Hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the steps of Northampton City Hall this past Saturday for the Pioneer Valley Women’s March, a demonstration intended to promote reproductive rights ahead of the Supreme Court reconvening on Oct. 4. The Northampton march was just one of over 500 similar marches across the nation this past weekend held in response to the Texas Heartbeat Bill, which came into effect on Sept. 1.
Students from the University of Massachusetts Amherst led protests on their campus this weekend in response to allegations of sexual assault made against fraternity Theta Chi. A post on the anonymous social media app Yik Yak alleged a first-year student at the university had been drugged and assaulted by a member of the fraternity at a Theta Chi party on Saturday night, Sept. 18. The following Sunday, Sept. 19, around 300 people gathered outside the fraternity house to protest the member’s involvement in the sexual assault allegations.
Dining at Mount Holyoke College has gone through several changes during the 2021-2022 school year. Unlike before the pandemic, food may now be carried out of the dining hall, and students have access to limited inside dining but are encouraged to eat outside in a tent on Skinner Green. There have also been several changes to the meal plan, including a switch from unlimited swipes to a limit of 25 swipes per week. Yet, despite common misconceptions, dining swipes remain unlimited for the time being, as Dining Services navigates a transitional state between indoor and outdoor dining.
The College announced changes to its COVID-19 and fall break guidelines in a Sept. 22 email detailing the recent shift in operating levels from “Semester Launch” to “Operating Level One.” This new operating level is described as “normal COVID-19 operations,” where transmission is controlled and cases are low on campus.
As the start of the semester drew near, many students were left scrambling to find new courses after some classes were canceled within weeks or even days of the commencement of the fall semester on Monday, Aug. 30. At least one cancellation was directly related to Mount Holyoke’s return to in-person classes.
Mount Holyoke College is facing the same staffing shortages that have been affecting the rest of the country since the start of the pandemic. Employment in the United States is down nearly 3 million jobs from March 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, with about half of those jobs coming from the food industry. The 1.5 million workers who have not yet returned make up about 12 percent of the food industry’s workforce.
When Mount Holyoke College announced its return to the first in-person semester since March 2020, they did so with substantial expansions to the Community Compact. Among other requirements, the College mandated that all students, staff and faculty receive a COVID-19 vaccination either on or before move-in day.
In the most recent MHC This Week newsletter email, sent out to students on July 22, the College announced once again that it is preparing to welcome students back to campus for a full residential experience this fall.
Plans include a reversion to the 15-week semester system and in-person instruction. This is a departure from the 7-week module system enrolled students participated in during the 2020-21 academic year.
