News From the Red Room: April 18 AAS Meeting Updates The Association of Amherst Students (AAS) met for the 10th time this semester on April 18. The meeting covered funding requests, a public comment, and numerous AAS updates.
News Following Petition, College Grants Fulbright Language Assistants’ Request for Compensation The college has agreed to compensate three Spanish Fulbright Language Teaching Assistants (FLTA) with room and board for the remote semesters of the 2020-2021 academic year. The decision comes after the three sent a petition to the administration last Wednesday requesting the payment.
News Thoughts On Theses: Riku Kusumoto Riku Kusumoto is a political science major. He is writing a political theory thesis on Ernesto Laclau’s work on populism. His thesis advisor is Aliki Perroti and Seth Frank ’55 Professor of International Relations Pavel Machala.
News Fulbright Language Assistants Petition for Pandemic Compensation This morning, March 30, three Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants (FLTA) for the Spanish Department sent a petition with over 400 signatures to the administration, requesting room and board compensation for the 2020-2021 academic year.
News “I Was Angry That People Were Going To Die”: Students Speak on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine The Russian invasion of Ukraine has thrown into turmoil the lives of Ukrainian and Russian students at the college. Ukrainian students have had to worry about the safety of their families and mobilize resources for their home country, all while being full-time students thousands of miles away.
News Student Spotlight: Oren Tirschwell ’25 Oren Tirschwell ’25 is a first-year student from Westchester, N.Y. After the college announced they would stop sending out daily Covid updates, Tirschwell took it upon himself to construct a replacement tool, which he made available to interested students on Feb. 20.
News Historic Class of 2022E Approaches Graduation Seventy-four seniors will graduate at the end of this semester as members of the Class of 2022E, one of the largest E classes in the college’s history. The Student sat down with seven graduating seniors to hear about their experiences and reflections on the nearing end to their time at Amherst.
News College Converts Casual Staff to Benefited Positions President Biddy Martin announced on Nov. 17 that the college will be converting some of its casual staff positions to benefited positions, an initiative that has been under discussion throughout the year. The announcement followed a student-led demonstration demanding for better pay for Val workers.
News Town of Amherst Goes to Vote on Town Council Seats, Jones Library Renovation The Town of Amherst held its biennial municipal election on Tuesday, Nov. 2. Positions on the Town Council, School Committee, and Housing Authority were on the ballot, among others. Voters also participated in a referendum on a proposed renovation of Jones Library.
News Fresh Faculty: Ren Wiscons Ren Wiscons is an assistant professor of chemistry. She received her bachelor’s degree at Oberlin College, and completed a master’s degree and doctorate at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
News College Announces End of Legacy Admissions In an email sent to the college community on Oct. 20, President Biddy Martin announced that starting in the 2022-2023 academic year, the college will end its legacy admission preference as well as implement an expanded and simplified financial aid program.
News Administration Affirms Support for A/P/A Studies in AAAN Meeting Leaders of the Amherst Asian Alumni Network (AAAN) met with members of the administration on Oct. 6 to discuss the open letter they published calling for A/P/A studies. The administration affirmed their support of pursuing an A/P/A studies major at the college.
News Board Chair Updates College Community on Presidential Search In an email sent on Oct. 7, Chair of the Board of Trustees Andrew Nussbaum ’85 updated the college community on the search and selection process for the next president of Amherst College, who will succeed President Biddy Martin after this academic year.
News Harriet Washington Speaks on Racial Harm in Science and Medicine Writer and medical ethicist Harriet Washington spoke in Johnson Chapel on Sept. 30 as the inaugural scholar in the college’s Presidential Scholars series. The conversation covered topics including racial health disparities and vaccine hesitancy.
News OLs, CAs Frustrated by Delays in Receiving Pay Nearly one month after orientation, Orientation Leaders (OL) have still not been paid for their work. The paychecks of several Community Advisors (CA) were also delayed. Students are frustrated by the disregard for student workers evident in the administration’s handling of the situation.
News College Loosens Some Covid-19 Protocols but Urges Vigilance On Sept. 11, the administration announced updated Covid protocols, including a limited return of indoor dining and an expansion of travel boundaries. While the changes were less far-reaching than some would have hoped, students generally found the update to be what they expected.
News Fresh Faculty: Christine Peralta Christine Peralta is an assistant professor of history and sexuality, women and gender studies. She received a bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, a master’s degree from the University of British Columbia and a doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Q: How did
News Staff Spotlight: Kevin Weinman Kevin Weinman became Amherst’s Chief Financial Officer in 2013, overseeing the college’s financial planning, investments and Covid response. Weinman recently announced that he will be departing in early September to serve as president of Marist College.
News CDSL Renamed as the Class & Access Resource Center The center formerly known as the Center for Diversity & Student Leadership (CDSL) is now the Class & Access Resource Center (CARC) going forward. The new name was brought about by student advocacy for a name emphasizing the center's activities.
News All Students Arrive for In-Person Semester on Campus Almost 2000 students moved onto campus between Aug. 20 and Aug. 29. Even with continuing Covid restrictions, this pandemic semester has come the closest to achieving a pre-pandemic campus experience.
News In Open Letter, Alumni Ramp Up Calls for Asian/Pacific/American Studies Major The Amherst Asian Alumni Network (AAAN) wrote an open letter in early August to key administrators calling on them to commit to establishing a Asian/Pacific/American studies major. Though similar appeals have been ongoing for years, the recent wave of anti-Asian racism has redoubled the calls.
News Amherst Approves Reparations for Black Residents. How is the College Involved? This summer, the Town of Amherst established a fund that will provide reparations to Black residents. The initiative intends to make amends for the town’s past harms as the community continues to grapple with its relationship to institutionalized racism.
commencement Sirig Gurung: A Commitment to Curiosity, Compassion & Care Gurung has drawn on his deep well of kindness and curiosity to touch the lives of those around him and uplift the communities of which he is a part. Photo courtesy of Sirig Gurung ’21. Sirig Gurung’s ’21 unassuming and humble disposition belies the large impact he has on
community advisors ResLife Modifies CA Position Description Following USWAC Campaign Returning and prospective Community Advisors (CAs) received an updated position description for the 2021-2022 academic year on Wednesday, May 12, a week after the Office of Residential Life (ResLife) sent them the initial draft of the contract. The primary adjustments made included changes to and clarifications of the on-call system,
community advisors New Student Workers' Union Demands Better for CAs The Union of Student Workers at Amherst College (USWAC) announced its official launch and inaugural campaign this past week in response to dissatisfaction among Community Advisors (CAs) with the position description for next year, which seemed to add significant demands on their time without any change in compensation or additional