The Swellesley Report

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Rain or shine, Wellesley College’s annual hoop rolling event is ‘full circle’ moment for graduating seniors

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Arushi Ghosh, Wellesley hoop rolling champ
Arushi Ghosh, the winner of Saturday’s hoop rolling race at Wellesley College, posed in her graduation gown with her hoop (Photo by Jennifer Lambert)

 
Not even heavy rain could dampen the excitement Saturday morning as Wellesley College seniors ran down Tupelo Lane with wooden hoops in one of the school’s oldest traditions.

The annual hoop rolling race, which dates back to 1895, marks a celebratory right of passage for Wellesley seniors. During the race, seniors sprint about an eighth of a mile while rolling wooden hoops. The objective is to keep the hoop rolling upright, but many seniors dropped their hoops, picked them up and kept running—even if it caused them to fall behind a bit. 

Originally, it was said that the winner would be the first to marry, but today she “will be the first to achieve success, however the winner defines it,” according to Wellesley Magazine.

This year’s winner, Arushi Ghosh, was thrilled to fulfill what she sarcastically called her “ultimate purpose” at Wellesley.

Arushi Ghosh stood proud in Lake Waban after being tossed in by two of her friends.
Arushi Ghosh stood proud in Lake Waban after
being tossed in by two of her friends
(Courtesy photo from Arushi Ghosh)

 
“The reason I came to Wellesley was to win hoop rolling,” joked Ghosh, an economics major from Hong Kong. “Forget about the bachelor’s degree–now I get a hoop rolling degree.”

Ghosh and her friend, Gabriella Olavarria, were the first seniors to arrive. About two rows of people there were underclassmen saving spots for their “Big Sisters.” Some of those “littles” had been there since 6 a.m. Ghosh and Olavarria arrived around 8:10 a.m., almost an hour before the race’s 9 a.m. start.

“We were texting from bed, and we were like, ‘Should we do it? Should we rally? Should we try to win?’” Ghosh said. “And then we got there, and we were the first seniors there, and all these underclassmen were bullying us because they were saving spots for their bigs, which is really sweet. But we were like, ‘OK, we’re here to win.’”

@swellesleyreport Annual hoop rolling race @Wellesley College ♬ original sound – swellesleyreport

Seniors Arushi Ghosh and Maya Lu-Heda, who were freshmen year roommates, posed in front of Lake Waban, where they also jumped into their freshmen year.
Seniors  Maya Lu-Heda and Arushi Ghosh, who were roommates as first-year students, posed in front of Lake Waban (Photo by Jennifer Lambert)

 
Around 200 seniors participated in the race–about a third of the approximately 600-person class of 2025. The race, which lasted only about 45 seconds, ended with Ghosh crossing the finish line and being tossed into Lake Waban by two of her friends. Throwing the winner into Lake Waban is a tradition that dates back to the 1980s, following a prank where a Harvard man posed as a Wellesley senior and won, according to WBUR.

For many seniors, Saturday’s race was a full-circle moment. Ghosh recalled her first year at Wellesley, when she and her freshman-year roommate, Maya Lu-Heda, jumped into the lake together as part of the “Lake Jump” tradition. In this tradition, resident assistants pick a random day to knock on freshmen’s doors and bring them outside to jump in Lake Waban together.

For many Wellesley seniors, who will graduate on May 16, the day was bittersweet.

“It feels weird because I’ve been to watch hoop rolling, and now we’re the ones doing it,” senior Jessica Cohen said.

hoop rolling
Students gathered to take photos after the hoop rolling race (photo by Jennifer Lambert)

 
The rain and potholes posed some challenges for the students, but they still embraced the spirit of the tradition.

“I’ve been excited for this since sophomore year, so it’s a shame that it’s raining but a beautiful day nonetheless,” senior Ellie Gurguliatos said.

For the seniors, many of whom had once stood on the sidelines cheering for older classmates, Saturday’s event marked an emotional milestone.

“Everyone goes, but only the seniors roll the hoops,” senior Alaina Fox said. “It’s such a big tradition, especially in the rain. I’ve never seen it like this before.”

Ghosh was happy she could finish her college experience by winning the race.

“Now I’m at peace,” she said. “I’m like ‘I can graduate now.’”

Wellesley College seniors Nyssa Youhn, Ellie Gurguliatos, Kathy Li, and Maya Lu-Heda posed with their hoops after the race.
Wellesley College seniors Nyssa Youhn, Ellie Gurguliatos, Kathy Li, and Maya Lu-Heda posed with their hoops after the race (Photo by Jennifer Lambert)

 
This story is part of a partnership between the Swellesley Report and the Boston University Department of Journalism.
 

 

Wellesley College community: Please consider supporting The Swellesley Report‘s independent journalism venture with a tax-deductible donation.

     

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Wellesley’s Strategic Housing Plan nears completion date amid tensions over growth, affordability

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As Wellesley prepares to release its long-anticipated Strategic Housing Plan this month, residents, advocates and town officials are clashing over a familiar dilemma: how to balance neighborhood preservation with the need for more diverse and affordable housing.

The town’s Planning Department is working with a consulting firm, Barrett Planning Group, to draft the plan. Eric Arbeene, Wellesley’s planning director, said the town is taking a “strategic approach” to look at what kinds of housing the community needs, from affordable and senior housing to “missing middle” options like townhouses and condos.

The plan would succeed the housing production plan, which was adopted in 2018 to help Wellesley meet a state rule requiring at least 10% of the town’s housing to be affordable. 

The town is incorporating input from a public survey, community forums and discussions with advocacy groups. Arbeene, Meghan Jop, the executive director of government services, and Corey Testa, the assistant executive director, meet biweekly with Barrett Planning Group to discuss the plan’s progress. 

“Wellesley is a very affluent community where the average sale price is about $2 million for a home,” Arbeene said. “You combine that with high demand for housing, not just in the town, but across the whole region and state, it’s … what does the town want? That was the genesis of the public survey, these meetings, and whatnot — to see what the town wants.”

Strategic housing plan meeting at WHS
Strategic Housing Plan forum (June, 2024)

 

More than 1,400 residents participated in the townwide survey last year, a small sample size for a town of almost 30,000 people. While nearly three-quarters of residents said it’s important to stay in Wellesley as they age, fewer than half of all respondents, including non-residents, said they could afford Wellesley’s $1.9 million median single-family home if they were to buy one in 2023.

The open-ended responses were split: Some residents voiced concern about losing community character, while others stressed the need for housing that teachers, older people, young families and other workers can afford.

Ann-Mara Lanza, founder and co-chair of Building a Better Wellesley, a housing advocacy group, said the survey reinforced what her group already sees: a shortage of attainable homes. However, she emphasized that since not everyone in town participated in the survey, it is not completely representative of the community.

“There are definitely people who feel strongly that they don’t want Wellesley to ever change – they’re out there,” Lanza said. “And then there are other people who see the needs, who want to find a solution for seniors, who understand that multi-family housing is not an evil but that it is a piece of the puzzle.”

Katie Schuller founded Neighbors for Better Planning — a group focused on neighborhood preservation in development decisions — after she was concerned about a proposed 64-unit condo project threatening wetlands and historic homes near Cliff Road. She said people also voiced their concerns in the community forums on Nov. 14 and 17. 

“People basically said that they like the town the way it is,” Schuller said, “and that they wanted to protect our open spaces, the safety of the town — those kinds of things.”

The plan is also being shaped by a town-appointed Housing Task Force made up of public officials and community members. Building a Better Wellesley was initially on the task force, and then Jop expanded it to include Neighbors for Better Planning, Friends of Brookside and Wellesley Conservation Land Trust to get alternative perspectives, Jop said in a Feb. 27 Advisory Committee meeting.

“The Housing Task Force does not vote or approve anything,” Jop said in the meeting. “They work within the public bodies.”

Funding for the Strategic Housing Plan came from Town Meeting, Jop said. She also said that it is taking longer than expected to come out because the town is prioritizing public opinion.

“None of our plans come out on time, in particular in Wellesley, to be quite honest with you, because we try and include public engagement and get back to people as best we can and be inclusive,” Jop said in the committee meeting.

At the center of the town’s housing tension is the Residential Incentive Overlay, or RIO, bylaw, which allows multi-unit projects on sites larger than one acre and near commercial centers and transit. 

In 2019, the bylaw was broadened to allow RIOs in all zoning districts, including single-residence zones. That change helped Wellesley push forward with major developments — including Terrazza on Linden Street and The Bristol on Weston Road — and surpass the state’s 10% affordable housing threshold.

Schuller says her group wants more transparent planning surrounding RIOs.

“None of the abutters had been notified, or informed, or talked to,” Schuller said about the proposed Cliff Road project.

That concern has continued with Article 42, a citizen petition that would restrict RIOs to commercial and industrial zones. It is on the Town Meeting warrant and is expected to be discussed in one of the scheduled sessions this week or next. Petitioners argue that this would help preserve neighborhood character and prevent unexpected development.

The Planning Board has voted 4-0 against Article 42. The board’s chair, Tom Taylor, outlined the reasons why in an April 4 Swellesley Report Letter to the Editor. In the letter, he advocated for awaiting the Strategic Housing Plan before making changes to the RIO bylaw.

Max Woolf, who spoke on behalf of the Charles River Regional Chamber in a Feb. 26 Advisory Committee meeting, advocated to oppose Article 42, and said eliminating RIOs from residential areas would affect the town’s workforce.

“For Wellesley’s health care facilities, child care centers, grocery stores and countless other businesses, attracting and retaining employees is directly tied to housing availability,” Woolf said. “Weakening the RIO bylaw further limits opportunities for the workforce that keeps Wellesley running.”

Last month, Wellesley voted to form a task force to review the RIO bylaw and recommend changes to it.

After about a year of work on the Strategic Housing Plan, residents are ready to see the results. However, Lanza says she would rather wait than have a rushed plan.

“I know we’d all like it like yesterday, but I’d rather have a more thorough job done, personally, from the consultant,” she said.

Barrett Planning Group is expected to give an update on the plan in late April or early May, Arbeene said.

This story is part of a partnership between the Swellesley Report and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

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Less than a week before town election, candidates discuss green initiatives at Sustainable Wellesley event

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Candidates for town office agreed at a forum Wednesday that Wellesley must stay committed to sustainability for the sake of the community’s future.

The event, hosted by Sustainable Wellesley less than a week before the March 4 town election, allowed each candidate in the town’s two contested races — for seats on the Select Board and Recreation Commission — to give a three-minute speech about their positions on sustainability.

 

Wednesday night’s Sustainable Wellesley event at the Wellesley Public Library was well-attended, with Town Meeting members, residents, and Wellesley High School students.
Wednesday night’s Sustainable Wellesley event at the Wellesley Public Library was well-attended, with Town Meeting members, residents, and Wellesley High School students (photo by Jennifer Lambert)

 

The Select Board candidates — Kenny Largess, Odessa Sanchez, and Michael Tauer — kicked things off.

Largess, a member of Wellesley’s Advisory Committee, told the crowd that the town is responsible for its future.

“We wouldn’t build a house knowing it would crumble in a few years,” Largess said. “But when we ignore sustainability, that’s exactly what we’re doing — building a future on shaky ground.”

He said sustainability can benefit the town’s economy and that “short-sighted decisions” can create long-term damage that is more expensive to fix.

“Energy-efficient homes lower utility bills,” Largess said. “Walkable, bikeable towns boost local businesses. Communities that invest in sustainability become more desirable places to live, raising property values. The future economy is green, and towns that resist change risk being left behind.”

Sustainable Wellesley displayed posters encouraging environmentally-friendly practices around the Wakelin Room at the Wellesley Public Library.
Sustainable Wellesley displayed posters encouraging environmentally-friendly practices around the Wakelin Room at the Wellesley Public Library (Photo by Jennifer Lambert).

 

Sanchez, chairperson of the Wellesley Housing Authority, said she listened in on Climate Action Committee workshops when she became chair in 2021. She lives in public housing and wants to ensure it is included in sustainable action.

“I swore myself to be dedicated to find out more ways that my community — I live in public housing — can be recognized and be considered whenever they’re making any kind of sustainability initiatives,” Sanchez said.

Collaboration among environmental advisers, town stakeholders, residents, and businesses is necessary to achieve environmental justice, she said.

“Going green should never create a hardship for anyone, and I think that if I was on the Select Board I would make sure that those conversations happen,” Sanchez said.

Tauer, chair of the Permanent Building Committee (PBC), said sustainability is about maintaining the planet for future generations.

“Whatever we’re arguing about today, whatever we’re focused on today, we will wake up tomorrow and we will still share this one special planet that we have,” Tauer said. “So if we’re going to achieve that goal of handing off a town that is vibrant and thriving and sustainable and financially secure, it is critical that we also hand off a planet that is vibrant and thriving and secure.”

The crowd included many members of the Wellesley community, including Town Meeting members, residents, and Wellesley High School students.

Maisie Fitzpatrick, a student taking an AP environmental science class at Wellesley High, said she appreciated the candidates’ emphasis on the future.

“Since I’m learning about the environment in school and how important it is to take action now, it was really cool how much they were emphasizing wanting to make a better place for the younger generation,” Fitzpatrick said.

Tauer also highlighted the sustainability impacts of his work through the PBC on Hardy and Hunnewell Elementary Schools. Both were net-zero buildings with all-electric systems, and Tauer and the PBC are working to make the Warren Recreation Center net-zero.

The Recreation Commission candidates — Nathalie de Fontnouvelle, Garfield Miller, and Laurance Stuntz — also delivered brief speeches. De Fontnouvelle could not attend, but Sustainable Wellesley board member Phyllis Theermann read written remarks de Fontnouvelle sent beforehand.

De Fontnouvelle wrote that she heard the results of the 2023 MetroWest Adolescent Health Survey in a school committee meeting, and said pollution can be a stress factor and harm mental health.

Evaelle Huor, another student taking an AP environmental class at Wellesley High School, said she was intrigued by de Fontnouvelle’s comments.

“I didn’t know the link between pollution and climate change and mental health,” Huor said.

Miller — a volunteer at the Tolles Parsons Center and a participant in other recreation activities in town — said that after discussing the mission of the Recreation Department with its director, Matt Chin, he thought about how it could connect to Sustainable Wellesley’s mission.

“If you put those two missions into a Venn diagram, there’s obviously going to be places where they might butt heads, but there’s also areas, I think, where we could work together to make improvements to the town.”

He listed initiatives such as encouraging the continued use of shared resources, promoting afterschool activities on-site at schools, and advocating for more busing as ways the Recreation Department can improve while remaining sustainable.

Stuntz, who is seeking re-election, joked about the refreshments at the event at the start of his speech.

“There’s nothing more sustainable than the fact that there’s no plastic cups and nothing more Wellesley than the fact that they’re all Yacht Club double old-fashioned glasses,” he said.

Stuntz said he has always supported Sustainable Wellesley’s goals and voted in favor of sustainable practices in town. To him, sustainability means reusing and sharing resources.

A sign reminding voters that election Day is Tuesday is displayed for drivers.
A sign reminding voters that election Day is Tuesday is displayed for drivers (photo by Jennifer Lambert)

“I do think that there’s always going to be a balance between, we should reduce our carbon footprint, but that doesn’t mean no development whatsoever,” Stuntz said.

Theermann of Sustainable Wellesley said she was pleased that the event, held at the Wellesley Free Library, was well attended, but she hopes people vote.

“There’s so many things that people can do, and some things are heavy lifts, and some things are not,” she said. “Voting is an easy lift, and people should definitely get out and vote their values.”

This story is part of a partnership between the Swellesley Report and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

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Wellesley moves to strengthen arts and culture scene with new strategic plan

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The Wellesley Select Board is partnering with the town’s Cultural Council to develop a strategic plan for arts and culture, an initiative they say will boost the town’s social fabric and economic viability.

Corey Testa, Wellesley’s assistant executive director, was tasked with organizing this plan after Select Board members Lise Olney and Marjorie Freiman identified the need for arts and culture as a top priority.

“We have some really great organizations, nonprofits, and entities in town that provide arts and culture offerings and programming, but they’re really kind of disjointed and disparate,” Testa said. “They don’t work together, they don’t organize as one group, and people, therefore, don’t really know that they’re in town.”

The plan is in “the infancy phase,” as Testa is still working to secure funding from the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, which he said he’s hoping to hear from in the next three to six months.

“As soon as [the MAPC] lets us know if we’re going to get some funding through them, we would start as soon as they’re available,” Testa said.

electrical box painting
A traffic box painted by Alexander Golob at Washington Street and Glen Road, in front of St. John the Evangelist Church. The painting is part of Wellesley’s Traffic Box Art Program, which the Cultural Council helped fund. (Photo by Jennifer Lambert)

 

Olney said an arts and culture initiative has been on her “back burner for a long time,” but the turning point for many Select Board members was when they attended a Chamber of Commerce event last year. Michael J. Bobbitt, the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s executive director, spoke about how arts and culture can drive economic development.

“He made such a compelling case for this kind of nexus between arts and culture and economic development, and particularly on the local level, and what a huge boon it is to communities to have active arts and culture scenes because it brings people to your community,” Olney said.

The Wellesley Cultural Council serves as the local presence of the Massachusetts Cultural Council. It comprises nine volunteers appointed by the select board, said Marc Zawel, the Wellesley council’s chair. The council allocates funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council to community-based projects in the arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences. It announced its latest grant recipients this month.

“We’re really excited about both the role that the council can play as well as the potential to really revitalize both from an economic standpoint as well as from a quality of life and cultural standpoint, the arts initiatives that are happening here in Wellesley,” Zawel said.

electrical box painting
The traffic box in front of Warren Park was painted by Kathryn Fischmann. She was a rising junior at Wellesley High School when she painted the box. Marc Zawel, chair of the Wellesley Cultural Council, said the traffic boxes are the most prominent and public art the council gave grants to. (Photo by Jennifer Lambert)

 

Testa explained how developing arts and culture can impact the town’s economic viability.

“If we’ve got more of a broader arts and culture offering in town, we can drive more people — not just residents, but visitors and shoppers — to those arts and culture offerings, and vice versa,” Testa said. “People who go to see the symphony orchestra, or go to the town band, or go to an art gallery can then go to a restaurant for dinner. So they can coexist and work to help each other.”

Through some of his early research, Testa learned that Needham had worked to develop its arts and culture scene over the past year and finalized an action plan in July. Two members of the Needham Council for Arts and Culture gave insights to the Wellesley Cultural Council at its Jan. 13 meeting.

They learned that Needham secured funding from the MAPC and got additional funding from the town. It also has a “much larger, more robust council,” Zawel said. He described the Wellesley Cultural Council’s team as “small but mighty” and said it received about $10,000 from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

“We had to reject more grants than we could accept, and we could not fully fund even the grants that we did approve just because we have very limited resources to work with,” Zawel said.

For the first time, Wellesley is considering investing town funds for the Wellesley Cultural Council in its 2025-26 budget, which will go to Town Meeting on April 1. The town is also considering a bylaw to more formally recognize the council’s existence and scope.

“It’s still small dollars,” Testa said. “But it’s really our way of showing that the Select Board … want[s] to support this part of the community.”

Annie Newman, co-founder and executive director of ArtWellesley, one of many arts organizations in town, hosted a fundraiser in September called “Small Art, Big Party”. Around 300 people attended, and the event raised more than $17,000 for future programming.

“What was amazing to me was not only that all of the artists came out, but again, the broader community came out to support the arts,” Newman said. “And I think people have always assumed that that community didn’t exist in Wellesley, but I think just by having the party and having so many people show up … it reinforced what we sort of already knew, and that is that there is a desire for this in town.”

Zawel said he has also been impressed by the town’s interest in art during his time on the council.

“What’s been really remarkable is seeing just the level of engagement and interest in the arts within Wellesley,” Zawel said.

The Wellesley Cultural Council’s most well-known grant, Zawel says, was a collaboration between the Public Art Committee and the Wellesley Police Department to paint artwork on the boxes around town that contain electronic equipment for traffic signals. If they removed the paintings, people would notice, Zawel said.

“That’s the thing with public art,” he said. “It becomes part of the fabric and the landscape of the place in which it’s installed.”

Newman said anything to do with arts and culture in town is “a great move forward.”

“More art is good,” Newman said. “Promoting creativity is good. I believe that creative energy enriches our community, and so whatever the town leadership can do to encourage more creative thinking and more creative energy, the better.”

electrical box painting
Alyssa Avila painted this traffic box at Washington Street and Walnut Street. “The left binocular depicts a nighttime scene by Wellesley town hall while the right depicts a sunrise from Church Square,” according to the town’s website. (Photo by Jennifer Lambert)

 

This story is part of a partnership between the Swellesley Report and the Boston University Department of Journalism.

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Wellesley Public Schools won’t reduce bus fees next school year due to ‘budget constraints’

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After reducing bus fees for three straight years to encourage more ridership, the Wellesley school system will keep the price at $300 next year for students living within 2 miles of their schools.

“The budget for next year had some pretty tight constraints, so we weren’t able to work that in,” said Niki Ofenloch, vice chair of the Wellesley School Committee.

School buses are free to ride for students up to grade 6 who live more than 2 miles from their schools. All students in grades 7 through 12 and those who live less than 2 miles from school must pay the fee. 

The bus fee was $521 for the 2021-22 school year, but the district gradually reduced it over the next three years, lowering it this year to $300 per student, with a $700 family cap. By increasing ridership, the school system aims to help the town lower carbon emissions and time spent in traffic.

As fees have been reduced, more students are taking the bus. Paid ridership grew from 810 to 971 over the three years, said Sharon Gray, a spokesperson for Wellesley Public Schools. Gray cautioned that the district has not made a direct correlation between the fee reductions and the increase in ridership, however.

Bus ridership increased even as overall school enrollment declined over these three years. The district projects that enrollment will continue decreasing in the next two years, according to the recently approved budget.

School buses. Mass Bay Community CollegeAlthough school bus fees have not been lowered for the 2025–26 school year, Ofenloch said the school system still has a strategy to get more students on the bus. The district’s five-year strategic plan, adopted in 2023, called for eliminating bus fees by the 2027–28 school year.

“It is still part of the district’s strategic plan to continue to reduce the bus fees,” Ofenloch said. “And I think the School Committee will, each year, as part of the budget process, consider that and determine the best possible path forward. [This year] there was not a change in strategy – it was just a tight budget constraint.”

Wellesley has three MBTA commuter rail stations and three MWRTA bus stops, but traffic congestion persists. Only 5% of Wellesley residents said they use public transit to get to work, while 49% drive alone, according to 2023 U.S. Census data.

Rachel Laufer pays the $300 bus fee for her daughter, a first-grader at Hunnewell Elementary School. She said cars on Washington Street are often “bumper to bumper.”

“Sometimes [traffic] in Wellesley is super stressful, just getting from point A to point B,” Laufer said. “You just get clogged up, and there’s just way too many cars.”

Finn Reilly, a sophomore at Wellesley High School, said he drives to school and often gets caught in traffic.

“Especially before school, there’s a ton of traffic,” he said. “You maybe move up five cars in one minute. It’s crazy. What would be a 5-10 minute drive takes like 20 minutes.”

Phyllis Theermann, a board member of Sustainable Wellesley, which advocates for local climate action, agreed that traffic congestion is a problem in town.

“We have a saying that, ‘You are not in traffic – you are traffic,’” Theermann wrote in an email.

Wellesley has a greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. About 32% of Wellesley’s emissions came from transportation in 2023, according to the greenhouse gas emissions inventory from the Climate Action Committee.

“The more folks we get out of single-occupancy vehicles and into public transit, school buses, walking, biking, scooter and carpooling, the better,” Theermann wrote.

Brynn Franceschini, a sophomore at Wellesley High School, said she understands the environmental impact but isn’t sure how many high school students would take the bus rather than drive to school.

“A lot of people like [driving to school], but reducing carbon emissions is always important,” Franceschini said.

Laufer said she appreciates Hunnewell’s “Safe Routes to School Program,” which encourages “walking, biking, and rolling to school” in the warmer months, according to the school’s website. 

She said her daughter, Olivia, loves the program.

“It’s all about getting outdoors,” Laufer said. “[The students] walk right on the Brook Path, and they give the kids keychains. It’s a really fun event. I love that they do that. That’s a great option, too, as opposed to taking the bus, but both would be great.”

Making things more accessible for families helps drive the goal of eliminating bus fees and increasing ridership, Ofenloch said.

“It just allows families to have another way for their children to get to school,” she said.

 

This story is part of a partnership between the Swellesley Report and the Boston University Department of Journalism.