Since Mount Holyoke officially closed its campus for the academic year, roughly 800 student employment positions have been lost. Of the over 400 student jobs that remain, most positions — including those in Admissions, Student Financial Services, Library Information and Technology Services (LITS) or academic departments — have begun operating remotely and with a limit of 4.5 hours per week.
New COVID-19 cases emerge in Mount Holyoke community
Mount Holyoke informed the College community of its first reported case presumed to be the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, on Wednesday, April 8. In a statement sent to the entire student body, Associate Vice President of Human Resources Heidi Friedman and Director of Health Services Karen Engell said that the College was alerted of a community member’s presumed positive test for COVID-19 on April 7. According to the email, the individual was not in contact with anyone when last on campus, nor were they experiencing symptoms at that time.
Board of Trustees announces tuition increase after annual retreat
According to an email sent to members of the College community on March 30 by President of the College Sonya Stephens, the Mount Holyoke College Board of Trustees met in New York from Feb. 27-29 for their annual retreat. The Board discussed tenure and retirement of professors, voted on the awarding of degrees on March 6, 2020 for 68 seniors and appointed new Trustees.
Faculty and students grapple with online learning, grading
Senior class of 2020 says goodbye to campus two months early
Following College closure, students voice financial concerns
Mount Holyoke evacuates campus due to COVID-19 pandemic
“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.”
Smith College implements community-focused policing reforms
In July of 2018, a call was placed to Smith College campus police regarding the presence of a black student on campus who “seemed out of place.” The student in question was a Smith sophomore working in a summer program designed to encourage high school girls to study and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. The incident made national news and sparked intense debate regarding Smith Campus Police practices and racial profiling.
Coronavirus concerns force students home from abroad
“Coronavirus did not feel like a serious issue at all,” Isabelle Muller ’21 said. “Until it did.” Muller is an art history major particularly interested in the Renaissance. Florence, Italy, the birthplace of this intellectual and artistic movement, seemed like the perfect study abroad location. But just over a month into her program, she had to pack up and leave the northern Italian city amidst sudden and growing reports of COVID-19.
Board of Trustees meet after student protests
From Feb. 27 to Feb. 29, the Mount Holyoke College Board of Trustees met in New York City for their annual spring Board meeting. Following this meeting, the Trustees scheduled a phone call for March 2 between the Mount Holyoke Climate Justice Coalition (CJC) and the majority of the Board’s Investment Committee (IC) to discuss Mount Holyoke’s current investments in the fossil fuel industry.