Robert Ellis Hosmer Jr., an emeritus Smith College faculty member, was among the clergy members and lay employees named by the Diocese of Springfield, Mass. for sexually abusing a minor. Hosmer was named along with 60 others in a list first published on May 24. At Smith, Hosmer was a lecturer in the English Language & Literature department for 27 years. He retired in 2016 but has since occasionally taught courses. He taught most recently in spring 2020.
Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Marcella Runell Hall and other members of the Mount Holyoke Cabinet held a town hall meeting open to students on Monday, April 26. In notifying students of the event, Hall wrote that the town hall would be “an opportunity for [students] to learn and ask questions about how the college works and about the present and future of Mount Holyoke.”
Hampshire County has received the lowest number of doses per capita of any county in Massachusetts, but the county has still managed to vaccinate a larger share of the population than many other counties. Hampshire has consistently had the lowest number of doses throughout the pandemic.
Rep. Cori Bush and former Ohio Sen. Nina Turner joined Carmen Yulín Cruz, the Harriet L. Weissman and Paul M. Weissman distinguished fellow in leadership at Mount Holyoke College, for a discussion on racial justice on April 26. This event was one in a series of town halls held by the Weissman Center for Leadership as a part of the “Our Voices, Our Platforms” series. According to the Mount Holyoke website, these town halls seek to “explore how people can use their voices to make meaningful change and how people can discover and create the platforms necessary to achieve that transformative change.”
Chloé Zhao ’05 became the first woman of color to win an Academy Award for Best Director at the 93rd annual Academy Awards on Sunday, April 25. Zhao, a Mount Holyoke alumna from the class of 2005, was nominated for three Oscars for her third film “Nomadland,” which received the Oscar for Best Picture.
BY KATIE GOSS ’23
STAFF WRITER
On Tuesday, April 20, Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis police officer who has been on trial for the murder of George Floyd, was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. The murder of George Floyd last summer sparked protests nationwide against police brutality, and this trial was considered “one of the most consequential trials of the Black Lives Matter era,” according to CNN.
After the verdict was read, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to the Floyd family and released public statements.
“Nothing is going to make it all better. … Nothing can ever bring their brother or their father back. But this can be a giant step forward in the march toward justice in America,” Biden said, according to CNN.
Philonise Floyd, George Floyd’s brother, also commented on the verdict. “Justice for George, it means freedom for all. … The world has sparked, and lit up with a blaze tonight. And it’s a celebration. Business can be taken care of tomorrow, but it’s a celebration today,” Philonise Floyd said.
Judge Peter Cahill said that sentencing for Chauvin is expected to be delivered about eight weeks from now. According to Minnesota state guidelines, it is recommended that there should be 12.5 years for each murder charge, and another four years for a manslaughter charge. State prosecutors will request a stricter sentence.
