Tayler Kreutter, the new executive director of Student Financial Services, joined the Mount Holyoke administration this March, according to an MHC This Week update email sent to the campus community on Feb. 10. “We are very much looking forward to welcoming [Kreutter] to the College as well as to all that she brings to this key role,” Robin Randall, vice president for enrollment management, wrote in the email.
On March 26, W46th Street between ninth and 10th Avenue was named “Frances Perkins Place” by the City of New York. The street is dedicated to Frances Perkins, a Mount Holyoke alum, widely recognized working-class advocate, former U.S. Secretary of Labor and the first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet.
On Tuesday, March 29, 74 Mount Holyoke community members gathered on Zoom to hear multiple professors discuss the creation of a new department and the future of the Africana Studies, Critical Social Thought and Latinx studies departments. Led by Class of 1929 Dr. Virginia Apgar Assistant Professor of Latina/o Studies Vanessa Rosa and Iyko Day, Elizabeth C. Small associate professor of English and chair of Critical Social Thought and Gender Studies, the event was held during the College’s annual Building On Our Momentum Conference. Faculty members joined Rosa and Day, having all worked towards the formation of this department for around six years.
Graphic by Lauren Leese ’23.
By Arianna Peña ’25
Staff Writer
At 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 21, a crowd of roughly 50 students gathered around Mary Lyon’s grave to witness a brand-new, one-time-only show, “Going Places I Shouldn’t be Going.”
Performed by members of the Write Here, Write Now creative writing club, this satirical one-act followed ex-actor Timothée Chalamet as a new professor at Mount Holyoke College. After his career takes a drastic turn for the worse, Chalamet lectures at a college where he is mistreated and gawked at. There, he wonders why the school founder is buried on school grounds and why the Film, Media Theater department is led by the same woman who chairs the German studies major. Chalamet is then transported back in time by Jorge, who seeks to generally terrify and torture him, to the early days of Mount Holyoke, when Mary Lyon was still president. Now in the year 1847, Chalamet manages to show the young women of the seminary there is more to life than the Bible. Along the way, he falls in love with the College president. Eventually, Chalamet returns to the present day, heartbroken that he has been separated from his true love, but determined to carry on her legacy as a professor at the school.
“I think this was born out of Zoom insanity,” Olivia Wilson ’24, the writer and director of “Going Places I Shouldn’t be Going,” said. “It was at the end of our second meeting on Zoom, I remember this very vividly, and we were talking about bad fan-fiction — as you do in a creative writing club — and we were playing this little game of ‘What is the worst thing we can come up with?’ And we landed on Timothée Chalamet and Mary Lyon.”
“We kind of got to talking about it more and said, ‘Oh my god, wouldn’t it be so funny if we put on a play?’ … I remember saying, ‘I have directing experience and playwriting experience, so if you guys work with me to put it on, I will write it,’” Wilson said.
And they did. Wilson, along with many other members of the club, helped create the production. Everything, from the costumes to the live violin player to the various promotional posters plastered around campus, was done by members of Write Here, Write Now.
Lauren Leese ’23, co-president of Write Here, Write Now and the Narrator of “Going Places I Shouldn’t be Going,” is no stranger to building creative outlets for students.
“[In] my freshman year, my friend Rebecca [Kilroy ’23] and I met each other at orientation and we went to the involvement fair to try and find writing-related clubs because we both loved creative writing. And there was Mount Holyoke News, I think at the time there was a poetry society, but there was no creative writing club. And so we said, ‘Well then, we’ll make one,’” Leese said.
While Leese and Kilroy — the other co-president and founder — tried to finalize the club’s official founding, their plans were derailed when the pandemic hit in 2020, and the club remained both small and unofficial for a year. However, in 2021 the current juniors were able to secure Student Government Association Ways and Means funding to make Write Here, Write Now an official club at the College. They aimed to give students who enjoy non-academic writing a space to write freely and creatively with no judgment and full support.
“When you’re in college, it’s really hard to write creatively, especially if you’re working on a long-term project or if you’re just trying to be consistent about it. That can make you feel really guilty, that you’re putting other things above your creative expression. So, we thought that having a set meeting time every week where we set a timer for 30 minutes and everybody [gets] to work on the creative project they couldn’t get to earlier in the week, that’s the kind of thing we think creative writers on this campus really need, so that’s what we want to provide,” Leese said.
“[That’s] the core of what we are, a place where people can write when they don’t have time the rest of the week,” Leese added.
While Write Here, Write Now seeks to give students the space that they need to write whatever they desire. Wilson believes there is something almost cathartic that comes with putting effort into something “bad.”
“I find it really liberating … [writing] ‘bad’ fanfiction, and not caring about quality or the nitty-gritty and just being like ‘How can I tell this crazy story in 15 minutes? … How can I make people laugh [and] how can I torture my fellow board members?’” Wilson said.
Samantha Pittman ’23, who played Jorge, agreed that there is relief that comes with being creative simply for the sake of being creative. “It’s super easy [to be] dragged down by all the work you have to do [at the end of the semester,] but to have an hour or half an hour where you are just goofing off and doing this silly amazing fanfiction, … it was a great break mentally,” Pittman said.
While there are no promises that Write Here, Write Now will put on another Timothée Chalamet-themed production in the future, the leaders of the organization seek to support writers who have a passion to create.
Editor’s note: Olivia Wilson ’24 and Lauren Leese ’23 are members of Mount Holyoke News.
Photo by Ali Meizels ‘23. Left to right: Mav Leslie ‘23 on guitar and vocals, Jenny Yu ‘24 on bass guitar and Mira Zelkowitz ‘22 on lead guitar. Drummer Sofia Lopez Melgar ‘24 (not in picture) is the fourth musician in the band.
By Declan Langton ’22
Editor-in-Chief
On Wednesday, April 13, 2022, Bagel Therapy graced the Gettell Amphitheater stage for the first time. Spotlit by a hot sun and fanned by a cool breeze, the band — comprised of Mira Zelkowitz ’22 on lead guitar, Mav Leslie ’23 on guitar and vocals, Jenny Yu ’24 on bass and Sofia Lopez Melgar ’24 on the drums — started their set around 5 p.m. With flaring drums and driving guitars, the group began their first song: a cover of “Percolator” by alternative group Charly Bliss.
According to Lopez Melgar, the band was Leslie’s creation.
“I was in Vocal Jazz last semester, and we had a rehearsal with the jazz ensembles, which is where I originally saw [Zelkowitz] and [Lopez Melgar],” Leslie explained. After seeing them, Leslie recalled thinking, “They’re amazing. I need to play music with them.” Later, Leslie approached Lopez Melgar in the Dining Commons. They exchanged phone numbers and the trio started playing together soon after.
At the start of this semester, Leslie, Lopez Melgar and Zelkowitz realized they needed a bass player. Yu came into the picture after seeing a post on the Instagram page @mhc_crushes asking if there were musicians on campus. According to Leslie, Yu commented on the post explaining that she played bass. Leslie then reached out and proposed the idea of starting a band.
“From there, we just started meeting up and sharing music that we wanted to play together,” Leslie said.
Rehearsals at the start of Bagel Therapy were casual, Lopez Melgar described. “We didn’t even worry about if it was perfect, [we were] just having a good time,” she said.
“Zombie” by The Cranberries is one of Bagel Therapy’s strongest covers. The vocals fall comfortably in Leslie’s range, with just enough room for them to holler and croon in the repeating choruses.
Zelkowitz believes there is a collective excitement present when they play “Zombie.” There’s “a lot of the energy … there,” she said.
Something Bagel Therapy is still working out, though, is this song’s ending. “We don’t really know how [the song] ends, … like how many times the chorus repeats,” Lopez Melgar joked.
Yu explained that it comes down to glances and timed eye contact. “I remember looking at [Lopez Melgar], and I was like ‘now!’” she said, demonstrating the moment by bobbing her head forward.
The night before the performance, Leslie was thinking about their final vocal entrance, which comes at the start of the last chorus. Before that moment is an extended instrumental section and short guitar solo by Zelkowitz. “I texted [Zelkowitz] before we played that show … [and] was like, ‘Can you please look at me when I’m supposed to come back in? Because otherwise I will not know when,’” Leslie explained. Looking toward Zelkowitz, they added, “We’re gonna look at each other so hard.”
Bagel Therapy prepares for first show
The day of the show involved setting up the amphitheater following a day full of classes and other activities. Lopez Melgar and Leslie both came from a seminar class that ended less than an hour before the concert started.
As a college band, Bagel Therapy has a certain amount of home-grown charm. Leading up to the performance, Leslie practiced their singing entrances in their head. Instead of reserving the amphitheater for the band, they made the assumption that no one would be using it on a Wednesday afternoon. Some of their instruments and supplies came from the College — most notably, the drum kit.
Before the show, Lopez Melgar pushed a cart with the drums from Pratt down the lower campus road to the amphitheater. “When we had to go up[hill], it was great,” Lopez Melgar said sarcastically.
After the show, Leslie was tasked with returning the drums. “It was more downhill than I realized. I was trying to steer [the cart]. I was like, ‘I’m in Mario Kart,’” they explained, laughing. Turning serious, they added that the drums were returned in top-shape.
Musicians talk favorite cover songs
Zelkowitz’s favorite song is a cover of BØRNS’ “Electric Love,” an upbeat dance pop song about sweet infatuation. The song was proposed to the group by Yu.
“When she suggested it, I immediately thought of one of my favorite guitarists, Kiki Wongo, who is just this amazing metal guitarist,” Zelkowitz explained. “She did this cover of ‘Electric Love,’ but [made] it metal.” Zelkowitz learned Longo’s riff and added it to the Bagel Therapy cover, giving the song an edge.
Playing those riffs, Zelkowitz’s guitar reached out of the amphitheater and around the Mount Holyoke campus, pulling in spectators. She heard after the performance that their concert could be heard from as far away as Kendall Sports & Dance Complex, where the Rugby team was practicing.
Bagel Therapy showcased two other songs during their first performance. “Tungs,” a catchy vocal-driven song by The Frights, was used as their soundcheck and was performed later in the back half of Bagel Therapy’s set. With the repeating lines “Do you like my style/Have you seen my shoes,” Leslie’s stage presence shone. Wearing bright green Converse high tops, they kicked their foot out at the audience, giving a wide grin.
Lopez Melgar’ current favorite Bagel Therapy cover is “A Certain Romance” by Arctic Monkeys. As they explained how much they liked the band, they took off their backwards hat. On the front side was the Arctic Monkeys’ signature logo in its all-caps wavy font.
The song was the closer at their amphitheater performance. Leslie enjoys the song because it gives all the instruments time to shine with small solos and stand-out moments. “I really like getting to have moments where I get to watch each of you really wail on your instruments,” they said to their bandmates. “It’s so fun.” The song starts with a fast, heavy drum solo and builds into dueling guitars and cymbal crashes. Zelkowitz then takes it away, with a picking guitar solo backed by Yu’s steady chord progression. Finally, after nearly a minute, Leslie’s vocals begin.
In “A Certain Romance,” Bagel Therapy’s stage presence was dominating. Leslie’s vocals in particular exuded confidence. Throughout the song, they shrieked, yelled and sang in all parts of their range — all while dancing around in the sun.
Leslie’s vocal training background is in musical theater, but when taking guitar lessons at Mount Holyoke, they started working on their tone and honing a more indie rock sound. “I started focusing on the singer[s] that I like, like Eva Hendricks of Charly Bliss [and] Jake Luppen of Hippo Campus,” Leslie said. “I like singers who have very unique voices.”
Leslie explained that they are working to unlearn the choral group mindset that all voices have to blend together. In their performance, they seemed to succeed at this goal. Their voice had angles and sharpness, with a whimsical delivery that added a flair of fun to intense songs like “Zombie” and shines on groovy tracks such as “Tungs.”
The performance in the amphitheater was Bagel Therapy’s first official show, but throughout the weeks leading up, they had a handful of open rehearsals. One, in the Pratt Hall fishbowl room, turned into an impromptu concert for a group of prospective students, their parents and a Mount Holyoke Admissions tour guide. At around noon, according to Leslie, the tour group was greeted by the sound of their screaming voice as the band rehearsed “Percolator” in preparation for their amphitheater performance.
“We had some windows open and there were some people walking by,” Leslie said. Lopez Melgar described a group of older women who passed by and flashed them all the “rock on” hand sign. “It was amazing,” Leslie said.
Band looks toward next semester
At the end of this semester, Zelkowitz is graduating from Mount Holyoke, vacating the guitarist spot in Bagel Therapy. Despite her impending absence, the band hopes to continue playing and performing together.
In their future performances, Bagel Therapy hopes to expand their catalog to include some original music. “I really want to bring in songs that I’m writing myself and have us work out how to play it in a full band,” Leslie said. Turning to the group, they added, “Y’all know your instruments really well. And I want to bring these ideas to you and have us build them together.”
The collaborative work of Bagel Therapy continues as they prepare for their next performance. On Friday, April 29, the band is playing in the amphitheater alongside local acts Trash Rabbit and Bent Spoon as a part of WMHC’s annual Radio Week.
Right now, though, the group seems to still be basking in their first performance. With a smile, Leslie reflected on the few times while performing that they could make out faces in the crowd. “I wanted to make some kind of connection with everybody who’s here today because I love that feeling when I see other people playing live music,” Leslie said. “I love having that connection.”
Editor’s note: Jenny Yu ’24 is a member of Mount Holyoke News.
On Feb. 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the largest military assault instigated by Europe since World War II. Since the attack began, more than 10 million Ukrainians are estimated to have fled their homes, and according to a statement from the United Nations, as many as 1,793 civilians are confirmed to have died.
“I feel like the Glascock is a survey of American poetry from the last hundred years,” Anna Maria Hong said. Hong is an assistant professor of English and part of the faculty committee of the Kathryn Irene Glascock Poetry Contest. The contest, colloquially called “The Glascock,” took place from April 1-2 in the Stimson Room of Williston Memorial Library and Gamble Auditorium. Competitors included six student contestants from different universities across the eastern United States, judged by three accomplished poets: Mary-Kim Arnold, Nathan McClain and Oliver de la Paz.
Warm sunlight flows into the large glass windows at the new Zowie Banteah Cultural Center, which looks out on the Upper Lake. Colloquially known as the Zowie, the center’s new space is located between Ham and MacGregor Halls. The Zowie is a space that “promotes visibility and empowerment for Native American[s] and communities of Indigenous people” on campus, as stated on the Mount Holyoke website.
Last Tuesday evening, Gamble Auditorium held laughter, tears, acrobatics and resounding cheers. The space hosted the annual Frances Perkins Monologues, the penultimate event in the College’s annual Building On Our Momentum conference. The event gives nontraditional aged Frances Perkins scholars the opportunity to share about their lives and journeys to Mount Holyoke. This year, seven students shared stories at the monologues, and themes ranged from raising children to starting a business to grappling with loss.
From the first note to the last, the music that floats through the air during a concert has the ability to transform an audience of individual people into a collective group. This transformation occurred on Friday, March 4, 2022, in Abbey Chapel, during the Mount Holyoke Symphony Orchestra’s annual Mary Lyon Concert, which was reconstructed this year into a fundraiser for Ukraine.
Jon Western, former vice president of academic affairs, dean of faculty and Carol Hoffmann Collins ’63 Professor of International Relations, died on Jan. 29, 2022. His memory lives on through his wife, sons, students and colleagues.
After receiving his Bachelor of Arts from Macalester College, Western went on to earn his Master in Public Policy at the University of Michigan and his doctoral degree from Columbia University. Before arriving at Mount Holyoke College, he taught at Columbia University and George Washington University. Western also served at the United States Institute of Peace as a Peace Scholar-in-residence and the coordinator of the Dayton Upgrade Project. In these two positions, he directed and developed a peace-building organization in Bosnia. In 1992, he worked as an analyst in the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research during the Bosnian War.
And one-two-three, and one-two-three and one. Dancing to the rhythm of the beat isn’t only something that people pick up for fun — it’s also a way to stay active. These two things — dance and fitness — inspired Aimee Salmon FP ’23 to build her own business helping people improve their health by letting their hair down and moving to music.
Whether for a quiet slumber, an intense writing session or hours of studying, many students have favorite spots around campus to visit when they need to prepare for finals. Mount Holyoke News asked students via Instagram stories to share their ideal location for a study session — check out these spaces next time you need to knock out some homework.
From screening films to hosting Indigenous speakers from local tribes, the Zowie Banteah Cultural Center is prepared to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Month this November. Mount Holyoke College, which is located on the ancestral land of the Nonotuck people, is working to promote and honor these events. The Zowie Banteah Cultural Center supports Native and Indigenous students on campus throughout the year.
Dinosaurs, periodic tables, Blanchard bees, treble clefs and more have all begun to grace the faces of Mount Holyoke students this semester. This semester, Aaron Wilson ’24 and Camden Breckenridge ’24 have been making and selling masks with a myriad of different patterns at a table outside of the Community Center.
