If you’ve ever wondered what Amherst athletics has to say about its program, here it is: “Amherst College has the oldest athletics program in the nation, dating back to a compulsory physical fitness regimen that was put in place for all students in 1860. Today, over a third of the student body participates in varsity…Continue Reading Ex-Varsity
It seems odd that a college which has just opened an office for diversity and inclusion, one which makes such concerted efforts to combat discrimination, has not yet implemented a system of anonymous grading. Setting aside one particular idealism of a liberal arts education—a haughty presupposition that grades do not really matter anyway and…Continue Reading Academics Anonymous
Dear spacetime, I was going to write separate letters to space and to time but someone told me that your addresses were the same. I have never written to you. You don’t really know me. My role in your grand existence is that I cause little distortions. Very tiny distortions. In the spacetime where I…Continue Reading A Letter to Spacetime
In protesting the racist Lord Jeff mascot, student activists often cite his record of approving of genocidal tactics against the Native tribes his British army was trying to suppress. They rightly quote his letter to a subordinate in which he wonders “Could it not be contrived to send the Small Pox among those disaffected tribes…Continue Reading The Long Life of Names
Both on our campus and in the national news, “rape culture” has become a recent buzzword, catapulted into the forefront of our thoughts and conversations. When reading news articles, it’s easy to feel enraged about Donald Trump and “pussygate,” or fume over Brock Turner’s grossly expedited jail sentence and marvel at how anyone might question…Continue Reading Asking For It
On Thursday, the 20th, the Women’s Group held a Val-Sit and discussion in the back room of Val. We put up pieces of paper and markers on several of the tables. Questions were written on the paper like, “How do the social spaces on campus make you feel?” “What spaces belong to women on campus”…Continue Reading Taking Up Space at Amherst
We here at The Indicator like to make sure that all members of our community, especially those of us who are new here, are taking full advantage of what our great dining hall has to offer. There are a lot of tips and tricks that can take you from Traditional-Line-Every-Day shmoe to Valentine Dining Hall…Continue Reading Top 8 Val Tips For Freshmen
Look where I am, Ma A sunset soul wandering Transplanted, like a heart This isn’t anything like home, Ma…Continue Reading Look
‘You shut your fucking mouth Travers,’ he says, but not angrily or loudly, he says it firmly and resolutely and self-assuredly, even repeating, in a low, nodding murmur to himself, ‘you shut your fucking mouth.’ No one over the age of twenty-two has made eye contact in what seems like years….Continue Reading Time’s Fool
“I’m a Bond girl!” The gangly freshman boy, clad only in a women’s lacy slip dress and voluptuous blonde wig, twirled around, gesturing at the homemade “007 girl” sign affixed to his rear. “See?” he yelped triumphantly, then scurried away….Continue Reading Cougar Blues
Clearly, there has been a lot of careful thought put into the ongoing changes to our campus. As Biddy Martin writes on the Amherst website, “The Greenway recognizes the importance of the Amherst landscape and builds upon our tradition of rigorous academics balanced by quality of place.” This statement demonstrates an understanding of the importance…Continue Reading Greenway: Not the Only Way
About twelve miles from the Amherst campus lies the Quabbin reservoir, where outdoor enthusiasts go fishing, canoeing and hiking. However, this merry recreation cloaks the reservoir’s checkered history. Quabbin was dug in 1938 as a water supply to meet the rising demands of Boston. Its construction submerged the four towns of Dana, Enfield, Greenwich, and Prescott….Continue Reading Droughts: the Elephant in the Room
Nobody wants to talk about Asians. As neither the majority nor the true minority, we lie somewhere in limbo, as model minorities—a minority viewed as more successful than average in society. Statistically, we thrive economically in comparison to other racial groups and are overrepresented in professional-managerial work in the United States. As a result, our struggles…Continue Reading Shades of Yellow
In a typical day, the brainspace of Amherst stu- dents is taken up by many things: stress about the upcoming Econ Midterm or Anthro paper, curiosity about the next time Val will have Egg McCharlies, excitement about this weekend’s mixer, and countless other thoughts, ranging from mundane to profound. But there’s one subject taking up a…Continue Reading Pills and Patches and Rings! Oh My!
Idil Özdemir, Class of 2019 On the government’s use of religion during the coup: “When the coup happened, I was actually far away from Istanbul and Ankara, where you could feel the jets and the bombing. But what I learned that was particularly dystopic about the whole night of the coup was the nonstop prayers…Continue Reading Interviews with Turkish Classmates
For most people, both within Turkey and outside, the military coup attempt on the night of July 15th was the last thing anybody expected….Continue Reading A View From the Turkish Coup
During the summer, a recent Amherst graduate shared an article on Facebook about the black rights movement. As usual, I read the accompanying quote, skimmed the article, and tossed the post a like….Continue Reading Facebook Activism: Beyond the Like
In the weeks leading up to my move from California to Massachusetts, my parents continuously asked if I was at all nervous. And every time I simply thought, why would I be? I’m just going to school on another coast with students from all over the place? I thought I wouldn’t be in for any…Continue Reading Clash of the Coasts
The transition to college, a rite of passage for many, represents the final shedding of the vestiges of childhood. Teary parents deposit their progeny in an alien environment teeming with ice cream socials and deluges of information sessions. These teenagers, equipped with their smartphones and freshly minted student IDs, must navigate a novel social atmosphere…Continue Reading Crohn-sitioning
Dearest Companion, I have received your most recent correspon- dence and I regret to inform you that I am unable to attend your formal gathering— which you have so delicately titled “Getting Hammered”—at your domicile, located so conveniently within the veritable confines of Amherst College campus. I’m afraid, dear friend, I am somewhere far far…Continue Reading Letters from Tyler
so gather up the dust that dwells below bed, the real stuff of dreams;…Continue Reading Day-breaks
He howled against the stupidity of paper walls. Letters never swelled with lips or chest, Like a mind wholly mind, perching Its gooey wings; but still its shit Hit hard ground, hardly a ground That was mine to understand, Although inhuman, always of the world….Continue Reading I found ideas of madness at your door
In this star-spangled, god fearing country the orange-clad are granted a final meal before they’re offed….Continue Reading Cherry Pie
As I grow older, I appreciate villainy more and more. I appreciate it not only because superheroes bore me (Superman=Jesus), but because doing good is its own reward. The motivation for doing bad things is fundamentally more interesting….Continue Reading The Jerry Springer Show
They told me to Celebrate William Shakespeare’s birthday by eating dessert before dinner! I’m confused. What could Shakespeare possibly have to do with breaking the dinnertime rules that my poor hardworking mother drilled into my head? I can hardly begin to consider how Ma would feel—they’re already telling me to Come for the food and…Continue Reading Nausea
Though I’d like to say I’m creative when it comes to where I jog, this isn’t the case. Wherever I run, I stick to a few favorite paths. I have three in my hometown, one at my grandparents’ in Philadelphia, and four in Amherst. Known to most runners are the Norwottuck Rail Trail, the Emily…Continue Reading A Jog Down Main Street
“Feminism is cancer. Thank you very much.” With those words, Milo Yiannopoulos sat back down in his chair, not thirty seconds after walking to the podium and beginning the talk….Continue Reading The Sickening
We sat on the couch in front of the TV, in our Friday night spots. Lazy six’o’clock pink leaked in through white condo slits. Beautiful, but at the wrong angle—blinding….Continue Reading Let’s Get Married
As I am falling asleep in my room back home, I occasionally hear the wolves howling on the other side of our lake. I know these mournful cries belong to the wolves because, unlike coyotes, their notes are sustained across a single legato wail….Continue Reading Exploring Environmentalism with Wolves