Category: Past Pieces

Pre-2020

Masks

While I have stayed at L. Bergstrom (23)’s family in the past months as I am unable to obtain a VISA renewal in China due to Covid-19, the family made over fifty masks and gave out most of them to those in need, including 39 masks to a nurse at the Dignity Hospital in Folsom,…Continue Reading Masks

“a world changed”

if i could say everything          all             at once                  i would.                           to be truthful                   i need to say              my body is floating   for fear of disintegration,      decompensating i breathe deeply        i think in moments even though          they are fleeting flashes have          soft, violent duration.    can pain make time detect -ible?        i doubt                        to be…Continue Reading “a world changed”

Misty

For my dog, upon her seventh birthday   She does not run as fast as she once did. Still, her legs swing like furry pendulums, Tiny chest seeming to graze the ground as She sprints after a wayward tennis ball.   The sound of knocking at the door used to Make her leap down from…Continue Reading Misty

Violence and Control

In the wake of the terrible shooting that took place in Florida a few weeks ago, I’d like to talk briefly about the difference between violence and control—there is no difference. Violence is control. Control is violence. Guns are violence, just as are hateful words. Telling someone they’re not good enough is violence, as is…Continue Reading Violence and Control

Flightless Bird

It was about 6:15 a.m. on Wednesday, February 21st, and 61-year-old Don McCevoy was following the perimeter of the New Science Building. He walked with a slight limp, which he’s had for years, the result of some long-forgotten injury. Don wore old jeans and a bright blue windbreaker. He swept a cane from left to…Continue Reading Flightless Bird

#MeToo: What Now?

On January 20th, I took to the streets of New York City, protesting alongside 200,000 other feminists, demanding equality in the second annual Women’s March. With the recent onslaught of sexual assault accusations, beginning with Weinstein and permeating out of LA and into our daily lives, the March could not have come at a more…Continue Reading #MeToo: What Now?

A Letter to Power

To Power: I saw you in my memories the other day. They were of my father and the stories he told me as a child, oral histories and old tales shipped express from his life in Ghana. I remember the Ashanti queens, such strong and powerful leaders, and the warriors with bodies coated in gold. I…Continue Reading A Letter to Power

Power in My Mother’s Hands

“I’m shutting down the business.” A few weeks ago, I received the most crushing news. Recalling it still introduces a heaviness into my limbs, the weight of loss and defeat. My mother told me her news casually, casually enough that I cannot quite remember the details now–was it over text? Were we seated at the…Continue Reading Power in My Mother’s Hands

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

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