Sophie Currin '17

Before Polina Barskova began to read her poems this past Sunday afternoon at the Jones Library in Amherst, she said something very wise: “Poetry is not to be understood but to be dealt with.” This comment proved to be especially fitting, at least for me, as she continued to read

Gabby Edzie ’17 is a senior English major writing a creative thesis. As she nears it’s final deadline, I had the chance to sit down with her and ask a few questions regarding her trajectory through the English major along with her creative writing process. As Gabby aptly

Every year, the Oscar-nominated animated shorts present a pool of feelings. Each piece accentuates and lingers on a certain aspect of the human condition, and watching all in succession leaves a lively feeling brimming in the viewer. The directors strategically use color, form of animation and voice to explore subjects

Sit-ins and protests are not new to the College. Following the recent dialogue between students, faculty and the administration during the walk-out last week in solidarity with those affected by the Executive Order that targets nationals of Muslim-majority countries, I’ve decided to recover a past instance, about half a

This past weekend, Sheila Chukwulozie ’17E performed her Theater and Dance thesis called “portrait | wound | fragment*,” largely created and acted out in collaboration with Amir Hall ’17 and a few friends. On the Amherst website, she describes her project: “[My performance is] an exploration of pain and fear that live

The Rotherwas Room in the Mead Art Museum is over 400 years old. According to the Mead, the intricate wood panels that constitute the room have meandered from an English castle to a New York City gallery to Amherst over the last few centuries. The panels were commissioned to be

On May 7, 2016, students gathered to arrange and light votive candles on the social quad — their individually small but collectively voluminous flames could be seen flickering in the wind by those dancing on the inward-facing windowsills of Crossett and Pond. This past spring, on the last Saturday before finals

“Don’t drop the beet!” Farmer Pete reminded the Women’s Cross Country team, two years ago, as we literally harvested beets on our volunteer day. People near him laughed a little, and smiled, genuinely enjoying an early autumn Sunday morning spent working on the farm. He made more vegetable

Outside, rain was falling, droplets slowly sliding down against the outside of the glass. It was a quiet, cozy Wednesday afternoon in Fayerweather Hall, and we were learning about the oldest living organisms in our world, and the immense beauty of “deep time” via photography, a medium that captures the

Each senior at my high school was instructed to take the last three weeks before graduation to focus on a project, internship or idea. In May 2013, I chose to work with the design team at Gensler, an architecture firm. One of their then-current projects was to co-design a new

We all know that the beautiful Leonardo DiCaprio finally won an Oscar this past Sunday, an achievement long-sought after by both himself and by his fans. And while his animalistic acting skills in “The Revenant” should certainly be acknowledged, there are many categories in the Academy Awards outside of “Best

A highly affecting film, “Woman in Gold” reveals both the pain and joy inherent in reclaiming family heirlooms stolen during World War II. It’s a film that explores the inner battle of remembering a repressed past. And it’s one of those films that leaves you feeling sad, with

The 2015 Spring Arts Festival, Amherst College’s biggest arts festival yet, is currently holding a mix of musical and visual performances; art exhibits and workshops and conversations with artists. Spanning over 10 days with an event or two every day, the festival has so far hosted a few music

A few days before spring break began, I found myself taking some time out of the busy week to hike through the light rain to Amherst Books for the evening. Even though I took the short route through the parking lot across from Val, I was still a minute late,

With sunny 30-degree days becoming less and less rare, early March proves to be a great time to visit the Montague Bookmill. The Bookmill is a conglomerate of three 180-year-old buildings overlooking the Sawmill River in Montague, just 25 minutes outside of Amherst. Converted from an industrial site to a

Nestled in the corner behind A.J. Hastings and Amherst Coffee, Amherst Cinema is a local gem that can easily be overlooked. With the motto, “See Something Different!”, the independent nonprofit gives students and townies alike the unique opportunity to watch, in an intimate theater setting, carefully selected films, cartoons,

A title like “A Most Violent Year,” without further information, might lead you to expect (as I did) raging war scenes, intense, blaring shootouts and cacophonous dialogue. Yet, the violence that existed was so silent and so subdued, that it felt real, very far from your average action-packed blockbuster. Set