Guest policy updates: College to allow guests into Kendall Sports & Dance Complex
A letter sent out to the Mount Holyoke College community on Nov. 19 updated students on new changes regarding guest access to campus buildings. The letter thanked the community for following the College’s safety guidelines, such as indoor masking, social distancing and obtaining regular COVID-19 tests. The letter also acknowledged that “COVID-19 does remain an ever-present factor in our daily lives.”
Mead opens for spring housing; Merrill students to return
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.
Indigenous remains repatriated from Mount Holyoke over 30 years later
“It feels good that we got to this place, but it is tempered with [the fact] that it should have never happened in the first place, and [that] it took this long for it [repatriation] to happen,” Aaron Miller, associate curator of visual and material culture and Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act coordinator at Mount Holyoke, said.
Former Mills College student responds to merger with Northeastern
Mills College was the first historically women’s college to be founded west of the Rocky Mountains. Now, it will be the first West Coast HWC to become formally co-ed. Mills agreed to a merger with Northeastern University in spring 2021 that will take effect on July 1, 2022, according to the Mills College website. Discussions of a possible closure or merger at the College have been ongoing since 2020.
Senate discusses Student Conference Committee survey
On Tuesday, Nov. 30, senate convened in the Great Room to discuss the 2021 Student Conference Committee survey results. The meeting opened with a land acknowledgment read by Viveca Holman ’22, the PR Officer of the SGA Executive Board. The E-Board then updated senate on “Spirit Week” events, namely Small Business Saturday, where students can gather in the Great Room to sell products from their small businesses or their own clothes. This event still has sign-up slots left.
Mount Holyoke commits to land acknowledgment, repatriation
Content warning: this article discusses anti-Indigenous violence.
Beginning this semester, a land acknowledgment recognizing the Indigenous nations which once occupied the land currently owned by Mount Holyoke College must be given before every public event at Mount Holyoke. As the College takes steps to repair its relationship to Indigenous communities both on and off campus, the institution’s history of anti-Indigenous acts has resurfaced. Earlier this month, the College repatriated Indigenous remains that had previously been in their possession. As the College reckons with this and other past violences this National Indigenous Heritage Month, some members of the Mount Holyoke community are calling for further action and accountability.
Senate discusses November break testing, menstrual products in res halls
Before Senate started on Tuesday, Nov. 9, senators were asked to sit with their commission groups so they could work together towards the end of the meeting. Kim Kindred FP ’24, the senator for the Western Equestrian Team, read the land acknowledgement before the meeting began with updates from the E-Board.
EJ Jankovic ’23, the chair of halls, updated senators on a few requests made in previous meetings. There will now be gluten free dessert options available at the Dining Commons classics station by request. Additionally, lawn care and facilities work will begin at 9:00 a.m. when possible, instead of the previous time of 8:00 a.m.
Commuter students disadvantaged by inactive credit card terminals
Student raises concerns over false positive COVID-19 tests
Oct. 23 started as a regular day for Tate Durand ’23. They woke up, attended a friend’s birthday breakfast, then returned to their on-campus residence for a nap. However, when they rose to several missed calls from the health services center, they immediately had a strong suspicion that they had tested positive for COVID-19.