Mount Holyoke is a predominantly white institution, and it is undeniable that white people make up a majority of the student population, as well as the administration. While one could argue that none of this treatment was intentional or race-related, intention does not matter as much as the impact on students of color.

The opening ceremony, through both its obsession with its new Western guests and its mimicry of Hollywood galas, reflects how Western validation still forms an integral part of South Asia’s identity formation and reach for global recognition. In this preoccupation with catering to global, or more specifically Western validation, indigenous art suffers the harm of reductive promotion that does no justice to the “rich cultural history” that Ambani boasts of promoting.

Mount Holyoke College has recently been abuzz with conversations regarding the College’s recent popularity in conservative media. Sprawling across social media meme pages to classroom discussions and casual conversations exchanged between peers, the name Annabella Rockwell has become a constant in many of our vocabularies over the past two weeks and since we returned from November break.

I have gone entire days where I have eaten alone in the Dining Commons for every meal. It can be monotonous to not have anyone to converse with. Yet, I never go up to the many tables filled by my peers and ask to sit with them. In November 2022, the The Division of Student Life implemented a new dining feature attempting to change all that: signs you can put on your table inviting strangers to come and sit.

Hansell’s email on low enrollment in certain courses, accompanied by the ensuing course cancellation, reflects a concerning case of diverse course offerings within the Mount Holyoke College Department of English being sidelined. This Spring 2023 semester registration trend reflects a need for the English department to do better by its diverse course offerings and better institute structures to incorporate the multicultural perspective within the department.

Mount Holyoke College returned to a fully residential experience in Fall 2021 for the first time since the campus began remote learning in March 2020. In an email to students from March 2021, former College president Sonya Stephens addressed the Mount Holyoke community about plans for Fall 2021 and beyond. Stephens stated, “Faculty and students will be engaged in our campus learning environment together, and we will make any adjustments needed to continue to protect health and safety.”