New & Notable

Frightening food--Dining services marked Halloween with a sickening but succulent selection of "horror d'oeuvres," including "boiled witches' fingers with dripping blood" (shrimp in cocktail sauce), "Dracula's drool" (marinara sauce), "bat wings" (skewered sesame tempeh), "blood and guts-filled coffins" (stromboli), "vampire skin with ghoulish ooze" (sliced turkey with curried apricot mayonnaise), "monster teeth" (sweet corn), "strained eyeballs" (deviled eggs), and "black widow spider" (poppy seed) bread and rolls. The munchie monikers were invented by Dina Bevivino, dining services administrative assistant; and Katie Gay, menu coordinator. Luckily, such frightening fare is only served one day a year; at some schools, all the food is kind of scary.

Translation, please--Lecturer in Russian Susan Scotto and three MHC students are spending time at the Plains Elementary School in South Hadley. Their mission: to help a newly arrived Russian kindergarten student learn the lingo of his new home. Scotto reports that the student's translators are Stephanie Peacock '98, Maria Arefieva '97, and Irina Chechko '00.

Rally round the flags--Students are distributing rainbow flag stickers or ribbons (symbolizing support for diversity) to all students' mailboxes in preparation for a campuswide rally on November 14. The rally, which is open to all members of the five college community, is intended as a show of support for the campus lesbian and bisexual community, and as a protest against homophobia. Organizers say the rally aims to raise campus awareness of homophobia, demonstrate the effectiveness of organizing against oppression, and acknowledge the importance of allied activism.

Back to the classroom--Professors Joseph Ellis, Christopher Benfey, and Rachel Fink each recently spent time presenting their work to a rather unusual group of students. Who were they? Fifty alumnae, friends, and parents who returned to campus for "A Weekend of Mount Holyoke," October 25 and 26. Perhaps you saw them around campus as they toured the CDC, lunched in Wilder, and heard talks from Ellis on Thomas Jefferson, Benfey on Edgar Degas, Fink on biology, and President Creighton on planning, among other activities. The event, hosted by Creighton, was an opportunity for some of Mount Holyoke's most generous supporters to reconnect with the College.

Mr. and Ms. Clean--Buildings and grounds cleaning staff were recently commended for their continuing excellent performance, according to B&G director Dave Collette. The College's cleaning consultant, Sanitation Systems, Inc., reported a 30 percent increase in the "productivity index" since the cleaning program was last revised, in 1987. The index recognizes a 15 percent increase in the area covered by each cleaner, and another 15 percent rise in the measured level of cleanliness they achieve.

A larger volume of volumes--The Mount Holyoke Bookstore now has more ... books. Manager John Bowen said summer renovations provided extra space and handsome mahogany bookcases to house the expanded inventory and created a new browsing section where books by MHC authors are displayed. To make room for more books, the store reduced the amount of clothing it carried. The campus has responded well to the changes. In fact, Bowen said that by late October the store had already sold as many books as they had all of last year. He noted that the change was long overdue. "I was sick of people saying, 'This is the bookstore; where are the books?' Now it looks like a bookstore."

We want your news - Send items of interest to Emily Weir, Office of Communications, or email eweir@mtholyoke.edu.