In January 2019, Daniel Hect was hired as the new campus police chief for the joint campus police departments of Mount Holyoke and Smith.
Posts published in “Campus”
In the past few weeks, a printed screen-cap of an anonymous Facebook post criticizing a union change that was proposed by Smith last month has been seen around campus.
Hanne Gaukel ’19 participated in the Springfield Bound during her sophomore year at Smith. She came across the opportunity through an introductory course with the community engagement department. For Gaukel, the most memorable part of the Bound was getting to know Gardening the Community, a food justice organization.
Divest Smith hosted a panel discussion titled “Climate Justice and Migration” last Friday afternoon in the Campus Center, led by Gabriella Della Croce ’11 and Andrea Schmid ’17 from the Pioneer Valley Workers Center and Professor Rick Lopez from Amherst College. Friends greeted each other as more chairs were pulled out to seat a full audience from both the Five College and greater Northampton communities. Conversation centered on the enormous effects of climate change on marginalized groups.
Prompted by the incident July 31, the College announced new Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Initiatives Jan. 30. College Relations reports: “The college has taken action in policing policies and training, employee training and cross-campus education focused on culture change.”
Last week, an interview was held with Endi Mato ’19 to discuss a new group in the Consulting Club called the Startup Consulting Group, which is focused on networking, marketing, business management and finance
In December, the college released an update to its Inclement Weather Policy: “As of this academic year, no classes will be held while the college’s administrative offices are closed.” This change was initiated by the Faculty Council, the Office of the Provost and Dean of Faculty.
The Smith College Jandon Center for Community Engagement recently welcomed Xie Xianxiu AC ’18, a new Americorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America). Xie will be working closely with the Jandon Center, Holyoke STEM Academy and community organizations on assisting and connecting with mentoring programs and organizations that support first-generation students and underrepresented groups in STEM.
In light of the recent outbreak of bubonic plague on Smith College’s campus, President Kathleen McCartney sent out an email detailing when vaccinations and treatments will be available to the Smith community. The response from the community has been generally positive, at least, from those who have read it.