BY SABA FIAZUDDIN ’21 AND FALGUNI BASNET ’21
Mount Holyoke’s Building on our Momentum (BOOM) conference that was held on March 26 and 27 featured a number of sessions reflecting on Mount Holyoke’s efforts to be diverse, equitable and inclusive. One of the workshops led by Acting President Sonya Stephens was titled “Mount Holyoke in the 21st Century,” and featured group discussions addressing community concerns.
BY CAITLIN LYNCH ’20
The LEAP (Learning from Application) Symposium is an annual gathering where Mount Holyoke students present on their summer internships or research to the public. According to the Mount Holyoke website, the LEAP symposium for summer work has been around at the College for 13 years, and has gone by the name LEAP since 2008.
BY ELEANOR HARRIS ’20
Tinder? Tired. Bumble? Boring. MoRomance? Magical.This week, we matched Hannah*, a sophomore, who described herself as “spunky, fun-loving and artistic,” with Rose*, a “silly but thoughtful” junior. On paper, they seemed like a perfect match. Both told us that they like dance, music and similarly wholesome activities. Rose called her romantic history “limited,” while Hannah referred to her own as some “friendly flirting.”
BY CAITLIN LYNCH ’20
“I feel the campus hum with wishful thinking about this time of year,” said Rachel Fink, a biology professor who’s been working for Mount Holyoke since 1986, on the prospect of Mountain Day. “Every year there is the same level of excitement and enthusiasm, and everyone has their own way of calculating odds.”
BY SABA FIAZUDDIN ’21
Moving to a new place is always challenging, regardless of who you are and where you come from. International students, however, not only have to deal with the complications of acclimating to a new place, but also have to spend a significant period of time trying to get accustomed to the culture and social life of their new home.
BY FALGUNI BASNET ’21
This week, many students from Mount Holyoke College visited New England’s great state fair, “The Big E.” Held every September in West Springfield, Massachusetts, the 17-day event features a wide range of attractions, including rides, concerts, a petting zoo, cooking shows, car shows, fair food vendors and much more.
BY FLORI NEEDLE ’20
Mount Holyoke’s stated goal in renovating Blanchard is to create a space in which intellectual and social interactions can happen at once. According to the Mount Holyoke website, most of the $50 million renovations will be completed in the spring of 2018. However, some of the changes to Blanchard happened over the summer of 2017.
BY EILEEN O’GRADY ’18
Ralph Nader, tall and stoop-shouldered in his pinstripe suit, leaned both hands on the borrowed podium set up in the cozy sitting room of professor Christopher Pyle’s house in South Hadley last Wednesday evening. A group of 15 students perched on a collection of sofas and dining room chairs in a lamplit circle around him, their gazes fixed on the 83-year old political activist with rapt attention.
BY MICHALA SAWYER ’17
Passover, known as Pesach in Hebrew, is an eight-day celebration of the freedom from slavery of the Israelites in Egypt. It is observed by keeping kosher, avoiding anything leavened and participating in the seder meals, which include four cups of wine, matzah, bitter herbs and retelling the Exodus narrative. Eating on campus can potentially be difficult for Jewish students observing Passover. To avoid leaven, or chametz in Hebrew, students have to avoid pasta, bread, cake, cookies, cereal, pizza and most alcoholic beverages, which make up some essential meals for college students.
BY HALEY ROBINSON '17
This week’s spotlight shines on Camille Coklow ‘16. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Coklow’s father was the driving force behind her interest in Mount Holyoke. “[He] really wanted me to attend a ‘pedigree’ institution and felt as though Mount Holyoke would be the perfect place for me,” Coklow shared.
BY MADELINE SKRAK '18
“It’s so weird that I never see any boys there,” says a young woman referring to the Mount Holyoke College campus, which is just 4 minutes away from where she works at the Cumberland Farms gas station and a half-mile drive from where she grew up in South Hadley. Her plastic nametag reads “Cortney.”
