Archive

Word-Pain Rising

I see the abyss before me, and it glows pixelated-white. I want to reach out, caress it… caress it like I might a cat—except this cat is deranged, with the cold eyes of an unrepentant killer. I anticipated an amicable response to my offering of friendship, and now I shudder beneath the weight of lightning-bolt pangs…Continue Reading Word-Pain Rising

Power Outage

Nearly 5 months after Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico, hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans – American citizens – remain without power. It is the biggest blackout in U.S. History and still some homes are not anticipated to regain power until May. Emergency efforts dealing with power devastation following the hurricane were…Continue Reading Power Outage

Why Students Should Care About Amherst’s Climate Action Plan

“Unless people are engaged in the struggle–unless they themselves have gone through the process of creating change through collective and individual acts of solidarity, reciprocity, and cooperation–they will not internalize democratic, egalitarian and ecological values or be convinced of their necessity.”[1] – Fred Magdoff & Chris Williams It’s already been too long. In February of…Continue Reading Why Students Should Care About Amherst’s Climate Action Plan

Report on Athletics Raises More Questions Than It Answers

“The place of athletics at Amherst is fucking ridiculous.”  I was halfway through my interview with a professor about faculty concerns with the recent report on the place of athletics at Amherst when she blew my hair back with this line.  I looked up from my notebook.  I expected professors to be frustrated with the…Continue Reading Report on Athletics Raises More Questions Than It Answers

International Students Face Job Uncertainties

As spring semester approaches, many Amherst students are hoping to land a summer internship or post-graduation job. While the job application process for all students is immensely stressful, international students are among the specific groups of students burdened with extra considerations for the future. In a time when immigration has focalized within political discussion, it’s…Continue Reading International Students Face Job Uncertainties

Men’s Cross Country Maintained Misogynistic, Racist Email Chain

by Daniel Ahn, Helen Mayer, and Sam Wohlforth A current junior member of the Amherst cross-country team sent a team-wide email containing a list of women that described their sexual histories and supposed sexual proclivities next to their photographs on June 14, 2015. The list was directed to the first-year recruits who awaited matriculation to Amherst…Continue Reading Men’s Cross Country Maintained Misogynistic, Racist Email Chain

Editorial: After Men’s XC Emails, Examine All Athlete Spaces

by Helen Mayer, Sam Wohlforth, and Daniel Ahn We were motivated to write this editorial because we believe that the national conversation started by Donald Trump’s “locker room talk” comments has added precious little to the conversation around sexual violence and athlete culture. Until recently, we had no reason to believe that the Amherst administration…Continue Reading Editorial: After Men’s XC Emails, Examine All Athlete Spaces

Houses of the Future: Balancing Luxury and Utility

To many, the idea of home automation belongs to the realm of science fiction. Nevertheless, this technology is appearing all around us. “Home automation” refers to the use of one or more computers to control basic home functions and features. These technologies have the capability to revolutionize the way in which we function in our…Continue Reading Houses of the Future: Balancing Luxury and Utility

Rest Stop

Sitting at the counter of a rest stop someone once told me, “A man knows where he is from when he knows where he wants to be buried.” And maybe married? Parry the blow. I know my spot already: On this cliff’s deep green Looking out to sea, to see the curved horizon proving the…Continue Reading Rest Stop

Deplorable Common Spaces

Another day, another pile of crusty plates and bowls and spoons to scrape the scum off of. I head down to the first-floor kitchenette, and what do I find? Counters covered in mysteriously sticky substances. Dirty dishes left in the sink for days on end. A bottle of Smirnoff, empty (the latter trait irking me…Continue Reading Deplorable Common Spaces

Ex-Varsity

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

Academics Anonymous

  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

The Long Life of Names

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

Asking For It

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

Time’s Fool

‘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

Cougar Blues

“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

Greenway: Not the Only Way

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

Droughts: the Elephant in the Room

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

Shades of Yellow

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