By Genevieve Zahner ’26
News editor
Natasha Rios ’27 opened senate with a land acknowledgement, a moment of reflection, and an ice breaker for those attending before getting into the evening’s agenda.
There was a presentation about a new SGA committee awaiting senate approval, called Native Spirit. The organization’s mission statement is to uplift, acknowledge and support Native and Indigenous students on campus, and to leave an “everlasting legacy of Indigenous led support for students.”
The committee aims to create a space for Native students in a “hegemonic environment” like Mount Holyoke College, and to hold the College accountable as an institution to “move beyond symbolic recognition” and provide sustained investment in the committee. Another goal of the committee is for Mount Holyoke to reconnect with the Native Nations whose land the institution occupies, and create lasting relationships with the nations to “preserve Native epistemologies at the college” as well as a stronger sense of belonging, cultural connection, and support for future Native leaders and trailblazers at the college. The senate then voted and approved the committee.
Those running for chair of senate and chair of halls positions made speeches for their candidacy. The senate will vote later this week. The senate’s prepared presentation closed with several event announcements before moving on to representatives for organizations’ announcements.
The events featured during these announcements were Women and the World of Work which featured alum Sarita Gupta ’96 on April 8, the opening ceremony for Asian, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander heritage month on April 9, Korea night on April 10, Holi on April 12, Nauryz Festival Celebration on April 13 and Experience MHC for prospective students April 12-13.
The senate then opened up for questions, concerns and announcements from representatives, and began with concerns about the cleanliness of washing machines in Buckland and Abbey, for which facilities management was contacted.
The representative from Queer Action Collective advertised the Civil Disobedience Training on Saturday, April 11 from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. and Protest Marshall Training on Sunday, April 12th from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., both at the Jeannette Marks House.
Asian Students Association advertised the 5PAN conference hosted by the Five Colleges at Hampshire on April 19 from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. and the Nauryz festival, which is a Central Asian holiday celebrating the coming of spring, on April 13 from 6:30-7:30 p.m.
MHC Votes advertised their voting forum with South Hadley town officials from 2-4 p.m. on April 26, which will include opportunities to have one-on-one conversations with state officials Senator Oliveira and Representative Gomez about what to know for the upcoming local elections.
Several students then took the opportunity to speak about incidents on Fizz that have sparked conversations about the treatment of Asian students on campus, including Ivy Zhou ’27, Cindy Ntembe ’27 and Nathania Amadi ’26. The administration as well as President Holley have been contacted regarding the recent uptick in discriminatory posts on Fizz, the anonymous campus app, and on Sunday, April 12, a protest was held. More information about upcoming events and updates regarding anti-Asian hate on campus can be found on @stopasianhatemhc on instagram. The importance of supporting departments that can provide cultural education was noted by Ntembe, along with engaging with local communities and voting in both campus and governmental elections in order for students to educate themselves. Amadi additionally spoke on the importance of students taking accountability for their actions, noting that change has to come from within, saying “when harm is being perpetuated in the community it's our responsibility to curb that hate” especially regarding recent discriminatory Fizz posts that were made against international and Asian students.
Amadi also stated, “People need to unlearn hate and bigotry, do work and educate yourself,” especially regarding the treatment of international and Asian students. She noted the importance of the collective, saying students “need to come together or the change won’t be made” and that students should hold themself accountable in addition to the institution.
The next senate will be held on Tuesday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m. in the Blanchard Great Room.
Jillian Stammely ’28 contributed fact-checking.