Seniors question donating to MHC Fund
MHN Asks: How did the Women’s March impact you?
Students wonder: How will MHC change in the next decade?
BY ISABEL KERR '19
The beginning of a new semester and a new calendar year has inspired Mount Holyoke students to reflect on how the school will change over the next decade. The community's reaction to the Trump administration, the construction of the new community center and the future of alumnae relations in the coming years are at the forefront of the student body's minds.
This February in Mount Holyoke News history
MHC professors place ‘Professor Watchlist’ into historical context
BY SHILOH FREDERICK '17
Charlie Kirk did not need a college degree to tell that something was amiss in the colleges and universities throughout the United States. In an email to media outlets in late November Kirk wrote, “It’s no secret that some of America’s college professors are totally out of line.” Kirk claimed that every day he had to listen to story after story about college professors targeting conservative students and promoting liberal propaganda in their classrooms. Kirk, the 23-year-old founder of the conservative youth activist organization Turning Point USA, decided “enough is enough.” It was time to expose these professors. So, on Nov. 21, “Professor Watchlist” went live.
This month in Mount Holyoke News history: December
Photo Essay: Wintertime at Mount Holyoke
Students share their experiences spending Thanksgiving with friends
Students struggle with post-election talk at Thanksgiving with their families
BY SHILOH FREDERICK '17
Liz Post ’19 may sit out Thanksgiving dinner with her mother’s family this year. As a liberal-leaning independent, Post voted for Hillary Clinton in the general election, but members of her mother’s side of the family supported president-elect Donald Trump. Although Post and her family try to avoid discussing politics whenever they get together, she fears that after such a divisive election, any mention of politics might turn the dinner table into a battleground. “I feel like it’s too soon for me and I feel like it’s too soon for them to come to terms with [the election],” said Post. “I don’t think that politics have ever been more personal than in our lifetime.”
Past presidential election hype at Mount Holyoke College
BY MICHALA SAWYER '17
On Oct. 7, 1960, Mount Holyoke News published the results for the campus mock election. Nixon won by a two-to-one margin over Kennedy and reflected the actual voting results later published in November of that year. The students overwhelmingly favored Nixon over Kennedy, with 92 percent of the student body participating in the vote. The faculty “were the only group voting … [that gave] a majority of the votes to Kennedy."
Scenes from election night across Mount Holyoke’s campus
BY SHILOH FREDERICK '17
Packed with students on both the balcony and ground floors, the Great Room of Blanchard Campus Center seemed to be the most popular choice for viewing Tuesday night’s election results. Several students, however, opted to spend the night away from the big screen in Blanchard. They chose to watch the results in dorm common rooms, in academic buildings or they abstained from watching altogether. The following gives a glimpse into how election night was spent around the campus.
Does sleep fit into life at Mount Holyoke?
Six ways for college students to help battle homesickness
BY MICHALA SAWYER '17
It’s natural to feel homesick when you’re away from the place and the people who have always made you feel safe. Making and adjusting to a new routine, struggling to find time to relax and de-stress, having to always make the effort to seem on top of your workload while feeling like you’re drowning in midterm papers, class readings and lab reports — all of this can contribute to a deep yearning to go back home.
Family & Friends weekend: history at a glance
BY MICHALA SAWYER ’17
Inviting families into the Mount Holyoke bubble has only been a relatively recent tradition in the history of the College. The first Parents’ Day was in 1951. However, from 1958-1973, only students’ fathers were invited to visit their children and take part in an annual Father-Daughter dance. The weekend became open to all parents in 1974.
Advocate Hakeem Rahim promotes mental health discussion at MHC
BY SHILOH FREDERICK '17
Hakeem Rahim had one goal for the intimate crowd of students and counselors who gathered for his mental health and wellness talk in Gamble Auditorium last Friday afternoon: “We’re going to leave here knowing it’s okay to talk about what you’re going through,” he said. As a mental health awareness advocate, Rahim has been visiting schools all over the country trying to initiate conversations about mental illness. Mount Holyoke College was the most recent stop on his I Am Acceptance College Tour.
Professors speak about students’ stress at MHC
Students give their take on stress at MHC
BY MIRIAM LEVY '17
Imagine sitting down to eat lunch with friends and instead of focusing on the conversation, you spend the entire meal fretting about a more productive way to spend your time. Or feeling confident before a test, only to find out someone else pulled an all-nighter to study and immediately feeling like you are completely unprepared. These are examples of what it’s like to be on a college campus that has a rampant stress culture. While defined differently by everyone, in its simplest form, stress culture is the perpetuating idea that if you aren’t stressed, you are doing something wrong and that being the most stressed person around is some sort of noteworthy achievement.
Six things to do now that it’s finally fall
Mountain Day goes from controlled to carefree
BY SHILOH FREDERICK '17
For many work-weary Mount Holyoke students, faculty and staff, Mountain Day is seen as a day of freedom, a break from the daily schedule of classes and obligations. However, the carefree Mountain Day we know and pine for wasn’t always that way. The College’s day off has a history of structure and regulations behind it.