And The Kids has certainly been busy since their 2016 release of “Friends Share Lovers.” The band — consisting of Hannah Mohan on vocals and guitar, Rebecca Lasaponaro on drums and Megan Miller on synthesizers and percussion — opened for Blondie at MASS MoCA and have made appearances in the Paste Magazine studio and NPR’s “Tiny Desk” concert series. Now, the Northampton group is back with their third LP, “When This Life Is Over,” in which they continue to explore the complexity of human connection.
THE SOPHIAN
Emily Ehrensperger ’21 | Assistant Arts Editor
Fresh off of her debut tour through Europe, singer Madison McFerrin performed songs from her two recent EPs on Saturday, Feb. 23, in Sweeney Concert Hall. The daughter of music legend Bobby McFerrin (among his many accomplishments the song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”), she exhibited her own unique style that explored soulful, sensual a cappella through electronic looping.
This past Friday, I attended “Night at Your Museum 2019,” hosted by the Smith College Museum of Art. The event could be described as a party, an art exhibit and an educational experience combined.
Capricorn: creating impossible expectations for the people around them
I have been away from Smith for nine months now. At first, it was hard to watch everything go on without me. I constantly checked my house’s Facebook group, watched my friends’ Instagram stories and tried to keep up with all the little things going on around campus.
She spent a month in federal prison for protesting at a submarine base. She counseled 2,000 conscientious objectors during the Vietnam War. She was personally thanked by Nelson Mandela for her work on his behalf.
Every year, the Pioneer Valley Central Labor Council hosts a “Legislative Breakfast”: an event where community members discuss their concerns over labor issues with legislative leaders and lawmakers. With events like these, the Labor Council strives to become a more inclusive and representative union of all members of the Pioneer Valley.
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.
Chantelle Leswell ‘20J | Staff Writer
We’re getting to that point in the semester where the first round of big assignments are hitting, the melting snow is leaving slush piles and black ice is everywhere. And is it just me, or is the big hole in the middle of campus getting bigger? For some of us, resolve may already be slipping. That doesn’t mean we can’t push through, but wouldn’t it be sweet if the semester wasn’t just about surviving? Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of “The How of Happiness,” puts it bluntly: “It’s equally important to investigate wellness as it is to study misery.” That’s worth pausing over. Holding both of these parts of the human condition with equal importance forces us to confront our self-concepts and how we act in our daily lives. My theory is that, generally, we wallow a little too much in the “misery” camp when we ought to be erring on the side of wellness, and leaning into moments of joy can really start to optimize our wellbeing.
After two years of hard work, the experiences of this year’s cohort of candidates for the MFA in Choreography and Performance culminated in a thesis concert presented Thursday, Feb. 7, Friday, Feb. 8 and Saturday, Feb. 9, in Theatre 14, Mendenhall Center for the Performing Arts. Centered around the theme of “We,” each candidate’s piece examined the concept in a myriad of unique and captivating ways.