Students, staff and community members gathered outside of College Hall at Smith College in Northampton. Flowers were laid out across the entryway at the front of the campus. Large camping tents were pitched just behind the gates. A banner reading “DIVEST FROM WAR INVEST IN PEACE” hung from a window of College Hall. Students inside peered out from the windows.
The U.S. Supreme Court has begun deliberations over the case that will determine accessibility to the most commonly used abortion medication in the country, mifepristone. The Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine began oral arguments on Tuesday, March 26, and a decision is expected by the summer, according to The Washington Post.
In 2023, mifepristone became the most commonly used abortion treatment in the United States, accounting for over 60% of abortion treatments, the Post reported. It has become a more accessible abortion treatment, particularly for Americans living in rural areas where there are few clinics and for those living in states with strict abortion laws.
On Wednesday, Feb. 28, Mount Holyoke students and community members gathered in Hooker Auditorium to attend a McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives panel. The event, titled “Democracy’s Global Test: Reflections on the Year of Elections,” aimed to explore threats to democracy, important elections and their international impact in the “biggest election year in history.”
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Mount Holyoke College’s historic gender-inclusive admissions policy. At convocation on Sept. 2, 2014, former President Lynn Pasquerella welcomed in the school year with the official announcement of the policy, making the College the second historically women’s institution to formally open its doors to female, transgender and nonbinary applicants.
