This past Tuesday’s elections reminded me of two years ago, when my high school class in China was just as excited, if not more, about the U.S. presidential elections as were American voters. Months before the election, when the competition between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton within the Democratic Party was still going on, some of my classmates had already started a “presidential gamble,” in which I eventually lost twenty candy bars on Nov. 2.

I am amazed to find that of all my memories from my first year at Mount Holyoke, many of my funny experiences were suprisingly related to food.

After having successfully held “How to Create and Sustain Competitive Advantage in the Job Market” in March, a new club on campus, Women of Business, is launching its next program “Suit Yourself,” in order to satisfy Mount Holyoke women’s needs for business suits for interviews. Officially established this March, Women of Business is now co-chaired by Anna Hawthorne ’12 and Lingyue Yang ’12, both interested in business fields and planning to do investment banking after graduation. According to Hawthorne, she started making preparations for the inception of this club last semester. Yang later joined her as the co-founder of the organization.

From May 6-9, the Lyons equestrian team will be riding at Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. With a resounding victory at the Zone 1 Championships earlier this month, the Lyons secured their team title with a total of 47 points, finishing nine points ahead of second-place Stonehill College. This is the 19th time overall that the outstanding performances of the Mount Holyoke riding team have advanced them to the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) National Championships.

The story began three months ago, when search engine giant Google caused a controversy by threatening to quit China’s market. I was on my Renren, which is basically a Chinese version of Facebook, and saw that there were huge debates about the issue. Some supported Google, and some stayed on the government’s side. That was where I first encountered the word “Wumao,” which literally means “five cents” in English. It seemed to me that every time someone said something pro-government, others questioned if that person was a “Wumao.” I finally discovered what that bizarre word means—it was rumored that the government secretly hired bloggers to post comments and blogs in support of the government’s policies to influence public opinion, and they earned five cents for every comment they put up.

The warm, sunny afternoon last Saturday, April 3, was a perfect time for Mount Holyoke to hold its annual Track and Field Home Invitational. Gathering on the outdoor track and field complex with the Lyons were the Colby-Sawyer Chargers, the Smith Pioneers, the University of Southern Maine Huskies, the Vassar Brewers and the Wellesley Blue.

On Saturday, March 6, Mount Holyoke lacrosse team played their first match of the year at home. They begin the 2010 season with high aspirations, as 10 newcomers have joined an established core of 11 returning letterwinners. Last spring, the Lyons posted an overall record of 5-11 and returned to the NEWMAC Tournament for the 10th year in a row. The game was the third one for the Lyons’ opponent, the Golden Bears from West New England College. WNEC has suffered a couple of setbacks to begin the 2010 season.

March 4, with its nationwide student demonstrations, proved a national “Day of Action.” Across the country, from Massachusetts to California, college students held protests to show their anger over state budget cuts and rises in tuition fees.

Hometown? Colombo, Sri Lanka. Major/Minor? Economics and Psychology double major. Favorite color? Turquoise. Favorite music? Any kind of music except hard rock. Favorite food? Rice and curry. How long have you being playing squash? I’ve been playing squash for ten years. What’s your thought on this season so far? This season has been pretty good. [...]

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day and the Lunar New Year, the Mount Holyoke News decided to explore how international students celebrate their national holidays away from home. The three stories below offer different perspectives on the subject. Vietnam by Vi Bui “Do you feel like Tet is coming?” asked my friend Thu Nguyen ’11 [...]