Words Worth a Second Look
Non-Fiction
Sex and Power: Defining History, Shaping Societies
By Rita Banerji (Penguin Books)
In this sociological and historical study, Banerji examines changes in the dynamics of sexual morality and customs in India and argues that the social power hierarchy determines the moral overview of society, not a set of preexisting or enduring ethics. Overpopulation, AIDS, and female genocide are the result of collective sexual malfunctioning, she argues, and must be addressed in the context of the social and economic power hierarchy.
Rita Banerji ’90 is a freelance writer and photographer based in Calcutta. She is the founder of the online campaign, The 50 Million Missing, www.50millionmissing.in featured in the summer 2008 Quarterly.
Displaced Allegories: Post-Revolutionary Iranian Cinema
By Negar Mottahedeh (Duke University Press)
Throughout the 1970s, feminist scholars bemoaned the fact that the desiring or malegaze approach to camera angles dominated almost all movies and objectified women. Mottahedeh argues that after the revolution in Iran, convention was unintentionally turned upside down when modesty laws required women be veiled at all times, transforming the desiring gaze into an averted one, and national cinema into women’s cinema.
Negar Mottahedeh ’90 is assistant professor of literature and women’s studies at Duke University. She was born in Iran.
On the Line: Inside the World of Le Bernardin
By Eric Ripert and Christine Muhlke (Artisan Books)
On the Line is a fascinating look at the inner workings of the world-class restaurant Le Bernardin in New York. Told from the point of view of the principal players— chefs, maître d’, sommelier—the story lets you feel the creativity and accomplishment as 150,000 plates of culinary perfection are sent out from the kitchen every year.
Christine Muhlke ’92 is an editor at The New York Times. She has written for Vogue, Vanity Fair, Food & Wine, and other publications.
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New AA President to Stress Good Work, Strong Values of Alums
Cynthia L. Reed ’80 has been nominated to serve a three-year term
as the Alumnae Association’s next president.
Cynthia L. Reed ’80 has a very clear understanding of the importance of women’s education. “The single most important factor in improving healthcare for women, children, and communities is to provide education for girls and women. The higher the level of education, the better the health and living standards,” she says.
Reed, a management and technology consultant for healthcare providers and medical-device companies, has been nominated as president of the Alumnae Association for a three-year term beginning July 1. Helping to spread the word about an MHC education by engaging and celebrating the good work and strong values of alumnae is tops on her to-do list.
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Ethanol Options 
Regarding “Trouble in Your Tank? Ethanol Fuels More Problems Than It Solves” (fall 2008), in the state of Illinois we have Archer Daniels Midland Co., which pioneered in the production of ethanol from shelled corn. This firm is cooperating with Monsanto, John Deere, Conoco-Phillips, and Purdue University in the development of biofuels from cornstalks and husks. Two universities in Illinois offer degree programs in ethanol. Gas pumps in Illinois contain 10 percent ethanol. E85 (motor fuel containing 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline) corridors are being established. I have not understood why ethanol from sugar cane is not considered in the United States when this has been a success in Brazil.
Janet Galbreath MA’52
Ava, Illinois
Dream Living Rather than ‘Green’ Living
Kara Baskin’s article, “Down to Earth” (winter 2009), seemed to extol the virtues of moving west, developing land, [and] building new houses no matter how “green” the materials, and buying new appliances, no matter how energy efficient. How about focusing on those alumnae who move closer to town and city centers, walk, use public transportation, buy at farmers markets, sell a car, and hang out the wash. Aren’t those the ones reducing their footprints?
Anne Sanborn Lombard ’56
Northampton, Massachusetts
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By Hannah Clay Wareham '09
In October of 1942, a group of eight songstresses debuted their skills at Junior Show. As the accompaniment to a student dance number called “My Pajama Ballet,” the singers were off stage, hidden from the audience. By the time their performance was over, however, the crowd had made it clear by demanding encore after encore that the women had created something spectacular.
To this day, Mount Holyoke’s V-8s is the longest-running female a cappella group in the nation, a well-known fact among Mount Holyoke students. Their legacy extends far beyond campus, however, as the original V8s found fame in New York City by entertaining World War II servicemen at one of the most popular clubs of the 1940s.
The original group can be credited with a turning of the tides on the Mount Holyoke campus. A 1944 article in the Mount Holyoke News described the original performance of the V-8s as “the only evidence, so far as we know, of a former [Junior] Show success continuing as a new college tradition.” In a 2002 letter to the current V-8s, founder Abigail Halsey Van Allen ’44 wrote, “[the group] was conceived as an opportunity to have fun!”
While opposition the original V-8s faced was very slight, it did exist. “Often the music director of the Glee Club and choirs of the time … looked in on us, but did not seem too happy with what we were doing,” Joan Morris McNally ’44 remembered of rehearsals. The selection of modern songs for performance created some waves within the music community, but the V-8s had found something that stuck.
The origin of the group’s name is about as telling of the times as the hairstyles and dresses the women boast in faded photographs. The “V” stood for “Victory,” Winston Churchill’s rallying call of the World War II era. The 8, of course, stands for the eight original members. “Churchill’s raised index and middle fingers of his right hand forming a V for Victory was very pervasive,” Van Allen wrote. “Victory became the spirit of the times.”
The fame of the V-8s began to spread off-campus soon after their debut in Wilbur, Mount Holyoke's then-student center. They performed at the Westover air force base, parties held for textile-mill workers, and meetings of the Junior League. The V8s were also the first amateur group invited to perform at the Stage Door Canteen in New York City, the most famous entertainment venue for servicemen and the subject of a feature-length Hollywood film (Stage Door Canteen) that debuted the year before the V-8s made their appearance.
The women were largely unimpressed by the Canteen at first glance, according to a scrapbook put together about the original V-8s. Described as reminiscent of someone’s basement, it was not at all what they had been expecting, considering the Canteen’s publicity and fame. The noisy, smoky room in which they performed was so small that some of the servicemen in the audience were actually sitting on the stage with them. The V-8s delivered a rousing performance of popular songs like “The Farmer and the Maiden” and “The Hawaiian War Chant.” Despite the lack of a microphone for half of the performance, Van Allen described the concert as “the zenith and swan song of our original group.”
While a recording was created by the original V-8s, none of the copies exist today. All that is left are a few boxes of yellowed letters and song lists in the college Archives, the memories of the original V-8s, and, of course, the women today who bear the group’s name and legacy. While today’s V-8s have expanded to a group of fifteen, they still feature 1940s classics by Etta James and the Andrews Sisters in their repertoire, reminiscent of the women who have come before them.
Above: the original V-8s performing at the Stage Door Canteen in New York City.
The V-8s pictured are (left to right) GG Graff, Caroline Lacey, Abbey Halsey, June Hart, Joan Morris, Joan McMahon, and Connie Rheaume.
NOTE: The MHC Archives and Special Collections is searching for an original copy of this photo, which was published in the Feb. 11, 1944, Mount Holyoke News. If you have one, please contact the archives staff (archives@mtholyoke.edu).
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By Kara C. Baskin ’00
These days, “green” living is a mark of chic. It’s as common to hear people boast about their new Prius or Energy Star appliance as it is about a new house or a trip to Europe. Reducing one’s “carbon footprint” is an activity on par with yoga and Pilates. Trendy or not, the sentiment behind the effort is positive, and many Mount Holyoke alumnae are bringing the concept of “green living” home.
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What everyone should know about ...
A Quarterly series
By Shahrukh Rafi Khan
A number of factors created a financial crisis this fall bigger than any seen since the Great Depression. These included easy money (low interest rates), deregulation since the 1970s and lax regulation under the Bush administration, bank and mortgage dealers aggressively pushing housing loans because complex packaging of mortgages into securities let them pass the risk on to others, and management’s focusing only on short-term bonuses and operating with exceedingly high debt. Any one of these is bad enough; combined, they created the perfect storm. With financial markets integrated worldwide, the crisis inevitably went global. The crucial questions now are, will the short-term solutions work and what can we learn for the future? (More)
In late August, the first students moved into the first residence hall to be built on campus in more than forty years. The building opened to generally rave reviews (and some complaints as kinks, especially with the One-Card access system, were being worked out). Here’s a peek inside MHC’s newest student quarters.
(Photography by Ben Barnhart)
“ My friends at other colleges are very jealous.”
—Casey Cokkinias ’10
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Jane E. Zachary Named New Alumnae Association Executive Director
Jane E. Zachary, director of alumni relations at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, began work in January as the new executive director of the 
Alumnae Association of Mount Holyoke College. She replaces W. Rochelle Calhoun ’83, who left last summer to take the job of dean of student affairs at Skidmore College.
Zachary, who holds a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh and served as a court administrator in the Pennsylvania judiciary for more than fifteen years before making a move to alumnae relations, is a graduate of Chatham, which was established as a women’s college in 1869.
“I am firmly committed to the education and advancement of women globally, and to the development of leadership skills in women,” Zachary said. Her enthusiastic support of women’s education, the liberal arts, and fostering women’s connections for the purpose of lifelong learning and personal achievement makes Zachary an excellent fit, said Mary Graham Davis ’65, president of the Alumnae Association.
“Her background in the legal profession and court administration, combined with her experience expanding alumnae relations activities at Chatham University, will serve our association well.
Jane will oversee our association as we undertake our own global expansion, increase our use of technology to reach our alumnae, and participate more fully in the lives of MHC graduates through significant interest groups, continuing education efforts, and career-focused activities,” Davis said.
Zachary began work first as a law clerk at the trial and appellate court levels and later as executive administrator of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. She also served as director of the family division of the trial court in Allegheny County.
A generalist with diverse interests, Zachary said she decided to leave the field of law to work in a more “positive, consensus-building environment.” During her tenure at Chatham, she instituted numerous programs to engage alumnae and students and to honor the traditions that define a women’s-college experience.
“Jane brings the combination of high energy, intellect, and interpersonal skills that will engage both our alumnae around the world and our colleagues on campus in our mission of connecting alumnae to Mount Holyoke and to each other,” Davis added.—M.H.B.
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Nonfiction
Black Frankenstein: The Making of an American Metaphor
By Elizabeth Young
(New York University Press)
In this book, Young interprets the figure of a black American Frankenstein as it appears throughout nineteenth-and twentieth-century U.S. culture. She argues that the Frankenstein monster has served as a powerful metaphor in U.S. culture over the last two centuries for both reinforcing racial hierarchy and shaping anti-racist critique.
Elizabeth Young is professor of English and gender studies at MHC, and author of Disarming the Nation: Women’s Writing and the American Civil War.
China: Fragile Superpower
By Susan L. Shirk
(Oxford University Press)
Since the pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square, Chinese leaders have been haunted by the fear that their days in power are numbered. Unless we understand China’s brittle politics, Shirk argues, the United States faces the possibility of unavoidable conflict with this fragile communist regime.
Susan L. Shirk ’67 is the former deputy assistant secretary of state responsible for U.S. relations with China, and is director of the Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation at the University of California–San Diego.
Christian Sisterhood, Race Relations, and the YWCA, 1906–46
By Nancy Marie Robertson
(University of Illinois Press)
Robertson has written a “thorough history that while focused on the YWCA, tells the larger story of interracial work,” says a reviewer in the American Historical Review. Robertson finds that even in one of the most progressive organizations of the time—the YWCA ended its own policy of segregation in 1946—the history of civil rights was not one of inevitable progress but of continuing tension and negotiation.
Nancy Marie Robertson ’78 is associate professor of history and philanthropic studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, where she also directs the women’s studies program.
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Go Ahead, Say It! Frank Talk About Tough Topics
In a plugged-in, battery-charged, Bluetooth kind of culture where we are all consumed with the desire to communicate, the one thing you’d think we’d be good at is dialogue. Not so much.
Turns out that active listening and respectful sharing, especially when it revolves around the issues of race, class, and sexual difference, is hard work and takes a lot of practice. Three campuswide discussion groups at MHC aim to help us polish this desirable skill set.
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By Lisa Wlodarski Romano ’89
The Quarterly arrives. I open to the class notes, and sigh. Another mother of three gets a promotion at her multinational corporation. Or publishes a book. Or lands a tenure-track professorship.
Should I write in? Nah. I do Suzuki piano with my three kids. I’ve organized the Great Books discussion circles at my sons’ elementary school. I’ve joined my church choir and sometimes sing solos. But success? Travel? Prestige? That’s what other alums want to read about, I imagine. So I lurk on the fringes of alumnaehood.
I’m a stay-at-home mom. But although I never heard motherhood discussed when I was on campus, in every aspect of my life I’m drawing on some part of my college experience. And I’m not the only one.
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Learn How to Run
Thank you for the cover story (summer 2008) on “Politicos.” As a state representative in Colorado, and formerly a member of our elected state board of education, I have often wondered who else is in elected office among our alumnae. I would be interested in having those of us in office connect more directly, perhaps through the new Mount Holyoke Facebook application. I also wonder who else is out there raising a family while in elected office. I just had a daughter, Zoe Grace, in August.
I would encourage any alumna interested in running for office or becoming more involved in politics to look at the work of the White House Project (www.whitehouseproject.org) that trains women interested in running for office. They host “Go Run” weekend workshops in locations across the country. As one of their trainers, I have seen women complete their training, run for office, and win their elections the first time out. I appreciate the attention to a topic that is near and dear to my heart and hope it is the first of many stories on the subject.
—Karen Middleton ’88, Aurora, Colorado
Government Not the Answer
Professor Doug Amy’s Web site, Government is Good (www.governmentisgood.com), reinforces what we were all told in school—that government is good. Former Treasury Secretary William Simon wrote: “One of the things that I learned during my tenure in Washington is that the civics-book picture of government operation is completely inaccurate … A more accurate image would be that of a runaway train with the throttle stuck wide open—while the passengers and crew are living it up in the dining car.”
Although there are many well-intentioned people who work in government, many people are waking up to the reality that government is not as good as we thought. The economic crisis that we are facing is largely the result of the government/Federal Reserve’s mismanagement of monetary policy. On top of that, government continually spends more than it brings in. When was the last time we had a balanced budget? Our government sends us into senseless wars that kill innocent people and it comes with a heavy price tag that you, our children, and I will pay for.
It took 194 years for the government to accumulate the first trillion dollars of public debt; by 1986 the public debt passed the $2 trillion mark, having doubled in five years. Now the public debt is more than $10 trillion.
Thanks to the lack of discretion and wasteful spending of the government, each member of my household’s share of the debt is $33,925.40, and that is the same for every person in your household, too. And Professor Amy says we need more government? The government that we have is not sustainable. More government is not the answer.
—Mary McPhillips Menendez ’89, Kingston, New Hampshire
Got Opinions? Let Us Know!
We continue to welcome letters for the printed Quarterly. Indeed, we crave them. What’s the use of singing our hearts out to an empty theater? We need your ideas, your opinions, your letters. Surely, you have an opinion about how to live green in a browning world or how to handle being a stay-at-home mom. Or perhaps you’ve seen the land art profiled in Erin Hogan’s book and want to share your comments. Let us know what you think! Please!
Of course, we will edit your letters for accuracy, length, and clarity. (There ain’t nothin’ that don’t git better with some good editin’.) [Really, you’ll thank us.—the editors] You can also post your comments online (There's a "comment" box at the end of every article.). We especially like hearing from you by e-mail. Send your thoughts, then, to mbomann@mtholyoke.edu. You’ll feel better—and so will we.
Calligrapher Sally Mangum has a way with words—she makes them beautiful, and surrounds the letter forms with richly colored designs. And she does this for some of the most prestigious customers in the world, including the British Lord Chamberlain’s office.
As holder of a “royal warrant” for calligraphy, Sally displays the royal coat of arms on her business cards and letterhead. But she doesn’t advertise, as referrals bring her business.
“My work consists of a wide range of commissions including invitations, letterhead, diplomas, menus, and monograms for stationers and corporate and private clients,” she says. “I also take on illustration and heraldic commissions.” Those range from drawing pen-and-ink family crests to an illuminated scroll listing all the chaplains at the Tower of London since the fourteenth century.
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By Abid Shah
Mubarik Ali Khan, a top classical Indian music vocalist, showed little enthusiasm when Zeb Bangash ’04 was introduced to him as a possible student in 1999. However, after her first lesson—a test run taking Bangash through basic scales to gauge her voice and musical sense—his indifference melted. “From now on I have made you my daughter,” Khan said. “If you are willing to work hard, you can become a classical vocalist.”
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By Thomas Millette
“What I find most puzzling is how little we, as a nation, seem to care about finding alternative solutions to the fuel mess.”
Thomas Millette, MHC associate professor of geography, explains why corn-based ethanol fuels cars and controversy.
(Photo by Andrea Burns)
As summer hit the beautiful Mount holyoke campus, world energy and food markets were in a state of unprecedented turmoil. Lest you think I exaggerate, here are some sobering numbers. In 2003 the benchmark price of a barrel of crude was $34.79 (in 2007 us dollars). In 2006 the same barrel sold for $67.32. By mid-June the price hit $147 per barrel.* If I didn’t know better, I would think the time is ripe (sorry, I couldn’t resist) for biofuels.
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