New Archives exhibit on the history of international students at Mount Holyoke

Photo by Mira Crane ’27

A photo of one of the cases displaying the new archives exhibit on international students at MHC.

By Mira Crane ’27

Global Editor

On Sept. 25, Mount Holyoke College’s Archives and Special Collections held the opening reception for its new exhibit "Across Oceans, Across Time: A History of International Students at Mount Holyoke." The event was hosted by Archives and Special Collections, the McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives, and the International Student Organizing Committee, with food provided.

The evening began with an introduction from Deborah Richards, head of the Archives and Special Collections, who explained that this exhibit was completely student curated by six students: Mavis Xu ’26, Charlotte Blandino ’27, Phoenix Nehls ’27, Amelia Potter ’26, Anju Ito ’28, and Sky Cho ’25.

Richards explained that creating an exhibit is a massive undertaking and commended the students for the detailed, hard research they did over the summer. Richards then passed the baton to the student curators, who took the attendees around each of the exhibit cases and discussed the case they worked on.

Mavis Xu talked about individual international students, with an approximate timeframe of 1906 to the 1970s.

When reading through folders on student histories from the stacks, Xu looked at their lives before coming to Mount Holyoke College, their activities at the College, and their postgraduate experience. Xu found a variety of exciting stories.

Xu explained that international students carried on the legacy of Mary Lyon by doing work to support women. While researching, Xu “looked at administrative papers, club files, and individual student files, which included their photographs, letters, essays and sometimes records of the enterprise[s] they engaged in post-graduation.”

On that note, Charlotte Blandino discussed the international students’ early leadership in women’s education. She mentioned that the first international student was Susanna Major in the class of 1843. Blandino also noted that another early international student was Toshi Miyagawa, who arrived in the United States in 1890 to attend Mount Holyoke.

Phoenix Nehls explained that her research led her semi-chronologically through the history of international students at the College. She looked at the ways in which international populations changed and influenced the College over time.

Nehls noted that more specific international communities began to form in the 20th century. Lastly, she discussed Mount Holyoke’s presence during World War II and their establishment of scholarships for refugees.

This led into Amelia Potter’s research and curation of a case focused on the evolution of international students’ population makeup, beginning after World War II and spanning to the 1980s.

She explained that, post-World War II, Mount Holyoke began to receive more students from Latin American countries. Potter talked about her philosophy of letting these historical international students speak for themselves and tell their own stories.

She commented on the centrality of international students at the College and their great contributions, both to this community and beyond, through a variety of essential works. Potter articulated that the strength of the College comes from bringing together so many perspectives. She argued that in the danger of the current moment, Mount Holyoke’s diversity is more important than ever.

Conversely, Anju Ito’s research was focused more narrowly on the International Student Organizing Committee, also known as the ISOC. Ito explained that ISOC mainly works on events to promote international students and increase belonging. According to Ito, ISOC originally started as an orientation group. The organization took on its current role in 2013.

Ito highlighted historical ISOC events and how they helped students to connect with each other. She discussed the International Student Journal and the “What’s My Name Project,” two historical ISOC projects done with international students.

Sky Cho talked about the honor of highlighting ISOC as an international student coming from a diverse background, and the ways in which ISOC is personally meaningful to her. She described history as a story about what each person adds to the past, and discussed her intention of honoring the strength and solidarity of international students.

After the conclusion of the tour, attendees had the chance to ask questions of the exhibit curators. Nehls told a story about two international students who stole a car and drove across the country in the 1920s, coming back to the College just in time for convocation.

The exhibit is open to all students who want to visit, and there is a digital version which can be accessed by scanning the QR code on the exhibit’s display cases.

Speaking about the importance of the exhibit, Xu explained, “Speaking as a history major, I think the history of international students [is] integral to the history and identity of Mount Holyoke College. It is part of the diverse and liberal culture we are always proud of. It is through their eyes that we gain a fuller understanding of how the world out there looks, and free ourselves from ignorance and arrogance.”

As an international student, Xu found it comforting to imagine the paths of others who came before her, and she hopes that this exhibit reminds attendees that they are not alone.

Alayna Khan ’28 contributed fact-checking.

Vigil raises awareness about political turmoil in Nepal

Photo by Mira Crane ’27

NEPSO hosted a vigil on September 13 to raise awareness about the ongoing situation in Nepal.

By Mira Crane ’27 & Alia Bloomgarden ’29

Global Editor | Staff Writer

During the first week of September, Nepali youth overthrew the government.

Violence erupted on Sept. 8 with student demonstrations protesting a government ban on multiple social media platforms, as well as allegations of government corruption, according to The New York Times.

Government security forces opened fire on the protesters, and the controversy led to the prime minister’s resignation. The following day, Sept. 9, parliament and other government buildings were set aflame by angry crowds.

An interim prime minister, Sushila Karki, was named that Friday. Karki is a former chief justice of Nepal’s Supreme Court and will be the first female prime minister Nepal has seen, the BBC reported. Karki’s appointment was supported by Gen Z leaders.

Prashuna Tamang’26, president of the Nepali Student Organization — abbreviated as NEPSO — explained many Nepali citizens' view of the government leading up to the regime change. She said, "Growing up, we would always only learn about how the government's corrupted.”

According to Tamang, the government was inefficient, with no transparency and a large income gap within the country. Although Nepal went through many prime ministers, alternating almost every year, the same few prime ministers and two political parties were always in power, Tamang stated.

Many small parties didn't have a say or chance of gaining power in the government. She said that this system felt like a joke and her friends would call it a "love triangle.”

A month before the regime change, there was a movement on TikTok to expose corrupt politicians and their families. But Tamang never realized the movement had gotten so huge.

She explained, “I went back home this summer and everything was okay. And this was literally a month ago.”

A few weeks later, her sister told her she was going to a protest. Tamang didn’t think much of it. It was supposed to be a peaceful protest, after all.

However, according to Reuters, on Sept. 8 nineteen students were killed and more than 100 injured as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets.

Tamang was shocked when she awoke to the news.

She explained, “I knew that people had anger in them. I get where the rage came from.”

While the students began the protests, Tamang said, “Other political parties took this as a means to, like, spread their own propaganda … they were the ones who started the violence and it was not the peaceful protestors. So I think the infiltration kind of really made the situation bad.”

Tamang and NEPSO wanted to honor those who fought and died battling corruption. So, on Sept. 13, NEPSO held an evening vigil open to the entire Mount Holyoke College community.

The event was held in the Gettell Amphitheater, which was adorned with a poster collage about the crisis and the Nepali flag. Members of NEPSO also drew a chalk version of the flag and a chalk map of Nepal; statements in English and Nepali were written in chalk on the stage.

The event opened with an introduction from Tamang, who thanked everyone for coming and explained that the event was about honoring the Gen Z student protestors in Nepal and the lives that have been lost.

She passed the mic on to another member of NEPSO, who spoke about the context behind the events that unfolded in Nepal during the week of Sept. 8. This member discussed protests where students lost their lives and the appointment of a new caretaker prime minister. According to her speech, there is now a fragile but genuine sense of hope, and what happens next will shape Nepal’s future.

After this speech, attendees went up to the stage to receive candles, which were then placed around the Nepali flag and other pieces of chalk art. Tamang gave a speech about how the event was in solidarity with Nepal, and was intended to honor those who lost their lives and educate the Mount Holyoke community about recent events in Nepal. She also mentioned that the political turmoil was personal for members of NEPSO, many of whom have family in Nepal. All those present observed a moment of silence, and the evening ended with Tamang playing Nepal’s national anthem.

She explained that NEPSO’s goal is to spread awareness of the situation in Nepal across campus. “We felt personally for our own selves that we needed to honor the lives lost. Because we are here in a foreign country, we're not able to do anything, but at least we can spread awareness about what's happening to a wider audience and also stand together,” she said. “Because, since the event that has occurred in Nepal till present, the Nepali students have been very strong knit, and we've been there for each other and we also want the campus community to know what's happening and also support us.”

When asked what she wanted people on campus to know about the situation in Nepal, Tamang said, “At least from the NEPSO community we want, we want the campus community to know that the situation, the Gen Z protest that was happening in Nepal was just not about social media. It was as a result of youth, just citizens getting fed up [with] the long standing corruption, the bureaucracy, the oppression that the youth were facing in Nepal.”

She wants the wider audience to understand why the protests started, and to know that lives were lost during them. Tamang believes the future is hopeful. She explained that although Interim Prime Minister Karki was chosen in chaos, she believes Karki was the best candidate. As chief justice, Karki stood up against corruption. Tamang also believes the chosen cabinet members are good candidates.

According to Tamang, while the future of Nepal has a bright potential, the situation is confusing. Although the prime minister has been overthrown, the political parties that had a strong hold on Nepal still exist and corruption is so strongly rooted in the current system.

As Tamang put it, “The war has just begun.”

Quill Nishi-Leonard ’27 contributed fact checking.