Hefner should not be idolized for his minor activism and objectification of women

Hefner should not be idolized for his minor activism and objectification of women

BY CHLOE JENSEN ’20

After the death of Playboy Enterprises owner and founder, Hugh Hefner this past week, many people said he should be acknowledged for his advocacy of the early feminist and LGBTQ rights movement. However, despite his early efforts to normalize LGBTQ people and the feminist movement, his support was built on the premise of profit rather than the movements themselves. Hugh Hefner is absolutely not the LGBTQ supporter or feminist icon that we need, and his exploitation and objectification of women makes that clear. 

Title IX rescindment further silences victims

Title IX rescindment further silences victims

BY LILY REAVIS ’21

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced that her department is formally rescinding Obama-era guidance on how college campuses should handle sexual assaults under the Title IX law on Sept. 22. This decision effectively silences sexual assault victims, protects perpetrators and creates a community of silence on college campuses. 

MHC’s body-positivity movement is hypocritical

MHC’s body-positivity movement is hypocritical

BY NAIEKA RAJ ’19

As the body-positivity movement advances through the Mount Holyoke College community, more and more questions surrounding the authenticity of these words are raised each day. With a large number of Lena Dunham-type “free-spirited” students roaming the campus and dominating the social scene, one would expect attitudes of self-love and appreciation to prevail just as confidently. Sadly, this is not the case and feelings of self-hate and struggles to meet conventional beauty standards continue to plague our daily existence. Although self care and body-positivity can be helpful, its language can be convoluted and not accessible to all. 

Healthy coping mechanisms aren’t neurotypical

Healthy coping mechanisms aren’t neurotypical

BY CHLOE JENSEN ’20

When you’re struggling with depression or anxiety, it is very acceptable to passively deal with it through a slew of unhealthy coping mechanisms: binge-drinking every weekend, smoking cigarettes, developing eating disorders and self-harm, to name just a few. While students are struggling with their mental health, it is very socially acceptable for them to engage in gluttonous behavior while completely disregarding healthy and productive coping mechanisms and labeling them as “neurotypical.” This is toxic and maintains the attitude that healthy, self-care activities are only for non-mentally ill people.

Living Learning Communities should focus on learning and not on their location

Living Learning Communities should focus on learning and not on their location

BY CHLOE JENSEN ’20

While Mount Holyoke’s Learning Communities may be seemingly quirky and community-building, many of their interest-based floors prove to be an elaborate excuse to live in nice dorms, like Wilder or the Mandelles, and leave non-participating students with a higher chance of living in a lesser dorm. 

DACA creates Dreamers, the ideal citizens

DACA creates Dreamers, the ideal citizens

BY NAIEKA RAJ ’19

Mount Holyoke College students have recently been hit by President Trump’s withdrawal from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA. First issued in the summer of 2012 by President Obama, this program was able to provide some level of relief for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children by allowing youths to defer their immigration case for a period of two years. This meant young people were able to further their educational and professional goals and become accomplished community members. According to state records, the program has been a successful exception to an otherwise broken immigration system. Today, thousands of “Dreamers” face the prospect of losing the only home they’ve ever known, as the country’s attitude towards immigrants and ethnic minorities grows increasingly hostile each day. 

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Haute Cuisine Hot-Takes: The best and worst M&Cs

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BY SARAH PAUST ’20

Are you new to Mount Holyoke and unsure if that “Milk & Cookies” thing is all it’s cracked up to be? Are you a cynical returning student looking to validate your burning hatred for craisin oatmeal bars? Here are some hot takes to help you navigate M&Cs.

The government can no longer afford to neglect climate change

The government can no longer afford to neglect climate change

BY LILY REAVIS ’21

Last week, Hurricane Irma hit the southern tip of Florida and continued up the Gulf Coast, prompting the evacuation of 6.3 million people and causing at least 26 deaths, according to CNN. This supposed “500-year storm” occurred just two weeks after Hurricane Harvey touched down in Texas, where city and county officials reported at least71 deaths. 

“What Happened” invites bias from left and right

“What Happened” invites bias from left and right

BY JULIA SIENKIEWICZ ’20

Hillary Rodham Clinton. The name provokes varied reactions. Just as it was this time last year it’s difficult to detach opinions on Clinton’s present actions from preformed opinions of her as a person, whether that view be positive, negative or some other combination of feelings. Starting her time in the public eye as a politician’s wife, her projected image has changed so often over the years that it’s easy for many to dismiss her as the embodiment of everything wrong with American politics. 

Daisy Chain: a rewarding Time

Daisy Chain: a rewarding Time

BY ELIZABETH NELSON ’18

Daisy Chain, Mount Holyoke’s very own Ultimate Frisbee team, has been around since 2005. The team arose from humble beginnings with just a few friends who had a passion for frisbee. Fast forward 12 years, and the team has already accomplished more than the team’s founders ever thought possible. A supportive, loving environment of energetic players has largely contributed to the success of Daisy Chain over the past 12 years. I joined the team during my first year at Mount Holyoke during the fall of 2014, and soon realized that I had made one of the best decisions of my college career.

Orientation hits all the right notes for Roepke ‘21

BY CASEY ROEPKE ’21

Let me just preface this by saying: I am that first year. I wear my lanyard everywhere, with my free green flashlight from the move-in resource fair attached to it. I post pictures with my “best friends” the second day of knowing them. And I most definitely took a selfie with Jorge the first time I saw him (okay, also the second. And the third). So, as you can probably tell, I am absolutely the target audience for Mount Holyoke Orientation — and I loved every minute of it, from trekking up four flights of stairs with my mini-fridge to making stress balls during the Be Well workshop to having the alma mater stuck in my head for three days in a row.

Student whining will not make laundry cheaper

Student whining will not make laundry cheaper

BY CHLOE JENSEN ’20

As a college student, I understand how every little thing seems to add up during the semester, whether it’s from washing laundry or adding extra Dining Dollars on your OneCard or buying textbooks. With the first week back at Mount Holyoke,  I saw many students outraged over the 50 cent price increase in laundry. 

“Mother of all bombs” sets a precedent for bad foreign policy

BY SARAH MCCOOL ’18

On April 13, the United States of America dropped the “Mother of all Bombs” on Afghanistan, in what the Trump administration claimed to be a decisive action against the Islamic State. The bomb was originally designed as a deterrent during the Iraq War, a sort of de-escalation of Mutually Assured Destruction. It has all of the killing power of a nuclear bomb without the unsavory business of nuclear radiation. You could say that “America is back” or that America is finally acting by dropping this massive bomb on ISIS. Hawkish pundits will argue that there is no harm in dropping this bomb since the massive killing force of the U.S. military was turned against ISIS, whichthey would characterize as an evil organization of radical Islamic terrorists that threatens the national security of the United States. But their actions threaten the United States even more directly than ISIS does.

The value of college for a low-income student

BY CHLOE JENSEN ’20

“As a low-income student, I see every step I take here as an opportunity to advance from where I came from,” Izabella Czejdo ’20 says. She has taken the time out of her busy schedule as a full time student, international relations liaison, dining hall worker and intern for the Naruna Center for Peacebuilding located in Amherst to speak with me. Growing up in a lower-income household, she feels, has taught her the true value of what it means to take advantage of opportunities that Mount Holyoke gives her, since she did not grow up with them at her disposal. 

How computer science sets its students up for failure

BY MARYANNE MAGNIER ’18

Last spring, Jean Sammet ’48, one of the first computer programmers ever, came to campus to give a talk. As a computer science minor, I eagerly attended in order to gain advice and insight about my field. During the talk, she shared information that stood out to me: The vast majority of the first computer programmers were women. Since, according to U.S. News, only around 18 percent of computer science majors today are women, I began to wonder when this changed. I stumbled upon an NPR Planet Money episode titled “When Women Stopped Coding.” When computers started becoming more common, they were marketed heavily toward men. In the 1980s, it was common for men to have grown up using computers. It was less so for women. Young men were often coming into classes with that advantage, and young women became discouraged by their obvious disadvantage of simply being less familiar with computers. 

A response to professor Gail Hornstein’s article in the Chronicle of Higher Education

BY OLIVIA COLLINS ’18

Dear professor Hornstein:

I’m here to help.

I’m here to help you understand what your students might be going through when they request accommodations for your class. I’m here to help you put yourself in the shoes of some ‘punk’ student who averts her gaze from time-to-time and might get a little sweaty at the prospect of explaining her mental health to a person in a position of power. I’m here to help explain, to the best of my ability, why a good portion of campus has its hackles up over your article in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Getting back to Mount Holyoke’s roots: Support a garden education program at MHC

Getting back to Mount Holyoke’s roots: Support a garden education program at MHC

BY SAMANTHA ABNEY '17

The roots of agriculture run deep in Western Massachusetts, dating as far back as the 1600s and enduring throughout the birth of modern American agriculture and community supported agricultural efforts in the Connecticut River Valley, according to WGBY.

Go further than “Autism Awareness”: Appreciate autistic people for who they are

BY HANNAH ROACH '17

Autism Awareness Month is a misnomer. Chances are, you are aware of autistic people. The far more difficult question is whether or not you appreciate autistic people. A month that is supposed to be for the support, love and appreciation of autistic people becomes corrupted when we “light it up blue.”

The Jensen Column: How to be an ally to lower-income students

BY CHLOE JENSEN '20

While it may seem as though I only write this weekly column to complain about the Mount Holyoke economic elite, I do genuinely believe that many of our wealthiest students can and should reflect appropriately on their privilege in order to benefit low-income students.

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