With the start of the 2023-24 school year comes a new era for Mount Holyoke College, as President Danielle R. Holley begins her term as the College’s 20th president. Her official inauguration ceremony took place this Thursday, Sept. 21. In an interview with the Mount Holyoke News, Holley spoke on how she hopes to use her education and legal backgrounds to lead Mount Holyoke to a brighter, more progressive future that continues to empower students through their education.
On Saturday, June 24, a large crowd of custodians and their supporters gathered in Cambridge’s Galaxy Park to advocate for a strong union contract on behalf of the Service Employees International Union’s 32BJ chapter. The ensuing march served as the kick-off event for SEIU’s ongoing campaign to negotiate a better contract for 32BJ janitors before the current one expires on November 15.
On Tuesday, April 25, senate opened with a reading of the agenda, which included a discussion with an executive of Dining Services, E-Board updates, open floor and senator/senior appreciation. Following a brief welcome, the senate gave the floor to Geoffrey Searl, associate vice president for Auxiliary Services at Mount Holyoke. Searl introduced himself by remarking that he was new to the school, having only started in January, and highlighting some of his accomplishments thus far. Notably, Searl has worked to reopen many of the dining services closed due to the pandemic; he cited the Pub, the Deli and the implementation of reusable dishes as some of his biggest accomplishments. After this introduction, Searl moved on to discuss some questions senators had submitted.
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.
Nine months after successfully unionizing at a store location in Hadley, Massachusetts, the Trader Joe’s United independent labor union has continued to advocate for workers’ rights. Since becoming the first Trader Joe’s location to have a formally recognized union following a 45-31 employee vote last July, the Hadley store and its workers have served as key players in the ongoing effort to negotiate a national contract between Trader Joe’s and the workers at its over 500 locations.
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.”
