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Opinion

Fear and Learning

Fear is not generally a part of Amherst students’ philosophy of education. We often hear that we’re supposed t o feel uncomfortable with our education — that’s how we know we’re learning. We come to Amherst because we want push ourselves beyond our own self-created intellectual boundaries.

It’s Time to Stop Using Plastic Water Bottles

Every time I sit in Frost Cafe, I see student after student go up to the counter and buy a plastic water bottle. They toss them in their backpacks and drink them throughout the day. When they’re done, they throw them in the recycling if it’s convenient or

Consider the Hamster: Amherst’s New Mascot

I know that Lord Jeff, our quondam mascot, has hardly been buried, right next to The Moose, his would-be successor. So I hope it won’t appear too ugly to be rushing in with a modest proposal for a modest mascot. If not, I’d like to present to

Politicians or Preachers? A Look at Ted Cruz’s Presidential Campaign

Even when I lived in Illinois, I did not pay attention to neighboring Iowa. For all its virtues — corn, rolling plains, the rare Iowa Pleistocene Snail — my attentions were elsewhere. It had, perhaps, an “Iowa aura.” But since the presidential campaigns for 2016 started last year with my best friend

Reforming Amherst’s Grading System to Encourage Student Growth

Grades are a subjective system that systematically values a narrow set of qualities that so very often do not correlate to greater life satisfaction or produce better students of the world. Tests chronically misdiagnose ineptitude in a subject, and professors’ personalities have the power to fundamentally alter both the way

A Letter from the AAS

In the coming years, the Amherst College board of trustees will be voting on a number of issues at the heart of student life. While the board strives to incorporate the views of the student body into their decisions, this is not always possible when the most recent alumni trustee

Embracing Diversity: Space for Students of Color

Why does the integration of academic and social identities in college matter? Advising a student of color at a selective, predominantly white college or university is complex and challenging. When administrators are not able to help students of color who feel disconnected from the college community, these students often drop