Issue 11

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College Increases Tuition Assistance for ACEMS Interterm EMT Course

College Hires Full-Time Title IX Coordinator Elaine Vilorio ’17 Managing News Editor

Photo Courtesy of ACEMS

An Amherst College Emergency Medical Services (ACEMS) car responds to an emergency. On Friday, ACEMS received increased tuition assistance for its Interterm EMT course.

Sophie Murguia ’17 Managing News Editor On Friday, the Association of Amherst Students (AAS) and the Dean of Students Office agreed to extend tuition assistance for an EMT course held over Interterm. The course, which is organized by Amherst College Emergency Medical Services (ACEMS), saw a surge in demand this year as 44 applicants attempted to sign up.

Prior to Friday’s decision, ACEMS leaders had been uncertain as to whether the College would be covering the full cost of financial aid for the course. Although the class is held over Interterm, it is not currently recognized

as an Interterm course; instead, it traditionally receives funding through AAS, which has discretion over club budgets. ACEMS, which provides emergency medical care on campus, is considered a club because it is a student-run organization.

ACEMS Director of Operations Alexander Ordoobadi ’15 explained that the uncertainty over ACEMS’ funding began when the EMT course received an unprecedentedly high enrollment this year. “We’ve never had that many people apply for the course,� Ordoobadi said.

Last year, 27 people applied for the course, and all of them were accepted. This year, ACEMS had to turn away eight out of 44 ap-

plicants, because Massachusetts state law caps enrollment at 36. “I think becoming an EMT is a pretty cool thing,� Ordoobadi said, speculating about why the EMT course had seen such a spike in applications. He noted that the majority of people who sign up for the EMT course do so because they hope to join ACEMS. Although some students sign up for the EMT course because they hope to have careers in medicine, Ordoobadi stressed that this is not the only reason students consider becoming EMTs. “You always have a good number of people who are interested in helping people out on Continued on Page 3

On Friday, Nov. 15, a mass e-mail informed the Amherst College community of the hiring of a full-time Title IX Coordinator. Just the day before, Angie Epifano and another former Amherst student filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education on the basis of mishandling their sexual assault cases.

Many have voiced, then, that the announcement of the new hire came at a convenient time.

The new Title IX Coordinator, Laurie Frankl, will be taking over Suzanne Coffey’s current responsibilities. Along with her Title IX responsibilities, Coffey is the director of Athletics. This mingling of roles has caused many to strictly associate Title IX rights with sports. However, according to the Amherst site, “Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (‘Title IX’) prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity.� In the online description for candidates interested in applying for the Title IX Coordinator position, the following responsibilities were listed: “oversee Title IX compliance, monitor compliance with all College policies, including the Policy on Prohibited Harassment, Sexual Misconduct and Discrimination, coordinate the Title IX team, manage cases and respond to inquiries from students, faculty, staff and administrators regarding the policy and rights and responsibilities under the policy, coordinate training and education related to Title IX, oversee the management of the outside investigator/fact finder to ensure prompt, thorough, objective and confidential investigations of complaints of harassment, including sexual misconduct and discrimination, work collaboratively with the Deputy Title IX Officer in Student Affairs, the Dean of Faculty’s Office and Human Resources to ensure informed and consistent communication in policy implementation, provide oversight of investigations and grievance procedures for complaints of alleged harassment, sexual misconduct or discrimination, stay abreast of regContinued on Page 3

Amherst Splash Event Expands Class Offerings Sophie Murguia ’17 Managing News Editor

This past Saturday, the College welcomed nearly 100 local teenagers to its campus for Splash, a daylong event during which college students teach classes to middle school and high school students. The event is one of many Splash programs held nationwide and is now in its third year at Amherst College.

For the students who attend, Splash represents an opportunity to spend a day learning about subjects not normally offered in their middle and high schools. Classes taught this semester included such nontraditional subjects as Comedic Impressions, Intro to Beat Boxing and Modular Origami. Also popular this semester were basic language classes in Japanese, Chinese and Greek, as well as classes on cooking and baking.

Splash, which began as a program at MIT, has since expanded

to other U.S. colleges and universities, including Boston College, Stanford and the University of Chicago. Splash first came to Amherst in fall 2011, when members of the education club the EDU saw an opportunity to engage with the local community while pursuing their passion for education.

The group of original organizers has since graduated, but Splash lives on in the hands of the four sophomores who are spearheading the program this year. “Splash is actually the only event hosted by Amherst that allows students to teach. We have tutoring services, but that’s different,� said Kiko Aebi ’16, explaining why she was eager to play a key role in organizing the event.

Aebi, who managed logistics for the program, was excited for the opportunity to teach a curriculum of her own design, especially given that she is contemplating a career in education. In addition to her work handling room reservations and coordinat-

ing with the Facilities Department, Aebi also taught a class that “aims to prove that art is not just a bunch of pseudo-intellectual nonsense,� according to the course description.

Another one of the organizers, Vera Zhao ’16, agreed that Splash offers a unique opportunity for Amherst students. “I think it’s one of the few opportunities on campus that really allows for direct engagement with the community and for actual engagement in the surrounding area as well,� Zhao said.

Zhao co-taught a class on Nail Art for this Saturday’s Splash.

She is also the treasurer for the program.

This year, this opportunity attracted more Amherst and Five College students than it has in any other year since Splash’s inception. Omar Pineda ’16, director of teacher recruitment, estimated that there were about 36 teachers at Saturday’s event. The Continued on Page 3

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News

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Nov. 11 to Nov. 17, 2013

>>Nov. 11, 2013 12:06 a.m., Jenkins Dormitory A resident reported that at approximately 2 a.m., on Nov. 10, 2013, an unknown male appeared at the doorway of her room. The man, who may have been intoxicated, was told to leave, and he did.

5:04 p.m., Jenkins Dormitory An officer investigated a smoke detector sounding in a third-floor suite and discovered it was activated by steam from a shower. >>Nov. 14, 2013 12:41 a.m., Marsh House A resident reported the theft of a blue bicycle from the first-floor of the building.

3:45 p.m., Pontypool An officer investigated a motor vehicle accident.

7:24 p.m., Clark House An officer investigated a motor vehicle accident.

7:42 p.m., Coolidge Dormitory An officer responded to a complaint about the odor of marijuana smoke in the basement. Nothing was found upon arrival. >>Nov. 15, 2013 8:52 a.m., Gooding Field An officer responded to a report of a group of men painting an object at Gooding Field. The item was personally owned and related to a team experience.

11:48 a.m., Webster Circle A caller reported he found a note on his car and that someone had scratched it with a bicycle. Report taken.

2:45 p.m., South Amherst College Dr. A caller reported being involved in a minor property damage accident with his car. Report taken.

3:56 p.m., Tyler House An officer responded to a report of a group of youths behind a shed possibly smoking marijuana.

The caller stated they fled the area when they saw him. An officer investigated and found no one in the area.

5:49 p.m., Frost Library An officer investigated a case where political statements were written on the wall of a restroom.

6:41 p.m., Orr Lot An officer responded to a parking complaint where one car was blocking another. The matter was resolved.

11:44 p.m., Pond Dormitory An officer discovered an unauthorized party with cases of beer and hard alcohol in the basement. The event was shut down, and the alcohol was confiscated. >>Nov. 16, 2013 12:30 a.m., Hitchcock House While in Hitchcock, an officer

checked on the odor of marijuana and traced it to a secondfloor room. After speaking with the resident, a small amount of marijuana was confiscated. The resident was fined $100 for the smoking violation, and the matter was referred to the Dean’s Office.

12:44 a.m., Hitchcock While at a second-floor room, an officer confiscated two bottles of hard alcohol as the resident was underage. The matter was referred to the Dean’s Office.

8:53 a.m., Coolidge An employee reported a window smashed at the main entrance of the building.

8:57 a.m., Stone Dormitory An employee reported a smashed window in a third-floor suite.

4:36 p.m., Johnson Chapel Officers investigated an intrusion alarm for the tower. No cause could be found.

7:40 p.m., The Octagon An equipment cabinet on the first floor was found damaged. >>Nov. 17, 2013 12:04 a.m., Crossett Dormitory A man was arrested and charged with malicious destruction of property and possession of alcohol while underage. He was involved in an incident at Crossett in which a window was broken out of a door.

12:50 a.m., Campus Grounds A visitor was issued a written no-trespass order after being involved in an incident at Crossett.

1:23 a.m., Keefe Campus Center An officer discovered a pool of urine at the base of a set of stairs. Urine was also found all the way up the stairs. A custodian was called in.

1:38 a.m., Coolidge While in Coolidge, an officer discovered unattended alcohol in the stairwell. It was confiscated.

1:40 a.m., Coolidge Officers responded to a complaint about loud music and found parties in a first and second-floor suite. A group of approximately 75 people were cleared from the first-floor suite and approximately forty people from the second floor suite.

2:22 a.m., Coolidge Several college-owned chairs were found smashed in the basement.

2:37 p.m., Charles Pratt Dormitory A student was ejected from an event being held in O’Connor Commons for being involved in inappropriate behavior. The matter was referred to the Dean’s Office.

Thoughts on Theses: Noah Gordon Major: Asian Languages and Civilizations Advisor: Trent Maxey Q: What is your thesis about?

A: The basic premise is the way in which the Japanese people perceive race, especially blackness, given that historically there hasn’t been much contact between people of African descent and the Japanese. More specifically, my thesis focuses on the United States Occupation of Japan, when there were large numbers of African-American servicemen stationed there. This particular historical interaction, between black GIs and the defeated Japanese populace, is the subject of my research.

Q: Why did you choose to write on this topic?

A: I sort of randomly stumbled upon it along the course of my studies. I was taking a class called “Reinventing Tokyo” and we were talking about the occupation and looking at photographs [from that time period] taken

by Japanese photographers. There was one photo that stuck out to me, which depicted a black soldier in a military camp. The photographer had manipulated the camera in such a way that the soldier’s face filled the frame in a sort of menacing snarl. The content of this photo alone said a lot about the ways the photographer saw this soldier. I wondered about its implications — was the photographer depicting him in this way because he was a U.S. solider or because he was black?

And if the latter, where did that hostility come from?

Q: What do you find to be compelling about your topic?

A: I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of the flow of culture and the ways in which members of different cultures react to one another at different points in history. Here we have an extreme example: two peoples with very different collective histories and little past exposure to one another, suddenly mixing in massive numbers.

Prior to this period, Japanese people had only really learned about black people from Westerners, typically white traders and diplomats. The occupation [of Japan by the US] is the only period of Japanese history in which there was a substantial number of black people living on Japanese soil. The fact that very few scholars had explored this subject before was also a big draw for me.

Q: How do you think the Japanese perceive people of African descent today? What implications does the historical interaction have on the modern world?

A: There are a lot of people who say that Japan is a racist society. And there are examples to back that claim up: one prominent example is dakko-chan, a children’s toy whose design clearly draws on racist stereotypes. Another is that in 1986, the Prime Minister of Japan remarked that Japanese levels of education were higher than those in the U.S. because of the large Hispanic and African-American minority presence. We don’t know where this racism comes from or if it can even be called racism. I believe [this mindset] was inherited proximately and over time through Western, and especially American, cultural influence on Japan.

So, can we call the Japanese “racist?” What I’ve found so far that it isn’t so simple. African-Americans who served in Japan found [Japanese] society to be much more accepting of them than American society. In many ways, serving in Japan liberated them from

the shackles of Jim Crow back home. And Japanese newspapers of the time largely reflected a genuine interest in black achievement. Of course, this doesn’t fully answer the question, and I don’t think that my project alone can.

Q: Have you faced any challenges in writing your thesis?

A: Many of the archives I’m using are Japanese newspaper databases. And when newspaper databases are not digitized, it becomes very difficult to search them. Last Friday I spent five hours on the 22nd floor of the UMass library. I was navigating several bound volumes of the newspaper Asahi Shimbun. Each volume contained one year or half a year of newspapers and was about the size of one of those fancy dictionaries you find in the reference section. Luckily, there was an index for each month, but it was hard to find relevant articles because the indices are huge — they include every article printed! And everything is in Japanese, of course.

To summarize, in five hours of searching through these bound volumes, I found three that were somewhat relevant to my topic.

Whether they’ll actually be useful remains to be seen.

Q: Do you have any advice for students considering writing a thesis?

A: A lot of people think that you need to start with an answer, to start by knowing what you want to prove. But it’s a process of constantly revising and collecting your thoughts. One of my professors recently said to me that if there is an answer to your thesis that is simple enough for me to answer in a sentence or two, my thesis is probably not very interesting. An interesting thesis attempts to resolve questions with no straightforward answer and often makes the picture more complicated than we initially suspect.

Q: What have been some of the high points in the process so far?

A: There are two really rewarding moments in conducting history research. The first is stumbling upon a piece of original source material — something that you just know no one has considered before. When that happens, you feel like you can honestly contribute something new to the scholarly conversation surrounding your topic.

The other moment is when your brain randomly produces a thought which connects so many disparate points in your thesis and really wraps a section up nicely. This can happen anywhere — during your morning shower or as you’re falling asleep at night. You struggle to hold onto the thought and write it down as soon as possible. And once it’s down, you just keep writing.

Q: How much work have you done on your thesis so far?

A: Hah! Definitely not enough. At the moment I have about ten draft pages written. I hope to have a very rough draft of at least one chapter by the end of Thanksgiving break. My department is very lenient with deadlines, so technically Chapter 1 isn’t due until the end of the semester. But I want to get writing as soon as possible so that I can pump out the majority of what remains during Interterm. All in all, I want to have five or six chapters of about 15 to 20 pages each. One hundred pages is the arbitrary maximum I’ve set for myself.

Q: Have any parts of the thesis-writing process been surprising to you?

A: Writing my first page was way more difficult than I thought it would be. I couldn’t figure out where or how to start. I didn’t write a single page until a few weeks ago, but after that first page I think it became much easier.

The next nine pages came relatively naturally.

But I think I’m about to hit another slump as I begin to draft the next chapter — I’m having another “where to begin” moment. Hopefully I can resolve soon so I can put the thesis aside and celebrate Thanksgivukkah properly!

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College Extends Funding for EMT Class Continued from Page 1 campus, and that’s why they want to do it,” Ordoobadi said.

Although there is no one clear reason why interest in the EMT course has increased so dramatically this year, Ordoobadi noted that demand for the course has been rising ever since ACEMS began offering tuition assistance in fall 2011.

This year, part of the ACEMS funding troubles stemmed from the fact that more students requested tuition assistance this year than in years past. Nineteen out of 36 students requested some amount of financial aid, meaning that ACEMS had to request $17,200 from AAS in order to cover these costs. Last year, ACEMS requested $8,650 in tuition assistance from AAS and received $6,900.

“Because it’s at the end of the semester, and our funds are low too, we weren’t able to cover the entire cost,” said Abigail Xu ’15, the AAS Treasurer. “The Budgetary Committee and I tried to fund as much as we can, because we do believe that ACEMS plays a pivotal role on campus in ensuring students’ safety and health.”

The AAS Budgetary Committee agreed to pay $7,000, and they asked ACEMS to speak with College administration in order to fund the rest.

For ACEMS, this decision caused some anxiety. Ordoobadi explained that he and the other ACEMS leaders wanted to be sure that no students would be excluded from the EMT course because they were unable to pay. Without financial aid, the course costs $1,120 per student.

“The reason why we fought so strongly for tuition assistance is that we really didn’t want ACEMS to be made up of only people who could afford to take the EMT class,” Ordoobadi said. “We wanted it to be that anyone in the College had the opportunity to take the class and then join ACEMS. We want the makeup of ACEMS to be representative of the student body.”

Luckily for ACEMS, the Dean of Students Office was able to come through and provide

the extra $10,200 so that tuition assistance would be covered for all students. The Dean of Students Office contacted ACEMS last Friday to confirm that it would be able to make this payment.

“The Dean of Students Office has agreed to provide one-time funding to ensure that ACEMS can move forward with its annual EMT course,” said Dean of Students Jim Larimore in an e-mail. “At the same time, ACEMS, the AAS and the Dean’s Office have agreed to work together next term to ensure that ACEMS is in a stable position over the longer term with respect to its funding needs.”

It remains unclear how exactly ACEMS will be able to fund its EMT course in the long term if demand for financial assistance remains the same. However, one potential solution would be to make the EMT course into an official Interterm course, so that it is funded by the College rather than by AAS. “Moving forward, ACEMS and I would love to engage in conversation with the administration about the steps necessary to make [the course] into an interterm class,” Xu said. “Even though most people who take the EMT class go on to be in ACEMS, that shouldn’t be a reason not to have it as an Interterm class.”

Because Interterm classes are included in students’ tuition, these classes do not charge additional fees. Xu compared the EMT course to a financial accounting course that is currently offered during Interterm. Like the accounting class, the EMT course teaches a useful life skill with broad applications.

AAS, ACEMS and the administration have yet to iron out the details for the course’s future funding, but for now, the 19 students requesting financial aid can rest assured that they will be able to take the class this January.

The course, which is managed by Prehospital Emergency Care Educators, will involve about 150 hours of work during the Interterm period. The class aims to prepare students to take exams in order to receive an EMT license, as well as to try out for ACEMS, if they choose. Students who attend ACEMS tryouts

Splash Expands into Five College Community Continued from Page 1 teachers included mostly Amherst College students and one UMass student. Students from Smith College also helped to set up lunch and manage teacher registration.

Aebi noted that the high turnout was reflective of a widespread interest in education among Amherst students. According to the Career Center’s website, jobs in education are a more popular choice for recent Amherst graduates than jobs in any other field.

Even those who do not plan to go into the field of education often sign up for Splash out of a desire to give back to their community, as Janna Joassainte ’17, one of the teachers, attested.

“I decided to teach at Splash because I understand the impact a teacher has on a child’s life,” Joassainte said. “I always felt it was important to spread what I learn to those who also want to learn.”

Joassainte taught a class on hip hop dance, and she says she hopes to teach another Splash class next year.

Because of the high teacher turnout, the Splash organizers were able to offer more classes than ever this year. Students from as far as New York and New Hampshire were allowed to pick five out of the almost 40 classes offered.

Most classes are capped at 20 to 25 students.

Joy Xu ’16, director of student recruitment, reported that 92 students attended this year, which marks the fourth Splash event at Amherst College. She attributes the program’s success in student recruitment to a growing aware-

ness of more effective advertising techniques on the part of the organizers.

“This year we tried something new, and we actually went to the schools to present,” Xu said. “We’re definitely going to do that more in the future.”

For their part, Splash students have reported being excited by the classes offered and eager for more options.

“We’ve gotten really positive feedback from them,” Aebi said. “They really want to come back, but they’ve always asked for more classes.”

As part of their efforts to fulfill this desire, the organizers are now looking to recruit more teachers, as well as to extend Splash further into the Five College community. Next spring, Smith College will host a Splash event, and the Amherst College organizers are keen to offer their support. Just as Smith volunteers were on hand during the Amherst event, the Amherst organizing committee hopes to offer assistance during the day of Smith’s program in the spring. They are also sharing tips on the preparation work that is involved: Aebi says that she has outlined a sample budget for the Smith team, and the Amherst committee plans to help Smith by contacting potential teachers and offering advice on logistical issues they have experienced.

“Since it’s their first time we’re going to help them out in whatever way we can,” Pineda said.

“We’re really hoping to make this into a Five College event,” Aebi added. “Hopefully it’ll be something that switches between the two campuses.”

Photo Courtesy of ACEMS

Three students on ACEMS practice treating a patient who is experiencing cardiac arrest. must participate in an additional examination, which involves both a written and a practical component.

As discussions over future ACEMS funding continue, members of both AAS and ACEMS have expressed their relief that ACEMS will be able to cover tuition assistance for this year.

“The Budgetary Committee and I are very happy that the administration was supportive of ACEMS,” Xu said. “We’re looking forward to talking with them in the future and seeing how we can provide support — whether that’s financial support or other support — because the work they do is amazing.”

Laurie Frankl Hired as College’s Title IX Coordinator Continued from Page 1 ulations and statues and changes and informs the College of implementation requirements and prepare reports on Title IX compliance efforts and complaint activity and make recommendations for action to the Chief Policy/ General Counsel and appropriate decision makers.”

The search for a new, full-time Title IX Coordinator began in June of this year. The search committee consisted of Chief Policy Officer and General Counsel Lisa H. Rutherford, Senior Associate Dean of Students and Coordinator of Academic Support Charri Boykin-East, Chief of Campus Police John Carter, Coffey, Dean of Students Jim Larimore, Interim Assistant Dean of Student Conduct Susie Mitton Shannon and Sexual Respect Educator Amanda Collings Vann.

The process consisted of two major rounds.

After reviewing resumes and conducting telephone interviews in early August, the team held on-campus interviews for the chosen candidates. This was followed by open meetings wherein students could meet candidates.

The second round began in mid-October.

By this point, the applicant pool had been expanded and final interviews were being executed. Just like during the second round, students were able to meet with candidates through much advertised lunches and campus tours. The students who participated were then asked to submit comments and/or feedback on the candidates.

“This process followed customary patterns for hiring similar positions at Amherst, e.g. national advertising, telephone interviews, followed by on-campus interviews and the solicitation of feedback from those who met the candidates. From the start we have been committed to hiring the best person for this important job,” Rutherford said.

According to the virtual announcement, Frankl comes from a background dealing with “victims of unlawful discrimination.” Prior to accepting Amherst’s offer, Frankl worked as the Assistant Attorney General of Massachusetts. She specialized in civil rights cases and oversaw proper community training for law enforcement. Frankl’s educational background comprises a bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire and a law degree from Suffolk Univ.

“I am really pleased that the College has hired Laurie Frankl as our new Title IX Coordinator. I have met with Laurie on several occasions including attending the Five College Title IX Coordinators Meeting with her last Friday. I am confident that our students will find Laurie knowledgeable, easy to speak with, a terrific listener and someone who is committed to action on the range of initiatives that will help Amherst move forward in confronting sexual harassment and misconduct,” Coffey said.

Frankl answers to Rutherford. She is to begin her new position on Dec. 6.

“I am very excited to get to work at Amherst,” Frankl said.

Opinion

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Editorial

Getting Into the Thanksgiving Spirit, On or Off Campus

As Thanksgiving break approaches, many of us are looking forward to spending the holiday with friends and family. Fortunately, those of us who can’t make it home can do the same — the College’s efforts to ensure that there will be a festive, communal vibe on campus are sure to give us all something to be thankful for, even if we can’t be with our families or friends from home.

The typical Thanksgiving food-fest will not be missed by those staying on campus.

President Martin has graciously arranged for two Thanksgiving-dinner seating’s at the Lord Jeffrey Inn on Tuesday, Nov. 26th.

Thanksgiving day, Val will be serving a traditional meal for lunch between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., and — if you can work up your appetite — there will be pizza served for dinner at a videogame and karaoke night in Keefe.

Aside from eating there will be many other ways to amuse yourself, including daily events offered by the Dean of Students Office and the Thanksgiving Student Coordinators. You can find a schedule for the week on the College website. There will also be quite a few sports teams playing home games throughout the week, and since there will be fewer students on campus than usual, they would love your support!

Even with all these great communitybuilding campus events going on, if you’re on campus this break, you might want to take the rare opportunity to explore while

the campus is a little less busy and without the distraction of classes. Take a trip to the bird sanctuary and check out the Book and Plow Farm or take a walk through downtown Amherst to explore a new coffee shop.

If you really want to get into the Thanksgiving spirit, consider volunteering somewhere in town. There is so much going on in our lives at school and in our Amherst community, and it is easy to forget that we are part of the town community as well.

Thanksgiving is a perfect opportunity to take the time to reconnect with the town of Amherst and lend your services and support. One place to consider helping out is The Amherst Survival Center. The Amherst Survival Center’s mission is to provide food, clothing, healthcare, companionship and many other important resources to the residents of Franklin and Hampshire counties.

One specific way to help out is to sign up to be a gift-giver (which entails giving a gift to a child in need) during the upcoming holiday season.

Another way to reconnect with the Amherst world outside the College is to venture to one of the five colleges and check out the different things they have to offer. Each college has its own unique museums, local community and natural sights to see!

No matter where you are over the break, enjoy the (relative) quiet, before the hectic finals-season begins! Happy Thanksgiving!

Gender Bender

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-JMMZ +BZ & Contributing Writer On Wednesday night, cartoonist Alison Bechdel delivered a lecture about how she became a comic. She also discussed the subject matter of her two books — secrets, sexuality and family. However, she did not discuss what brought me to Converse Hall that evening: the Bechdel Test. In 1985, Bechdel devised a method of ascertaining whether a movie is sexist. In order to pass the test, the movie must have: 1. More than one named woman character.

2. These characters talking to each other.

3. Them conversing about a subject other than men.

Although these requirements seem relatively minimal, shockingly, only a few films meet this criterion. Avatar, The Social Network and all of the Lord of the Rings movies did not pass Bechdel’s test. Instead, feminine characters are defined by their relationship to their male counterparts; they are wives, girlfriends, lovers, mothers and assistants. While I don’t think the exclusion of female characters necessarily makes a film sexist, I do think that the absence of women on screen reflects a general disregard for women’s stories. Once you know about The Bechdel Test, it is hard not to notice when movies fail to include multifaceted female characters.

It’s a blessing and a curse to have a framework for assessing unequal representation.

Taking note of the absence of female characters feels like the least I can do, but it is also a huge bummer. When my friend and activist, Maddie Taterka, applied the Bechdel test to her syllabi, I was wary. Do I really want to know if women make up a significant portion of the authors and academics listed on a syllabus? Admittedly, for a semester I noticed but chose not to really think about the predominance of masculine voices on my reading lists.

But, since Bechdel’s visit, I’ve been thinking about what occurs when we formalize the process by which we catalog inequities. Certainly, having concrete standards lends itself to disappointments, as it will be harder to ignore, for example, the rarity of women’s names on syllabi. But creating and applying a formula for measuring absence also allows for people to communicate about what they do (or don’t) see. In other words, if I can explain to myself and others what exactly constitutes a problem-

atic lack of women’s perspectives, recognizing the prevalence of men in academia is more than just an exercise in frustration. Because, unlike the miniscule impact an audience member’s consternation has on Hollywood, at Amherst, there are enough of us that if even a fraction of the student body vocalized our expectations, professors would notice.

To be clear, I don’t think professors mean to exclude women from their syllabi. In the same way that you might have never noticed how few female authors you encounter in a semester, they may not be aware of the gendered classes they create. If professors knew their students value reading and considering a diversity of voices, I think, we would see a more balanced representation.

However, first, we need to decide to care. I know caring is a personal endeavor — a person must want to, rather than be convinced to, care.

So I’ll just have to hope that others share my opinion that there is inherent worth to including women’s voices in academic (read: maledominated) conversation. In the meantime, let’s at least decide to be aware; this coming semester, make a point of really reading the syllabus you receive on the first day. Look for a syllabus that includes: 1. At least, one woman for every man listed. (Academia is largely a male-dominated discipline, so unfortunately, there’s an unavoidable dearth of work written by women.

For this reason, a syllabus that’s comprised equally of women and men may be really hard to create).

2. At least one of these women authors write about something other than gender. (In the same way, Bechdel writes that female characters should have a conversation that is not about men, it is important that female scholars not be confined to discussing gender).

3. Ample time and focus is devoted to women contributors both in terms of class discussions and assignments.

Having trouble finding a syllabus that meets all these expectations? Communicate to your professor that you notice to what extent women’s voices are included in the class. Encourage others to apply these standards as well and, lastly, keep looking, keep noticing. Our favorite movies might not fully include women but we have the power to ensure that our classes do.

Happy hunting!

Retraction: In “A Letter to Amherst: Response to Racial Epithet” published in the October 2 issue of The Amherst Student, Andrew Lindsay ’16 wrote that Bradley Keigwin “stole computer components and furniture from the health center and used spray paint to damage the room and draw swastikas.” This statement is not true. Mr. Lindsay and The Amherst Student apologize for this error. Mr. Keigwin was vindicated when another person was identified and pled guilty to these charges. We deeply regret the mistake.

E X E C U T I V E B OA R D Editor-in-Chief Alissa Rothman Managing News Elaine Vilorio, Sophie Murguia Managing Opinion James Liu, Julia Milmed Managing Arts and Living Meghan McCullough, Annalise Nurme Managing Sports Nicole Yang, Karl Greenblatt, Andrew Knox

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November 22, 1963 %BWJE + (SFFOCMBUU Contributing Writer “Four weeks ago he was here. We saw him; we heard him; and we knew him. He was one of us, for he was our most recent alumnus ‌ Now he is gone.â€?

Cal Plimpton addressed a grim college community in Johnson Chapel on the evening of Nov. 22. His voice quivered with emotion as he spoke. The brief speech ended with: “Let us stand a moment in silence, to honor him; then let us go and do the work he couldn’t complete.�

JFK’s visit to Amherst a month earlier was exhilarating. The preparations were frantic, and the steps of his schedule were precisely choreographed. The media and the Secret Service swarmed over the campus. Three military helicopters brought Kennedy and his aides to Memorial Field on the morning of Oct. 26. After private meetings with Cal Plimpton and other college officials, the group moved to the old cage for the Convocation. Kennedy’s now-archival speech was breathtaking. Then the motorcade to the Frost Library site, the ground-breaking and it was over. JFK departed and returned to work.

I missed the whole thing. In that era, the entire football team traveled by bus to an off-site hotel in Holyoke on the Friday night before the Saturday homecoming game. Purpose: to escape the chaos and sleeplessness of homecoming weekend. We arrived back at Pratt Field late on Saturday morning. The Frost ceremony ran late, so the stands were empty at the start of the game. Wesleyan scored on the first two possessions — the Darp was “not happy.� The stands filled during the second quarter, and we went on to defeat Wesleyan.

I was raised in Newton, a few miles from JFK’s birthplace in Brookline. Growing up, I never knew that a New England accent existed, let alone that I had one. Geographic mobility was unusual — people generally lived, went to school and worked in the same region as they grew up. Parents, teachers, other adults and peers all spoke the same way. When the JFK campaign went national, and later during his early presidency, the familiar Kennedy diction — quaint and quirky — became an attraction for imitation and good-natured fun-poking.

From the Kennedy presidency I recall his confidence and the subdued hint of a swagger; the stunning and multilingual Jacqueline; young children in the White House; the Kennedy brothers, bearing the identical accent; Catholicism; the family at Hyannisport; Cuba; the Soviet Union; the death of an infant; the contagious wit of televised press conferences. Professor Guttmann was unhappy with JFK’s syntax. “To each question,� grumbled Dr. Guttmann, “he responds: ‘Well, I would say that the answer to that would be this.’�

At 7 p.m. on the evening of Monday, Oct. 22, 1962, we clustered around a black-and-white television — one of the few available on campus — in the basement of Morrow and watched an unfamiliar Kennedy: fatigued, gaunt and haggard. “It shall be the policy of this nation to regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the Western Hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States, requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union.� We were worried. The days that followed featured screaming newspaper headlines; the “quarantine� (actually a blockade); threats and counter-threats; the Stevenson stand-off at the United Nations; an impending

confrontation at sea. We heard rumors of faculty members departing for refuge in northern Vermont. Finally the crisis resolved (“Khrushchev backs down� bellowed the headlines), and JFK walked away a diplomatic genius and national hero.

On Nov. 22, 1963, I returned to the fourth floor of North after my 11:20 - 12:10 class. In the corridor, an agitated John Swinton King said, “Kennedy’s been shot.� A group of guys crowded around an old radio in Russ Clark’s room. “Is he O.K.?� I asked. There was no news at that point.

I went next door to Williston for 12:20 math class with a gentle and revered senior professor, Robert Breusch. Midway through class, the Chapel bells began to toll slowly. In his heavilyaccented English, Professor Breusch said, softly, “Well, I think that’s enough.� He set down the chalk.

Jonathan Wolpaw met me at the top of the stairs in North. Tears were in his eyes. “He’s dead.�

How could this happen in the United States, in 1963? A goopy 18-year-old college sophomore, my only visual image of assassination came from grainy decades-old film out of remote European places populated by guys with bushy mustaches wearing top-hats and tails. Because I never thought it was possible, I was unprepared and therefore vulnerable to the shock and horror and hurt.

Angry at my own vulnerability, I pretended not to think about it. With the door to my room closed and locked, I sat down to read “Uncle Tom’s Cabin� for American Studies 21. Many hours later, I re-emerged, hungry and tired of reading. Somehow I connected with Bob Lewin.

Valentine was not an option, and we walked into town. Amherst center was dark and silent. We found an open pizza place, then moved on to Cal’s meeting at Johnson Chapel.

The next morning I took the bus home to Newton. The Harvard-Yale game was postponed. On Sunday morning I went to Catholic mass and returned home in time to see Jack Ruby shoot Lee Harvey Oswald on live television (later, my grandmother asked, “is this bad for the Jews?�). After that, jumbled memories of the drum cadence, somber processions, grimfaced dignitaries in dark clothes, tears and the salute of JFK’s son.

We grudgingly resumed life over the next few weeks, but it felt different. Youth and excitement and optimism were done. Presidential leadership relapsed to what it had been before Kennedy — elderly white Protestant men from southern states. Politics resumed being ponderous and numbing. Still angry at my vulnerability, I took steps to protect myself. I tried to picture any and all possible tragedies, losses and man-made or natural disasters. If such things did happen they would still be horrible, but at least I would not be surprised. To some degree that system has worked.

Amherst undergraduates on campus as young adults in Oct. and Nov. of 1963 now are elderly — all who survive are perilously close to, or have already passed, a birthday with a zero.

In ten years we will be fewer in number, less robust and near or beyond age 80. We know how it will go in the years after that. From the Classes of 1964 to 1967, those who live on are among the last to have crossed paths with John F. Kennedy. Four weeks ago he was here ‌ Now he is gone.

[I am grateful for the assistance of Jonathan Wolpaw, Dusty Dowse and John McKenzie]

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Writing From the Left

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Meghna Sridhar ’14 is a Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought major with a penchant for coherent incoherency. She writes from a leftist perspective on global and local politics and political theory.

Over the past few weeks, and over many conversations with professors I admire and whose politics have deeply influenced my own, as well as over conversations with close friends, I’ve tried to work through a very important question: what does it mean to have a radical education?

And what does this imply for how we live and what we live for?

Humanities students, and especially radical, leftist humanities students, are put in the hardest position in terms of fidelity to their own education. Economics students go out in the world and act on the principles of capitalism that they’ve been educated to accept; science students are employed to research or utilize the skills in science they’ve been taught; medics, engineers, psychologists and liberal lawyers too face the straightforward, though not at all simple task, of applying theory to practice in a world that has the urgent need for them to do just that. But what if your entire education has been invested in fighting for social justice, against capitalism, against neoliberalism, against the very pillars that the world itself rests itself on? What if your education has been “radical� — whe re you read philosophers and political theorists who’ve invested their life in trying to formulate for us newer, freer and more emancipatory ways of living? What do you do with such an education — if you really believe in it — after the four years here at Amherst? Do you drop it, laugh over it, ha ha, good times, remember when I was a silly college radical hippie? Do you suppress it guiltily while going about your daily life letting structures of unfreedom and oppression perpetuate around you? Do you sit back in a cushy lifestyle afforded by the privileged position of being an Amherst College graduate and present radicality only in arguing over a cocktail dinner with that dickish friend from Harvard with a degree in smugness and analytic philosophy? If that is the case and you don’t believe in what you study at all — what differentiates you as a radical, if the life you live is a fundamentally liberal one (all opinions can and should coexist and I’m going to sit by and let the world happen)? Why bother studying something you don’t live out? Why imitate that you concur with something if you don’t demonstrate that concurrence in any way?

I ask this question because last year, as a radical and a malcontent on this campus, I felt alone, isolated and judged, by almost everyone save a small group of people who were friends and fellow radicals at this time, all of whom expressed similar emotions at the hostile environment of this campus towards any sort of illiberal radicality, protest, critique of the system or the administration or any politics that was disruptive to the status quo. Yet, this year, with the surge of popularity of certain radical classes and with a considerably less heated political climate, I see so many self-professed radical students on this campus — they read the continental philosophers and sound convinced by them, they nod in class when the professors critique bourgeoisie liberal capitalism, they make incisive commentary about liberal or neoliberal political texts.

Yet, I’m forced to wonder how many of them are invested in truly understanding the implications of these texts for their lives; the implications of

these texts for moving them towards any sort of praxis at all. What does it mean to be a WAGS or Black Studies major and stay determinedly out of campus politics and never show any concern for rape and sexual assault and racism and hate crimes on this campus, not attend any debates or discussions on it, not participate or comment in any publications about it, not show any solidarity or support for the people working on these issues, especially at their time of isolation and need — either in public or private? I’m not talking about going out on the streets with signs or making big public declarations: I’m talking about any simple demonstration of concern at all, in whatever fashion, private or public conversations, some sort of imperative to think or talk or write or act, some demonstration of solidarity or kindness. Some incentive, at the very least, to learn about the source of the discontentment of the dissidents. What does it mean to read Badiou or Zizek or Rancière or Marx or Foucault if you can’t pose the questions they pose to their realities to your own? What does it mean to bracket off or contain something that was always meant to be in excess of classrooms and textbooks and papers? What does it mean to attach a temporality of four years to critical thinking, to ideas that are meant to be universal, all-encompassing and enduring?

I have a tendency to sound very persecutionary, and that is the last thing I want. I’m constantly dissatisfied at my own coalescence of theory and practice, always finding myself insufficient, and I also recognize in myself an angry martyrdom and a death drive that is not wholly productive. I do not want to play a politics of guilt and shame here, where one has to perform x number of tasks in order to qualify as a Good Radical™. I don’t even know or care if you, specific individual, are a Good Radical™ or not, nor do I want to put myself in the panopticonic position of judgement over that fact. In fact, I do honestly believe a politics of guilt and shame is wholly unproductive and much more in the hierarchical mode of charity than in the egalitarian mode of leftist revolution. All I’m asking is that those of you who consider yourselves radical in the way you are educated, the way you read, the way you understand the world, the kind of classes you take, the political views you hold — ask yourself what it means to academically believe in that kind of philosophy and politics. What does that mean for your life in the world outside the classroom?

What does that mean for the kind of questions you pose to your own realities and how you deal with posing that question? What does that mean for your future after these four years at Amherst?

All I ask is that we remain deeply anxious about, and invested in, these questions — not to remain in some sort of melancholic despair about our own inadequacy because we all ultimately have limited choices outside participating in the neoliberal economy — but to value our radical academics beyond just dry texts and papers and grades, to truly understand what it means beyond distant scholarly waffle, to live it with all the love and joy and zest for change that leftist politics should entail and to remain honest to our education and ourselves, both inside and outside the classroom.

www.BluebirdAirportTransportation.com

Arts&Living

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Albums of the Year: The Best of 2013 music criticism, and for once that seems to be the case with art-metal band Deafheaven’s second album. But this isn’t really metal anyway. Eschewing genre classifications (or any real classifications), the best way to describe “Sunbather� is as a series of contradictions. It’s loud, soft, fast, slow, abrasive, melodic, sweet, difficult, cold, hopeful, destructive and, above all, fascinating. It’s perfectionist technical metal-musicianship at its finest, but it captures the raw energy of the punk and alt bands who disdain metal. It’s highly intellectual but deep and immediate in its emotions. It grabs you from the start, but keeps you at arm’s length even as it doesn’t let go. I don’t really know how to describe what it sounds like, but it’s the rare album that approaches an almost-religious level of sublime effervescence. Or maybe it’s just a bunch of noise. I don’t know. “Sunbather� is an album to be listened to and listened to again in order to really understand it, and that’s pretty special in this day and age.

Image courtesy of USFOEMBOE DPN

%BGU 1VOL T i3BOEPN "DDFTT .FNPSJFTw XBT POF PG T CJHHFTU TFMMJOH BMCVNT +BLF 8BMUFST Staff Writer In the midst of daily crises over impending finals, I always try to find time at the end of the year to reflect on the media releases that did the most to keep me sane in the previous months, as well as to discover anything I may have missed. Thinking back, 2013 wasn’t a bad year when it comes to film, and I originally thought I’d use this space to remind everyone why that is the case. But then I realized that, despite all the great films I’d seen so far this year, so many of the films I’d been looking forward to have yet to come out. The love-hate relationship of the film industry with its customers dictates that the month that will make me the most (un)happy is December, when I simultaneously actually want to see films that are being released and am the most busy. It seems they want me to endlessly debate over whether to see the newest critically acclaimed release or give that final paper one last spit and shine every week. Because of this, I don’t feel truly content with discussing my favorite films from 2013 yet. Music, however, knows no seasonal boundaries, with pretty much any type of album release any month of the year. So, the number of albums I’m was looking forward to this year that I’ve yet to hear is basically zero.

December isn’t really a big music month. I’ve already written for The Student about most of the films I loved this year, but have written barely anything on music. With that said, here are my favorite albums of 2013: Arctic Monkeys “AM�

Josh Homme’s only imprint on music in 2013 wasn’t his own band’s return to form but his warped acid-blues production on Alex Turner’s latest. “R U Mine?� is their best song in years, but this album really is the whole package. With great songs that fit into a cohesive whole of untamed rock rebelliousness and Lou-Reed style late-night tales, “AM� plays like a band ready to take over the bar at night but is all-too-aware, and even scared, of the sunrise. It’s not just a great album; it’s the perfect one for anyone looking back at 20 and facing 30, and for Alex Turner, who fits right in that group, its impossible to believe its not coming straight from the heart.

Beastwars “Blood Becomes Fire�

Mastodon didn’t release any new music in 2013, which pretty severely limits my own personal scorecard for 2013 on the whole. But its okay, since almost completely unknown New Zealand sludge-meisters Beastwars showed up to remind us what the opening of the gates of

hell sounds like. Channeling the modern stoner metal of bands like Sleep and Kyuss, and living by the mantra of down-tuning their guitars ever-more, “Blood Becomes Fire� captures the blood-curdling despair and hopeless malaise vocals, the fire-and-brimstone guitar, the pitch black, cavernous bass and the galloping fourhorseman drums of a young Black Sabbath.

And in a year that saw the return of doom metal’s past with the almighty Sabbath in the surprisingly sturdy “13,� “Blood Becomes Fire� lays its future out for all to see.

Daft Punk “Random Access Memories�

Not much information is needed for one of 2013’s biggest selling albums and one example of when the charts get it right. This album sounds like a lecture on the past meeting the future, but it feels entirely of the present on dance-floor jams such as the ubiquitous “Get Lucky.� But the crazy thing is that isn’t even close to being the best song here, making this far from a hits plus filler affair like most pop albums. Plus, it achieved the impossible: making me care about electronica. Bravo, Daft Punk.

Jason Isbell “Southeastern�

Whenever I malign the state of modern country (basically bland pop music with Southern accents) an album will come out that puts me in my place and reminds me of the sense of heartbroken desperation and worldweary lived-ness a truly great Americana album can carry with it. Alternative country singer-songwriter Jason Isbell’s (formerly of the Skynyrd-like Drive-By Truckers) latest is exactly that kind of album. From weary travelers to long-forgotten workers to struggling singers left hung-out-to-dry, these are the sounds and stories American folklore was built on and which we too often forgotten.

And Isbell captures them with all the rugged vulnerability of Bob Dylan going up against Johnny Cash. Highlighted by the haunting, impossibly affecting “Elephants,� this is simply roots-music at its finest.

Kanye West “Yeezus�

Kanye West doesn’t really care anymore.

But he’s so good at not caring that one wonders why anyone questions him. He was right to say he wasn’t striving for perfection on this album. It’s far from perfect, but it is abrasive, challenging, immediate, nuanced and above all difficult to turn off. This is an industrialmetal rap album for audiences that hate indus-

trial and metal. Aside from it’s often questionable attempts at political commentary (West should step on over to my next pick for a lesson on political rap if he plans on continuing to carry the torch of Public Enemy), this is the work of someone at the top of his game refusing to sit still. This is no victory lap ‌ it’s more like climbing into the stands and running, screaming, into the audience.

Killer Mike and ELP “Run the Jewels�

Although it fails to scale the heights of Killer Mike’s 2012 release “R.A.P Music,� this off-the-cuff pseudo-mix tape has all the energy and rebelliousness to remind one why someone like Kanye West would call rap the new “rock� music. This album could kickstart any party, but it wouldn’t be wrong to play it at your protest of choice either. It’s Killer Mike at his most unhinged, reminding us that he isn’t resting on his laurels. Short, sweet and ready for business, this is how great rap-duo albums from the golden age of hip-hop used to be made.

Motorhead “Aftershock�

You wouldn’t be able to tell the muttonchopped growler Lemmy’s long years of hard drinking and hard living are finally catching up to him on this furious 2013 release, their best in maybe two decades. Lemmy once said Motorhead was basically a blues-band that just played blues at 1000 miles an hour, and one need look no further than “Aftershock� for a kick in the teeth reminder of this fact. And Lemmy had us all worried.

Queens of the Stone Age “Like Clockwork� “Like Clockwork� is a curious title for an album that took six years to release, but it was worth the wait. Josh Homme’s oh-so-special cocktail of sinister, seductive and most importantly heavy ingredients remain in full effect here, and although the album lacks the fullbore air-guitar-in-a-cemetery worthy dirge righteousness of their best, 2002’s “Songs for the Deaf �, songs such as the grinding yet swinging desert-drenched mainfesto “My God is the Sun�, the slinky “If I Had a Tail,� and the haunted carnival sideshow piece “Kalopsia� remind us just how much the rock world needed and still needs Queens of the Stone Age in 2013.

Danny Brown “Old�

The mad genius affirms his greatness here with one of the best rap albums of the year.

Brown effortlessly goes back and forth between multiple personas, often within the same song, and his lyrics interweave grandstanding, desperation, heartlessness, childish exuberance, hope and too many other emotions to count. Whatever he’s trying to tell us, with music to match it’s a helluva’ lot of fun to listen to in the process.

David Bowie “The Next Day�

The year’s biggest surprise, “The Next Day� is not only Bowie’s best album in decades, but also a masterful interweaving of everything that makes the man’s past so important to begin with. From the jangly air guitar of Ziggy Stardust to the blue-eyed soul of the Thin White Duke to the rigid, staccato art-balladry of the Berlin years, it’s all here on an album that will either serve as a stupendous cap on an impeccable career or a signal of his return to the present from whatever futuristic whole he spends his vacation years exploring. Good thing he brought some of the artifacts with him for alien-world rock songs such as “The Next Day� and “The Stars Are Out Tonight,� his best song in seemingly forever.

Deafheaven “Sunbather�

I get happy when a metal album finally gets some respect in the world of professional

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Moti: A Restaurant Worth Revisiting

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However, I recalled the saying while thinking about what my eating habits say about me. Suddenly, I am what I eat. No, I’m not a cow when I eat burgers or a rabbit when I eat my heaping Val salad, but my personality manifests itself in my eating habits. I try to stay away from dessert, but just as I sometimes fail to avoid Hulu or Netflix while

doing homework, I am not generally surprised if I find myself at GoBerry.

And while I appreciate change in life, I know that I can stick to the same three meals at Val everyday unless I decide I want to revamp my Val eating habits.

Along those lines, I have a few main restaurants of choice in Amherst, and while I love trying new foods and visiting different restaurants, I can just as easily stick with those easy and familiar choices.

Last Wednesday, I felt mentally, emotionally and physically prepared to savor my chicken satĂŠ soup at Miss Saigon. I eagerly anticipated my heartwarming and throat-soothing chicken

GET A HEAD START ON TOMORROW.

noodle soup for $7.45, but my friend threw me for a loop and insisted we go elsewhere. Anywhere. My mind raced as I scrambled through options, but she said she wanted to go somewhere unusual for us. I felt stumped, but then I remembered the first restaurant I visited as a freshman, when all of the others were closed due to Hurricane Irene.

Shortly after, Emily and I stepped into the softly lit entrance of Moti, ready for a new meal that would tantalize our taste buds and remind us of the value of change. This petite Persian Mediterranean restaurant resides along the strip with Jay Gumbo’s, Arigato and Antonio’s Pizza and maintains lighting dim enough to create a sense of privacy as its floor-to-ceiling windows overlook South Pleasant Street and High Horse.

As we sat down, I appreciated the red and orange bowls that glowed with burning candles and rested upon bricks jutting out from the wall, complementing the glowing red lights and deep, reddish brown walls. Although we sat at a regular table, I noticed curtains hanging above lower tables surrounded by short, cushioned stools and a bench along the wall, giving Moti a cozy, authentic feel.

Suddenly my hunger got the better of me, and I buried my nose in the menu, searching for the best option to squelch my wily appetite. I scanned the appetizers as I rushed to find the entrĂŠes, but I did notice the various starters like pickles and olive ($4.95), dolmades ($4.95), panir ($6.95) and baba ganoush ($6.95). In the process, I

learned that dolmades are grape leaves filled with herbs and spices and garnished with pomegranate sauce, and panir is “creamy feta with fresh mint leaves, basil and radish served with warm pita.â€? I felt relieved when the menu confirmed my belief that baba ganoush is an eggplant and garlic dip served with pita; otherwise I would have felt silly. As I edged towards the entrĂŠe’s, I eyed the salads, noticing the Mediterranean lentil salad ($9.95); a Persian salad comprised of cucumbers, tomatoes and red onions ($4.95); and a stuffed grape leaves salad ($9.95).

Finally, I reached the main dishes and stumbled slightly as I encountered a variety of choices. I struggled to sift through the different lists of signature rice dishes, dinner platters, combined dinner platters, vegetarian options and signature entrees. Thankfully, Moti simplified this information. The dinner platters consist of mainly kabobs of various meat ($14.95-$18.9), and the combo platters are simply different combinations of beef and chicken ($18.95-$19.95). The two-item vegetarian menu includes vegetarian chili and lentils with rice ($7.94) and chelo vegetarian ($11.95), which is an assortment of foods from hummus and pita to falafel. Lastly, the signature dishes involved rice topped with chicken, chicken curry, lamb stew or steak and chicken ($14.95-$8.95). Having categorized these options, I felt equipped to order.

Soon enough, we had a plate of creamy hummus ($4.95) sitting before us. I quickly snatched a piece of

pita, dipped it into the saffron topped hummus and contentedly chewed, enjoying the slight tint of salt and earthy nuttiness. In the next few minutes, my friend and I successfully finished the entire platter and awaited our main dishes eagerly.

As my hunger began to creep back stronger than ever, strengthened by the hummus, my gyro dinner ($12.95) arrived. Of course, I began to eat according to my habits, starting with the side salad and waiting till I had finished it to move on to the rice topped with slices of lamb, but then I wondered if I had approached my meal incorrectly.

I could not be sure, so I tried mixing the crunchy Romaine lettuce with the soft lamb and rice, and I found myself experiencing a wonderful combination of textures and flavors. The bite of the garlic in the tzatziki sauce topping the lamb and salad blended with the saltiness of the tender lamb to create a burst of flavor that the rice and yogurt in the tzatziki sauce subtly complemented.

No taste overwhelmed another, and yet all appeared with each bite. Needless to say, I enjoyed each and every mouthful, ate till I felt stuffed and enthusiastically requested to have the rest wrapped up.

At the end of the meal, I felt satisfyingly full but not laden down by a heavy meal, even though I had eaten lamb. I also realized that Moti deserves more credit than it receives as it provides good, foreign cuisine at a reasonably affordable price. I cannot wait to visit Moti again, now as I write. I think Moti is certainly a restaurant of choice in Amherst.

With a graduate degree from Quinnipiac University’s School of Communications, tomorrow is yours for the taking. Because we deliver a hands-on experience with an emphasis on breaking trends, like social media. So you’ll be ready to take on tomorrow’s world, today.

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Review: The Powerful Hit of a Hammer

"TIMFZ .POUHPNFSZ Staff Writer

The latest installment in the Marvel superhero franchise, “Thor: The Dark World,� hit theaters Friday, Nov. 8. Much like “The Avengers� (2012) and other recent films from the series, it does not disappoint.

The movie, directed by Alan Taylor, begins with a flashback from eons ago including some “Dark Elves,� the more evil and enhanced warriors called the “Kursed� and Thor’s grandfather, Bor, on the planet Svartalfheim. Before you chuckle, these elves are nothing like Santa’s helpers. While they maintain the pointy ears, they replace the normally joyful disposition with one that is immoral, evil and malicious. Their leader, Dark Elf Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), desires to use a powerful weapon called “Aether� to submerge the nine realms in darkness and destroy the universe.

Fortunately, Bor is able to vanquish the Kursed and many of the Dark Elves with the exception of Malekith and a few of his followers. Deciding that the Aether is too powerful to be destroyed, Bor decides to hide the Aether “where no one will find it.�

Enter the present-day. Thor (Chris Hemsworth), his warrior force-four and Lady Sif are fighting a battle on the world Vanaheim, the last in a series of battles to bring peace to the nine realms since the destruction of the BifrĂśst (“Rainbow Bridgeâ€?) when Thor left Earth two years prior. Back on Asgard, Thor’s brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), stands on trial for his war crimes on Earth (a plot that stems from “The Avengersâ€?) before his stepfather and Asgardian king, Odin (Anthony Hopkins) sentences him to prison. The scene shifts to Earth, where astrophysicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) has discovered an abandoned building in which the laws of physics do not apply — objects disappear into free air and (sometimes) appear back where they were dropped. This type of anomaly is similar to the one that occurred when Thor came to visit New Mexico (which stems from the plot of the 2011 “Thorâ€?). Leaving her intern, Darcy (Kat Dennings) behind, Jane goes to explore the anomaly, inadvertently being sucked into a

wormhole. She lands in a faraway place where the Aether enters her body, waking Malekith from his suspended animation sleep and alerting Thor that Jane is not safe.

The film continues in typical MacGuffin form, with both the protagonists (Thor, Jane and Loki) and the antagonists (Malekith and the Kursed) chasing the same magical plot device — the Aether — before the nine realms line up in a formation called the Convergence, making the destruction of the universe all the more possible.

Without further spoilage of the plot, it is beneficial to point out that in this case, the sequel is a bit better than the original.

The costume design is extraordinary. Unlike the other Avengers, Thor is allowed the incredible advantage of space travel. Therefore, in addition to viewing a wide variety of climates (and very convincing green screenmanipulation of the landscape), we are able to behold the various customs of each world. In the first “Thor,� the only glimpse of Asgardian clothing audiences were given was of special occasion (i.e. Thor’s almost coronation) and warrior wear. However, in the sequel, as much of the movie’s time takes place on Asgard, we are able to see what the queen, Frigga (Rene Russo) wears on a typical day as well as Loki’s prison garbs. As expected, each outfit is long and of rich material and color.

Even more important is the development of the characters from the Thor universe. Obviously, Thor shows the greatest growth — no longer the spoiled Prince who sought battles for fighting sake but a level-headed leader who seeks peace.

Seemingly minor characters also play a bigger role in this year’s sequel. Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander) is a possible love interest for Thor while Heimdall (Idris Elba), gatekeeper of the BifrÜst, is given greater importance before the film’s climax as an aid to Thor. Rene Russo does a fantastic job as Asgardian queen and wife of Odin, Frigga. According to Norse mythology, Frigga is known for her skill of foresight. She uses this skill as well as some epic fight moves in a scene that shifts the slow progression of the film and speeds along the storyline to the climax.

The biggest standout individual is Hid-

Er’Day Amherst

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*O UIJT QPXFSGVM TFRVFM 5IPS T DIBSBDUFS UBLFT PO B HSFBUFS SPMF dleston’s character, god of mischief Loki.

Hiddleston, a classically-trained British actor, steals the attention in every scene he is in with wit, charisma, powerful dictation of lines and comedic relief through sarcasm and impersonation. More than that, the audience experiences different dimensions of the character, not previously viewed in “Thor� or “The Avengers,� which impressively flaunts the range of Hiddleston’s dramatic talents.

In addition to fantastic acting, beautiful landscape and wardrobe, fans can also expect a typical action movie score, i.e. lots of loud and ominous orchestra-style rifts, and not-sotypical comedy scenes. Dennings and Stellan SkarsgĂĽrd return as Jane Foster’s intern, Darcy Lewis and her mentor, Dr. Erik Selvig, respectively. Each evokes laughter every time they appear on screen, either through their lines (Darcy to Thor: “Look at you. Still all muscly

and everything!�) or through their actions (i.e. Dr. Selvig running around in his underwear at Stonehenge).

Something to keep in mind is to remember, as with every Marvel movie, to remain in the theater until the all credits have finished playing. Every Marvel film features a cameo from Marvel comic book artist, Stan Lee, and a short clip at the very end of the credits that pertains to the next film in “The Avengers� film series. In the Thor sequel, there happen to be two scenes at the end of the credits, both relevant to the highly-anticipated Marvel films, “Guardians of the Galaxy� (2014) and “The Avengers: Age of Ultron� (2015).

Of course, we still have a long wait until these films are released. So, until then, I recommend going back to the theater and watching more of “Thor: The Dark World,� a film that deserves at least four Asgardian stars.

Five College Events Thursday, November 21 “‘Orange is the New Black:’ The Age of Mass Criminalization of Women,� 4 p.m., UMass Five College public policy resident Tina Reynolds and Piper Kerman, author of “Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison,� discuss women’s rights in America’s prison industrial complex and the new Netflix series based on Kerman’s memoir. Reynolds is the co-founder and executive director of Women on the Rise Telling HerStory (WORTH). This event is part of the Five College Public Policy Initiative’s Social Justice Practitioner-in-Residence Program. “‘Skin’ Film Screening and Discussion,�

7:30 p.m., UMass Women of Color Leadership Network at Center for Women and Community and Black Student Union present a special film screening followed by a discussion of the movie “Skin.� Based on a true story, “Skin� narrates Sandra Laing’s thirty-year journey to define her place in the changing world of apartheid South Africa. Born a black child to Afrikaner parents in the 1950s and brought up as a white little girl, Sandra realized she would never be accepted in the white community and experiences, as an adult, what it means to live as a black woman in South Africa. Filmed in 2008 and directed by Anthony Fabian, “Skin� is a story of family, forgive-

ness and the triumph of the human spirit.

Friday, November 22 “Noche Latina Dinner and Show,� 6:30 p.m.- 8:30 p.m., Mount Holyoke College Noche Latina is La Unidad’s, the largest Latina student organization on campus, biggest annual event of the year! The event includes dinner and a show and an after party! We will be serving traditional Puerto Rican food while our audience enjoys a variety of performances from spoken word, to dancing, to skits and singing! We invite all the Mount Holyoke and 5-College community as well as the families from Amherst, Holyoke and Springfield to come enjoy a celebration of our cultures. The CBL department as well as several academic departments help sponsor this fantastic event.

We look forward to seeing everyone there!

Saturday, November 23 “5-College Improv Comedy Show,� 9:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m., Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke’s Unusual Suspects are hosting a 5-College Improv Comedy Show Saturday, Nov. 23rd from 9:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. Come and laugh. Come and chuckle.

Come and give a deadpan reaction. Just remember that Mary Lyon saw you coming!

by Elizabeth Paul ’16

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4QPSUT 9

Women’s Hockey Wins Women’s XC Falls Just Short Pair to Open Season of Nationals )PMMZ #VSXJDL Staff Writer The Amherst Women’s Ice Hockey team opened up its 2013-2014 campaign with two wins over Hamilton this past weekend.

Thanks to their success this weekend, the Jeffs opened up their season with a 2-0-0 NESCAC as well as overall record.

Friday night the Jeffs traveled to Clinton, NY where they narrowly edged out their opponent 4-3. Erin Martin ’16 opened up the scoring for the season with 6:45 left in the first period. The Continentals fought back in the second period, putting away two goals to garnish a 2-1 lead heading into the third period thanks to Gigi Garner feeding first-year teammates Teal Gosselin and Sara Taffe for the goals.

The Jeffs stole the momentum back in the beginning of the third period. In a span of 3:27, Hayley Opperman ’14 and Lynndy Smith ’17 notched a goal a piece, both assisted by Courtney Baranek ’14. However, the score was tied up again when Taffe fed Fraser this time for a one-time shot past the Amherst net minder, Kerri Stuart ’14. The Jeffs landed themselves back on top after Baranek notched a power-play goal with 2:46 left in regulation.

In this first win, Stuart had 19 saves, including one key stop with 30 seconds left to preserve the lead. Amherst held a 23-22 favor in shots on goal and was one for five in power-play opportunities. The Continentals were one for seven on the power play.

Baranek commented on the Jeffs’ comeback victory, “We showed resilience fighting back from a 2-1 goal deficit to win 4-3 on Friday, and hopefully our efforts will continue to pay off as we work to improve.”

On Saturday, the Jeffs hosted the Con-

tinentals at their home opener at Orr Rink.

This time, the Jeffs came out on top 3-0. Tori Salmon ’15 led the offensive effort with two goals and one assist. The first of these goals came off a rebound from Martin’s shot with 15 seconds remaining in the first period.

The second period started off with some close chances for the Jeffs. Emily Flom ’15 sped past Hamilton defenders, but her shot was saved. Opperman ’14 also had a close scoring chance that came off the post. The Continentals were close to tying the game on a power play, but Stuart whisked the puck off the goal line to preserve the lead.

After this series of saves, the Jeffs retaliated with Salmon feeding Martin this time for the Jeffs’ second tally of the game.

With 13 seconds remaining, Salmon cruised down the left side of the ice. She sent a shot to the upper right corner to seal the 3-0 victory.

In this matchup, the Jeffs held a much more decisive shot advantage than Friday’s matchup, recording 28 shots on goal to the Continentals’ ten. Stuart recorded ten saves in the shutout while her counterpart, Bogen, recorded 25 stops.

Opperman commented on her team’s season opening wins, “I think this weekend was a great start to our season. We have a lot of first-years on the team this year and they really stepped up this weekend and played confidently. What we discovered this weekend was that we have a good base, but we still have a lot of work to do and hopefully we keep improving as the season progresses.”

We will witness the Jeffs’ progression when they return to action on Friday, Nov. 22 to take on little-three rival, Wesleyan in Middletown, Conn. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m.

)PMMZ #VSXJDL Staff Writer

Men The Amherst Men’s Cross Country team took eighth in a 50-team field at the NCAA Division III New England Championship this past Saturday.

The University of Southern Maine hosted the event, but the NESCAC was by far the most successful, placing seven teams in the top ten. Williams took first with 77 points, Middlebury followed with 78 points and MIT took third with 113 points. Rounding out the top eight were Tufts (142), Bates (158), Colby (163), Bowdoin (177) and Amherst (216).

Before the race, the Jeffs were ranked eighth.

Coach Erik Nedeau commented, “I was pretty excited to see how the guys got after it in the race and put themselves into the positions they needed to be in.”

Dan Crowley ’16 put himself in an excellent position. Finishing first for the Jeffs in a time of 25:12.94, Crowley was slated 18th in a 366-runner field. This performance granted Crowley an individual qualification for the NCAA National Championship.

Greg Turissini ’15 and Charlie Reighard ’14 also had very strong finishes for the Jeffs. With a time of 25:29.81, Turissini took 32nd, just ahead of Reighard’s 35th place mark under two seconds later.

These two top-35 finishes earned the runners AllNew England recognition.

The Jeffs will return to action for the NCAA National Championship on Saturday, Nov. 23.

Women The Amherst Women’s Cross Country team traveled to Portland, Maine this past Saturday to compete in the 2013 NCAA Division III New England Championships hosted by the University of Southern Maine. The Jeffs finished eighth in the 53team event.

The NESCAC finished strong at the event with six teams placing in the top ten. Williams took first place with 44 points followed by Middlebury in second with 57 points. After these top two finishers

were MIT (127), Tufts (134), Brandeis (168), Bates (197), Colby (201) and Amherst (258).

“I was happy to see us beat Conn. College who squeaked by us at NESCACs,” said coach Cassie Funke-Harris. “It really shows that we’re a better team than our NESCAC performance showed.”

This success started with Lizzy Briskin ’15 who paved the way yet again for the Jeffs this season. Her finishing time of 22:17.65 slated her 36th overall in the 371-person field. Briskin has had a very successful season. She shared some of her sentiments on her performance.

“Individually, I am glad that I ran a faster time than at Regionals at Westfield State last year, though I would have liked to qualify for the all-Regional team,” Briskin said.

Briskin narrowly missed out on an individual qualification for Nationals, falling 10 seconds and 9 places short.

Caroline Rose ’16 was the second Jeff to finish and 44th in the field, crossing the tape in 22:28.55.

Rounding out the top five were Catherine Lowdon ’17, Jessie Kaliski ’15 and Betsy Black ’16. Lowdon placed 52nd overall with a time of 22:35.89, Kaliski finished in a time of 22:38.87 and Black took 72nd with a time of 22:55.73.

“I am very happy with how the team performed.

Our goal was to race as hard as we could and ‘leave it all on the course’ and I personally was fully satisfied that we met that goal,” Briskin said.

The team missed out on qualifying for nationals by a few points.

“Our goal at the start of the season was to make nationals, and it stings a little to be the first women’s cross country team in ten years to not make the national meet,” Funke-Harris said. “Every person who raced at regionals will be back next year, and there are others waiting in the wings for their opportunity to show they can compete at that level.”

With the close of the cross country season, many of the runners are off to compete in indoor track. We must wait until next year to see what comes of their return to action on the trails.

Men’s & Women’s Swimming Defeat Union Senior Captains Lead the Way for the Jeffs

1BUSJDL :BOH Staff Writer Men The Amherst Men’s Swimming and Diving Team visited Union College on Saturday, Nov. 16, to kick off the start of their season, determined to improve on finishing a close second last year to their NESCAC rivals, Williams College. After an offseason of intense preparation, all the swimmers showed just how far they’d come since the previous season, handily beating the Dutchmen.

In their first event, the 200-yard medley relay, all three of the Jeffs relay teams beat their three Union College counterparts. Amherst’s “A” team finished first with a time of 1:37.08, while the “C” team surprised by clocking in at 1:39.48 ahead of the “B” team’s 1:41.45 time. Although the “B” team finished last among the Amherst teams, it was still a full four seconds faster than Union’s fastest team.

The next event, the 1000-yard freestyle, provided much excitement as Connor Haley ’17 battled neck-and-neck with Union’s Matthew Hellauer for first. Haley managed to edge it out by the narrowest of margins, tapping in at 10:05.48, which was only three-hundredths of a second ahead of Hellauer. Haley has been dubbed as a freshman with breakout potential this season.

According to sophomore Sebastian Cruz, it is not merely by chance that Haley performs so well.

“Connor brings a positive mindset and a will to work every practice,” Cruz said. “He showed off his impressive ability to close out tight races at Union, and I’m excited to see what he will do in the future.”

Elsewhere, Gregory Han ’17 established himself as the standout performer of this meet, as he completely dominated the opposition in finishing first in the 200-yard IM. His time of 1:56.49 was

nearly 10 seconds ahead of the next-best Union swimmer. Jeff Anderson ’16, who finished first in the 100-yard breaststroke, Tyler Bulakul ’15, who led the pack in the 200-yard butterfly, and Captain Nicholas Egan ’14, whose time of 1:46.98 in the 200-yard freestyle was enough to bring home the top spot, were other notables at the meet.

“The Amherst men are hungry this season,” Egan said. “We’re a competitive group, an aggressive team, with guys that are driven by the thrill of winning. We’re entering this season with the talent and focus to realize our goals. We’re not going to settle for second to Williams at NESCACs.” Captain Parker Moody ’14, who led by example by finishing first in the 500-yard freestyle, agreed with Egan, and he thought his team’s performance in this first meet was an indication of more success in the future.

“Our meet provided us a great first chance to get up and race against another team,” Moody said. “The Amherst men raced incredibly well, winning many of the races that came down to the last few yards.”

There were a lot of close events in this meet, and the fact that Amherst was able to pull out ahead of their opponents in most of these close races reveals a lot about the strength in character that the Jeffs have. But a portion where it was never really close was the diving portion of the meet.

In the two diving events, the 1-meter dive and the 3-meter dive, Colin White ’14 and Asher Lichtig ’16 both dominated the field, as they placed first and second respectively in both events. The thirdplaced finisher scored significantly below them both times.

Union College was only able to win five of the sixteen events at the meet, as the Jeffs tallied 198 points against the Dutchmen’s 101. Looking to build upon this victory, they travel to Colby next

Saturday, Nov. 23.

Women The Amherst Women’s Swimming and Diving Team got off to a similarly great start to their season at Union College, handily defeating their opposition by a score of 172 points to 105. Coming off one of the best seasons in their history as they went on to claim the NESCAC championship, this was the perfect way to begin the defense of their title, making a huge statement to the rest of the league that they are a force to contend with yet again.

Captain Anna Pietrantonio ’14 is confident in her team’s ability to have another strong season.

Speaking of the adjustments they made in the offseason, Pietrantonio said, “Although we graduated a big class of seniors last year, we have a great depth of talent as we welcome a speedy group of first-years to the team. In terms of improvements, we incorporated a lot of weight training into our preseason, which is already paying off in practices. We also have a new assistant coach this season who keeps our workouts fresh and interesting.”

Her words were supported by her team’s performances. The first event for the women was also the 200-yard medley relay, which they won handily. Their “A” team finished first with a time of 1:52.06, followed by the “B” team at 1:56.43. In their other relay event, the 400-yard freestyle, it was the Jeffs who again came out on top, although this encounter was much closer than the first. This time it was the “B” team finishing first with a time of 3:49.72, just ahead of Union College’s “A” team, who marked a respectable time of 3:50.47.

Union College was only able to win two of the fourteen events, as the day was a continued succession of Jeffs excelling in their respective events. Stephanie Ternullo ’15 won her 200-yard

freestyle event by nearly four seconds, clocking in at 1:56.52. Abby Hahn ’14 placed first in the 100-yard breaststroke, going the distance in just 1:10.58. She was then followed by another firstplace finish by sophomore Sarah Conklin in the 200-yard butterfly (2:12.30). Conklin also won the 100-yard butterfly, rounding out a very impressive individual performance. Next was another Amherst success as senior Lulu Belak narrowly won a thrilling 50-yard freestyle, finishing with a time of 25.36 that was enough to edge out Ashleigh Stoddart ’15 by just 0.08 seconds, and the 100yard freestyle back-to-back. Sophomore Emily Hyde’s time of 2:29.17 brought home the 200-yard breaststroke.

The standout performers for the women at this meet were Sabrina Lee ’15 and Charlotte Chudy ’16. Lee contributed 29 points for her team, as she won the 100-yard backstroke by less than two-tenths of a second and the 200-yard IM by a comfortable 1.26 second margin. She also swam in the 200-yard medley relay. Chudy blew away the rest of her field in her 1000-yard freestyle, winning her event by an absurd 10.79 seconds, finishing with a time of 10:46.74.

Despite the team’s dominating performance, sophomore Hannah Hummel tried to keep everything in perspective.

“This meet was a good opener for us because we were able to see the potential that we have as a team,” Hummel said. “However, although we did well, we have a long way to go before NESCACs, which is good motivation for us to work even harder. Ultimately, our goal is to work hard and perform to the best of our abilities.”

The next step for the women is also at Colby next Saturday. If they can perform just as well then, the long road to a NESCAC championship repeat will be just a little bit closer.

10 Sports

Schedule

THURSDAY Women’s Basketball vs. Skidmore, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY Men’s Basketball vs. Newbury, 6 p.m.

Women’s Hockey @ Wesleyan, 7 p.m.

SATURDAY Men’s Cross Country @ NCAA Championships, 12 p.m.

Men’s Soccer vs. St. Lawrence, (NCAA Sectionals), 1:30 p.m.

Men’s Basketball vs. TBD, TBD Men’s Hockey vs. Trinity Hamilton, 7 p.m.

Women’s Hockey @ Wesleyan, 3 p.m.

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Men’s Swimming @ Colby, 2 p.m.

Women’s Swimming @ Colby, 2 p.m.

Women’s Basketball vs. RPI, 6 p.m.

SUNDAY Men’s Soccer vs. TBD, (NCAA Sectionals),TBD Men’s Hockey vs. Wesleyan, 3 p.m.

Women’s Basketball vs. TBD, 2/4 p.m.

MONDAY Men’s Swimming @ Wesleyan, 5:30 p.m.

Women’s Swimming @ Wesleyan, 5:30 p.m.

THURSDAY Men’s Hockey vs. St. Michael’s, 4 p.m.

Men’s Hockey Starts Season Off With Sweep of Hamilton Greg Williams ’16 Staff Writer This past weekend the men’s ice hockey team sailed to two big victories to open their 2013 campaign.

Playing Friday night in the home opener at historic Orr Rink, the Jeffs took on Hamilton College. They then had a quick turnaround, as they had to venture to Clinton, N.Y. the next day in an attempt to take down the Continentals once more in back-to-back games.

The first period of the first contest of the year was filled with tenacity on both sides. A chippy game in general, the Jeffs were able to make their physical presence known early on.

Despite being outshot in the first, Amherst managed to take the lead 14:31 in when Conor Brown ’16 was able to slip one by Joe Quattrocchi, the Continentals’ goalie. Assisted by Topher Flanagan ’16 and Elliot Bostrom ’14, Amherst took a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.

Following a stellar first Zamboni resurfacing of the season, the Jeffs came back out with a fire. The Jeffs were able to take advantage of a powerplay and, following some excellent puck movement, senior captain Brian Safstrom notched his first goal of the new season, assisted by Aaron Deutsch ’15. The two-goal lead was narrowed to one, the closest Hamilton would get to a lead, when Robbie Murden managed to squeak a lucky shot by Dave Cunningham ’16, who managed 19 saves on the night, including some nifty glove-hand robberies.

The Jeffs found their stride even more in the third, managing a dominant first ten minutes of play while helped out by a couple Hamilton penalties.

Six minutes in Mike Rowbotham ’15 picked a corner on Quattrocchi, resulting in another assist by Deutsch and Safstrom’s second point of the game. Just three-and-a-half minutes later, Safstrom then notched his second goal of the game after a couple of bang-bang passes from sophomores Brown and Kevin Ryder.

Then, after a phantom interference call on Ryder, Hamilton was able to take a bite out of the lead on the power play through an admittedly excellent backdoor pass.

But it would not be enough for Hamilton, as Brown scored the fifth and final goal of the game on an empty net, as Hamilton finally decided to pull their goalie in order to get another attacker on the ice. Brown’s fifth goal gave the Jeffs a season opening victory 5-2.

On Saturday, the Jeffs made the trek to N.Y. to try to best the Continentals again. Fueled by a pair of penalties in the first, Rowbotham managed to break the tie with an unassisted

power play goal nine minutes into the game.

The second period was also marked by a fast start, which has been a positive and consistent theme so far this year.

It was Brown who scored what would become the game-winning goal just over five minutes in. Safstrom marked his second assist of the weekend on the same play. Hamilton was unable to capitalize on their two power play opportunities of the period, nor the four-on-four opportunity towards the end of the period.

The third continued to be filled with excellent hockey, but neither team could find the back of the net.

The referees called the game very tight because they decided to send Deutsch to the sin bin for hooking. Shortly after, Kenny Matheson gave the Continentals some life after a goal with just over a minute remaining.

Brown, who apparently developed a nose for the empty netters in the offseason, scored the dagger with eleven seconds remaining.

The buzzer rang just after, confirming the Lord Jeff ’s 3-1 victory. Cunningham had a little less to do this time around, but still finished with a solid 13 save effort.

Coach Jack Arena, who is currently in his 31st year as the head coach of the program, was proud of his team’s play.

“I thought we played well considering it was our first weekend,” Arena said. “We worked and competed very hard which is always a great foundation on which to build a team. Brian Safstrom and Conor Brown had terrific all around weekends and Andrew Kurlandski ’14 and Andrew Fenwick ’15 were asked to do a lot on Saturday, and they responded as well as we could have hoped. Dave Cunningham played very well in net both games as well.”

Everyone in the outfit is prepared to make the most of this season and after breaking down the tape everyone this team will be an even more formidable opponent in future games.

It was an excellent weekend for Amherst sports all-around, and the men’s ice hockey team certainly pulled their weight as they start their season 2-0.

They will look to continue their success this weekend with a home stand against two tough NESCAC rivals, Trinity and Wesleyan, who are also both 2-0.

Arena and company are aware of the challenge that lies ahead, as both teams “are expected to be fighting at the top of the conference this year, so this weekend will again be a big test for us.” If you’re on campus and looking for some high-quality puck stop by Orr Rink before Thanksgiving break.

players of the week

Thomas Bull ’16

Caroline Rose ‘16

Favorite Team Memory: Beating Williams on

Favorite Team Memory: Going to XC Nationals last year in Indiana If you didn’t run cross country, which sport would you play?: Football Pet Peeve: When people don’t say “please” or “thank you” Celebrity Crush: Justin Timberlake Favorite Movie: “The Godfather” Favorite Book: Their Eyes Were Watching God Favorite Food: Chocolate chip cookies Favorite Thing About Amherst: The people

their home field in the 2012 NESCAC Finals If you didn’t play soccer, which sport would you play?: Lacrosse Pet Peeve: Don’t have one Celebrity Crush: Mila Kunis Favorite Movie: “Forrest Gump” Favorite Book: Unbroken Favorite Food: Steak Favorite Thing About Amherst: The people

Women’s Soccer Falls in Second Round of NCAA’s Chris Rigas ’16 Staff Writer The Amherst women’s soccer season came to a close on Sunday when the Jeffs lost 2-0 to Messiah College in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The defeat came on the heels of Saturday’s 1-0 victory in the first round over Springfield College.

The Jeffs’ first round game against Springfield was a rematch of a regular season contest, which ended in a dominant 4-0 Amherst victory. This time, Springfield was much more competitive, but the Jeffs were able to preserve a 1-0 win.

Springfield opened the game on the attack, recording four corners and two shots in the first 15 minutes.

“Springfield is a good team and we were a little off against them,” commented head coach Jen Hughes.

However, in the 24th minute, the Pride were called for a handball in their own box, giving Amherst a penalty kick. Megan Kim ’16 converted it for her tenth goal of the year. The Jeffs settled into their small edge, and neither team threatened seriously for the rest of the half.

Early in the second half, Springfield earned a penalty of its own, when Amherst committed a foul in its own box. Vicky DiNatale took the kick, but Jeff goalkeeper Holly Burwick ’16 managed to dive and knock the shot off the post.

In the next few minutes, Kim and senior Hannah Cooper both had chances to double Amherst’s advantage, but Cooper’s shot flew just over the crossbar, and Kim was foiled on a potential breakaway by Springfield keeper Lucy Gillett.

Springfield managed to generate a couple more chances in the remainder of the second half, including a shot from senior Nina Vital that forced a Burwick save, but Amherst held on for the one-goal victory.

In the game that determined the Jeffs’ second round opponent, two-time defending champion Messiah beat Lasell 4-1. Messiah also hosted all three games in Amherst’s portion of the bracket, and carried a 19-2-1 record into their matchup with the Jeffs.

Despite facing such a juggernaut, Amherst looked like the better team in the early minutes on Sunday. At the 5:22 mark, Jessy

Hale ’16 launched a shot from inside the box off the crossbar, and soon afterward the Jeffs played a dangerous ball across the front of the goal that Cooper nearly connected with.

First-year Sarah Zuckerman struck the crossbar again minutes later, this time from a header.

Messiah rallied, and Alicia Frey took advantage of a ball bouncing in the Amherst box in the 18th minute, striking a volley past Burwick into the lower right corner of the net.

The Falcons gained some insurance in the 27th minute, when Nikki Elsaesser collected a loose ball in front of Burwick’s net and scored, and the Jeffs went into halftime down two goals despite generating plenty of opportunities.

In the second half, Messiah asserted control of the game, creating several good chances and mostly limiting the Jeffs.

Elsaesser’s run and pass gave Marisa Weaver a point-blank opportunity, but the freshman’s effort sailed high.

In the final minutes, Burwick cut off the angle on an Elsaesser breakaway to keep Amherst from falling further behind, as the Jeffs’ best chance of the second half, a shot from inside the box by Alex Hart ’15, was blocked by the Falcon defense.

“Messiah is probably the strongest team we faced all season,” Hughes said. “That said, it was a pretty even match. We had the edge in the first half and they had the edge in the second half.

Unfortunately, Amherst couldn’t catch a break — hit the crossbar twice — and they capitalized on their opportunities. While the result against Messiah was disappointing, we learned that when we bring our best we can play with anyone in the country. Our challenge for next year will to bring our best to every game.”

The defeat brought Amherst’s season record to 10-4-3 and was the last game in the careers of seniors Kate Sisk, Amanda Brisco, Chloe McKenzie, Sarah Duffy, Sara Abrahams, Emily Rose Colvin and Hannah Cooper.

The group compiled an overall record of 51-14-7 over their four years, including 285-6 in the NESCAC. In 2011, they helped the Jeffs to a record 20 wins, a NESCAC title and a trip to the national quarterfinals.

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Women’s Squash Dominates Northeastern, 9-0, In Opener %FWJO 0 $POOPS Staff Writer The Amherst Women’s Squash Team swept Northeastern in its season opener this past Saturday. The Jeffs had an impressive start to the 2013-2014 season, only dropping one of twentyeight games. Sophomore Ericka Robertson defeated Jenny Janeck of the Huskies in the number one spot with a 3-1 finish. The other members of the sophomore class had an impressive day as well. Meyha Sud ’16, Taryn Clary ’16, Khushy Aggarwal ’16, and Corri Johnson ’16 handily defeated their Husky opponents by a combined 110 points.

Senior Captains Evelyn Kramer and Lena Rice, playing in the number three spot and number eight spot respectively, each swept their opponents 3-0.

“It was great to start off our season with such a convincing win,” Kramer said. “It got our team really excited about our upcoming matches. I’m also really happy that our new players had a very

strong start to their Amherst squash careers.”

First Year Tiana Palmer-Poroner had a great first match playing for the Jeffs. Poroner, playing in the number four spot, defeated Hailie Joo of Northeastern easily, with a total of 33 points over the three games. Rounding out the ninth spot was Izzy Derber ’17, who swept her opponent, giving up only one point in the match.

The Jeffs will face a variety of schools in the next few months, ranging from teams in the NESCAC to the Ivy League to the Atlantic 10.

This season, the Jeffs will get to host the Pioneer Valley Invitational and the Little III championship on back-to-back weekends in January and hope to make it to the NESCAC championship at Hamilton later that month.

“I’m looking forward to beating Williams and hopefully moving up in both the NESCAC and national rankings,” Clary said. “We have a lot of new talent on the team so I am excited to see what we can do this year!”

The women will host the Bulldogs of Yale next Friday, Dec. 6.

Men’s Basketball Starts Off With Rout Of Brooklyn, 96-78 ,BSM (SFFOCMBUU Managing Sports Editor As defending National Champions, the Jeffs picked up right where they left off on Saturday, earning a 96-78 road win against Brooklyn.

With six players in double figures, the Jeffs offered a preview of a multifaceted attack that they hope will carry them into contention for another title.

Amherst jumped out to an early 10-0 lead in the contest and was never seriously challenged; in the second half, they led by as much as 27 points.

Not surprisingly, it was senior captain Aaron Toomey, the reigning NABC Player of the Year, who set the pace on offense. In 39 minutes, the point guard had 18 points (including 12 points from beyond the arc) and six assists.

Near the end of the first half, Toomey displayed particular tenacity and athleticism when he hit a three despite a hard foul and went on to complete a four-point play. Earlier in the half, he also assisted first-year forward David George on a dazzling alley-oop.

George himself, who had been touted as the Jeffs’ most dynamic first-year player, certainly lived up to expectations with a 14-point performance.

“We think George [also] had seven or eight blocks, even though they [credited] him only two,” coach Dave Hixon said. “In 22 minutes, he

had 12 boards, six of them offensive. For a firstyear, that’s a pretty amazing start. He’s a good player.”

After a solid junior year, Tom Killian ’14 immediately re-established himself as a legitimate threat in all aspects of the game. Killian contriuted a double-double of his own with 17 points and 11 rebounds in 35 minutes.

Amherst also received 16 points from Connor Green ’16 and 11 from Joseph Mussachia ’15 — the latter of which particularly impressed Hixon.

“Joe did a great job for us — he impacted the game,” Hixon said. “He’s been playing well all fall, and he’s probably been the surprise of the year, even more so than the first-years. He’s a great kid, so enthusiastic, and now he’s figuring out how to mesh with four other guys on the floor. I’m so happy for him.”

The only area of concern in the victory was the Jeffs’ shooting, which was not yet as efficient as Hixon would like to see it.

“As a team, we shot poorly; we were 18-for32 from the foul line and 25 percent from three, which is not good,” Hixon said. “Had we done a reasonable job, we could probably score 110 or 115 points. But I thought we played well because we had really good shots — a lot of wide open catch-and-shoots, which is what we practice.”

“We got great looks,” Toomey said, “and, as the year goes on, I am confident that we will make those.”

Men’s Squash Wins First Match Against Northeastern Lauren Tuiskula ’17 Staff Writer The men’s squash team opened up the season at home on Saturday, Nov. 16 and were in mid season form, sweeping the Huskies of Northeastern 9-0.

Seven of the eight matches were won by decisive 3-0 decisions. Noah Browne ’16 secured the win in the number one spot defeating Evan Jacobson 11-9 in the first game, an impressive 11-1 in the second and securing the victory with an 11-6 win in the final game.

In the number two spot, David Kerr ’14 edged out a win 14-12 in the first game before finishing off the match with 11-7 and 11-3 wins respectively in games two and three.

Co-captain Alex Southmayd ’15 performed well in the most competitive match of the day at the number three spot.

The first two matches went to extra points,

but Southmayd was able to pull out the victories 15-13 and 13-11 respectively.

His competitor, Stan Berensthein, came back to take the next two games 11-9 and 11-5, tying the match at two. Southmayd came back in the fifth and final set to earn the victory 11-9.

“I knew it would be a tough match from the beginning,” Southmayd said. “The final game could have gone either way, but I was able to regain my focus and grind out a win.”

Among the first-years that won their collegiate debuts were Michael Groot and Jeremy Van. The team’s impressive victory also came despite the absence of many key players.

“We await the return of five juniors abroad, all of whom are important to our team,” Southmayd noted. “We’re happy to start the season off with a 9-0 win. It definitely sets the tone for what we hope to be a successful winter.”

The Jeffs have a short break in action before hosting Yale on Friday, Dec. 6 at 2 p.m.

Sports 11

Going Incognito

The Green Monster ,BSM (SFFOCMBUU

The alleged bullying of former Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin has made national headlines and left commentators with no shortage of opinions. Karl examines the oddity of the case and discusses whether this episode should be considered the exception or the norm in professional sports.

Recently, it’s often been the case that the year’s biggest sports story is also the most unexpected — and the strangest. The thrill of a championship race or a historic individual performance can no longer satisfy America’s collective sports nation. Now, at every turn, we eagerly await scandal, shame and disgrace, as if that’s what sports is really all about to us. When it comes to sports, we are gluttons for the latest episode of moral turpitude.

So, when the Jonathan Martin-Richie Incognito story broke a few weeks ago, it seemed, despite the bizarre and somewhat disturbing nature of the story, like nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe the Skip Baylesses of the country were even a little bit happy. A story like this provides pundits with their time to shine; the opinions of men and women who talk and write about entertainment for a living (after all, sports are entertainment!) are suddenly seen in a larger cultural context.

Having mercifully steered clear of most of the initial media coverage of this story, I was not subjected to the thousands of faux profundities about how issues of race and bullying in sports reflect those same issues in the rest of society.

Despite those feelings, however, I soon became aware that this story was very much worth taking a look at.

Let me preface any further discussion by saying that this story is just plain weird.

There is something intuitively absurd about “playground behavior” among rich, grown men. Unfortunately, however, it is something that happens — and it probably always has.

How did Jonathan Martin get to be the object of such harassment and shaming?

Generations of psychologists have studied power dynamics, so it’s clearly a complex question and one for which I don’t have a straight answer.

I do know that Martin, an offensive lineman for the Dolphins, was not performing especially well on the field. In sports, success and failure are ultra-visible.

If someone struggles, he quickly becomes the odd man out, and that can lead to all sorts of unpleasant things.

But athletes struggle all the time; usually, when that happens, they don’t stick around for very long. The unusual thing about this case is that, despite an abysmal rookie season, Martin not only returned to the Dolphins but continued to start on the offensive line.

Purely from a performance standpoint, anyone should have known that that move would be bad for both Martin and the Dolphins. That’s especially the case if Martin was perceived to have a lack of “mental toughness.” Some of what I have read points to the fact that Incognito’s infamous voice mail came as part of a regimen — one led by the Dolphins’ coaching staff — to “toughen up” Martin. Again, however, this is the NFL. If someone isn’t doing the job, you bring in somebody else. Putting so much effort into “toughening up” a marginal player seems antiquated and pretty ineffective.

Strange, too, is the alleged behavior of Richie Incognito in this situation — to say the least. Using certain racial epithets in today’s mainstream culture is taboo. Using them where they can be amply documented, such as in a voice mail (who even leaves voice mails, anyway?).

It is also a one-way ticket to forfeiting the better part of your credibility and even your future. We saw that with the Riley Cooper incident earlier this fall. If and when Incognito returns an NFL locker room, it’s almost certain that his teammates will comprise a wide variety of racial demographics. Regardless of his fate, how can he ever again expect to command their respect?

Why a professional athlete would effectively jeopardize the rest of his career to “send a message” to his own teammate is truly beyond me.

Judging by the level of rage in the voice mail, it’s fair to guess that, even before it was recorded, things had been getting personal between Incognito and Martin. Even so, Incognito handled the — ahem — difference of opinion in an appallingly unprofessional manner. Incognito’s reputation is far from spotless, but don’t even the least refined professional athletes have someone that helps them look after their images? If so, how could that person have allowed this to happen?

As far as I know, the question of whether or not the Dolphins’ coaching staff was behind Incognito’s bullying remains speculative. If it were true, it would be almost too much for me to believe.

And that’s not because I doubt for an instant that any professional coaches, even in their “leadership positions,” are immune from gross behavior. Oh no. It would simply show an incredible disregard for selfinterest on the part of everyone in the Dolphins organization. Clearly, these events will not go without consequences.

Looking around the internet yesterday, I read an article on Brett Favre’s response to this story. He made the point that bullying incidents such as these happen all the time in the NFL and that Martin was unique only in his response to the pressure.

It seems rather brazen of Favre, as a celebrity, not to come straight to the defense of the alleged victim. But he certainly speaks from experience, and, whether we like it or not, he might be right.

If, as he claims, this does happen often and Martin is an outlier, then NFL players somehow have lost the right to withstand affronts to their individual dignity.

That doesn’t sound like professional sports to me. That sounds like prison.

In this century, our level of comfort with the sport of football lies in the fact that it almost, but never fully, crosses over into unmitigated animalism. If Favre is right, all that is not so clear anymore. Maybe it’s not right or wrong; maybe it’s just the way things are. But it certainly makes us rethink what we’ve been watching.

Another internet writer posed the question of whether Martin should ever try to play football again. What’s important here is that he certainly doesn’t have to; he was a Classics major at Stanford.

Either way though, Martin can’t really win. If he returns, his troubles with teammates are probably far from over. If he doesn’t, then Incognito and the others have basically succeeded in wrecking his livelihood. Really, it’s a sad set of choices for a man who, as far as we know, has never done anything significantly wrong.

Where this story will lead is still an intriguing question to me.

And there’s a good chance I’m not the only one who can’t wait to find out.

Sports

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Men’s Soccer Advances to Sweet Sixteen of NCAA’s Improve to 17-0-2, Extend Win Streak to 39 Games Jason Stein ’16 Staff Writer With an offensive explosion for Men’s Soccer this past weekend in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, the Jeffs return to the NCAA Round of 16 for the fourth consecutive season.

The Jeffs made quick work of Bridgewater State in a 3-0 victory in the first round of the NCAA Championship on Saturday, Nov. 16.

The Jeffs then cruised to a 5-0 victory over Gordon College the following afternoon.

Amherst played both matches on Hitchcock Field and will continue to play at home this upcoming weekend.

The Jeffs improved to 17-0-2 on the season and extended their unbeaten streak to a whopping 39 games.

After a couple of early scoring chances for Bridgewater State, Amherst marched down the field on the counter attack.

Senior Robert Gooden dribbled the ball down the center of the pitch and executed a nice through ball to the right side of the field around the 18-yard box.

Sophomore striker Nico Pascual-Leone received the pass and put the ball into the left corner of the goal for his fifth goal on the year to give the Jeffs a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute.

Less than a minute later, Amherst struck again, as forward Greg Singer ’16 played a cross from the right side in to striker Chris Martin ’17, who had plenty of space on the far side of the field.

Martin proceeded to bury the ball into the right corner of the net to double Amherst’s lead.

The Jeffs stayed on the attack however and would not relent, as they had promising opportunities to add a third goal before the half.

With just about 17 minutes remaining in

the half, senior Max Fikke, who scored the lone goal of the NESCAC Finals the previous Sunday, narrowly missed scoring a goal in his second straight contest by just putting it wide of the left edge of the net.

Amherst broke for halftime with a 2-0 lead and 10-2 shot advantage in the first half of play.

Amherst’s shot advantage and overall lead would only increase in the second half.

After Pascual-Leone’s attempted shot was blocked on an extended corner kick, Singer swooped in and scored to give Amherst a 3-0 lead 15 minutes into the second half of play.

The Jeffs continued to apply the pressure and almost scored a fourth goal, as first-year Cameron Bean headed the ball in off a rebound from the post, but was unable to put it past the goalie.

Amherst would not add another goal the rest of the game.

However, their defense held strong en route to the shutout (with only five shot attempts allowed and two shots on goal) and 3-0 win, ending Bridgewater State’s season.

The next afternoon, the Jeffs experienced similar offensive success against Gordon College.

Gordon had beaten Eastern Conn. State, 1-0, in the first round to set up a match with the Jeffs.

On a great corner kick from PascualLeone near the 20-minute mark, senior Ben Norton headed the ball for a score in the top right corner to put the Jeffs up 1-0.

Less than ten minutes later, the Jeffs struck again off another Pascual-Leone set piece. After the ball bounced around in the box with no one taking possession, Fikke took control of the ball and put it past Gordon goalkeeper Josh Spoonhour to put Amherst comfortably ahead.

Just as they had done the previous day, the

Jeffs headed into halftime with a 2-0 lead over Gordon and a decisive shot advantage.

Early in the second half, Amherst remained on the offensive attack.

Pascual-Leone sent a pass from the left side of pitch to the center of the box, at which point Fikke directed it to the right corner of the net for his second goal of the game to put Amherst up 3-0.

On the play, Pascual-Leone picked up his third assist on the afternoon and fourth on the weekend, after tallying an assist in the win over Bridgewater State.

While the Jeffs scored two goals in a span of less than one minute in the first half of their match against Bridgewater State, Amherst continued this trend in the second half of play against Gordon.

Just 50 seconds later, classmates and forwards Singer and Pascual-Leone performed a give-and-go pass sequence, which ultimately set up Pascual-Leone for a shot opportunity from the left side.

Pascual-Leone made the most of the opportunity, picking up his second goal of the weekend.

Another pair of sophomores would contribute to a scoring effort towards the end of the contest.

In the 87th minute, sophomore Will Poss scored his second goal of the season from a rebound off a Douglass Jamison ’16 shot to give the Jeffs a 5-0 lead, which would hold for the remainder of the game.

Overall, the Jeffs amassed eight goals on the weekend in their opening games in the NCAA Tournament without allowing a goal in back-to-back shutouts, and they now advance to the Sweet 16 as a result of their strong offensive and defensive performance over the weekend. “This weekend was a good way to start the tournament,� said head coach Justin Ser-

pone. “I thought we did a good job of creating chances, and, most importantly, we didn’t give up a goal.�

Up next, the Jeffs will take on the St. Lawrence Saints (16-2-2) in the NCAA Round of 16 on Saturday, Nov. 23 at 1:30 p.m. on Hitchcock Field.

The Saints, who are nationally ranked, advanced to the Sweet 16 thanks to their 8-0 victory over Wheaton College in NCAA second round action.

St. Lawrence won the National Championship back in 1999. “St. Lawrence is as good as any team in the country,� Serpone said. “They scored eight goals against a good Wheaton team on Sunday and are clicking in every facet of the game. We’re going to have to play our best to stay in the game against them.�

The Jeffs stand just two wins from a trip to the Final Four in Texas and four wins away from a coveted NCAA Championship.

If the Jeffs are victorious against St. Lawrence and advance to the Elite Eight, they will face off against the winner of other NCAA Regional Semifinal between Williams (13-6) and Brandeis (16-4-1).

If Amherst and Williams are both victorious in the Sweet 16, a repeat matchup of the 2012 Elite Eight will take place at Hitchcock Field.

This will allow the Jeffs and Ephs to add another chapter to their storied rivalry.

Despite Amherst’s impressive run of success, Serpone feels that his team still has yet to reach its peak level of performance. “We can get better at a lot of things,� Serpone said. “I don’t know if we’ve hit our stride yet. For one thing, we need to find a way to play well on Saturdays. We’ve done well on the back end of the last few weekends, but we’ve started slow. That’s going to be a point of emphasis this week.�