Letters to the Editor

Volume CXII, Number 2 (USPS 349-900) Winter 2023

Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement

Nikole Hilgeman Adams

Managing Editor

Allison Rost

Design and Art Direction

Nancy Siller Wilson

Editorial Assistant

Danielle Collins ’24

Contributors

Tri-an Cao ’21, MFA ’22 Lila Goehring ’21 Amanda Loudin Shelley Moench-Kelly The Mills Quarterly (USPS 349-900) is published quarterly by Mills College at Northeastern University, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613. Periodicals postage paid at Oakland, California, and at additional mailing office(s). Postmaster: Send address changes to the Office of Institutional Advancement, Mills College at Northeastern University, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA 94613. Copyright © 2023, Mills College at Northeastern University Address correspondence to: Mills Quarterly 5000 MacArthur Blvd. Oakland, CA 94613 Email: quarterly@mills.edu Phone: 510.430.3312

Share your thoughts

Submit your letter to the editor via email to quarterly@mills.edu, online at quarterly.mills.edu, or by mail at: Mills Quarterly 5000 MacArthur Blvd. Oakland, CA 94613 The Quarterly reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Thank you for keeping the Mills legacy alive through the Mills Quarterly. I enjoyed the summer issue—each article inspired me. So many talented, trailblazing, dynamic Mills alumnae. Such a rich herstory, and a multitude of stories to share. I am proud to be a Mills alum. –Arabella Grayson, MA ’96, Elverta, California I want to thank Elizabeth Hillman for her service to Mills. I particularly wish to commend her efforts and graceful guidance through the turbulent waters of the merger with Northeastern. Her farewell piece in the Quarterly was eloquent and fitting given her dedication to the College. I pray the outcome of the merger will be positive for all students and faculty of both institutions, continuing and future. I sincerely hope that her emphasis on justice and sustainability and community impact is a mantra for the future of Mills College at Northeastern University. –Susan Bell ’69, Santa Fe

Editor’s note: The letter below refers to a document published by the AAMC in October 2022 regarding options for the organization’s future relationship with Mills College at Northeastern University. Turn to page 16 for more information, and visit www.aamc-mills .org to view the original.

I appreciate the comprehensiveness of the document describing options for the AAMC’s future but am left with questions.

In the field for Membership, Options 1 and 2 describe members as “anyone who attended one semester of Mills College prior to May 2022.” Are we including those who meet this criterion in this discussion? Students who are currently finishing their Mills programs, transferred when it became clear their academic pathways came to an end at Mills, or took time off during the pandemic but have been unable to return: Each of these students has met the criterion of membership in the AAMC. As these alums will be part of the AAMC for generations beyond us and as their input is vital in shaping its future, can they inform this transition?

In the Home field, three different descriptions amount to the same ambiguity: the home is not determined. In Option 1: “May need to find a new location (potentially Benicia or Oakland)”; in Option 2: “Reinhardt Alumnae House (RAH) subject to agreement with NU, which may include paying rent”; in Option 3: “Determined by NU.” Our home was confirmed in the 2017 Memorandum of Collaboration and Agreement, which reaffirms the 1948 agreement between Mills College and the AAMC granting “exclusive use, rent free, of Reinhardt House for all reasonable purposes….” Why does the AAMC’s home need to be negotiated when it has already been established?

The field Potential Activities, under Options 1 and 2, lists the same activities. Other Potential Activities differ between Options 1 and 2 with Reunion (alternative in Option 1 and coordinated with Northeastern with alternatives in Option 2); programs for women/queer/BIPOCcentered education, with programs to advocate for these groups in settings beyond the Mills campus in Option 1 and programs for Northeastern students to learn in Option 2. Options 1 and 2 both include all of the activities described in Option 3, including career resources, Reunions for the foreseeable future, publications, branches, Alumnae Engagement Committee (AEC), discounts, campus amenities and access, and alumnae email. Indeed, alums have already been assured access to these activities by the Office of Alumnae Relations. Where these options differ is under Option 2, which states “Advocate for NU to preserve historical Mills curriculum (music, dance, education, etc.).” Even though Northeastern University indicated a commitment to continue these programs when negotiating in fall 2021, these programs are currently inactive. Does this advocacy lead anywhere when Northeastern has demonstrated a different mission for the campus?

There are concerns I have with negotiating the future of the AAMC with Northeastern. Given these factors, I feel that Option 1: “Independent/No formal NU relationship” maintains the mission, heart, legacy, and autonomy of the AAMC, allowing the AAMC to steward its ideals, assets, and resources, while positioning it to maintain accountability. –Christa Lewis ’86, San Francisco