Flipping through the glossy pages of mainstream magazines for young women, one can observe the numerous eyeliner and lipstick advertisements aimed at enhancing a woman’s natural beauty. Makeup companies guarantee a woman’s success and confidence if she wears their brands. The reader is enticed with slogans such as “Because you’re worth it,” “Easy, breezy, beautiful. Covergirl” and “Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline.”

Last spring I spent a semester abroad with the School for Field Studies (SFS) Tropical Rainforest Studies program in North Queensland, Australia. The following piece presents a few of the environmental lessons I learned from the experience.

At Mount Holyoke, one of the most valued features is the liberal arts education that encourages students to think critically and analyze all perspectives of their disciplines in a diverse and tight-knit environment. Beyond the College campus, Mount Holyoke belongs to a greater network as one of the Seven Sisters colleges that share the values of women’s colleges and the liberal arts. In keeping with these ideologies, the Asian Women’s Leadership University (AWLU) was created

“A lot of our storage collection is paper, because paper does not like to see the light of day,” said Linda Best, Collections Manager of the Mount Holyoke Art Museum as she punches in the number code and opens the doors to the art storage room. Inside are many rows of sliding painting frames, racks that keep the paintings straight and in the air, as if on a normal wall. Portraits of people and landscapes by long-gone art masters are suddenly exposed to the soft white light of the climate controlled room, which deviates only five degrees in either direction from the normal room temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

As a college student, I find myself not eating out much. It happens on occasion—mostly for a friend’s birthday—but it’s never a spontaneous event. As a senior, I’ve been finding out that I am missing a lot by not occasionally indulging in a night out to eat and that there are tons of restaurants in the Pioneer Valley that I need to try before I graduate in the spring.

Yiting Wang said she is hopeful for Rio+20 to turn into the Earth Summit of our generation. “It offers some hope and opportunities to review the pitfalls of the past 40 years of international environmental governance, reset the agenda and allow new actors to emerge.” One of these new types of actors is youth.

If you’re looking for a place with a lively atmosphere accompanied by delectable food and friendly service to complete your perfect Saturday night out, I whole-heartedly recommend Amherst’s Judie’s. Founded in 1977, Judie’s was established on a principle of encouraging patrons to boldly try new foods and become inspired. The dining experience tends to be highly personal, with Judie the restaurant’s owner and namesake, often visiting with diners in the restaurant, maintaining a philosophy of offering creative meals and exotic flavors, specializing in popovers and unique bar drinks.

“And one last bow to thank the universe,” instructs Nobue Socho Yamashita, tea mistress of the Wa Shin An and hostess of the evening. The guest brings the bowl to her lips for a tentative taste. She notices how the slightly bitter liquid of the tea balances with the solid sweetness of the red bean cake consumed moments prior, and she drinks more deeply.

The Dickinson Hall kitchen was bright and warm last Thursday when the student board of the Mount Holyoke Outing Club (MHOC) held their meeting. The pleasant smells of tortillas and cheese wafted around the room from the stove, where several of the club members were making quesadillas for their weekly meeting. The club had gone on a hiking trip in the Adirondacks over Fall Break and was debriefing on what had worked and what they wanted to improve for the next trip.

With the fall semester halfway completed, students planning to study abroad in the spring are in a flurry of preparations, budgeting their expenses, filling out forms and booking flights for what will hopefully be a positive, life-changing experience. A large variety of majors are represented in students that study abroad, but often some students require more of the rigor available in the United States or prefer to stay in the Five College area. Other times, the specific major has opportunities that go beyond courses and excursions, allowing immersion in a real medical environment.