Photo courtesy of Flickr/Tim Pierce
BY NICOLE VILLACRÉS '18
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren will be visiting Mount Holyoke to discuss her book, “This Fight is Our Fight: The Battle to Save America’s Middle Class” on Friday, April 21 in Chapin Auditorium at 7 p.m.
The Dean’s Corner, sent by Dean of Students Marcella Hall announced the upcoming event at 8:20 a.m. on March 29, and student tickets sold out within the first 90 minutes. Tickets were available for students, faculty and staff free of charge through the online OneCard portal. The Odyssey bookstore was also able to provide a small number of tickets for community members.
Some students were frustrated with the process of reserving tickets.
“I’m a little annoyed because they didn’t make any prior announcements about tickets going up,” said Miranda Lee ’18. “By the time I was up and checking social media and emails, which was around 10 that morning, they were gone.”
In response to the high level of interest, the event will be live streamed and the school will host at least one, if not two, overflow sites for people to watch the livestream together, according to Dean Hall. Hall also explained that MHC was able to host Sen. Warren because of the upcoming release of her new book.
“The Odyssey bookshop was in touch with the publisher about hosting an event in the 5 college area ... we are very honored that Senator Warren chose Mount Holyoke,” Hall said via email.
Anyone with a ticket must be in line by 6:45 p.m. on Friday to guarantee their admission. Those who wait in line with a valid MHC ID will be admitted on a first-come, first-serve basis, according to the MHC website.
Warren was elected as a senator for Massachusetts in 2012. She has written two other novels, including her memoir, “A Fighting Chance,” which was a New York Times bestseller. Before becoming involved in politics, Sen. Warren was a professor of law at several universities, according to her website, including as the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Harvard Law School.
According to her website, Sen. Warren was heavily involved in overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program implemented after the 2008 financial crisis. She worked closely with former President Barack Obama as an advisor and according to her website, her input led to the establishment of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Her newest book, “This Fight is Our Fight,” is set to publish on April 18 and overviews the growth of the middle class after the Great Depression and New Deal. She has included personal narratives about her experience in the U.S. Senate. Sen. Warren’s book also includes an outline of how to fight to save the middle class under President Donald Trump.
“America’s once-solid middle class is on the ropes, and now Donald Trump and his administration seem determined to deliver the knockout punch. At this precious moment in our country’s history, it’s time to fight back — and I’m looking for more people to join me,” said Sen. Warren in a press release obtained by CNN.
After discussing her newest book, Sen. Warren will be hosting a Q & A with the audience. Among those in attendance will be Jessica Taylor ’17, a former intern for Sen. Warren. Taylor used Lynk funding in the summer of 2016 to join Sen. Warren’s team in Springfield, Mass. She says she chose to intern with the Senator because she knew that their values aligned and she valued working within Western Mass., a community she has been a part of her entire life.
“My experience interning for her was special because she has such a fabulous team. She sets the bar high and everyone follows in her footsteps in their passion for social justice,” Taylor said. “One of my superiors there always said, ‘it’s not work, it’s life.’ Working there was very fulfilling knowing I could help support the Senator’s agenda and be just one of the many hands helping the process.”
Taylor said she is glad that Sen. Warren will be at MHC and feels that the visit reflects how strongly Sen. Warren values visiting different parts of the commonwealth.
“She has been holding town halls and speaking to constituents of Massachussetts quite a bit lately and it’s a reminder of how much she cares about hearing people and getting to know her constituents,” Taylor said.
Warren was also announced on April 3 as the University of Massachusetts, Amherst’s 2017 commencement speaker.