Naieka Raj

C.A.U.S.E. hosts IceCapella

BY NAIEKA RAJ ’19

On Jan. 27, Creating Awareness and Unity for Social Equity hosted a jam called IceCapella featuring Mount Holyoke a cappella groups: Diversions, Milk & Cookies, Raag, The Nice Shoes and The Victory Eights. The event took place at Chapin Auditorium from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. and was free to the public.

Students explore both race and romance in “Intimate Apparel”

BY NAIEKA RAJ '19

The department of theater arts opened its fall season with Lynn Nottage’s “Intimate Apparel,” directed by Hampshire College professor Natalie Sowell. Set in 1905, the play explores themes of race, class and gender through the eyes of a New York City seamstress named Esther, played by Robyn Sutton-Fernandez ’17. 

Project: Theatre presents well-timed play on words

BY NAIEKA RAJ '19

Project:Theatre’s production of Alice Threw the Looking Glass, written by John Walch, merges Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland with the famous grammar manual The Elements of Style. The central themes of this story, as described by the character EB White, are “learning to find [one’s] voice” and developing ways to deal with one’s “inner critic.” After failing her English paper, Alice travels to a magical land called Effingham, and acquires the unique skills necessary for academic writing.

Make an app or a rap: Eva Snyder ’17 blends music and technology in senior thesis project

BY NAIEKA RAJ ’19

Eva Snyder ’17, a computer science and music double major and founder of HackHolyoke, is creating a small album and recording the entire process as part of her senior thesis. By using the program ‘Logic’ to create music electronically, this thesis project blends her love of music with her love of technology, while reflecting Snyder’s entrepreneurial spirit.

Review: A Weekend with Wes Anderson

BY NAIEKA RAJ '19

Self-proclaimed “Andersonians” filed into The Academy of Music Theatre in Northampton on Saturday for the second installment of ‘A Weekend With Wes Anderson,’ a film festival that stretched over Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The audience laughed, sighed and shared their emotions with one another throughout the screenings of "Moonrise Kingdom," "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou." If they weren’t predicting the upcoming lines, you’d think the guests were seeing these films for the first time.