Student visa process poses threat to MHC international community
BY SAVANNAH HARRIMAN-POTE ’20
International students who choose to study at Mount Holyoke often travel thousands of miles from their home country to the United States, but their journey to the College begins long before they board a plane. According to the U.S. Department of State (DOS), citizens of other countries who wish to study at an institution of higher learning in the United States must first obtain a Nonimmigrant type F-1 visa.
Jhumka helps students decompress at Jhumba dance event
BY GABBY RAYMOND ’20
Jhumka was founded in 2006 as the first fusion dance group on campus, according to the College website. The dance group mixes hip-hop and Bollywood styles to create unique student-lead choreography each semester. They perform at events like VariAsians, Himalaya Night, Diwali celebrations, Pangy Day and UMass Asia Night. Last year, they even performed at Drag Ball, and hope to repeat the performance this year as well.
Clothing drive aids Holyoke families
BY SAVANNAH HARRIMAN-POTE ’20
Dec. 6 marked the conclusion of the C.A.U.S.E. board’s three-week long winter apparel drive. According to their Facebook page, the C.A.U.S.E board will now give all Mount Holyoke students’ donations of “new or gently used winter clothing” to their two community partners in Holyoke, Enlace de Familias and Nueva Esperanza.
Headlines from around the world
BY VICTORIA WANG ’20
Cambodia
Cambodia’s six-person national figure skating team competed at the Southeast Asia Games in Kuala Lumpur for the first time in August, according to the BBC. Unlike other Southeast Asian countries, such as Nepal, which regularly compete in winter sports, Cambodia only formed its national ice-skating team in 2015. Sen Bunthoeun, 27 and Khiev Panha, 23, were the first Cambodians to represent their country in a winter discipline at the Southeast Asian Games and placed eighth and ninth respectively, out of nine individual figure skaters.
Students conceptualize diversity
Newfound International Affairs Association fosters discussion
BY VICTORIA WANG ’20
Every Thursday evening from 7 to 9 p.m., a group of students eat and engage in discussions about global politics in the international relations lounge in Skinner 101 Some of these students study international relations or politics and some are simply passionate about global affairs.
VariAsians in perspective: Snapshots from performers
Eight Catalonian independence leaders jailed, protests break out in central Barcelona
BY VICTORIA WANG ’20
A protest campaign broke out in St. James's Square in central Barcelona on Friday, Nov. 3. According to the BBC, the protest was triggered by legal action taken late Thursday afternoon by a Spanish judge, ordering the imprisonment of eight former Catalan government members for supporting Catalonia’s independence.
AWAZ celebrates Diwali with lights and fun
Worldwide Views: Maha Mapara ’21
BY GABBY RAYMOND ’20
The first international student studied at Mount Holyoke in 1839, just two years after Mary Lyon opened the doors to educate women from all over the United States, according to the Mount Holyoke website. In the 2016 – 2017 school year students from over 61 countries attended Mount Holyoke College. Because one person cannot speak for a whole community, the News seeks to tell the individual stories like that of Maha Mapara, a first-year from Karachi, Pakistan.
Students celebrate diversity and inclusiveness during Himalayan Night
BY VICTORIA WANG ’20
The Mount Holyoke College Nepali Student Organization (NEPSO) hosted Himalayan Night on Friday, Oct. 27. The organization seeks to promote awareness about Nepali culture among the Mount Holyoke community and further contribute to the cultural diversity of the campus. Himalayan Night is part of the Mount Holyoke College Diversity Nights tradition, which include events such as VariAsians and other cultural nights.
Madagascar hit with a severe outbreak of three strains of plague
Pakistan’s election to UN Human Rights Council sparks international conversation
BY SAVANNAH HARRIMAN-POTE ’20
According to Geo TV, a Pakistani television channel, Pakistan secured a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Monday, Oct. 16. The election was decided through secret ballot, and each candidate had to receive a simple majority of the 193 General Assembly member votes in order to receive a seat. Pakistan garnered 151 votes.
Jinping envisions China’s “New Era”in speech
BY VICTORIA WANG ’20
China opened its 19th communist party congress in Beijing on Wednesday, Oct. 18. During the week-long congress, which is held every five years, the central delegates discuss keys issues which will project China’s future course of development for at least the next half a decade. As China continues to rise as a global superpower, this congress is particularly crucial to the global community, for it sets goals on China’s international participation in various aspects, as reported by Bloomberg.
Worldwide Views: Anran Wang '19
BY GABBY RAYMOND ’20
Making the trek to Mount Holyoke every year can result in over 20 hours of flying time for students coming from China; so what motivates so many Chinese international students to study here? For Anran Wang ’19, it was her spirit of adventure that led her to travel from her home in Guangzhou, China, to South Hadley for school. Her family moved from a small town to the large metropolitan city of Guangzhou when she was finishing her elementary school years. She cited the switch to big city life as a turning point in her personality.
The United States withdraws from UNESCO, alleging "anti-Israel" bias
BY VICTORIA WANG ’20
The Trump administration announced its intent to withdraw from the U.N.’s Educational, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) by the end of next year on Thursday, Oct. 12 due to an “anti-Israel bias,” as well as concern over mounting debt and the need for fundamental reform.
NEWS BRIEFS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
BY SARAH LOFSTROM ’19 AND GABBY RAYMOND ’20
Iraq
Iraqi forces took over a Kurdish held territory in the center of Kirkuk City on Monday, Oct. 16. According to Al Jazeera, the operation was part of an incentive to take oil-rich provinces. Kurdish forces defend Kirkuk City for three days against the Iraqi forces. Thousands of Arab, Kurds, and Turkman civilians have fled the conflict. It took around 15 hours for Iraqi forces to successfully claim the area.
Chinese Cultural Association invites students to celebrate Mooncake Festival on Skinner
Worldwide Views: Angela Nayiga ’20
BY GABBY RAYMOND '20
According to the Mount Holyoke website, the first international student came to study at Mount Holyoke College in 1839, just two years after Mary Lyon opened a door to education for women all over the United States. In the 2016 to 2017 school year there were students from over 61 countries. Angela Nayiga ’20, from Kampala, Uganda who came to Mount Holyoke last spring is one of those international students.