“Mount Holyoke has removed a really key part of what made me feel safe — not just [as] an employee, but made me feel safe living here,” said Assistant Professor of Politics Ali Aslam, who faced uncertainty in his child care options after the College’s recent announcement that it would close the Gorse Children’s Center.
As of Feb. 24, the commonwealth of Massachusetts has begun COVID-19 vaccination for select groups of “priority” individuals, according to the Massachusetts Department of Health. The state will not begin vaccinating college students and employees until Phase 3 of vaccine rollout, slated to begin in April 2021.
In a hearing on Tuesday, Dec. 8, Assistant District Attorney Matthew Thomas filed a motion to obtain the employment records of former Mount Holyoke Professor of Art and Studio Art Chair Rie Hachiyanagi based on the advice of an unidentified third party. According to Hachiyanagi’s defense attorney, Thomas Kokonowski, the anonymous third party is also employed by Mount Holyoke College.
As previously reported by the Mount Holyoke News, Hachiyanagi was charged with multiple counts, including attempted murder, following her alleged assault on a fellow Mount Holyoke faculty member sometime between Dec. 23 and Dec. 24, 2019, to which she has pled not guilty. She has been in custody since December 2019.
Former Mount Holyoke Professor of Art and Studio Art Chair Rie Hachiyanagi has been in custody since December 2019. She will continue to be held without bail until her trial, which is scheduled for November 2020.
Hachiyanagi was charged with multiple counts, including attempted murder, following her alleged assault on a fellow Mount Holyoke faculty member some time between Dec. 23 and Dec. 24, 2019. She has pleaded not guilty on all charges.
On Friday, Aug. 7, College President Sonya Stephens announced the reversal of Mount Holyoke’s original residential reopening plan. Following similar announcements by Smith College and the University of Massachusetts Amherst earlier in the week, Mount Holyoke became the third of the Five Colleges to disinvite students from living on campus for the upcoming semester.
Students were asked to decide by July 8 whether they wanted to take up Residential Life positions for which they had been previously hired. These positions, previously titled Senior Community Advisor and Community Advisor have been renamed based on modifications to responsibilities under the new social compact and campus reopening plan: Residential Fellow and Community Assistant, respectively.
Mount Holyoke released the new information about the timeline of fall semester operations in an email to the College community on Thursday, June 16. The following day, Dean of Studies Director of Student Success Initiatives and Associate Professor of Psychology and Education Amber Douglas wrote to students with further information, including the College’s creation of a “Flexible Immersive Teaching” academic plan.
