The College Reaps Benefits from its Student Activism

In recent months, Amherst College has hosted a highly impressive list of speakers, among them Scott Brown, Michael Steele, Frank Warren and Shaukat Aziz are especially notable. These speakers each carry with them a distinguished life’s work, and they impart much of their respectability upon the College when they choose to speak here. They bring prestige and accolade to our small college when they travel long distances to our rural Massachusetts campus and take part in events that leave a permane

Space Allocation in Context

Given that the move and improvement of the MRC and the Women’s Center takes place in the larger context of Keefe spatial allocation, we should discuss Keefe’s long-term improvement. It’s disheartening that the dialogue surrounding the move instead centers around a zero-sum competition over the limited resource of quality floor space, meaning that some area of campus life must suffer if another is to gain. This need not to be the case if we recognize that the efficiency of space overall can be

Proposed Keefe Move Problematic

Last night, the College held an an open meeting to discuss proposed changes to Keefe Campus Center, including the relocation of the Multicultural Resource Center (MRC) and Women’s Center to more prominent locations in the building and the moving of the Game Room to the second floor. Today, students will vote in a non-binding poll to support or oppose the proposed changes. Last night’s meeting was the first time some students gave input on the move; today’s poll may be the last say of the student

Frat Culture On Trial

Last week, an article on AC Voice exposed a shockingly misogynistic shirt printed by members of an off-campus fraternity, Theta Delta Chi (TD), that was greeted with minimal punitive action by the administration, much to the author and students’ chagrin. However, it was not greeted with surprise. In a public meeting organized in response by President Martin, several women spoke out about experiencing sexual disrespect or sexism at the College. Sexism, and the less-than-pleasant experiences of su

A Case For Journalism

This newspaper has serviced the College since 1868 and is proud to be the oldest independent weekly student publication in the country. Yet despite this tremendous history, Amherst lags behind its peers in recognizing the value of journalism. The College takes a hands-off approach to its student newspaper, thus insuring The Student’s independent credibility; but by the same token, it views the student newspaper as just another club activity. Therein lies the problem. Journalism is, and must be,

Thoughts On The Election

This election year is a special one: the first time this particular body of Amherst students will experience a presidential election on campus. This election marks an intersection too; it is a means through which the community at Amherst intersects with the world at large. We bring what Amherst gives us to the voting booth, to determine the course of this country and the role of government in our lives. First, we ask students to register. It’s an easy but landmark step towards civic engagemen

Assessing Add/Drop

Add/drop period can be a hectic time in the life of an Amherst student. Academic buildings seem like war zones, as troops of would-be learners march into classrooms, armed with pen, paper and Macbook, to stand on the front line, waiting with bated breath for the professor. Their battle? Gaining entry into courses promised to them during pre-registration. Not everyone can emerge victorious. Too often, too many fall as collateral damage to those fearsome words: “Sorry, everyone, but the class is o

16 TIPS FOR THE CLASS OF 2016

1. Explore Amherst and beyond. Northampton is amazingly diverse, with great food, shopping and art. The other four colleges all have great things to offer, along with a good change of pace from what can be monotonous Amherst life. Check out our maps and suggestions in the A&L section. 2. Avoid Val During Peak Hours. Val gets crowded at noon, after practices get out and especially right after First-Year Seminars. 3. If you want to get in, don’t give up. Can’t get into that class? Well, spots

Late Nights At Val: A Worthwhile Endeavor

In this week’s Editorial, The Student would first like to say a few words in appreciation of the time and effort that the AAS put into organizing multiple late night dining options, either in Keefe or Val. We thank you for your dedication to the student body, and we feel that it would be most meaningful to our staff if we could extend our gratitude. Second, The Student feels that Late Night Val is an impressive project for our student government to invest themselves in: they’ve stood as a shin

Criticism of Honest Journalism

Last week saw intense drama regarding a possible scandal in the AAS E-Board elections; the details of the incident, now notorious amongst the student body, do not need to be repeated here. While The Student would like to refrain from commenting directly on the incident until the Judicial Council releases its official verdict due this Thursday, we would like to talk about a related topic that students raised both in reference to our recent article and in the past: accusations that The Student is

Students Need To Vote More Responsibly

This Monday, the AAS Elections Committee hosted Speech Night for Executive Board hopefuls running in the elections this Thursday. Candidates for all the top positions on student government outlined their platforms: five of those speakers will guide and shape the direction the Senate will take over the next academic year. Considering the weight of the above statement, The Student was dismayed by student attendance at Speech Night. Little over 40 students attended — astounding, considering that

Protecting the Playing Field of Ideas

A worrying refrain among the comments on The Student’s website during the recent debates on heated issues on campus was that The Student should have censored or “hacked off” certain student voices, believing them to be irrational or offensive. We understand that a heavy responsibility falls upon newspaper editors to show journalistic integrity by hand-picking those articles of good taste and intellectual value, all the while considering the welfare and temperaments of the student body. One tre

Managing Stress and Mental Well-Being

At last night’s AAS Senate meeting, the mental health task force came to discuss the state of Amherst students’ mental health and well-being. Remarkably, no one was surprised to hear that much of the student body had significant stress-related issues. The students attending the meeting are our peers, so they understand the stress students face on campus. Most of us, as high achieving students, don’t bat an eyelid as we continue to add more and more to the ever-growing to-do lists we accumulate t

Students Need To Be Less Apathetic

Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen a large number of heated debates sparking around campus — most of them starting with, or popularized through articles that appeared on The Student website. These articles have not just received a large number of views and comments but have people talking everywhere from Facebook to Val. We need such conversations to keep smoldering across campus. The student body brims with concerts, complaints and questions, but it often displays apathy in actually addressin

Students Over the Over-Enrollment

The end of the first week of add/drop period usually brings a quiet sense of relief and order in a storm of chaos; most students are set with their schedules by this time, and only the few unlucky stragglers are left still scrambling for classes in the dying days of shopping period. This semester, however, has been characterized by an unusual surge in the number of harried students who are still looking for classes as late as today. Over enrollment appears to be a pressing problem: a lot of hass

This Spring, We Are Program Bored

While the recent email sent out by Program Board about the Spring Concert came as a disappointment to many students, it was met with more resignation than indignation. There was almost a sense of inevitability to it; it is not harsh to say that the College has not organized a successful Spring Concert for years. Spring Concert is supposed to be a time of campus unity and satisfaction arising from a rewarding experience and a great band the entire school can enjoy. Last year we had Mike Posner. T

Evicting Gender Discrimination

Gender-neutral housing is sweeping college campuses across the country. Over 50 American liberal arts colleges and elite institutions like Princeton and Brown have a gender-neutral housing policy, and the number steadily grows every year. Amherst students reignited a long-simmering debate with a recently-drafted online petition [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dFkxWGhlOTZSby1fV0g4cENkNjlkWlE6MQ] requesting Amherst finally join the club. We believe that Amherst’s liberal e