This fall, Rachel Simmons worked with coaches in the athletic department retreat at the beginning of the semester. Kristin Hughes said, “I thought some of her messages, especially as they related to failing, could be really powerful for our student-athletes as well.” Hughes added: “Handling failure is as much a part of the athletic experience as is winning. So, building skills and a mentality that allow you to grow from it and not be stopped by it is really significant. And Rachel is a former athlete and has a great delivery and connection with students.” Simmons was eager to take on a project at Smith and had been looking to collaborate with different departments. She thought that a team dynamic would be a perfect way to work regularly with Smith students and pitched her idea for the “Failing Well” series to the athletic director and the coaches.
THE SOPHIAN
On Jan. 19 and 20, the Smith swimming and diving team competed in the Seven Sisters Championship along with Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Vassar and Wellesley. Smith finished third with 511 points, ahead of Mount Holyoke and Bryn Mawr and behind Wellesley and Vassar. Wellesley took first place with 1334.5 points, and Vassar ranked second with 983.5 points. Mount Holyoke snagged fourth with 483 points, while Bryn Mawr closed out the ladder with 295 points.
Olivia Handoko ’21 | News Staff Writer
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.
Amanda Jiang ’20 | Jandon Center Student Fellow
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.
Emma Kemp ’20 | Assistant News Editor
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.
Claudia Olson ’22 | Features Editor
This weekend, I went to UMass Amherst and attended Hack(H)er 2019, the first hackathon exclusively for women and non-binary students in Western Massachusetts. For those unfamiliar, a “hackathon” is what it sounds like: a computation marathon. Teams are expected to create something from scratch using computers, whether their creation takes the shape of hardware, software or a website. The teams are given 24 hours to get their project done, and often teams use all 24 of those hours. Over 300 students attended the hackathon, a signal that the tech world could be becoming more equitable in terms of gender.
Simran Altar ’21 | Features Staff Writer
As we enter the fourth week of classes, I can only assume that most of us are prematurely beginning to feel the mid-semester slump that inevitably affects us all at one point or another. We’ve sailed through syllabus week and are now faced with the the reality of endless readings and essays and presentations.
Emma Stewart ’19 | Contributing Writer
At the Kensington International School in Springfield, Mass., 23 Smith tutors are working with children from nine different countries. Around the classroom you can hear students and tutors speaking several different languages. Tutors are encouraged to learn some basic phrases in Kiswahili and Arabic, such as “osha mikono” (“wash your hands” in Kiswahili) or “ma asmak?” (“what’s your name?” in Arabic).
Happy Valentine’s Day. This is a happy day, isn’t it? It’s a day about love, after all. However, this day, like most other holidays, has become commercialized and all about what society thinks love should be. Every relationship is different, but under the banner of Valentine’s Day, the measure of a good relationship is how much money you spend on extravagant gifts.
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.