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Taking away dislikes is not enough to stop social media harassment

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Taking away dislikes is not enough to stop social media harassment

In concept, removing “dislikes” from social media platforms seems like a good idea and a practical way to reduce harassment and negativity, but it might not be in practice. In reality, this is more superficial than it seems because rampant harassment persists. While there may be no public like-to-dislike metric anymore — having since been removed on platforms like Facebook and YouTube — this change is not enough. Many times, it seems that the most that any platform does is advise members to be respectful of community guidelines, with a possibility of flagging spam comments. Due to the popularity of sharing material, moderation of sensitive material or anything that violates community guidelines is often difficult.

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What a broken bridge has taught us about anti-Blackness

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What a broken bridge has taught us about anti-Blackness

On March 26, the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, collapsed after a container ship collided with it in a tragedy that led to six deaths. However, after a clip of the city’s mayor, Brandon M. Scott, speaking about the tragedy circulated online, users quickly began attacking him. 

Identity politics aren’t going anywhere, but political polarization might

Identity politics aren’t going anywhere, but political polarization might

It’s no secret that tensions have been consistently rising in the United States between the two political parties. One explanation often cited for this growing divide is the concept of “identity politics,” where individuals evaluate issues through the lens of their association with a specific group, such as their gender, religion, race and more.

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Dining hall of horrors: We need to be more respectful of our dining staff

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Dining hall of horrors: We need to be more respectful of our dining staff

It’s a scenario that is all too common: You finish your meal in the Dining Commons and pick up your plates and cups. As soon as you enter the dish drop-off area, you are overcome with the thick and suffocating smell of who-knows-what. With a low droning sound, the conveyor belt rattles against tipped-over cups. The sides of the belt are splattered with sauce, milk, yogurt, coffee and sticky fluids; crumpled tea bags, pieces of food, stray forks and soggy napkins litter the space. Accidents happen, but this is a disaster on its own level.

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Mount Holyoke College: the land of laptops left behind

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Mount Holyoke College: the land of laptops left behind

Mount Holyoke College is known for its friendly, welcoming student body and safe campus — but does our attitude towards “MoHome” prepare us properly for the real world? More specifically, does our approach to community let us build bad habits?

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Mount Holyoke College’s approach to artificial intelligence defies its own mission statement

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Mount Holyoke College’s approach to artificial intelligence defies its own mission statement

If Mount Holyoke College is truly concerned with making innovative, adventurous education available to its students, then why is its administration limiting our resources and refusing to adapt our academic policies as technology progresses? Artificial intelligence is a polarizing new sector of technology rife with ethical issues and questionable privacy possibilities. AI has been known to perpetuate biases, spread misinformation, collect invasive amounts of online data and lift information from existing spaces online without proper accreditation or permission. Despite this, AI is still used and experimented with — often enough that, according to a survey by BestCollege, 56% of undergraduate and graduate students admitted to using AI on their assignments or exams.

In 2024, performative activism is still trending on social media

In 2024, performative activism is still trending on social media

Over the last 20 years, social media has become a powerful force in our world. According to an analysis of survey data by Kepios, as of 2024, about 62.3% of the world uses some form of social media, amounting to 4.95 billion people. Because of its accessibility and wide reach, social media has become a method of dispensing information about a variety of topics, including the paramount social and political issues of our world. In some ways, this can do a lot of good, largely in how it can inspire previously uninformed people to learn more about various causes. However, there are many pitfalls. 

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American voters are unhappy with their Presidential candidates, so who will they choose to elect in 2024?

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American voters are unhappy with their Presidential candidates, so who will they choose to elect in 2024?

We are in the third year of President Joe Biden’s term, and the 2024 presidential election is fast approaching. We have already met the candidates for each party, and the Republican candidates have debated on national television. However, it remains uncertain who will make it onto the ballot. 

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Letter to the Editor: some advice from The Honk to Mount Holyoke News

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Beneath the grand, expansive conifer tree located behind Creighton Residence Hall, The Honk's editorial board convened to commune with nature, and an explosive and previously unknown publication that claimed to be called the Mount Holyoke News was recovered from the forest floor. 

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Letter to the Editor: MHC faculty call for ceasefire in Gaza

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“We, the undersigned faculty members of Mount Holyoke College, join our colleagues from other institutions of higher education to call on college and university leaders to take a stand against state-sanctioned systematic violence against Palestinians. We call on President Danielle R. Holley to urge legislators to implement an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.”

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Bookworms, keep calm: Dystopian YA has returned

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Bookworms, keep calm: Dystopian YA has returned

Maybe you spent countless hours scouring YouTube for the most recent compilation video of Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson, either in press interviews or sorrowful “Hunger Games” edits set against the song “Just A Game” by Birdy. Or, if you felt a need to categorize yourself with a fictional group as the basis of your prepubescent personality, perhaps you took the same “Divergent” faction quiz multiple times until “Dauntless” shined through your laptop screen, hidden under the covers on a school night.

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Letter to the Editor: Anti-Zionism does not equal antisemitism

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I am writing in response to the front page article titled “Report of antisemitic incidents leads to investigation,” which was written by Emily Tarinelli and published in print on Nov. 10. The article reported on a visiting alum’s finding of the phrase “zionists not welcome here” written on a chalkboard in Clapp Hall, which the alum then reported to President [Danielle R.] Holley on the grounds that it did not make the alum feel welcome and she would “not be back.” I am writing to argue a necessary differing perspective of this event.

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“Before and after” weight loss content is problematic

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“Before and after” weight loss content is problematic

Saying that TikTok promotes an unhealthy standard for young women and their body image is about as uncontroversial a take as you can get. Between videos touting buccal fat removal surgery and recommending Botox™ injections for teenagers, the platform is rife with content that could leave even the most conventionally attractive person in shambles after just a cursory scroll of their For You page. However, a special kind of damage is dealt by a prolific genre of “glow-up” videos: ones that show people, nearly always women, in a “before” and “after” side-by-side of their weight loss journeys.

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The Hollywood labor strikes are over, but what has changed?

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The Hollywood labor strikes are over, but what has changed?

The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists strike recently came to an end after 118 days, with actors celebrating the prospect of returning to work. The union came to a historic deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, with the largest increase in minimum wage in 40 years, according to The Washington Post. However, because the deal is so new, it remains to be seen if it will be honored and if actual change will occur in the industry.

Instagram’s algorithm undermines smaller creators

Instagram’s algorithm undermines smaller creators

For a platform that markets itself on building connections and sparking inspiration, Instagram isolates and exhausts its smallest and most vulnerable creators. 

By destroying the visibility needed to survive on the platform by demanding that users follow trends just to be seen, the platform crushes creators’ efforts to reach new audiences and share their work. Instagram’s algorithm also rewards content theft in the form of video reuploads.

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The deadly consequences of Islamophobia: Remembering Wadea Al-Fayoume

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The deadly consequences of Islamophobia: Remembering Wadea Al-Fayoume

On Oct. 11, Wadea Al-Fayoume, a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy, was stabbed to death by Joseph Czuba, his family’s landlord, in a horrific tragedy. His mother was also attacked but survived. Their attacker was reportedly obsessed with coverage of Hamas’ attack on Israel and had begun to associate the actions of Hamas with every Palestinian. 

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Why we need to read archaic literature: the value of studying original texts

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Why we need to read archaic literature: the value of studying original texts

Opening a play — or any literary work — that was written hundreds of years ago can be a tremendously daunting task. The English language is incredibly dynamic and has evolved so much over the centuries that old texts might seem indecipherable through a modern lens. However, by reading these texts in their original forms, we can better appreciate the artistry of their creators and gain insight into the past.

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