“You can’t hurt Christmas, Mr. Mayor, because it isn’t about the gifts or the contests or the fancy lights.”

The girls of Mem East embraced these words, from the famous Dr. Seuss optimist Cindy Lou Who on Sunday, December 3, when they came together to attend Easthampton’s fifth Annual Whobilation.

This event is unique to Easthampton because it is believed that “Mt. Crumpit,” which overlooks Whoville in the 1957 Dr. Seuss book “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” was inspired by the view from Mt. Tom, as seen at the top of route 141.

Set in the small town of Whoville, the story features the Grinch, an unpleasant, Christmas-hating creature who lives by himself on a mountain above the town. The Grinch wants to stop Christmas from coming by stealing presents and decorations in an attempt to destroy the Christmas spirit. In the end, with a little help from young Cindy Lou Who, the Grinch realizes that Christmas comes from love and means more than just material items.

The book was later turned into a 20 minute long cartoon in 1966. In 2000, Universal Pictures published the live action movie version staring Jim Carrey.

This year’s holiday celebration was under the gazebo in Millside Park, behind Eastworks. People from town gathered to drink hot chocolate, sing carols, and take pictures with Santa and the Grinch.

Dorm head Katherine Garrity and the proctors of Mem East, Sara Renkert, Sabrina Liew, and Stella Piasecki, set up the trip.  [Editor’s note: the author of this article is also on one of the four dorm proctors.]

“First of all, I think it is important for the girls in the dorm to see the town of Easthampton,” said Mrs. Garrity. “Second, it was an easy dorm-bonding activity where we get to give back to the community in the smallest way.” Garrity said she would love for this to become a tradition for the dorm.

Nine girls walked to the celebration, among them sophomore Nina Renkert.

“I loved hearing all of the Christmas music, it got me in a really festive mood,” said Nina. “I got to sing with my friends and drink hot chocolate, it was super fun.”

Nina said this was different than usual dorm bonding activities which “are usually inside, but this time we got to actually walk somewhere and even that twenty-minute walk was a good time. It also felt really good to get a gift for someone who has very little, it was nice to be able to give back to the community and watch everyone sharing the holiday spirit.”

At the Whobilation, donations were encouraged to the Toys for Tots organization in the form of unwrapped toys or cash.

Toys for Tots was started by the Marine Reserves in 1947 to provide toys for underprivileged children. According to the Toys for Tots website, the program has donated more than 530 million toys to over 244 million children.

On campus, Toys for Tots also has a presence. Donations are being accepted in boxes behind Ms. Motyka’s desk. Along with Toys for Tots, there is a canned food drive.

The drive takes place through December 13 in the Schoolhouse. Nonperishable canned and boxed goods are acceptable, or a $1 donation to the Food Bank, which is the equivalent of three meals.

The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts distributes donations to member agencies throughout Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire Counties. Agencies include food pantries, meal sites, brown bag sites, mobile food bank sites, senior centers, shelters youth programs, and other charitable organizations.

Each Williston class is competing in the food drive for a dress down day. As of press time, the sophomores are in the lead.