On "Into the Woods" and Amherst

In Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods,” Little Red Riding Hood questions “Isn’t it nice to know a lot / and a little bit not.” This phrase, as a postscript to a number in which she extols the virtues of knowledge and mastery, poses a perennial question for students like us. If we are committed to intellectual inquiry, can we or should we imagine that we know and can do everything? Or, is it perhaps better to know “a little bit not,” and to cope and live with the unexplored mystery beyond our own

Utility? = Liberal Arts?

In a letter to The Student last week, Shruthi Badri ’16 rightfully lamented the lack of tenure lines and the dearth of elective courses in the mathematics department. As the department, along with others, needs to cater to skyrocketing course enrollments, professors are increasingly employed to teach introductory level courses to meet the high demand. And this has forced, as Badri argues, the department to reduce offerings for students who want to wander into mathematics because they find it mos

Too Much Work?

At the Nov. 17 faculty meeting, Dean of the Faculty Catherine Epstein invited students to speak about academic workload. Students spoke about how they juggled academics alongside work study jobs, familial and personal issues, extracurricular and athletic commitments and sleep. They called on faculty members to be more flexible with deadlines. They spoke about how fear permeated Amherst classrooms. Interestingly, the stories, grievances and suggestions which students shared did not wholly cohere

On the Ensemble: Dissonance and Collaboration

We at Amherst speak of organizing social life on the model of the team. We have athletic, Title IX and case management teams. Deans throw around the phrase “teams of students.” The 2015 strategic plan recommends “creating teams of first-year students and staff” to cure cultures of busyness and loneliness, cultures which preclude “social interaction and community.” Of course, never are we asked exactly how teams will resolve the lack of “social interaction and community.” That we privilege a for

Bring on the Fun

At a meeting earlier this year, President Martin, worried about the social poverty of dorm life, exclaimed to RCs, “Bring on the fun!” This promulgation’s metrical line conjured up what could be a hilarious parody of Stephen Sondheim’s “Send in the Clowns,” the ballad from “A Little Night Music” in which protagonist Desirée ponders the ironies and tribulations of her life. More on that later. Consider a recent change in how the administration approaches substance-free living. The college’s offi

On the Pursuit of Liberal Arts

At her Convocation address last week, President Martin offered a spirited defense of the liberal arts, noting, “As institutions we are charged with protecting academic freedom and freedom of expression, not merely for the good of individual scholars and scientists or the good of individual institutions, but for the good of society as a whole.” It is a quote that appears to make quite a lot of sense: The mission of our intellectual project stretches beyond the confines of the collective of peer i

From a Member of the Social Clubs Work Group: Vote No on the Proposal

When I applied to join the Social Project Work Group as one of six at-large members appointed by the AAS senate, I was adamant about my antagonistic role. Social clubs, as they had been proposed, would have to be defeated. If not, they would need to be fundamentally transformed. Unfortunately, they have not been. So, today I write to encourage you to vote “no” to social clubs on Thursday. The work group did not resolve the significant problems posed in the open letter 28 students signed last Nov

The Massachusetts Senate Election: A Foreign Race

There is a very unnatural event occurring in Massachusetts today. It is something that seems almost foreign (dare call it European) to our recent American politics. This unnatural phenomenon is the Massachusetts Senate race. The race is one of the most closely followed national races, partly because of the history of the contested seat and partially because of the politics of the candidates. The Senate seat in question was held by Ted Kennedy for almost 47 years. During Kennedy’s tenure, he fo