On Monday, July 6th 2026, Mount Holyoke College announced its decision to close the Language and Culture Commons (LCC) effective August 15, 2026. This decision was made by Mount Holyoke administration without consultation of Library, Information, and Technology Services (LITS), or the languages departments, or the LCC staff and student workers. The college claims this decision is part of a budget reduction necessary for MHC's "long-term financial sustainability" and considers it as part of MHC's "future and core academic mission." MHC promises that "our language departments are not endangered," but this decision follows the closure of the Arabic, German, and Russian and Eurasian Studies programs. It will significantly undermine students' access to library resources and language-learning and cultural immersion resources, and it will take away a place on campus where international students gather, study together, learn from each other, and feel safe.  For an institution that prides itself on its "welcoming, diverse and inclusive community," Mount Holyoke is taking away spaces where diversity and inclusion are promoted. It is disadvantaging current and future students and claiming that languages and cultural studies are unworthy of funding. Please consider signing this petition to show support for those impacted and to showcase to MHC administration that it must consider the needs of students, staff, and faculty before making decisions on behalf on the community. Together, we can push for the survival of the LCC.