ProjectConnect program to continue in Spring semester

Five of 10 ProjectConnect peer facilitators, who meet with student cohorts during the semester, pose for a photo at a facilitation training on Feb. 4. Photo by Jesse Hausknect-Brown ‘25.

By Nina Sydoryk ’25

Staff Writer

Four months ago, Mount Holyoke’s Counseling Services launched the pilot program ProjectConnect to address an epidemic of chronic loneliness among college students in the United States. Led by peer facilitators, ProjectConnect offers students the chance to meet others and socialize through planned meetups and activity sessions. The program is now being renewed for the spring semester following a positive reception from students who participated in the fall.

“In a survey we administered at the end of the program, 90 percent of those that responded said they’d recommend ProjectConnect to a friend,” Erica Weathers, clinician and outreach coordinator at the Counseling Services, said in an email interview with Mount Holyoke News. “Our peer facilitators are also awesome leaders and they have expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to co-lead these groups.” 

Even before the start of ProjectConnect, high interest resulted in the creation of a waitlist. The original program, which ran for five weeks beginning the week of Oct. 17, 2022, was designed to aid those interested in fostering connections across the many diverse communities on Mount Holyoke’s campus. In the spring semester, ProjectConnect plans to offer groups specifically geared toward international students and students who identify as neurodivergent.

“From a personal standpoint, even though I have friends around campus, having a set time where I knew I would get the chance to socialize in a safe setting made me feel a lot less alone,” peer facilitator Katelyn Anderson ’25 shared. “I can’t speak for the participants, but based on their feedback I would say that they feel similarly. … Mount Holyoke is a great place to be, but just like at any institution there are going to be people who have a harder time meeting new people and making meaningful connections than others. ProjectConnect, while available to people of all kinds of social strengths and weaknesses, aims to help people get a chance to build connections if they are willing to put in the time and effort.” Anderson hopes to serve in the peer facilitator position until graduation.

In an email interview with Mount Holyoke News, Mia Gonzales Jackson ’26 reflected on what she called an “overall great experience [that was] engaging and informative” following her participation in ProjectConnect last fall.

“ProjectConnect was a nice way to get to know students who I otherwise might not have met,” Jackson said. “The activity that specifically stands out to me was an evening where we spent time just writing thank-you notes to significant people in our lives. Taking time to listen and share was a humbling experience I am quite grateful for.”

Jackson affirmed that she could not “think of anything that could improve the program structure; everything was organized well and seemed to flow smoothly.”

Gonzales shared her thoughts on the importance of student effort in sustaining the benefits of social outreach programs like ProjectConnect. 

“It is great to get to know a small group of people over a few weeks, but sustaining the relationships requires individual follow-through,” Jackson said. “If a participant doesn’t reach back out after the program is over or even acknowledge their group member(s) when they see them in Blanchard or around campus, the social benefit of the program is lost. … That said, ProjectConnect provides a good basis and a start for creating relationships.”

Despite ProjectConnect’s success, Mia Gonzales brought up a point about the sometimes unsuspecting nature of loneliness.

“I also want to note that people can feel lonely even if they interact with others, so it really depends on the individual. Additionally, it is true that knowing many people does not guarantee social fulfillment — loneliness can simultaneously be extremely familiar,” Jackson said.

She concluded with advice that she believed may be helpful to anyone who struggles with anxiety regarding social interactions. 

“It is generally helpful to let go of preconceived social structures and just listen to what people have to share and say in order to attempt to widen one’s social circle; my experience with ProjectConnect definitely reinforces this approach,” Jackson said.

An informational session regarding ProjectConnect will be held in Blanchard 227 on Friday, Feb. 10 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for students who wish to learn more about the program.

President-elect Danielle R. Holley to begin term in July

By Tara Monastesse ’25

News Editor

On Tuesday, Feb. 7, Mount Holyoke College announced that professor and legal scholar Danielle Ren Holley had been unanimously elected by the Board of Trustees to serve as the College’s twentieth president. The appointment was announced following an intensive selection process which began last March after nineteenth president Sonya Stephens stepped down from the position to serve as president of The American University of Paris. 

“The board’s unanimous decision is the culmination of a thoughtful, thorough and inclusive search process that was conducted over the past 11 months,” chair of the Board of Trustees Karena V. Strella ’90 wrote in an email to the community. “We owe our deepest gratitude to the presidential search committee for its incredible efforts to bring the search to a successful conclusion.”

An inaugural celebration was held in Blanchard Hall’s Great Room the same afternoon as the announcement, during which President-elect Holley addressed the College community for the first time. Holley drew on her own childhood experiences of having academics for parents, as well as her time spent pursuing a B.A. in history at Yale University, to describe what a liberal arts education meant to her.

“It helped me to understand how studying the past, especially studying the Civil Rights Movement, meant that for me the central part of my life would be opening the doors of opportunity to education for other people.” Holley said. “Education is liberation, education is freedom, education is opportunity. And I knew for the rest of my life that I would spend all of my time opening the doors of education to other people so that each one of you can open the doors for someone else.”

Holley is currently a professor of law and dean of Howard University School of Law, a position which she has held since 2014. Holley’s leadership led the Howard University Law School to new heights, including moving the school into the top 100 in the U.S. News and World Report, as well as the introduction of a six-year BA/JD program. Holley is also a leading scholar of impeding Supreme Court decisions regarding race-conscious college and university admissions, whose expertise on civil rights and equity topics are often sought by members of the press and others, according to a press release issued by the College.

Holley’s appointment will make her the first Black woman to serve as Mount Holyoke’s permanent president, as well as the fourth Black woman in history to lead one of the original Seven Sisters colleges. She will begin her term starting on July 1, 2023. Until then, Interim President Beverly Daniel Tatum will continue to serve in the position. 

“I want to add my congratulations to President-elect Holley and to Mount Holyoke College,” President Tatum said following Holley’s address. “It truly is a perfect pairing.”

Senate discusses upcoming events, senator concerns, and important updates

By Paige Comeau ’26

Staff Writer 

On Feb. 7, the Student Government Association senate meeting opened with a reading of the agenda, which included E-Board updates, open floor and commission work. Following a land acknowledgment, SGA members noted that there would be a link with relevant information in their weekly email sent out to all senators. 

E-Board updates included an update on the recent binder drive. As mentioned last week, only about 33 of the 70 binders requested could be ordered due to supply chain issues. However, after talking with the binder supplier, SGA was able to obtain the remaining 37 binders, all of which will arrive by the end of March. 

Also, as announced by SGA, Resident Advisor and Orientation Leader applications are now open and will be due on Sunday, Feb. 12, at 11:55 p.m. 

Senate then moved to open floor, a space for senators to voice their updates and concerns. To begin, senators shared announcements. The representative for the Student Athlete Advisory Committee announced an upcoming basketball game against MIT on Saturday, Feb. 11. She also announced that volleyball will have open play this week and that both soccer and rowing are fundraising. 

Two representatives for Project Connect discussed updates for the Spring term, including new international and neurodivergent groups. The representative for the Kachimushi Naginata Club publicized an upcoming Valentine’s Day fundraiser. The Mead Hall Senator, on behalf of the Career Development Center, reminded everyone that applications for Lynk funding are due on Feb. 17 by 5 p.m.

For the second part of open floor, senators were invited to bring up their questions and concerns. One member referenced the mask recycling box in the library atrium and wondered if SGA could set something similar up in the Community Center or Dining Commons. SGA responded by saying that they would love to see something like that and that they would look into it. 

Another representative brought up concerns about the food at the dining hall. She stated that this previous week she had received food poisoning from the sushi served in the Dining Commons. Further, she claimed that she knew people who had gotten sick from worms in the produce. SGA told her that the Dining Commons did have safety and cleanliness standards, but that they would reach out to dining, in case something needed to be updated. 

The representative for the Jewish Student Union asked, once again, if there were any updates on having Narcan available on Campus. SGA stated that they did not have any new updates. Finally, the Representative for the Class board of 2023 shared a concern they had about transcripts. Many members of their class are currently in the process of applying for jobs and graduate school and are having a very difficult time obtaining official transcripts. Furthermore, when unofficial transcripts are allowed, many times the employers or schools don’t accept them because there is no place on the transcript with Mount Holyoke’s name or emblem. SGA stated that although they did not necessarily know who to reach out to regarding these issues, they will figure it out and look into what they can do. 

Senate wrapped up with commission work. The eight commissions were asked to continue working on their petitions, check with their E-Board member about their finished petition and send the finalized copy to the SGA E-Board via email, before being dismissed from the meeting by their E-Board member.

Mount Holyoke opens Black History Month with celebratory ceremony

Sarah Bell '25, Qiana Pierre '25, Sydney Williams '23 and Wil Abam-DePass '23 help with event. Photo courtesy of Annmarie Murdzia.

By Tara Monastesse ’25 and Bryn Healy ’24

News Editor | Staff Writer

On the evening of Friday, Feb. 2, the opening ceremony for Mount Holyoke’s observation of Black History Month was held in Blanchard Hall’s Great Room. After a land acknowledgement by Associate Dean of Students, Community and Belonging Latrina Denson, student representatives from various Black student organizations on campus welcomed attendees to the ceremony. Gathered around confetti-strewn tables lit with flickering candles, attendees listened to presentations on Black culture and history in the United States, as well as a summary of events that will be hosted by the College and Black student organizations throughout February.

Following introductions, attendees stood for a recorded performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black national anthem. The song, originally adapted from the 1900 poem of the same name by former NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson, was described as a “rallying cry during the Civil Rights movement” by the NAACP.

The theme for Black History Month at Mount Holyoke this year is “_____ and Beauty,” with the blank being filled in with a new word for each week of programming: History and Beauty, Intersectionality and Beauty, Black Voices and Beauty and Blackness and Beauty. The presenters explained that the theme gets its name from the phrase “Black is beautiful,” popularized in the 1960s and 70s as an activist slogan. The catalyst for the Black is Beautiful movement was Kwame Brathwaite’s fashion show in 1962. The show highlighted Grandassa Models who refused to follow Western beauty standards and were followers of Marcus Garvey’s African Nationalist Pioneer Movement.

“We were able to come up with something that exemplified how people may define themselves, specifically Black individuals, [and] what beauty means to them, and what Black beauty means to them,” Wil Abam-DePass ’23, co-chair of the Association of Pan-African Unity, said in an interview with Mount Holyoke News. “Which is why we left the first part of the line open, because there’s so many different ways. And beauty doesn’t just mean appearance — it can also mean there’s beauty in education, there’s beauty in acceptance, there’s beauty in diversity, there’s beauty in justice — different things.”

The students then gave a brief presentation on the history of Black History Month, describing how it began as a week designated by historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History in 1926 to be celebrated during the second week of February. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Woodson and the ASALH chose February as it was the birth month of Fredrick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln. Black students in the 1960s began to observe Black History Month on their college campuses, a practice which escalated to national prominence upon being officially recognized by President Gerald Ford in 1976.

Presenters also discussed the history of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, a group of African American fraternities and sororities commonly referred to as the Divine Nine. According to their website, the National Pan-Hellenic Council was founded at Howard University, a Historically Black University, in 1930 by “Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.” The current nine members of the council describe their core goals as community action and awareness. 

Toni-Ann Williams ’23, president of the Pi Iota chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc, described her relationship to the group, saying, “[it] holds a lot of weight in my life … it’s a dream come true.” Williams also announced Pi Iota’s upcoming “Galentines” day event to be hosted on Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. at University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Malcolm X Cultural Center, an event described by the Pi Iota Instagram as “a love-centered event filled with discussions, vision board making and light refreshments.”

A list of events planned to celebrate Black History Month at Mount Holyoke throughout February was presented, which includes over a dozen events, features film screenings, author readings, educational panels and more. Some of these events include a screening and discussion of the 2015 documentary “Too Black to be French?” on Feb. 15 at 6:30 p.m. in the Unity Center, and a panel entitled “A Journey of Poetry, Love and Authenticity with Poet Lynette Johnson” to be held on Feb. 24 at 6:30 p.m. in the Betty Shabazz Community Room. A four-part weekly series watching and discussing the docuseries “Hair Tales” will happen in the Betty Shabazz Cultural Center every Monday this month. Students who sign up for “Hair Tales” discussions are eligible for $50 off with an MHC student stylist. The Anthropology, English and Africana Studies Departments and the Nexus in Museums, Archives and Public History are co-sponsoring a virtual reading with author André Le Mont Wilson on Feb. 20 at 7:30 p.m.

The opening ceremony concluded with a reception, where speakers and attendees socialized and enjoyed refreshments. The College’s programming for Black History Month will conclude with a Black History Gala on Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. in Chapin Auditorium, as well as a closing ceremony on Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. in Gamble Auditorium.

Editor’s note: Sarah Bell ’25, present in the photo, is a member of Mount Holyoke News.