Decolonizing Space Through Words: Amherst Hosts “Voices 2017”

This past weekend,Amherst College’s student-run La Causa hosted its 20th annual Voices event, the largest free spoken word concert in New England. Voices’ mission is to bring poets of color from across the country together in one space for a weekend of decolonizing the arts through slam poetry that revolves around the subject of marginalized people’s experiences. Both professional and student poets performed their work to a packed Powerhouse with food provided by Fernandez Family Restaurant, a P

DASAC Blends the Past World of Hip-Hop into a Modern Work

Dance and Step at Amherst College (DASAC) hosted its fall show this past weekend, and in it, the group once again exemplified how to combine style, agility and audience engagement in a performance piece. The theme for this show was “Old School vs. New School”, but after a few minutes watching the show, it became clear to me that this was really a show about two schools of confidence. There is the cocky, big-headed kind of confidence that constitutes the old school. Then there’s the fierce, elega

Breezy Comedy “Girls Trip” Outshines Tired Action Blockbusters

When I walked into a Santa Monica AMC to see the new comedy “Girls Trip,” I had just come off a long day at work at my internship in the area. I wasn’t in the mood for explosions, saving-the-world plots or quippy lines from bored, veteran movie stars clearly wishing they were somewhere else. The movie industry flooded this summer with particularly disappointing big-budget blockbusters with thin stories and little to offer besides attractive white faces and muddled CGI vomit. Given the success of

At the Intersection of Economics and Medicine

Rashid ‘Chico’ Kosber has always been committed to helping people in need, and this quality is evident to everyone who meets him. No matter where Kosber is, whether at an intense late-night study session in Merrill or just walking around campus, he is always there with a genuine smile. An economics major on the pre-med track, Kosber has channeled his passion for resolving real-world conflicts through combining social science and medical science. Kosber also served as a senator for the Associat

DASAC Gets Out: Dance Ensemble Celebrates 15-Year Anniversary

This past weekend, Dance and Stepping at Amherst College (DASAC) performed their spring show in Keefe Campus Center’s Friedmann Room titled “DASAC Gets Out.” DASAC, Amherst’s student-run dance group focused on hip-hop, Caribbean and other dance styles originating from the black diaspora, celebrated its 15th anniversary with this show. The group was founded by black and brown students disappointed at the lack of representation of black dance. Each semester, the show is given a culturally relevant

Sade Green ’20 Wins in Powerful Student Story-Telling Slam

Amherst’s second Annual LitFest Poetry Slam took place last Thursday at the Powerhouse. Fresh off of last year’s event, in which Latrell Broughton ’19 took home the top prize, Amherst students hit the ground running this year with personal and provocative poems. The poetry slam was hosted by Daniel Gallant, executive director of the Nuyorican Slam Poets Café, a nonprofit poetry cafe based in Manhattan. Nuyorican gives a platform for personal stories and struggles in a performative style of poet

‘Fences’: The Proper Way to Adapt a Pulitzer Prize Winning Play

Until now, the works of legendary playwright August Wilson have not been adapted to film, which is quite surprising given their enormous popularity. “Fences,” Wilson’s most commercially successful play, finally came to the big screen this winter. After starring alongside Viola Davis in a 2010 Broadway revival of the play, which had originally been produced in 1983, Denzel Washington directed and starred in the 2016 film adaptation while Davis also reprised her lead role. It chronicles the live