Rattling Your Brain: An Interview with Johnathan Appel ‘16

Defining Amherst is an initiative about exploring the purpose of an Amherst education. For more information, visit www.definingamherst.wordpress.com [http://www.definingamherst.wordpress.com]. Johnathan Appel ‘16 didn’t come to Amherst looking for a comfortable education. He came here to have all his ideas challenged. As a political science major, he finds himself re-evaluating the systems of privilege he benefits from and trying to understand their existence. Recently, he has become more invol

Further Exploration: Self-Discovery Through Education

Before coming to Amherst, I had a very noncommittal stance on my mixed race. I laughed along with both comments of “you’re basically white” and “you’re so Asian.” Depending on the situation, I was one or the other. Without realizing it, I let myself believe that I could only be one race at any given time. When I got an A on a math or science test, I was Asian. When I had slumber parties with my friends, I was white. The only time I was ever really both was when I was explaining to someone “what”