LILY REAVIS ’21 & DECLAN LANGTON ’22
“All students must move out of their on-campus housing beginning on Saturday, March 14, and must be moved out by Friday, March 20, at the latest,” read a campus-wide email sent from College President Sonya Stephens on Tuesday, March 10. “Students should not expect to live on campus for the remainder of this semester.”
Following the lead of Amherst and Smith Colleges, Mount Holyoke officially closed its campus due to concerns about the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, on March 20. Since then, most students have packed their dorm rooms and moved to their respective homes, with the exception of 309 students who were approved to live on campus through the end of the semester.
According to Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Marcella Runell Hall, members of the Mount Holyoke administration had been considering the College’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak since early January. As the virus grew exponentially into a pandemic, Mount Holyoke and other colleges across the country were forced to act quickly, before students traveled over spring break.
“What became really clear is that most colleges did not have adequate quarantine space or healthcare providers in the event of a pandemic,” Hall said. She explained that Mount Holyoke’s location in a small community also means that local healthcare providers would be unable to care for local citizens and the College community in the case of a campus outbreak.
“Day-to-day, as more information became available in terms of what the risks would be, everybody had to get really clear on what their priority was going to be moving forward,” she said.
The closure was especially painful for the senior class, whose commencement has since been postponed by the College. “What do you do when you leave college without any semblance of a plan?” asked Senior Class Board Vice President Rebecca Piperno ’20.
“As soon as we got notified [of the College’s closure], I immediately went to my room to cry and call my mom,” Piperno recalled. “I remember feeling disoriented and uprooted without a tangible plan for my future.” Following the notification, Piperno and her closest senior friends filed into the Cochary Pub & Kitchen to “enjoy last moments together sooner than expected,” she said.
Chisato Kimura ’22 is one of the 309 students who have been approved to stay on campus. She called that opportunity a “relief.”
“When I found out Mount Holyoke was transitioning to remote learning, I was very anxious about having a place to stay and having financial security,” Kimura said.
Students were given up to 10 days to move out of their dorm rooms after receiving Stephens’ March 10 email. Classes were set to continue throughout the week.
“In those initial days, what people were focused on was the immediate health and safety of the community and helping to … evacuate,” Hall said. On campus, several classes were canceled or held only for short periods as students packed their dorms and worked their last shifts at their campus jobs.
“The last week on campus felt exactly like the day after the presidential election in 2016,” Piperno said. “It was raining, I was still crying uncontrollably ... going to class and to work kind of felt like necessary routine to provide some sense of normality.”
Piperno is originally from Italy, the country with the most COVID-19-related deaths, so going home from Mount Holyoke was never an option. Instead, she is currently staying with her mom in Alabama while they wait out the virus.
“I am currently trying to make some kind of daily schedule for myself to get through classes and job applications, while also understanding to be forgiving with myself giving my newfound unemployment,” Piperno said. On top of her online schoolwork, Piperno is currently hearing from the last of the graduate programs she applied to in the fall.
Alongside the announcement of the campus’ closure, Stephens’ March 10 email also stated that spring break would be extended by one week, until March 29. Beginning on March 30, alternate modes of instruction became available to students. This news presented challenges to both students and faculty, who must adapt to online learning for the remainder of the school year.
On March 11, one day after the announcement from President Stephens, Student Government Association (SGA) President Juniper Glass-Klaiber ’21 sent an email to all students with resources to assist with moving off campus. “All we can do now is try to take care of ourselves and our communities,” Glass-Klaiber wrote. The email included Google spreadsheets created by Mount Holyoke alums to offer housing and storage to current students.
As of March 20, the Mount Holyoke campus is closed to all students, faculty, staff and community members who have not been given access due to housing or work-related reasons for the remainder of the academic year.
“The health center is open, auxiliary services has some limited hours, but they’re still open for packages and mail,” Hall said. “Campus police is open, the Dining Commons is doing three meals a day — it’s all takeout … because it has to be, based on Massachusetts law.” All academic buildings, Williston Memorial Library, Abbey Chapel, Kendall Sports and Dance Complex, the Art Museum and the cultural houses are closed for the semester.
“It feels like a ghost town,” Kimura said. “This campus definitely isn’t the same without all the staff, faculty and most importantly the students here.”
At this point, administrators are working to address concerns surrounding student employment and on-campus housing, while students navigate distant learning and community involvement.
“I really hope that [the] administration can take a step back and realize that they haven’t really asked for student input throughout any of this process and that absolutely needs to change,” Kimura added. From the administration, she wants to see an immediate solution for work-study students, as well as more mental health resources for students on and off campus.
“I do want to hear from students if there are things that they’d like to see or things they want to share, and I hope that people are trying to engage with social media and how we’re connected to each other,” Hall said. “We’re in this together and we’re trying to figure this out.”
Hall is confident that the class of 2020 and those who were scheduled for class reunions this year will be given an opportunity to celebrate with their peers in the future.
“Whatever will come out of the next few months, I will forever be grateful of what Mount Holyoke has taught me, the people that it has given me, and the resilience to hope for a time when we can all be together again,” Piperno said.