The Abbreviated College
What is the name of our college? Is it Mount Holyoke? Or is it Mt. Holyoke? Is it both? Does it matter? For many of my generation, Miss Harriet Newhall was the face of Mount Holyoke College. She told us never, never to abbreviate “Mount” to “Mt.” It simply was wrong. Unfortunately, with the Internet, we now have mtholyoke.edu everywhere. I think the integrity of our college name was sacrificed to save a few keyboard strokes; perhaps mhc. edu would have been a better abbreviation if that were the intent. Mine is a serious question provoked by a slide I recently saw in a presentation at Yale. Our college was shown as Mt. Holyoke, and I cringed a bit. Does the college now approve of that abbreviation in print or only on the Internet?
Barbara Blanco Gaab ‘60
New Haven, Connecticut
[Editor’s note: Miss Newhall would no doubt be pleased to know that Mount Holyoke is used in all college communications. (Mt. Holyoke refers to the mountain, not the college.) Our Web address is mtholyoke.edu, but mhc.edu is already in use by another institution.]
Born Gay, Sister
It just rips my heart apart to read a homophobic letter such as the one Lenora Castles Bryant ’64 sent to the winter 2008 Quarterly. Her reaction to the Jolene Fund (which aids gay Mount Holyoke students who have been cut off from funding by their parents) is not unexpected, simply disappointing and cruel.
One doesn’t choose to become gay. One is born gay. Throughout history there have been gay people who have chosen to live straight lives but at great mental and emotional cost. No one is forcing Ms. Bryant to live the life she has chosen; no one is insisting that she become gay. Why can’t she allow others the same kind of freedom to live an honest, open life?
At Mount Holyoke, one gets a full view of what she terms “both sides” of the sexual orientation question. I always found Mount Holyoke to be strongly “straight” oriented. And I am outraged that she suggests that only straight people face “real” dilemmas. Gays also work, have families, have children, own homes, meet mortgages, put their children through school, and take care of their elderly parents.
Ms. Bryant would throw away those young women who suddenly find themselves without support at Mount Holyoke. What a waste of potential! I suggest that anyone with true family values consider contributing to the Jolene Fund. It embraces what some might consider the more uncommon of Mount Holyoke’s uncommon women. It shows that no one is disposable. The sisterhood of Mount Holyoke is surely strong and thoughtful and charitable enough to embrace all its members.
Pamela Thiele ’70
Lakewood, Colorado
[Editor’s note: See the "comments" section of this site for more comments on this topic.
Ethical Nepal
I was excited to see the article “Doing Well by Doing Good” (fall 2007 Quarterly), but was disappointed that I missed the opportunity to promote my work.
Himalayan Techies (www.himalayantechies.com) is an offshore software development company I founded in 2000 in Katmandu, Nepal. I moved here, after adopting the first of my two Nepali children, so that I could more easily “make a difference.” My company is dedicated to private-sector job creation; we employ educated Nepalis who would otherwise have to leave the country to find meaningful work.
Foreign employment, and the resulting foreign remittances, is the single largest contributor to Nepal’s economy. This, in a country struggling to retain values such as multigenerational families living under one roof. Himalayan Techies is doing its bit to help Nepal retain its unique cultural identity while engaging in the global economy. Living in a part of the world in which aid money calls the shots, I am passionate about for-profit development. Himalayan Techies is living proof that this model works.
We write software, under contract, for small to midsized companies in America and the United Kingdom. Generally, the work would not be done at all if prevailing local wages had to be paid, so we are creating jobs, not stealing them. Significantly, our developers learn how to operate and thrive in an American-style entrepreneurial organization. They learn to question plans and processes proposed by our clients, and me. This translates into a sense of having more power in society. Many of our developers are now actively involved in not-for-profit initiatives outside HT, using their newfound voices to build a better Nepal, and so a better world.
Ellie Skeele ’75
Katmandu, Nepal
What’s Wrong With Me?
It’s alienating enough when you know something is wrong, health-wise; it’s worse when your concerns are dismissed. Hopefully, during Kara Baskin’s odyssey for answers (“Fear Itself,” fall 2007 Quarterly), she did not come across attitudes such as, “What you’re looking for is a doctor who will tell you what you want to hear.” That comment from a medical doctor did not stop my searches, despite my debilitated state. Like Kara, I too, pored over Web sites, even subscribing to Medscape for the latest on osteoporosis—one of the manifestations of my condition. Finally, I found a new family physician who read my lab reports with care, discovering the underlying cause of several issues. Now in my third year of revisions, with proper attention to complications and better nutritional guidance, I’m aiming to fully function again someday. Kara’s article should help those debilitated by little-understood conditions, or by medical inattentiveness. It should also inspire those who persist in seeking solutions when something is not quite right.
Sydney Hedderich ’74
Toronto, Canada
Outsourcing Child Study?
Today I received the news that the College is revamping its children’s services, which in effect will change the quality of programming for MHC students studying in the Psychology and Education Department as well as for the children and families attending. I have been following the discussions from afar with interest since I have been an MHC student in the program, a parent of children attending the Gorse Child Study Center, and a teacher at Gorse. I know intimately the quality of the programming that Gorse provides for both students and children.
I am so disappointed to hear that the program will be “outsourced.” Our college will be losing a program that is unique and serves the students in ways that will not be able to be replicated. Surely there is a way for the college to avoid following in the footsteps of major corporations that consolidate services to the detriment of the consumer.
Suzannah Heard FP’77
Arrowsic, Maine
[Editor’s note: For details on the college’s decision, see the brief in Campus Currents; more comments about Gorse are online at alumnae.mtholyoke.edu.]
New Letters Policy
We continue to welcome letters for the printed Quarterly. In addition, readers are encouraged to post their comments to the Quarterly’s online “blogazine.” Letters for which we don’t have room in the printed magazine will be posted online. In turn, comments from the blogazine may be published in the printed magazine, as space permits.
The editors will edit correspondence for accuracy and clarity and to meet space needs.
Three ways to share your thoughts:
- POST COMMENTS on the blogazine (click on “add/view comments.”)
- SEND AN E-MAIL to associate editor Mieke Bomann at mbomann@mtholyoke.edu.
- MAIL A LETTER to Mieke Bomann, Alumnae Quarterly, Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College, 50 College St., South Hadley, MA 01075-1486.
No More Shame
I found the fall Quarterly both relevant and engaging, and especially appreciated “My Struggle with Panic Disorder,” by Kara C. Baskin ’00. I, too, lived a life crippled by panic disorder starting from a very early age.
For me, the breaking point came on Christmas night 1999 when I found myself pregnant, and trapped in a too-small house with too many family members and a feeling of total and complete helplessness. I had nowhere to go, nowhere to hide, and no way to talk myself out of accepting the disease that I had spent years shrugging off.
After four of the longest and most sleepless days and nights of my life— when the very effort of living seemed more than I could bear—I sought the help of a psychiatric professional. And after many, many sessions of therapy, and the blessed introduction of Zoloft, I learned to live with my anxiety.
Was it easy? No. Was it worth it? Yes. Am I ashamed to admit that I need a chemical to survive? Never. I would be more ashamed if I continued to let my disease affect the people I love and who love me.
In fact, less than a year after I began my own therapy, I found myself bringing our then five-year-old son to his own behavioral therapy, something I might not have realized was so important had I not finally addressed my own issues. After three years of therapy for obsessive-compulsive/ anxiety disorder, we felt comfortable adding Zoloft to his mix of therapies. Now, at age thirteen, he is an incredibly wonderful and happy young man.
It is never too late, too early, or too shameful to seek the therapy, and yes, perhaps, the medication, that you need to live a life free of fear and anxiety.
Mary Nelligan Robbins ’87
Northborough, Massachusetts
Be a Government Watchdog
I was encouraged to learn that incoming students read a book on climate change, Elizabeth Kolbert’s Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change. This is an important topic about which everyone should be educated.
It is important to learn the science behind climate change, including its causes and effects. However, I wanted to remind [people] that it is also important to follow what the government is doing to remedy the problem. Environmental issues are largely affected by government funding, and without money to fund research (for alternate sources of energy, for example) or legislators to write laws to modify the way things are currently done, it is much less likely that we can alter the course that scientists are predicting.
Please write to your senators and representatives to support climate change issues.
Sharon Sigethy Coughlin ’90
Boonton Township, New Jersey
Safety of Nanomaterials
We are proud that MHC women are leading the way in nanotechnology research, but we share concern with environmental health advocates that nanoparticles may pose substantial risk. Currently the commercial use of nanomaterials far outpaces research on their potential dangers. In 2006, only 4 percent of the approximately $1 billion federal budget for nanotechnology research was allocated to examine their health and environmental effects.
Scientific studies show that the small size of nanoparticles permits greater access to body tissues and organs where they could cause harm. Studies in animals indicate that some inhaled nanomaterials pass easily from the nose to the brain and from lungs into the bloodstream. Alarmingly, these particles are already found in many everyday consumer products like cosmetics and food storage containers, but their safety is still in question.
Unfortunately, the U.S. government has a poor history of regulating potentially harmful technologies and allows many toxic materials—including asbestos—to be used in consumer products. This new generation of nanotechnology requires a precautionary regulatory framework instead of outdated laws that allow harm to our health. New regulations on consumer products containing silver nanoparticles, passed in 2006, are a good first step, but we should not stop there.
We are proud that MHC women are leading the way, but we will be more proud to hear that they are assessing the safety of this new technology before celebrating it. We agree that nanotechnology has exciting implications for medical and scientific advances, but believe that the risks of this new technology must be investigated.
Let the scholars and faculty at MHC take the lead on researching the safety of nanomaterials and making sure that we learn from the tragic history of asbestos, rather than repeating it.
Leise Jones ’01
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
Margaret Byrne ’04
Northampton, Massachusetts
Danielle Connor FP’06
Danvers, Massachusetts
The authors are current and former staff members of Clean Water Action, an environmental organization working to protect people from harm caused by toxic chemicals.
Don’t Tell, Don’t Talk?
I thought I’d share a (possibly) unanticipated reaction to the “Bulletin Board” story [fall] on the Jolene Fund for students whose lesbian orientation becomes known to their parents, who as a result cut them off. The following appeared on my husband’s Internet site www.thebirdman.org: “… Maybe the Jolenes would have found it cheaper to provide students with some tips on keeping their mouths shut. But then they wouldn’t want to encourage unnatural behavior, now would they?—Birdman”
My own reaction: If a young woman knows her parents won’t be able to handle the news after sounding them out on similar issues, then she can either remain quiet about it (after all, she might change her orientation later, even though it doesn’t feel like that at the time) or make a big deal of it. To make a big deal of it in that case makes it almost certain her funds will be cut off. (It is possible that her parents will want to provide her with an alternative education somewhere else, where she will be less “under the influence.” Maybe it would be only fair to give them a chance. And maybe a young woman who has reached this point is asking for help by the act of telling them.)
In any case, if things end up “exploding,” she is relying on the college (or rather, its benefactors) to bail her out. She is putting the college in the position of advocating freedom of sexual expression. There are some who would say that if the college is going to do that they should make sure the student knows “both sides” (much like the Darwin vs. creationist controversy). Maybe there should be a kind of “family values” curriculum depicting the various (real) dilemmas we encounter out here in the world, and the difference it makes which paths we take.
Lenora Castles Bryant ’64
South Pasadena, Florida
Corrections
In “Doing Well by Doing Good” in the fall Quarterly, Sheila Lirio Marcelo ’93 was incorrectly identified. She was entrepreneur-in-residence at Matrix Partners, a venture capital firm, when she developed Care.com and from which she secured funding. Before that, she was vice president and general manager at TheLadders. com.
Due to a typographical error, an incorrect date was given for the MHC tenure of Marjorie Kaufman. She was an English professor here from 1954 to the 1987–88 academic year.
No Guarantees
When I read Corinna Yazbek’s article “Coming Out About Class”(summer), I yelled out to my husband, “Yes! Finally someone knows how I feel!”
Coming from a working-class family to Mount Holyoke, I had to deal with class misperceptions. I had friends who didn’t understand why, when I had only $20 in my bank account, I couldn’t just call up my parents for more money. An adviser expressed confusion when I revealed that I had no idea what an independent study entailed; I had never attended a private school where an independent study was part of the curriculum.
I was willing to endure those little embarrassments because I fully believed that I would be leading a stable, middle-class life after I received my Mount Holyoke degree. However, in the seven years since leaving Mount Holyoke, I have ridden the highs and lows of the job market (and my savings account), from working in a cushy job at a university to a backbreaking job in retail. Like Yazbek, I think, “I didn’t go to Mount Holyoke to do this.”
Thank you, Corinna Yazbek, for telling those of us struggling that “a Mount Holyoke degree is no guarantee that we will never … have to do whatever it takes to earn enough money to survive … and this is all okay; it doesn’t mean we’ve failed.”
Gabriela Valdez Burgman ’00
Woburn, Massachusetts
Questioning Themselves
I truly enjoy every issue of the Alumnae Quarterly,but the articles by Katie Alton ’05 and Corinna Yazbek ’01 have prompted me to finally get off my duff to thank the Quarterlystaff for printing articles from fabulous young alums. It’s a joy to see these women questioning themselves, their surroundings, and their core beliefs. Young women like Katie and Corinna make me even more proud to be an MHC graduate!
Candy Moot ’75
Montpelier, Vermont
Limits to Tolerance
The summer Quarterly letter from Suzanne Corriell ’00 and Regis Ahern ’01 was a stunner.
Not living in the Boston area, I never saw the newspaper article about the undergraduate who has undergone gender reassignment surgery to become a male.
I have very much come to terms with the fact that the world is, by sexual persuasion, a very different place from what it may have been when I attended Mount Holyoke. From what I can figure out, there is a tolerance that is a credit to the institution.
However, I cannot agree more strongly with the writers that the young woman who is now a young man has absolutely no business attending Mount Holyoke. Without a doubt, the surgery was done after the kind of agonizing soul searching that very few of us have had to undergo. But Mount Holyoke’s alumnae and undergraduates have repeatedly made it plain that the college is to remain a woman’s college. I support the writers’ statement: “There is a limit to tolerance and acceptance; there is a point at which Mount Holyoke must demand that its mission be respected.”
Sylvia Smith Campbell ’52
Denville, New Jersey
… Or Not
I vehemently disagree with the viewpoints of Ms. Corriell and Ms. Ahern. Mount Holyoke is not going coed passively; it is providing a much-needed support network and a safe space for transgender students. Above all, a female-to-male transgender individual’s experiences as a woman are not erased just because she becomes a man.
Transgender students at MHC are going through the process of self-discovery while attending college. To force a student to leave during this period of gender exploration would be a terrible blow, forcing the student away from a wonderful and supportive community. In my opinion, it is the option of the student to decide whether or not to remain at a women’s college.
Mount Holyoke provides transgender students with a safe space. Those of you familiar with the story of Brandon Teena (a transgender youth killed in Humboldt, Nebraska, because of his gender identity) will recall that the outside world is not kind to those who transgress gender boundaries. There is not a limit to tolerance and acceptance. Mount Holyoke is a supportive place for transgender students and I am proud to have it as my alma mater.
Molly Hazelton ’02
New York, New York
Safety Issues for Big and Small
Two issues: First, I found the picture of the class of 2007 (summer) disturbing. Even with full views of only the first row and ends of rows, there appear to be a lot of overweight people in this picture! What is the college doing to encourage wellness, exercise, and healthy eating among students?
Second: The article on nanoscience says nothing about the very real safety issues inherent in nanomaterials. Exactly because of the exceptional ways in which nanoscale materials behave, there is an urgent need to ensure that we fully understand their effects on the human body, other organisms, and the environment as a whole before we employ them. Someone must develop extensive testing for the unintended effects before release of new nanomaterials. Such testing may require creative thinking, since common tests used for conventional materials (food, drug, and cosmetic tests) may not be sufficient. We must not let the market alone determine how nanomaterials are used.
Susan Bobbe Van Hemel ’65
Washington, D.C.
Fiftieth Reunion Class Remains at Reunion I
I write with important news about upcoming reunions. The Alumnae Association previously announced a new pilot program for reunion, to commence in 2008. We based the new format on the recommendations of our Reunion Ad Hoc Committee, which spent a year and a half gathering extensive alumnae feedback about reunion.
The committee, with board approval, recommended that we continue to hold Reunion I during commencement weekend. Classes would include the 2nd, 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, 70th, and 75th reunion classes. Reunion II would be held the following weekend, and would include the 30th through the 65th reunion classes. Classes were divided in this way in response to numerous surveys where you let us know you wanted reunion programming tailored to the specific preferences of your classes.
While the response to the new format was largely positive, a number of alumnae and students raised concerns. These focused primarily on the historic relationship between the 50th reunion class and the graduating class. This intergenerational legacy includes a 50th reunion class gift to seniors, the presence of the 50th class during the laurel parade, and social events between the two classes. After carefully considering the feedback, the Alumnae Association staff and board and the Ad Hoc Reunion Committee decided to move forward with the anticipated three-year pilot program with one significant change: we will keep the 50th reunion class in Reunion I.
The rest of the pilot program remains the same, and will feature enhanced programming based on your requests. Please keep in mind that the new format is an experiment.
Your feedback and comments will guide us in our future planning. In the meantime, here’s what to expect next year:
For classes fewer than 30 years out, we’ll offer practical programming, such as finance and career workshops, expanded programs for families and children, and opportunities to connect with professors and alumnae from other classes.
For classes more than 30 years out, we’ll create more opportunities for class socializing, and deepen the academic content of the Back-to-Class offerings, which will also include workshops on life and career transitions, health, retirement, and travel.
Each reunion will include class dinners and social hours, an alumnae parade and alumnae meeting, and Teen Scene. Each weekend will also offer a chance to meet with the college president. We are excited about creating special programming to celebrate and honor all generations of alumnae—and we look forward to seeing you next spring.
W. Rochelle Calhoun ’83
Executive Director, MHC Alumnae Association
I hesitate before jumping to conclusions over a secondary source. But it seems that Lowell Gudmundson’s grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities has led to a too-easy extrapolation (spring Quarterly). I’m referring to the application of his experiences, principally in Guatemala and Nicaragua, to a far broader territory.
One can no more generalize about Latin America than one can about Europe or Asia. Each country has a specific template, hammered over time by a unique set of forces. These, in Latin America, include geography; climate; indigenous cultures and their region-specific history; the types and origins of Iberians that conquered; the miscegenation that followed; the country-specific needs and works of an earlier Roman Catholic church; the slave trade from West Africa, brought in to help out or replace the subjugated natives; more miscegenation; centuries of political fireworks; and waves of immigrants, especially from the mid-nineteenth century on, mostly from Western Europe.
I defy Lowell Gudmundson to find Latin Americans who are unaware of the full spectrum of racial components in their country. It is a subject that is covered with no taboos in grade-school curriculums that are non-politicized, for the most part. In the meantime, I question enlightening “the natives” by applying the racial baggage of a very separate reality, meaning that of North America (Mexico excluded). I question using North America as a tether to justify racial psychology further south. And I question transferring “otherized” theories to regions where racial profiling has been neither as divisive nor as caustic as it has been in the history of the United States.
Cross-pollinating certain ideas can provoke interesting exchanges, when they aren’t intended to polarize. But are the effects an accurate depiction of reality, when grant dollars and publishing possibilities are primary motivators?
Sydney Hedderich ’74
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Lowell Gudmundson replies:
The views expressed above are shared by many students who take Afro-Latin America Since 1800. They continue to be held by many upon completing the course, with passionate and eloquent debates such as those suggested by Ms. Hederrich, enriching our semester together. However, the idea that these issues amount to a misguided pursuit of North American or US racial concerns in Latin America is an unfortunate misperception. Several generations of Latin American scholars and Afro-Latin American communities have built the foundations for the course, its issues, and an abundant literature. They are best reflected, perhaps, by the Colombian journal América Negra, now in its second decade of publication. For the English-language reader, the broadest introduction might be found in George Reid Andrews, Afro-Latin America, 1800–2000 (Oxford University Press, 2004); while our own goals for Central America are set out in greater detail on the project Web site, at:
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/latam/africania.html.
I envied Anne Sibley O’Brien’s chance (spring Quarterly) to relive student life at MHC— especially in the fall! But the historian in me is compelled to note that M&Cs referred to Milk and Crackers in the 1970s, not Milk and Cookies.
Grace Palladino ’75
Bethesda, Maryland
Here’s hoping that the process of comprehensive curriculum reform—so ambitiously spelled out in Section I of The Plan for Mount Holyoke 2010—is proceeding! This gargantuan undertaking was covered in the winter 2004 Quarterly article “What Does an Educated Woman Need to Know?”
Why is rethinking the curriculum important, when the College is doing well as reflected in record applications, large grants from prestigious foundations, and successful capital campaigns? It would maximize use of college assets—its fine faculty, unique global culture, strong physical plant (the campus), and productive administration—and create another one: a rigorous curriculum focused on preparing women to excel.
It would define what knowledge and capabilities MHC grads would have. Targeted outcomes would be made measurable. The college would be more accountable to all constituents: students, parents, faculty members, administrators, trustees, alumnae, and donors. Participants better able to identify what they support would be more willing to commit resources. It is also an opportunity for Mount Holyoke to lead in reform and distinguish itself from competitors.
More ominously, an era of increased measurement and accountability for public and private colleges is dawning. The bipartisan Commission on the Future of Higher Education, organized by Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, is working on requiring regional accreditation agencies to require colleges to adopt measures of academic proficiency, and compare data from similar colleges. Competition to attract top students may evolve into competition among colleges to demonstrate results.
Developing hardheaded proposals for what capacities graduates should have is exciting but terribly difficult. Harvard, with its enormous intellectual resources, has been struggling with undergraduate curriculum reform since 2002. And what happens when agreed-upon goals require different academic configurations from what exist now?
Implementing major curriculum reform would take years and would be painful. However, ten to twenty years from now, saying “trust us, you’ll get a fine education at Mount Holyoke,” may no longer suffice.
Laura Nixdorf Bernstein ’65
Lincoln, Massachusetts
We are writing in response to “When She Graduates as He,” published in The Boston Globe Magazine, and featuring Kevin Murphy, a Mount Holyoke student who has undergone gender reassignment surgery to become a male.
Mr. Murphy insists that people respect his lifestyle choices, and he is entitled to that respect. Similarly, all of the women, past and present, who have chosen to attend women’s colleges deserve the same respect for which Mr. Murphy clamors. It is hypocritical to demand respect for a lifestyle choice one has made while refusing to show respect for others’ choices. Simply put, Mr. Murphy and other men do not belong at Mount Holyoke College.
Part of Mount Holyoke’s mission is a “commitment to educating a diverse residential community of women at the highest level of academic excellence ...” This mission does not seek to promote the aims of men, nor should it. Mount Holyoke’s dedication to educating women is now being derailed by the efforts of those men seeking to take advantage of Mount Holyoke’s liberal and accepting atmosphere.
Students at women’s colleges seek to be educated in an environment that caters exclusively to the educational needs of women. Those students who undergo gender reassignment or self-identify as men must realize that once they decided to become men, they agree to forgo opportunities that they had as women. Becoming a man and remaining at a women’s college is analogous to renouncing your citizenship, yet expecting to maintain the benefits of citizenship.
There is a limit to tolerance and acceptance; there is a point at which Mount Holyoke must demand that its mission be respected. We are saddened by Mount Holyoke’s lack of conviction; but as long as Mount Holyoke continues to passively go coed, we will refrain from providing financial support to our alma mater.
Suzanne Corriell ’00
Iowa City, Iowa
Regis Ahern ’01
Orlando, Florida
