Five Colleges
Shortly after 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 23, Pratt Music Hall’s Warbeke Room came alive as Mount Holyoke’s Klezmer Ensemble entered while joyously playing the first piece of this year’s performance.
In an Oct. 22 email obtained by Mount Holyoke News, Rachel Alldis, associate dean of students and director of Residential Life, officially announced to all students currently living at Hampshire College that they would be moving to the Mount Holyoke campus for the spring semester. The email confirmed that Mead Hall, the residence hall struck by lightning in August, will open in January for student housing.
Members of the campus community at the University of Massachusetts Amherst were sent an alert on Tuesday, Oct. 26, that said, “Hostile armed person reported near UHS [University Health Services]. Shelter in place and stay indoors. Wait for all clear signal.”
Students from the University of Massachusetts Amherst led protests on their campus this weekend in response to allegations of sexual assault made against fraternity Theta Chi. A post on the anonymous social media app Yik Yak alleged a first-year student at the university had been drugged and assaulted by a member of the fraternity at a Theta Chi party on Saturday night, Sept. 18. The following Sunday, Sept. 19, around 300 people gathered outside the fraternity house to protest the member’s involvement in the sexual assault allegations.
As students return to in-person classes and campuses across the country, colleges and universities have implemented COVID-19 measures to ensure the safety of students, faculty and staff. Mount Holyoke College updated students before the fall semester with new measures to follow — several of which are subject to change depending on the situation in the area and on campus. The other colleges and universities within the Five College Consortium also released their new COVID-19 policies. Although many of the same measures are followed across each of the five campuses, there are some differences between the schools.
A COVID-19 vaccination will be required for all faculty, staff and students at Mount Holyoke College as of July 8, 2021. This mandate extends to those who work with or regularly interact with the College and its campus, according to the Mount Holyoke College web page “Opening the Gates.”
Mount Holyoke College will require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in fall 2021. The College announced this decision in a statement posted to the Mount Holyoke website on June 30, two months after its announcement that all students will be required to be vaccinated.
Jodi Shaw, the former student support coordinator in the Department of Residence Life at Smith College, publicly resigned from the college at the end of February due to what she called a “racially hostile environment.”
Last fall, Residential Life adapted its student staff to fit the new pandemic setting of both Mount Holyoke’s remote and in-person communities. Employees, formerly senior community advisors and community advisors, are now known as resident fellows and community assistants. This change came with an adaptation in responsibility for ResLife employees. RFs and community assistants are now responsible for both cultivating community and enforcing the student compact, both integral to the success of Mount Holyoke’s COVID-19 reopening plan.
After a rise in community and student COVID-19 cases, with 393 active positive cases as of Feb. 18, the University of Massachusetts Amherst has declared a “high risk” operational level, implementing the most restrictive measures outlined in the university’s virus safety protocols. At the Feb. 8 Amherst Town Council meeting, representatives of the administration announced that the university would implement measures to control the spread of COVID-19, including transitioning to entirely online classes, canceling athletic practices and competitions and instituting a self-isolation order for the student body.
Former Mount Holyoke Professor of Art and Studio Art Chair Rie Hachiyanagi has been in custody since December 2019. She will continue to be held without bail until her trial, which is scheduled for November 2020.
Hachiyanagi was charged with multiple counts, including attempted murder, following her alleged assault on a fellow Mount Holyoke faculty member some time between Dec. 23 and Dec. 24, 2019. She has pleaded not guilty on all charges.
As colleges face increasing financial pressure due to effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mount Holyoke announced cost-saving measures totaling $6.5 million for the next fiscal year on March 29. The budget changes are expected to bridge Mount Holyoke’s $7.6 million deficit due to the pandemic.
Amherst College has reported its first case of COVID-19 on campus. On April 23, President Biddy Martin sent a message informing students, staff, faculty and others in the area that a custodial staff member had tested positive for the virus. Martin said the last time the staff member was on campus was on April 18, but that they had no contact with students remaining on campus, had worn a face mask and had no symptoms at the time.
National College Decision Day is May 1 — an occasion which usually marks the deadline for incoming first-year students to commit to a college or university. This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, over 400 colleges nationwide extended this deadline, including the Universities of Massachusetts Lowell and Boston.
On Tuesday, April 7, the Mount Holyoke College community received an update from President of the College Sonya Stephens briefing community members on the College’s financial situation. “Over this time period, we have focused on our emergency response and continuity of operations,” Stephens wrote.
In July of 2018, a call was placed to Smith College campus police regarding the presence of a black student on campus who “seemed out of place.” The student in question was a Smith sophomore working in a summer program designed to encourage high school girls to study and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. The incident made national news and sparked intense debate regarding Smith Campus Police practices and racial profiling.
On Feb. 1, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported the first positive case of coronavirus in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
“For years, studies of indigenous issues and Native America have been conducted and taught in the Five Colleges without proper support,” wrote University of Massachusetts Professor of Communication Donal Carbaugh. “Too many times, courses in this area could not be taught, personnel and related programs could not be funded.”
Burns, a Hampshire College alum, was among the Hampshire community members that gathered to kick off the College’s fundraising campaign, “Change in the Making,” on Dec. 3. Burns leads the campaign with four alumni cochairs and says he is proud to be a part of a campaign that is “daunting, but a challenge we are up to.”
On Oct. 9, the Mount Holyoke community received an email update on the Diversity Equity and Inclusion initiative (DEI) from Kijua Sanders-McMurtry, Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President for Equity and Inclusion.
Smith College recently committed to completely divest from the fossil fuel industry in the next 15 years, a major step towards sustainability on their campus.
Hampshire Colleges administrative problems have seen an up,as the College plans to accept a new class of first-years in spring 2020.
Beginning in July 2020, Mount Holyoke and Smith Colleges will operate separate campus police departments. The change was announced to the Mount Holyoke community in an email statement by Shannon Gurek, Mount Holyoke Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer.
Hampshire College continues its grapple with serious internal administrative and financial issues. Hampshire’s dire financial situation sparked conversations about whether or not to admit a new class in Fall 2019.
BY LIZ LEWIS ’22
Former Mount Holyoke staff member Sean Mulveyhill, according to a Boston Globe article published on April 11, is facing allegations of sexual assault against a Mount Holyoke student. He was fired from his position in Dining Services on March 22 after being placed on administrative leave for several weeks.
BY OLIVIA MARBLE ’21
Designer, author and “Queer Eye” star Tan France spoke at Smith College on March 7 about “Queer Eye” and his life outside of the show.
BY MERYL PHAIR ’21
On Tuesday, Feb. 19, Hampshire College announced that nine employees from their admissions and advancement offices would be let go, effective April 19, 2019.
BY MELISSA JOHNSON ’20
In light of recent events, the Hampshire College Board of Trustees released information regarding the admittance of a limited Fall 2019 class on Feb. 1. The Board voted to authorize the College to admit two distinct categories of applicants this fall: students who accepted Hampshire’s offer to enroll through Early Decision I and students who accepted Hampshire’s offer of admission last year but chose to take a gap year and defer their enrollment to Fall 2019. The Board also announced that Hampshire will not enroll any other applicants for Fall 2019 or Spring 2020.
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.