Amid a flurry of executive actions in the weeks following his inauguration, U.S. President Donald Trump has taken unprecedented steps toward reducing the federal government’s budget by cutting an estimated $4 billion in federal research funding. This decision is a heavy blow to the National Institute of Health which, according to its website, acts as the “largest single public funder of biomedical and behavioral research in the world.”
Content Warning: This article discusses transphobia.
Transgender women can no longer compete on collegiate women’s sports teams, including varsity teams at Mount Holyoke College, due to a new trans participation policy from the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The rule, which the NCAA announced on Feb. 6, bars student-athletes “assigned male at birth” from competing on NCAA women’s teams, but allows them to continue practicing on women’s teams and to “receive all other benefits applicable to student-athletes.”
On Jan. 29, students made their way to Mount Holyoke College President Danielle R. Holley’s house on College Street, across the road from the gates of the College. Holley opened her doors for all Black students, faculty and staff to enjoy food and drinks provided by the Willits Hallowell Conference Center & Hotel and for a chance to be in community with one another. This event was entitled "Still I Rise: A Black Solidarity Reception" as a part of the Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King Series on Racial Justice and Reconciliation.
On the afternoon of Jan. 24, 2025, students sitting on the third floor of the Blanchard Hall watched as a security camera was partly installed above the doorway on the east-facing staircase. The new camera, one of several installed in the building, came as part of Mount Holyoke College’s plan to expand its security camera program throughout the year.