Mount Holyoke College’s varsity and club sports began in-person practices on Feb. 1. Only student-athletes currently on campus can attend in-person practices run by the coaches. To stay within the guidelines set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the NCAA, several changes have been made to usual team practice protocol.
This year, the Mount Holyoke Posse community held its annual PossePlus Retreat virtually. The Posse Foundation “identifies, recruits and trains individuals with extraordinary leadership potential.” Posse Scholars from various chapters throughout the country receive full-tuition scholarships from Posse’s partner colleges and universities, including Mount Holyoke.
After a number of students tested positive for COVID-19 in North Rockefeller Hall, the College placed one floor — and then the entire building — under temporary quarantine lockdown.
According to several students, one floor of North Rockefeller was put under modified quarantine last week. When further test results showed cases on a different floor of the residence hall, the entire building was locked down — though students were still permitted to leave for normal to-go meals at the Dining Commons. During the quarantine period, Health Services visited the dorm to administer COVID-19 test swabs to students each day. The initial full-building quarantine period, which began on Jan. 31, was extended twice, once on Feb. 2 and again on Feb. 4.
Mount Holyoke continued its second annual Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King Week of Racial Justice and Reconciliation with a series of events and virtual talks.
On Jan. 24, Mount Holyoke alumna Quanita Haley ’12 gave a sermon entitled “Let Justice Roll Down: A Christian Service in Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”
After serving as a member of the House of Representatives and mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico for a combined 12 years, Carmen Yulín Cruz was recently appointed the Harriet L. Weissman and Paul M. Weissman distinguished fellow in leadership at the Weissman Center for Leadership. She will hold the position in the Weissman Center through December 2021, though her contract could extend another year.
After an initial two-week quarantine period, Mount Holyoke College has officially marked a shift into Operating Level 2: Modified Normal COVID-19 Operations with Heightened Awareness. Residential students received a series of communications from the Office of Residential Life alerting them of the new restrictions and guidelines beginning on Feb. 1.
Mount Holyoke began its first week of the spring term with the second annual Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King Week of Racial Justice and Reconciliation. The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion partnered with the Division of Student Life to create a program of events “in recognition of the ongoing challenges with race relations in the United States.” According to the Mount Holyoke events calendar, the week’s theme was “Our Interconnectedness Binds Us Together.”
On the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 9, the College sent out an email containing updates on the plans for Commencement and reunion 2021. With a vaccine seemingly on the way, plans may change depending on how the COVID-19 pandemic develops over the coming months. However, as COVID-19 restrictions on outdoor gatherings continue to tighten in the state of Massachusetts, an official decision on the class of 2021’s commencement ceremony has yet to be made. Over the following months, the College will continue to monitor the state of the pandemic and inform decisions based on the safety guidelines regarding in-person gatherings and travel. An official decision about Commencement 2021 will be announced by the end of this February.
This semester, the film media theater department adapted to current limitations set by the COVID-19 pandemic and produced “Much Ado About Nothing.” Because the play could not be performed in person or in front of an audience, its director, Noah Tuleja, decided to produce the comedy in the style of a radio play.
Tuleja, director of Rooke Theatre and assistant professor of film media theater, said that as early as May, he knew that the theater would not be able to host 100 to 150 to watch the show even if students came back to campus. With that in mind, he began to reimagine and adapt the season to avoid cancellation.
