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Senate Votes To Acquit Trump in Second Impeachment Trial

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Senate Votes To Acquit Trump in Second Impeachment Trial

Former President Donald Trump faced the Senate trial as a part of his second impeachment charges on Tuesday, Feb. 9. Trump, the first U.S. president to be impeached twice, was accused of inciting the attempted insurrection on Jan. 6 and was subsequently impeached by the House of Representatives on Jan. 13. In January, Trump's defense team and Senate Republicans attempted to dismiss the trial, claiming that it would be unconstitutional to impeach a president that has left office. But the Senate voted 56-44 in favor of proceeding with the impeachment trials.

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Kathleen Hicks ’91 Sworn in as Deputy Defense Secretary for Biden Administration

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Kathleen Hicks ’91 Sworn in as Deputy Defense Secretary for Biden Administration

Dr. Kathleen Hicks ’91 recently solidified her place among Mount Holyoke alumni to be appointed to a leadership position in the federal government. On Feb. 9, 2021, Hicks was sworn in as the 35th deputy secretary of defense. She is the first woman to serve in this position.

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Trump Supporters Storm US Capitol in Deadly Insurrection

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Trump Supporters Storm US Capitol in Deadly Insurrection

During the late morning of Jan. 6, a crowd of hundreds had assembled on the Capitol lawn. Among these people were the far-right extremist group, the Proud Boys, whom former President Donald Trump had previously told to “stand back and stand by” during a presidential debate.

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New Presidential Administration Is Inaugurated

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New Presidential Administration Is Inaugurated

On Wednesday, Jan. 20, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were officially sworn in as the 46th president and vice president of the United States, respectively. With the COVID-19 pandemic now having claimed over 400,000 American lives and still surging across the country, the inauguration itself looked different. Everyone in attendance wore face masks, and the people in front of the Capitol sat physically distanced from each other. Supreme Court justices, members of Congress and other government officials, as well as past presidents, were seen in attendance. The number of tickets for each person to hand out, as well as receive, was limited to keep the size of the crowd down. The National Mall, where people can usually stand to watch the event, was instead decorated with American flags.

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Biden Selects Key Members for Incoming Administration

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By Soleil Doering ’24 & Rehat Thussu ’23

Staff Writers

The U.S. presidential transition between President Donald Trump and President-elect Joe Biden may have lasting political implications. Biden’s victory and Trump’s refusal to concede has led to an especially volatile transfer of power. Election results have been contested before, such as in the 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, but according to Assistant Professor of Politics Adam Hilton, the 2020 election brings new sentiments.

Two Georgia Senate Races Head to Runoff Elections

Joe Biden was announced the projected winner of the state of Georgia on Friday, Nov. 13. Leading by 0.3 percent in the state, the win pushed Biden to 306 electoral votes, leaving President Donald Trump with 232. Biden is the first Democratic nominee to win Georgia in 28 years after Bill Clinton last did so in 1992.

“I think we were all really surprised. I feel like it’s kind of an assumption that southern states are normally red. … When Georgia flipped [blue], I was kind of like, ‘Is it real? What's going on?’,” Syd Williams ’23, who was involved with MHC Votes!, said. “I’m happy, but I feel like there is still so much that is in the air.”

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U.S. Pulls Out of Paris Climate Accord

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As ballots were counted, the United States hung in an unprecedented election limbo for results that would define political, social and economic landscapes for the next four years. In the midst of national uncertainty, President Donald Trump made an announcement on Wednesday, Nov. 4 that would further complicate the future of national and global action: the official withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement.

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Biden Is the Projected Winner of the 2020 Election

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On Saturday, Nov. 7, media reports called the 2020 presidential race for former Vice President Joe Biden after he won the electoral votes from Pennsylvania, pushing him over the 270 electoral vote mark needed to win. The outcome of the election took four days to be determined. Although mail-in ballots are still being counted in Pennsylvania and a number of other states, there were so many votes for Biden that it would not matter if the rest of the votes were for President Donald Trump. As of Nov. 11, Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona were still counting their mail-in ballots, with North Carolina leaning toward Trump and Georgia and Arizona leaning toward Biden.

Presidential Race Remains Tight as States Count Early Ballots

“I am really looking forward to the possibility of finally exhaling for the first time in four years,” said Adam Hilton, professor of politics at Mount Holyoke College.

“This is certainly the highest-stakes election of my lifetime, and I think it might be one of the highest stake elections in American history,” he continued. “I will be very relieved to see Trump gone because I think he is a threat to American democracy.”

With issues such as COVID-19, equal human rights, voter suppression and intimidation at play, as well as actions taken by Republican politicians to undermine nationwide confidence in mail-in ballots, the 2020 presidential election has been a political race full of controversy. Due to the drastic divide between supporters of President Donald Trump and Joe Biden, this election is said to be one of the most important in American history. Lynn Morgan, a history professor at Mount Holyoke, compared the 2020 presidential election to that of 1860, which resulted in the secession of the South from the rest of the U.S.

South Hadley Residents Discuss New Voting Format and Divisive Election

South Hadley Residents Discuss New Voting Format and Divisive Election

Whether lined up outside of the public library or following the signs to a ballot dropbox, South Hadley voters participating in the 2020 presidential election have seen processes greatly adjusted to fit the new standards required in a pandemic.

In a video released by the South Hadley Office of the Town Clerk, Registrar Nicole Casolari spoke on behalf of the department explaining the new protocols for the election. While the town continued to offer the option to vote in person at South Hadley High School on Nov. 3, other avenues were also created for citizens to participate. Early voting began Oct. 17 at the South Hadley Public Library and the application for mail-in ballots was open until Oct. 28. Voters who decided to mail their ballots were also able to bring them to a dropbox behind the police station, according to Casolari.

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