Supporters of Gorse Children’s Center at Mount Holyoke College plan Friday rally; college forms working group to study care options
Updated May 06, 2021;
Facebook Share
SOUTH HADLEY – A community group advocating that Mount Holyoke College keep the Gorse Children’s Center open permanently are planning another rally in support of the effort Friday beginning at 5 p.m., where they plan to march from the children’s center to the main campus gate on Route 116. Meanwhile, the college formed a working group to study child care options that began meeting this week.
Gorse Action Group, a coalition of several hundred parents, college students, faculty and staff, formed quickly on Feb. 27, then holding their first rally when the college, at the time, said the Gorse would permanently close in June. The closure plan was quickly shelved following protests - and the matter is now being reviewed.
cottonbro/Pexels
Mount Holyoke College abruptly informed staff and faculty members last week that it is shutting down the longtime on-campus childcare center in June. Faculty members say they’re disgusted, dismayed and even “embarrassed” by the college’s decision, which Mount Holyoke framed as an issue of equity.
The college says too few people benefit from the Gorse Children’s Center, for which it offers subsidies to employees with household incomes of $85,000 or less. But the equity argument is rich, even infuriating, to some faculty members, who say that Mount Holyoke has no meaningful plan for offering more families more help with childcare.