This year the fair took place on the grounds of Severance Green on the sunny afternoon of Sept. 7, and the event saw participation from over 141 student organizations. The fair also featured newly recognised organizations including Wellesley College Tennis Club, Wellesley Gaming, Soulaan Students Association and a ColorStack chapter at Wellesley College which seeks to increase the number of Black and Latinx students pursuing roles in tech. 

Preparation for this widely anticipated event is spearheaded by the Orgs Chair, who heads CORA. Soo Ahn Lee ’25, the orgs chair for this academic year, described her role and experience with this year’s fair, planning for which began back in July. 

“As Orgs Chair, I’m in charge of CORA, [which] is in charge of recognizing new orgs and also managing and giving support and resources for the current orgs,” Lee said. 

The Orgs Fair is widely-recognized as an important event, as it helps on-campus orgs recruit new members, reconnect with existing members, and present the work they do. In addition, freshmen in particular get the opportunity to explore different orgs that align with their passions. In doing so, the event allows for the larger Wellesley community to come together and engage in a meaningful way. 

“For currently recognized orgs, it’s a chance for them to recruit new members [and] get their name publicized. First-years [can] explore their interests. So there’s a lot of purposes [the fair serves],” Lee said. 

The energy and excitement in the air during the event was infectious. In addition, seeing the passion with which student org e-boards described their diverse and creative interests to prospective members was inspiring. Lee described the innovative ways Orgs came up with to engage students attending the fair. 

“A lot of e-boards enjoy bringing in snacks to give away to gain more interest. Aiko enjoys bringing their drums over. I’ve seen some club sports play — I’ve seen Whiptails throw their frisbees around. It’s really interactive,” Lee said. 

Although the event was a big success, the Orgs Chair, who is in charge of planning the event, described some challenges she faced during the planning process. Preparations for the event started in June, with responsibilities such as emailing, coordinating with student orgs, collecting form responses and troubleshooting technical issues. Lee also helped to design the CORA website and collate org-related information for students in an accessible manner. However, Lee emphasized that the experience of coordinating such a large scale event and engaging with such large and well – established organizations helped her harness some important skills.

“There’s a lot of learning curves that I had,” Lee said. “I also learned a lot of ways to communicate clearly and find the most efficient way for me to organize things.” 

Another addition to this year’s fair that made it stand out was the thoughtfully curated website and guidebook created by Lee. The handbook featured key information on org categories and served as a resource for e-board members and attendees alike to plan ahead by conveniently locating other orgs at the fair as per their interests. 

Going forward, Lee hopes to provide a platform for organizations that were unable to showcase at the fair to recruit new members and share about the work that they do. She hopes to do this through a virtual (or in-person, if resources permit) fair at a different point during the semester. 

“I felt like the whole point of the orgs fair is to see the options, see what is there to offer, and maximize … the announcement of the org, so that’s why I’m moving it to October, when we have more orgs recognized, for sure [I] want to utilize this chance to recruit more members that they missed,” Lee said. 

Image Credit: Amber Celletti

Contact the editor(s) responsible for this article: Diya Khanna and Phoebe Rebhorn

McPhee was born in Manhattan and grew up in New Jersey. After earning a BA from Princeton University and an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design, she started as a professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design. McPhee is currently exploring the desert west of the US and is best known for her works that capture complex stories about nature, geology and humankind. McPhee has won numerous awards for her work.

Before discussing her works, McPhee acknowledged the importance of her former teachers.

“I want to acknowledge how much they meant to me,” McPhee said. 

McPhee also emphasized how her family — especially her grandmother — played a key role in influencing her work. 

“The world of our fathers resides within us,” McPhee commented. 

McPhee then explained how she first started photographing her family in New Jersey. After she accompanied her father on a trip to Iceland, she was fascinated by the turbulent and dynamic landscape of the country. She later returned to Iceland with her college friend to photograph the place and eventually found her calling in landscape photography.

After a few years, McPhee was offered a residency in rural Idaho. As someone who had grown up in New Jersey, McPhee was initially hesitant about the offer, but she eventually decided to take up the challenge. Being from a populous place, Laura was shocked at the issues that were dividing the mere 100 people that lived in the place she was documenting — mining, logging and dams. In fact, a lot of this division had to do with land management. McPhee attempted to capture her observations in her work. She also studied how climate change disrupted adult salmon activities and attempted to capture this in her photography. Thus, McPhee attempted to raise awareness about key social issues and told important stories through her work.

Commenting on McPhee’s works, audience member Ahana Basu ’25 said, “I find [McPhee’s] connection to land and how she showcases it to be really intriguing. There’s a sense of danger as well as beauty in her work. Capturing those two feelings in a singular picture is incredibly challenging, but she makes it look effortless.”

At one point in her career, McPhee was introduced to a local family including a young girl named Maddie, who eventually became the protagonist of McPhee’s work. McPhee displayed a picture of her holding birds, which was emblematic of her grandmother — a girl born in the West at the dawn of the 21st century. This has eventually become one of McPhee’s most popular works. 

One of the main themes that McPhee discussed was the role of language in her works. She argues that her work encompasses a visual way of naming things. 

“I am in love with language and think about my work [in relation to] language,” McPhee said.

McPhee also acknowledged how a photograph of something benign often has a deeper meaning to it.

“Visual cues are at odds with the facts [and reality of the situation],” McPhee said. 

Fire is another important subject in her works, as fire remains significant in the West. McPhee has worked extensively with her colleagues to create an immersive experience on fire. McPhee recalled how she witnessed a man accidentally start a fire before leaving the valley she was observing. The fire burnt down thousands of acres, and it took millions of dollars to put it out. After witnessing the aftermath of the fire, McPhee suddenly observed (and began to analyze) a garden that had formed that didn’t exist before.

“[I found] a metaphor about loss and the regeneration power of the life cycle,” McPhee said. 

McPhee’s talk ended with a long applause. 

Reflecting on the talk, Basu said, “I loved her talk. It’s clear from her work that she really cares about what she chooses to photograph and puts a lot of time and energy into it.”

Tau Zeta Epsilon (TZE)

Tau Zeta Epsilon (TZE) is Wellesley’s art and music society. It was founded in 1889 to create a space for students to come together and share their passion for the arts and music. 

TZA Co-President Alexandra Mouangue ’24 further explained the society’s aim, “We want everyone who’s interested in art to music to feel like TZE can be a place for them.”

TZE hosts at least one music event and one arts event every semester and has its own on-campus house, where members can come together for events. In addition to the arts, TZE is also focused on philanthropy. Last year, TZE collaborated with a group called A Long Walk Home to educate youth in high schools about gender identity. TZE also occasionally organizes social get-togethers for on and off-campus students.   

In order to join TZE, prospective members have to attend at least three out of four teas during the tea season. Each tea — based on an arts or music theme — is a chance for prospective members to get to know the TZE executive board, and vice versa. There is also a supplemental application.

“People get really creative with [the applications],” said Mouangue. “So that’s my favorite part of the tea [process].”

TZE’s supportive community also makes it unique, as explained by TZE Co-President Ye’Amlak Zegeye ’24, “You have people around you who are always ready to support you. It’s so nice to be part of something [like this].”

Agora

Agora is Wellesley’s political society. It was started in 1890 with a mission to promote interest in important political issues and provide a platform for political advocacy.

Agora frequently hosts political lectures and events. Although Agora does not have its own house like the other societies, it often uses the Slater House for its weekly meetings. Agora also plans many social events, with many of these hosted in collaboration with other colleges such as MIT. Although the number of Agora’s off-campus social events  has  reduced due to COVID-19, the executive board hopes to revive this tradition. Agora also hosts occasional retreats, including one hosted in Vermont last semester. 

Agora member Rin Tsavalyuk ’24 highlighted a fond memory from the trip, “[The retreat] was super fun. We actually ran into a person who was selected to Congress from Vermont — that was pretty cool.”

Like the other societies, prospective Agora members are also expected to attend around four teas, each of which is structured differently. 

“[The teas] are aimed towards members getting to know the society and decide for themselves if they want to be in the society,” Tsavalyuk said. 

Tsavalyuk identified Agora’s supportive community as the biggest benefit for members. “This community [is] where you truly feel supported,” said Tsavalyuk. “[You] feel this space to be like your home.”

Zeta Alpha (ZA)

Founded in 1876, Zeta Alpha (ZA), the oldest society on campus, is focused on literature. They hold various events throughout the year, some literary, some larger and more celebratory and others more intimate and relaxing.

According to Deyra Aguilar ’24, the co-president of ZA, “Every semester we hold ‘Fireside Poetry,’ where students can come and listen or read poetry that they’ve either written or can be their favorite poem. Next week we are holding a coffee house inspired by Bell Hooks’ novel ‘All About Love.’ [We’ll be] focusing on self-love and its importance within the community.” 

Along with book-themed events, ZA is also involved in philanthropic work, like raising money to donate books to incarcerated people. 

“We also hold more social events, like at the beginning of the year, ZA threw a big party which was quite a success,” Aguilar said. 

Some ZA events are held solely for its members.

 “These will be smaller events throughout the year, like a wine and cheese night or a collage night … just something that provides a break to ZA members from their busy weeks,” Aguilar said.

ZA holds four teas that are open to anyone interested in joining. Applicants have to attend three out of four events in order to apply. The first three teas comprise thirty minutes of general socializing, after which students are split off into groups and members go around answering questions related to the tea’s theme. 

“Last Tuesday we had a theme about twisted fairy tales,” Aguilar said. The fourth tea is typically something more relaxed, like a collage night, which is only opened to applicants. Aguilar said, “There are lunches and dinners the whole week, in case someone could not make it to the teas.” 

When selecting members, Aguilar described ZA’s main criteria as: “Do we see this person helping the space and growing with it? [Membership] is a very give and take relationship, and it has to be mutual on both fronts.” The community ZA creates is what makes it stand out. “You keep a lot of connections post-grad just being a part of ZA,” Aguilar said.

Shakespeare (Shakes)

Founded in 1877, the Shakespeare Society (aka Shakes) is centered on the study of Shakespeare and his works. They put on one of Shakespeare’s plays almost every semester, most recently “Macbeth” and “Twelfth Night.” This semester, Shakes will be presenting “As You Like It.” The society organized four teas this spring, and interested students were required to attend two of them to apply. Society members did not respond to requests for comment.

Established in 1981, Café Hoop is a student-run cooperative on campus serving as a late-night space for Wellesley students to spend time with their peers over good food and music. Tarini Sinha ’22, Hoop’s co-general manager, described the space as a strong social community. 

“We just want people to feel safe and comfortable and to have a good time — late at night,” Sinha said.

While describing the philosophy of Hoop, Jasper Saco ’22, Hoop’s external food manager, also emphasized the need for Hoop to serve as a supportive space for people of color and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

“[Hoop] has become a safe space particularly for people of color who are queer and/or trans. It’s really become a home for a lot of people,” Saco said.

However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 forced Hoop to shut down for almost two years. Sinha described two main barriers that prevented Hoop from running during the COVID pandemic. One of them was the set of risks that the spread of COVID-19 posed to the health of the College community.

 “The College decided that it was not safe COVID wise to reopen last Fall. [And] finding a way that we could feasibly be open and protect everybody’s health [was challenging],” Sinha said. 

The other barrier described by Sinha was a series of financial challenges faced by Hoop due to several COVID restrictions. Sinha mentioned that a few months into the pandemic, Hoop worked around financial and health restrictions and presented the College with several proposals to reopen. However, they were constantly turned down. 

“Our finances changed significantly as a result of the pandemic. We found ourselves in need of more funding than we have needed historically. We [also] found ourselves caught in the cycle of spending money in preparation for reopening and then being told that we couldn’t reopen,” Sinha said.

However, after months of work from students, Hoop was finally given permission to reopen and resume their operations. 

“We have been trying to reopen since Fall 2020, so this has been a long time coming for us,” Sinha said. 

In reference to the reopening process, Saco explained that the response of the College community has been very positive. 

“The student body has shown us a lot of love and care. And a lot of appreciation. When you walk into [Hoop], you just feel all your troubles melt away. It is magical,” Saco said. 

However, Sinha and Saco also described the reopening process to be challenging at times. Sinha explained that Hoop is currently operating on a takeout model, which Hoop’s staff is still navigating. 

“We’ve been ironing out some of the kinks with [the takeout model], in terms of how long it takes us to make things and write down orders and notify people when their orders are ready,” Sinha said. 

Saco echoed this sentiment by explaining how overwhelming the process can get at times. 

“Our first day was really hectic — we had 30 orders in five minutes, which is really great but very overwhelming,” Saco said. 

However, Sinha and Saco both explained that the patience and support from the community has kept them going. Saco and Sinha described that the members of Hoop are very excited for Hoop’s reopening, and they are looking forward to seeing things progress. 

“We have worked super, super hard. And we really just want to share that with the community,” Sinha said. 

One of the key ways in which Wellesley students expand their academic learning in Boston is through art museums. The Boston area has the Museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the Harvard Art Museum, which showcase a myriad of artworks from different time periods and cultures. Ria Goveas ’25, a prospective art history major, emphasizes that visits to art museums in Boston have helped her enhance her learning within the classroom.  

“My art history class has enabled us to visit the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. We have learned about quite a few works in the Museum of Fine Arts in class, and it makes me appreciate them even more when I see them,” Goveas said. 

The faculty in Wellesley’s art history department also encourage students to take advantage of museums by integrating museum visits within class assignments. Sarah Goldman ’25, another current art history student, corroborates this. 

  “A professor actually gave us an assignment to go to the Harvard Art Museums for a comparison paper that we did,” Goldman said. “So definitely, professors encourage us to use Boston as an extension of the classroom.”

Goldman also went on to describe how her visit to the museum shifted her perspective on what she studied in class. 

“We actually had discussion in [my art history] class about whether or not the Benin bronze should be returned to Nigeria, because a lot of them were removed through colonization,” Goldman said. “Seeing a Benin bronze in the Harvard Art Museum definitely made me think back about the discussion in class. It made me realize that there should be more steps taken to return the bronzes back to where they were, because people deserve to see their own art history and culture.” 

The Boston area also has a high number of higher education institutes. This provides Wellesley students with great potential for academic exploration. In fact, the College has also arranged for enrolled students to cross-register at many of these institutions. 

Maria Vitória Moura ’24 reflected on her cross-registration at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 

“I really enjoyed cross-registering [at] MIT. I always feel motivated to go there, even though the class is hard. It’s very motivating to see a lot of people [and] all your classmates there. You go and you take the bus and you’re travelling around — it gives you motivation,” Moura said. 

Moura also emphasised how cross-registering at MIT exposed her to different research opportunities and perspectives on the classes she took at Wellesley. 

“[Cross registering] is so different. You go there and see things from a new perspective and come back. It’s really empowering,” Moura added. 

Students have also expressed how Boston has helped them grow their social network and learn from other students in the Boston area. According to the City of Boston, there are over 150,415 students at Boston-based colleges and universities as of 2019 — this opens up a myriad of networking opportunities for Wellesley students. 

“It’s good to socialize with people from other colleges and get to know about their experiences as well,” Goldman commented. 

“I really like that we have the bus, because it makes Boston very accessible. I have met people from other schools while waiting for the bus and also sometimes on Newbury street. It’s also easy to visit friends from my high school who go to other schools in Massachusetts,” Goveas added.

  Given the vast diversity of cultural hubs such as the North End or Chinatown within Boston, students are also able to explore new experiences and learn about cultures other than theirs. 

“I grew up in an immigrant house, and we would always eat Asian food. Some of the food that I had at home was very similar to the food in Chinatown [in Boston]. So it’s definitely good to go to different cultural hubs in Boston — sometimes, you can get food that tastes like home and sometimes you can get food from different cultures, too. So it’s just good to explore that as well,” Goldman said. 

The Boston area serves as an important part of the Wellesley student experience. By exposing students to academic resources such as museums, cross-registration at other institutions, diverse cultures and a strong student network, the Boston area pushes students to expand their learning beyond the classroom walls.

“When I think of Big-Little at Wellesley, I think of a system where you have someone on campus that you can really connect with or grow with. [You] have someone to show you around and make sure you feel comfortable or ‘at home’ at Wellesley,” Sachi Tanwar ’23 said. “For a lot of us, we’re coming from different countries or states, and Wellesley is a new home for us. Having that ‘bigger sibling’ adds comfort.”

The main part of the tradition is an event called Flower Sunday, which each dorm organizes between its residents. It is typically held on a Sunday afternoon early in the Fall semester. As part of the tradition, Bigs give their Littles flowers in order to officially welcome them into the Wellesley community. A formal ceremony with speeches, song, poetry and dance, followed by a lavish brunch, is organized for the students as well. 

“My favorite thing about [the Big-Little tradition] is getting to meet the freshman class. Especially through flower Sunday, I got to know people in my dorm room, which was the most interesting part,” Arundhati Chandrasekhar ’24 said. “It’s nice to be able to answer people’s questions and help people figure out what’s going on.” 

The Flower Sunday event serves as a starting point for long-term and meaningful relationships between Bigs and Littles. Interviewees explained how Bigs and Littles still preserve their relationships by discussing their Wellesley journeys, catching up over meals, attending events together or even something as simple as acknowledging each other with a friendly smile in the hallways. 

Flower Sunday also serves as a starting point for Big and Little events that many student organizations on campus organize throughout the year. Since members in student organizations usually have similar interests or backgrounds, Bigs and Littles within these organizations are able to build meaningful (and sometimes professional) relationships. 

Tanwar, who organized the Wellesley Association for South Asian Cultures (WASAC)’s Big and Little event (which took place later in the semester), also commented on this. 

“We tried to make sure the [Big-Little] pairings were good,” she said. “We really wanted to make it personalized, so we matched the Littles with the Bigs that are most compatible with them.”

Through Big and Little relationships, Bigs are also able to mentor their Littles in academic- and career-related matters. 

 “When it comes to internships, research positions or academic work, [both my Bigs] will always forward me new information or opportunities,” Tanwar said. “When you have someone that’s older, looking out for you, it’s really nice.”

This thought was echoed by other students as well. 

“I’ve heard other people hearing stories from their Bigs about an internship they did at Facebook and Microsoft, which is super cool,” Chi said. 

Last year, not everyone was able to fully experience this tradition due to COVID-19. With the Big and Little tradition moving online and the imposition of strict COVID safety measures, many students missed having the full in-person experience of this tradition last year. 

“Because Flower Sunday is so tied to the Res Halls, people who weren’t on campus [last year] had no one to assign them a Big,” Chandrasekhar said.

However, students also mentioned how getting through the phase of the pandemic has made everyone more resilient and empathetic. 

“Because we have had the whole experience of going through the pandemic, connections [between Bigs and Littles] have gotten a lot stronger,” Tanwar said.

Since the Big and Little tradition was held in-person again this year, many students said they appreciate the tradition more given its differences last year. In fact, many have noted that the Big-Little tradition is not limited to a single relationship between a Big and Little — it is a tradition that encompasses the entire spirit of the Wellesley community. 

“Everyone that is part of the [Wellesley] community is going to be your Big,” Tanwar said.

Initially, both faculty members and students faced pressing challenges while navigating college amidst the pandemic.

“It was a tumultuous time. Students had a lot of concerns that had nothing to do with school — family, financial, security. And then on top of that, they were expected to do school,” said Physics Professor James Battat. “From the faculty point of view too, there were many who had people to care for at home — be it elders or children.”  

Many students and faculty had not even heard the name “Zoom” before the pandemic. Multiple professors mentioned that navigating the world of Zoom posed several common challenges, such as dealing with the unfamiliarity of its features while working with technical barriers like low internet connectivity. 

The struggle to transition to an online platform was also compounded by the substitution of the semester system with the term system, which involved splitting each semester into two seven-week terms. This required teaching material professors would normally have covered in a whole week within a single 2.5 hour block. 

Besides molding the structure and pedagogy of classes, professors and students also struggled to build community within the virtual space.

“[The community] is such an important part of the college experience,” Economics Professor Pinar Keskin said. “That is something we cannot replicate in any online setup.”

Although adapting was tough, Wellesley’s faculty still strove to create an enriching academic experience. They did so through increased flexibility, new community norms, altered assignment structures and an optimistic and supportive attitude. 

“What was going to be helpful [to students] was being reassuring, providing continuity, providing more policies for late work or for things going wrong, setting up some new norms around issues that may arise during the pandemic and trying to stick with whatever we had decided to do,” Sociology Professor Smitha Radhakrishnan said.

Many professors also added that the adoption of new pedagogies during virtual classes proved to be a silver lining.

“We had for a long time wanted to make some pedagogical changes and we were forced to make those changes [during the pandemic],” Professor Battat said. “A lot of those are going to stay.”

Professors also explored a blended learning approach, which combines online and in-person learning practices in education. For instance, several professors mentioned how recording a Zoom session and sharing it with students unable to attend the session can ensure that no student is left behind. Many professors also use pre-recorded videos from the virtual classes as supplements for their teaching. Another practice several professors have adopted includes having office hours on Zoom or hosting Zoom meetings if they are unable to physically attend meetings.

“We took [the situation] in our stride,” Math Professor Ismar Volić said.“We knew we had to do it and so we went with it.”

Professor Radhakrishnan further expanded on another main change many faculty have made to their teaching methods. A couple of years ago, many faculty were trained on structural inequality and given concrete tactics on how to improve inclusivity in any classroom space, which are being adopted by many professors. 

“The pandemic was a push and an opportunity to really apply this learning,” Professor Radhakrishnan said. 

The virtual learning space also encouraged faculty to explore collaborative and innovative tools like flipped classrooms, where students watch recordings of content and spend class time for problem solving.

“They’ve been doing flipped classrooms in K-12 for a long time, and it’s just not something that we in higher education have been pushed to do before,” Professor Radhakrishnan said.  

After getting through the turbulent year, the Wellesley faculty are excited to physically be back on the campus they have missed so much. 

“We’re basically back to the normal way, just with masks,” Professor Volić said. “We’re just happy that this is happening.”