By Ansley Keane ’23
Staff Writer
An artist’s rendition of a student who would have been a Red Pegasus (class of 2022) had they not taken a gap year. Instead the student wears both yellow and red to signify their status as a Yellow Sphinx (class of 2023). Art by Anjali Rao-Herel ‘22
Like many colleges and universities around the United States, Mount Holyoke offered almost exclusively remote courses during the 2020-2021 academic year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This turn of events prompted some students to choose to take a gap year or semester instead of attending online classes. Mount Holyoke students who took one semester off were able to remain a part of the class year they entered college with. However, some who took a full year off are adjusting to a social life in flux and sometimes to a new class color and mascot, which has complicated the return to the College.
“When I applied to college, I knew I wanted in-person classes,” Samantha Pittman ’23, a student who took a leave of absence in the fall 2020 semester, said. “I know that how I learn best is in-person, small room engagement. I [thought], ‘You know, I don’t know what [the fall] semester is going to look like, [but] this isn’t what I signed up for when I went to college, so I’m going to take a semester off.’”
For transfer student Naomi Okumura ’23, the decision to take a gap semester during the spring of 2021 was because she wanted the opportunity to take more of her Mount Holyoke classes in person. She also realized that taking a gap semester would make it possible for her to have a May graduation rather than a December one.
“I just thought that there’s going to be more chances of the classes being in-person if I wait a semester, and especially as a transfer student I really wanted more of an in-person experience,” Okumura said.
Hayley Cline ’24 also took a gap year during the 2020-2021 academic year because they did not think remote courses would provide the best learning experience for their field of study. “When they made the switch to everyone being online, I knew that’s not really what I wanted, especially because I’m a STEM major and I wouldn’t be getting the laboratory experience I needed,” Cline stated.
Transitioning back to Mount Holyoke College after an extended time away from the community has been a varied experience for students who took time off.
Marisa Allyn ’24 took a leave of absence for both semesters of the 2020-2021 academic year. She explained that being in a new class year has complicated her return to Mount Holyoke, partly because she has had to adjust to having a new class color and mascot, despite not fully identifying with either 2023’s yellow sphinx or 2024’s blue lion.
“It’s been harder than I thought it would be,” Allyn said. “Mainly because … the class that I started with, 2023, they’re juniors now and I’m starting my second year, so it feels almost like I’m behind.”
While the tradition of assigning a color and mascot to each class year is a unique and celebrated aspect of the Mount Holyoke experience, the clear distinction between classes can be an obstacle to gap year students such as Allyn. Events like Convocation, when everyone dresses in their class colors, were particularly challenging for Allyn, she said. “That’s something I didn’t realize I would be so closely connected with, like being the yellow sphinx or being the blue lion,” Allyn said.
Allyn also feels that the College has not offered much support to students who took time off.
“They haven’t done anything,” Allyn said. Although there was a Sophomore Re-Orientation, Allyn was not able to attend because her move-in date was still classified with the Class of 2023. Additionally, Allyn noted that she heard very little from the College about taking leave. “Basically the only communication I received about … taking leave and coming back was an email from the Registrar … It was very cold, very disconnected from the student experience,” Allyn said.
Still, the experience of returning back to the Mount Holyoke community has been positive for some students.
“It’s exciting being back in person and finally getting to what I wanted initially in college,” Pittman shared. “It’s so nice to finally have that college independence I planned on getting.”
Cline has enjoyed being able to finally see people they knew from their first year, even though, due to the change in class year, they are having a different experience from many of their friends.
“It’s just been good to see people I knew from before,” Cline said. … “[There is also] a weirdness going on because my friends, they’re going through junior milestones, but then I’m like, ‘Wait, I don’t get to do that yet, but I feel like I should be,’” they added.
This semester is Okumura’s first one on campus. She explained that while she initially thought that the transition would be more difficult, it has actually gone well. She explained, “It wasn’t as bad, because I genuinely like this area. I’m from a really big city, so it’s really nice to not be in a city and [to] have all these trees.”