikes on boats off the coast of Venezuela and in the Caribbean, which experts at the U.N. have described as “extrajudicial executions” in a press release. 

The rally began at 9:30 a.m. and lasted about an hour. During the rally, representatives of 1837 SJP read off a list of demands, calling for Mount Holyoke College administration to formally condemn Israel’s genocide in Gaza, disclose all of the College’s investments, renegotiate its contract with Duo, and encourage UMass Amherst to sever its relationship with Raytheon, a U.S. defense contractor.

Duo is the two-factor authentication system that all Mount Holyoke students must use in order to access many College-related websites and resources. Organizers voiced concerns about Duo’s parent company, Cisco, which “supplies critical networking hardware, servers, and telecommunications equipment that form the backbone of Israel's military infrastructure,” according to the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. 

Rally organizers also echoed U.N. criticism of the U.S.’ attacks on Venezuelan boats, with one stating, “We believe that Venezuela has a right to exist free of imperial violence.”

The “grief and anguish [caused by violence] will be felt by generations to come,” organizers said. 

Although the U.N. Security Council has just approved a resolution set forth by the United States to create “an international force to restore order in Gaza, protect civilians and open the way for large-scale aid and rebuilding,” many have expressed confusion about what its uncertain specifics may mean for people in Gaza.

The Guardian’s Senior International Correspondent Julian Borger has described the resolution as “one of the oddest in United Nations history.” It sets forth the creation of a “board of peace” to be chaired by U.S. President Donald Trump, alongside a conditional offer of potential Palestinian statehood “if the Palestinian Authority reformed itself satisfactorily,” Borger wrote.

Representatives of 1837 SJP stated that this move was “the tried and tested blueprint used by the U.S. in many … countries”.   In reference to the U.S.’ 2003 military campaign to overthrow Saddam Hussein and subsequent plan to rebuild Iraq, which has since been described as a “failure” by many experts, including Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic & International Studies. 

At its peak the rally attracted around 40 attendees, who stood in a semi-circle around the entrance to the library chanting, “Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel’s crimes,” and “From the Caribbean to Palestine, occupation is a crime,” as students walked to and from their classes.

“The imperialist violence [in Venezuela and Gaza] are inextricably linked by the U.S.’ war machine,” a representative of 1837 SJP explained during the rally.

Before 1837 SJP’s rally concluded, organizers handed out informational zines and led attendees in singing “Down by the Riverside” and “Solidarity Forever.”

One organizer summarized the impact of international conflict and violence on everyday people: “While we are able to peacefully take classes at Mount Holyoke, students in Palestine have to put classes on pause indefinitely.”

Karishma Ramkarran ’27 assisted with coverage.

Angelina Godinez ’28 contributed fact-checking.

Answering your questions about the College’s budget: Part two

Graphic by Audrey Hanan ’28

By Betty Smart ‘26

Graphics Editor

Over a month ago, Mount Holyoke College’s workers went on strike, and I came to the realization that I had next to no idea how the College’s budget worked, both under normal and abnormal situations. While the College’s annual financial statements are available for public viewing on the MHC website, most students’ only real exposure to the budget comes from experiencing increases in tuition. I sat down with the College’s Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer, Carl Ries, to break down the budget. This is part two of what I learned about the bigger picture of the College’s budget. The first part of this article can be found in Mount Holyoke News’ 9/29 publication and on our website.

How does Mount Holyoke pay for bigger projects?

One big mystery for me surrounding the budget centered on the College’s big building and renovation projects and how they fit into the College’s financing. I learned from Ries that Mount Holyoke actually has two budgets. The first is the operating budget, which was discussed in more detail in the first part of this article, and concerns the everyday costs of the College. The second is the capital budget, which is primarily concerned with the College’s larger projects.

The capital budget is paid for with debt, the occasional grant, and, this year, $5 million out of the entire operating budget. Doing some quick math on this, out of a total budget of around $165.5 million, 5 million would be 3%. Even if this amount were entirely composed of tuition revenue, each student — 2,209 total in 2024 — would have paid approximately $2,263.47.

Putting this number with an average 2024 tuition of $44,448.16 — $98,186,000 from 2,209 undergraduates’ total tuition, housing, and food revenue — each student would have paid at most approximately 5% of their total tuition towards the capital budget.

Ries went into this in more detail, saying the College “[doesn’t] use regular revenue to support [bigger projects.]” Because the funds in the College’s endowment are protected and hence cannot be used, the College can either fundraise, or take out a loan. Previous projects like renovations to the Community Center and construction of “SuperBlanch” were a mixture of both; “a little bit of borrowing, but mostly fundraising,” according to Ries.

Depreciation of buildings in general is another big expense for the operating budget. A hypothetical building that is initially worth $50 million, according to Ries, would go on the College’s balance sheet as an asset. As time goes on, however, its value would fall; going off an estimated useful life of 50 years, that would be an annual loss of $1 million from its original value. This loss is what “hits [the] operating budget as depreciation,” according to Ries; while depreciation isn’t directly spent, like other expenses, the reduced monetary value it represents counts as a loss. Last year, depreciation cost the college $12,280,000, about 7% of its total expenses. Ries went on to say, “This last fiscal year … is probably the first year in which we will have had a deficit from operations. And a large portion of that is because of increased depreciation.”

What happens in the case of budget deficits or surpluses?

According to the College’s annual financial summary, Mount Holyoke ended the 2024 fiscal year with a deficit of $452,000, which was a noticeable change from the previous year’s surpluses. Ries said this was something that hadn’t happened in “several years.”

The College’s 2024 financial summary partly attributes this drop to “reduced vacancies,” particularly following COVID-19. “For years after COVID, when people weren't coming back to work as quickly, or it was harder to find employees to fill those positions, we saved a little bit of money because we weren't spending as much money on personnel,” Ries stated.

Despite the “very small” surpluses, the College had no intention to continue with a smaller staff, as Ries told me, “Being fully staffed is important because if the Dining Commons isn't fully staffed or if Student Life isn't fully staffed, that means that the students are not getting the experience that we want them to have.”

According to the 2024-2025 financial summary, the deficit is the result of increasing wages and benefits, and more work being done on buildings and their subsequent depreciation. In situations like this, deficits are covered with reserves. These reserves are not from the endowment, instead they are made up of surpluses from previous years that earn interest in the operating account funds. “We can cover a few years of operating deficits through the use of reserves, but they’re there [for]support when times get tough,” Ries said.

In what other ways does the College respond to inflation?

Inflation is all around us, and not going away anytime soon. Ries told me that while Mount Holyoke is unfortunately “not large enough” to stock up on heavy equipment like that for the building projects, the rising cost of food is another story. The College does not want to have to stop doing business with local suppliers because of rising prices. “We do a ton of local purchasing, so we try to avoid [choosing different products] as much as possible.”

“One thing that they were talking about doing this year,” he went on, “was ordering a larger quantity of a particular ingredient, prepping it … ahead of time, [and then] freezing or refrigerating it to then be used at specific times in the year.” Ries said the biggest questions the College tries to answer when doing this are, “How much does it cost to buy a certain ingredient? Should we be buying it prepared, or do we do it from scratch the way we do it now?” Ries gave me an example, saying that for the College, “buying pre-chopped onions is very expensive, [but] buying a box of onions and paying somebody to do it has been cheaper for us.”

All in all, Ries said, the College’s efforts around inflation boil down to “choosing products, thinking about preparation … and avoiding all the sort of ancillary costs of buying stuff that comes shipped in from California or from Florida because there’s an environmental impact, there’s a cost to that. So we try to do as much local [purchasing] as we can.”

What would happen with a loss of federal funding?

Although a loss of federal funding is a real possibility, the College is not in over its head yet. Overall, it truly depends on the extent and nature of the losses. Regarding something like a hypothetical ban on international students, Ries said the College would immediately “have to stop everything and figure out how to deal with that … there's no contingency that can really prepare you … you'd have to restructure a lot of the budget.” However, for certain smaller things, the College is more confident. Ries said certain losses could be made up for by fundraising, or outside grants or philanthropy. “It may mean that we'd have to cut expenses in a certain area, but we haven't had to do that yet … Some of it is really thinking about, ‘Do we have to make changes to the operating budget or can we replace that revenue?’”

An example Ries gave was Pell Grants, a federal program that pays financial aid for those it describes as “undergraduate students who display exceptional financial need,” and usually does not need to be paid off. If the College were to lose access to them, it would likely turn to privatized student loans, something that it is already doing for international students.

Right now, 70% of all undergraduate students at Mount Holyoke apply for financial aid, and 82% of those applicants receive some aid from grants they don’t have to repay. Ries said that no matter what, the College would always prioritize its students. “We have a commitment that we've made to them, and it would depend on the long-term impact, but the College would find a way to make sure that we didn't lose students because of a loss of federal funding. That's something that we've been saying since the beginning of all of these threats, that we'll find a way to make it work.”

Madeleine Diesl ’28 contributed fact-checking.

Discontent brewing amongst Frances Perk café staff

Photo by Sydney Wiser ’27

The Frances Perk, located inside the Williston Library’s Atrium, is a staple for many students; they serve snacks, coffee, teas, and a few baked goods.

Elizabeth Murray ’26

Features Editor

The Frances Perk café is a popular stop for students in between classes or on a study break. Located in the Williston Memorial Library Atrium, the Perk is managed by Mount Holyoke’s Dining Services and staffed almost entirely by students. The café is open most days of the semester and offers a mix of beverages and pastries.

Recently, baristas have grown more frustrated with their treatment by upper management. “Especially this semester, it kind of feels like we're on our own,” one Perk staff member who asked to remain anonymous said. Another anonymous student echoed this sentiment, stating, “It feels like [the administration] doesn't care about us at all.”

One concern is the onboarding of new baristas. The Perk hires staff once the café is open, which isn’t until students return for a new semester. Hired staff must have experience working as a barista, and they are normally trained in three training sessions before they can work on their own. Recently, new staff have had difficulty being able to schedule training sessions, leaving experienced staff to train during regular shifts, adding to their usual duties. This can be incredibly difficult during particularly busy shifts that overlap with rush times. One of the staff members we spoke to voiced their frustration, saying, “It was solely up to the students and it felt like management knew, but they were like, oh, it's not that big of a deal. You guys should figure it out on your own. That's how it felt.”

During a regular shift, there are ideally two or three baristas present to ensure that things run smoothly, but this hasn’t been standardized across shifts. Lately, there have been scheduling issues caused by an overall staffing shortage, meaning there is no one to fill in if someone calls out sick. This can leave staff members in a tight spot, having to manage the café by themselves. Other times shifts have to be left open because of conflicting class schedules. One of the employees Mount Holyoke News spoke to mentioned that management has scolded employees for not being able to fill empty shifts.

There has also been frustration around how management chooses to enforce certain policies over others. Baristas expressed frustration with management’s enforcement of the dress code policy in particular. “I've heard some people complain about misogynistic dress coding,” one barista said. Another employee said “managers cornering students and commenting on their bodies showing” was an issue. It isn’t clear to either staff member what is considered a dress code violation, and despite having contacted Dining Services they have received no answer.

The students continuously expressed how frustrated they were with upper management and felt that they made work for the employees harder. “They make it harder, not easier to open [and] close and they expect unreasonable hours … there's just a lack of communication.” one staff member said. Employees interviewed by MHN feel that upper management doesn’t understand the struggles students are having managing the Perk, and fail to include them in decision making. “We're the ones actually doing the work and I feel like maybe we have a better insight to how things work.” one staff member said.

“I think management needs to acknowledge that they've never run a coffee shop before. They run dining halls, which are very different things … it's a different beast entirely but the majority of students who work at the Perk… actually have worked at a coffee shop before,” another student said.

The Perk’s staff have reached out to Dining Services to voice their frustrations. “We have contacted management and collectivized. We sent them emails. They have not responded … We've been contacting them … since the beginning of the semester. They know the issues,” one student said.

When baristas were asked about potentially forming a union, one responded, “As far as I know, there won't be any unionizing. Our complaints are just easy, easy fixes, maybe in the future.” Another staff member said they were not comfortable with answering that question themselves.

Mount Holyoke News asked baristas what management can do to improve. One answered, “Management needs to do better with their hiring process and with the training process.” Another responded, “[I] think they need to start listening and engaging with us and acknowledging that we really care about the work we do, as well as … considering what is a priority for rules that need to be enforced and what is not, and also re-examining ways that they can make their staff feel like they’re cared for.”

Madeleine Diesl ’28 contributed fact-checking.

MHC After Dark bingo held

Photo by Jo Elliot ’28

Students congregate in the Great Room to all play bingo during a Mount Holyoke After Dark event.

By Jo Elliott ‘28

Staff Writer

Almost every Friday evening, the Great Room is home to MHC After Dark’s substance-free events. The events rotate in themes and events, Oct. 3’s event being bingo. MHC After Dark’s programming offers students the opportunity to participate in late night events without the use of substances, offering community and fun to those who don’t consume substances.

The series of events runs every Friday and Saturday night from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. Both the Office of Student Involvement and BeWell host these events. Some of their past nights include Just Dance parties and craft nights. Most MHC After Dark programs are held in the Great Room at Blanchard Hall.

Mia Gonzales Jackson ‘26 attended the bingo night on, and noted that, “I am a big fan of bingo events on campus! The event I attended was hosted by the Division of Student Life and part of the MHC After Dark programming. Personally, I enjoy playing bingo because it is simple and fun.”

Another attendee who spoke highly of the event, Maddie Stith ‘26, said, “I like events like these because I feel like it forces me to not stay in my dorm for the whole day, and it allows me to connect with people that I don't get to see often because it's a mutual enjoyment for such activities and allows me to spend time with groups of people that I know.”

Both attendees highlighted the importance of having these drug-free events on campus with Jackson saying, “I think offering this program supports Mount Holyoke's campus-wide drug-free policy and offers a different position on what an enjoyable college experience contains. For those who do not follow the crowd, it is a reminder that we are not left out or denied opportunities to have fun.”

Similarly, Stith stated, “I feel like it gives time and an open space for people who are not really into [drinking or consuming other substances] or people who literally cannot due to whatever medical reasons because that's also a thing.”

Substance-free events on college campuses can help ensure students who don’t use drugs or alcohol feel isolated from other students. Especially when it comes to the pressure of being in close proximity to substances, which often feature prominently at student-hosted parties.

“The college experience provides a context where experimentation with alcohol and other substances is facilitated by new freedoms, ample free time, reduced supervision, transitions to new social contexts, and a culture of partying,” Pennsylvania State University researchers state. “Studies suggest that students who spend more time in naturally-occurring alcohol-free activities including academics, volunteering, and campus activities (excluding fraternity and sorority activities) report less alcohol use.”

Stith touted the social benefits of going to events like these for herself: “It's also a really nice thing to be able to do so you don't have to worry about feeling excluded or left out or like you're not fitting in with the environment.”

Madeleine Diesl ’28 contributed fact-checking.

Mount Holyoke rings in another academic school year

Photo by Elizabeth Murray ’26
Students decked out in their class colors gathered in the Gettell Amphitheater to watch as this year’s Convocation began on a bright Tuesday morning.

Elizabeth Murray ‘26

Features Editor

It was a sunny day, and students enthusiastically filled the Gettell Amphitheater as the Five College West African Music Ensemble played. On Sept. 2, Mount Holyoke College held its annual Convocation to mark the beginning of a new academic year.

Convocation is a time-honored Mount Holyoke tradition, welcoming new and returning students. For first years, it's the wrap-up to orientation and their first campus-wide tradition. For seniors, it’s a great way to start their last year. “Everyone was cheering for all classes and faculty with catchy chants that made it hard not [to] join in! Not to mention some of the insanely creative outfits of some students that were a sight to see! I had such a great time and can’t wait for next year’s convocation!” Adrian Moncrief ’29 said in an email interview with Mount Holyoke News.

Although the Amphitheater’s ramp was blocked by construction, an accessible viewing was organized in the Gamble Auditorium. When asked about experiencing convocation indoors, Mia Gonzales Jackson ’26 said, “Folks in charge made sure we got water and beads, so we were well taken care of; [they] even made sure I made it back outside for the senior photo.”

Yet, despite many positive experiences, this year's Convocation was mired in controversy. Mount Holyoke College facilities workers, dining employees and housekeepers, who are members of the Service Employees International Union and the United Auto Workers Union, had gone six months without coming to an agreement on a contract. On Convocation, the workers protested the lengthy negotiations with a strike, during which the college hired outside staff for the post-Convocation barbecue. This was criticized as strike-breaking and prompted calls for a boycott in the days leading up to the ceremony. Many students chose to wear union pins and hold up signs expressing their support for the strike during the ceremony.

As the senior students and faculty came down the stairs, the usual convocation energy was high, and everyone took their seats. However, when Sally Durdan ’81, chair of the Board of Trustees, began her speech thanking the College’s staff for their hard work, the crowd immediately broke out into chants of “pay your workers” and “no Convocation,” interrupting the ceremony for several minutes.

Vic Klapa ’26, who had brought their own megaphone, led the chant and read a speech criticizing the college’s treatment of its staff. Eventually, President Holley came to the podium, at which point the Mount Holyoke Convocation Choir turned their chairs away from her. She stated her support for the College’s workers and her commitment to finding a solution. “We will never stay as a college that does not fairly engage with its workers. I promise,” she assured. President Holley also said that if the students did not wish to proceed with Convocation, she would respect that decision.

The crowd settled, and Convocation proceeded as normal. Durdan finished her speech and then ceded the podium to President Holley. In her speech, Holley announced that the theme for this year's Convocation was sustainability, “in every sense of the word.” Holley’s speech highlighted the College’s efforts to become environmentally sustainable through its geothermal project, as well as ensuring the Mount Holyoke community is sustainable through all the upheavals the world may throw at it. In her speech President Holley noted how in its 188-year history Mount Holyoke’s community has withstood natural disasters, wars, and pandemics, to name a few, and that it will continue on.

Next was a speech by Student Government Association (SGA) President Nathania Amadi ’26. Amadi spoke about making the Mount Holyoke College community stronger by continuously working to be inclusive and rejecting all forms of hate, prejudice, and bullying. She also highlighted SGA’s successes, such as providing free laundry in the dorms and free sanitary products in the bathrooms in Blanchard Hall. In a touching moment, Amadi called on all current and past members of the SGA to stand up and thanked them for their hard work and effort, highlighting that these wins were not a one-person job. She ended her speech by noting that growth is a continuous process, and encouraging our community to strive for it.

When asked about her feelings post-Convocation, Amadi said, “After the ceremony, I felt exhilarated, empowered, and excited to start the new year! Hearing the cheers from everyone whilst talking about change during my speech was reassuring that our great community will embrace and implement said change.”

After Amadi, Angelica Patterson, Curator of Education and Outreach for the Miller Worley Center for the Environment, spoke on the theme of sustainability and how it expands beyond environmental causes, encouraging personal growth and challenge. This was followed by the choir led by Colin Britt, lecturer in music and director of choral activities, singing “I. we have come,” a Persian song arranged by Abbie Betinis, based on the poems of Hâfez.

The final speaker was Olivia Aguilar, associate professor of environmental studies. Her speech tied back to this year’s common read, “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia Butler, comparing the novel’s plot to the issues facing our world today. In particular, she highlighted how the novel discusses climate change and how Mount Holyoke community members can learn to fight for a better future through our community.

The choir closed the ceremony with a rendition of the alma mater, and the seniors posed for their class photograph. In the end, a long-held school tradition marked by students making their voices heard probably made this year's Convocation the most Mount Holyoke of them all.

Leah Dutcher ’28 contributed fact-checking.