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Opinion

Editorial: Fall Festival and Amherst Tradition

The Editorial Board reflects on Amherst’s uneasy relationship with tradition and asks what it would take for Amherst students to reclaim connection on their own terms: to build new traditions that are inclusive, joyful, and genuinely ours.

Race Science, Taught at Amherst

Columnist Willow Delp ’26 uncovers a disturbing chapter of Amherst’s past, confronting how deeply racism was embedded in the college’s academic history and arguing that reckoning with these truths is essential to any genuine commitment to anti-racism today.

So, What Does It Mean to Do More?

Contributing Writer John Milas ’28 explores the promises and pitfalls of effective altruism, weighing utilitarian logic against Paulo Freire’s call for human-centered solidarity, and asks what it really means to “do more” without losing sight of the people behind the numbers.

Who is Peter Thiel?

Contributing Writer Christopher Karmonik ’27 traces the making of Peter Thiel, unpacking Thiel’s ideology, college legacy, and ongoing influence over American politics.

Surviving College One Inconvenience at a Time

In the midst of midterm season, Assistant Opinion Editor Caroline Flinn ’28 reclaims complaints as small resistances against a college culture that often mistakes exhaustion for excellence.

Anti-Ableist Amherst: Disability Pride

Columnist Willow Delp ’26 calls for a new vision of Amherst, one where disabled members of the community are supported enough to replace shame with acceptance and pride.

Political Violence is the American Tradition

Assistant Opinion Editor Caroline Flinn ’28 traces the nation’s long, often ignored history of political violence — from revolutions and riots to structural oppression — to confront how brutality has shaped democracy itself and to ask whether the cycle can ever truly be broken.