A member of the pre-law board reflects on women of color in law event

Graphic by Quill Nishi-Leonard ’27 via Canva

BY JO ELLIOTT ’28

FEATURES EDITOR

On Sunday, March 8, International Women’s Day was celebrated at Mount Holyoke College by the panel event, “Leading with Perspectives: The Future of Women of Color in Law.” The panel was joined by guest speakers Siqi Zhao ’17, Ashanta Evans Blackwell ’95 and Rhynette Northcross Hurd ’71. The panelists discussed “their career journeys, the challenges and opportunities they have encountered, or advice on navigating uncertainty in the current political or legal landscape.”

Abby Paull ’28, the social media coordinator of the pre-law board, was “encouraged to go to the event, to show our support for the alums.” 

“I thought it was really interesting, [and] I liked the accessibility of it being on Zoom, a lot of times we have our pre-law panels in a conference room, and by this being on Zoom it made it more accessible, for me and a lot of other students to join and learn [new] perspectives.” When asked about the content of the event Paull stated, “I thought their insights on imposter syndrome were the most interesting because we already got into this school so we’re already so much above the curve … but one of them told us we have to take a second to appreciate how far you’ve come.”

When speaking about the alums, Paull said, “They talked about how law can be a gateway to many things, especially working in public policy. That matters a lot to me as someone who wants to potentially go to D.C. post-grad. I think the crucial part is knowing your worth, all of the alums have gone through struggles of their own, and them being confident enough to share that with us and turn that into a positive message meant a lot to me.”

Speaking on what it means for alums to be a part of these events, Paull stated “It gives alums a chance to connect back to their school. We are already a heavily alum based college, and by allowing them to give their perspectives it allows us to learn more about the legal field and understand what it’s like to be a woman in the legal field.”

“I think it’s really important especially with what's happening with all the silencing that's been [going on] in the Trump administration. If I was an alum I would want to be asked to come back. The alum-student relationship is very crucial to our networking, and being able to talk about law and some of the downsides of it, I know one of the panelists talked about her experience being a judge and how she has threats against her and she has to have an officer follow her around the court house, and everything that goes into that. Especially in this trying political climate, we need that connection, we need organization.”

From the alums she was “able to gain insight on what’s happening in the legal field, and if we want to reconsider, perhaps modifying our plans. A lot of them talked about taking time between law school and undergraduate to reassess what you want.”

“Imposter syndrome came up a lot, and they all reaffirmed that you’re here for a reason, you’re already one step there, and Mount Holyoke gets you that foot in the door in the legal field.”

Angelina Godinez ’28 contributed fact-checking.

Editor’s note: Abby Paull ’28 is a staff writer for Mount Holyoke News.

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.

The Great Goose Chase: Where is our beloved Jorge?

Graphic by Audrey Hanan ’28

By Quill Nishi-Leonard ’27

Editor-in-Chief

For many years, Unofficial LITS Mascot Jorge starred in new students’ introduction to LITS: The Great Goose Chase Scavenger Hunt. During the game — which took place during both fall and spring Orientation — students were encouraged to “solve puzzles and find clues” to locate Jorge “before he gets into TOO much trouble,” according to the event listing on Embark.

Following the real goose’s death in December 2024, Jorge continued to appear in spirit on LITS’ website, Instagram, and the spring 2025 scavenger hunt. However, in the days leading up to this semester’s Orientation, posts featuring squirrels began appearing on LITS’ Instagram. Then, on Aug. 29, LITS hosted the Mean Squirrels Scavenger Hunt. The new game was functionally similar to the Great Goose Chase, but saw Jorge replaced with a squirrel some have dubbed "Regina Forage,” according to LITS.

Mount Holyoke News interviewed some students about their thoughts on Jorge, Regina Forage and the title of LITS’ unofficial mascot.

“Now that Jorge is gone, campus does feel different,” Sophia Virgadamo ’27 said in a text interview with Mount Holyoke News. “A little bit of that mystical whimsy is gone which I will miss but never forget … Jorge was a beautiful icon and should remain the mascot as to honor his memory.”

Saturn Barnes ’27 has also been impacted by Jorge’s death. “[Jorge] was such a core part of my memories on this campus … I still get sad when I see the Canada geese without him,” Barnes said. “I totally get why they had to replace Jorge, and the squirrels are cute, but it doesn’t really feel unique to us.”

In an email to Mount Holyoke News, LITS wrote, “The squirrel … is, for now, only a character in our new student orientation Mean Squirrels scavenger hunt.” While Regina Forage has featured prominently in LITS’ branding this year, Jorge remains LITS’ unofficial mascot. 

“If there was ever to be a new unofficial mascot, we think it should grow organically out of the love of the MHC community like Jorge did,” LITS further clarified.

“I definitely miss his presence,” Barnes spoke about Jorge’s lasting influence on the College. “I feel like he could be a new campus myth or legend.”

For some students, Jorge has already ascended to the status of campus legend. Virgadamo and their friends decided to research Jorge’s history after his death: “After his passing my friends and [I] became even more dedicated to uncovering the truth to Jorge's lore, this culminated in a … visit to the archives where we discovered that according to school records Jorge has been the same goose for the past … 30 years.”

“In his death he may live on, every time we need help with the two factor authentication or some phishing scam gets into our emails,” Virgadamo concluded.

Madeleine Diesl ’28 contributed fact checking.