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The Squirrel’s Scoop, 3/30/2022

Welcome to The Squirrel’s Scoop—The Clerk’s weekly news bulletin. The Squirrel’s Scoop brings you the biggest stories from the past week in one place.

COVID Update: Guidelines Relaxed

In an email to the Haverford community on Friday, March 25, Vice President of the College Jesse Lytle announced the relaxing of some of the campus COVID guidelines. He stated, “Haverford will return to the unmasking framework with which we started in the fall.” He also added that the College is looking ahead to eventually becoming a mask-friendly campus rather than mandating masks indoors as they do now. He noted that the campus will always welcome masking: “there will never be a requirement or expectation that anyone unmask if that is not their personal preference.”

This week, the specific changes include dining tables in the Dining Center returning to regular capacity (with unmasking allowed while eating), small group unmasking in enclosed work spaces, and unmasking in residence halls. This email also brought the reinstatement of parties and group social events, though Lytle still encouraged folks to host gatherings outdoors whenever possible.

Sophomore Major Declaration Process Has Begun

After returning from Spring Break, major information sessions began for sophomores, who will be declaring their majors within the next three weeks. In an email to all sophomores on March 10, Dean Kelly Wilcox shared the new (as of this year) Sophomore Major Hub and announced that the deadline to declare a major is April 15. In another email from Wilcox, sent on March 29, sophomores were notified of the full major declaration schedule and the major declaration mixer with the Dean’s Office this Friday, April 1.

Reasonably, sophomores are both excited and nervous about the process. However, many departments have hosted sessions explaining how to declare their particular major and what the path forward looks like. Celeste Cabbages ‘24 is a physics major, and she has already completed the major declaration process. When asked about her experience, she expressed: “The physics department does a great job of letting us know what we need (classes, credits, etc.) so it was easy to plan everything out.”

Honor Code To Be Ratified This Week Following Sunday’s Plenary

On Sunday, March 27, students gathered in the GIAC and on Zoom for Spring Plenary. The event lasted three hours and 45 minutes, resulting in the passing of two resolutions and the failure of another. At the end of the evening, the student body also voted to open ratification of the Honor Code, which will happen this week between 5 pm on Wednesday, March 30 and 5 pm on Friday, April 1.

In an email to the student body sent on Sunday, March 27, Honor Council Co-Chair Matt Dodds ‘22 announced the dates and times for Honor Code Ratification and reminded the community that ⅔ of students must vote to ratify the Code in order to avoid Special Plenary. The email also encouraged students to “reflect on the Honor Code, what it means in your life now and what it could mean in the future” before filling out the ratification form.

When asked about the importance of Honor Code ratification, Dodds expressed, “Ratifying the Honor Code is affirming that it’s something we as a community care about and choose to abide by. Ratification represents our commitment to shared values and a shared vision for what the Haverford community can be.”

Bi-Co to Wear Blue on April 4th in Solidarity with Sexual Assault Survivors

On Monday, April 4, students at both Haverford and Bryn Mawr will be participating in a Blue Out to show solidarity with survivors of sexual assault. The event is being organized and facilitated by The Bi-Co Survivors Network. As April is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention month, and according to the @bicosurvivors Instagram account, “Blue was the color chosen to represent [this month],” the network encourages members of the Bi-Co to wear blue on Monday to show their solidarity. 

The Bi-Co Survivor Network spoke about the importance of the Blue Out and their goals as a group: “The BiCo Survivor Network is beginning the month of April (which is sexual assault awareness month) with a BlueOut designed to create a visual show of solidarity with survivors on both campuses. This is one of many events geared towards uplifting survivors’ voices, educating peers, and beginning the lengthy, difficult process of dismantling the systems within our community used to silence victims. We’ve planned workshops dedicated towards defining SA, navigating Title 9, educating professors, support groups, as well as an open mic night on Founders Green to give a physical voice to survivors.”

New VCAM Exhibit: Mi Casa Es Mi Casa

On Friday, March 25, a new exhibition entitled “Mi Casa Es Mi Casa” opened in VCAM. The work in the show was done by Henry Morales, a Post-Baccalaureate Fellow in the Hurford Center for the Arts and Humanities. According to a post on the Instagram page @haverfordVCAM, in this exhibit, “Morales explores the intimate, private, and restful moments that occur within the home.” The work “depict[s] his family through paintings, videos, and sculpture” and “highlights the importance of representation and individuality that comes from growing up in a lower working class immigrant household in the United States.” The Hurford Center sponsors the exhibit.

Keyla Ramirez ‘25 expressed her love for the exhibition: “I loved the many details that are present in this exhibition. From the bottle of vitamins on the TV table to the bills in the decor piece on the wall. I went to this exhibit with a group of friends and we pointed these details out to each other, which I think added to the fun and childhood nostalgia. I really loved this exhibit and encourage everyone to stop by when they have the chance.”

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