Editorial: Ford is Open. Now What?

After much anticipation, the Ford Student Center (Ford) has finally opened for students. The college has described our new student center as “the crossroads of campus life at Amherst [College].” As per that marketing, Ford not only represents a transition away from Valentine Dining Hall (Val) but also contains “student organization spaces, resource centers, flexible gathering spaces, the Alumni Pub, and much more.” For the first time in the college’s history, students can pick up packages and get their mail, food, condoms, alcohol, and so much more — all from the same building. There was much speculation about how Ford would carry out these changes and, more importantly, how we would collectively embrace this transition. 

The college’s lofty goals notwithstanding, our transition into Ford has not been without struggles: The building remains under construction and will not fully open until Sept. 18, meaning that student organizations have not been able to move into their new spaces yet. Moreover, several of Ford’s amenities, like Stanley’s Cafe and the Alumni Pub, have suffered from a staggered rollout. Still, we understand that there are several unknowns in the planning process; we would be remiss to criticize the college for understandable growing pains. However, we would like to discuss — and understand — how the student body is meant to adjust to such drastic changes on campus without the administration’s proper communication.

Several student leaders, including those at The Amherst Student, have not been alerted to move-in timelines, relevant design decisions, and continuing updates. The complexities of the moving process are surely beyond what we understand, yet communicating about the timing and functioning of our new campus hub should be the bare minimum. As a result of these unanswered questions, minor confusions have ballooned into frustration. 

To be clear, this is not yet a complaint about moving. It is a complaint about not knowing where and what we are moving to: We do not just mean metaphorically in the sense of the college’s poor move-in directions, but literally within Ford itself as a new space. While it is too soon to give a decisive judgment of this building’s impact on campus, adjusting to such a massive central building while it is still under construction — entire floors and hallways still zoned off, “DO NOT TOUCH” paper signs line freshly-painted railings, bulldozers roll alongside students outside — has made us wonder: how does the college expect the student body to transition to the new center of campus when it is not ready for us? 

Even in the dining hall, the main portion of Ford that is currently open, several design choices felt confusing or demonstrative of negligence, despite its new perks like extended dining hours and diverse food stations. Students were left guessing the dining hall hours, which were inaccurately posted on the Mammoth Mobile app, food options were often gone by 8:30 p.m. despite a 9 p.m. closing time, and when the sushi and stir fry stations are open remains a mystery. These small inconveniences build up to create a greater sense of uncertainty about Ford as a whole. We are unsure how to navigate campus culture in lieu of Val, which sits as an empty ghost town on the other side of campus.

There is a lingering sense that we have been cheated of what should have been a smoother rollout experience, especially when the changes for this year are on a scale exceeding past rollouts: the Amherst College Textbooks system, the quiet death of college-provided microwaves and minifridges, and even last year’s proposed revision for the Honor Code.

As the Editorial Board of The Student, we ask the administration for better communication about Ford’s rollout and planning as soon as possible. What informed the building’s design? How were move-in timelines determined? Why were some spaces prioritized for opening while others remain inaccessible? Given these changes, as well as the rollout’s unclear direction, we would also like more clarification on how students are expected to adjust to such rapid transitions — how were students’ needs and concerns incorporated into these decisions? We do not expect every challenge to have a simple answer, but a project intended to serve as the center of student life should be accompanied by clear communication about the processes that shape it.

It’s not unreasonable to expect clarity about a project that will shape nearly every aspect of student life. Students are not asking for perfection, nor are we demanding that every logistical challenge be solved overnight. We are asking for basic communication: timely updates, transparent decision making, and clearer understanding of how these changes are meant to affect the community they are intended to serve. Communication cannot be an afterthought to a project built around community. If Ford should truly become the crossroads of campus life, then students deserve to be included in conversations where those roads lead.

Unsigned editorials represent the views of the majority of the Editorial Board (assenting: 9; dissenting: 1; abstaining: 3)