Campus Speak

“If you don’t drink, you’re screwed.” MICHAEL PAGES ’02 “More laid-back hippie type kids dancing in the corners-they make for great parties.” LIZ WAFFARN ’04 “We need some carnies.” JAMES MCDONNELL ’03 “Me.” NANCY KWANG ’04 “Hot guys.” EDWIN MACHARIA ’01 “The Amherst social scene is missing lots of sunshine and everything that comes with it.” ARSHIA CHOUDHURY ’04 “What social scene? TAP? You’ve got to be kidding me.” KRISTIN OSBORN ’04 “Thesis writers.” MAGGIE BYRKIT ’02E “We’re

Tales from the west wing: Weiss '90

In the west wing After graduating from Amherst, Weiss spent the next five years working at the Atlantic Monthly, where he rose through the ranks, performing various jobs such as fact-checking, desktop publishing, researching and writing and eventually becoming an editor. But his career path changed the day after the Newt Gingrich Congress was sworn in; Weiss received a phone call from colleague Jim Fallows, who suggested that he contact political consultant James Carville. Carville wanted to wr

Jere Mead '68 is Scrabble superstar

Mead has finished second, third and sixth in the North American Scrabble championships in the premier division against 50 other competitors. He is one of two people to win a “major,” an intense Boston-area competition, three times, and the only person to win it two years in a row. “It’s a demanding game,” said Mead. “You have to have a capacious memory, of course, but the strategical side, the ability to make wise judgements, a sense of priorities, composure, self-knowledge-all these are tremen

All-Stars in Action

Eight years later, Downes is still making music and playing the bass. In high school, Downes played in two bands: “We just started hanging out and playing for fun and it turned into something that I really enjoyed doing,” he said. At Amherst, Downes has played with Full Service and Exactly. Founded by lead guitarist Tim Kepner ’00 his freshman year, Full Service is rounded out by Downes on bass, Bert Moreno ’00 with lead vocals and David Kepner on drums. Full Service spent last Interterm record

This Week in Amherst History

The policy they were protesting forbade cohabitation in the dormitories; males were not allowed to take females into North and South. The demonstration was led by the Women in Dorms coalition and involved 23 women marching through North. One female participant described the demonstration as “very solemn,” and said that it was exhilirating “because you didn’t know what was about to happen.” Another added, “I was surprised they actually went through with it.” This was the first protest at the Coll

All-Stars in Action

“The only other person from my high school who came to Amherst was Thomas Glynn ’96,” said Matsui. “He was also a rope skipper and an important role model for me.” Once Matsui’s jump roping days ended, she devoted herself to repairing cars. It was Glynn’s younger brother, Steve, who first sparked Matsui’s passion for auto mechanics. “He had go-carts, and ever since then I wanted to know more about cars,” said Matsui. She became a certified auto mechanic the summer of her senior year in high sc

This Week in Amherst History

But it was not just coats that were stolen. Often, bicycles were reported missing. “Someone simply used them to get where he was going,” said Police Chief Francis O’Connell. In addition to a rise in the “borrowing” of bicycles, the library reported an increase in the theft of books and magazines. “Some students walk a tight rope between honesty and dishonesty,” said a member of the library administration. The library was continually forced to replace missing magazines because students failed t

Running a "clean" election

After two years of practicing law and teaching courses at Northeastern University and Boston College Law School, Tolman has once again decided to try his hand at politics-this time he is going to run for governor of Massachusetts. His campaign is unique and his ideas innovative; he is currently the only candidate committed to running a “clean elections” campaign. Leadership and politics seem to run in Tolman’s blood. His father’s work with unions initially sparked his interest in politics, and

Campus Conversations

What do students do when the Thanksgiving holiday arrives and they are staying on campus? Going out for some turkey and cranberry sauce is impossible. “We looked for a restaurant for an hour and a half,” according to Brianne Rhodes ’01. “Nothing was open. Our original plan was to prepare our own meal, but all the markets were closed.” Luckily, some quick thinking led her and her friends to one of the few restaurants open, the Hotel Northampton. They ended their night with some pie and TV back in