BY FIONA HINDS ’21
The town of South Hadley initiated a ban on singleuse plastic bags in July 2018, according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette. Stores throughout the town have transitioned to offering only paper, compostable, biodegradable or reusable bags. Voters approved this plan during the April 2017 town election with a vote of 921 infavor and 552 against. As of October 2018, 85 towns across Massachusetts, including Amherst and Northampton, have implemented plastic bag regulations.
BY TEAGAN WEBB ’19
Given the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford during the hearings for Supreme Court justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh this week, I have had trouble feeling sex positive. I know many others have found this disturbing news distracting and re-traumatizing. I don’t feel like it’s appropriate or genuine this week to talk about how to have satisfying sex. This week, I’d like to discuss self-protection and self-care.
BY TESS REMICK ’21
Since 1837, Mount Holyoke College has provided resources to students interested in science and engineering, fields in which women make up less than a third of the population, according to the Miller Worley Center website. Nearly 30 percent of Mount Holyoke students major in STEM fields; this is significantly higher than the number of women who study these subjects at comparable coeducational institutions.
BY CHEYENNE ELLIS ’21
Planned Parenthood has recently selected Dr. Leana Wen, a former emergency room doctor and current health commissioner for Baltimore, as their next president. Wen will assume the position with experience in patient and community activism, as well as hands-on medical experience. She will be the first physician to accept the role in over 50 years, according to the New York Times.
BY TESS REMICK ’21
This month, California approved their ambitious plan to rely on 100 percent clean electricity by 2045. . With its pledge, California has joined Hawaii as only the second state to commit to clean energy. Other states, including Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Washington D.C., are also looking into longterm renewable energy plans, according to the New York Times.
BY TESS REMICK ’21
Students from colleges and universities all over the world turn to social media as a place to connect with each other at the start of each new school year. Being away from home for the first time while having the chance to reinvent themselves results in students attempting to make new friends through social media apps. As a relatively small liberal arts college, students at Mount Holyoke have the opportunity to follow their peers’ lives through the lens of social media on a more intimate level than many.
