In honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, an annual commemoration overseen by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, Mount Holyoke hosted a panel titled “Ending the Silence: Black Feminists Speak on Racial Terror and Gender-Based Violence” in Gamble Auditorium on the evening of Monday, April 24. In keeping with the 2023 SAAM theme of “Drawing Connections: Prevention Demands Equity,” the keynote panel centered discussions of gender violence examined through an intersectional lens.
Senate opened on April 18 with a reading of the land acknowledgment, followed by welcoming administrative staff of the Library, Information and Technology Services to the floor. The presentation, comprised of both general information and answers to the senators’ questions, was given by eight members of the LITS staff — Alex Wirth-Cauchon, the chief information officer and executive director of LITS; Debbie Richards, the head of archives and special collections; Margaret (Peggie) Stevens, associate director of budgets, contracts and procurement; Krista Denno Bader, strategic operations manager and summit change management lead; Marie DiRuzza, director of campus technology and media services; Rachel Smith, director of discovery and access; Chrissa Lindahl, director of research and instructional support; and David Powicki, director of technology infrastructure and systems support.
Mount Holyoke’s More Than An Ally Week made its third annual return this month, with this year’s theme designated as “Practicing Accompliceship Within & Beyond the Gates.” This theme centers around providing the College’s community with the tools and skills necessary for practicing accompliceship, which can be actualized when they leave the College, hence the title including “beyond the gates.”
On Thursday, March 30, students and faculty gathered in the Language and Culture Commons in Ciruti Language Center for the German and Russian & Eurasian Studies department teas. Following statements from students and alums speaking in support of the two departments, Provost and Dean of Faculty Lisa Sullivan announced that the College had adopted a plan to ‘sunset’ the two language departments over the next few years.
Students and faculty members alike gathered within Gamble Auditorium for the Frances Perkins Monologues, which returned as the closing event for Mount Holyoke’s annual Building on our Momentum conference on Tuesday, March 28. In honor of the Frances Perkins students’ class color, purple streamers and balloons were placed on either side of the podium, and many FP speakers wore purple outfits to show off their class pride.
In response to sustained pest activity within their residence spaces, members of the Gloria Anzaldúa Living-Learning Community organized and released a statement on April 1 titled “Gloria’s Community Response to ‘Recent’ Events.” It outlines the living conditions they have faced, including having their LLC community placed on the same floor as the laundry, trash, trunk and boiler rooms. It also describes the continued inaction from administration towards removing the gnats, cockroaches and ants found on the residence floor.
After being closed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cochary Pub & Kitchen in Blanchard Hall celebrated its reopening on the evening of March 2 with a night exclusive to members of the Class of 2023. The pub reopened to the entire student body the following night, allowing Mount Holyoke students to once again gather and dine in the space on the first floor of the Community Center.
