Last week, we published the Wabash report, an external report on campus climate at Harvey Mudd College in its entirety. This was no light decision — we discussed the merits of releasing only certain quotes or certain sections, or providing an accurate summary. In the end, the fact that the administration shared the full report with all HMC faculty while only sharing a generously glossed-over summary to students helped us decide to release the document in full.
Prompted by the Wabash report and the issues it raised about mental health and work-life balance at Mudd, students organized a walkout and rally on Thursday, as Kellen Browning PO '20 reported in this week's issue of TSL. These responses, as well as the thoughts expressed at Wednesday’s community forum, are not responding to new issues. As we saw in 2015 during protests at Claremont McKenna College, public, documentable moments like emails and reports can serve as a visible anchor for movements built on years of unheard discontent.
We readily admit that Harvey Mudd can sometimes be a blind spot for our news coverage. We typically have few staff members from Harvey Mudd, especially when it comes to writers, meaning we don’t have access to email listservs or non-5C events. Perhaps part of this is because of Mudd students’ heavy workload and general lack of free time. But we can do better, and we welcome Mudd students to engage with TSL as staff members or readers.
With that in mind, we’ve been covering the recent events at Mudd from a mostly outsider perspective. This hasn’t changed our ability to report the news, cover events, and amplify student voices by interviewing members of the Mudd community and conducting our own investigations. But it leaves us knowing that there are some stories that remain untold.
As a reminder, we welcome op-ed submissions and letters to the editor from Mudd community members who want to join the conversation beyond contributing thoughts to our own writers. We hope that our reporting has prompted discussion among Mudd students, faculty, and others about how they hope their college can change for the better.
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