Mount Holyoke hosts Five College Philosophy Conference
On Feb. 15 and 16, Mount Holyoke College hosted the annual Five College Philosophy Conference, sponsored by the philosophy department and the Philosophy Society. The first day consisted of a series of workshops geared towards philosophy students. On the second day, students presented their ideas on topics ranging from environmental ethics to just war theory.
New Living Learning Communities introduced
BY SAACHI KHANDPUR ’22
Rachel Alldis announced in an email to the Mount Holyoke community on Feb. 5, 2019 that Residential Life is launching three new Living Learning Communities. These new additions contribute to a total of fourteen LLCs at Mount Holyoke, each based on a common interest or shared identity.
MoRomance: Dirty Dancing
SGA Spotlight: Committee Yourself Week
BY ANNAMARIE WIRE ’22, SAEE CHITALE ’22 AND SAM HERSH ’19
Student Government Association (SGA) Committees are student-run focus groups that work to solve problems to plan and to regulate systems that enable the smooth functioning of various aspects of the Mount Holyoke community. In honor of Committee Yourself Week, the Mount Holyoke News wanted to take the time to feature a few of the many committees that are now accepting new student members.
Mary Lyon’s vision prevails: Campus remains residential
Springie Spotlight!
New Makerspace opens in Prospect
Discussions of diversity in philosophy spark curriculum changes
Kijua Sanders-McMurtry: Mount Holyoke’s first chief diversity officer
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.
Students speak out with “Mount Holyoke Doesn’t Teach Me” photo project
Mara Kleinberg ’22 holds a sign reading “Mount Holyoke doesn’t teach me any other music for vespers besides Christmas carols which violate my faith.”
Hunar Anand ’21 holds a sign reading “Mount Holyoke doesn’t teach me about my religion — Sikhism.”
Lynn Shen ’19 holds a sign reading “Mount Holyoke doesn’t teach me non-Euro-American centric environmental issues/actions/histories.”
Sophie Vincent ’22 holds a sign reading “Mount Holyoke doesn’t teach me the histories of acts of violence committed against ethnic minorities outside the U.S.A.”
BY GABRIELLE SHANG ’22
Representatives from six student organizations organized a photo campaign at Blanchard Community Center called “Mount Holyoke Doesn’t Teach Me” on Nov. 1. The goal of the campaign was to promote the representation of people of color — and many other marginalized identities — in liberal arts education. Students were provided a dry-erase board and a marker to respond to the prompt “Mount Holyoke Doesn’t Teach Me.”
Mount Holyoke hosts triennial Black Alumnae Conference
BY ANNAMARIE WIRE ’22
Over the weekend, Black Mount Holyoke alumnae from across the country and around the world returned to campus to participate in the Alumnae Association’s 15th triennial Black Alumnae Conference. This conference was of special importance this year, as it coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Association for Pan-African Unity (APAU), formerly the Afro-American Society, and of the founding of the Betty Shabazz Cultural Center. It was also the first-ever Black Alumnae Conference live-streamed internationally to countries in Africa and the Caribbean, as well as in the U.S.
College Democrats get out the vote for MHC
Students speak on the latest study craze
Inclusive sex education workshop hits the spot
Title IX and you
BY SAEE CHITALE ’22
What is Title IX?
Title IX is a federal civil rights law passed as part of the Education Amendments of 1972 that states “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
Chop, chop! Students on MoHo’s famous haircut
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.
Stephens responds to criticisms and controversy
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.
Sonya’s story: From working-class roots to Cambridge University
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.
