In the upcoming Northampton election, four candidates are vying for two City Council at-large seats.
On Nov. 7, four names will appear on the ballot for Councilor-at-Large: Incumbent Marissa Elkins, Ward 4 Councilor Garrick M. Perry, former city councilor David Murphy and former mayoral candidate Roy C. Martin.
Current city councilor Jamilia Gore will not be running for a second term in office. Gore was the first African American woman to hold the at-large seat.
The last time Ross Gay visited Smith College was in the fall of 2016 when he was drafting “The Book of Delights” which was published in 2019. Since then, the United States has plunged into a new political landscape and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forever altered the world.
After moving from Ghana to New York City four years ago, Ada Comstock Scholar Bernice Agyeiwaa found herself in search of a community. Intending to attend a graduate program for nursing, she began taking classes at Bronx Community College.
Thin Wyut Yi Nan ’27 lived what she describes as a “very privileged life” in her home country of Myanmar, a developing southeast Asian country. Nan attended an international high school, enjoyed private transportation and ate at expensive restaurants. However, her life was turned upside down two years ago when political upheaval with the overthrow of the country’s democracy by the military in a coup d’etat thrusted Myanmar into political upheaval. The rest of Nan’s time in her home country was more different than she ever imagined.
Due to recent redistricting, three incumbent Northampton School Committee members will be fighting for two at-large seats. The school committee seat is a two-year term and is chaired by Northampton Mayor Gina-Louise Scarria ’96.
When the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in a landmark 6-3 decision on June 29, 2023, colleges and universities across the country scrambled for a response. Months later, it is clear that institutions of higher education, including Smith College, are still struggling to find a way to ensure diversity.
For Barbara Kellum, Professor of Art, teaching at Smith College was “love at first sight.” She began teaching at Smith in the mid-1980s following the completion of her PhD at Harvard University. Moving to Cambridge for graduate school was her first experience on the East Coast as a California native, but she hasn’t looked back since, calling it a “revelation” to be here. This year, Kellum has been honored with the Sherrerd Prize for Distinguished Teaching.
When it was first announced that I was going to be the eleventh president, I was invited to campus while Carol Christ was president. There was an event in John M. Green, just like there was for Sarah, and I talked about college access and affordability. I think you might know (because I talk about it frequently) that I’m the first person in my family to go to college. My dad didn’t finish high school — he worked in a factory — and I’m just passionate about this. In order to have people like me on campus, it requires generous financial aid, so that was the one goal I came in knowing that I had.
On March 30, Helen Frank, MHC ’25, attended an annual department tea for the German Studies and Russian and Eurasian Studies departments at Mount Holyoke. Frank was looking forward to seeing classmates within her major that she had not seen that semester.
Tethering Groove, the Mount Holyoke dance department’s senior performance, showcases pieces choreographed by five students and featuring dancers of many backgrounds, even including dancers from other schools. The two-night dance performance garnered an audience from across the Five College Consortium as well — with students from Smith, Mount Holyoke, and UMass in attendance.
