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Opinion

Seeing Double: How to Read Local

At Amherst, we know to emphasize eating and buying local. Valentine Dining Hall serves local food from as close as the Book & Plow Farm, and A.J. Hastings and Amherst Books, both independent businesses, are our campus bookstores. What we forget about, however, is reading local. For example, take

9/11 Cannot be Business as Usual

I don’t have any memory of the attacks that took place on Sept. 11, 2001. I was one year old, fast asleep in my crib in northern New Jersey. My parents got the rest of the day off from work, which, on any other occasion, would have been cause

Yes We Can: Victory and the American Psyche

As anyone who has seen one of President Donald Trump’s rallies can attest, the president loves to talk about winning. “We’re going to win so much, you’re going to be so sick and tired of winning,” Trump said in a typical remark. Critics of the president often

Does Character Belong in Court?

On March 12, the college admissions world was shocked by over 50 charges against wealthy parents who were involved in a conspiracy to bribe college officials and to cheat on critical college entrance exams. These wealthy parents spent $500,000 to $6.5 million to bribe officials and guarantee their

The Need for Young Voices

It’s only been a few short weeks since 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg landed in New York City after spending weeks at sea, traveling carbon-free from her native Sweden to the U.S. for this fall’s United Nations climate talks. Her welcome in the

Seeing Double: Stop Trying to Copy Scandinavia

Seeing Double: Stop Trying to Copy Scandinavia

As a dual citizen of Denmark and the U.S., few things make me happier than seeing American politicians praising Scandinavia. Figures like Bernie Sanders have held up the Nordic economic system as a model for socialist progress in America and the world. “I think we should look to Denmark

Pondering a Plethora of Pugnacious Proboscidea

Pondering a Plethora of Pugnacious Proboscidea

I was never taken with the whole mammoth movement. The idea that the perfect Amherst College sports mascot would be a creature renowned for being slow, dim and dead… Well, what can I say? Things got even stranger when the college hired a design firm that produced the currently ubiquitous