Women’s History Month: Virginia Apgar (1909-1974)
BY SABRINA EDWARDS ’20
For National Women’s History Month, the Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections are showing an exhibit on female faculty in the sciences, from Lydia Shattuck, class of 1851, to Cornelia Clapp, class of 1871.
The Apgar test, developed by Virginia Apgar ’29, remains the standard test for the health of a newborn in maternity wards and postnatal clinics around the world.
Sleep deprivation is detrimental to student health and happiness
BY CHEYENNE ELLIS ’21
College students today are struggling to maintain good grades, social lives and jobs, as well as a healthy sleep schedule. This has resulted in many college students being sleep deprived, especially around midterms and finals, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
Interviews with the bird fans of the Pioneer Valley
BY CHEYENNE ELLIS ’21
At Mount Holyoke College, there are a plethora of different bird species, ranging from finches to woodpeckers to the infamous domestic goose, Jorge. Many walk by these creatures without giving them a second thought, but a few stop and take notice. Sarah Cosmedy ’20 and Ted Gilliland, an assistant professor of Economics, are among those few.
Unpacking Jorge: the goose, the myth, the legend
Patricia Brennan wants you to consider the duck penis
BY ANN BAAKO ’18
Duck penises are explosive. The corkscrew-shaped organs, which are normally hidden beneath a cavity at the end of a duck’s digestive tract, shoot out to as long as eight inches; within a third of a second, the male duck ejaculates its sperm into the female to complete what is usually a forced sexual encounter. Ninety-seven percent of male birds do not have penises at all (usually, the penis-less male mushes its genital opening with the female’s and transfers sperm into the female’s vagina in a maneuver known as the “cloacal kiss”). Because of how rare penises are in the bird world, duck penises have captured bird lovers’ attention. When the National Science Foundation (NSF), which is funded by American tax dollars, handed out a $384,949 grant to Patricia Brennan and her supervisor at Yale University to explore “plasticity in duck penis length,” online conservative news agencies exploded.
Never Fear: Period pain
Health and science clubs on campus
BY SABRINA EDWARDS ’20 AND CHEYENNE ELLIS ’21
Do you want to get more involved at Mount Holyoke? Are you looking for ways to use your passion for science in a meaningful way? If so, one of the numerous health and science organizations on campus may be right for you. Below is a sampling of some of the clubs and orgs available to join on campus.