As of late, the Save Our Departments movement, a student group of the same name advocating for the preservation of the Mount Holyoke arts, languages and social sciences departments, has garnered attention across campus. As the College merges departments and cuts programs, some students are increasingly worried about what budget cuts will mean for their areas of study. As a prospective history major, I have a lot to lose from potential budget cuts and the downsizing of departments.
When we look at other people, we make instant assumptions about them, from the way they dress, act or even what they are interested in. These expectations can be damaging, not only because they are often untrue, but also because they can be incredibly hard to unlearn. This is often true for those who do not fit within the gender binary, and even more so for those who do not fit into the androgynous stereotype often ascribed to non-binary people. It is one thing to understand that gender identity, pronouns and gender expression are three separate categories, and it is another to actively deconstruct the notions of gender that place those groupings together.
America has a systemic issue of selective storytelling to make history more digestible. While simplicity has its place, loss of nuance can be incredibly damaging when attempting to reckon with our past. There often seems to be a collective forgetfulness when engaging in harsh truths about historical events or people. This tendency to celebrate and recognize redeemable parts of history compromises its authenticity.
I have been dancing for as long as I can remember: since I started movement classes at the Lawrence Arts Center in my hometown at the age of two.
When I was around four or five, I was deemed ready to start ballet. By the time I was 14, I had been accepted into the Lawrence Ballet Theater, the pre-professional dance company at my studio. Throughout high school, I was a member of this company, adding more and more hours to my schedule to meet the demands of dancing at such an intense level. I went to the University of Kansas Dance Intensive every summer and participated in several productions a year, as well as worked with visiting choreographers who set pieces for the company.
As I engage in class discussions, I feel like I am in the film “Groundhog Day,” hearing the same watered-down conversations on political issues over and over again. The heedless repetition of political phrases is a byproduct of cancel culture.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, cancel culture is “the practice or tendency of engaging in mass canceling as a way of expressing disapproval and exerting social pressure.” Cancel culture creates a hierarchy of opinions where certain opinions are given ascendancy over others. It encourages students who believe in the superiority of mainstream opinions to cancel those who disagree, preventing any chance to have educational moments and empathy within political discourse.
