Photo by Emma Quirk ‘26.
By Madelyn Dalley ’27
News Editor
Mount Holyoke College Senate held its weekly meeting this past Tuesday, April 2, 2024. To start the meeting, the Mount Holyoke College Land Acknowledgement was read aloud to the senate board, giving the attendees time to reflect on the land they inhabit.
After the land acknowledgment, the E-Board shared updates regarding laundry and the Ways and Means Guidelines for the 2024-2025 school year.
First, it was announced that all of the laundry machines registered on LaundryConnect, the website Mount Holyoke uses to track its residence hall laundry machines, were online and working. Students were encouraged to reach out to the LaundryConnect company or Facilities Management if they noticed any further issues with the platform.
The second and final E-Board update was about proposed updates to the Ways and Means Guidelines, a form for student organizations to request funding for the 2024-2025 school year. If approved, these changes would include less wordiness in the guidelines, stricter guidelines around requesting funding for books, new off-campus travel policies and clarification about funding medical supplies. The changes would also make it so that Five College events would require notification of the Office of Student Involvement.
E-Board then sent a voting form to senators asking them to vote to ratify or reject the changes. Next came the open floor section of the senate meeting, which allowed senators of clubs and dorms around campus to advertise upcoming events.
Upcoming events included Shabbat at the Eliot House on Fridays, a women’s basketball Final Four watch party on April 5, the annual Trailblazers of Color Leadership Conference with guest speaker Ilyasah Shabazz, College Democrats’ “Pie-a-Politician” fundraiser on April 6, “Rings and Roses” on April 7, ODotteMita’s ODM Live on April 11, a TAG + MISC Table Talk on April 12, STEMPOC’s BOOM Alumni Panel, an Alumni Volleyball Game and Ballet Club informal showing on April 13, an Outing Club “Crunchy Formal” on April 19, the Class of 2027 blood drive on April 18 and a WMHC-hosted Battle of the Bands on April 27.
Information about all events, including those not listed, can be found on Mount Holyoke’s Embark Events page. Other announcements included Project Management Committee’s need for transportation to Facilities Management headquarters for an appreciation project and an announcement that Senior Ball tickets are now available.
Next, campus concerns from senators were addressed. Stevie Wilensky ’27 of the Jewish Student Union expressed concerns about the Geothermal Project construction on Skinner Green. Wilensky explained that construction would start as early as 6:45 a.m. and even occur as late as 2:30 a.m. the next morning. The noise caused by construction at sporadic times of day and night was a point of frustration for Wilensky.
Wilensky also raised concerns about Access Ride Card van drivers. They noted that the drivers would park in incorrect spots and miss stops, forcing students to wave them down.
Another concern was the delayed notice that rising juniors and seniors received about the limited number of single-resident housing available to those who entered the singles lottery. As one representative from the Office of Student Involvement stated, this decision was due to a lack of junior singles, and seniors have not historically been guaranteed single housing placements. The late notice was cited as a result of student housing placements not being complete until the preceding Monday.
Before ending the meeting, a Google Form to record events and announcements was advertised to senators, who were encouraged to use it. After this final announcement, the April 2 senate meeting was adjourned, with the next meeting scheduled to occur on April 16.