Amherst Professors Share Stories Behind Their Office Doors
The best way to get to know your professor? Take a look at their office door. Staff writer Dohyeon Kim ’26 interviews four professors about their unique door decorations.
Features
Thoughts on Theses: Diego Duckenfield-Lopez
Diego Duckenfield-Lopez ’24 is a senior double majoring in Black studies and film and media studies. Their thesis explores how seventies media, such as Blaxploitation films, influenced later constructions of Black identity.
Faculty, Staff Navigate Childcare in Amherst
While the college offers childcare support and resources, a lack of accessible childcare in the area, exacerbated by the high demands of working life at the college, creates challenges for many parents.
A Gift to the Graduates: The Revival of Conway Canes
Conway Canes, gifted to all graduates at Commencement, are one of the few traditions that encompass all students. It took collective effort from students, alumni, advancement officers, and manufacturing companies to ensure that the canes became a lasting part of Amherst history.
Student Squared: Paige DiBiase ’25
In her third interview for Student Squared, Managing Features Editor Eleanor Walsh ’25 talked to Paige DiBiase ’25, a psychology major, field hockey star and matcha lover. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Staff Spotlight: Shailaija Campbell-Parker
Shailaija Campbell-Parker is a checker at Valentine Dining Hall who often works late-night shifts. In this Staff Spotlight, Campbell-Parker discusses life as a UMass psychology student and making origami at the checker stand.
From Flowers to Forests: Research in Practice — Alumni Profile, Jessica Wright ’94
As a researcher for the US Forest Service, Jessica Wright ’94 now helps make the nation’s forests more resilient. But her path began more humbly, in a greenhouse overlooking Memorial Hill.