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The Sophian

Northampton Municipal Elections 2023 Bring New Representatives to Local Government

Northampton residents cast their ballots for the municipal election on Nov. 7, 2023. At-large and ward City Council seats and positions for the Northampton School Committee were on the ballot, as well as positions on the Community Preservation Committee, Trustees of the Forbes Library, an Elector under the Oliver Smith Will, and Trustees of Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School. 

Reframing Success: Advocating for the Inclusion of Piper Kerman ’92 in Smith College’s Notable Alum List

Smith has a long and robust list of notable alums, a list about which the College frequently boasts. The Campus Center was recently named after Julia Child ’34. Just last year, Gloria Steinem ’56 visited John M. Greene Hall and spoke to students. The list includes CEOs, political figures, advocates, artists, actors and authors. One missing from this list is Piper Kerman ’92, author of the New York Times bestseller Orange is the New Black: My Year In A Women’s Prison

Navigating Careers in Government, International Affairs and Law & Policy with Heather Deland

In Aug. 2023, Smith College’s Lazarus Center welcomed Heather Deland, its first career specialist in law, government, policy and international affairs. Before joining the Smith community, Deland worked as the Internship and Career Coordinator at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass).

Cromwell Day 2023 Creates New Worlds with Art and Joy

Nov. 2 marked this year’s Cromwell Day, an annual celebration of Otelia and Adelaide Cromwell, the first Black graduate and first Black professor at Smith, respectively. The theme this year was “Finding Joy on Our Journey to Racial Justice,” adding to the semester’s focus on finding joy in sorrow while on the path toward justice. The Cromwell Day Committee — a group of students, staff, and faculty — decided on this theme together, which gave a sense of continuity after poet Ross Gay’s visit in September.

The Autumnal Lovers’ Lament

It’s cuffing season and, at long last, I am cuffed. After struggling through a summer filled with pangs of yearning and many long-distance FaceTime calls, I feel so lucky to be on the same campus as my partner once again. But, as the leaves begin to turn and Smithies start to bring their coziest grandpa sweaters out of hibernation, I am once again reminded that it is, in fact, cuffing season, and I want to be cuffed in the cutest, most domestic, most gay-girl-autumn way possible. 

Responding to Silence

On Feb. 28, 2022, the Smith College Provost Office released a statement titled “Responding to the Invasion of Ukraine.” The letter unequivocally labeled the events of Feb. 24, 2022 an invasion, which was urgently condemned and its “humanitarian consequences” recognized. The statement was clear; there was no potential ambiguity, no room for doubt or misinterpretation. In this case, history didn’t seem complicated and the conversations weren’t difficult. The discourse was not a mere clash or the latest episode in the convoluted conflict between Russia and Ukraine; it was unmistakably an invasion.

Editorial For Elkins and Perry: 

Dear Dedicated Sophian Readers,  We are proud to present our October publication, the second print edition of the year. With the Northampton municipal elections coming…

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