Issue 12

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VOLUME CXLIV, ISSUE 12 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2014

Students Form Group forWomen in Quantitative Fields Elaine Jeon ’17 Managing News Editor

Photo courtesy of Janna Joassainte ’17

Drew House residents look through scrapbooks depicting black culture events held by the house in the past. This activity was a part of Drew House Hot Chocolate Hour on Charles Drew Day last Thursday.

Drew Residents Honor Charles Drew ’26 Dan Ahn ‘17 and Ryan Cenek ‘18 Managing News Editor and Staff Writer Residents of Charles Drew House held the college’s first ever Charles Drew Day on Thursday, Dec. 4 to honor Charles Drew ’26, an alumnus who is notable for being a black member and pioneer of the medical profession.

“Charles Drew Day is meant to celebrate the life and accomplishments of Dr. Charles Drew in the face of adversity. We hope to spread awareness of his life’s mission, how it relates to Charles Drew House, and why his life matters to us today,” said Bessie Birhanu ’17, Resident Counselor of Drew House.

Birhanu, Tatiana Hill ’16 and Matt Randolph

’16 were the main event organizers.

“We reached out to the Charles Drew Health Professions Society, the Multicultural Resource Center, and Dean Brown in Student Life for support in planning and organizing Charles Drew Day,” Randolph said.

In the first event, organizers tabled in Keefe Artium to hand out Drew Day buttons and held an educational trivia game through which students entered a raffle for T-shirts. Archives and Special Collections gathered archival material on Drew’s life and opened a display in Frost Library through the afternoon. The day concluded with Drew House Hot Chocolate Hour, which took place in Drew House’s common room.

During the event, participants flipped through

scrapbooks made by former residents and watched a historical video about Charles Drew.

The event was “meant to be an open forum of discourse on Drew — the man and the house — especially for people who may not know a lot about either,” Birhanu said.

The organizers followed up Hot Chocolate Hour with a discussion on the connection between Charles Drew’s legacy and the goals of Drew House today.

Charles Drew was born in 1905 to a middleclass black family in Washington, D.C. He was accepted to Amherst on an athletic scholarship, and enjoyed a successful academic and athletic

Continued on Page 3

A group of four students recently started Amherst Women in Finance, Economics and STEM, a club for female students interested in or already pursuing a degree in quantitative fields. STEM is an acronym for science, technology, engineering and math.

Economics and math major Ali Rohde ’16 said she had been thinking about possible ways to encourage more women to enter typically male-dominated fields. She wanted to foster a comfortable environment in which female students could readily see female upperclassmen and professors in quantitative fields as role models.

“As Amherst students, we are basically trying to figure out who we are and what we want to do, and part of the way we do that is by watching people who are similar to us and trying to imagine ourselves in their shoes,” Rohde said.

Before establishing the club, Rohde spoke with Associate Professor of Economics Jessica Reyes, who attended Amherst as an undergraduate. Reyes had participated in Amherst Women in the Sciences club, which has since disappeared, and wanted to inspire more women to pursue economics, math and the sciences, just as the club had encouraged her to do.

Rohde also said that events and clubs on campus gave her more inspiration, especially the Women’s and Gender Center’s “Women in Finance” panel last year and the Women in Computer Science club. She was able to further develop her idea while working for a professor of economics at Harvard who specialized in economics of gender and had published papers about female economics majors at the university.

With the idea for the new club in mind, Rohde then approached three other female students majoring in quantitative subjects: Thais

Continued on Page 3

College Counseling Center Initiates 24-Hour Hotline Sitina Xu ’16 News Section Editor The college’s Counseling Center launched a 24-hour hotline in late October to make around-the-clock mental health service accessible to students.

Before the 24-hour hotline, students could access the Counseling Center for urgent care service, regular appointments and case management on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. During all other hours, students needed to contact the on-call administrator or the college’s police to reach the emergency on-call counselor.

Now, students can dial the Counseling Center’s regular phone line to reach a licensed mental health professional during nights, weekends, holidays and any other non-business hours.

“When students access our extended after-hours service, they will speak to licensed mental health counselors who will assess the

student’s level of concern, identify appropriate interventions to de-escalate the crisis, plan for safety and help the students get connected to resources that will help them long-term,” Director of the Counseling Center and Associate Dean of Students Jacqueline Alvarez wrote in an email interview.

While after-hours mental health counselors are not part of the in-house counseling service team, they are hired as partners and trained in the college’s on-call procedures.

In addition to being available around the clock, the 24-hour hotline expands accessibility to students because “many students may be uncomfortable seeking help from an Amherst administrator or police officer, and therefore will go without immediate help,” Alvarez said.

Furthermore, the after-hours counselors can coordinate with campus personnel and the Amherst counselor on call to provide immediate, on-the-ground assistance for emergency situations, such as hospitalizations or sexual assault.

“Callers will not only get immediate help, but will have the option of receiving follow-up support from Counseling Center staff the next business day so that help is ongoing rather than a one-time event,” Alvarez wrote.

Students can use the hotline regardless of severity of the crisis. According to Alvarez, the after-hours counselor can treat major crises, such as suicidal thoughts or crippling depression, or simply feelings of sadness or emotional pain.

According to Alvarez, the hotline has received about 25 calls during its first month.

“It is our hope that this service will increase students’ access to support and consultation,” Alvarez said.

Alvarez noted that Amherst leads by a wide margin in significant feelings of loneliness, helplessness and depression, compared to other U.S. colleges. In comparison to the nationwide average, Amherst students lead by 20 percent on feeling lonely, 9 percent on feeling hopeless, 9 percent on feeling overwhelmed and 6

percent on feeling too depressed to function, according to the American College Health Association’s National College Health Assessment.

“While this data is disheartening, it is also changeable,” Alvarez said.

Amherst is joining a number of other colleges and universities across the country, such as Smith, Wellesley, Reed, Oberlin and the University of California, Los Angeles, to provide after-hours care.

Data show that use of the Counseling Center’s in-house appointments and services increased to 29 percent from last year and more students, 74 percent, are willing to seek out professional help for a “problem that was really bothering them.”

Ultimately, the Center works to “inspire people to have hope,” Alvarez said.

The Counseling Center, according to Alvarez, will continue to “fight prejudice and discrimination” against receiving mental health care.

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News

Stephanie Turnullo Dec. 1, 2014 - Dec. 9, 2014

>>Dec. 2, 2014 2:30 a.m., Charles Pratt Dormitory An officer investigated a smoke detector sounding in the lower level and found it was activated by the use of an electronic cigarette. >>Dec. 5, 2014 7:18 p.m., North College Dormitory An officer investigated a smoke detector sounding in a third-floor room and found it was activated by use of a lighter. The resident was fined $100 for creating an endangering condition.

11:59 p.m., Morris Pratt Dormitory Officers responded to a noise complaint and found approximately 100 people in the common room. An unauthorized party with alcohol was taking place. Three beer pong tables were present and a funnel designed to drink alcohol at an accelerated rate. The gathering was shut down and the alcohol was confiscated. >>Dec. 6, 2014 12:42 a.m., Plimpton House Officers responded to a report that a registered party in the common area was getting out of control. Upon arrival, approximately 50 people were dispersed from the area and alcohol was confiscated. The matter was referred to the Student Affairs Office.

2:55 a.m., Garman House Officers responded to a complaint of loud music and issued a warning at a second floor room. An officer also detected the odor of marijuana and the resident admitted to having smoked in his room. He was fined $100 for the smoking violation and the matter was referred to the Student Affairs Office.

4:05 a.m., Mayo-Smith House An officer checking the building found evidence of excessive amounts of alcohol, including hard alcohol, had been available at a registered party. Photographs were taken and the matter was referred to the Student Affairs Office.

7:04 p.m., Charles Drew House A third floor resident reported an unknown male came to his room and stood in the doorway. He asked him what he wanted and he continued to stand there without speaking. The male left when the resident began to call the police. Officers checked the building but the man was not found.

7:31 p.m., The Cage Officers and the fire department responded to a fire alarm. No cause could be found.

9:28 p.m., Frost Library A student reported the theft of a backpack which contained a Dell Vostro laptop valued at $2000. The backpack was left unattended on the first floor while the owner went to dinner.

11:30 p.m., Pond Dormitory A second floor resident reported unwanted people were attempting to enter his suite.

No officers were immediately available to be dispatched. At 12:39 a.m. someone pulled the fire alarm. Officers and the fire department responded.

11:32 p.m., Crossett Dormitory Officers and the fire department responded to a fire alarm and found it activated when someone pulled two alarm stations for no

apparent reason.

11:35 p.m., Stone Dormitory Residents of a third-floor suite reported uninvited people were attempting to push their way into the suite. Officers responded and cleared the stairway of people.

11:39 p.m., Stone Dormitory Officers and the Fire Department responded to a fire alarm and found it activated when someone pulled three alarm stations for no apparent reason.

11:43 p.m., Stone Dormitory A resident of Stone reported he was punched three times in the head by an unknown male while in the crowded stairway outside his third-floor suite.

11:54 p.m., Social Quad A student reported being assaulted while in the social dorm quad. An officer identified a suspect and the matter is under investigation. >>Dec. 7, 2014 12:06 a.m., Social Quad AC Police requested assistance from the Amherst Police in clearing out the large number of people in the social dorm quad.

12:13 a.m., Social Quad A male student and male visitor were arrested for being involved in a fight.

12:21 a.m., Powerhouse An officer intervened in an altercation between two students. The matter was resolved for the night.

12:51 a.m., Stone Dormitory Officers responded to a report of a group of people banging on the door of a first-floor suite. The people were dispersed from the stairway.

1:50 a.m., Stone Dormitory A female student reported harassment by a male visitor. The male was identified and the matter was investigated.

2:15 a.m., Morris Pratt Dormitory While investigating a report of the odor of smoke, officers discovered that a third floor resident covered his smoke detector and used candles in his room. The resident was fined $200.

3:05 a.m., Morris Pratt Dormitory While investigating a report of the odor of smoke, officers discovered that marijuana was smoked in a third-floor room. A small amount of marijuana and related paraphernalia was confiscated. The matter was referred to the Student Affairs Office.

3:05 a.m., Morris Pratt Dormitory While investigating an incident at a third floor room, the resident was found to be in possession of two false driver’s incenses.

The Registry of Motor Vehicles was notified.

10:22 a.m., Stone Dormitory A resident reported that last night someone threw an object and broke a window in their suite. >>Dec. 8, 2014 5:01 p.m., Barrett Hill Drive Officers investigated a motor vehicle accident involving a bicyclist. The bicyclist, who is a student, was taken to the hospital.

Thoughts on Theses Interdisciplinary Major

Stephanie Turnullo ’15 is writing an interdisciplinary senior thesis that compares attitudes towards the welfare state in Spain, Sweden and the United States. Her advisers are Professor of Sociology Ronald Lembo, Assistant Professor of Sociology Hannah Holleman and Associate Professor of Economics Jessica Reyes. The disciplines included in the thesis are sociology, Spanish and economics.

Q: What is your thesis about?

A: It is a comparative analysis of attitudes towards the welfare state in Spain, Sweden and the U.S.

lected] are actually representative of three unique kinds of welfare states, so they offer a really rich basis for comparison.

Q: What is the focus of your interdisciplinary major?

A: Interdisciplinary majors here — you just make them because you want to write a specific thesis, so last winter, I was talking to my economics adviser, Professor Reyes … she went here and wrote an interdisciplinary thesis. She suggested that route to me, and I thought about what I would want to write about, and this sort of took shape, and I wrote a proposal. Your proposal includes the courses you’ve already taken that you think would have given you the right background and knowledge to write the thesis, so it’s an all-in-one, a justification of courses and a thesis proposal.

Q: Where are you in the writing process right now?

A: I think the way I’m going about this is a bit unorthodox because it’s interdisciplinary. I’ve written a lot, but there’s so much more that I plan to write. I would say I’ve written two and a half chapters, but one of them might end up an introduction, and I don’t know how much of it I’m going to keep. I’m taking a step back right now and trying to think carefully about how I want to structure my argument. I’ve been looking into research about how institutions develop as a result of historical processes over time. I am trying to structure my argument as other people have structured theirs so that I can justify why I’m bringing the elements I’m bringing in. I want to make sure I can articulate why I’m doing what I’m doing for a reader to understand why I’m doing it.

Q: What particular idea or experience sparked your interest in your topic?

A: I spent the summer after sophomore year in Spain and was taking classes and working at an NGO that serviced immigrants in Spain. When talking to the people, I started to realize in my host family and co-workers how very American our ideas are about the state, the role it should play in society and what the state’s role is in individual people’s lives, our ideas about freedom and liberty.

I took a lot of classes last fall that sort of solidified that understanding for me. So when Professor Reyes suggested I could write a senior thesis, I started mulling it over and thinking what I could write about. What I wanted to write about was why our ideas about government in America are so liberal, and by liberal I don’t mean left, but I mean neoliberal and neo-classical.

Q: What kind of sources are you using for the paper?

A: I’m using a mix of primary sources and scholarly articles. Right now I’m writing on the Great Depression, and on each country and what welfare states developed out of them. I am looking at rhetoric that President Franklin D. Roosevelt used, rhetoric that the prime minister in Sweden used and a couple of newspaper publications from Spain. I’m looking at those for primary sources, but I’m also looking at people who have written about racism and the making of the New Deal in the U.S. Q: It’s clear to see the relevance of America and Spain to you, since you have been in both. How does Sweden come in to this picture? What role does it play in the comparisons you make?

A: Sweden is a forerunner of social democracy in Europe. There’s a large body of literature on comparative welfare state analysis that was sort of started by this guy named Gøsta Esping Anderson. He wrote a book called “The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism” and argued that welfare states cluster around three different regime types. There is a liberal welfare state, which is what we have, a corporate welfare state — he didn’t mention Spain, but that’s where Spain would have gone — and then a social democratic welfare state.

Then, there’s an explosion of research in response to what he said. Since then, people have re-characterized welfare states along about four different characterizations. One is corporate (Germany), social democratic (Sweden and Norway), liberal (United States) and southern European (Spain). Those three countries [that I’ve se-

Q: What were some unexpected elements you have come across while writing the thesis?

A: I have taken couple classes on Spain, and I know a lot more about U.S. history [than other countries’ histories], but I knew very little about Sweden going into it. I wanted to choose Sweden as a comparative touch point because of social democracy, but I didn’t know much about their history. Going into this, I was also very curious as to how equality of result became so important in Sweden, whereas equality of result has never even been part of the conversation in the U.S. — it’s always been about equality of opportunity. I think that I’ve come up with some really interesting answers that sort of make sense, and that’s been really interesting because I didn’t know what the answer was before.

Q: What do you hope to get out of writing a thesis?

A: One thing, unexpectedly, that I’ve already gotten out is that I have decided to go to graduate school next year and get my master’s degree. It’s a research master’s, and I’ll be researching one portion of what I’ll be doing now to write my thesis.

Also, it’s something that was really interesting to me — it’s so fun. It’s like when you get in a class and you read a book and you’re enthralled by the book, or when that one section of the class is really interesting to you, but then you have to move on. But I never have to move on — I get to stay where I’m really interested, and I get to learn about something that I think is really relevant to today. [For instance] we have conversations about shutting down our government, and Obamacare is fought [over] every single day when we’re the only OECD country that doesn’t have a national health care system.

Q: Do you have any advice for future thesis writers?

A: I would say pick a topic you’re really, really interested in and passionate about. It almost should be something [where] you can imagine yourself continuing that work in graduate school because you’re so passionate about it. It’s hard for me to spend time doing homework for other classes because I love what I’m doing on my own so much.

It’s just fun and rewarding, and it’s not stressful because I like it.

— Nolan Lindquist ’18

The Amherst Student • December 10, 2014

News

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La Causa Hosts 17th Annual Voices for the Voiceless Ricky Choi ’18 Staff Writer Several hundred people gathered in the Powerhouse on Saturday, Dec. 6 for La Causa’s 17th annual Voices for the Voiceless spoken word event, New England’s largest spoken word concert.

Nationally recognized speakers such as Slam Champions, White House Champions of Change awardees, HBO Def Poetry speakers and Sonia Sanchez, the college’s own first female African American professor, were among the list of seven performers at the concert.

Voices was organized by the students of the Voices Committee, led by co-chairs Ana Ascencio ’17 and Lucas Rénique-Poole ’15. The event, which was emceed by Francheska Santos ’15, included seven poets and music performed by DJ Dru Classic.

Jacquie Chavez ’15, a co-chair of La Causa, opened by explaining the event’s purpose and calling for a moment of silence to honor recent and past victims of police brutality.

“Voices originally began with Latino poets but has expanded to include different ethnic groups and demographics,” Chavez said. “The purpose is to connect social justice with the arts and for Latinos to create powerful voices

for themselves in society.”

Speakers spoke on the theme “decolonizing the arts at Amherst College,” and several reflected on the idea of discovering identity through art.

The first poet on stage was 2014 National Poetry Slam champion Pages Matam.

Matam performed his new piece “The Etymology of African American,” which touched on subjects such as naming and the meaning of identity in the context of culture.

Matam was followed by Simply Kat, an HBO Def Poet and co-founder of the spoken word organization Say Word.

Simply Kat’s performance focused on how words and dreaming are signifcant to children.

Using Dr. Seuss as an example, Simply Kat discussed how 43 publishers denied Dr. Seuss before one took Seuss seriously.

In the piece “Dear Fellow White People,” Simply Kat spoke about privilege in America and her identity as an Irish American. She also spoke about perceptions of female beauty in American society, challenging the airbrushed ideals presented in magazines.

Next, Elizabeth Acevedo, another National Slam Poetry champion, reflected on the difficulty of defining her own cultural space in society.

In the piece “Hair,” Acevedo used the metaphor of her naturally curly dark hair to describe her stand against cultural shaming and assimilation.

Acevedo said that her mother used to justify straightening her hair by saying, “Privilege looks like this, and I want you to have access to privilege.”

At the end of her piece, in response to her mother, Acevedo said, “You can’t fix what was never broken.”

Sunni Patterson, a featured performer in premier spoken word venues and celebrated poet, spoke on the beauty of free speech and activism.

“There is beauty in this tradition of resilience, hope, and joy,” Patterson said. “I’m giving thanks that we can be a part of this kind of activist, this kind of movement, this kind of ...

I’m grateful to be a part of this kind.”

She also performed a poem on the suffering caused by injustice. “I recall written in his speech, Dr. King made us aware, that injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere,” Patterson said.

After a brief intermission, the event resumed with Samoan poet Terisa Siagatonu.

Siagatonu is a Champion of Change, a White House honor given to leaders who help immi-

grants become citizens. She shared her experiences as both a Samoan and queer woman.

“Decolonization is dear to my heart,” Siagatonu said. “Decolonization means a journey towards sovereignty from a people who had everything taken away from them.”

Siagatonu shared her personal experience of survival against the different types of oppression she has faced as a Samoan, queer and woman. She remarked that spoken word was like allowing the audience to peek in through the windows of her life.

The audience then greeted Brian “SuperB” Oliva, a slam poetry coach at Azusa Pacific University. Oliva’s performance focused on the Wright brothers and on the importance of overcoming adversity.

Finally, poet Sonia Sanchez, the first African American female professor at Amherst, spoke to close the event.

Sanchez urged the audience to be involved in initiating social change at the college. She spoke on her participation in the college’s decision to become coed and her involvement in developing a black studies major.

“You need to make the board members understand that this is not going to hold us as long as it has before,” Sanchez said on creating social change at the college.

Student Community for Women in STEM Charles Drew Continued from Page 1 Correia ’16, Julie Xia ’17 and Nicole Chi ’15.

They expressed interest in the role of gender in quantitative fields and were enthusiastic about fostering a welcoming community for women in such fields.

“Gender is not the only characteristic that matters, but it’s definitely a significant one,” Rohde said. “Gender is also important because of the negative stereotypes that exist about women pursuing quantitative fields.”

Correia said that she has experienced many uncomfortable situations as a woman studying computer science.

“I’ve been in an audience of women programmers where we were told by a man we’d love the next presentation because it was an app about shoe shopping,” Correia said. “I’ve been also made to question my own programming abilities by off-handed comments about how I only got certain internship offers because the company was trying to fill their gender quota.

It’s very hard to stay in any field where you constantly face sexism and ignorance.”

Xia, a computer science and environmental studies double major, has felt pressure due to her gender because the number of women classmates dwindles as she takes more upperlevel courses.

“The lower it gets, the more responsible I feel for proving that yes, women are just as good as men in this field,” Xia said. “That sometimes manifests itself in me being nervous to ask ‘dumb’ questions in class or sug-

gest a wrong implementation should it reflect poorly on women in computer science. It’s obviously a silly and pretty irrational fear, but it’s definitely present and something that affects how I behave in class settings.”

Through Amherst Women in Finance, Economics and STEM, Correia hopes to solidify a strong network of women in the quantitative fields.

“It took me until my fourth semester here to find a solid group of female friends that I could geek out over CS stuff with — not necessarily because there are so few, but more because we didn’t have many opportunities to get to know each other outside of class,” Correia said. She believes that a network of support will encourage women to stay in quantitative fields despite gender imbalances.

Not only would the club provide a community and support network for current quantitative majors; it would also reach out to prospective majors who may be hesitant about pursuing traditionally male-dominated subjects.

According to Xia, the gender disparity begins early. She said that in the introductory computer science classes in which she works as a teaching assistant, there tend to be more young female students saying things such as “Comp sci is just not my thing” or “I knew I shouldn’t have taken this class” than male students.

“Even when male students are struggling way more than their female counterparts,

they’re generally more confident in their abilities. It’s scary, and I hope this group works towards empowering women and teaching them that struggle is part of the journey,” Xia said.

Chi also emphasized the group’s inclusivity.

“We truly wish to be as inclusive as possible and simply want to bring together people who have similar gender-related experiences in the classroom,” Chi said. “We welcome all nonbinary gender and trans persons.”

The organizers are currently brainstorming an agenda for the club. They have discussed establishing a one-to-one mentoring system, but want to create something that is more compatible with diverse and busy personal schedules.

Another idea is to consolidate with the Association of Women in Science, a new organization on campus with similar goals. Furthermore, the club may host a speaker series or a monthly lunch before beginning more long-term projects.

To launch the new group, the group will hold an event for female economics, math and science majors or prospective majors to meet one another. Additionally, participants of the event will be able to meet female thesis writers and professors in these quantitative fields.

“This event will hopefully be one step towards creating and enhancing the community of females in economics and STEM at Amherst,” Rohde said.

The introductory event will take place on Friday, Dec. 12 from noon to 2 p.m. at the Powerhouse.

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Continued from Page 1 career at the college. He went on to earn his Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgery degrees at McGill University and a Doctor of Medical Science degree from Columbia University.

While at Columbia, Drew pioneered groundbreaking, internationally-renowned research on blood transfusions and created the modern blood bank. Drew discovered that storing red blood cells and blood plasma separately greatly prolonged the viability of each for blood transfusions, and that plasma transfusions are possible even between people of different blood types.

Drew became the first black person to be appointed an examiner by the American Board of Surgery. He also became the supervisor of the Blood Transfusion Association for New York City, project director for the American Red Cross, head of the Department of Surgery at Howard University, and medical director of Freedmen’s Hospital.

Despite Drew’s successes, his career was also fraught with clashes against institutional racism.

He resigned from his position at the American Red Cross after the United States War Department issued a directive ordering that blood donations from white people be separated from those of blacks.

“Charles Drew had accomplished so much in his lifetime in spite of discrimination toward black Americans at the time,” Randolph said.

“Knowing that helps me to feel confident in my own potential to create change in this world as an Amherst student of color today.”

Drew’s career at academic institutions also involved extensive work on equalizing education and the medical profession for black Americans — a legacy that was emphasized by the organizers of Charles Drew Day. “Much of Drew’s life was a fight for more access and opportunity for students of color interested in pursuing careers in medicine, so they would not have to face the discrimination he did in his time,” Birhanu said. “Drew’s story is relevant today because students of color in STEM fields like myself sometimes struggle in the classroom, coming from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds, and can’t find faculty of color to connect to who understand that we may need more support to perform at the high levels expected of us.”

Birhanu said she hoped that Charles Drew Day would be a tradition for many years to come.

“Drew is inspiring not just for his intellectual brilliance and innovation, but also his determination to fight against injustice,” Randolph added.

Opinion Editorial

Student Activism Should Not Be a Passing Trend It’s hard not to feel empowered and inspired by Amherst students lately. Last Monday, somewhere between 250 and 500 students met on the steps of Frost to remember Michael Brown’s death with a moment of silence and a walk around the quad chanting “hands up, don’t shoot.” On Sunday, anyone on or around the first-year quad could see the group of UMass and Amherst protesters who walked through the town to raise awareness about the injustice of the non-indictment in the Eric Garner case. In October, members of our campus organized our own Black Lives Matter awareness week and responded decisively and collectively against the small All Lives Matter backlash. All this is not to forget the student-led campaign to change the mascot or the great work the Green Amherst Project has done mobilizing the divestment movement There are plenty of myths about life at Amherst. There’s apparently no dating scene. Everyone is an athlete. Everyone goes abroad. We’ll all get jobs right after graduation. But one of the biggest impediments to our education outside of the classroom is the idea that Amherst students aren’t politically active. According to those who think the Fiske Guide to College’s word is law, a student should go to Wesleyan if they want demonstrations and political outrage. Amherst is for indifferent intellectuals and the thinking man’s jock.

This kind of thinking creates complacency. The majority of Amherst students are supposed to passively look on while the Democrats rally to get out the vote or the Republicans bring various speakers onto campus. We can tacitly support divestment but shouldn’t actively storm Converse Hall to disrupt a board of trustees meeting. The most common response to an issue close to home, like the question of our Lord Jeff mascot, is either “I don’t care” or “Why a moose?”

Students have been at the heart of every political movement in recent history. University students went on freedom rides throughout the South to make a public statement about black rights in America. Chinese undergraduates protested against the communist government in Tiananmen Square.

We Amherst students learn about social justice in our classes and develop our critical thinking skills in every facets of life. As liberal arts scholars, as pretentious as it sounds, we have a responsibility to analyze the world around us and then react to it. We have the duty to work to create social change. It

is time to break the bonds of our stereotypes and remember: “The personal is political.”

Amherst, for all its problems, has been a fantastic place for political activism lately. Our community has been an inspiration for anyone trying to find sense in the tragedy of Ferguson. The recent demonstrations on not only our campus but also at colleges across the country have shown the power of the student voice and the need for change. We are in the middle of another civil rights movement, another pivotal moment in American and world history. Amherst students have the duty and privilege to be a part of this progress.

Connecting Over Loneliness Yelim Youm ‘18 Contributing Writer Both within the “Amherst bubble” and beyond, loneliness has become a taboo word. No one wants to talk about it, let alone admit that they themselves are — gasp! — lonely. But silence only breeds ignorance, and ignorance gives rise to misinformation, fear and exaggeration. Claims that we’re now suffering from “unprecedented alienation” and that as time passes, we have “less and less society” — from a viral 2012 story in The Atlantic that spawned both outraged criticism and enthusiastic consensus — abound. So do links between loneliness and premature death, arthritis and heart disease. And at Amherst College, loneliness statistics are through the roof. Though nationally, 56 percent of college students reported feeling “very lonely” within the past year, 76 percent of Amherst students did. Look around you. That’s eight out of 10 of us. We need to talk, Amherst.

We all know what loneliness feels like — there probably isn’t a human being alive who hasn’t felt that tightness in the stomach, panicked feelings of I’m not good enough and why doesn’t anyone want to talk to me, a deep pit of blackness gaping open somewhere in your chest cavity. When it strikes, we tend to march on, pretending nothing’s wrong in the presence of others, only to withdraw into ourselves later, sitting

alone in our rooms watching Netflix and eating copious amounts of candy. Sometimes we can’t admit even to ourselves that we’re lonely — after all, everyone else seems to lead such social, loneliness-free lives. But the facts say otherwise. Seventy-six percent of us know this feeling personally, and although it’s natural, it’s something no one should have to experience.

Dealing with this behemoth of a topic requires answers to a few questions. First up: Why do we feel lonely?

An answer would help us understand it better — after all, you must know your enemy — which will eventually lead to solutions. At the root of the issue lies the fact that we’re fundamentally social creatures. As infants, we are dependent on our parents for a longer period of time than any other species on the planet. As hunter-gatherers, we clumped together and cooperated for food and shelter. That’s true even in modern times — the globe is interconnected, and our webs of dependency are woven so tightly it is hard to see where anything begins or ends. Deprived of social connection, we become physically ill, depressed and eventually go insane, wither away.

Also, people with certain personality traits may be more lonely than others — research shows that feelings of loneliness are associated with shyness, neuroticism, and low self-esteem. But the lonelier you are, the stronger these feelings become — and the stronger these

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feelings become, the more likely you are to withdraw into yourself, to view the world as a threatening, dangerous place and to avoid social interaction for fear of rejection. In other words, it’s a classic vicious cycle.

But what triggers loneliness? At its roots is the difference between feeling lonely and being alone, two completely different things that are unfortunately often confused. The truth is, not all lonely people are alone, and not all people who are alone are lonely. Loneliness stems from a feeling that your relationships — whether with family, friends or romantic partners — are not acceptable or satisfying. It doesn’t depend on the amount of social interaction you have at all. You could be surrounded by people and still feel lonely. Conversely, you could have one or two friends, spend the majority of your time by yourself and still be content. Whether you experience loneliness or not also depends on the quality of the time you spend in the company of others. Speaking from personal experience, one conversation about the things tha really make us tick, the things that truly matter, in which we offer each other a piece of our raw and unrefined minds, can be much more satisfying than an entire day filled with people but devoid of such connection.

Slowly, the college is recognizing the problem of loneliness and has begun taking hesitant steps to fight it.

And so we get social clubs, the latest

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it topic on campus, the newly founded Traditions Committee, and the Mental Health Education mini-grant, all initiatives designed to bridge social gaps and reduce loneliness. I’m glad that the school knows that this issue exists and — even better — is committed to finding a solution, but programs engineered by the college can only provide structures for change. They can’t start the change themselves — we have to do that for ourselves. The best solution would be to abandon our — admit it — overly idealistic vision of relationships and friendships. Adjusting our perception of social lives that are acceptable or satisfying would attack loneliness at its roots. So, some hard truths: not every one of our interactions with others has to be perfect. Awkwardness is unavoidable and normal. Same goes for dislike and misunderstanding. You don’t have to have x number of friends, or spend x number of hours a day with people. Too often, we worry that others will view us as lonely and so we work to

cultivate an image of sociability, when, in reality, most people would never think so. When we see others by themselves, we reason that they have chosen to be alone because they are busy, or appreciate time by themselves — we don’t leap to conclusions and assume that they’re lonely or anti-social. Besides, being alone in itself is not a negative thing at all. Time spent alone can be a productive time for reflection, recharging and thinking through things — moreover, time by yourself is inevitable. We should also re-examine the ridiculous stigma on being alone and feeling lonely. Even the most convivial social butterfly will feel lonely sometimes, and some people nearly always prefer being alone to the company of others. It’s all perfectly normal. Maybe a big part of the solution lies in shedding some of this shame. That way, we could actually talk about it and understand it a little better. So talk. Connect.

Vent to others if you can — chances are, the other person will say, me too.

Retraction: The article “Gamergate Controversy Extends Beyond Computer Screen” published in the Dec. 3 issue of The Amherst Student was removed due to a number of factual errors. Allegations stated in the article that video game developer Zoe Quinn had been engaged in sexual relationships with journalists to garner positive reviews for her game were based on insufficient evidence. Because its argument was based on unsubstantiated, out-of-date and potentially damaging information, the article was removed from The Amherst Student’s website by agreement of its author and editors.

The Amherst Student apologizes for printing these unsubstantiated statements.

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The Amherst Student • December 10, 2014

Opinion

5

A Better Amherst Darrian Kelly ’15 Contributing Writer Darrian Kelly no longer has any affiliation with the Amherst College chapter of To Write Love On Her Arms.

People struggle with many things in silence. Depression, anxiety, addiction and trauma are a common few. While many students ache for genuine connections within their college community, their isolation with these unvoiced realities often leaves them unable to gain a true stable sense of belonging. Community is often where healing happens. For those struggling, community allows them to know that they are not alone.

What constitutes community, and how students, faculty, staff and administrators go about creating it, has transformed during my time at Amherst College. Along with students struggling in silence, many important things on this campus can often go under the radar.

The national headlines for our campus’ superiority have often failed to correlate with the trend lines of students struggling on campus for the past several years. As Amherst sought to develop an inclusive student body and actively pursue students outside of its traditional northeast demographic years ago, the school eventually acknowledged that, in many ways, it also lacked the

necessary campus resources to properly invite students to its residential community.

Student activism has been central to my own college experience.

During my first semester, I created a mental health community group that now has a following of over 600 individuals — including students, alumni, faculty, staff, administrators and community partners. With essential collaborations, we conducted mental health programming on the campus when there was none. This year the Amherst chapter of To Write Love on Her Arms continues to bring speakers, performers and even dogs to the campus as we host a variety of weekly meetings, regular awareness events, our third annual benefit concert, our third annual PostSecret Submission Event and its sixth biannual Dog Days.

Despite Amherst’s academic rigor, student activism to create genuine, inclusive community has been the most challenging — and rewarding — part of my college experience.

As I spent countless hours over the past three years working with student leaders, staff, community partners and members of student government to organize campus programming, I knew that mental health was a concern contingent upon other social issues on the campus. Mental health is part of a threadwork that impacts how a community is held

together. Recent efforts for dialogue by administrators, staff and students present an opportunity for the Amherst community to give light to itself and develop even further.

As a senior, several realities have been made clear through my own campus activism. One of those realities is that student involvement deserves to be celebrated. Students deserve to be recognized for their sacrifices and applauded for taking such strong initiative to bring the campus together, especially when done through nontraditional channels amongst the extensive pushback and odds they may encounter.

In addition to the need to celebrate student involvement, there is the common reality of personnel prioritizing loyalties among respective departments over the interests of students who want to make a difference in the school’s community. This has often conflicted with their very mission of serving students. Among the lawsuits against the institution, the pressure particular staff members put on themselves to produce effective results have often lead them to respond irrationally and act in ways that are never within the best interests of students. It has been common for their frustrations to be taken out on student leaders through negligence and insignificant attention to the crucial realities at hand.

If one were to take these mat-

Amend AAS Constitution to Fight Discrimination Robert Lucido ’15 Contributing Writer The AAS constitution needs a comprehensive non-discrimination clause. Sign the petition to ensure that illicit discrimination has no place at Amherst College.

In recent weeks, many students have pushed for profound conversations about important matters like race and mental health. President Martin herself, in an email, echoed their request and urged for “a concerted, respectful and educational campus conversation about these issues.”

But if these conversations are to ever take place in a genuine way, our students should be exposed to all ideas and perspectives on campus, not just the ones they are comfortable hearing. If there is to be widespread engagement in these conversations, every student must feel safe in expressing him or herself without fear of retaliation or defamation.

Unfortunately, past attempts at these conversations have proven unsuccessful as perspectives went absent, rendering the envisioned dialogue a one-sided discourse. While some level of discomfort is inevitable, even vital to the learning process, the fear of discrimination makes students unwilling to speak their minds and therefore wrecks any hope of widespread participation.

Thus, certain measures ought to be taken to assure students that Amherst truly “prizes and defends freedom of speech and dissent,” as it claims in the student handbook. The first of these measures should come from the AAS, as the AAS constitution does not contain a sufficient and inclusive non-discrimination clause. While Article 4.5.1-4 bars discrimination by those who receive AAS funding, it fails to prohibit the AAS itself from engaging in such behavior. In other words, under the current constitution, those who receive AAS funding cannot discriminate arbitrarily, but those who allocate the funding can.

The student handbook states, “Every student enjoys the right to full participation in the academic and social life of the college, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, ethnic identification, age, political affiliation and/or belief, sexual orientation, gender … economic status or physical or mental disability.” It continues: “Failure to realize this expectation undermines the ability of the college to achieve its purposes and diminishes the educational experience of each of its members … [E]very student bears the responsibility to protect the rights of all to express their views.” Therefore, by a simple reading of the AAS constitution, it’s as if our AAS senators somehow shed their responsibility to uphold the honor code when in chamber.

The Amherst College Republicans have undoubtedly been discriminated against — a feat about which certain AAS senators proudly boast.

For example, an AAS senator wrote in a recent AC Voice article, “My main frustration lies with liberal students who defend the ‘right’ of conservative speakers to be paid to speak on campus.”

He argues, “Amherst College, as a private institution, has no responsibility to allow any and all public speech.” He then reduces conservative viewpoints to “speech that supports injustice and oppression,” only to challenge his peers to “take away the forum for hate at Amherst College.”

But, to be clear, this petition is not exclusive to our group or even to discrimination based on political belief: It seeks to bar all forms of illicit discrimination in hope of preventing any future instances of such bias on our campus.

Furthermore, every member of the AAS should be held to the same standards to which they hold their constituents — that is, every Amherst student should be prohibited from engaging in arbitrary discrimination. While the aforementioned conversations must come from our students’ own initiative, this is a simple change that will help craft a suitable environment in which they can develop.

ters lightly, many students would be disheartened to ever use their voice and abilities to make the very change that many folks have been craving.

To make progress with community also means addressing the sole perpetuators of campus politics and incapacities. Acknowledging that problems cannot be solved by using the same thinking that created them, it is has only been until recently that student-administrator partnerships have begun to play more visible roles in efforts for a better Amherst.

While students are not able to make change alone, the stakes have always been — and will continue to be — much higher for us as students.

Unfortunately, it is very easy for the concerns of some factions of students to go unrecognized amongst the concerns expressed by other students that staff and administrators may deem as most critical. We are individuals that live in this community and go about our daily affairs — the academic, the social, the extracurricular. In some ways, the focus of campus personnel has often been on marginal affairs compared to the stakes involved for students. It is my hope that Amherst apathy will begin to become a thing of the past as nontraditional campus involvement gains an appropriate spotlight.

As Amherst is beginning to learn, listening to the unvoiced realities of students means continuously provid-

ing appropriate venues and inviting honest conversation around the ineffective structures and hegemony at this school. While this has been long overdue, these venues of conversation should be continuous components of the campus experience. This should not only be used as a response to apparent tension in an effort to grasp solutions.

During my time at Amherst, I have received many personal testimonies on the impact TWLOHA-Amherst has made on people’s campus experience. Struggle should not be shameful; it only means you’re human. While some may choose to overlook mental health, it is something that is universally relatable. It is not a matter of the “normal” person versus the incompetent or crazy one; it is my belief that the mental health of any individual is on a continuum and has impacts beyond those that struggle in silence.

Continued isolation allows people to further drown in the things they are dealing with. Community and connecting with others allows for clarity and a sense of relief as people yearn to make sense of their lives’ overwhelming questions. Despite existing progress, there are still going to be issues that people suffer with in silence and that people struggle through in isolation. But having trusted resources and a warmer community can allow us to beat the odds.

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Arts&Living

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Eddie Redmayne plays a convincing Stephen Hawking in James Marsh’s “The Theory of Everything.” He is shown above with Felicity Jones as his wife, Jane.

Redmayne and Jones Triumph in “Theory of Everything” Roles Claire Jia ’15 Staff Writer James Marsh’s “The Theory of Everything” is part love story and part biopic, but sadly doesn’t highlight enough of either.

Having bawled at the trailer twice, I went into this movie with high hopes, but felt like I was being led too quickly through a man’s life, peering into each formative chapter and craning my neck to see more before being jerked on to the next. However, brilliant acting on the part of Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking and Felicity Jones as Jane Wilde, as well as Marsh’s sleek direction, make up for the film’s often scattered, surfacelevel aspects.

Before Stephen Hawking was Stephen Hawking, he was just “Stephen:” a God-defying, physics Ph. D. student at Cambridge who fell in love with his opposite — religious Jane Wilde — a woman of the humanities. After meeting at a student event and attending the May Ball together, the two fall in love. Tragically, as he prepares to present his doctoral dissertation, Stephen discovers that he has a fatal motor neuron disease with a life expectancy of two years. He attempts to withdraw from his friends and from Jane, but she vows to stay by his side. The story then goes on to explore his later achievements, Jane’s loneliness and frustration with their marriage and their eventual separation.

The film has a massive task — both to honor Stephen Hawking’s achievements and to acknowledge the woman that made them possible. Critical plot points, however, are glossed over. For instance, when Stephen manages to survive past the two-year-mark of his condition, there is no sense of relief or

acknowledgement that he has defied the doctor’s prediction.

Their three children are born and grow up without much attention from Marsh’s measured directorial hand. There is never any explanation for why Stephen refuses at-home nursing, and this refusal, along with Marsh’s subsequent failure to explain it, make Stephen seem needlessly callous to Jane’s predicament. Marsh also chooses odd moments to highlight, diminishing pivotal moments in the couple’s life to pretty montages. Additionally, the dialogue is at times a little too understated to be comprehensible; of course, Redmayne has a formidable task, being literally unable to argue with Jane in the conventional sense that we understand. Perhaps we are too accustomed to the tried-and-true depictions of dissolving marriages in film, so when Stephen and Jane grow apart we almost don’t catch it. That is, until Jane, with tear-stained cheeks, says, “I tried my best.”

That being said, Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones give phenomenal performances. Redmayne plays both the witty, able-bodied young Stephen and the older, infirm Stephen, who preserves an effervescent sense of humor despite his condition.

He so magnificently conveys the angry helplessness of a man who finds himself unable to play a game of cricket, and the fierce determination of the same man crawling up the stairs to see his son. He is the work-obsessed, feverish man we all know, going through a struggle that most of us will, fortunately, never have to know. Redmayne perhaps shines best when Stephen can no longer move nor speak — the audience can see the sadness in his eyes when he understands that he cannot give his wife the passionate love she deserves, and we can sense the shy flirtation between him and his nurse. Jones, too, is excel-

lent, bringing nuance to an otherwise tired trope — that of the strong, determined wife. Jane’s frustration is communicated through Jones’s furrowed brow and hurried vacuuming, and less so through conventional dialogue. In fact, as Hawking’s body slowly deteriorates, the film begins to focus more on her struggles and ambivalence about caring for a husband that has lost the ability to care for her, and I appreciated the balance given to both actors in the marriage.

The movie is worth seeing for Redmayne’s performance alone. Like most films, “The Theory of Everything” was not shot chronologically, so Redmayne often had to assume two different versions of Hawking in one day, going from energetic, young Stephen in the morning to wheelchair-bound, immobile Stephen in the afternoon. There is one scene in which Jane is helping Stephen put on a sweater. Their baby begins crying and she tells him she will be right back. Still having partial, but very weak, control over his arm muscles, Stephen then attempts to put the sweater on himself and gets stuck.

He laughs, his face hidden within the sweater and his body comically contorted, conveying a mixture of embarrassment, helplessness and hilarity. That was for me the most devastating and most beautiful moment of the film. What happens when a man who can unlock the secrets of the cosmos can’t even put on his own sweater? This is the question that “The Theory of Everything” seeks to answer, and although it does so perhaps too superficially, the performances of its two central actors, who tell us that love endures in ways we wouldn’t expect, make the experience worthwhile.

“The Theory of Everything” is now playing at Amherst Cinema.

Walk the Moon Makes the Grade with Infectious Sophomore Album Evan Paul ’18 Staff Writer Since the release of their eponymous debut under RCA records in 2012, Walk the Moon has been on the radar of fans of indie pop and dance-rock alike. The band has enjoyed a considerable amount of success so far with both their independently-released album “I Want! I Want!” and the self-titled “Walk The Moon.” Their newest album, “Talking is Hard,” has proved no different In fact, the album is only two spots below One Direction’s newest effort on the iTunes chart right now, despite the fact that the band released it a week earlier than originally planned.

While playing gigs in clubs around their hometown of Cincinnati, Walk the Moon released their first single, “Anna Sun.” The track caused the band’s popularity to soar, and soon they were performing on late night television shows, at major festivals and as the opening act for the likes of Panic! At the Disco and P!nk.

What has made Walk the Moon so popular in such a short time?

It’s probably the infectious beats that support lead singer Nicholas Petricca’s vocals. Every single track on “Talking is Hard” is danceworthy — the album’s pace doesn’t slow down for a minute. While that may seem worrisome and repetitive, it works effectively. If you aren’t dancing, you’re singing along and that’s what makes Walk the Moon a band to look out for: They’re impossible to ignore.

Track by Track Reviews: “Different Colors”: The opening track melds dreamy synths with

vocals that sound as if Petricca is alone in a large arena. It sets up the entire album well and serves as a great example of what to expect when listening to the other songs.

“Up 2 U”: Just when you think the band has finally decided to slow things down a bit this track transports you into a grungysounding chorus composed of only four words: “It’s up to you.”

Despite its simplicity, the track is not only one of the best on the album, but it’s also very telling of the band’s versatility.

“Avalanche”: This track transports listeners back to the happy dance-rock world that Walk the Moon is known for. As far as structure, this track is all drums, high notes and synth, so it’s reminiscent of popular 80s hits. With its old school feel and a cutesy love story for its subject, this song is sure to have you dancing and smiling.

“Portugal”: The synthesizers throughout this song sound just like a video game intro, but it’s the chorus that stands out the most.

Compared to the other tracks on the album, this one’s chorus is more stripped down with vocals and piano as its main focus.

“Down in the Dumps”: At first listen, the beginning of this song sounds a lot like Panic! At the Disco’s most recent album, “Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die.” It has a similarly heavy amount of electronica and clear, unadulterated vocals. However, Walk the Moon effectively adds their own flair to the track, making everything slightly faster-paced than Panic! would.

“Work this Body”: “Yeah, I’m a work-a-holic, I swear,” Petricca sings just after proclaiming that he will “work this body.” With its fast-paced background instrumentals and Petricca’s flustered vocals, this song is perfect for a quick morning workout or run.

“Spend Your $$$”: If any of the other tracks on this album sounded like an ’80s group’s reunion song, then “Spend Your $$$” sounds like it was ripped directly from the decade. The song is chock-full of dramatic vocals, heavy drums and low synths. There’s also the fact that at some points, the song is reminiscent of Devo’s hit, “Whip It.” The track even features the talk-singing during its climax that so many 80s songs are known for.

“We Are the Kids”: This is the closest thing to a slow ballad on “Talking is Hard.” Coincidentally, this is also the track with the most story-like lyrics. While not a standout on the album, “We Are the Kids” has a great message about positivity.

“Come Under the Covers”: If Walk the Moon were the crooning type, this would be their signature. This song is an anthem for those that want their summer romances to transition into fall. It’s a love song, but not just for couples. “Come Under the Covers” makes you want to sit on rooftops and stare at the sunset with your best friends at the end of the summer.

“Aquaman”: “Aquaman” is simultaneously the oddest and the best track on the album. IT doesn’t sound like the rest of the album, but it fits perfectly anyway. At first, you might find it too slow, or lacking in background electronic sounds, but it doesn’t sound too empty at all. For a closing track, this song is impressive and hints at what Walk the Moon will sound like in the years to come.

Overall, “Talking is Hard” is a great sophomore album. If Walk the Moon fans were concerned about the band losing its infectious charm, they have nothing to worry about. And for skeptics who doubted the group’s talent, “Talking is Hard” is sure to sway them.

The Amherst Student • December 10, 2014

Arts & Living 7

Amherst College Abroad: Gina Lambiase ’16 Takes on Dublin Q: What program/what city are you participating in and what are you studying?

A: I’m at Trinity College Dublin with IFSAButler! I got here a couple weeks early to do the early Semester Start Up Program, which was a class all about Irish culture and history.

I’m currently taking a few Irish and British history classes, forensic psychology and Greek and Roman mythology.

There are a million cute shops and always the most amazing street musicians playing. Like don’t need to be playing on the street amazing.

They also just hung Christmas lights between all the buildings, so it’s extra magical now.

Q: Do you speak the native language?

A: I’d like to think I speak the native language pretty well, although sometimes the accents aren’t the easiest to understand. Also, Irish hipsters are making Gaelic cool again so a lot of the slang is in Irish. Like the word for a good time is “craic,” which can be confusing if you don’t know that beforehand and someone asks you if you wanna have some craic.

Q: Is something you did that you never expected to do?

A: I went to a food themed speed-dating event put on by the Food and Drink Society with a few friends, and it was actually really fun. Aside from having to finger feed baby food to a really “hangry” blind folded stranger, it was a great way to meet people at the beginning of term.

Q: Why did you choose this location/program?

A: I chose Dublin because I nearly failed elementary Spanish. But actually, I chose it because of such a rich history and culture condensed into such a small country. As an anthropology major, I wanted to be somewhere where people would be willing to share their experiences with me and I could develop a thesis topic from their stories. After only four months here, I feel like I could write a book about all the amazing people I’ve met.

Q: What is your living situation?

A: I live in an apartment with two other girls from my program right in city center. We live in the same building as the other IFSA early start kids and the walk to school is only ten minutes.

Q: What is your favorite thing to do in the city in your spare time? Do you have a favorite street/square?

A: I love to get coffee at a couple different places and either read or chat with the baristas. Pubs are also so fun to grab a pint and just catch up with friends. My favorite area of Dublin is on the South Side of the river in all the little side streets off Grafton and St. Stephen’s Green.

Q: What is you favorite native meal?

A: Can’t go wrong with Leo Burdock’s fish and chips!

Q: Do you have any travel plans for the semester?

A: I’ve been to Prague, Munich, Galway, Killary, London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Ghent and Belfast. I also really love taking the train out to the coastal villages around Dublin and hiking along the cliffs or grabbing amazing seafood for lunch. I’m going to Cork in a couple weeks for a concert, but other than that I’m pretty much travelled out.

Q: Why would you recommend this program to an interested Amherst student?

A: It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with Dublin.

That being said, I think the best part about Dublin and Ireland as a whole are the people.

I’ve never met a more universally friendly and good-natured crowd (not everyone, just most people I’ve interacted with). I think if you’re the type of person who enjoys conversation and meeting new people, it’s 100 percent the place for you. Also, you can’t beat the Irish countryside/coast.

Q: What do you miss most about Amherst?

A: I miss my team and friends so much! I also secretly miss Val a little. You take for granted how nice it is to have your meals made for you until you’re shoved out into the real world.

A&L Wants You! Thinking about writing about the latest cultural trends and news?

If you are interested in writing for A&L, email the editors at mcummings16@ amherst.edu or emardeusz16@amherst.edu.

Image courtesy of Gina Lambiase ’16

Junior anthropology major Gina Lambiase ’16 is spending her semester at Trinity College Dublin.

Arts & Living 8

The Amherst Student •December 10, 2014

Social Club Work Group Answers Frequently Asked Questions Social Club Work Group Contributing Writers Over the past few weeks there has been a great amount of discussion about establishing social groups on campus. There are some students who have become immediately drawn to this idea and others who are opposed, but almost everyone has been eager to learn more and offer feedback. What are social groups?

What issues will they address? How will they do so?

The following questions and answers aim to shed light on the potential of Amherst social clubs. However, since the idea has only just recently begun to take form, it is important to note that the subsequent information is simply a starting point for the conversation of social clubs. Moving forward, it is crucial that this idea reflects and is tailored to the needs and values of Amherst College. This can only be done through the the genuine participation of the student body in the crafting of a system that appropriately addressed the currently lackluster social climate.

Q: Who is on the Social Club Work Group, and how did this group form?

A: The current members of the committee include Tomi Williams ’16, Virginia Hassell ’16, Tom Sommers ’16, Jerry McLellan ’16, Brian Lobdell ’15, Abe Kanter ’15, Ashley Felix ’15, Jenny Fitzpatrick ’15 and Ellie Andersen ’15. This group was formed when several students approached the administration with various ideas to help improve social life at Amherst College. These students were encouraged to work together and, over the course of several meetings, came up with the beginnings of the idea for groups on campus meant to facilitate diverse, meaningful and consistent social interactions for all interested students.

Image courtesy of amherst.edu

Q: How concrete are these ideas?

A: They aren’t! The group intentionally left much of the idea open ended so that all students have an opportunity to actively contribute. We are working through all of these ideas and looking for any and all input from the student body. We want to hear all opinions and thoughts, advice and concerns.

Q: How can I get involved?

A: There are a number of ways to get involved. The social project workgroup will be holding several all-school town halls and work sessions. We will also be holding dorm chats and attending club meetings upon request. Perhaps most significantly, the work group will be expanding to 15 members, so any interested students should apply. Applications will be considered by the AAS Appointments Board.

Q: What is the timeline for these groups?

A: There is no strict timeline for the establishment of these groups. We initially hoped that if all went well we could get a pilot up and running at some point next semester, but this will only happen if a comprehensive program is collaboratively crafted and proposed, and the student body is well informed and supports the initiation of said program.

Q: What are the currently proposed social groups?

A: The originally envisioned groups were very similar to the houses of Harry Potter: groups that are focused around universal traits/interests and open to all students.

Q: Who is SCOC? A: SCOC stands for Social Club Oversight Committee. This

A Town Hall meeting was held at the Powerhouse earlier this semester to discuss the social club concept. is the group that would oversee the activities of the social groups. The SCOC would be comprised of the student leaders from each of the social groups as well as a board of Administrators and Faculty members to administer admission processes, facilitate creation of any new social groups and investigate transgressions and hand down any necessary sanctions to individual group members or groups as a whole.

The SCOC — which is a distinct body from the Social Project Work Group — has not yet been formed and can only be so if and when the social groups are established.

Q: What is the goal of the social groups?

A: There are several goals of these social groups: •Increase/encourage student access and openness to diversity by allowing students to congregate not on the basis of identity but rather on common, universal characteristics, traits and/or interests.

•Assist in the the reorganization of the social scene traditionally dominated by a relatively small number of campus groups.

•Provide access to social organization and participation to those whom have commonly felt overlooked by Amherst’s social scene and have experienced loneliness due to such neglect.

Q: How are they different from fraternities?

A: As mentioned above, the idea has yet to be fully shaped and will, in its final form, heavily include the feedback of the student body. As this the case, it is difficult to point to every difference that the final model will have from former fraterni-

ties. That being said, there are constraints within which we are operating to ensure a basic distinctness between these new groups and past Amherst fraternities. These distinctions will be built upon and even furthered as the idea continues to develop. Below are the minimum distinctions between the two: •Close administrative oversight of all activities of the groups •Zero tolerance for hazing •Required bystander training •All students who would like to participate are guaranteed access to a group •Groups will be heavily publicized to all students •Not exclusively centered around drinking/party culture Q: How are they different from current activity groups?

A: As many have pointed out, there is already a tremendous amount of stress and pressure placed upon the shoulders of Amherst students. We actively seek to do better and join more.

A vast majority of our current registered student organizations are mechanisms through which students can learn, serve or further pursue academic/professional aspirations. Social groups, as we have envisioned them, are meant to be a place where students can come together, socialize and have fun without the pressure of a required product or outcome. These groups are, in fact, similar in purpose to affinity groups that function as a consistent support system, social organization and safe space for many students on campus. That being said, most affinity groups predominantly serve a particular portion of campus. These groups will aim to also accomplish these goals for diverse groups of students from various backgrounds and of differing identities.

Q: Who can be in a group?

A: Any and all Amherst students can be in a group!

Q: Will the groups be coed?

A: This is a decision that is still very much being fleshed out and we are actively seeking student’s thoughts and opinions on the issue. Regardless, there will certainly be coed options for these groups but what is yet to be fully determined is whether or not single-gender options would also be offered.

Image Image courtesy courtesy of gogreennation.org of hercampus.com

Tomi Williams ’16, pictured above, is AAS President and a member of the Social Club Work Group.

Q: How are we going to ensure that these groups are diverse?

A: Establishing genuine access to the special diversity we have at Amherst is one of the main focuses of this idea. Any member selection/allocation process must reflect this ideal and it shall be ingrained within the system so that it may be maintained for years to come. It is also important that the unifying character of any individual groups does not inherently discriminate against students on the basis of background or identity. SCOC will play an important role here to ensure that students are not being actively or essentially excluded on the basis of their background or identity.

The Amherst Student • December 10, 2014

Sports

9

Men’s Basketball Defeats Emerson, Suffers First Loss to Brandeis Jason Stein ’16 Sports Section Editor After winning the Ken Wright Invitational Tournament and beginning the season at 4-0, the men’s basketball team earned a win against Emerson before falling to Brandeis at home this past week. With the Jeffs’ two most recent games, Amherst now stands at 5-1 on the young season.

On Saturday at home, the Jeffs exacted revenge on Emerson after the Lions were able to pull off the upset over Amherst last December.

At the end of the first half, the Jeffs seemed to be in control against the Lions, as they had a 39-28 lead over Emerson. While the two teams were trading points in the early going, resulting in a 7-7 score three minutes into the contest, Amherst proceeded to go on a 9-0 run to build a lead. Guard Jayde Dawson ’18 scored the first nine points of the game for the Jeffs.

However, Emerson responded with a 9-2 run of their own in short order, by narrowing the deficit down to 18-15 with 11:30 remaining in the first half of action.

After Emerson’s run, the Jeffs were able to rebuild their lead before the halftime break, as the Jeffs outscored the Lions 21-13 after Emerson cut Amherst’s lead to three points.

While the Jeffs appeared to be in control, the relentless Lions stormed back once again. Over the first seven minutes of the second half, the Lions dominated with a 16-7 run of their own to narrow Amherst’s lead to 46-44. After a pair of foul shots by Emerson’s Michael Thorpe around the 10-minute mark, the Lions were down by just a single point at 51-50.

When it appeared that the Jeffs were in danger of falling to the Lions for the second season in a row, Amherst responded and rose to the occasion with a huge run of their own in the second half to seal the victory.

In about three minutes, Amherst once again built a double-digit lead with an impressive 11-0 run to make the score 62-50 with just under seven

minutes to play in the contest. Guard/forward Connor Green ’16 and sophomore guard Reid Berman were key in this particular stretch for Amherst, as they accounted for all of the scoring in the 11-0 run. The Jeffs were not finished, as they continued to add to their lead after Emerson responded with a three-pointer of their own to make it an eight-point game. A pair of jumpers by sophomore guard Jeff Racy and forward David George ’17 allowed the Jeffs to take an 18 point lead with 2:41 remaining.

The Jeffs continued to grow the lead even further, and ended up with an 80-59 victory. After the Lions narrowed Amherst’s lead to 51-50 with just more than 10 minutes in the ballgame, the Jeffs managed to outscore the Lions 29-9 to finish the game.

In the victory, the Jeffs benefited from a fairly balanced scoring attack. Amherst not only had four players reach double figures in points, but the Jeffs also had seven players who scored seven points or more against Emerson.

Green led the way with 18 points in the game and also had seven rebounds. Forward Jacob Nabatoff ’17 had 15 points and eight boards, Dawson poured in 12 points for the Jeffs, while shooting 50 percent on field goals, in just 20 minutes of action, and sophomore forward Eric Conklin had 10 points and grabbed six rebounds. Berman posted nine points for the Jeffs, while George and first-year guard/forward Johnny McCarthy each had seven points. George and McCarthy managed to contribute in other ways as well, as George had six rebounds (including four offensive rebounds) and two blocks, while McCarthy had seven rebounds and a whopping six steals.

The Lions had two players notch double digits, as both Thorpe and Taylor Hallowell scored 14 points for Emerson.

“In the first half against Emerson, we were standing around and not playing team basketball,” junior captain and forward Ben Pollack said. “But then, in the second half, we went on a really big run, and our offense was going well and people

Photo courtesy of Henry Amistadi

Reid Berman ’17 leads the Jeffs with 28 assists so far this season. were making plays.”

Monday night, the Jeffs took on Brandeis Judges at home. About 10 minutes into the game, the Jeffs held a 29-22 lead over the Judges. However, Brandeis benefitted from a 9-0 to pull ahead, and another 7-1 run later on in the half. At the half, Amherst was trailing the Judges by six points, as Brandeis held a 40-34 lead.

Early in the second half, the Jeffs were able to narrow Brandeis’ lead to as little as one point, but the Amherst offense soon went stagnant, as the Judges seemed to take control in the second half.

With the score 41-40, the Judges outplayed Amherst the rest of the way. The Judges led the Jeffs by double digits at 55-45 with about 11 minutes remaining and ended the game on a 37-18 run in their 78-58 win over the Jeffs. With the victory, Brandeis improved to 3-5 on the season and 3-1 over the past four games.

Four players accounted for the majority of the scoring for the Jeffs, as Green had 18 points, Nabatoff scored 13 points, while Dawson and McCarthy added 10 points and nine points, respectively.

On Thursday evening, the Jeffs will host a tal-

ented Babson squad at 7 p.m. in LeFrak Gymnasium. The Babson Beavers currently stand at 7-1 on the season and have already earned wins against two NESCAC opponents (a 68-48 win over Bowdoin and a 68-63 victory over Tufts). Last season, Amherst earned a 90-77 victory over the Beavers on the road, which was a game in which Green scored 26 points for the Jeffs.

In the weeks ahead, the Jeffs will to continue to improve and build upon their experiences so far, with a lot of promising young talent on the squad.

Pollack made note of the fact that the 20142015 season has been a learning process for the team so far.

“Our offense relies upon fluidity and execution, and it really takes time to learn the system,” Pollack said. “It takes a while for us to get to know each other and to really get going, so we sometimes struggle offensively and defensively. In the past couple of games, we have been able to see how good we can be at times, with all of our potential, athleticism, and size. As we continue to gel as a team, and as we continue to further understand the system we run, the better we will be.”

Indoor Track Opens Season Men’s Swimming and Diving Strong at Smith Winter Classic Defeats Midd, Women Fall to 3-1 Lauren Tuiskula ’17 Managing Sports Editor The Amherst indoor track season opened this weekend, with both the men’s and women’s teams competing at the Smith Winter Classic.

The men’s side was highlighted by strong performances from Nick Codola ’15 and Jamie Sandel ’17.

Codola earned the Jeffs’ lone first place finish on the day, finishing the 600-meter run in 1:23.65. Sandel followed closely behind, finishing fifth with a mark of 1:26.47.

Both were also members of the 4x400 relay team along with first-years David Ingraham and Harrison Haigood. The unit earned fourth place, crossing the line at 3:35.09.

Numerous first-years dominated in other races as Ingraham placed second overall in the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.85 and Haigood finished close behind in fifth at 54.31. Fellow first-year Josh Ewin also nabbed a top-10 finish, coming in ninth with a time of 55.93.

Khalil Flemming ’16 was the star in the field events for the Jeffs. Flemming earned fourth-place finishes in both the long jump and triple jump, posting a mark of 6.20 meters in the long and an impressive 12.27 meters in the triple.

On the women’s side, the Jeffs saw similar success. Kiana Herold ’17 stole the show, winning the high jump with a leap of 1.65 meters, finishing sixth in the 600 meter with a time of 1:53.81 and finishing ninth in the long jump (4.88 m) to pull in a whopping three top-10 finishes for the Jeffs.

Similarly to the men’s side, the first-years also contributed greatly to Amherst’s success on the day. Danielle Griffin finished fourth in the 400 meter, seventh in the triple jump and 10th in hte long jump. Abbey Asare-Bediako placed fifth overall in the triple jump and

classmate Becki Golia finished sixth in the high jump competition.

To close out the top finishers for the Jeffs, Taylor Summers ’16 placed sixth in the 60-meter dash and seventh in the long jump while Sarah Whelan ’17 took eighth in the 400 meter dash.

“After a long preseason, we were all excited for our track season to get started,” Summer said of the weekend.

“I was impressed by all the talent we have on our team, old and new, and it looks like it’s going to be a fun and exciting season. We’re looking forward to starting off interterm with our meet at Wesleyan,” she added.

Both the men’s and women’s teams will enjoy a long break before kicking off interterm action with the Little Three Championship hosted at Wesleyan. The meet will take place on Saturday, Jan. 17.

Photo courtesy of Rob Mattson

Junior Taylor Sommers finished sixth in the 60-meter dash this weekend.

Sarah Zuckerman ’17 Staff Writer The Amherst swim and dive teams split meets on Saturday at the Middlebury natatorium. The men won their matchup to pull their record up to 4-0 while the women could not quite hold on and suffered their first loss of the year, dropping to 3-1 on the season.

The men’s side set the Panthers back to 0-3 on the season, beating them handily with a meet score of 203-77. The Jeffs took the top two spots in both the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke, with Matt Heise ’16 earning both victories and Michael Rochford ’15 following close behind with two second-place finishes. Adding to Heise’s two firstplace races, four other Jeff ’s had a multi-win meet.

Connor Haley ’17 won the 500-yard and 1000-yard freestyle events and senior Connor Sholtis was first to touch the wall in both the 100- and 200-yard freestyle races. Greg Han ’17 took home first in the 200-yard breaststroke and the 200 IM. Amherst’s lone diver, Asher Lichtig ’16 won both the threemeter and one-meter diving events.

“It was great to have an opportunity to swim at the pool in which our conference championships will be held. We had a really hard week of work and a really long bus ride, but we still got up and swam fast,” Sholtis said.

Jeff Anderson ’16 and Sam Spurrell ’18 each claimed a first- and second-place finish, with Anderson taking the top spot in the 200-butterfly and Spurrell claiming first in the 100 fly. Anderson finished second in the 200 IM while Spurrell touched the wall after Anderson to claim second in the 200 fly.

Sholtis and Heise earned another victory to their names, swimming alongside Elijah Spiro ’18 and Tyler Hampton ’15 to win the 200 medley relay.

Amherst again took the top two spots in an event, with Rochford, Spurrell, Han, and Alex Dreisbach ’17 touching the wall next.

Sholtis rounded out his day with a fourth win in the 400-yard freestyle relay with teammates Hamp-

ton, Dreisbach and Vic Sun ’16.

“The meet was a great way to generate some momentum going into reading period and finals,” Sholtis said. “Hopefully that will help us to continue working hard in the pool through Christmas despite the psychological drain of exams and papers.”

The women’s side couldn’t hold on and was barely edged by the Panthers, who improved to 2-1 on the season with a 158-130 victory over the Jeffs.

Despite the loss, four Jeffs had at least two individual wins on Saturday. Emily Hyde ’16 had three individual wins on the afternoon, taking the top spot in 200-yard freestyle, the 200-yard breaststroke, and the 200 IM. Sarah Conklin ’16 took first in both the 100 and 200 fly, while first-years Marie Maxwell and Stephanie Moriarty continued to show their dominance with a pair of wins each.

Maxwell touched the wall first in 500- and 1000yard freestyle events while Moriarty earned first in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke races.

Geralyn Lam ’18 touched the wall second in both the 200 back and 200 IM to give Amherst both the first- and second-place spots in those two events. Amherst’s relay teams earned second place in both the 200 medley, swam by Moriarty, Hyde, Conklin, and Sabrina Lee ’15, and the 400 free, swam by Moriarty, Maxwell, Conklin, and Lee. “Of course the loss is always a little disappointing, but when you look at each of the times, we had a pretty awesome meet,” Lee said. “Considering their team is over twice the size of ours and we have no divers, I think it’s impressive we only lost by two points, disregarding the points they scored from diving. After such a hard week of training, it was really nice to see the team put up some really great swims and is indicative of promising future performances at NESCACs when we finally get some rest.”

Both the men and women have a lengthy break from meets before traveling to Williams on Saturday, Jan. 10 to start up interterm competition. The Williams men’s side has a record 2-0-1 while the women are 2-0. Amherst will be the Ephs’ first conference opponent of the season.

10

Sports

The Amherst Student • December 10, 2014

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Schedule WEDNESDAY Women’s Basketball vs. Rhode Island, 6 p.m.

THURSDAY Men’s Basketball vs. Babson, 7 p.m.

MONDAY 12/29 Women’s Basketball vs. Drew, 4 p.m.

TUESDAY 12/30 Women’s Basketball vs. Manhattanville, 2 p.m.

Men’s Basketball at Drew, 7 p.m.

FRIDAY 1/2 Men’s Hockey vs. Utica, 4 p.m.

Connor Chris Tamasi Green’15 ’16

Kiana Herold ’17

Favorite Team Memory: Winning a

Favorite Team Memory: Whole team lining the track and cheering at Boston University Favorite Pro Athlete: Jessica Ennis-Hill Dream Job: Travel or food writer Pet Peeve: The sound of Velcro Favorite Vacation Spot: Anywhere warm Something on Your Bucket List: Play hide and seek in an IKEA Guilty Pleasure: Excessive tea drinking Favorite Food: Sushi Favorite Thing About Amherst: Being able to use my diplomacy course readers as a substitute for weights if I don’t feel like walking to the gym

national championship Favorite Pro Athlete: Tom Brady Dream Job: Willy Workman’s agent

We Are the Lord Jeffs

Pet Peeve: Snoopy people Favorite Vacation Spot: Miami Something on Your Bucket List: Help save a whale Guilty Pleasure: TLC jams Favorite Food: Cheeseburgers Favorite Thing About Amherst: Dan Curtis

Women’s Basketball Continues Undefeated Start, Now Stands at 6-0 Photo courtesy of Rob Mattson

Members of Purple Pride gather for a laugh as they cheer on the Lord Jeffs. Below, Michael Johnson considers school spirit and the mascot change debate.

Michael Johnson ’16 Contributing Writer I am a Lord Jeff. I am a first generation Amherst student. I am not writing this because I have a long connection to the history and tradition of Amherst College. This is truly what I believe, and I think there are plenty of Amherst students who share my beliefs, but fear voicing their opinion.

I had never heard of Amherst before my brother enrolled at Williams when I was in the eighth grade. He told me that the Williams’ mascot is the Ephs and Amherst’s, Williams’ biggest rival, is the Lord Jeffs. At first I didn’t think much of either mascot. Then my brother explained that Williams was given their mascot because the benefactor of the school was named Ephraim Williams. Similarly, Amherst called themselves the Lord Jeffs because the namesake of the town Amherst where the college was founded was Lord Jeffery Amherst. I gained appreciation for both mascots, as they were both historical figures and they were both a refreshing change from the overused Tigers, Panthers, and Cardinals. Both schools having unique mascots is part of the great history of the rivalry.

Figures from history must be treated within the context of their time and circumstances. Yes, the mascot refers to Jeffery Amherst, and no one denies the fact that he treated Native Americans as enemies, which to Amherst is exactly what they were. It was during Pontiac’s Rebellion when Amherst used biological warfare against the Native Americans by way of blankets infected with smallpox. This is a fact, but we must take it with the proper perspective. Weapons of mass destruction were used by both sides in both World Wars, but we must recognize and understand that the generals in these wars were operating in a situation that had no morally correct solution. Furthermore, many of our greatest heroes, including the Founding Fathers, conducted themselves in ways that today would be considered abhorrent.

Context is important. This is true for famous figures of history, but it is also true for every single student here. Don’t we want future generations to keep context in mind when forming their opinions of us? To judge a man such as Amherst for his actions by today’s standards, more than

200 years later and in a time of relative peace, is shockingly hypocritical.

If the mascot must be changed because it is offensive to the Native American community for us to be called the Lord Jeffs, then the name of the college must be changed as well if we are to have any semblance of ideological consistency. Why stop at the mascot? This seems like a pathetic and superficial response. We are called Amherst College because of Jeffery Amherst. Changing the mascot doesn’t rid us of the association with Lord Jeff, which a few people think is a problem. Far more meaningful activities are things like the Admissions Office inviting Native Americans to the Diversity Open House and spending extra time with them, in an effort to increase the amount of Native American applications sent to the college.

The Moose? Really? We want to be called the Moose because a moose wandered onto our campus last spring? Ask student-athletes if they want their team mascot to be the Moose and you will hear a resounding no. The students pushing this change are not the ones who would walk out onto the court, field, or pitch with “MOOSE” in big letters across their chest. I’m not saying studentathletes should be the ones making the decision, but they definitely should be involved in the decision. The Moose sounds more like the mascot of a created team in a video game than a prestigious institution. Some students at Amherst get wind of the idea of change and jump on board. It seems like everyone needs to be protesting something at all times. Let’s take a step back and really think about the things we are supporting.

When I think of a Lord Jeff, I don’t think of Lord Jeffery Amherst. I think of excellence, in the humanities, science, music, theater, art and athletics. I think of all the past alumni and administrators that worked to make Amherst the great place it is today. I think of sporting events and orchestra concerts, late nights in Frost and football practice. And I think of all the students of Amherst, some of whom will be groomsmen in my wedding, and godfathers to my children. The mascot Lord Jeffs provides a common ground for all of us with past and future generations of Amherst students. Changing the mascot loses this connection. They were Lord Jeffs. We are Lord Jeffs.

Ashlyn Heller ’17 Staff Writer The women’s basketball team is off to a blazing start this season with an undefeated record. Going into the week, the Jeffs looked to defend their perfect record, ddtaking on Eastern Connecticut State on Thursday, Dec. 4 at home and Bridgewater State on Saturday, Dec. 6 on the road.

Defend it they did. On Thursday night, the team defeated the Warriors with sophomore Ali Doswell, and junior Marley Giddins, leading the charge. Doswell led the team in points with 21 while also contributing seven rebounds. Giddins chipped in with a double-double, consisting of 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Sophomore Jaimie Renner also contributed points in the double figures, with 11 tallies and a game-high of five assists.

Game highlights included a Doswell layup made with 5:17 remaining until the intermission, a score that gave Amherst their first double-digit lead of the day.

Despite a late comeback run by the Warriors in the final seven minutes of play, in which they shrunk the Jeff ’s lead from 23 points to four with the help of Jill Ritrosky’s 21 points, Amherst largely dominated the game. At the final whistle, the score stood 66-51, improving the Jeffs’ record to 5-0.

Amherst continued their winning ways on Saturday as they made it six straight, cruising past Bridgewater State 71-46.

It was a total team effort, as three Jeffs scored

in double digits. Again, Doswell fueled the team with 17 points and four assists, followed closely by sophomore Hannah Peterson’s 15 points and Giddins’ 13 points.

Meredith Doswell ’17 contributed a game high of five assists while her sister Ali, Peterson and Renner all added four. It was a selfless game for the Jeffs overall as they held a 22-9 assists advantage over the Bears.

Amherst gained control early and maintained it throughout the game, jumping out to an impressive 15-5 lead just over three minutes into game action.

They continued to dominate in the second half of play as the half opened with a three from Renner and a forced turnover converted by Peterson into two points for the Jeffs.

In addition to the domination in assists, Amherst maintained a 37 to 24 advantage in rebounds and forced 21 turnovers.

Bridgewater’s Vanesa Conceicao tried her best to chip away at Amherst’s lead, dropping 13 points in the game, but in the end she was no match for the Jeffs.

“It was a big week for us and we managed to get both wins. Right now we need to focus on improving so we can put together a full40 minutes of playing well,” Doswell said.

The team currently stands at fourth in the national rankings and second regionally. They look to maintain their perfect record and ascend in the rankings this Wednesday against Rhode Island College. The Jeffs will battle the seventh-ranked Anchormen in LeFrak at 6 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Rob Mattson

Sophomore guard Jaimie Renner has an average of 7.8 points per game this year for the Jeffs.

The Amherst Student • December 10, 2014

Men’s Hockey Splits Weekend Tilt, Improves to 6-2

Greg Williams ’16 Staff Writer The Amherst men’s ice hockey team traveled to Middlebury last Friday to play the Panthers, who were 1-3-2 going into the game. It was a tight game for almost 60 minutes, but the Jeffs managed to pull away in the third and achieve a 5-3 victory over their fellow NESCAC competitor. They followed that road trip with another bus ride to Williamstown, where they played the Ephs on Saturday. During an equally close game, it was archrival Williams who managed to edge ahead in the third and defeat Amherst 4-3, improving to 5-2-1 on the year.

The Middlebury game was scoreless for almost 10 minutes, but Austin Ho ’17 was able to find the back of the net for his first goal of the year off of a pass from senior Andrew Fenwick. Just three minutes later, Amherst kept up the pressure by capitalizing on a Middlebury tripping penalty.

Mike Rowbotham ’15 scored the power play goal that put the Jeffs up 2-0, with assists from Conor Brown ’16 and Jake Turrin ’15. The Panthers rallied minutes alter though, as they were able to get on the board when Mark McLellan squeezed a shot by sophomore net minder Dave Cunningham.

The second period started off with some offense, as Middlebury scored within the first minute that the Zamboni had left the ice. Amherst’s Rowbotham answered just 14 seconds later, though as the Jeffs went right down and scored to regain the lead. Minutes later though, it was Middlebury again scoring to tie the game up at 3.

Much of the third was scoreless, but Keenan Hodgson ’18 scored the game-winning goal 14:26 in, with the assists going to Rowbotham and Brown. Amherst went down a man with a tripping call on Brown with 38 seconds remaining, but it was Fenwick who managed to make play and not

only kill off the penalty, but score an shorthandedempty-net goal for the Jeffs’ fifth score.

Most of the first period against Williams was scoreless, but Amherst’s power play unit found the back of the net with five minutes remaining in the period when David White ’18 scored off of passing from Fenwick and Brown. The Eph power play unit also had some success just a few minutes later, and they tied it at one just before going into the break.

Williams came out hot scoring their second goal 1:18 into the frame. The next eight minutes were scoreless, but Patrick Arena ’16 found the back of the cage to tie the game. The Ephs took the lead again three minutes later.

Down much of the third, the Jeffs kept fighting, and eventually it was Brown to tie it up with a beautiful score, his fifth of the year. Williams’ powerplay continued to be efficient, though, as they scored their second man-up goal of the afternoon to take the lead 4-3, which ultimately was enough to win the game. Cunningham finished the game with 22 saves, following a 29-save performance the night before.

“It wasn’t our best weekend. We lacked our usual energy and intensity, but were fortunate enough to get a win up at Middlebury. Mike Rowbotham was excellent again and Kevin Ryder played strong defensively,” said Coach Jack Arena.

“On Saturday, we didn’t get off to a very good start and although the score was tied after the first period, we were outplayed. The last two periods were better, but we lacked our usual ‘jump’ and they’re as talented as any team in NESCAC and are hard to beat without your best effort. Our start has been good, but I think we have a lot of growth ahead of us.”

This was the Jeffs final weekend of play before heading into the break, and they will kick off the New Year on Jan. 2 at a tournament at Plattsburgh State.

Photo courtesy of Rob Mattson Senior Captain, Jake Turin has one goal and five assists as a defender.

Women’s Squash now 2-0 Katie Paolano ’16 Managing Sports Editor Men First-year Cameron Bahadori led the men’s squash team this past weekend at the Div. III Invitational held at Wesleyan. Bahadori advanced to the semifinals of the “B” Draw, topping Carlos Ames of Bates and Maxwell Bearse of Bowdoin before falling to Caran Aorora of Bates in a grueling five-game battle.

Darian Ehsani ’17 also competed in the “B” Draw and defeated David Bian of MIT in a competitive first-round match, 7-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-5, 11-5. After receiving a second-round bye, Ehsani then lost to Aorora of Bates.

Senior co-captains Alex Southmayd and Scott DeSantis were slated to compete in the “A” Draw; however, neither player was able to get past the first round of competition, as Southmayd fell to Matt Lillie of Conn. College and DeSantis lost to Nick Wilkinson of Williams.

The Jeffs now have a break from matches until Jan. 9, when they play Bowdoin in their first NESCAC match of the season.

Women A few underclassmen were able to pick up victories this past weekend at the Div. III Invitational for the women’s squash team. In the “A” Draw, Kimberly Krayacich ’18 topped Allison Bourke of Bates in her first round match before falling to eventual champion Lalia Samy of Wesleyan in the second round. In the “B” Draw, Haley McAtee ’18 was able to advance to the semifinals, while Tiana Palmer Poroner ’17 was ousted in the quarterfinals.

On Tuesday, Dec. 9, the Jeffs returned to action against 36th-ranked Smith. Amherst swept all nine matches, improving to 2-0 on the season.

Krayacich headlined the team’s performances once again, with an 11-5, 11-4, 12-10 win in the No. 1 spot. Fellow first-year Mae Cromwell also experienced success, as she dropped a mere total of three points over the course of her entire match. Arielle Lehman, Taryn Clary and Nicole Yang all dominated their Smith opponents as well; each losing a total of seven points in their 3-0 victories. McAtee, Palmer-Poroner, Izzy Derber ’17 and Caitlin Merrell ’17 all earned wins to round out the day.

Sports

11

82 Games in Five Months, Is the NBA Season Too Long?

The Darell Deal Jason Darell ’18 Columnist NBA players compete in 82 regular season games per year. This high demand has led to a striking spike in injuries, leaving many to question whether the length of the season is too long. Darell argues for the league to take a closer look and consider shortening the number of regular season games.

While the NBA season is still very young, there have already been a worrying amount of injuries. Russell Westbrook: Broken finger; Julius Randle: broken leg; Marcus Smart: sprained ankle and bone bruise … the list goes on and on. While some of these injuries can be attributed to freak accidents, others simply cannot. The sheer number of these injuries (ranging from mild to severe) beg the question: Is the NBA season too taxing?

There is no question that basketball at the professional level is a very physically exhausting sport, and 82 games in a span of five months (not including playoffs) may be more than the human body can handle. In addition, college basketball’s March Madness has a tendency to eclipse the relatively boring NBA games during the same time period.

If professional athletes playing at the highest level can be usurped by college students, then something obviously has to change about the NBA. Another problem with the current NBA season is its inclusion of multiple backto-backs. Many coaches, including Gregg Poppovich are known for resting their aging superstars during the second game of backto-backs. This leads to less entertainment for fans, which defeats the purpose of professional sports leagues. In addition, according to NBC Sports, teams playing the second game of a back-to-back have a 9 percent lower win rate. This reduction is definitely statistically relevant, and skews the results of many games per year. By eliminating back-to-backs, games would, on average, be fairer and more entertaining. Finally, by the last month of the NBA season, most playoff teams are determined, and the only question that remains is the seeding. This does not lead to an exciting end to the regular season. While the NBA has recently experimented with slightly shorter games, it has never considered shortening the schedule itself. Recently, high-profile players including Lebron James and Dirk Nowitzki have called for the NBA to shorten the arduous season. Now that Adam Silver has taken over the position of commissioner from David Stern, perhaps change is coming.

The only instances of a shortened season that have occurred in modern history were the results of labor disputes between the team owners and the players. The most recent of these lockouts occurred in the beginning of the 2011-2012 NBA season. Instead of beginning in the end of October, the schedule began on Dec. 25. As a result, the NBA season was shortened from 82 games to 66. Because of this shortened season, there was more urgency for each team to succeed, and more entertainment for NBA viewers. Instead of viewership wavering during the endgame of the season as it usually does, TV ratings were higher than ever. The one problem with this setup was that the schedule was extremely compressed, and included a few back-toback-to-backs. If we kept the same amount of games, but spread them out over the length of the regular NBA season, we would get the best of both worlds. The only problem with this is, of course, is reduced profits. Another potential advantage of shortening the NBA season is that smaller market teams could be better represented in the playoffs. These teams generally have a harder time recruiting superstars, and therefore have worse teams.

The talent differential between good and bad teams tends to manifest itself to a larger extent over longer time periods, as is seen in seven-game series. By reducing the length of the season, these teams could be on more

equal footing with those in big markets. Who wouldn’t want a fairer league?

If one cut the amount of games in the NBA season from 82 to 66, each team would bring in less revenue for a variety of reasons. First of all, each team would lose the equivalent revenue of the ticket sales for eight home games.

In addition, teams would lose some sponsor money. Finally, the NBA as a whole would have a lower revenue, as it would have fewer game-rights to sell to television companies.

Even players would make less money, as their salaries are dependent on the amount of revenue the NBA makes. This creates a dilemma for the NBA officials and players alike: What are the NBA’s priorities? I think that the owners need to sacrifice a fraction of their profits in order to both make professional basketball more fun to watch, and to protect their players from wear-related injuries. The players, likewise, must make a sacrifice. By taking less money for their services, they would likely extend their careers.

Another potential obstacle to shortening the NBA season is the fact that records from years of old would be incompatible to modern ones. If the schedule was shortened, every player or team record using a “total” value would be skewed. There would be fewer 30,000-point careers and fewer 10,000-assist careers. While this change could lead to logistical difficulties, one has almost always considered a player’s averages more important than the total he has accrued in that statistic.

In the shortened NBA season, none of the “per game” statistics would be affected, as games played is taken into account when calculating those values. Thus, I do not think that the issue of incomparable statistics should prevent this needed change to the NBA. Another point to consider is that reducing the games in the NBA season could even lead to more lucrative TV deals. The NFL only has 16 games, and is the most profitable sports league in the world. Because the schedule is so short, each game is greatly anticipated, and thus has astronomical viewership. Perhaps this same effect would apply to a shortened NBA season, to a lesser extent of course. By reducing supply, one would expect the demand for each game to rise. In addition, if the shortened NBA season started in December, rather than late October, most of the games would take place after the NFL season is over.

This would allow the NBA to occupy more of the television spotlight, and thus would lead to better ratings for basketball games. Better ratings would lead to more lucrative TV deals in the future, and thus potentially more revenue for the NBA. An increase in profits would definitely make shortening the schedule more palatable to both players and owners.

While there seem to be many advantages to shortening the NBA season, and only a few disadvantages, one cannot see this necessary change happening any time in the near future.

These days, sports leagues are constantly expanding, and thus, the idea of reducing one as large as the NBA is almost unfathomable.

In addition, the resulting blow in revenue that I outlined earlier would cause more than a momentary hesitation among team executives who are considering this idea. Although the pros of this change vastly outweigh the cons, unfortunately, NBA teams are businesses first.

The only way that reducing the NBA schedule to come to fruition is if team owners value their fans more than they value dollar signs.

In our capitalist society, that won’t happen any time soon.

Sports

“I am a Lord Jeff. I am a first generation Amherst student... This is truly what I believe...”

We Are The Lord Jeffs... Page 10

Photo courtesy of Niahlah Hope ‘15

Junior Erin Martin has seven assists on the season. The team faces Plymouth State on Wednesday before enjoying a break for the holidays.

Women’s Hockey Finishes 0-1-1 on the Weekend Nell Patterson ’15 Staff Writer The women’s hockey team was dealt its first loss and tie this weekend to bring its season record to 5-1-1. The Jeffs faced two non-conference opponents this weekend in No. 3 Norwich and Manhattanville. On Friday Night, the team traveled up to Norwich, Vermont losing their first game of the season in a 4-3 heartbreaker.

The Jeffs hosted Manhattanville at Orr Rink on Saturday, tying the score 2-2.

“We feel good about how the season is going so far,” senior captain Madeline Tank. “We’ve won all of our conference games, which is great.

And while it would have huge to have a win or two this past weekend, we feel really good about how stacked up against Norwich and Manhattanville, two tough out-of-conference competitors.”

The game against Norwich was back and forth for most of the game. The first period was a deadlock with no scores on either side. During the second period, the Cadets of Norwich found the back of the net first, off of a power play. Less than a minute later, the Jeffs answered. Norwich’s Tiberi was called for tripping setting the Jeffs

up with a player-up advantage. Tank and fellow senior Emily Flom assisted as Caitlyn Ryan ’17 fired in a great shot on goal from the blue line. Further into the second period, Norwich’s Schwenzfeier, who was also responsible for the first Cadet goal, scored an unassisted goal on Amherst’s sophomore goalie Yuna Evans.

“The Norwich game was a thrilling affair. The action was fast paced and exciting for the full 60 minutes. It was a hard fought contest by both teams,” Coach Jeff Matthews said.

Down 2-1 going into the final period, Amherst wasted little time in getting the score back to even. First-year Brenna Sullivan scored just 44 seconds into the period in a mad scramble of bodies in front of the Norwich goal. Norwich fired back less than a minute later taking another one goal lead 3-2. Midway through the final period, Amherst had another big opportunity to bring the score even. The Cadets’ Joyce was called for tripping and Amherst had another power play. Ryan hit the inside right post and Tank picked up the rebound firing into the back of the net. With a score of 3-3 against a talented team, Amherst was looking great. Norwich scored with a little over three minutes to play leaving the score at 4-3. Coach Jeffery Matthews pulled Evans in hopes of finding one more goal

to push the Jeffs into overtime. The Jeffs put up three shots, but no goals. The loss was the first on the season.

“The key moments for us were every time we were able to bounce back after giving up a goal,” Tank said. “We were never down by more than one goal, so we’re excited that we were able to continual fight against a solid team.”

On Saturday, the Jeffs hosted the Valiants of Manhattanville at Orr Rink.

“We didn’t get back until late on Friday night so it was a quick turn around, but we felt ready to play again because we wanted to rebound from the loss,” Tank said.

Manhattanville struck first in the opening period of the game off a shot by Bachand. Losing 1-0 at the opening of the second period, Flom found an Audrey Duquette ’17 rebound and sunk the punk into the back of the net to tie the score. Six minutes later, Manhattanville’s O’Brien scored on Jeffs’ goalie Sabrina Dobbins ’18 to get another one point lead. The Jeffs continued to push as they held a 17-5 shot advantage in the second period, but Manhattanville’s goalie Shaugnessy made 16 saves. Entering into the third period, Manhattanville started off with a power play advantage, but was unable to convert. Tori Salmon ’15 shot the puck on goal fol-

lowing a pass from first-year Alex Toupal and scored to tie the score. The rest of the period occurred without any goals forcing an overtime period. Amherst had the advantage in shots 3-2, but neither team was able to find the back of the net.

“We grinded it out and got better as the game progressed on Saturday night, but the game resulted in a 2-2 deadlock after 5 minutes of 5v5 OT play. We had a couple of great chances in the third to take the lead and a couple in OT to win, but neither team was able to put the third goal on the board as both goalies made some big saves to keep the game tied,” Coach Matthews said.

The Jeffs finish their 2014 part of their season with a 5-1-1 record. They will return to action at Orr Rink tonight against Plymouth State and continue competition over interterm facing upcoming NESCAC opponents. January will be a busy time for the Jeffs as they have seven away games during interterm from Jan.3 to Jan 20.

They return home on January 27 against Salve Regina on home ice.

“Interterm is a good mix of non-NESCAC and conference games, so we’re also excited for that stretch of the season because January is such a good time for us to just focus on hockey because there’s nothing else to do,” Tank said.

Photos courtesy of Rob Mattson