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Astronomy department’s Jason Young reaches for the stars with student-aided summer research BY REBECCA GAGNON ’23 FEATURES EDITOR
Although another year at Mount Holyoke has come to an end, academic life is still present on campus as summer research is now in full swing. Professors across the College, such as in the astronomy department, are beginning projects in their fields of study and have students assisting them for experience. Jason Young, a visiting lecturer from the astronomy and physics department, has remained on campus since the end of the semester to conduct summer research. “There’s actually a couple of different lines of research I’m working on,” Young began. “I’m … working with a professor up at [University of Massachusetts Amherst] … using the Very Large Array Radio Telescope down in New Mexico to look for hydrogen gas in some of [the] galaxies [being studied], and [we’re] looking for signs that they might be interacting with some of their neighboring galaxies.” Young continued, “Then on top of that, I’ve got some collaborators over in Spain and the Netherlands, and we’re looking for a different kind of gas, carbon monoxide, in a few other galaxies which are often linked to star formation.” Young explained that there is a third project he hopes to work on with the Hubble Telescope, but it depends on his proposal being approved. “I’m also hoping that Hubble doesn’t break,” he added. As reported by NASA, the Hubble Space Telescope’s payload computer stopped working on June 13, 2021, resulting in a halt in the collection of data. However, the telescope itself and the scientific instruments are in good condition, and NASA is working to diagnose the problem. Young said the entire astronomy community is waiting in anticipation for updates on the tele-
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scope. In addition to these lines of work, Young has taken on two students, Lindsey Hands ’22, a double major in physics and astronomy, and MJ Khan ’24, a physics major, to assist with more of the research for the summer. “The research I’m doing is, in general, I’m trying to find the chemical compositions of low surface brightness galaxies, which are galaxies that are really massive and big, but they don’t have a lot of stars so they’re not very bright,” Hands described. “We’re trying to find out, through the chemical composition, what could be causing the lack of star formation.” Young also noted that the galaxies Hands is studying have unusual properties because they appear to have more chemical enrichment on the edges of the galaxy than in the center. Both Young and Hands hope this research can evolve into a senior thesis. Khan is looking at the same type of galaxies as Hands, but with a more structural approach. Young assigns Khan individual galaxies to study by looking at their infrared images. She then breaks down the galaxies into their individual parts. “The galaxies that we’re looking at have a lot of hydrogen gas, but they’re not really forming stars at a very high rate, and so the question that we’re asking is, ‘why not?’” Young specified. “You’ve got all the stuff, so why aren’t you doing anything with it? And so all these different research projects are kind of looking at the same problem from different angles.” The typical length of summer research depends on the professor, the students and whether the students have any funding supporting them as they work on their projects. Khan is working all summer while remaining on campus. Hands, however, received a Space Grant funded by NASA for her summer
Lorde brings “Solar Power”
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Photo courtesy of Jason Young Lindsey Hands ’22 and MJ Khan ’24 assist Professor Jason Young in researching galactic star formation.
College to require employee vaccinations for fall 2021 term BY ELLA WHITE ’22 NEWS EDITOR
Mount Holyoke College will require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in fall 2021. The College announced this decision in a statement posted to the Mount Holyoke website on June 30, two months after its announcement that all students will be required to be vaccinated. The College will permit exemptions to the vaccination requirement based on religious or health grounds. The announcement asked that “we avoid making assumptions about any individual and their vaccination status; that we continue to extend the grace, understanding, empathy and support that are hallmarks of the Mount Holyoke community; and that we approach all interactions respectfully and with compassion as we make this transition.”
MHN launches podcast
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The College said its decision to require vaccinations “derives from the unambiguous advice of national, state and local public health and medical experts that achieving as near to universal vaccination as possible is essential if we are to keep our community safe.” The decision, according to the statement, reflects the positions of the “vast majority of Mount Holyoke employees” regarding vaccination requirements. Additionally, the College announced an upcoming program to “facilitate interactions on campus through visible markers of each person’s comfort level with such interactions/physical distancing.” While the College has not released guidelines or further details, the plan will be implemented in the fall 2021 semester and be optional to students and faculty. Employees’ documentation of full vaccinations are due by August 13.
Heatwaves sweep the U.S.
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EVENTS
July 6, 2021
Mount Holyoke News Mount Holyoke News is an independent student newspaper written by and for Mount Holyoke College students since 1917. VISIT US: www.mountholyokenews.com www.instagram.com/mtholyokenews_ www.twitter.com/mtholyokenews_
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Event Highlights Mount Holyoke College Events Thursday, July 15
New Student Zoom Session- International Student Experience- Transitioning MoHome
Executive Board Editor-in-Chief Declan Langton ’22
Publisher Ali Meizels ’23
Managing Editor of Content Liz Lewis ’22
Managing Editor of Web Mariam Keita ’24
Managing Editor of Layout Rose Sheehan ’22
Business Manager Katie Goss ’23
Copy Chief Margaret Connor ’23
Human Resources Coordinator Annabelle Mackson ’23
Join the McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives and the International Student Organizing Committee as they discuss what it’s like being an international student at Mount Holyoke. 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. EDT
Pioneer Valley Events Editorial Board News Ella White ’22 & Mariam Keita ’24
Environmental Catelyn Fitzgerald ’23
Arts & Entertainment Rose Cohen ’23
Sports Gigi Picard ’22
Opinion/Editorial Jahnavi Pradeep ’23
Copy Editors Audrey Shannon ’22 & Emma Watkins ’23
Global Sophie Soloway ’23
Layout Editors Zoe Tang ’24
Features Rebecca Gagnon ’23
Publication Guidelines Mount Holyoke News does not endorse any of the opinions or views expressed within the pages of the paper, excluding staff editorials. All content copyright of Mount Holyoke News. All rights reserved. Mount Holyoke News does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or age.
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Subscriptions Mount Holyoke News is a weekly publication that will publish online-only throughout the summer of 2021. To subscribe through email, please visit the following form: https://forms.gle/VPCyskE4kMTDeDan8.
Letters Policy Letters to the Editor appear exactly as they are sent to MHN, except for corrections to spelling, grammar and AP style. Letters cannot exceed 500 words. All letters must include the writer’s name and telephone number for verification purposes. Unsigned letters will not be printed. Names may be held upon request with the approval of the Editor-in-Chief. MHN reserves the right to decide which materials will be printed. Email submissions to mhnews@mtholyoke.edu by Sundays at 5 p.m. for publication the following week.
Saturday, July 10
Free Art Workshop at Berkshire Botanical Gardens
An outdoor sculpture exhibit curated by renowned art collector Beth Rudin DeWoody, brings together prominent artists to BBG’s gardens and garden rooms, interpreting the seasonal theme. Featured artists include Concha Martinez Barreto, Tracey Emin, Peter Gerakaris, Rachel Owens, Ian Swordy and Immi Storrs. (Register online) 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. EDT Berkshire Botanical Garden, 5 West Stockbridge Road Stockbridge, MA
Tuesday, July 13 - Saturday, July 17
The River, Drifting Continents, Dinosaurs, and a Glacial Lake: Understanding the Amazing Stories Preserved in our Rocks and Landscape
The Connecticut River Valley is one of the best places to study geology in the world. During this five-day, small-group program, you will learn how colliding plates enlarged North America to become part of the Pangea supercontinent, and then split to create the early Connecticut Valley as well as the Atlantic Ocean. Dinosaurs ruled this faulted valley landscape, and you will see abundant evidence of the history. There will be talks by experts in geology, paleontology, history and culture, and we will explore the first person to bring dinosaur footprints into the scientific world, Deerfield’s Edward Hitchcock, an important figure of the mid-19th century who eventually became president of Amherst College. You will learn how the river shaped the lives, culture and economy of humans since the beginning of their occupation in the valley. Historic Deerfield, Deerfield, MA
July 6, 2021
. Mount Holyoke News
Students offer advice for summer research, cont’d u
“It’s working individually that’s Young said. helping me to understand what reHands had similar advice for besearch is,” Khan said. “If I had group ginning to do summer research. “Proresearch, which allows her to work from work … I love working with people, but fessors like it when you participate, … eight-10 weeks with compensation. … I would not know every single step so if you’re considering doing research Hands described her day as starting and what’s going on, right? Now, I know with one of the professors, do it, reach around 10 in the morning, making sure pretty much what’s going on, so that’s out,” Hands began. “Just go to the lab she is in Kendade before their 11 a.m. good.” meetings, listen to the PowerPoint premeeting with Young. “Yeah, it is an interesting thing,” sentations that you don’t understand, “My work right now is coding in Py- Hands agreed. “With my other project, but be inspired, and then realize that thon,” Hands said. “So my day to day if I was struggling with this step, some- you are completely capable of doing it. work is just doing tasks, a lot of data times you could just push it onto your In the first six months, you’re going to processing and manipulation through group members, but when it’s just you, be confused, and just typing things and Python coding, and I know it’s gonna you have to problem solve and figure it you don’t even know what it is, but then move on, I’m pretty sure, to other types all out on your own.” eventually, say it’s time to do a summer of work, but I need to set up this code to Though their work requires in- project, you know what you’re doing process the data d e p e n d e n c e , and it’s so satisfying.” that we’re going Hands and Khan spoke to this as well, suggest“The galaxies that we’re looking to get soon.” Khan still rely ing, “email as many professors as you Khan also on each other can, and talk to them and get to know at have a lot of hydrogen gas, but tries to begin for advice and their work … just go to the lab meetings they’re not really forming stars at a her work before support. “It’s … and if you don’t like something, you very high rate, and so the question 11 a.m., regardnice,” Hands don’t have to stick with that project, you less of what added. “We lit- can just let it go and try finding somethat we’re asking is, ‘why not?’” their varying erally sit, our thing you might like.” schedules look computers, Hands and Khan gave other advice - Professor Jason Young like on any giv[Khan] and I, as well, encouraging their peers to drop en day. are right next projects they know they don’t want to “For us, it’s to each other, so invest time in. At the same time, they more flexible, because we can access we can complain and also ask each oth- urged students not to be afraid to try the computers from our computers [at er questions and offer suggestions, so new things. home] because it’s a remote log in,” we’re not working alone entirely.” “Like Nike said, or whatever, just do Khan said. “So, we can just work from There are numerous ways students it,” Hands laughed. home, too, if we want.” may go about finding summer research Hands and Khan added to ask quesYoung explained that, in astronomy, projects to work on, even outside of tions if you don’t understand someaside from occasional observation, most Mount Holyoke. thing, because there will come a point work is done on computers, including “[Something] a lot of students do, when you’ll have to display knowledge analyzing data, reading papers, and that I categoron the research writing grant proposals and telescope ically encourtopic. Their last “If you’re considering doing research piece of advice time. “Unfortunately, I spend most of age, is to look my time staring at a computer screen,” at internships,” was to answer with one of the professors, do it, Young said. Young said. emails in a timereach out.” Khan and Hands both laughed as “In astronomy, ly manner. they said in unison that lunch is one of there is some“If students their favorite times of the workday, al- thing called want to do re- Lindsey Hands ’22 though they agreed that their work is the Research search in the very rewarding. Experience for summer, in a “It’s exciting when you finally get Undergrads. It’s a government-funded related or unrelated field, in biology, the code to compile, because sometimes program, where different institutions geology, I would just reach out to the there are so many errors that it just says can get an REU grant, and it’s a good professors and say, ‘hey, I’m interest‘stop, it’s broken,’ but then eventually it chance for students to go somewhere ed in what you’re doing, I would like actually codes something and you get to else and see different people and inter- to work with you,’” Young suggested. see the result,” Hands said. “It usually act with different researchers … A lot “That is the way that I have made most happens at least once a day that you ac- of disciplines have something like that, of these connections, where most of the tually get a satisfying image or table of although it’s called different things and students who have worked with me [or numbers. So that, that’s the best.” labeled in different ways.” have] done senior thesis with me, have “For me,” Khan began, “[it’s] every Young stated that another common either been people I met through a class time I finish working with a galaxy and way to find summer research is to email or like, [Khan]. She just reached out send it to Jason and he says, ‘yes, this professors and ask the heads of the de- and said, ‘hey, can I do some research looks good’. That’s the best thing for me, partments one would like to work with with you?’” Young reiterated that most so I can move on.” if there are any opportunities available. professors are kind and happy to hear Hands and Khan both comment- “The first step is to either find some- from students about summer research. ed that another aspect of the summer one that you want to work with, or do He also advised students not to be disresearch they enjoy is working inde- a search on a program to get funding. couraged if a professor says no for any pendently on their projects, with the as- I also advocate talking to the academ- reason, and instead, continue reaching sistance of Young when they get stuck. ic advisor or a professor in this field,” out and making an effort. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
NEWS
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Iran elects new president Ebrahim Raisi, risking nuclear deal BY SOPHIE SOLOWAY ’23 GLOBAL EDITOR
Iran’s June 18 presidential election has sparked wide-ranging controversy, as well as global concern for the reemergence of an international nuclear deal. The vote — which had notably low turn-out, according to The New York Times — concluded with the election of Ebrahim Raisi. Raisi, previously a judiciary clerk, has long been known for his conservative politics and political proximity to the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Analysts, including Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, have been quick to note that the rising prominence of conservative Iranian leaders may have a significant impact on ongoing nuclear deal negotiations. Although the Biden administration has made some progress in reentering the deal after its abandonment under the Trump administration, they have made no concrete actions to reengage Iran in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 international agreement to limit the country’s nuclear expansion. Raisi and the Ayatollah’s conservatism has led many to predict the state would be less likely to enter into deals involving the proposed United States-imposed economic sanctions and external control. Despite these concerns, Raisi has verbally committed to continuing with the talks. However, these negotiations have been drawn out, with the election significantly lengthening the timeline to reach an agreement. On June 25, just one week after the Iranian election, officials from both the U.S. and France threatened to pull away from talks if tangible agreements are not made in the coming days.
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. ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Lorde returns with the song of the summer and announces new album, coming August 20, 2021
Graphic by Gaby Gagnon ’24
BY EMMA WATKINS ’23 STAFF WRITER & COPY EDITOR
After four long years, New Zealand singer-songwriter Ella Yelich-O’Connor, better known as “Lorde,” has released the first single and titular track from her upcoming third studio album, “Solar Power,” scheduled for release in late August. “You ready?” Lorde began the June 10 edition of her subscribers-only newsletter accompanying the single’s release. She then introduced the album, describing its vibe as a “modern girl in a deadstock bikini, in touch with her past and her future, vibrating at the highest level when summer comes around.” The Grammy-winning pop star described her song, fittingly released on June 10, the day of the only solar eclipse of this year, as “the first of the rays” of her new album. “It’s about that infectious, flirtatious summer energy that takes hold of us all,” Lorde said. That “summer energy” seemingly describes the phenomenon known as “Hot Girl Summer,” a phrase epitomizing a carefree, confident attitude, popularized by American rapper and songwriter Megan Thee Stallion in 2019. “The album is a celebration of the natural world, an attempt at immortalising the deep, transcendent feelings I have when I’m outdoors,” Lorde explained in the newsletter, outlining how she has found solace in nature whenever she is hurting or lost, and how this album came out of those experiences. In the “Solar Power” music video, which can only be described as radiant and celebratory, Lorde and a collection of barefoot beachgoers sway to the beat in earth-toned attire, soaking in the sun and building on each other’s energy until the video ends with every-
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Mount Holyoke News
one standing together near the ocean. the sun and leave any previous gloom behind. When fans heard Lorde’s sophomore album, In an interview with the hosts of Australian radio “Melodrama,” they knew the then-19-year-old as a girl show “triple j Breakfast,” Lorde stated she wanted evsearching for healing and stability. But in “Solar Pow- ery song on her upcoming album to sound like the sun. er,” they meet the woman who has healed from past “The guitars, the drums — everything’s so sunny,” she wounds and promises others said. they can do the same. This evolution from the Featuring Phoebe Bridgsad, dejected girl fans knew on When fans heard Lorde’s sophomore “Melodrama” to the untrouers and Clairo on backing vocals, Lorde throws a bone to bled, relaxed woman heard album, ‘Melodrama,’ they knew the her fans as she exits her more on “Solar Power” is also seen then-19-year-old as a girl searchmelancholic “Melodrama” era, in the comparisons listeners ing for healing and stability. But in characterized by crooning voare making to well-loved ’90s cals, soaring piano and electri‘Solar Power,’ they meet the woman pop-rock songs. The tracks fying synthesizer. The “Melothat have come up most are who has healed from past wounds drama” tunes are upbeat, but Primal Scream’s “Loaded” and promises others they can do the and George Michael’s “Freethe lyrics revolve around loss and yearning, encapsulating dom! ’90” — tunes that, much same. the feelings of adolescence’s like “Solar Power,” revolve steady ascent into adulthood around themes of freedom and at a moment when one can’t independence. According to help but reflect on the past. In “Green Light,” the lead Variety, both Primal Scream and the estate of George single for “Melodrama,” Lorde sings, “Cause honey I’ll Michael have since given their blessing to the Solar come get my things, but I can’t let go / I’m waiting for Power singer. it, that green light, I want it / Oh, I wish I could get “We are aware that many people are making a my things and just let go” over a backdrop of electric connection between ‘Freedom ’90’ by George Michael dance-pop. In “Solar Power,” carefree lyrics like “For- and ‘Solar Power’ by Lorde which [Michael] would get all of the tears that you’ve cried / It’s over (over, over, over) / It’s a new state of mind / Are you coming, CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 u my baby?” encourage her admirers to join her out in
New MHN podcast: ‘In the Heights’ film adaptation forgets Afro-Latinx actors BY ROSE COHEN ’22 & MARIAM KEITA ’24 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR & MANAGING EDITOR OF WEB, NEWS EDITOR
As fun as they are, flashy, showstopping musical numbers cannot save “In the Heights” from the criticism that emerged on social media following the musical-drama film’s release in early June. The motion picture, created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the writer and star of the original Tony-winning Broadway musical of the same name, was difficult to watch. This was in part due to its failure to center Afro-Latino actors, despite taking place in the New York neighborhood of Washington Heights, known as the “Little Dominican Republic.” The film tells the story of a dorky, ambitious bodega owner named Usnavi, portrayed by Anthony Ramos, who immigrated to the uppermost part of Manhattan “from the single greatest / little place in the Caribbean: / Dominican Republic.” Usnavi
dreams of retaining his roots by returning to his beloved homeland. He saves his pennies and fantasizes about running El Sueñito, or the Little Dream, the beach bar his father owned in the Caribbean nation. In Arts & Entertainment’s first podcast, Managing Editor of Web and News Editor Mariam Keita and Arts & Entertainment Editor Rose Cohen discuss some of the c o n t r ove r sy surrounding the casting choices for the movie adaptation of Lin Manuel Miranda’s popular musical “In the Heights.” You can stream the podcast here:
July 6, 2021
. Mount Holyoke News
OPINION/EDITORIAL
American exceptionalism is an idea best taken with a grain of salt to coordinate efforts with state and local agencies, inaccurate and inconsistent messaging about the virus and delayed widespread testing are just a few of the many ways the United States botched its response to the pandemic. Unexceptional, to say the least. What has particularly struck me about those who embrace an American exceptionalist mindset is their failure to understand the ways the behavior of political figures and U.S. policies run counter to the aspects of the country they claim are exceptional. America’s unparalleled emphasis on freedom and democracy are praised, despite, according to Professor Michael McDonald, “the greatest rollback on voting rights in this Photo courtesy of Flickr country since the Jim Crow era” currentThroughout its history, the U.S. has used American exceptionalism to justify atrocities. ly unfolding across the nation. Trump supporters didn’t bat an eyelash when the former BY KATE MURRAY ’22 president violated one democratic norm after another STAFF WRITER and denied the legitimacy of his political opponents. If this is the standard to which the rest of the world The belief that the United States is immune from should be held, we are destined for disaster. severe political and social problems has found creThis country has used the ideal of American exdence among Americans for generations. Those who ceptionalism to justify some of the greatest human call this country home have relished in its uniqueness atrocities in history, from our involvement in global since the earliest colonial settlers arrived in the 17th wars because it was our “moral obligation” to seizing century. John Winthrop, an early leader of the Mas- indigenous lands because it was our “destiny” to do sachusetts Bay Colony, famously deemed America a so. If the rest of the world’s eyes are on America, as “city upon a hill,” implying the rest of the world would John Winthrop suggested, there is little to be inspired view the United States as an exemplar of freedom by. Consider the magnitude of the economic disparity and democracy. This is one of the earliest document- and racial inequity that have become a fixed feature of ed manifestations of American exceptionalism: the the American landscape. Despite these problems beidea of an enduring distinctiveness setting the United coming harder and harder to ignore, there are some States apart from all other nations. Political figures who still insist on painting a picture of America as from both major parties have upheld this narrative, a uniquely tolerant country. Even former president and doing so has greatly shaped how Americans have Barack Obama, who as a Black man understood firstconstructed their identity over the centuries and has hand just how intolerant America could be, evoked informed the country’s response to problems at home the ideas of John Winthrop in a 2016 speech: “Most of and abroad. all, I see Americans of every party, every background, There is an important distinction to be made be- every faith who believe that we are stronger together tween recognizing the ways in which the United States – black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American; young is one-of-a-kind and believing in its “untouchable” su- and old; gay, straight, men, women, folks with disabilperiority. As with any country, there are aspects of the ities, all pledging allegiance, under the same proud American experience that are unique and worth cele- flag, to this big, bold country that we love.” brating. However, there is a problematic belief among This romanticized image is far from the Amermany Americans that crises cannot happen here, sim- ica I witness everyday. Until this country begins to ply “because it’s America.” Not only is this rationale aggressively advocate for democracy, discuss plans blatantly false, it will also not satisfy people forever for achieving racial equity and address the appalling — in fact, a PEW research report shows this belief is amount of economic inequality within its borders, especially dwindling among young people. it does not deserve to be the gold standard to which There is plentiful evidence of the United States all other nations are held. Having just celebrated the bungling its response to various social emergencies, independence day holiday, it would serve Americans not to mention how it compares to other nations in well to rethink the ways they have been taught to conterms of caring for its citizens and upholding demo- ceptualize their country and reflect on how they may cratic institutions. The COVID-19 pandemic is a prime be perpetuating the misguided notion of American example: Despite being one of the wealthiest and most exceptionalism. Before we can start taking responsiscientifically-advanced nations in the world, the Unit- bility for our wrongdoings as a nation, it is imperative ed States has experienced more COVID-19 deaths than that we understand ourselves accurately and reckon any other country. Failure of the federal government with our past.
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Lorde brings the heat with ‘Solar Power,’ cont’d u
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have been flattered to hear, so on behalf of one great artist to a fellow artist, we wish her every success with the single,” Michael’s estate wrote in a statement on the late English singer-songwriter’s website. While fans were still recovering from the excitement of the release of the title track, on the June 21 solstice — summer solstice in the northern hemisphere, but winter in New Zealand — Lorde made her next big announcement via subscriber email. This bulletin included tour dates, the album’s track list and confirmation that, while she will not be returning to social media, she will be communicating with fans, but in a more longform way through the Solar Institute, described as “part news bulletin, part diary, part old-school fan site.” Lorde expressed she knows this method is unusual, but it may be a welcome return to slower-paced communication in an otherwise fast-paced social media world. Throughout her career, Lorde has been known for her more lowkey, personal and somewhat mysterious existence as arguably one of the world’s biggest pop sensations. Between projects, she is known for staying off of social media and generally not generating buzz until she is ready to promote her work. An article in The Cut from June 2013 covering her rise to fame was fittingly, albeit a bit condescendingly, titled “Meet Lorde, the Teen Pop Star With a No Selfies Policy.” Lorde’s emphasis on slow, personal forms of communication is reflected in her vision for her upcoming “Solar Power” tour, kicking off in New Zealand in February 2022. In a recent email with the subject line “Daydreaming,” Lorde describes a summer evening dinner party where the “garden is exploding, a riot of flowers and bees, the small space seeming taller than it is wide.” “Later, we’ll all be faded dancing in each other’s arms somewhere, but for now everything’s still light, shoes are off and sundresses are on and the night is all potential. That’s how the show is gonna feel,” she continued, simultaneously evoking a sense of comfort and excitement that will have fans on the edge of their seats until the album’s release.
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BOOKS
July 6, 2021
. Mount Holyoke News
‘The Great Gatsby’ prequel should not have gotten a green light
Photo courtesy of Flickr “The Great Gastby” entered the public domain in January 2021.
BY MARGARET CONNOR ’23 COPY CHIEF
On Jan. 1, 2021, all copyrighted works published in 1925 entered the public domain in the United States. Among these were Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs Dalloway,” Ernest Hemingway’s “In Our Time” and the Great American Novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.” A crop of “Gatsby” adaptations have since sprung up, including more lighthearted versions like the parody novel, “The Great Gatsby: But Nick has Scoliosis,” and an adult coloring book. The rendition garnering the most buzz, however, came from Michael Farris Smith, recipient of the 2014 Mississippi Author Award for Fiction. Smith’s prequel, “Nick,” focuses on the eponymous Nick Carraway’s life before meeting eccentric millionaire Jay Gatsby, expanding on Nick’s childhood and time in the army. Unfortunately, vitiated by a lackluster narrative voice and a trite plot, “Nick” not only fails to live up to its predecessor, but fails to justify its own existence. Smith is not the first author to pen a prequel or sequel to a beloved classic. Readers may recognize Gregory Maguire’s “Wicked,” an exploration of the Wicked Witch of the West’s backstory, or Jon Clinch’s 2007 debut novel, “Finn,” about Huckleberry Finn’s father. Yet the work “Nick” owes the most to and draws the most from is Jean Rhys’ “Wide Sargasso Sea,” a feminist prequel to Charlotte Brontë’s “Jane Eyre” — and a canonical classic in its own right. Rhys’ novel, set in the West Indies in the 1800s, examines the racial and sexual exploitation of Victorian literature and society through the backstory of Bertha Mason, the archetypal “madwoman in the attic.” Smith certainly aims to bring the same literary weight and theoretical genius to his “Gatsby” addendum. He accomplishes this partly through a slower, more subdued tone than the original, and partly through pastiching every white American author who wrote anything from 1910-1930. In a conversation with Entertainment Weekly’s
Maureen Lee Lenker, Smith recounted his experienc- sense. The first half of “Nick” is marred by god-awful es living abroad and reading the works of the Lost prose, reading like a cross between a debut novel writGeneration, a cohort of American writers and poets ten fresh out of an MFA program (probably released in working in the wake of the First World War. Among brightly-colored hardcover with a white sans-serif tithe best-known authors of the Lost Generation are tle) and Hemingway’s black sheep fifth novel, “Across Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitz- the River and Into the Trees.” Smith’s clumsy arrangegerald himself. Though Smith’s first reading of “The ments of run-on sentences and fragmented phrases Great Gatsby” had left him skeptical of its acclaim, bog down the novel from the first paragraph — not upon revisiting the novel, he found himself drawn to that stronger prose could breathe life into the tired, their questions “about ‘home,’ and what it is — is it a clichéd plot. feeling, is it a place? What is it exactly?” The second half sees a major improvement in the With his greying beard and deep blue V-neck language at the expense of the actual narrative consweater, Smith explained over the choppy Zoom call tent. In New Orleans, Nick becomes embroiled in the how his life has mirrored that of wallflower, wanderer, scheming of Judah, another WWI veteran, and his witness-bearing storyteller Nick Carraway. Following estranged ex-wife, Colette, who has become a brothhis stint in France (where he fell in love with Paris and el madam following her ex-husband’s apparent death. tried absinthe “for old time’s sake”), Smith returned The third-person narration hovers over their shoulto America feeling, in his words, “a little bit alien.” ders, robbing “Nick” of its greatest strength: Nick Now, more than a decade oldCarraway. Nick’s emotional er, what struck him was Nick’s acuity and understated reacown belated realization of his tions make for a compelling 30th birthday, and his descripnarrator — even in the hands Unfortunately, “Nick” has not the tion of his thirties as “a decade of Smith — but a very boring vinous aura of maturity-won wisdom, ensemble character. The glaof loneliness.” “It absolutely grabbed hold of me in a way I cial pace does not let up; many but the stale, overworked stench was never expecting,” Smith chapters feel like retreads of of a midlife crisis crossed with bad confessed. previous sections. Hemingway. Smith went on to explain There are moments when that he and his agent set aside Smith’s prose and imagination the book for five years before shine in tandem, capturing for it could be published without a brief chapter the sharp, evocinfringing upon Fitzgerald’s copyright. During this ative voice of Fitzgerald or Hemingway. One scene deperiod, Smith worked on other novels, growing as an serving mention is the brothel fire Nick witnesses in author. By the time he returned to the manuscript, he New Orleans. Between the screams and the smoke, he was able to revise “Nick” into a “better novel … than it flashes back to the battlefield, ranting to no one in parwould have been if it was published four or five years ticular, “I can’t help you. I can’t help you. I can’t help.” [prior].” Smith’s incarnation of Nick Carraway is strongest Unfortunately, “Nick” has not the vinous aura playing the same role he served in “The Great Gatsby” of maturity-won wisdom, but the stale, overworked — witness and storyteller. The most memorable vistench of a midlife crisis crossed with bad Hemingway. gnette in “Nick” is arguably the novel’s most explicitly The novel begins with Nick’s service as a soldier homoerotic scene: Nick’s regiment launches a vicious in the First World War, alternating between his har- attack on the Germans, leaving behind only two of rowing experiences in the trenches of the French the enemy’s soldiers. Disoriented and shell-shocked, countryside and his brief moments of reprieve. During the men stumble towards the American side, holding his time on leave, he falls into a tumultuous affair with hands and embracing, blind to the overwhelming danElla, a young woman who sells picture frames on the ger, as the American soldiers jeer, “Got two lollipops streets of Paris. Despite the language barrier, they dancing around like schoolgirls,” and “You ain’t kissed quickly become emotionally inextricable and physical- yet!” Nick, hypnotized by the scene, only watches. ly intimate. “The Great Gatsby” left behind open questions of Later, Nick discovers Ella had an abortion during sexuality and homoeroticism, and while “Nick” initialhis absence and, distraught, returns to the front, ly suggests a hardline heterosexual interpretation of where he volunteers for the most dangerous assign- Carraway, his bond with Judah evolves into something ment — descending into tunnels beneath the bat- suggestive. Smith draws parallels between Nick’s aftlefield to listen for the enemy’s movements. During fair with Ella and his loyalty to his fellow veteran, as his long periods of reminiscence, we learn bits about he makes futile promises to both and tries his best to Nick’s childhood. We find out about his mother’s de- fix each one. Judah’s ex-wife even debates whether the pression and his father’s words of wisdom, including men’s closeness comes from their shared war-trauma, Smith’s rendition of the famous “Gatsby” line, “all the or from something more intimate: “Maybe that is all people in this world haven’t had the advantages that there is between him and Judah. Maybe that’s why he you’ve had.” is caring for him. Maybe they understand each other, Nick returns to Paris for a final time, but cannot she thought. But she could not help wondering if there find Ella. Scarred by the war and feeling utterly alone, was more to it.” he returns to America, where Prohibition is on the I wish there were more to it. I wish there were horizon. Unable to return to his hometown and face more to “Nick.” But it’s already 300 pages, and nothhis parents, he travels to New Orleans. ing’s happened. It’s at this point the novel descends into pure non-
July 6, 2021
. Mount Holyoke News
ENVIRONMENTAL
7
Heat waves, droughts and fires scorch the western US
Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons Eleven states reported temperatures in the triple-digits on June 16.
BY HELEN GLOEGE ’23 STAFF WRITER
It seems like only yesterday that the western United States faced droughts and fires over the summer of 2020. Now, entering the coming summer, the western U.S. and other parts of the world are facing record-breaking temperatures for days on end. While weather is not the same as climate, patterns have emerged over the past decade with heatwaves, droughts and large forest fires that indicate a changing climate. This extreme weather has become the new normal in the western U.S. On June 16, the National Weather Service an-
nounced over 40 million people in the western U.S. were under a heat advisory or excessive heat warning. The current drought is on track to become the worst in the U.S. in at least 1,200 years. In central and northern California, temperatures are 10-20 degrees Fahrenheit above average. Record-breaking temperatures have also occurred in Salt Lake City, Denver and Billings, Montana. Phoenix has approached record highs each day in the week of June 16. Eleven states reported triple-digit temperatures in at least one town on June 16. This heat is likely to continue for the rest of the summer, posing danger as the heat dries vegetation, heightening the risk of wildfires. The high temperatures worsen droughts in these areas as the heat and cloudless skies result in increased evaporation of water in lakes and rivers. With heat waves comes the risk of rolling blackouts. These occur when companies cause systematic and temporary power outages to balance out the supply and demand of electricity in the market. Rolling blackouts are a last resort after a power supply shortage is identified. The heat waves have caused more people to be indoors and use air conditioning, fans or other technological devices to keep cool. The California Independent System Operator that monitors power lines in California asked residents to limit energy use to reduce strain on the state’s power supply. The Energy Reliability Council of Texas has also asked residents to conserve energy. Yet, already, Texas has experienced unexpected outages causing 2.4 million homes to lose power.
Fire danger also tends to accompany heat waves and drought. Currently, the high desert Great Basin region in Utah, Nevada and eastern Oregon is under severe threat of fires. There is also a wildfire burning near Flagstaff, Arizona, with the national forest in and around Flagstaff announcing a full closure. Colorado is currently facing six wildfires larger than 500 acres. The Robertson Draw Fire, which sparked on June 13 near the Montana-Wyoming border, is highly active due to windy, changing conditions. When a fire acts unpredictably, fighting it actively on the ground becomes almost impossible. While the western U.S. is dealing with drought and record-breaking heat, India’s coast is facing extreme weather events putting the region at risk. During the past three years, cyclones have threatened India’s western coast. The quantity and intensity of cyclones have increased in the Arabian Sea since the 1980s, and floods have become an annual event in Mumbai since 2005. Between 1950 and 2017, there have been 285 reported flooding events, affecting 850 million people. The damage per year due to flooding has been about $3 billion. The individual events themselves are devastating, but their frequency and intensity make them even more dangerous. With the heatwaves, fires and drought conditions happening so early, there are many concerns in the environmentalist community about the rest of the summer, as well as the years ahead. These meteorological trends have become the new normal, but they are far from natural.
Climate change-induced flooding threatens homes across the country BY CATELYN FITZGERALD ’23 ENVIRONMENTAL EDITOR
The increased flooding caused by climate change creates a hidden financial risk for homeowners that the insurance industry is failing to address. A recent study from the First Street Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to quantifying flood risk in the U.S., found the current flood risk to homes to be vastly underestimated by insurance companies. The study identified almost 4.3 million homes with a substantial flood risk, and found if all of these homes were properly insured against this risk through the National Flood Insurance Program, insurance premiums would need to multiply almost five-fold. Flood risk data on the individual property level had not been collected before the study. Now, homeowners can use the Flood Factor tool created by the FSF to estimate the specific risk to their home. This can be a useful tool for homeowners, as many homes at risk of financial loss due to flooding do not fall in any designated Special Flood Hazard Areas, which are high-risk areas where homes are required to be insured. Increased flooding is linked to climate change in multiple ways. First, climate change causes the atmosphere to warm. In the U.S., atmospheric temperatures have increased an average of 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit since 1901. A hotter atmosphere can hold larger quantities of water then released during precipitation events. Cli-
mate change also causes an increase in rain temperature, leading to flooding in mountainous areas when warm precipitation causes large amounts of snow to melt faster and earlier in the year than usual. In addition to increasing the quantity of precipitation and the speed of snow melt, climate change also increases the frequency of severe storms. Rising sea levels and ocean temperatures create intense hurricanes capable of causing more damage, especially in coastal areas. Underinsurance for climate-related risks is common across the industry. When insurance companies use past data to calculate risk and set premiums, they fail to take into account the future increase in risk due to climate change. This gap between projection and reality goes far beyond home insurance, as climate change also poses an increasing threat to other insured goods such as crops, vehicles and human health. Even when insurance rates are reassessed to account for climate change, the more pervasive issue of environmental accountability remains unsolved. Another option would be corporations and governments taking more responsibility to protect homes and their inhabitants from floods, through both prevention and adaptation efforts, so individual homeowners do not have to pay the price for the actions of larger institutions. The restoration of wetlands can also help mitigate flood damage. Wetlands have impressive water retention ability, allowing them to absorb large amounts of
Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons Underinsurance for climate-related risks, such as flooding, is common.
floodwater and then slowly release it over time, protecting nearby homes from a sudden rush of water. Coastal wetlands can play a particularly important role in protecting communities from increased flooding as the sea level rises. As the financial consequences of climate change for homeowners emerge, new risk models need to be used to properly protect homes from flood damage. As adjustments are made to new levels of disaster, larger questions of who should pay the price of climate change must be answered to create just solutions to the crisis.