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Professor Darby Dyar appointed deputy principal investigator of VERITAS First mission to Venus in three decades BY LIZ LEWIS ’22 MANAGING EDITOR OF CONTENT
Professor M. Darby Dyar never intended to be a planetary geologist — or a scientist at all, for that matter. As an undergraduate at Wellesley College, she majored in art history and geology, determined to build a career as a journalist. However, encouraged by the few female mentors in STEM she encountered, she set herself on a path that would grow into a renowned career in planetary science. Now, as a decorated researcher and the chair of Mount Holyoke’s astronomy department, Dyar adds another accolade to her name: deputy principal investigator for Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography & Spectroscopy, or VERITAS
for short, one of two missions to Venus recently approved for NASA’s Discovery Program. “I’ve spent hundreds of hours on Venus proposals,” Dyar said. “To say that I’m overjoyed with this is an understatement.” VERITAS and its sister program, Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging, Plus, also known as DAVINCI+, will be the first missions to Venus in over 30 years. Both aim to advance scientific knowledge about the under-explored planet’s atmosphere and surface. VERITAS will operate with a focus on mapping Venus’ surface and geological history, while DAVINCI+ will send instruments into the planet’s atmosphere to investigate its chemical makeup. As deputy principal investigator, Dyar said
Photo courtesy of TEDxShelburneFalls Darby Dyar, who was chosen to help lead mission to Venus, presents at TEDxShelburneFalls in late 2012.
she will act as the “number two scientist” on the mission. “If anything should happen to the lead scientist, I have to step into her shoes,” she said. “The mission has two different instruments. One of them does … topography of the surface and uses a radar, and the other instrument is a spectrometer. I do spectroscopy, so that’s sort of my baby.” Dyar has been developing the spectrometer with scientists in Berlin for about five years, and will continue to do so until its launch in 2027. The twin missions’ approval is a
massive victory for Dyar, her peers and the scientific community at large. “The Venus community has waited decades for this moment, and to have NASA give us two missions in one, both complementary, is out of this world,” Dyar told NPR in a recent article and radio segment. Today, Venus is anything but habitable, with an atmosphere thick with carbon dioxide and surface temperatures reaching 864 degrees Fahrenheit. Dyar CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
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Former Smith College lecturer accused of sexual abuse BY DECLAN LANGTON ’22 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Content Warning: This article discusses both emotional and sexual abuse. Robert Ellis Hosmer Jr., an emeritus Smith College faculty member, was among the clergy members and lay employees named by the Diocese of Springfield, Mass. for sexually abusing a minor. Hosmer was named along with 60 others in a list first published on May 24. At Smith, Hosmer was a lecturer in the English Language & Literature department for 27 years. He retired in 2016 but has since occasionally taught courses. He taught most recently in spring 2020. In a letter written to the Smith com-
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ISOC Demands
munity, Smith College President Kathleen McCarthy and Provost and Dean of Faculty Michael Thurston wrote that “no allegations from anyone within the Smith community have been brought against this lecturer.” After the College was notified that a list of the accused would contain Hosmer’s name, a complete review was done on his file. In it was a record from 2001 “from an individual to the College, alleging that this lecturer abused him in the 1970s when he was a student at the high school where this lecturer taught before Smith,” McCarthy and Thurston wrote. This individual was Fran O’Connell of Holyoke Catholic High school. According to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, O’Connell wrote in this letter that Hosmer had “seduced me into an intimate emotional
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and physical relationship that continued into my adult life.” According to McCarthy and Thurston, when this letter was first received in 2001, the College’s legal team advised no action. “Twenty years later, this advice seems anachronistic and irresponsible,” McCarthy and Thurston wrote. In their address to the Smith community, McCarthy and Thurston said, “Any allegation of sexual misconduct should have been, as it is now, fully and impartially investigated.” Reports of sexual misconduct at Smith College will be handled by Amy Hunger, the current director of equal opportunity and compliance/Title IX coordinator. In a letter addressed to the Springfield Catholic community, Rev. William D. Byrne, the bishop of Springfield,
Bo Burnham’s new special
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wrote that since his arrival into the Diocese of Springfield, he has “been committed to transparency and communication particularly with regard to the scandal of the sexual abuse of minors by clergy, religious and lay church staff. It is an open wound that has remained for far too long.” In the rest of his letter, Byrne describes meeting with survivors and their family members over the past few months to receive feedback on the ways in which the Diocese has, in the past, responded to reports of abuse. “As your bishop, please accept my sincere apology and my commitment towards working to regain your trust. I am CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
Senior capstone exhibit
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EVENTS
June 21, 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.facebook.com/themhnews www.twitter.com/mtholyokenews_
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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
Event Highlights Mount Holyoke College Housing Lottery dates Tuesday, June 22
Senior Singles Housing Lottery begins 12:00 p.m. EDT
Friday, June 25
Junior Singles Housing Lottery begins 12:00 p.m. EDT
Wednesday, June 30
Triples and Doubles Lottery selection times released 7:00 p.m. EDT
Thursday, July 1
Triples and Doubles Lottery begins
Editorial Board
12:00 p.m. EDT
News Ella White ’22 & Mariam Keita ’24
Sports Gigi Picard ’22
Arts & Entertainment Rose Cohen ’23
Environmental Catelyn Fitzgerald ’23
Pioneer Valley Events
Opinion/Editorial Jahnavi Pradeep ’23
Copy Editors Audrey Shannon ’22 Emma Watkins ’23
Tuesday, June 29
Global Sophie Soloway ’23
Layout Editors Zoe Tang ’24
Features Rebecca Gagnon ’23
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Odyssey Bookshop Author Appearances
Join the Odyssey Bookshop on Crowdcast on Tuesday, June 29 at 7 p.m. for a conversation with Anne Sebba, author of “Ethel Rosenberg: An American Tragedy.” Joining us in conversation is Robby Meeropol from the Rosenberg Fund for Children. 7:00 p.m. EDT Register here: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/ annesebbaattheodysseybookshop/register
Thursday, July 8
Odyssey Bookshop Author Appearances
Join the Odyssey Bookshop on Crowdcast on July 8 at 7 p.m. for a conversation with Jennie Wexler, author of “Where It All Lands.” 7:00 p.m. EDT Register here: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/ jenniewexlerattheodysseybookshop/register
Friday, June 25
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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.
Eric Carle Birthday Storytime: Marathon Read-Aloud at the Eric Carle Museum
Gather around as we celebrate Eric Carle on the anniversary of his birthday with a marathon reading of his books! Visitors are welcome to drop-in to the Auditorium and listen to Carle staff as we share our favorite titles. Can’t be with us in person? Visit us on social media, where we’ll be posting storytime videos of our favorite Eric Carle titles and providing updates throughout the day! All Day
June 21, 2021
NEWS
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ISOC posts survey for concerns about returning to campus
Photo courtesy of Amelia Luo ’23 International Student Organizing Committee released survey for student questions about fall 2021.
BY SOPHIE SOLOWAY ’23 GLOBAL EDITOR
On March 22, Mount Holyoke College announced its plan for students’ return to campus for the fall 2021 semester after a full academic year of non-traditional campus living induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Much of this plan has yet to be released or finalized, leaving the student body to wade through uncertainties regarding their own individual plans for the fall. In response, the International Student Organizing Committee announced on June 2, 2021 on social media that it
had created and published a survey asking students, specifically international students, what questions they would like to see answered by the College administration regarding this decision. As the widely shared announcement noted, “Us Int’l students have questions.” Rachel Kang ’23, a member of the ISOC, expanded upon this, saying, “The school has always treated international students as secondary in comparison to domestic students, and that’s very evident in the newly released fall plans.” Kang added, “The post addresses that we, [the] ISOC, [realize] the collective concerns arising from international students, and that we hope to function as a bridge between the community and the school, asking for answers and better accommodations.” According to Kang and the ISOC, these accommodations may address issues such as vaccination status, mental health services and continued virtual learning support. The College’s initial announcement made clear that students hoping to return to campus life would be required to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. Kang stated, “What really frustrates me is that such uncertainties,
although they affect all of the student body, clearly [have] a bigger impact on international students. Obtaining visas and planning travels all depend on what the school decides to do for the fall, and when things are vague like it is now, our entire timeline gets pushed back.” Given the well-documented disparity in vaccination rates between, and even within, countries, the decision to require vaccinated status will likely have significant implications regarding who in the student body will be welcomed back to campus. Kang shared that a significant hurdle in international and remote learning was lack of access to on-campus services such as counseling. Kang noted, “[I] really felt out of place in every situation, whether I was talking to my parents or taking classes, so I reached out to counseling services. I didn’t know that counseling services can’t provide sessions to student[s] out of M[assachusetts] or the U.S., and also with mental health being an unspoken topic in many other countries, international students faced a huge barrier to speak out about it.” To date, the College has not yet announced plans to expand their health
services to an international level for the upcoming semester. The ISOC’s announcement promised to “deliver [these questions] to the larger faculty and ask for answers, along with solutions that take international students into full consideration.” In addition to this immediate action, Kang hopes the wide visibility of the form will remind students the ISOC is “a resource for communication when they don’t know who to reach out to; the fall demand form was a collective issue, but even if something is a personal concern, we’re still more than happy to help, and connect you with faculty/other students who could help.” While the form officially closed on June 11, responses are still welcome at https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/ 1 FA I p Q L S dyFlF6CXzUsZsrQ22XSBQV58I_ i 6 y o l W MtTTQ3DngKVQ6Dew/ viewform or the QR code on the right.
NASA approves its first missions to Venus in 30 years, cont’d CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
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maintains there is more to the planet than meets the eye. “Venus fools you, because right now it’s this hot, high pressure, ugly place covered with basalt,” she said. “But … everything that came before that is almost erased by those lavas.” Scientists speculate that in its early history, Venus’ climate may have been strikingly similar to Earth’s, potentially complete with distinct land masses and shallow oceans. It also may have reached its current form as a result of the same greenhouse effect threatening Earth today. According to Dyar, Earth’s secret to habitability is its oceans, which store the CO2 that would otherwise escape into the atmosphere and create a toxic, uninhabitable environment. “Earth has geological processes that end up forming CO2-bearing minerals in the ocean, and that’s what saves Earth, is that we don’t have CO2 in the atmosphere,” Dyar explained. “So imagine that Venus was once like that. Venus is closer to the sun and the sun heats up over time, so there came a point where liquid water was no longer stable on Venus, and so all the CO2 that had
been dissolved in the oceans on Venus now suddenly had to go into the atmosphere.” Dyar explained that, as solar winds can easily break bonds between hydrogen and oxygen, the remaining water vapor in Venus’ atmosphere boiled off. As a result, Venus is now a “runaway greenhouse,” which explains its high surface temperature and pressure levels. “The pressure on Venus is equivalent to the bottom of the ocean in some places,” Dyar said. “And it’s all because of, … effectively, global warming having run away on Venus.” By looking at Venus, scientists may be able to form a better understanding of how planets like Earth age. “I mean, it’s not gonna happen on Earth for a billion years,” Dyar clarified. “But there are aspects of this process that will inform our understanding of global warming on Earth, which is really important, too.” Planetary scientists vying for NASA’s resources are frequently split between Earth’s next-door neighbors — Venus and Mars. In recent decades, Venus has consistently gotten the short end of the stick in favor of the red planet. These two sister missions will be the first trips to Venus in over three decades. To Dyar, this is long overdue.
“There’s a huge knowledge gap in our solar system,” she said. “We haven’t been to Venus in more than 30 years, so for that reason alone, it’s become really critical to fill in the gap.” “It’s politics, pure and simple,” Dyar said, explaining the attention and resource discrepancy between the two planets. “NASA has three different ways of choosing missions. One of them is called a flagship mission which is basically [when] headquarters or Congress decides that something is an important target, and they just do it.” The Mars Rovers, Mars 2020 and Mars Science Laboratory were all flagship missions, which fall under NASA’s Solar System Exploration program. According to Dyar, the other two main classes of planetary missions are the Discovery and New Frontiers programs, which handle small and mid-size missions, respectively. These, unlike the mandated flagship missions, serve as competition ground for scientists, who submit proposals to NASA headquarters for approval. “My feeling is there’s just been so much emphasis on Mars, and looking for water on Mars, that Venus, I think, has probably suffered by comparison,” Dyar said. “The other kinds of missions
that we’ve been sending to asteroids or the outer planets, those don’t suffer so much [from] comparison to Mars. It’s not for lack of good proposals, I can tell you that.” A lot of the emphasis on Mars comes back to the enduring question of whether life has ever existed in the solar system beyond Earth. In 1996, a Martian rock fell to Earth as a meteorite appearing to contain fossils of a bacteria-like life form scientists speculated had Martian origin. Though investigators eventually found these abnormalities to be inorganic, the meteorite made worldwide headlines and, according to Dyar, spurred much of the scientific community’s fixation on Mars. “It kind of lit a fire under the Mars program, and that’s what started this current progression of Mars missions, was the idea that there might be life on Mars,” Dyar said. “There are rocks on Mars that also formed in the presence of water, but we now know that Mars only had water for about 300 million years, and that’s not enough to … get life going.” Venus, however, likely had water on its surface for two to three billion years, making it potentially habitable CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
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NEWS
June 21, 2021
Springfield Diocese pledges transparency, cont’d
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fully committed to doing all that I can to change the culture of the Diocese,” he wrote. To do so, Bryne explained the Diocese of Springfield is “expanding its criteria for disclosure of all those with a finding of credibility of sexual abuse of a minor while serving in the Diocese,” adding, “An allegation is deemed to be credible if there is reasonable cause to believe that the sexual abuse occurred.” This most recent update to the list, released on June 2, focused on sexual abuse against minors. Criteria for inclusion on the list includes if the abuse was perpetrated by a “bishop, priest, deacon, other religious or lay employee who is/was incardinated, assisted
to public ministry or employed by the Diocese of Springfield,” according to the Diocese website. Additionally, the allegations have been deemed credible by the Misconduct Commission for the Diocesan Personnel or the current Review Board, which was created in 2004. The list of names also goes into detail about each individual’s employment at the time of the abuse, the nature of the reported conduct, and during what time period they worked for the Diocese of Springfield. This list also shows that Hosmer was named in more than one credible allegation. Byrne emphasized in his letter that “It is important to note that these are not new allegations. Rather[,] these findings date back many years.” This list is also a living document and will
be continually expanded as new information arises and allegations are confirmed. Updates can be found on the Diocese of Springfield website. Any individual who has been a victim of sexual abuse by a member of the Diocese of Springfield is encouraged by Bryne to report the abuse directly to law enformcement and to the Office of Safe Environment and Victim assistance at either (413) 452-0624, the confidential toll-free number (800) 8420-9055 or by emailing reportabuse@diospringfield.org. At Smith College, Hosmer will not be teaching in the fall. Additionally, any Smith community member who experienced sexual misconduct while at Smith can file a Title IX report on the Smith College website.
Dyar believes in being a mentor to students, cont’d
Photo courtesy of Mount Holyoke College Darby Dyar is chair of the astronomy department.
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for a large portion of its history. “Three billion years is a long time for life [to develop],” Dyar said. “If, indeed, the processes that cause life to emerge are universal, then three billion years ought to be long enough for it to have happened on Venus.” Over the past three decades, as Mars received both attention and funding from NASA, Venus has gone unexplored. Now, with the resources of two missions newly at their disposal, planetary scientists who study Venus have a lot to look forward to. According to Dyar, Venus is remarkably Earth-like beneath
its toxic atmosphere, its landscape potentially featuring familiar formations such as volcanoes and continents. “I’m excited about the possibility that we might detect active volcanism on Venus,” Dyar said. “When a volcano erupts, … there’s a lot of gas that dissolves in the magma at depth. When it comes to the surface, the gas all escapes, and so from the orbit, you can see the gas signature and detect the volcanism.” Dyar is also responsible for designing a new spectrometer that will help distinguish the basalt that covers most of Venus from other types of rocks, which may be remnants of old Earth-like continents. “If there’s continents, there was probably plate tectonics,” Dyar continued. “And if there’s plate tectonics, plate tectonics and water are all tied up together, so it means that Venus was once way more Earthlike than people give it credit for, which is really neat.” VERITAS will likely be the capstone to Dyar’s career in planetary geology — as she put it, she’s “going out with a bang.” Before settling into an intellectual home at Mount Holyoke, she taught geology at the University of Oregon. Throughout her years in the field, she has been awarded over $10 million in grants from NASA and the National Science Foundation and has been published in over 260 scientific papers. As for her inspirations, she credits the female role models she’s encountered in the scientific field — from a high school science teacher to her professional peers. Dyar’s decades-long career as a woman in STEM has not come without
challenges. She has faced harassment, been denied opportunities based on her gender and has grown used to being the only woman in the rooms where decisions are made. “My mother used to say that if women don’t help other women, no one else will,” Dyar said. “Certainly that was true in her time and in my time, because one of the reasons I had so much trouble was there were no women ahead of me to make my life easier.” Dyar urged young women in her field to “take seriously the fact that you’re going to be a role model, whether you want to be or not.” This sentiment, which Dyar punctuated with a dry laugh, comes from years of serving in that role simply by virtue of her gender. “At every stage of my career, I’ve been scrutinized by the people behind me,” she said. But Dyar isn’t bitter about this reality — to her, being a role model is the most important part of the job, and of her career as a whole. “There’s nothing as important as mentoring the next generation,” she said. “I’ve gotten a lot of awards for my research which I’m really proud of, but at the end of the day, I’m not going to be lying on my deathbed thinking about the papers I wrote, I’m gonna be thinking about all of the people whose lives I changed by being an advisor or a mentor or even just a professor.” She continued, “I have a whole scrapbook full of letters from Mount Holyoke students that say, ‘you changed my life, Darby,’ and ‘I’ll never forget you,’ and, you know, there’s just nothing more important than that.”
. Mount Holyoke News
CDC policy; rate employers BY ELLA WHITE ’22 NEWS EDITOR
The Career Development Center will implement changes regarding its relationship with employers beginning Sept. 1. These new changes will include more opportunities for student feedback on their internships and employers, as well as how the CDC engages with employers. Presently, employers can be suspended by the CDC based on reports from students of the employer using “racist or biased language” or exhibiting other potentially harmful behavior. The Lynk Summer Funding Program does not sponsor internships with employers suspended by the CDC, meaning students working with these employers cannot receive Lynk funding for their work. Upcoming policy changes will create a process for employers previously suspended by the CDC to “make amends, resolve concerns and potentially begin working with MHC again,” according to Jenny Watermill, Senior Associate Director for the CDC. Through this policy change, the CDC will allow student interns at these organizations to once again be eligible for Lynk funding. The new CDC updates will include resources regarding assessment of employers. Students, beginning Sept. 1, will now be asked to rate employers to “complement the existing employer rating system in Handshake,” according to Watermill. The CDC will also offer resources students can use to better assess employers who have not previously worked with the College or its students. The CDC will now share its current policies and practices with all students via email once per semester. The policy states that while the CDC does screen Handshake job postings, these job postings do not indicate endorsement. The CDC also includes in its policy that it cannot guarantee the legitimacy of all employers listed on Handshake. Graphic by Jieru Ye ’23
June 21, 2021
. Mount Holyoke News
ENVIRONMENTAL
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Fossil fuel use contested in domestic and international disputes BY HELEN GLOEGE ’23 STAFF WRITER
President Biden took office in January of this year; one of his stated priorities was addressing climate change and the impacts of this are already becoming apparent. The day Biden took office, he canceled the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. The pipeline’s purpose was to transport crude oil from Western Canada to Nebraska. It was proposed in 2008 and vetoed by the Obama administration in November 2015. This was believed to be the end of the pipeline; however, immediately after taking office in 2016, Donald Trump signed an executive order to continue the pipeline. Both the pipeline and its cancellation have incited controversy. Alberta, Canada invested over $1 billion in the project with the promise it would be completed. After the cancellation, attorneys general from over 21 states have sued to overturn the decision. The pipeline itself has become a money sink, as the cost increased from $5.4 to $9 billion due to the extended nature of the process. Oil prices simultaneously decreased, meaning less money would be recouped from the pipeline than originally thought. It was not Biden but rather TC Energy, a Canadian company, who ultimately terminated the project after reviewing their options and consulting with Alberta’s government. The company plans on working with stakeholders, regulators and Indigenous groups for a safe exit from the pipeline. Despite the Biden administration’s promise to prioritize tackling the climate crisis, the administration
has also thrown its support behind the Willow oil project. The Willow oil project is a major oil drilling development in the National Petroleum Reserve — Alaska run by the oil company ConocoPhillips. The project is also facilitated by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In a court case involving Indigenous groups looking to stop the project, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a legal brief arguing in support of the project. The department claimed the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service followed all environmental laws. At its peak, the Willow project is expected to produce over 100,000 barrels of oil per day and approximately 600 million barrels over 30 years. Supporters claim the project will create jobs and support American energy production. Opponents argue the development will threaten wildlife, impede subsistence hunters from the nearby village of Nuiqsut and lead to the production of more climate-warming greenhouse gases. Various other countries are responding to climate change reckonings through tighter restrictions on fossil fuel companies. The Supreme Court of the Netherlands directed oil company Royal Dutch Shell to cut most of their greenhouse gas emissions within the next 10 years. This decision could prove to be a major victory for the climate justice movement as Royal Dutch Shell is the largest company in the Netherlands and the world’s largest private oil trader. According to The New York Times, “it was the first time
Photo courtesy of sciencemag.org As fossil fuels continue to pollute, individuals sue for damages in court.
a court ordered a private company to, in effect, change its business practice on climate grounds.” Shell plans on appealing the court decision, but the process may take years. The Netherlands’ national judiciary has a strong reputation when it comes to climate litigation. In 2019, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands ordered the government to cut greenhouse gas emissions, a landmark case in that it held a national government accountable for addressing climate change. Courts are increasingly a means to oppose fossil fuels both abroad and in the U.S. Since 2017, about 20 U.S. cities, counties and states have sued the fossil fuel industry for the local costs of climate change. In CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
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Scientists can now repurpose greenhouse gas emissions into plastics utilization and storage projects operating globally. One of captured carbon’s uses is in the manufacturing of plasPlastic is often considered tics. Plastic is typically made environmentalists’ numusing crude oil or natural ber-one enemy because it gas as the “feedstock,” or necessitates large quantibase material. The feedties of fossil fuels in its prostock is subjected to a numduction and its reputation ber of chemical reactions for polluting the Earth’s driven by catalyst materials natural resources. However, which convert it into plastic technological developments pellets to be melted and moldin recent years have created a ed into various shapes. Plastics possibility for plastic to act as a made from natural gas or oil are force against the onset of climate called synthetic plastics, but anchange. Scientists have found Photo courtesy of blueplantrecycling.ca other type of plastic, called biothat CO2 emissions captured Plastics can now be created with captured emissions. plastic, can be made from a numfrom the atmosphere can be ber of natural materials such as used as a base material for plastics and other goods. vegetable oil or bacteria. Scientists have created speCarbon capture and storage is far from a new con- cial catalysts to convert carbon dioxide into a material cept in the environmental field, and many scientists suitable for use as a feedstock for plastic production. consider it an important tool to slow climate change. This process has the dual environmental benefit of reCarbon capture is made possible through the instal- moving CO2 from the atmosphere and preventing the lation of filters in factory smokestacks which capture use of harmful fossil fuels in the first place. pollution before it escapes into the atmosphere. CO2 Captured carbon dioxide can be recycled into much can also be removed directly from the atmosphere more than plastic. Concrete manufacturer Carbonusing specialized technology. Once captured, carbon Cure has permanently stored 90,000 tons of the gas by dioxide can be permanently stored or utilized. De- injecting it into concrete. Additionally, captured CO2 spite the proven efficacy of carbon capture technology, can put the “fizz” into soda and sparkling water. In there are only around 20 large-scale carbon capture, 2019, a Coca-Cola subsidiary in Switzerland partnered BY CATELYN FITZGERALD ’23 ENVIRONMENTAL EDITOR
with carbon capture company Climeworks to use CO2 removed from the atmosphere in its drinks. One of the benefits of using captured carbon dioxide to manufacture such widely-used goods is it creates an economic incentive to remove carbon dioxide from the air or to capture it from industrial emissions. One of the drawbacks of recycling CO2 into consumer goods is the public’s potential hesitancy to use these goods due to safety concerns, as consumer safety-awareness increases and environmentalists promote the image of carbon dioxide as a harm to human health. A survey published by The Conversation found that of over 2,000 respondents, 31 percent were hesitant or firmly against using products made from recycled CO2, and nearly half of respondents said they would not consume carbonated drinks made from captured carbon dioxide. The number of participants willing to use products made using captured CO2 increased after respondents were given more information about the manufacturing process, which includes filtering out harmful pollutants from captured emissions. The survey results suggest that to reduce hesitation from consumers, knowledge gaps about recycling CO2 need to be filled through education efforts, and companies will need to maintain a high level of transparency in their manufacturing process. Consumer attitudes towards incorporating recycled CO2 into daily life will determine if the technology sees enough success to help slow climate change.
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BOOKS
June 21, 2021
. Mount Holyoke News
David Diop and Anna Moschovakis win International Booker Prize BY AMELIA SCARPONI ’23 STAFF WRITER
On June 2, the International Booker Prize for translated fiction was awarded to French-Senegalese novelist and academic David Diop for his sophomore novel, “At Night All Blood is Black,” and to the book’s American translator, Anna Moschovakis. The novel was selected from a shortlist of six books by majority vote from a five judge panel. This year’s winners were announced virtually via livestream inside the historic Coventry Cathedral in the West Midlands of England. It was the first time the ceremony took place outside of London. The International Booker Prize, established in 2005, is awarded annually to a novel or short story collection translated into English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. Past winners have included South Korea’s Han Kang and Polish Nobel laureate Olga Tokarczuk. According to the Prize’s press release, Diop and Moschovakis will receive £50,000 in prize money divided equally, giving the author and translator equal recognition. First published in French in 2018, “At Night All Blood Is Black” is set against the backdrop of the First World War and tells the story of West African soldier Alfa Ndiaye as he descends into madness following the death of a childhood friend and comrade Mademba. According to The Guardian, historian Lucy Hughes-Hallett, chair of the panel of judges, called “At Night All Blood Is Black” “an extraordinary novel.” “The book is frightening — reading it, you feel you are being hypnotized,” Hughes-Hallett said. “Your emotions are all jangled up, your mind is being opened
to new thoughts. It is an extraordinary piece of narrative, very powerful, very compelling. The protagonist is accused of sorcery and all of us, we judges, did feel this book had somehow put a spell on us. It is that hypnotically compelling.” Diop revealed in an interview with BBC News that he was inspired by the secrecy of his great-grandfather’s wartime experience as a Senegalese “tirailleur” — a soldier from the West African colonial troops recruited by the French army during the First and Second World Wars. “He never said anything to his wife or to my mother about his experience. That is why I was always very interested by all the tales and accounts which gave one access to a form of intimacy with that particular war,” Diop said. Diop was born in Paris to a French mother and a Senegalese father but spent nearly all his childhood in Dakar, Senegal. At the age of 18, he returned to France to study literature at the Sorbonne. In 1998, Diop became a professor at the University of Pau teaching 18th century French and Francophone literature and currently serves as the head of the arts, languages and literature department. Since its publication, “At Night All Blood Is Black” has renewed conversations about colonialism, activism, race and masculinity. According to The New York Times, Diop is an author whose work is “helping France face its history with Africa.” Caroline Laurent, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University, said the book “exposes a specifically French history that is connected to France’s colonial endeavors.” Hughes-Hallett noted the book would make readers think about race and colonialism. “What Diop reminds us of, very interestingly and subtly, is that colo-
Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons David Diop first published “At Night All Blood is Black” in 2018.
nialism isn’t just about another country swooping in and taking over,” she said. “It’s also about colonizing those people’s minds so that very young man might feel a huge amount of loyalty to France — a country they’ve never visited, and whose language they didn’t speak.” However, in an interview with The New York Times, Diop said he is careful to distance his writing from activism, asking, “Don’t you think these questions around race are being imported into countries where issues weren’t being addressed in those terms?” Diop is the first French author to win the International Booker Prize.
‘Piranesi’ blends lush fantasy and stereotypes of minority characters BY MARGARET CONNOR ’23 COPY CHIEF
Graphic by Jieru Ye ’23
At around 250 pages, British author Susanna Clarke’s second novel “Piranesi” seems miniscule in comparison to her 800-page debut novel “Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.” But with its imaginative world and compelling narrator, “Piranesi” packs a powerful epistemological punch. The book, however, is not without flaws — its portrayal of minority characters ultimately falls short, leaning on worn-out stereotypes of gay men and people of color. Clarke’s 2004 novel “Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell” was well-received by critics and spent 11 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list, even securing an endorsement from cultural monolith and author Neil Gaiman. Both “Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell” and “Piranesi” incorporate fantasy elements, with the former set in a fantastic rendition of Britain, filled with magicians and fairy servants, and the latter set in a more exploratory, speculative environment. “Piranesi,” published in September 2020, presents itself as the journals of a man called Piranesi — though he suspects this isn’t his real name — who inhabits a world composed of endless, sprawling halls and vestibules he calls “the House.” Initially, there is a certain narrative ambiguity as to how literal and how allegorical this setting is. The halls have oceans for
floors and the sky at their ceilings, providing shelter for the fish and birds living alongside Piranesi. Marble statues line the halls, each symbolizing different ideas and values, such as learning, caution or empathy. We learn Piranesi’s goal is to catalogue the statues of the House. Reading his reports of his explorations into the distant halls reveals both the character’s endearingly childlike, wide-eyed curiosity, but also that something has gone terribly, terribly wrong. Piranesi neither knows nor cares how he came to be in the House or who he truly is. His only human companion in the halls is a man he calls “the Other,” who, in contrast to Piranesi’s harmonious coexistence with the House and its creatures, is dedicated to researching a mysterious, powerful knowledge he believes the House contains. Told through the eyes of Piranesi, the novel is written in a wondrous, innocent manner enhancing the marvel of the House and its mysteries while creating a sense of gut-bottom dread. There’s something earnest and heartfelt about his interactions with a pair of nesting albatrosses who seem to recognize and communicate with him, or his fascination with the shining objects with which he decorates his hair. Piranesi appears as a naïf –– an “innocent” –– in the purest sense. CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
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June 21, 2021
. Mount Holyoke News
OPINION/EDITORIAL
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Bo Burnham expresses the internet generation’s existentialism BY WOODLIEF MCCABE ’23 STAFF WRITER
Content Warning: this article mentions suicide. On May 30, Netflix released “Inside,” Bo Burnham’s first comedy special since 2016. Burnham has broken his performance hiatus with a special unlike any other, embracing the context of life in a pandemic by confining its production to just one room. “Inside” is familiar. Fans of Burnham will recognize recurring themes, like his catchy piano instrumentals with pointed, introspective lyrics. To new viewers, though, this special still captures a common psychological experience. Burnham has found a way to articulate the cocktail of loss, fear, apathy and eagerness overwhelming a generation raised not just alongside but intertwined with the internet. He weaves comedy with existentialism and depression. “Inside” asks the question: At what point does a Netflix special become performance art, and can we call this a comedy when it ends with a disclaimer for suicide prevention? Burnham has continued his exploration of his place and his privilege in a new, intensely personal setting. Bo Burnham’s style of comedy could be described as an intersection of surrealist comedy, anti-comedy
Graphic by Gabby Gagnon ’24
and blue/black comedy, using jokes about controversial or unexpected topics to evoke a reaction from his audience. His comedy has also long dealt with subjects like white supremacy, racism, religion and homophobia, and has examined what his position of privilege as
a white man means for his comedy. At 30, Burnham is feeling the effects of the permanence of the internet. People who evade repercussions for their actions in real life are unmasked with their internet history, yet the tangible consequences vary. As a straight white man, accountability neither has nor will be given to Burnham generously, and he knows this. One song in this special has a chorus kicking off with an energetic “I’m problematic!” He references parts of his past acts, singing, “I wrote offensive shit, and I said it,” and asks several times over the course of the song, “isn’t anybody gonna hold me accountable?” The upbeat music, shots of his bare chest, and the sweaty elliptical bike choreography create a curious clash against the lyrical content. He sings, “Father, please forgive me,” and poses himself against a light projection in the shape of a cross. Never one to miss an opportunity for irony, Burnham’s self-crucifixion is with a spotlight. A self-proclaimed atheist, Burnham isn’t speaking to God, but rather the audience that has bestowed on him success and appreciation without acknowledging his faults. The imagery seems to mock an earnest apology, using sex appeal as a distraction from CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
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Why aren’t more women in politics? It’s not for lack of ambition BY KATE MURRAY ’22 STAFF WRITER
It is widely recognized and accepted that there is a severe deficit of female political leadership in the United States. Despite comprising over half of the American population, the most recent figures put women’s representation in state and local governments at roughly 25 percent, on average. The statistics sink even lower at the federal level, as only 20 percent of Congressional seats are occupied by women. Lack of female representation in politics has always existed, but despite significant advances towards gender equality, women still struggle to enter the political arena. This cannot be attributed simply to women’s lack of ambition or interest in politics, but rather to the multitude of systemic barriers women continue to face in American society. Surprisingly, the shortage of female political leaders has little to do with the general public not considering them electable. A large majority of the public — 75 percent — think men and women would be equally effective leaders, and this opinion is consistent across party affiliation. In fact, a report from the CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance states women and men tend to win elections at roughly the same rate. The issue, then, is not that women are not seen as capable leaders by the American electorate, but rather that they don’t run in the first place. Put simply, the social cost of pursuing a political career is much higher for women compared to men. Women are subject to a higher level of scrutiny than their male counterparts: They must constantly engage in a balancing act of being assertive, but not to such a degree that the men in the room feel threat-
ened. Their clothing often receives more public attention than their policy actions, and details of their personal lives, such as how they parent their children, are openly ridiculed. The appearance and behavior of women politicians must be impeccable in order to be taken seriously and accepted by their constituents and colleagues, especially those who are male. Women of color have an even more difficult time winning this game, as they are required to prove themselves capable leaders on account of their race as well as their gender. Considering how society treats powerful women, it is no surprise that many of them are hesitant to pursue political careers. Molly Bangs, a contributor at the Century Foundation, echoes this sentiment. “Women are often discouraged early on from entering politics because they have a vague idea that running for office would be harder for them based on their gender,” she wrote, in a piece for the website in 2017. Another significant reason women are underrepresented in politics is the lack of encouragement they receive from people in their personal lives, educational institutions and political actors. Whether implicitly or explicitly, family members, coworkers and teachers tend to push women away from largely male-dominated careers, especially if those careers would delay the process of getting married and starting a family. The political establishment also tends to shy away from women politicians, especially women of color. In a 2017 article for the Center for American Progress, senior fellow Judith Warner wrote about these political “gatekeepers” and how they often discriminate against racial and gender minorities, saying,. “Favored candidates tend to be familiar faces who will predictably uphold party interests and — above all — have easy access to money and the ability to devote
considerable personal resources, including time, to their campaigns.” In addition to the profuse amount of social stigma women face in political careers, they also have more systemic barriers to contend with. The median wealth for women is significantly lower than that of their male counterparts, but this inequality is especially consequential for women in political careers. Warner speaks to this point in her article, writing, “Many local and state-level elected offices pay so poorly that it’s very difficult for people without deep pockets — or a high-earning spouse — to consider a career in politics.” In other words, if they’re not wealthy or benefiting financially from a partner, having a political career is not sustainable for many women. Of course, these effects are compounded for women of color, for whom the wealth gap with white men is even more severe. Not only do women find careers in politics to be laden with sexism, the payoff may not even be substantial enough to have a decent standard of living. It is clear women have the cards stacked against them when it comes to pursuing political careers. While challenging the systemic roots of sexism is a long uphill battle, individuals and institutions can take action to encourage young, budding political leaders. Colleges and universities can make targeted efforts to recruit women into political science, public policy and law programs. Family members and friends can be more intentional about encouraging and supporting young women who want to pursue political careers, even if doing so puts marriage and child-rearing on hold. This is where more diverse political leadership starts, as once women make the decision to run, the American electorate will propel them to victory.
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
June 21, 2021
. Mount Holyoke News
‘Long Distance Relationship’ exhibition showcases artist collaboration in a socially distanced world
BY EMMA WATKINS ’23 STAFF WRITER & COPY EDITOR
During a year largely defined by social distancing, lockdowns and the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals have found comfort in virtual events. Online art galleries and events have enabled artists to continue creating and displaying their works throughout the past year. For 15 student artists from the Mount Holyoke College classes of 2020 and 2021, the “Long Distance Relationship” virtual exhibition allowed them to share their “Senior Studio” capstone course projects with the Mount Holyoke community and a wider virtual audience. As expressed by Associate Professor of Art Lisa Iglesias in its introduction, this exhibition, unveiled on May 4, strives to “stitch together new visions for our changing world.” The exhibition begins with a statement from Associate Professor of Art Lisa Iglesias, who quoted poet and activist Sonya Renee Taylor, saying, “We should not long to return, my friends. We are being given the opportunity to stitch a new garment. One that fits all of humanity and nature.” Iglesias shared that she selected this quote to launch the exhibition because it “particular[ly] resonated with [her] in terms of a kind of an optimistic hope that we can learn from recent events including the global pandemic, gun violence, the effects of institutional racism, economic downturn — and more.” Igelsias added, “[We can] invent new ways to more compassionately and expansively advocate for greater equity and justice in our communities. Artists can play
an important role in this process.” ed journeys and new forms of collaboration The 15 artists constructed this and connection. Each artist statement in metaphorical garment using the exhibition explains how the pieces “Zoom, Google, Discord, Insemerged from the lived experiences tagram, FaceTime, Moodle, of the artists in the past few years, Spotify and other virtual with a larger focus on the recent structures,” the exhibition year defined by the pandemic. website states. Through Iglesias explained that Astechnology, members of the sociate Director for Engagegroup were able to reach ment and Weatherbie Curator across physical boundarof Academic Programs Ellen ies and experience a creAlvord and Assistant Museative community despite um Preparator Nina Frank the limitations of the panof the Mount Holyoke College demic world. These new Art Museum first encouraged ways of communicating her to create the four categoand collaborating, along ries. Alvord and Frank “sugwith ice-breakers, quick gest[ed] that doing so would drawing or collaging exprovide clarity and organizaercises and deep listening tion for the online viewing exactivities, were necessary to perience,” Iglesias said. “Studio “find ways to create trust and Art Professor Ligia Bouton and excitement for making art in I then viewed all of the work and an online course,” Iglesias said. talked about what kind of thematSplit into four categories on ic categories would unify artworks the exhibition’s website — Fragwhile also potentially opening up new mented Bodies, Stitching Past into ways to interpret the artworks based on Present, Constructing Memory and Photo courtesy of Lauren Ferrara ’21 their groupings.” Chromatic Abstraction — “Long Mix media sculpture by Ferrara ’21. When it came down to grouping Distance Relationship” taps into the healing and expansive properties of art. The pieces in CONTINUED ON PAGE 9 u each category explore outcomes of individual, isolat-
Michelle Zauner has been busy, but she still has time to make bangers BY LUCY OSTER ’23 STAFF WRITER
Michelle Zauner, better known by her stage name, Japanese Breakfast, has had a busy spring. Her memoir, “Crying in H Mart,” was released in April and reached number two on The New York Times Best Sellers list. Zauner then released the third Japanese Breakfast studio album, entitled “Jubilee,” in early June. Both the memoir and album have defined my June: the book’s jacket is still filled with sand from a trip to the beach, and I have particularly enjoyed playing “Jubilee” in the car with the windows down. “Jubilee” sounds a bit different from Zauner’s previous music. The album still fits the indie sound listeners heard and loved on “Psychopomp” and “Soft Sounds from Another Planet,” Zauner’s previous two albums, released in 2016 and 2017, respectively. For example, “Everybody Wants to Love You” from “Psychopomp” has a similar energy to tracks on “Jubilee.” However, the ten songs on “Jubilee” largely lean towards the pop side of indie music. “Be Sweet,” the album’s first single, released in early March, exemplifies Zauner’s new indie pop
Graphic by Gabby Gagnon ’24
sound. Like many other current musicians, Zauner has been influenced by ’80s music. “[‘Be Sweet’ has] this kind of ’80s jam — a Whitney Houston, Madonna,
Cyndi Lauper kind of feel,” Zauner said, speaking to Sterogum. The ’80s influence Zauner discussed shows in the track’s delightful synth-heavy production. The “Be Sweet” music video emphasizes just how fun the song is. It stars Zauner and Marisa Dabice, lead vocalist of the indie rock band Mannequin Pussy. The two play goofy FBI agents dressed in ridiculous-looking wigs. I recognized this as an amusing reference to the ’90s science fiction drama series “The X-Files.” The reason behind “The X-Files” influence becomes obvious when Zauner reaches the song’s chorus and, dressed in a bright yellow suit and more contemporary makeup, looks up at the camera, beaming, and sings, “I want to believe in something.” Fans of the show will recognize this as a reference to the iconic poster featured in the opening credits. The album title of “Jubilee” promises cheer. On Twitter, Zauner wrote, “My new album is called Jubilee. It is about joy.” To me, the emphasis on happiness was surprising at first, especially since “Crying in H Mart,” initially released under the same name as a 2018 essay in The New Yorker, covers the death of CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
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June 21, 2021
. Mount Holyoke News
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Seniors display art in virtual exhibit, cont’d u
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and naming the categories, Iglesias noted how easily everything fell into place. “The categories naturally revealed themselves because of the deep bedrock of communication that my colleagues and I have with each other, as well as our knowledge of the students and their artworks,” Iglesias said. Though the artworks are all displayed in one exhibition, “Long Distance Relationship” showcases a considerable diversity of artistic media and subject matter. Projects range from portrait photographs to experimental papermaking, lively high-energy paintings to storytelling fabric art, whimsical sculpture installations to abstract and visually striking printmaking and other media. Even within the exhibition’s four categories, viewers can feel the richness of the different perspectives and inspirations each artist brings to the table. One artist, Jamie Capps ’21, who specializes in printmaking on materials ranging from canvas to found cardboard, explained that the pandemic altered “pretty much every piece of art [she] made over the past year.” Capps explained that the transition from the comfort and familiarity of a classroom to working at home necessitated a more mobile working environment. She added that this experience, though initially upsetting and disruptive, made her more optimistic
Michelle Zauner strikes again, cont’d u
Photo courtesy of Jamie Capps ’21 Jamie Capps ’21 explores pandemic anxieties through mix media art.
about continuing her artistic practices after graduation. “I was able to create a small screen printing area in my basement, shifting my printing practice to screen prints, gel prints, cyanotypes and everything I would be able to do creatively while living just about anywhere,” she said. For many artists in the class of 2020, these projects began in classes on campus and had to be completed at home in the middle of the spring of their senior year. Lauren Ferrara ’20 — who mostly creates sculptures, interactive installations and performance artworks — began their contribution to “Long Distance Relationship” while at school, but finished at home in New Jersey after the pandemic began. Ferrara expertly communicates this geographical and emotional shift through their art, particularly through “6 Feet Apart,” a performance art piece detailing their family’s new routines that came out of the pandemic. “Throughout my performance art, I explore the relationship between body and space. … Reflection of environment and self is prominent throughout my practice,” Ferrara explained. “Long Distance Relationship” allows viewers to gain insight into how these artists created their pieces using inspiration found in stress, distance and trauma, both related and unrelated to the pandemic. The entire exhibition showcases an intimate conversation about familiarity opposed to the unknown, connection and disconnection and a plethora of other subjects with which many have rediscovered their relationship to in the past few years.
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Zauner’s mother, who died in 2014 after years of battling cancer. In her memoir, Zauner wrote of the experience, “Sometimes my grief feels as though I’ve been left alone in a room with no doors.” The contrast between the happiness appearing on “Jubilee” and the sadness portrayed in “Crying in H Mart” seems striking, but I think the drastic difference between the two works’ moods actually makes a lot of sense. Through her album, Zauner seems to explain that a person cannot be defined by grief forever, and her ability to present two opposite emotional aspects of herself, and in two mediums, is a testament to her genius writing ability. The album isn’t entirely about joy. “Kokomo, IN,” an emotional love song Zauner has called her favorite off of the album, deals with the struggles of a long-distance relationship. “Posing in Bondage” and “Posing for Cars” grapple with the difficulties of intimacy. “Tactics” deals with Zauner’s estrangement from her father, which she also wrote about in her book. Her father moved to Thailand shortly after Zauner’s mother’s passing, and in “Tactics,” she sings, “Cross a sea, keep you from me.” Speaking to Stereogum, Zauner called “In Hell,” about the death of both her dog and mother, “the darkest song [she has] ever written.” “‘[In Hell]’ was actually a bonus song on ‘Soft Sounds [From Another Planet],’ so it was written a long time ago, but it was another one of those songs that I thought was too great to not be heard,” Zauner said during the same interview. Despite the dark themes emerging during “In Hell” and throughout the album, Zauner seems to be primarily looking ahead to the future and its joyous potential. On “Savage Good Boy,” she sang, “I’ve got a five year plan / I’ve got a pension and six condos / A billion dollar bunker for two.” She remains a realist about the potential doom and gloom of the future of that five year plan, especially in relation to climate change, but she spins a positive and romantic twist onto the situation: “And when the city’s underwater / I will wine and dine you in the hollows / On a surplus of freeze dried food.” On “Paprika,” the album’s opening track, Zauner asks, “How’s it feel to be at the center of magic / To linger in tones and words?” I say we reverse this question onto Zauner herself. She has been the center of her own artistic magic lately, lingering in the musical tones of “Jubilee” and the words of “Crying in H Mart.” To enjoy all of this newly created art, even from the outside, feels great.
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
June 21, 2021
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Mount Holyoke News
‘Piranesi’ is an imaginative world with harmful stereotypes, cont’d starts to rebel against the Other, beginning a journey tage of young men, including many of his students. In to uncover the truth about the House and himself. the final pages of the novel, Piranesi compares him While the innocent, unguarded first-person nar- to a statue of a heretical pope: “He is fat and bloated. ration is rarely grating, owing to Piranesi’s rich inner He lolls on the throne, a shapeless mass. The throne world, his initial portrayal as a is magnificent, but the sheer blindly-obedient, prelapsarian bulk of the figure threatens to servant to the Other becomes split it in two. He knows that he discomforting when, towards is repulsive, but you can see by In a novel so otherwise gentle and the end of the novel, we learn his face that the idea pleases without sharp edges, these outdated him.” Piranesi is the only Black character in the cast. In light of this In a novel so otherwise — yet still harmful — stereotypes fly realization, his previously engentle and without sharp edgin the face of everything “Piranesi” dearing traits — such as his es, these outdated — yet still seems to stand for. guilelessness and homespun harmful — stereotypes fly in religious beliefs — begin to rethe face of everything “Piranesemble colonial stereotypes of si” seems to stand for. African people. With its themes of contemIn a similar vein, the only character exhibiting plation and solitude, “Piranesi” is a cathartic pandemany sort of overt sexual orientation is Laurence Arne- ic read, and his decision to return to the often-frightenSayles. His initial interaction with Piranesi, and what ing, often-cruel world becomes especially touching as we later learn about him, portrays him as a predatory, we ourselves reemerge into a non-socially-distanced repellant gay man with a penchant for taking advan- world.
Graphic by Margaret Connor ’23
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Bo Burnham balances comedy and catharsis in new special, ‘Inside,’ cont’d
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u At the same time, his apparent memory deficits and his initial unquestioning obedience to the Other set up the mystery of how he came to be in the House. In an era when far too many science-fiction, fantasy and speculative fiction authors load down their prose with tedious, meandering worldbuilding that fails to be of any interest or importance, Clarke’s lush description of the House through Piranesi eyes is compelling and thematically resonant. Her narration particularly shines as the novel’s central exploration becomes clear: What is the search for knowledge, and how does it change those who search? During an interview with The Guardian, Clarke spoke on how her struggles with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome following the publishing of “Jonathan Strange” influenced her writing of “Piranesi.” “I was aware that I was a person cut off from the world, bound in one place by illness,” Clarke said. “Piranesi considers himself very free, but he’s cut off from the rest of humanity.” Slowly, Piranesi learns of a world outside of — or perhaps before — the House. One day, while wandering the halls, Piranesi meets a strange man, the disgraced professor Laurence Arne-Sayles, who reveals himself as the man who discovered how to reach the House from our current reality. He explains the House’s knowledge derives from ancient humans’ magical thinking and relationship with the natural world, with the House existing as a “Distributary World” and operating alongside our own reality as a manifestation of a lost, premodern human knowledge. According to him, ancient peoples had a special way of communicating with the world, and, in turn, the world responded. Intrigued by this man and his assertions, Piranesi
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from the song’s layered meaning. He wants us to consider that the emphasis we put on labeling celebrities “problematic” isn’t working the way we think it is, because he’s been problematic, and he keeps making money. “Inside” is unlike any traditional comedy special. We move from shots of Burnham lying apathetic on the floor to a fully lit music video about sexting. The editing feels abrupt, like scrolling through someone’s “finsta,” or private Instagram account. He goes from depression to smooth jazz without warning. Burnham’s work has long dealt with the internet and its impact on him and our culture. He takes what we feel but cannot articulate and creates something tangible. “Inside” is a roadmap and an exhibition of the fallout of the internet generation. He takes on a carnival barker persona in the song “Welcome to the Internet,” which includes an ever-faster repetition of the phrase “Can I interest you in everything all of the time, a little bit of everything all of the time?” Burnham is tired, and so are we. The reality of the internet is it is overwhelming. We are expected to consume every type of media and form opinions on all of it. Certain aspects of our lives exist solely on the internet. What happens when we get everything all of the time, even when we were too young to have a say in any of it? Burnham posits, from the floor of his room, “maybe allowing giant digital media corporations to exploit the neurochemical drama of our children for profit … was a bad call by us.” We are facing the
effects of being the technology generation without our consent. His “Welcome to the Internet” persona reminds us digital media and devices are working just as they were designed. We feel lost, betrayed by the people who gave us the internet and told us we could do anything we want. When we saw the world was overwhelmed with injustice and pollution, we believed we could do something about it. After all, we were promised endless possibilities. As it becomes clearer to us that the majority of these issues are caused by systemic oppression and the actions of a handful of excessively wealthy individuals and corporations, we feel both obligated and powerless against the entire world. Throughout the pandemic, media surrounding apocalypses and the end of the world have returned to the cultural consciousness, and Burnham’s softly sung “twenty-thousand years of this, seven more to go” quickly gets to the heart of a feeling so many of us have been unable to articulate. The structure of this special gives us the content we crave at the same time as it tries to show us how the content is getting produced. At times, it feels like we are invading Burnham’s privacy. As he makes eclectic content about sexting, capitalism, Jeff Bezos, the way white people see social movements through the “myopic lens of [their] own self-actualization” and just feeling like shit all the time, a narrative unfolds about more than just the pandemic, and more than just Bo Burnham himself. He has spent his entire adult life with an identity tied to the confines of the internet and its culture, and in “Inside,” he synthesizes multi-generational existentialism in under 90 minutes.
June 21, 2021
. Mount Holyoke News
FEATURES
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Residential Life navigates Mount Holyoke’s return to full capacity BY REBECCA GAGNON ’23 FEATURES EDITOR
Life at Mount Holyoke has not been the same since COVID-19 spread across the world over a year ago. One area of the community that endured substantial change was Residential Life, constantly needing to shift the number of students allowed to live in dorms during the 2020-21 academic year. The College’s plans changed from allowing the full number of students on campus, to partial capacity, to almost no students during the fall semester and then back to partial capacity during the spring. However, the 2021-22 academic year now presents more challenges as the Mount Holyoke campus returns to full capacity, bringing the campus back to life. Associate Dean of Students and Director of Residential Life Rachel Alldis described the processes that took place last year as housing was being sorted, saying, “We had done housing lottery and then we got rid of all those rooms. Then we did the first year, second year housing and then all those people left. [Finally] we did the mandated housing, or the ‘have to be here housing.’” The mandatory housing was for international students, students with internet connection issues at home and other similar instances in which students needed to live on campus. After all of the shifts of the past year, the College was finally able to open in spring 2021 at partial capacity, allowing some students to live on campus. “We felt like we’ve had time to create the processes and figure out what works,” Alldis said. “We were able to test our testing system and we were able to see how the things we put in place for safety for the students who were here worked, and we felt like we could bring more people back. So we thought again, we wanted to stick to singles, but we can have half of you [students] here, and so that’s what we offered … but in the end, less than half wanted to be here.” Though they comprised less than half of the student body, some students did take the chance to resume their college experience and returned to campus. However, for safety reasons, there were many rules and regulations put in place for the students who did choose to come back. “I was on campus for the 2021 spring semester and that was kind of odd,” Lauren Gruen ’23 recalled. Gruen continued to explain that the precautions, such as being tested twice a week, wearing a mask at nearly all times and the travel restrictions made the experience strange. Gruen was also a residential advisor and had to enforce these and other restrictions. “A facet of COVID that impacted ResLife,” Gruen recalled, “is that students couldn’t have more than one other person in their dorm room, and that other person needed to be a resident of their same building. So, if you lived in Porter and you had a friend in Buck, that … friend in Buck would not be permitted to be in Porter.” These rules and regulations were put in place for the safety of the students as the College navigated how best to allow the community to grow in the middle of a pandemic. It is unclear which precautions will remain in the upcoming year. “What I imagine will happen, but nothing is confirmed yet … is that we might see some more restric-
Photo by Amelia Luo ’23 The housing lottery for senior singles, usually held in April, will begin on June 22 and the housing lottery for junior singles will begin on June 25.
tions at the start of the year, because I do know we will have a number of international students coming in that maybe weren’t able to get the vaccine before coming to campus, so the first six weeks will be used to get them vaccinated,” Alldis said. “Then once they are, we will have a better percentage [of students vaccinated] on campus to release some restrictions.” Alldis also foresees masks will still need to be worn indoors in some places and testing will still exist in some capacity, at least initially. While the College is still deciding which of these precautions are needed to support this coming capacity shift, Residential Life is reacting to this drastic change as it relates to dorms and housing. “We thought at first we were still going to have to be a little limiting with numbers, because we were nervous about using triples and we were nervous about using suites,” Alldis explained. “Then, the College made the decision to mandate the vaccine and a lot of our fears went away. … We saw improvements coming because the vaccine had been distributed and because more things were opening up on campus so we decided … we can use triples, we can use suites, but we are holding apartments still mostly to offer as potential quarantine and isolation spaces if necessary. … There’s very few beds that will be offline, and we are hoping to have most students back and living on campus.” Alldis continued to explain that Residential Life is also going to be more flexible with some students living off but close to campus due to potential anxiety surrounding living in a dorm at the moment. She also stressed students are living near campus, not at home, because all classes are returning to in-person in the upcoming year, though the College is trying to be as accommodating to students’ needs as possible. Another change to the 2021-22 housing situation was the timing of the housing lottery. Currently, the
housing lotteries for seniors begin June 22 and single housing lotteries for juniors begin June 25. “Typically we do the housing lottery in April but we were still figuring out some of the plans, and we wanted to do it a little later this year, so if things shifted, we were only doing one housing process instead of three, like last summer.,” Alldis said. Additionally, apartments weren’t a part of this year’s housing lottery. Although Gruen is now assigned her dorm, being an RA, she has had experience with the housing lottery previously. “My advice,” Gruen said, “is if you like the building you are living in, you are going to like the room.” She also suggests decorating your room, as it can help it feel like a home. Gruen mentioned other tips, such as saving all the rooms you like while being open to rooms in other dorms as well, to consider that there can be too big a room (because it may get lonely) and finally, being completely honest on the roommate survey. “I had really good luck on the [roommate] survey,” Gruen said. “Because both me and my roommate wrote an absurd amount in our description, like way too much, but what ended up coming from that was that we were both compatible, and that worked out really well for me and we are still good friends.” Gruen continued, “People have a mentality of ‘oh, I’m not that messy’ or ‘oh, I don’t need to be friends with my roommate,’ but if that is something that you have been picturing … and that is something that is important to you, then make sure you say it is. Please, please don’t lie on your roommate form; if you know you’re messy, then say you’re messy.” “My best piece of advice,” Alldis said, “is to be open to all of the residence halls, because you can be a part of shaping the community and atmosphere that you want.”
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SPORTS
June 21, 2021
. Mount Holyoke News
US begins Olympic trials despite calls to cancel Tokyo games BY GIGI PICARD ’22 SPORTS EDITOR
As the COVID-19 vaccine rollouts continue, the sports world has turned its focus onto the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. Last year, the 2020 Olympic games were postponed until 2021 because of the pandemic. Since workout facilities had to shut down, the Olympic hopefuls needed to find a way to stay in shape. Some athletes were able to rely on home gyms, while others came up with creative alternatives depending on their sport. One climber made use of their kitchen and basement. While the athletes have put hard work into their own training, COVID-19 cases in Japan surged in April, leading to more calls to cancel the Olympic Games. With 88 days until the Olympics, Insider reported in late April that Japan had around a “seven-day average of 4,772 new cases per day,” an increase of over 3,700 compared to the beginning of March. The New York Times posted that nearly 80 percent of the Japanese public desire another postponement or cancellation of the Olympics. In May, Reuters stated that an official partner of the Tokyo Games, the Japanese newspaper publisher Asahi Shimbun, agreed with the public’s calls to cancel the Games over public safety concerns in a written editorial. At the time, Reuters reported only a little over 5 percent of people in Japan were given vaccina-
getting and spreading COVID-19 variants and should avoid all travel to Japan.” Despite the surge in COVID-19 cases and protests for cancellation of the games, countries like the United States and Australia have decided to move forward with their Olympic trials. The United States began men’s and women’s swimming, diving and wrestling trials in late spring 2021. At this time, the Olympics are scheduled to start on July 23 and end on Aug. 8, 2021. The New York Times reported that the International Olympic Committee indicates the Games will go on, but with no foreign spectators. For those interested in keeping track of any United States Olympic trials, refer to the box.
ENVIRONMENTAL Photo courtesy of WikiMedia Commons The 2021 Olympics are scheduled to start on July 23 in Tokyo, Japan.
tions, and the country had about 719,000 infections and 12,394 deaths. Based on the circumstances in Japan, CBS Sports shared a statement by the Centers for Disease Control advising United States residents to avoid going to Japan: “Because of the current situation in Japan even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for
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Australia, a judge cautioned the government against a proposed coal mine expansion, saying they needed to ensure the mine wouldn’t harm the health of local children. In Peru, Saúl Luciano Lliuya, a farmer, is currently suing a German energy company for their responsibility in fueling global warming. Lliuya argues that the greenhouse gas emissions from the German energy company were to blame for the melting of the Palcaraju glacier that is causing the increase of water levels in Lake Palcacocha. The increase in the lake’s water level threatens to flood his home and many others nearby. Germany’s supreme court is also pushing the government to toughen climate goals to protect future generations. Domestically, fossil fuel companies are struggling with shareholders looking to move away from fossil fuels. At its annual shareholder meeting, Exxon Mobil faced pressure to move away from oil and gas for financial reasons. Chevron shareholders also asked the company to reduce their emissions and those produced by customers that use Chevron. Shareholders across the industry are doubtful companies will continue to profit without phasing out oil and gas. As pressures on corporations and governments increase through legislation and the court systems, committed individuals and citizen groups are leading the charge. Actions taken against fossil fuels have been inspired by or credited to small groups of people — for example, the Australian coal mine expansion was challenged by eight teenagers and an 86-year-old nun. The future of the climate crisis is increasingly in the hands of people from diverse backgrounds.
June 21, 2021
. Mount Holyoke News
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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Open Letter to Student Financial Services Summary: Asking Student Financial Services to increase student support and number of student services, recommending the creation of an SFS community liaison staff position, encouraging collaboration with student organizations, urging the Division of Student Life to bring Financial Wellness under Be Well and demanding that students have a larger advisory role in the admissions and financial aid process. Dear Mount Holyoke community, We, the Executive Board of the Student Government Association of Mount Holyoke College, stand with those students who expressed disappointment in Student Financial Services’ lack of whole-hearted accountability for the harm that they have caused through their insensitive and racist practices. Concerns have been raised most vocally by students who identify as being first-generation college students, low-income and/or people of color. Based on feedback from students, concerns raised in Senate and messages sent to the SGA Executive Board, the following points are outlined: Students have raised concerns to the SGA E-Board about receiving insufficient support from Student Financial Services. We would like to amplify the voices of first generation and low-income students, BIPOC students and international students in particular who have shared their frustrations and concerns. We stand with those students who have consistently reported the lack of respect, insensitivity and forceful and/ or disrespectful tone of Student Financial Services staff and call for a fundamental, palpable and urgent change to how the Office conducts itself and engages with students, the group of people that the Office is designated to serve and support. The Executive Board has also received feedback
regarding a lack of services offered from the Office of Student Financial Services. Part of the charge of the Office is to provide financial assistance and advice to the student body, and Financial Wellness is also listed under the tenets of Be Well. There are not structures in place that empower students to be fully successful in navigating their financial aid package and plans. Therefore, the Student Government Association recommends that the Office of Student Financial Services creates an internal position especially designated as a role similar to that of a Community Liaison, potentially named a Financial Aid Counselor, in order to foster relationships and lines of communication with the student body. This role should not be assigned to a student worker, as the level of responsibility and labor would not be appropriate for a student worker. Additionally, it is important to note that financially-focused workshops can be quite intimidating to many students, which likely contributes to lack of engagement within these events. In response to this, the Executive Board asks that the Office pursue methods of collaboration with student organizations and groups so that students will be in a comfortable and familiar environment during these events. Moreover, we agree that offering online information and tools as well as including some form of introductory session during first-year orientation are also viable options. Lastly, we strongly urge the Division of Student Life to incorporate Financial Wellness, in collaboration with the Office of Student Financial Services, into the Be Well program. The purpose of Be Well is to provide students with “strategies and opportunities to create their own path to wellness,” because Mount Holyoke College believes that “the ability to thrive is founded on an active commitment and holistic approach to wellness … [for] today, tomorrow and always.” Findings from studies conducted with the
American Psychological Association and the World Health Organization, as confirmed by anecdotal evidence, demonstrate the negative impact that financial instability has on mental and physical health. Moreover, it is difficult to foster a healthy community and healthy lives if students must direct their time and energy into ensuring their financial security. Financial Wellness being brought under the Be Well umbrella would ensure that the necessary resources were made available and accessible to all students, especially marginalized groups, thus promoting a truly holistic, long-lasting wellness. Accountability with the Student Financial Services Office is an absolute necessity. The nature of the work done by this office has a direct and powerful impact on the livelihoods of Mount Holyoke students. As such, students must have a voice within this office and a stake in shaping the financial aid process. Feedback from students, concerns raised in Senate and messages sent to the SGA Executive Board include the following asks: • •
• •
Clear, consistent and direct communication about the financial aid process before attending, as a current student and after graduation Disaggregating the College Standing Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid into two committees, one on Admissions and the other on Financial Aid, each with a minimum of four student representatives Increased specialized support for international students Including, but not limited to, multilingual resource guides and materials focused on financial aid terminology CONTINUED ON PAGE 15
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
June 21, 2021
. Mount Holyoke News
Open Letter to the Mount Holyoke Community: Solidarity with Save Gorse and Demanding Restructuring of Shared Governance Dear Mount Holyoke community, We, the Executive Board of the Student Government Association of Mount Holyoke College, stand against the closing of the Gorse Childcare Center and in solidarity with our staff, faculty, students and South Hadley community members affected by this decision. We are thankful that the College has chosen to extend their contract with Bright Horizons for one year, giving affected families guaranteed childcare during that time. As an advocacy group, we applaud the work of students, staff, alums, faculty, community members and everyone else who rose against the closing of Gorse and pushed for this action. It was this communal organizing effort that made these changes happen. However, we also recognize that this is a temporary solution. As long-term conversations begin, it is crucial that the principles of shared governance are at the forefront. This is a decision that will impact the entirety of the Mount Holyoke community, therefore the interests of all community groups must be incorporated into the decision-making process. Based on the concerns expressed by faculty, alums, staff and students, the SGA Executive Board outlines the following recommendations: First, the College stated that the decision to close Gorse was based largely on financial equity, citing that members of the local community and the staff were disproportionately unable to afford to use the center. It is imperative that the data, facts and figures that were used in drawing this conclusion be shared with the Mount Holyoke community at large in order to promote transparency. We believe that any equity statistics should be made available to the community, so that equity can be investigated and centered in talks about the future of Gorse. Keeping Gorse open, but only for select community members who can pay exorbitant fees, is not acceptable. Second, as a shared-governance institution, when a significant decision needs to be made pertaining to life at Mount Holyoke, representatives from the groups that would be impacted most must be brought in for consultation and discussion. As equal members
of this community, we are all stakeholders in one way or another. This includes, but is not limited to: • • • •
•
Parenting staff, students, faculty and locals who will be without childcare, Students who will lose the opportunity to teach or study in the center, Local children and families who have built communities at Gorse, BIPOC faculty and staff that Mount Holyoke employs who found a much-needed community within a majority-white area and at a predominantly white institution Gorse staff whose job security is threatened.
The lives of all of these groups have effectively been destabilized in the middle of one of the most intense periods of public health, political and economic instability in recent history. Third, there must be comprehensive redress of systematic issues in the way communication happens at Mount Holyoke. The closure of Gorse is not the first time that many have felt blindsided by a decision made behind closed doors and without any space for community feedback. Unilateral decisions undermine the foundation of trust our community is built on. Therefore, we strongly recommend a concentrated program of action be taken to institutionalize transparent, frequent and accessible communication. For this purpose, we ask the following: For real communication to occur before final decisions on issues are made. We have found that once plans are finalized, there is often no ability for community members to ask for changes. If communications included ideas and progress reports, then we could weigh-in during planning stages. If discussions of closing Gorse were shared earlier, then the community could have joined and changed the conversation before the closure was abruptly announced. As a community, we don’t want to just be told decisions: we want to be invited into the process of discussing them. For a change in the tone and style of college communications. In the SGA Senate, we have spoken
about the emails from multiple departments being curt, aggressive or condescending. With email being the main form of communication right now, we believe that solid time needs to be devoted to make emails inviting spaces that make students and other community members feel able to engage in conversation. That doesn’t necessarily mean cheery: we are also looking for the college to meaningfully acknowledge when information is complicated, disappointing or traumatic instead of sugar-coating it. Burying the announcement of Gorse’s closure in the middle of a long update email — and barely including any information in the email itself — felt that the school was saying the closure was just a footnote. It didn’t give space or time to explain, engage or acknowledge the emotional impact of such a decision. With these points having been made, we call on Mount Holyoke College to expand its definition and practice of shared governance. As of right now, shared governance seems to take three main forms: • • • • • • • •
Being polled in a survey, from which the results and action steps are rarely shared Being part of an exclusive list of 2-3 students on a committee as observers, not decision-makers Individual students sending emails to possibly-relevant administrators often receiving a short or vague response to their concerns The fact is none of these are true shared governance. The SGA Executive Board understands shared governance to be: A network of decision-making rather than separate lanes, Sustained and genuine conversations between all facets of the community, A system where all key groups have decision-making power, in addition to advising each other, Beginning at representation, which serves as CONTINUED ON PAGE 15
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June 21, 2021
. Mount Holyoke News
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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Letter to Lynn Jacobson ’54 Dear Lynn Jacobson, I am very honored to be chosen for a riding scholarship award here at Mount Holyoke College for the spring 2021 semester mod 2. I am currently a sophomore double majoring in computer science and mathematics, I work as a linear algebra teaching assistant and I am the class of 2023 Social Chair. Besides my schoolwork, I like to nourish my unconditional love for horses with riding classes, and I would like to share some aspects of my passion in the following paragraphs. The most important lessons horses teach us are not the most evident and usually have little to do with riding. But even as a fairly new rider, I know that they are usually the most impactful. Horses teach us how to communicate. Unlike humans, they cannot really process and analyze our words. Rather, they respond to our body language, our tone, our sounds and our actions. They are fascinating in the sense that they are a perfect reflection of what we convey. Most often than not, if a horse does something unexpected, it is because the rider is doing something incorrectly. Perhaps using the reins too much or applying more pressure with one leg. Twizzler, one of my favorite horses, usually responds to the slightest stimuli. The first time I rode him, I got upset about him not listening to me, but later I found out that he was probably listening a lot more than I thought, and that I was simply not aware of my body and demeanor! That interaction with Twizzler completely changed my perspective on some of my relationships, especially with my family members. I now take time to acknowledge my faults when I miscommunicate, or when I sometimes offend or hurt my loved ones without really realizing it. At the barn, I also learned to let my guard down and to allow myself to be vulnerable, which completely went against my instincts at first. But one cannot lie to a horse. If I am nervous, my horse will feel the stiffness of my spine or the tightness of my thighs on the saddle. Even if I try to lie to myself, the horse will know the truth. And, if I don’t put down the walls I built to be more genuine, I won’t gain the pony’s trust. After all, why would he give up control if I don’t? Another inestimable piece of wisdom I picked up when I started riding is the importance of enjoying the present. Horses do not care about who I will be in the
future, or who I was in the past. They care about who I am now, and, more specifically, what I am doing now. If I am unhappy about something that will happen after my riding class, the horse I am riding will feel my anger, and might even get unmanageable. So, I learned how to stop, breathe and be mindful of the present moment. Most importantly, horses showed me what forgiveness truly looks like. No other being can let go of yesterday as ponies do. The other day, I was doing a figure eight in class with a horse named Scout. My instructor drew a big “X” in the middle of the arena to mark the middle of the figure. It seemed that Scout was aware of the plan and willing to engage in the activity when he suddenly saw the X shape on the floor, halfway through the loop. He got extremely scared and probably thought “Help! What is this dangerous shape on the floor!” And as many horses do when they spook, he threw a tantrum and started running everywhere. He was panicked for a moment, until I brought him back down with some soft talking. Then, I carefully took him to take a closer look at the cross, and he eventually understood that it was harmless. We then proceeded to complete the figure, with no grudges held against the evil shape. What I took away from that lesson is to know when to move on. When life puts a scary X shape on my path, I am now able to reevaluate my plans and face things again without being haunted by my past. I should also mention that the horses, as well as the equestrian community at Mount Holyoke, are like my family away from home and that they helped me tremendously with my mental well-being going through the COVID-19 pandemic. They gave me purpose and reasons to keep going during these difficult times, and I would have never made it this far without them. Riding horses in college was probably the best decision I have ever made. With them, I am becoming the best version of myself, and for that, I am forever grateful for your generous gift, for it made this learning experience possible for me this year. Sincerely, Marwa Bouabid Class of 2023 April 20, 2020
Increased specialized support for Black, Indigenous and Students of Color Increased specialized support for First-Generation, Low-Income students
We conclude that in order to restore a bond of trust between the department and the student body, Student Financial Services must own up to past mistakes and issue a genuine apology to the members of our community who have been negatively affected by the department’s words and actions. After evaluating the concerns brought forward by the student body, we believe that there can be no forward progress for the department without full goodwill acknowledgment of all past insensitivities to the needs of our students as the first step towards all efforts to address the lack of respect and services provided to the student body. I, on behalf of the Student Government Association, invite any members of the Mount Holyoke community to join me in this conversation. Sincerely, Jane Kvederas, SGA Chair of Senate On behalf of the SGA Executive Board April 28, 2021
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a stepping stone to integration, Proactive collaboration, rather than reactive.
The bottom line is: students, faculty and staff need to be welcomed and treated with respect and authority in advisory and decision-making spaces. And, more of us need to be allowed into these spaces. We believe there is not a single Mount Holyoke community member who does not deserve power over their experience. Getting a few students in the room is an important step towards shared governance, but it is not enough. There are a limited number of perspectives that any group of two to four Mount Holyoke students can provide. Some student perspectives will inevitably be missed, and those in the room often face immense pressure to try and represent all students. The topic of shared governance is a frequently discussed topic at Mount Holyoke. Students, staff and faculty have all identified similar issues with the decision making process, and are asking for institutional change. While our needs are distinct, we stand in coalition with one another. We invite any members of the Mount Holyoke community to join us in this conversation. Thank you, The SGA Executive Board