Issue 18

VOLUME CLI, ISSUE 18

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2022

amherststudent.com

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF AMHERST COLLEGE SINCE 1868

College Tightens, Loosens Protocols as Campus Covid Cases Surge Liam Archaki ’24, Tana Delalio ’24, and Ethan Samuels ’23 Managing Editor, Managing News Editor, and Editor-in-Chief

Photo courtesy of Chris Tun ’25

The Ukrainian flag hangs proudly in the dorm room of Ernest Protas '24, an international student from Ukraine.

The flag represents an identity that Protas feels has been trampled on by Putin's rhetoric and aggression.

Students Speak on Russian Invasion of Ukraine Yee-Lynn Lee ’23 Editor-in-Chief On Feb. 23, Russian President Vladimir V. Putin shocked the world by launching a large-scale military invasion into Ukraine, the culmination of years of tensions between the two nations. The attacks, which have continued over the past week, have reverberated across the world to Amherst College, rocking the lives of those students who hold ties to the region.

Ernest Protas ’24, an international student from Ukraine, said he realized that an attack was imminent on Monday night, when Putin gave a speech denying the legitimacy of Ukraine as a country.

“Basically what he said sounded like a declaration of war,” he said, noting

OPINION

the hundreds of thousands of Russian troops that had been amassing at the borders since last year.

When the attack came, however, no one was prepared.

Ira Sobchyshyna ’24, an international student from Ukraine, was in bed when the first air strikes were launched at around 11:30 p.m.

EST. “I was literally sleeping. That’s what I was doing,” she said. “I heard about [the attack] from my partner,” who had decided to wake her up upon learning of the news.

Across students, shock and disbelief dominated initial reactions to the invasion. A slew of emotions followed, once the attack had registered as reality.

“When I actually heard his announcement of the war, I was paralyzed,” said Protas. “I couldn’t be-

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A Better Amherst: A 'New Curriculum': Tessa Levenstein '23 and Mason Quintero '23 advocate for more service-oriented learning at the college.

lieve what I saw, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was actually happening — it was actually happening to all of Ukraine.”

“It felt devastating,” he continued. “I felt a lot of anger for the fact that somebody was coming in and threatening the existence of my country. And I was angry that people were going to die.”

Anya Zak ’25, an international student from Russia, was up late finishing an assignment when a social media break revealed posts plastered across Instagram about the news.

“I couldn’t believe it,” she said, recalling that the question of whether an invasion would occur had come up in conversation with friends and family when she was home in January. “We [had] thought that, no, the

ARTS & LIVING

invasion will not happen.”

“I was sad and frustrated by the fact that this [was] happening,” Zak reflected. “And I was worried.”

For Zhasmin Ospanova ’23, an international student from Russia and Kazakhstan, it was a call from her mom that broke the news.

“I was just so shocked and astonished,” she said. “I was kind of expecting some sort of conflict to arise, but I couldn’t believe it because the way they attacked Ukraine was so similar to the way Germany attacked the USSR during the Second World War, … such a dangerous and inhumane way.”

“It was 4 or 5 a.m. in Ukraine, and they attacked the capital, they attacked the major cities,” she elab-

Continued on page 4

19

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SPORTS

The college had 153 active Covid-19 cases at the beginning of the day on March 1, over 53 percent of the 284 total positive cases since Jan. 30. A hundred and fifty of these cases were students, comprising about eight percent of the student body. In response to the large number of cases, the college has announced changes to its Covid safety protocols multiple times over the past week. Students expressed concern about the rising number of cases, as well as confusion over the shifting protocols.

On Feb. 25, Dean of Students Liz Agosto announced a series of tightened protocols aimed at mitigating spread, after 40 new positive cases on Feb. 24 — the single greatest number of cases on one day since the pandemic began — had brought the total number of active cases to 103. On March 1, however, Agosto acknowledged that cases remained high, but announced that all increased protocols from her previous email had been lifted, citing the fact that testing days since Thursday have not brought the same spike of 40 to 50 cases per cycle.

The protocol changes announced in Agosto’s Feb. 25 email

Continued on page 3

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News POLICE LOG

Student Spotlight Oren Tirschwell '25

Feb. 21, 2022 – Feb. 28, 2022

>>Feb. 21, 2022 9:43 a.m., Rodeway Inn An individual not affiliated with the college attempted to remain in the lot overnight at the Rodeway Inn. >>Feb. 23, 2022 10:51 a.m., Amherst College Police Department The chief took a report of an email sent to a coach by someone not affiliated with the college and seeking to contact a student. >>Feb. 24, 2022 12:18 p.m., Charles Pratt Dormitory A detective took a report of a stolen cell phone.

Investigation ongoing. >>Feb. 25, 2022 8:49 p.m., Lipton House Residential Life Community Safety Assistant (CSA) staff responded to a noise complaint.

11:55 p.m., North Hall Residential Life CSA staff responded to a noise complaint. >>Feb. 26, 2022 11:26 p.m., Quadrangle Road A sergeant conducted a motor vehicle stop after observing a vehicle traveling the wrong direction on Boltwood Avenue, which is a oneway street.

11:54 p.m., Hitchcock House Residential Life CSA staff responded to an unauthorized party.

>>Feb. 27, 2022 1:41 a.m., James Dormitory Residential Life CSA staff responded to an unauthorized party.

2:13 a.m., South Pleasant Street/Northampton Road A sergeant assisted the town police department with identifying a minor who was in possession of alcohol.

2:18 a.m., James Dormitory A sergeant assisted the Residential Life CSA staff after they encountered a minor in possession of alcohol.

3:26 a.m., Fayerweather Lot Road A sergeant responded to take a report of a minor motor vehicle accident.

2:28 p.m., South Hall A sergeant took a report of a past incident that occurred on the second floor of South Hall.

6:39 p.m., Seelye Parking Lot Residential Life CSA staff reported a fire in a metal trash can in the parking lot. Fire was then extinguished. >>Feb. 28, 2022 1:40 a.m., Hills Lot While conducting a cruiser patrol of Hills Lot, a detective observed a suspicious vehicle with two people standing next to it. All checked out okay.

Prospective Statistics and Computer Science Major

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.

Q: What was your motivation for creating this daily Covid reporting service?

A: At the beginning of this semester, Amherst announced that they wouldn't be sending out the daily Covid update emails anymore. I was sort of immediately concerned that it might lead to a false sense of security among students about the fact that we're all used to seeing these daily numbers from Amherst — if we're not seeing them anymore, is there just an underlying assumption that no emails means no Covid on campus?

I would [also] mention [that] Amherst’s Covid dashboard is confusing, a little bit inconsistent, and not particularly helpful. Amherst has a total number of active and cumulative cases, but there's just no way for you to go onto that dashboard and get an at-a-glance look at the trajectory that we're going in. And so I see the next component of this for me as redesigning [the] Amherst dashboard and making a new one, which I’ll also make available to students.

Q: What was the process for creating this service?

A: I needed a way to snapshot that cumulative number each day, and then eventually for the dashboard [to] get seven-day averages and stuff like that. But the first piece I need is [the ability] to compare yesterday's data to the day before.

So I'm using a programming language called Google Apps Script to do this programming work, [which] is a language built directly into the Google suite that's based in JavaScript. The main advantage

that I see to it is its ability to connect different Google services together. By using this programming language, I can natively, within my Google account, have this spreadsheet that records all the data, and then have the emails getting sent based off of that spreadsheet. So that was sort of the first iteration — once I had it up and running, I had 10 or 15 friends who I just hard coded into the list. And then cases were getting worse, and so I thought to myself, ‘Okay, well, now I want to be able to release this more broadly to this school, and it's not sustainable for me to have to manually enter people's email addresses into the list, if I'm looking at potentially hundreds of subscribers.’ So that's when I wanted to build out a real subscribe-unsubscribe system, which I did using a Google Form — it's really easy for students to sign up — all they have to do is click a button on the Google Form. Then it's really easy for me to get that most updated list of students, which right now is at 156 subscribers, and [to] send that email every day.

Q: Why did you take it upon yourself to address the lack of daily Covid case updates?

A: The administration chose to stop sending these emails, and it seemed unlikely that there was a world in which they were going to start it up again. So there was just a part of me that felt like it seemed like a futile thing to ask about, and probably their mind is made up.

One component too was my sense was that the emails they sent out previously were manual because

they did [once] sent a correction in the fall, which suggests that they weren't programmatically pulling the data. What I made is fully automatic, so when the data is flowing into the dashboard correctly, I don't have to do anything. We have so many cases now that sending out those emails [manually] just takes more time, and they [the administration] may be understaffed in a way that doesn't allow them to do that. And once I started playing around with it a little bit, I knew that I had the ability to make it myself. And it didn't take too long — probably four or five hours. So I figured, why not?

Q: The administration just announced on March 1 that they will be providing daily case updates again in the Daily Mammoth going forward. How does this impact your plans?

A: I was very pleased to see that the administration will be resuming daily case updates. This is an important piece of information for students to have access to.

That being said, I expect the updates will, as before, not include the number of tests conducted. I feel this is an important piece of information for students to have access to; on a non-test day, if there were 10 positives, was that out of 25 tests? 50 tests? 200? Depending on the format of the updates, I will be thinking about whether there is still supplemental information my automated updates might be able to provide.

—Yee-Lynn Lee '23

The Amherst Student • March 2, 2022

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Mixed Student Reactions to Changing Covid Safety Protocols Continued from page 1 had included reinstating a masking requirement in residence halls, limiting Valentine Dining Hall and non-academic indoor events (excluding those in residence halls) to 50 percent capacity, and canceling events scheduled under the Student-Hosted Event Policy for the weekend of Feb. 25-27. Students were also prohibited from dining in at restaurants and bars.

Agosto’s March 1 email announced that there were 47 new positive student cases since the previous email, and that the college was now utilizing more than 75 percent of its available isolation space across four different facilities (Inn on Boltwood, Rodeway Inn, Econo Lodge, and now, Howard Johnson).

Agosto stated that should the number of active cases surpass the number of off-campus isolation beds available, “The college will move toward an isolation-in-place strategy wherein students living in singles will isolate in their residence hall room and each hall will have a designated restroom for use by students who have tested positive.”

Some students expressed surprise at the decision to loosen the protocols, in light of the high case count. Matthew Chun ’24 described the changes detailed in the email as “a funny strategy.” He added, “Loosening the restrictions seems like a very bold move.”

Cameron Mueller-Harder ’22 sent a message in the campus-wide GroupMe questioning the college’s reasoning for loosening restric-

tions. “They really said ‘we have 75% of our isolation space filled, and the most ongoing cases we’ve ever had, but people who get COVID haven’t been being that symptomatic so let’s go back to normal, why not[?]’”

Sarah Weiner ’24 echoed a similar sentiment. “I don’t understand why we’re loosening restrictions if cases are going up.”

“Even though I want looser restrictions, logically, I don’t understand why they would do that,” she continued.

Mueller-Harder also expressed concern about the implications of the college’s decision. “It feels like the administration no longer acknowledges that this is a deadly and contagious disease,” they said.

Mueller-Harder added, “I have asthma and if I get COVID, I will likely experience life-long lung

problems. Approximately 8% of American adults have asthma [...] I don’t understand the complete disregard for student safety, both on the part of the administration and what feels like the majority of the student body.”

Xander Schwartz ’23 was not surprised by the outbreak, stating it was “somewhat predictable” after looking at the Covid-19 statistics from Amherst’s peer institutions when students returned from winter break. However, Schwartz voiced his dissatisfaction with the college’s “down the middle” approach.

“I feel like the school either needs to decide we’re living with Covid and there’s not much we can do about it and lift more restrictions beyond testing and maybe classroom masking, or go into

some form of lockdown and try to reset our numbers and keep Covid off campus. Taking the middle approach mainly means we are both living with Covid and Covid restrictions which in some ways is the worst of all worlds,” Schwartz said.

Will Marshall ’23 is glad the college lifted the new restrictions.“The facts on Covid are clear: vaccines lower risk to a tolerable level on a community-wide basis, and masks protect the wearer (as the CDC has stated) providing additional security to immunocompromised folks.

Recognizing that we have entered a new phase of the pandemic, the college should continue to lift restrictions in accordance with the declining risk to our community and the significant burden that restrictions place on the community,” Marshall said.

Students Navigate Academics Through Covid Isolation Sofia Rodrigo ’24 Staff Writer As classes have gone back in person over the past couple weeks, more than eight percent of the student body has tested positive for Covid, creating challenges for accommodating all students in the classroom.

Faculty and students have been forced to make adjustments to their respective teaching and learning plans in accordance with isolation policies for positive student cases.

Despite yearning for a return to normalcy, students and faculty acknowledge the importance of working together to keep the community safe.

In an email sent to faculty members on Feb. 23, Provost and Dean of the Faculty Catherine Epstein urged professors to be explicit about their expectations for students who require isolation. “For many students, the most important action that you can take is to let them know how you will address absences and missed work during the period in which they cannot attend class,” the email reads. “If you haven’t done so already, please take a few moments to share your policies with your students, as well as how they can expect to be supported by you while they are in

isolation.”

Although there is no set plan of action that professors are required to implement when a student tests positive, the email outlined some strategies that professors might find useful when trying to navigate teaching under the circumstances. These include offering remote office hours for students, sharing recorded lectures, enlisting a student note-taker, and providing digital versions of all material handed out in class.

Karl Lowenstein Fellow and Visiting Professor of Political Science Gustavo Salcedo explained that he made the personal choice to take a different approach than the strategies suggested in Epstein’s email.

After coming to an agreement with his isolating students, Salcedo determined that having a live Zoom option was the best way to allow his students to stay updated with class content. In addition to providing a live Zoom, Salcedo shared that, in trying to support his students, he also has been flexible with providing extensions and hosting virtual office hours.

“I prefer teaching in person than through Zoom, I find the experience to be more complete and enriching to be physically together in presence

with my students,” Salcedo shared.

William Prince ’25 expressed appreciation that professors were understanding. Reflecting on his unusually long 11-day stay at the Boltwood Inn, he said, “I felt like a broken record emailing [professors] every two days saying I won’t be able to attend class yet again.”

He explained that while the majority of his professors seemed to have it “all figured out” when it came to teaching students in isolation, others had a more difficult time adjusting. Regardless, Prince felt that the professors “did the best they could.”

Prince relayed that his professors offered him various forms of academic accommodation. “One of my classes had a Zoom option, one professor would record the class and share the audio with me after, and another professor just required me to meet with them for office hours,” he said.

Prince felt he was able to maintain his academic standing partly due to his isolation taking place during the first week of in-person classes. He recalled, “There wasn’t a lot of stuff that I needed to do yet that I could risk falling behind on.”

Alternatively, Noah Chavez ’24 felt that some professors were not

as accommodating as he had hoped they would be. “My math professor did not give out lecture notes without multiple students asking (and I only got one day’s worth) and had no Zoom or recording set up,” he said.

“I relied on my friends to Zoom me in with their own laptops, which was not very useful and impacted their learning as well.”

Chavez shared that spending time in isolation negatively impacted his academics. He explained that although he received extensions for assignments in some classes, he “still feels behind in everything even though [his] symptoms were only fairly mild.”

Chavez expressed concern that professors seem to expect that students in isolation will still work many hours per day, even though some professors do not provide students the necessary resources to keep up with their coursework. “If one’s symptoms were worse, I imagine the isolation could really derail their academics,” he said.

Epstein addressed these student concerns in an email to faculty on Feb. 25. She reported that over 100 students are in isolation because they have tested positive for Covid, remarking that “Many of [them]

are very anxious about the ways in which being in isolation could affect their academic performance, specifically about absences from class and how they will keep up with or make up work.”

In an effort to ease students’ anxiety, Epstein urged faculty to reach out immediately to students who test positive and communicate clearly their expectations for remaining academically engaged while in isolation.

She instructed professors to explicitly inform students that absences due to isolation will be excused, and that students will not be penalized for any missed classes while they are in isolation. Chief Communications Officer Sandy Genelius communicated to The Student that the college does “not plan on transitioning to remote learning and teaching.”

Despite the inconvenience imposed by isolation, Chavez emphasized the value of having a supportive community while recovering from Covid. “I want to thank the Health Center and all other isolation housing staff for making the whole process as seamless as possible. I am also thankful for many of my peers for stepping up to help me and others in isolation when we needed it most.”

The Amherst Student • March 2, 2022

News

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Ukrainian Students Carry On as War Rages Back Home Continued from page 1 orated. “Everyone was shocked by the way they attacked Ukraine.”

Upon hearing of the attack, Protas and Sobchyshyna immediately reached out to their families and friends back home.

“I called my mom first,” said Protas. “I called all my friends. For the next couple of hours, I was calling everybody, everybody I knew, all my friends, and making sure that they’re okay, that they’re safe.”

“I reached out to my family and talked with my family, and they all seemed okay,” said Sobchyshyna. “When all of this started, my mom was at her workplace, one of the essential railway junctions in Ukraine, so that was really scary.”

Protas described feeling awful for not being there to protect the people that he loves.

“I cried [on Thursday] because my cousin called me and told me he’s going to sign up for the Territorial Defense,” he said. “He was going to go and get his AK and his uniform. It’s really, really scary.”

Although his family, who lives in Ivano-Frankivsk, a city in western Ukraine, hasn’t been bombed, they have had to shelter after hearing air raid alarms. “They have to go to the basement — the cold dark basement — and sit in there,” said Protas. “The cat is in panic, and the cat really hates it. … My mom’s tired.

She’s taking a bunch of melatonin to sleep every night, because otherwise she can’t sleep.”

Protas explained that since it’s just his mom and grandmother staying together, they haven’t been able to flee to Poland, out of fear of being robbed along the way. “My family is just staying where they are, and it really hurts to hear that,” he said. “I really wish I could take them out to safety.”

Sobchyshyna, who’s from Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi, a town in eastern Ukraine about 80 miles from the border of Russia, said her family has been sheltering in rural areas where they can hide in underground spaces when they hear explosions and aerial attacks.

“My aunt said [that], compared to what’s going on, they shouldn’t

complain,” she said. “But I think it’s pretty f — ed that that’s the measure of what’s okay and not okay, what’s good and bad.”

“I used to say I wouldn’t wish anything upon anyone,” Sobchyshyna continued. “But I really wish that people who are involved in this — the Russian occupants, all of those who benefit from this — I really hope they experience the worst nightmares of their life.”

Ospanova spoke about the effects that the war has had on people in Russia, noting the drastic depreciation of the ruble and the fact that Russians cannot flee due to other countries closing their borders and denying visas and passports to them.

“Of course, I’m not comparing how it affects Ukrainian people and Russian people. … I’m sure it [affects Ukrainians] in a more dangerous and more troubled and more tremendous way,” she said. “But the politicians and Putin who did this, they’re not affected by sanctions; it mostly affects just regular Russian people. … They’re the ones who suffer the consequences.”

Trying to keep up with all the latest updates and stay in touch with their families has consumed students’ attention in the days since the war started.

“I tried to go to class and fulfill my duties as much as I can, but I simply do not care enough about them at this point,” said Sobchyshyna.

“All of it very quickly became irrelevant,” echoed Protas. “I went to class Thursday morning, I did not pay attention in class. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t. … I couldn’t do anything for the rest of the day. None of my other commitments, nothing else.”

“I was with the people, I was trying to call everybody, I was trying to stay in touch with people, I was trying to follow the news,” he continued. “For every victory, I felt pride, and for every loss, I felt heartache.

It’s very tense. I don’t think you can really understand what it’s like until you actually feel it.”

As the war has escalated over the past week, Protas has found himself immersed in ever-increasing imag-

es of violence and brutality, an experience exacerbated by the work he does translating posts from a Ukrainian news channel into English.

“A lot of the news goes through me — videos of people dying, videos of bombings, videos of violence towards civilians, videos of war crimes, videos of the most awful things I’ve ever seen — and it really hurts,” he said.

“I hate to admit this, but I feel happy when Ukraine destroys Russian forces,” Protas added. “I really wish I didn’t have to be happy about people dying. I really wish I didn’t have to cheer at seeing Russian soldiers burn.”

“But that’s all I can do,” he said.

“Because they’re on my land killing

“I really wish I didn't

have to be happy about people dying.

I really wish I didn't have to cheer at seeing Russian soldiers burn. But that's all I can do.

Because they're on my land killing people.

— Ernest Protas '24

”

people.”

Beyond the emotional toll that following the war’s developments has taken, students have also had to deal with ignorance about the conflict from those around them.

“I just hope people would stop making this about themselves, [and] think a little bit more before they say some insensitive stuff,” said Sobchyshyna. “I hope people make an effort to see the bigger picture and what this means for the world, [and] try a bit more to empathize with the people there [in Ukraine].”

Ospanova reported facing a lot of xenophobia since the invasion started, from hate messages online accusing her of “killing Ukrainians” to verbal attacks on the street.

“I was out yesterday in the town, and the woman, she heard my accent and asked me if I’m from Russia,” she recounted. “I was like, ‘Yes, I’m from Russia,’ [and] she was like, ‘I f — ing hate you’ and stuff like that.”

“Russian people don’t want this war — the majority of Russian people just don’t want this,” she said.

“But a lot of people — they can’t distinguish between government and people, between Putin and Russia. … [It] definitely affects you in daily life.”

Zak said she was thankful to the Amherst community for not associating Russian students with the Russian government, adding that her friends who are studying in other countries have had problems with that.

Zak noted the sensitivity with which people had asked her about the situation in Ukraine. “I was amazed — in a good way,” she said.

“Before asking questions, many of them said, ‘If you don't want to answer, don't.’ So they were taking care of me in a way.”

All students expressed appreciation and gratitude for the support they’ve received from other students, as well as faculty and staff members.

Protas reported that many people reached out to him, including professors, whom he described as very understanding, speaking to him after class and offering extensions. He said his advisor also set him up with counseling resources to help him manage his anxieties.

“I appreciate the support for me … and for my fellow friends from Ukraine that attend Amherst,” said Protas.

Ospanova concurred, saying that “multiple of my professors reached out to me and asked how I was doing.”

Sobchyshyna is grateful for the community of Ukrainian students at Amherst, who’ve been “staying in touch and supporting each other.”

She and Zak also emphasized receiving support from the Center for International Student Engagement.

Students also said, however, that they wished the community would do more than just support them

personally as individuals, and take action to support Ukraine as well.

Protas spoke about not having the energy and mental capacity needed to organize the large-scale protests and fundraising efforts that he sees as necessary.

“The more time I spend thinking about it, the more frustration comes through,” he said. “In terms of myself, I feel that I am mentally supported, I feel encouraged and everything, but systemically, …

I wish we could make a stronger stance with Ukraine.”

Protas reported that he and a group of other Ukrainian students wrote a letter to President Biddy Martin expressing disappointment in her response to the invasion, after she had sent an email on Friday, Feb. 25, informing the college community of upcoming events about the conflict.

Martin responded to the students and met with them over Zoom on Sunday, Feb. 27. During the meeting, students asked Martin to release a statement standing with Ukraine, as well as leverage the college’s financial resources and alumni network to support the cause in Ukraine.

“She was reluctant to make a statement, saying she doesn’t really talk about geopolitics but she can talk about things related to students,” said Protas. “We were like, ‘We’re students, and this is affecting us right now.’”

Martin did end up sending out an email to the college community on Monday, Feb. 28, in which she emphasized the toll that the attacks are taking on the college’s Ukrainian students and described Putin’s claim that Russia’s aggression is to “demilitarize and denazify Ukraine” as an “offense against reason and truth.”

“I ask that you offer friendship and kindness to our Ukrainian students and also our students from Russia, who bear no responsibility for what is being done in their country’s name,” concluded Martin.

According to Protas, Martin also promised that the college would help out in the other ways the students requested, but he said they

Continued on page 5

The Amherst Student • March 2, 2022

News

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Ukrainian Students Urge Community to Support Ukraine Continued from page 4 haven’t heard much about what progress has been made on those fronts.

Protas expressed appreciation for Martin’s statement, but noted that “some people engaged in whataboutism on Instagram in comments to the statement,” referring to a comment on the post the college’s official account made about the statement that read, “4 years in Amherst as a Syrian student during 4 years of Syrian civil war and you

guys didn’t even notice. #westernbias.”

Martin replied to the comment in a separate comment on the post, writing, “I apologize on behalf of the College and myself. I have not made statements on geopolitical conflicts in the past. Having now made an exception to past practice, I clearly see the problem you raise in response. And I am sorry.”

Protas, who also commented on the post expressing gratitude for the statement and hope that more students affected by war find them-

selves supported by the college in the future, described the original comment as “really appalling.”

“I understand that they have their own pains, and there’s definitely not just one conflict in the world,” he said. “Obviously the school should have spoken out on other conflicts, but I don’t think this is a good time to blame Ukraine for it, or blame Ukrainians for asking for help.”

“I believe that we should all stand up for everybody who’s hurt,” Protas added. “And today that means to

stand up for Ukraine.”

Both Protas and Sobchyshyna called on students to also make any effort they can to support Ukraine.

“There [is] a ton of information online about the ways to donate and the ways to talk to your local representative and the ways to protest and all of those things,” said Sobchyshyna. “If anyone wants to help and has any questions, please reach out to me.”

Protas encouraged students to educate themselves and support the cause financially if they are able to.

“If everybody at Amherst that could do that did that, that help would be much appreciated,” he said. “I believe [that] would be the best the community could do for us.”

Protas also urged people to recognize just how much is at stake in the war. “Ukraine matters,” he said.

“We cannot put our heads away in the sand and hope that [the] problem goes away. I do believe that supporting Ukraine is supporting democracy and … the values that most people in the world share: freedom, respect, and love.”

Students Rally Support for Prison Moratorium Bill Sonia Chajet Wides ’25 Assistant News Editor In a joint effort with students at other Massachusetts colleges, Amherst students are mobilizing for a new bill that would place a five-year moratorium on prison construction and expansion in Massachusetts.

Student organizers have rallied support for the bill with a letter to elected officials that has received nearly 200 signatures, in which they argue against the building of new prisons and instead advocate for the funding of community programs.

Presented by State Senator Joanne Comerford — who represents the Hampshire, Franklin, and Worcester District — the new bill was filed in response to the proposed construction of a $50 million new women’s prison in Norfolk. The new prison was proposed as an “innovative” addition that would focus on “higher standards” for the women there, according to officials at the Department of Corrections (DOC). It has been widely assumed that the prison will replace the older MCI-Framingham facility, a medium-security prison in Framingham. The DOC, however, has communicated that “no final decision has been made to close MCI-Framingham.”

“The current plan for a new women’s prison at Norfolk is not very far along in the process,” Comerford said at a briefing last year. “Blueprints haven’t been drawn up; construction hasn’t begun. So that means that swift passage of this bill could help interrupt construction.”

Critics of the new prison cite Massachusetts’ falling incarceration rates of women as reason to pass the moratorium and halt the prison’s construction. MCI-Framingham currently holds fewer than 200 women, and as of 2020, Massachusetts has the lowest female state imprisonment rate in the country, a number that has been declining consistently since 2010. “[If] you don’t have many women in jail, there’s no reason to build a new prison,” said Mollie Hartenstein ’23, a student organizer who previously worked with Families for Justice as Healing, an organization led by incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women that works to “end the incarceration of women and girls.” It is also one of the organizations that worked on writing the moratorium bill, alongside the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls.

Hartenstein and Hibiscus Zhang ’25 have been working as part of a growing coalition of Massachusetts college students dedicated to prison abolition. Hartenstein and Zhang were both approached by friends at Mount Holyoke and Smith Colleges to participate in organizing around the moratorium bill, which Hartenstein calls “a first step” toward abolition. Since then, the two have attended weekly meetings that started out with just Five College students but have expanded to include students at Wellesley College, Emerson College, and Harvard College, as well as other community members

throughout Massachusetts.

To encourage legislators to support the bill, Hartenstein wrote an open letter, which will be sent to Comerford and State Representative Mindy Domb (a co-sponsor of the bill), as well as the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight, and the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. The letter was based on a template from Wellesley, which Hartenstein says is also “​​going around at Mount Holyoke, Smith, and Hampshire.” Amherst students began publicizing the letter on social media in mid-January, and starting last week, Hartenstein, Zhang, and other students have also been tabling in Valentine Dining Hall and Keefe Campus Center to collect signatures.

“The mission of Amherst College, terras irradient, is to enlighten the world,” the letter begins. “To fulfill that mission we must cultivate communities where education is a priority and knowledge is shared with all … Prisons directly threaten our core values; critical thinking, the sharing of knowledge, freedom of thought, and compassion for all.” “[In] think[ing] critically about the systems of money, power, and politics that define our country … we have learned that building new prisons will never solve the problems of poverty, inequality, and injustice,” the letter goes on to say. “New buildings will not save this broken system, but they will continue to harm individuals in our communities.”

The letter proposes that Massachusetts reallocate the $50 million into “community-led initiatives” to com-

bat poverty. Hartenstein explained, “$50 million is a lot of money that can help a lot of people who actually need help. Instead, those people generally are being funneled into prisons, because poverty is being criminalized.”

Zhang added, “What is the point in building a new women’s prison if we can pour all that money and energy into building programs that actually support the community and actually address problems that lead to incarceration in the first place?”

Hartenstein pointed to the fact that Families for Justice As Healing already runs many such community-led programs, such as a guaranteed income initiative, youth employment programs, and urban agriculture.

“They’re doing that all themselves,” she said. “Imagine what they could do with $50 million — the ways that we could actually fund our communities.”

Both students said that they have found Amherst students to be excited about the letter and the bill.

“If you give people an opportunity, they’re more than willing to take it,” Hartenstein noted.

They also emphasized the specific role of college students in organizing around this issue. “We have a lot of energy and a lot of passion that can be used for momentum,” Zhang said.

“We are a group that people attribute a lot of credit to, just by virtue of being Amherst students, whether we deserve it or not … so they actually listen more to our opinions,” Hartenstein said. “And in this case, where

this bill will help hundreds of people and save millions of dollars, and prevent prisons from being built, it is very important for us to use that privilege … We can show that we are going to utilize our social location in a way to help other people.”

Zhang and Hartenstein highlighted mutual aid as a primary alternative to the prison system that students can engage with. Zhang is involved with Pioneer Valley Touch the Sky, a local mutual aid group that fulfills resource requests from people in the community. Zhang is also a part of Collectivize Amherst, “a new student organizing collective dedicated to mutual aid” at the college.

The momentum from the letter is encouraging, the two said, both at Amherst and among college students more broadly. “There are plans to build a statewide coalition of Massachusetts abolitionist organizers who are college students, which is really exciting,” Zhang said. “And I think that building the momentum, beyond whatever happens with the bill, is super important.”

Hartenstein also noted that the moratorium bill’s passing in Massachusetts would be groundbreaking, and would give “political capital” to “abolitionists all across the nation.”

“Other states [will] start to realize they could do it too … this is a really good place for us to start,” Hartenstein said.

The bill, S.2030 in the Senate and H.1905 in the House, is in committee and has a reporting date of April 15.

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Writers Discuss Craft and Identity at Seventh Annual LitFest

Photo courtesy of Amherst College

Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Thanh Nguyen hosts an intimate Craft Talk with a small group of students. In the talk, Nguyen rejected the notion of "craft for the sake of craft." Other authors, including Pulitzer Prize winner Natalie Diaz, also hosted Craft Talks during the festival.

Mina Enayati-Uzeta ’25 Staff Writer LitFest, Amherst’s annual literary festival, returned for its seventh year on Feb. 25-27. This year, in its ongoing mission to “illuminate great writing,” the festival’s events tackled struggles of identity, the pursuit of accessing emotions, and the constraints of our preconceived notions of “writing.” Among those featured over the weekend were 2021 National Book Award nominees Katie Kitamura and Elizabeth McCracken, as well as Pulitzer Prize winners Natalie Diaz and Viet Thanh Nguyen, all of whom headlined events over the course of the weekend.

This year, students also had the opportunity to meet with authors in more intimate Craft Talks, a variation on the writing workshops or master classes that have been offered in the past. Kitamura, McCracken, Diaz, and Nguyen each offered hour-long sessions, during which they fielded questions from a small group of students on their writing processes, inspirations, challenges, and more. Other events included a Spoken Word Slam for Amherst stu-

dents on Thursday night and several expert-driven sessions on Sunday, which focused on hot-button issues like voting, democracy, and immigration.

Organizers took a hybrid approach to LitFest this year, marking a partial return to normalcy after last year’s entirely virtual event due to the pandemic. Several sessions were offered both in-person and through livestreams, a decision that served multiple purposes: accommodating non-Amherst audiences tuning in for the public events; protecting against the recent Covid surge that the school has faced; and, on Friday, accommodating the college’s snow-induced closure.

LitFest officially kicked off on Friday night with a virtual conversation with Kitamura and McCracken. In her opening remarks, President Biddy Martin spoke about the event’s importance to her throughout her presidency, which will end in June. “Amherst nurtures writers and literary culture, and I hope it will always be so,” she said, praising the festival as “one of her favorites.”

The conversation was moderated

by Kirun Kapur, lecturer in English

and director of the Creative Writing Program, and focused on the themes of Kitamura’s novel “Intimacies” and McCracken’s short story collection “The Souvenir Museum,” which were both longlisted for a National Book Award this year.

On Saturday morning, poet Natalie Diaz joined the festival virtually from her home on the Fort Mojave reservation to discuss her recent poetry collection, “Postcolonial Love Poem,” in a session hosted by Professor of English Alicia Christoff.

Diaz began the session with a reading from her poem “I, Minotaur,” in which she explored “ideas of ‘American goodness’” that seem “impossible for some of us to achieve.”

Angelina Suarez ’25 attended the session and described it as “a good conversation” that “felt very rushed.”

Suarez is studying “Postcolonial Love Poem” in two of her classes, and was required to attend the session for one of them. She wished the event had gone on longer and allowed more room for student questions, but voiced gratitude that there was time for her own question about the mentions of war in Diaz’s poems and how they translate to her real

life (to which Diaz acknowledged the complexity of the question, and mentioned that war can emerge in many forms, including the language that has been used to perpetuate difference and hierarchy between racial groups).

Saturday’s keynote speaker was Nguyen, who spoke with Editor-in-Chief of The Common Jennifer Acker in an event titled “The Art of Belonging: A Conversation About Race, Migration and Fiction Writing.” Nguyen discussed several of his books, beginning with his first, “The Refugees,” a short story collection that took him 17 years to write, and moving to “The Sympathizer” and “The Committed,” his more recent works and the first two installments in an ongoing trilogy.

Most notably, Nguyen recounted the challenges of writing boths works, and the subsequent lessons he was able to learn. With “The Refugees,” he spoke about his extended writing process — one that came with “depression, insomnia … and doubts” — and the difficulty he had with finding each protagonist’s voice.

By contrast, he described his close relationship to the main character of

“The Sympathizer,” who was a sort of “alter ego [of himself] — …in terms of beliefs and values.” As the character developed, his flaws became clear — and with them, Nguyen’s own.

“In writing this book, I had to confront my own misogyny,” he said.

Writing “The Sympathizer,” and later hearing critiques of it, forced him to learn and grow.

Nguyen didn’t recall these criticisms with resentment — instead, he praised them and those that are willing to offer them, even if he sometimes disagrees.

In an interview with The Student, Nguyen echoed the value of impactful college experiences — those like LitFest, but also the experiences that come from interacting with professors. He said he hopes what students get out of both his words, and their Amherst education in general, is a “passionate commitment to doing something that matters. One of the important things from my college experience … was that I [became] super passionate about literature, politics, activism, social change, and how they’re all related. That has nev-

Continued on page 7

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LitFest Events Touch On the Limitations of Language Continued from page 6 er left me.”

Sarah Wu ’25 read “The Refugees” as part of her fiction writing class this semester, and attended several of Nguyen’s events. “I think for me, the biggest part [of Nguyen’s talks] was his process. I always ask, ‘How do I prevent self-stereotyping?’ I always have this fear of … misrepresentation. He really gave me perspective, in terms of being able to write for myself. It was really mind-boggling.”

Wu is an intern for The Common and a writer herself. She read her own work, a short story about cultural identity, at a LitFest event on Saturday afternoon. After hearing Nguyen speak, she has “many thoughts” on how she could deepen the narrative, which she said she’ll carry to future projects.

Though each LitFest author comes from a different background and writes on different topics, certain themes continued to arise as the writers shared the inspirations and thought processes behind their work.

One of these echoed topics was the notion of identity: all of the au-

thors touched upon how their own lives have shaped their work. Kitamura offered an explanation as to why identity and fiction are so interconnected: “Whether you like it or not, you are all over your work.

There is no point in trying to move away from yourself.”

“Identity isn’t a stable thing; it’s shifting all the time. There are gaps that open up — how you navigate that is something I try to explore within my work,” she added.

McCracken reflected on how changing perceptions of her own identity impacted her work after the death of both of her parents. “Suddenly I am the upper generation … there was something quite profound to me,” musing that the consequences of this realization sometimes affected her writing in “inopportune” ways.

Nguyen discussed his own experience navigating identity and labels.

“Often, I’m asked, ‘Are you a writer or an Asian American writer?’ — binaries that are only placed on writers of color. You need to refuse those terms,” he said in his craft talk.

“There is no world in which being a representative of an entire community is good for a writer.”

Suarez thinks conversations about identity are crucial on a campus like Amherst’s — particularly for students like her, who haven’t had past exposure to the topic. “Where I come from, we don’t really talk about our identity. I'm from Texas, we’re a very conservative state.” she said.

When entering these discussions, she described feeling “vulnerable and inexperienced. I’m not sure how to navigate it, so I just try to absorb as much information as possible and figure it out.”

Another common theme of the festival was the limitations of language. Though Nguyen and Diaz spoke separately, both of their sessions worked to create a dialogue about their experiences with English’s shortcomings.

Ironically, Nguyen began his craft talk by rejecting the term ‘craft’ — “Ideas make a difference; they have an impact,” he said, “Craft for the sake of craft is technical, [it’s] pointless.” Nguyen stressed the importance of careful thought when writing. “Even basic choices of character are not just craft — they’re politics [and] show implicit prejudices,” he said.

Diaz, too, discussed her criti-

cisms of language. Her writing is influenced by the three languages she speaks — English, Spanish, and Mojave — and she believes that English needs to be more fluid and expansive. “The English language is always in a state of emergency. Our understanding of English needs to be capacious,” she said. “Languages are shaped in the lands they’re spoken in; they are knowledge systems, [and] knowledge is so dangerous because it stops.” As such, she believes languages must stretch to encompass the knowledge of all of its peoples: “Indigenous languages are a crucial part of the American lexicon.”

Nguyen also called for a widening of our understanding of English writing. For him, this means tackling the concept of translation — not only of words, but also of culture and customs. “Art from artists of color is marked by implicit translation,” he says. “We are expected to write to the majority audience because they have the power … To write to Vietnamese audiences is a revolutionary act.”

Ignoring the “burden” of translation, as he did with “The Sympathizer,” has made his work “free.”

Even as they work to shift pre-

conceptions in their fields, neither author believes their work is a replacement for institutional societal change. Diaz, who often hears about the ‘empathy’ her work inspires, thinks the term is empty and problematic. “I don’t believe [empathy] has ever done anything for my people. It doesn’t often lead to action. I feel similarly about poetry.”

Nguyen said the same. “I don’t believe in healing through literature.

Grieving and mourning, yes, but it can’t heal.” Even so, he urged readers not to lose sight of the bigger picture.

“Healing as a country is not about individual grief. The collective, historical contexts aren’t going away.”

Instead, the authors spoke to the importance of translating their work to tangible efforts. “If [poetry] can bring us to a practice of tending to each other, that means something,” said Diaz. And from Nguyen: “Literature can’t change anything. Action can.”

These words hold particular value at an event dedicated to the power of the written word. As LitFest comes to a close, the themes remain.

“I just keep going back to process everything,” said Wu. “I want to hear everything again.”

Photo courtesy of Amherst College

All LitFest events were available virtually, but some also had an in-person option. Most in-person events were held in Johnson Chapel.

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Anonymous Student Publication ‘The Contra’ Sparks Discussion

Photo courtesy of Chris Tun '25

The Contra, a new weekly student-run publication, provides an anonymous platform for community members to share opinions and responses meant to spark conversation, like the issue pictured above.

Ellis Phillips-Gallucci ’23 Staff Writer Since the release of its first issue earlier this semester, The Amherst Contra — an anonymous weekly publication founded by Ross Kilpatrick ’24E — has sparked a variety of reactions across campus. Designed to provide students with a platform to voice controversial or unpopular opinions, The Contra has fittingly become something of a controversial topic in itself, with some students expressing concern regarding the publication’s anonymity and possible subject matter, while others commend the prospect of fresh conversations and a renewed interest in public discussion.

Each issue of The Contra takes the form of a single double-sided broadsheet, featuring an anonymous article on one side and responses to previous weeks’ articles on the other. The publication’s first three issues have explored topics such as the validity of democracy, the Israel-Palestine conflict, and the ethics of student-athlete admissions.

Contributors can choose to either express their own opinion or attempt to rebut the opinion written in a previous issue.

The first issue, entitled “Would We Be Better Off With-

out Democracy?,” included a letter from Kilpatrick, who serves as editor-in-chief of the publication, outlining the motivations and principles of The Contra. “It can feel, sometimes, that everyone at Amherst agrees on almost everything, or perhaps that everyone who disagrees has gotten very good at keeping quiet. … That’s unfortunate. College is a place where we should encounter new and challenging ideas, where we should be forced to look critically at our preconceived notions of the world and revise them or at least clarify for ourselves why those notions are good and true,” he wrote.

In an interview with The Student, Kilpatrick further clarified The Contra’s mission: “We’re not just unpopular opinions … it’s also voices that are not often heard on the campus.” He expressed that without having something like The Contra on campus, “the danger is that we’re just not going to be living up to the kind of academic potential of a place like Amherst.”

Many students agreed with Kilpatrick’s diagnosis of Amherst’s campus community and The Contra’s necessity. For some, the thought-provoking articles correct a campus-wide tendency toward conformity and agreement in opinion, while also af-

firming freedom of expression as a value.

Charlie Clary ’24 felt that, without The Contra, “campus discourse turns into an echo chamber, in which popular ideas are never challenged, and those who have dissenting opinions don't have a forum to express their views.”

Sika Essegbey ’23 expressed that The Contra “force[s] people to consider different perspectives.”

“For example,” she said, “the recent article about athletic admissions, regardless of whether I agreed with what was written, prompted a couple of my friends and I to have a pretty interesting conversation, and it forced many athletes I know to consider the nature of the team and the culture it forms.”

However, views such as these were not ubiquitous. Some argued that while there is value in debate and discussion, such a platform can promote both abrasive and problematic political stances and spur a skepticism that can actually stifle discussions on more pressing issues.

Henry Buren ’22 worried that The Contra may showcase and thus validate dangerous opinions.

“Ideally, I think that The Contra would be able to illuminate flaws within some of the basic views in

society that we take for granted, but only if the unpopular opinion is well researched and well-argued,” he said. “In actuality, it’s just people arguing to argue or voicing certain opinions to stir controversy.”

In addition, Buren scrutinized the form of The Contra. “I think it’s set up in a way that invites very poor arguments that can basically be, in my opinion, propaganda,” he said. “Arguments are going to be surface-level because you’re only allowed 600-1,000 words and 300-400 words for responses,” he said.

Buren added that he felt The Contra’s first two articles were not researched or argued well. “If you took a look at basic facts for more than 30 seconds, you would realize that they were wrong,” he said. “So it [The Contra] just seems like it’s propaganda, or just dangerous.”

The differing opinions over the Contra evokes similar debates going on across the country regarding freedom of speech and censorship on college campuses.

This is not the first time Amherst has been embroiled in such debates.

In 2019, former Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke in Johnson Chapel for an event sponsored by the Amherst College Republicans. Minutes into

Sessions’ talk, students walked out in protest, which garnered national attention.

Also in 2019, the release of Amherst’s Common Language Document was said to have precipitated a “community-wide fallout” and scrutiny from Conservative publications such as The Daily Wire (founded by Ben Shapiro) and The Boston Herald.

When asked about the possible connection to such events, Kilpatrick answered: “Yeah, I mean, [it’s] certainly linked to that kind of thing. I think that increasingly college campuses, especially on the East Coast, have become less ideologically diverse.

I think this is a problem because I think it makes learning and holding different kinds of opinions about politics and the world harder … a lot of free speech stuff has been co-opted by right wing figures, like Ben Shapiro, as a way to sneak in right-wing rhetoric.

But that’s not what we’re trying to do. We’re genuinely trying to start conversations about these interesting topics.”

While these debates rage on, Kilpatrick guarantees students that the Contra is merely here to foster a “healthy ecosystem” where discussions may be held freely and where we may come to truly substantiate our own beliefs.

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Students Contemplate ‘Progress’ in Speaking Competition Kyle Hur ’25 Staff Writer On Feb. 23, the college held its annual persuasive speaking competition in Johnson Chapel. The event, sponsored by the Writing Center, featured 11 students, each of whom wrote and delivered speeches based on the year’s theme of “Progress.”

After a preliminary round on Feb. 2-4, the 11 finalists were chosen to participate in the competition. All speeches related to the theme “Progress” in some fashion, but the speakers discussed numerous topics that they believed to be important to the theme, ranging from issues prevalent at Amherst College to society as a whole.

The competition was hosted and organized by Susan Daniels, the college’s Associate in Public Speaking. The participants included Siri Palreddy ’24, Daniyal Ahmad Khan ’22, Sidnie Kulik ’25, Sike Ogieva ’25, Tristan Moore ’24, Karen Lee ’25, Kobe Thompson ’24, Caelen McQuilkin ’24E, Charlie Sutherby ’23E, Mia Griffin ’24, and Ryan Kyle ’23. The speeches were judged by Professor of Black Studies and History Stefan Bradley, Poler Family Professor of Psychology Catherine Sanderson, and Program Director of Careers in Education Profession Robert Siudzinski.

Kulik discussed the student mental health patterns seen at elite colleges like Amherst. Highlighting the term “hyper-achievement,” she discussed the expectation many students feel to excel at everything they do. Kulik argued that the mental health resources provided at Amherst are not enough. She advocated for long-term solutions instead, such as mental health training that is reinforced throughout all four years of the college experience, and better communication from the administration toward students in advertising the mental health services offered.

“Progress never stops, but we will know valuable change is made when students will be able to say more than a simple, ‘I’m fine,’” Kulik said.

Griffin discussed a phenomenon known as “the glass cliff,”

Photo courtesy of Amherst College

Sike Ogieva '25 speaks about the role that storytelling can play in progress and preserving democracy, citing her personal experience in growing up among political shifts in Nigeria. when women are likely to be promoted to high leadership positions when companies are on the verge of failure. She explained that there is more pressure for women to accept these higher positions because they are rarely offered — only contributing to the unfair treatment women receive.

“The glass cliff worsens the way we think about women in charge and only closes more doors for women,” said Griffin.

Moore spoke of performative activism and the way in which Amherst neglects minorities. Moore referred to other institutions, such as Disney, that attempt to reinvent themselves as progressive, but refuse to actually take substantive action. Even though these institutions claim to care for minorities, they only do so as a marketing tool.

To determine whether an institution truly cares about minorities, Moore looks at whether the institution takes risks, if they acknowledge past mistakes and oppression, and how they treat employees with marginalized identities.

Moore concluded his speech by

asserting that “real progress is not promotion — it’s protection for the oppressed.”

About halfway through the event, Thompson, the reigning champion took the stage. Thompson spoke about how the desire for profit hinders true progress.

“We need to ask ourselves: do we make progress because of profits or in spite of it?” He answered this question through several examples, including healthcare — “Because of progress people aren’t dying of disease, because of profit they’re dying of debt” — and climate change — “Clean drinking water and breathable air are tempting, but some prefer their profit margins.” Thompsonthen argued that only through collective action can we truly move forward. “At our expense, institutions make a profit, hand over fist. But if we work hand in hand, then, with a raised fist, we will make progress,” Thompson concluded.

Kyle talked about the importance of speaking with others and sharing opinions. Kyle stated that we lose meaningful conversations

when we stop talking to others who do not share the same political viewpoints.

Kyle urged others to start conversations that will yield differing opinions because “conversation can create change, especially when it occurs among people who already respect or love each other.”

She mentioned that many people actively reject progress by ignoring the viewpoints of others and remarked, “to start making progress, we have to start talking again.”

All speakers had been developing their speeches several weeks prior to the competition. When coming up with his speech, Moore noted, “the number-one thing [I considered] was my audience.

What do people at Amherst College don’t know about? What is something that isn’t well known? … But the number one thing is that I wanted to relate it to Amherst and bring light to some important shortcomings.”

The speaking competition received positive feedback from attendees. Channing Knox ’24, a student who attended the event,

said, “I thought [the speakers] were so impressive. Not only were they talking about pressing issues, but they were also brave enough to talk about issues pertaining to the college. I thought that finding ways to address issues that could improve our college experience was very moving and inspirational.”

Knox also mentioned, “I think I’ve learned that progress comes in very different shapes and sizes and that it can also be ugly, but ugly doesn’t mean it’s unsuccessful. I feel that in order to actually get towards the root of these issues, we have to address the ugliness of the situation.”

Speakers were evaluated based on their content, organization, delivery, and overall impression by three judges. Out of the 11 speakers, the top three were awarded for their performances. Kyle received third place, Griffin received second place, and Thompson received first place — his second win in a row.

Recordings of each of the speeches have been uploaded to the Amherst College website for public viewing.

The Amherst Student • March 2, 2022

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Mammoth Moments in Miniature: Feb. 23 to March 1 The Editorial Board College Closes Operations for Campus-wide Snow Day on Friday, Feb. 25 Due to the high level of snowfall on Friday, the college closed its operations and issued a campus-wide snow day. The college reopened on Saturday, Feb. 26, after the snowfall ceased.

Fifth Annual Community Promise Poem Takes Place on Mar. 1 As part of the Peer Advocates’ annual Community Promise campaign, community members were asked to answer

a single prompt about honoring their needs in their relationships. Their answers were compiled as a collective poem, which was read out loud at a Community Promise event on Tuesday, Mar. 1.

College Hosts Talks About the Russian Invasion of Ukraine The college hosted several talks about the Russian invasion of Ukraine following the first attacks on Feb. 23. On Saturday, Feb. 26, Model UN organized a talk from Karl Loewenstein Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science Gustavo Salcedo. The Department

of Political Science hosted a virtual teach-in titled “The Significance of Russia’s War Against Ukraine” on Monday, Feb. 28, at which several different faculty members spoke.

AAS Gives Students Access to Grammarly Premium On Feb. 28, the Association of Amherst Students sent an email announcing that all students now have access to Grammarly Premium membership.

The membership includes over 400 checks and features to help with writing, and was sent directly to students over email on Feb. 28.

Photo courtesy of Biddy Martin

Students built a snowman on Friday's snow day and stood it outside the President's House.

From the Red Room: Feb. 28 AAS Meeting Updates Eleanor Walsh ’25 Assistant News Editor On Monday, Feb. 28, the Association of Amherst Students (AAS) met for the fourth time this semester. The meeting was conducted in person in the Red Room, but all senators, including those in quarantine or isolation, also joined via Zoom. Senators heard from the Office of Fellowships, voted on Budgetary Committee (BC) funding requests, discussed community engagement, held committee elections, and approved a proposal to supply eco-friendly detergent to students.

After taking attendance, the Senate heard from Associate Director of Fellowships Eric Myers.

Myers, a new hire at the college, asked senators to help advertise the Office of Fellowships. He emphasized that the office wants to meet with all kinds of students, and as students themselves, senators are in a unique position to reach out to their peers. Myers then asked if the senators had any suggestions for student outreach.

Jaden Richards ’25 suggested a newsletter of some kind, and Kya Rincon ’22 proposed collaborations with the Loeb Center and other offices. Myers encouraged senators to reach out if they had any other ideas.

Since there were no further public comments, Treasurer Jae Yun Ham ’22 went over the BC discretionary funding recommendations. Requests included money for The Student’s trivia night and funding for Hillel’s weekly Shabbat dinner. Ham then asked if any senators had budgetary requests. Cole Graber-Mitchell ’22 requested $4,594 for The Green Room’s day trip to Broadway, which would be open to all students but capped at an attendance of 40. Other senators, many of whom were interested in attending, warned Graber-Mitchell that once he advertised the trip in the campus GroupMe AmherstBussin as planned, he would get an influx of interest. Graber-Mitchell responded that if many more people wanted to come on the trip, the club would reassess. Three more requests were placed on behalf of the Muslim Students Association (MSA), the Archery Club, and the Middle East North African Association (MENAA). All budgetary requests were approved.

Vice-President Basma Azzamok ’22 then announced that, from March 8 through April 3, AAS meetings would begin at 9 p.m. due to scheduling conflicts in the Red Room. Richards asked how that would work timing-wise as “we all love to talk,” and Az-

zamok told him that they were going to start cutting people off.

Although the Senate looked into temporarily holding meetings in another space, they decided to remain in the Red Room so that members of the public could still find them, as well as for social-distancing purposes.

After that announcement, President Angelina Han ’22 opened up a discussion about the AAS’s community engagement.

Many senators, including Gent Malushaga ’25 and Gillian Quinto ’23, thought it was unfortunate that students don’t know the full extent of what the AAS accomplishes. Malushaga specifically referenced the email students had received earlier in the day giving them access to Grammarly Premium, an AAS project spearheaded

by Shreya Mathew ’25. Senators had a multitude of suggestions for community engagement, including AAS office hours, tabling in Val, and better engagement with first years during orientation.

Eight senators signed up to work further on community engagement.

Following this discussion, Sirus Wheaton ’23 shared his proposal to put zero-waste detergent sheets in all first-year laundry rooms. According to Wheaton, the proposal aims to reduce hy-

giene insecurity on campus and alleviate Amherst’s carbon footprint. It would cost $24,000 to buy a year’s supply of detergent sheets and install seven detergent refill stations — six in the first-year laundry rooms and one in Keefe Campus Center. Wheaton spoke about wanting to create a culture of sustainability and hygiene security at Amherst. After a few logistical questions from senators, the motion to fund Wheaton’s proposal passed. The detergent station in Keefe will be installed later this week.

The meeting then transitioned to committee elections. Wheaton nominated Malushaga to the Appointments Board, and as the only nominee, Malushaga won the position. Lori Alarcon ’24 and Quinto were nominated for and won the two available seats on the Elections Committee. Min Ji Kim ’25, Hannah Kim ’25, and Mathew were elected to the Orientation and First-Year Life Committee.

Azzamok also began the election process for an available seat on the Committee on Education and Athletics, but halted the election upon realizing that Malushaga was already filling that position.

Han then began talking about a Five College student government meet-up, but the Zoom meeting ended in the middle of

her speaking and had to be restarted.

After the transportation committee gave an update, senators provided updates on their campus projects. Richards discussed the lack of fun parties on campus and proposed working with Student Activities to host more Powerhouse parties, but also acknowledged the challenges of hosting a party with the college. Mathew updated everyone on her successful Grammarly Premium initiative and was met with a round of applause. Chloe Metz ’23 and Quinto spoke about working with students Charlie Sutherby ’23E and Mason Quintero ’23 — who have been publishing an op-ed series in The Student on the college’s failure to connect students to impactful careers — to improve the Loeb Center’s public service, non-finance, career resources.

Malushaga and Richards advocated for an accessible database of public service internship opportunities.

The Senate then approved the minutes from their last meeting, as well as an email to the student body about the Grammarly Premium initiative. The email was sent out, and the meeting adjourned.

The next AAS meeting will take place on Monday, March 8.

Op pinion

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Support Ukrainian Students On Feb. 23, after weeks of intensifying rhetoric, Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated the largest military conflict on European soil since World War II by launching a large-scale invasion into Ukraine. In six days of fighting, Russia’s operation has already claimed over 400 civilian lives and ravaged numerous Ukrainian cities with airstrikes, artillery, and mechanized forces. Some 660,000 refugees have already fled the country, and international organizations estimate that as many as five million more may follow.

Putin, amplified by a vast infrastructure of state-backed media, repeatedly claims that the unilateral invasion is justified. He asserts that Russia must address existential threats posed by its neighbor, insisting he deployed his forces for a mission of “demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.” As President Biddy Martin said in a Feb. 8 email to the college community, these allegations are “an offense against reason and truth.”

As the college’s administration has noted, the Amherst community has an obligation to support Ukrainian and Russian students on our campus, who are deeply and personally affected by the ongoing war. Ukrainian students are under an enormous strain right now as they worry about the safety of their friends and families back home, while Russian students have received hate for what is being done in their country’s name. It is a given that they must be supported now more than ever before in regards to academic and extracurricular responsibilities.

The Student interviewed Ukrainian students to better understand and publicize their experiences of being away from their country during this conflict. During the interviews, many Ukrainian students expressed a similar sentiment: though they feel supported on an individual level by the students, staff, faculty, and administration, they do not feel the same sentiment of support from the community towards their country. As a result, Ukrainian students reported feeling as though they have been left alone with the burden of mobilizing support for Ukraine. While many of us cannot share the experience of fearing for the safety of our families and the very existence of our country right now, we can help shoulder the burden faced by Ukrainian students. We must acknowledge that the way to support Ukrainian students right now is to support Ukraine.

Our college community should take steps to

support Ukraine not just for the sake of Ukrainian students, but for the sake of our collective ideals. The Russo-Ukrainian war has significant geopolitical consequences for the rest of the world.

The Ukrainian people face the existential threat of their state’s destruction and an era of immense human suffering in Europe. Right now, civilians are dying in an unprovoked war as an autocrat tries to expand his empire and undermine the sovereignty of a democratic state.

Our community can take concrete action to support Ukraine in several ways. As useful as they are, the college can do more than provide educational resources for students on campus and extend support for Ukrainian students. It can reach out to alumni networks and urge those involved in politics and legislation to engage in the current conflict by crafting policy and legislation in support of Ukraine and its citizens.

It can donate at a scale and level of effectiveness impossible for any individual to match, and publicize its cause to solicit donations from alumni. And it can advocate for students, faculty, and alumni, alike, to participate in social and humanitarian efforts.

There are also action items that we as students can take to support our Ukrainian students and Ukrainian democracy. As individuals we can continue to stay up to date on the news through reliable, unbiased sources. We can donate to organizations doing work on the ground in Ukraine, whether military, humanitarian, or material (through things like care packages sent to refugees). We can put pressure on our elected officials to support Ukraine, and let them know that Ukraine matters to us and should matter to them.

We could also collectively organize protests showing support for Ukraine, as many cities and universities have around the world, or host a group-fundraising event. There are a multitude of options — we just have to actually do them rather than resign ourselves to sharing a donation link on our Instagram stories and thinking that we’ve done our part.

The Amherst community has a duty to support Ukraine. It’s time to actually take action.

Unsigned editorials represent the views of the majority of the Editorial Board — (assenting: 19; dissenting: 0; abstaining: 0).

THE AMHERST

STUDENT E X E C U T I V E B OA R D Editors-in-Chief Yee-Lynn Lee Ethan Samuels Managing Editors Theo Hamilton Liam Archacki Editors-at-Large Scott Brasesco Sophie Wolmer Managing News Caelen McQuilkin Tana DeLalio Assistant News Eleanor Walsh Sonia Chajet Wides Managing Opinion Kei Lim Dustin Copeland Assistant Opinion Tapti Sen

Managing Arts & Living Brooke Hoffman Alexander Brandfonbrener Aniah Washington Assistant Arts & Living Yasmin Hamilton Brianne LaBare Madeline Lawson Managing Sports Liza Katz Alex Noga Leo Kamin Nick Edwards-Levin Managing Podcast Sam Spratford Maggie McNamara Managing Photo Emma Spencer Managing Design Brianne LaBare

S TA F F Publisher Robert Bischof Digital Director Sawyer Pollard Social Media Manager Emi Eliason

Letters Policy

The opinion pages of The Amherst Student are intended as an open forum for the Amherst community.

The Student will print letters if they are submitted to The Student offices in the Campus Center or to the paper’s email account (astudent@amherst.edu) by noon on Sunday, after which they will not be accepted.

The editors reserve the right to edit any letters or to withhold any letter because of considerations of space or content.

Letters must bear the names of all contributors and a phone number or email address where the author or authors may be reached. Letters and columns may be edited for clarity and Student style.

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The Amherst Student is published weekly except during college vacations. The offices of The Amherst Student are located in the basement of Morrow Dormitory, Amherst College. All contents copyright © 2022 by The Amherst Student, Inc. All rights reserved. The Amherst Student logo is a trademark of The Amherst Student, Inc. Additionally, The Amherst Student does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or age. The views expressed in this publication do not reflect the views of The Amherst Student.

The Amherst Student • March 2, 2022

Opinion

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A Better Amherst: Adopting a ‘New Curriculum’ Tessa Levenstein ’23 and Mason Quintero ’23 Contributing Writers This op-ed is the third part of a three-week series entitled “A Better Amherst.” In this series, we examine how Amherst could better connect its students to impactful work and, in doing so, be better for both its students and the world.

“Amherst College prepares students to use ideas to make a difference in the world.” - Amherst College Profile As Amherst College entered its 119th year, then-president Stanley King told students something that sounds eerily familiar to our modern ears: in 1939, Amherst students were living through unprecedented times. World War II had just begun in Europe, and King declared, “What effect that war will have on America no man can tell. But that it will affect America profoundly we all know. It will affect this college. It will affect your lives and mine.”

In response to World War II, Amherst College changed. The Freshman Curriculum of 1942 read “in view of the national emergency, Amherst College is offering its students an accelerated program which, if they choose to follow it, will allow them to complete a normal college course in three years.” The college also developed programs, such as the Civilian Defense School, in order to equip its students for wartime.

Amherst responded to the needs of the historical moment by creating what President King dubbed the “New Curriculum.”

During my first year at Amherst, the UN published its 2018 report on climate change which reported that we have only twelve years to limit “devastating” global warming (that’s eight years now — if you are counting). The 2022 report, released this Monday, warned that we are on track to reach 1.5 degrees of warming in the next two decades. As a result, the report said, humanity will increasingly struggle to grow food; fires and floods will create mil-

lions of refugees, and hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people will face chronic water scarcity.

We have other worries on top of climate change. Humanity also faces Covid-19, the global democratic crisis, and, in just the last week, the geopolitical emergency in Ukraine. Indeed, President King’s language is hauntingly similar to the email we received from President Martin this week: “The implications and repercussions of this invasion will ultimately affect us all.” We face crises of historical proportions. In 1939, Amherst College adapted its education to fit the realities of an unprecedented historical moment. In 2022, Amherst must do the same.

Amherst needs to create more opportunities for students to connect learning with action through “engaged scholarship.” Engaged scholarship is a category of courses and research which: (1) addresses a pressing issue of public concern, (2) builds knowledge toward solving that issue, and, (3) engages with the communities, or organizations involved with the issue.

Swarthmore College provides stellar examples of engaged scholarship. Students in statistics classes work with community organizations to help them answer data-based research questions.

Black Studies and Environmental Studies students can intern with local community organizations in a course which “combines meaningful readings, regular reflection sessions, and in-depth conversations with [local] community leaders.” Students in economics classes design and implement behavioral economics experiments with real subjects in partnership with a research center in Nairobi, Kenya. These courses enable students to help solve world problems.

While Amherst offers community-based learning courses, these classes rarely allow for actual application. Even if these classes were equivalent in their impact, Swarthmore offers three times as many as Amherst (adjusted for size), making them far more avail-

able to students. Engaged scholarship is an important part of making a better Amherst, but we need more.

Many Amherst College students spent hundreds of hours volunteering in high school. But once we get to Amherst, our lives become overwhelmed by the classwork that we are taught to prioritize above all else, and we cease to be embedded in our local community. As a result, we stop volunteering. It is not just that Amherst doesn’t actively encourage volunteerism — it’s that Amherst’s demanding curriculum means students are actively discouraged from community service.

To address this problem, Amherst should expand what it counts as course credit to include certain internships and volunteering opportunities. Students at Colby, Hamilton, and Trinity, are able to get course credit for internships. We believe that education for education’s sake is an important part of creating change in the world, and is essential to leading rich and meaningful lives. However, if education is not paired with action, nothing can change, and the world needs our help now. It cannot wait for us to graduate.

Our education is supposed to

empower us to create change in the world. But we’ve found that learning about all the ways in which the world is crumbling without having the time or support to actually contribute towards helping fix things, is, in fact, disempowering.

Amherst students are experiencing a frightening mental health crisis. And since the causes of this crisis are complex, its solutions must be expansive and diverse. If Amherst were to adopt this “New Curriculum,” one result would be a positive effect on students’ mental health.

These changes and the ones proposed in our last article serve the same goal: making Amherst better for its students and better for the world. This testimonial demonstrates the connections between impactful courses and impactful careers. Raj Borsellino ’08 is a Senior Program Officer at Robin Hood, an organization which funds charities that effectively and sustainably raise people out of poverty in New York. Raj explained, “I discovered the Reading, Writing, Teaching course my sophomore year. The opportunity to work closely with students at Holyoke High School, many of whom were incredibly smart and motivated but faced a range of barriers to success, helped me find a purpose again. The experi-

ence inspired me to spend my first year out of college as a high school teacher, and put me on track towards a career in public service.”

Imagine if Amherst were to make all of the changes proposed in this op-ed series. Imagine an Amherst that is among the country’s most reliable producers of impactful changemakers at the community, national, and global level. Imagine an Amherst with a reputation for producing record numbers of prestigious fellowship winners; for the ubiquity of its alumni at the highest echelons of impact organizations. Imagine an Amherst whose prolific engaged scholarship makes it a hub of social impact, and where taking action on pressing issues is a part of every student’s academic experience. Imagine an Amherst known for being the place where students go to lead the most impactful and meaningful lives.

This Amherst would be a better Amherst. And we hope you see this op-ed series as an invitation to turn that aspiration into a reality — for students, faculty, and administrators alike. If you have additional ideas for how Amherst can be better for the world, we invite you to join the conversation: send us an email, and let’s begin the work to make this college a better one.

Graph courtesy of Charlie Sutherby '23E and Mason Quintero '23 Photo courtesy of Amherst College

Students gather to celebrate on the Main Quad just as they might today under the shadow of Stearns Chapel.

The Amherst Student • March 2, 2022

Opinion

13

Seeing Double: Reflections on Amherst Activism Cole Graber-Mitchell ’22 and Thomas Brodey ’22 Columnists This piece began as a typical Seeing Double head-to-head about whether or not all students had an obligation to participate in activism. After finishing our respective takes, we realized that the two essays were more dueling reflections upon what it means to be an activist than claims in a rigid debate. Instead of a headto-head, we offer this piece as a conversation on the role activism plays in our lives at Amherst.

Thomas’ Take My co-columnist and I agree on a lot of things. We both believe that people have a responsibility to better their community. We both believe that activism is a great way to achieve that end. However, my co-columnist believes that every student is obligated to participate in activism. My disagreement is twofold. First, I believe that there are legitimate reasons for a student to refrain from activism. Second, I believe that activism is only one of many ways a student can improve their community. Given these two points, it would be wrong to consider activism an obligation. In fact, calling activism an obligation, as my co-columnist does, diminishes its value and takes away the agency of activists. It is thus with the greatest admiration for the work that I say activism is a choice, not an obligation.

Let’s be clear what I mean when I say activism. Activism is much more substantive than holding your friends accountable, liking messages on social media, or even writing articles in the Amherst Student.

According to Merriam-Webster, it means taking “direct vigorous action” fighting for social or political change. That usually means either picketing or striking, or the emotionally intense work of sharing your own experience on a platform like @amherstshareyourstory.

Most people, however, rarely participate in direct activism. One of the most recent and successful Amherst movements, #ReclaimAmherst, did not even reach the

Photo courtesy of Amherst College

Over 300 students gather on the Valentine Quad for a peaceful demonstration in 2017, following racist acts.

Many of the students wear black as they stand in a circle to signify a community unified against hate. notice of the vast majority of Amherst students.

The problem is that this kind of work comes at a huge cost. A recent study showed that intense student activism — particularly among students in marginalized communities — usually leads to reduced academic performance, feelings of isolation, and physical and emotional exhaustion. This is the case even if large sections of the community support their cause. The contributors on @amherstshareyourstory make it clear in their testimonials just how painful and difficult it is for them to publicly discuss their experiences. Meaningful activism, as it turns out, is painful and difficult.

We should support those who sacrifice their personal well-being to participate in serious activism, but is it fair to expect every student to follow their example? In particular, what about people who already have fragile mental health, or who are struggling in school? What about those who have reason to

believe that speaking up would put them in danger? These people are doing nothing wrong if they avoid activism in certain times and places. Instead, they can do equally important, but less personally harmful things, like giving their activist friends emotional support.

Activism is an especially personal decision at a place like Amherst. Unlike the wider world, Amherst exists to fill a designated role. People come to Amherst to study and learn. Many students and their families sacrifice immense amounts of time, money, and energy in order to get an Amherst education. For many students, that education is crucial to support themselves and their loved ones, or to improve the world outside of college. I have lots of friends who hope to use their Amherst education to revitalize their gentrified hometown, treat life-theatening illnesses, or teach in struggling schools. If we believe that people have a right to use activism to support causes they believe in, we should also acknowl-

edge that students have the right to do the same through learning.

Society depends upon activism, but activists also depend upon society. To achieve their aims, every activist relies upon a huge network of individuals who help their communities through non-activist means.

These are people who feed them, broadcast their stories on the news, heal their wounds, represent them in court, or any of the thousand other ways that people better the world. I believe that we all have an obligation to help our community, but I also believe that we have the right to choose our form of participation. Activism is one way, but it is not the only way.

Cole’s Comment To be a member of our campus community is to be responsible for how it treats people. We are implicated in the misdeeds of others by sharing space with them, by drinking with them on the weekends, and by responding to them respectfully in class. Moreover, we

are responsible when the structure of our community makes some people feel unwelcome or actively harms them.

Thankfully, that responsibility is accompanied by power. Some of this power is formal, exercised through the AAS in club budgets, college governance committees, and the like. And some of it involves pressuring the administration through open letters, like the laudable “A Better Amherst” series in this paper, protests, and pressure campaigns.

But the power that I find more compelling is our informal ability to change our community’s culture. Activism is not only attending committee meetings or picketing outside an administrative building; those acts would do nothing to solve some of our most egregious communal failures. The anonymous Instagram account @amherstshareyourstory has highlighted the pervasive and horrifying

Continued on page 14

The Amherst Student • March 2, 2022

Opinion

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The Responsibilities We Have Toward Our Community Continued from page 13 problem of rape and sexual abuse at Amherst College. It is entirely within students’ informal activist power to end rape culture at Amherst.

Our informal power flows from our everyday interactions. Seemingly little acts, like taking survivors seriously and calling out harmful jokes, compound on each other and define the campus climate. By changing what we condone and what we condemn, we can make this campus a safe and respectful place. By refusing to see a problem, continuing to joke about sexual assault, and covering for perpetrators, we do just the opposite.

My co-columnist points out how “intense activism” is exhausting, and he’s right. A basic ground rule of activism is that you can’t be effective without being healthy. My co-columnist presents a false dichotomy between working oneself to death and doing nothing, but there’s a healthy middle ground.

And as I’ve pointed out, the most important activism consists of little acts, repeated again and again, rather than “direct vigorous action.”

Don’t get me wrong — protests and picketing are extremely important, and we should join them when we can. But using our social power in everyday interactions is often far more impactful.

It isn’t okay for some people, like

the anonymous survivors behind @amherstshareyourstory, to do all the heavy lifting. Maybe it wouldn’t be so exhausting to participate in activism if everyone shouldered the load.

Doing nothing is acquiescing to a status quo that makes this campus unlivable for some people. The very fact that we have informal power — which flows from interactions we can’t avoid — obligates us to use it. When we shirk our obligation to make our community better, we essentially pretend that there are no problems that we have the power to solve.

This isn’t only true for sexual assault. Recurring racist incidents are a product of our tolerance for racism, not a necessary result of college life. College policy plays a role, but so does our own reluctance to step up and make change.

My co-columnist might try to cast an “activism obligation” as some sort of fascist requirement to march and chant, but it’s really just an obligation to follow through on what it means to be a member of our campus community. He says that no Amherst student has an obligation to be anything but a student, but he ignores the fact that being a student — a member of this community — is a privilege that comes with responsibilities. Such is life as an Amherst student, and such is life as a human being.

Photo courtesy of Amherst College

Amherst students and faculty gather in Frost Library during the 2015 Amherst Uprising, demanding for inclusion and racial justice.

Photo courtesy of Amherst College

Amherst students call for environmental action at a climate strike in 2019.

Satire: Amherst Mantra Advocates for Canceling Students

Liam Archacki ’24 Managing Editor

The Amherst Mantra, a publication that aims to platform student opinions that would otherwise be relegated to 4chan, earned universal acclaim for its latest feature, “Would Amherst Be Better Off Without Students?” To better understand the publication and its revolutionary hot take, The Student spoke with those behind The Mantra, as well as administration members and students.

Mantra Editor-in-Chief Frida M. Ovspietch ’22 described the origins of the publication. “It all started in second grade. My homeroom teacher said, and I quote, ‘there’s no such

thing as a stupid question.’ That’s really the mantra behind The Mantra. And, well, we’ve just taken that essential principle and run with it,” Ovspietch said.

Upon the conclusion of the interview, Ovspietch exited the room, only to return several seconds later wearing a polka-dotted ski mask and a pair of Raybans, reintroducing herself as Anonymous, the prolific writer responsible for the ground-breaking latest article. She generously offered insight into its conception and reception.

In a mock-deep Batmanesque voice, Ovspietch, as Anonymous, said, “We just thought about who is ultimately responsible for all prob-

lems on campus. The answer: students. With no students, there’s no athlete-NARP divide, no smashed dorm exit signs, no Potato slander.

Truly — no students, no problem.”

Despite the remarkably positive reception of the article, Anonymous deemed it a failure. “At the Mantra, we want to stir up controversy, keep things divisive and exciting. So to receive such overwhelmingly positive feedback — it’s stomach-churning,” she said.

Students were entirely in support of the idea of removing students from the college. Cornered outside of Hitchcock Dormitory late last Sunday, Strapper “Man-Mountain” Johnson ’23, said, “No more students?

That’s dope, bro! I was trying to find a way out of GEOL-104 anyway.”

Philosophy major Beignet Desmartes ’24 expressed excitement at the prospect of student-free learning. “The people in my philosophy classes are insufferable. They’re perpetually utilizing abstruse terminology, completely obfuscating my hermeneutic understanding,” Desmartes said.

President Biddy Martin praised The Mantra’s innovation, saying, “Based on the quality of this article, Amherst clearly produces top-notch students. But if we produced no students at all, we would have some of the best Covid-19 statistics in the country.”

In a pilot program of the “no students” policy, the administration had Theodore J. Kaczynski Professor of Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought Smelda Rozes deliver a lecture to a classroom of empty chairs.

Reportedly, there was “no discernible effect” on classroom engagement or teaching quality. The administration deemed it a “promising result” and a “strong first step” in liberating Amherst from the negative influence of students.

Reeling from the unanimously positive reaction to their article, The Mantra told The Student that the headline for their upcoming issue will be “Why Amherst Absolutely and Unequivocally Needs Students.”

Amusements

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The Amherst Student Crossword | March 2, 2022 ACROSS 1 Hacienda rooms 6 Icy precipitation 11 These began on Feb. 7 14 Weapons often paired with shields 15 Norse Armageddon, as seen in a Thor movie title 16 Greek goddess of witchcraft 17 Essential Memorial Hill activity 18 Wapiti 19 Between top and bottom, slangily 20 North Carolina's capital 24 Letter before omega 25 Severe weather event already seen several times in 2022 29 Isaac ____ Three Laws of Robotics 31 Feb. to May at Amherst, e.g.

32 The other Amherst Student crossword constructor 33 "Como ____ usted?"

37 Dundee denial 40 Anthem of this constructor's home country, also heard frequently in NHL games 43 Panels for market research or social science 47 Atomize 50 Sense of emotional resolution 51 Bean found in some falafel 52 Kimono accessory 53 Held accountable in the court of public opinion, or what might happen to flights after a long delay 57 The Amherst Town Common is not part of this 60 Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, e.g.

61 Prince ____ II of Monaco, '81 62 Feb. 25, 2022, e.g., or an event that might see 6-Across, 11-Across with 53-Across, 17-Across, 25-Across, and 57-Across with 50-Across 63 Backup strategy 64 Ecstasy

DOWN 1 Lady Justice's signature symbol 2 Oran's land 3 Touches down 4 "Take ____ song and make it better" (Beatles lyric) 5 Class of antidepressants: Abbr.

6 Balloons 7 Heart-shaped photo holder 8 Epoch, or a pitcher's stat 9 This begins on March 13 10 Mao ____-tung 12 Long, long time 13 DreamWorks ____, originally 14 Clip wool from 15 Invitation letters 20 Network (Fr.), as with lace 21 What iPhones run on 22 College sr.'s test 23 "Let me think..."

25 Nintendo Switch's grandparent 26 "____ Believer" 27 "That's enough!"

28 The small screen, for short 30 Sizes before and after M 34 Nicola Sturgeon's party, for short 35 Profs' helpers 36 "Per aspera ____ astra" 37 49ers' div.

38 Yahoo! rival 39 Author Umberto 41 Biz abbr.

42 Flowering shrubs 44 Ashe Stadium event 45 Commuter's home 46 Mill fodder 48 Actor James, cartoonist Tex, and Grey's Anatomy character Jackson, for three 49 Hippies' homes 51 Prada competitor 53 Includes in an email 54 Prince Valiant's son 55 Gaming novice, slangily 56 Monk's hood 57 Baseball hat 58 The works 59 Wharton deg.

Ryan Yu ’22 Editor-in-Chief Emeritus

Solutions: Feb. 23

The Amherst Student • March 2, 2022

Amusements

16

A Clarification

by Emi Eliason ’23

Red Herring: Windy Day

by Isaac Streiff ’24

g Arts&Living

The Implications of NYFW’s Balaclava Trend Noor Rahman ’25 Staff Writer

From New York Fashion Week and the Met Gala to Urban Outfitters and TikTok, the trend that has swept Winter 2022 is the balaclava. Often made out of wool, cashmere, or even repurposed blankets, a balaclava is a high-fashion version of a ski mask. Some variations only cover the head and neck, while others cover the entire face. The balaclava was front and center at New York Fashion Week earlier this month, appearing on both the runway and the streets as celebrities donned these warm, cozy accessories to brave the New York winter.

However, the balaclava, as well as more general face and head coverings, are not unique to this season. Maison Margiela has featured face coverings in its shows since the 1980s, Gucci made them a hallmark of its Autumn/Winter 2018 show, and Calvin Klein adopted the trend at the beginning of the pandemic.

The true origin of the balaclava goes back to the mid-19th century, during the Crimean War, when European soldiers wore them to endure the Ukrainian winter; the balaclava was named after a battle site in Ukraine called Balaclava.

During the pandemic era when comfort, practicality, and safety became the new stilettos, it makes sense that their traditional use has been repurposed for the runways.

Of course, the trend echoes another category of clothing worn by hundreds of millions of Muslim women globally: the hijab and the niqab. With global Islamophobia on the rise at both the institutional and interpersonal levels, the fashion industry’s sudden embrace of head and face coverings without acknowledging the oppression

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The balaclava, a garment that echoes Muslim head coverings, has swept the fashion world. Noor Rahman '25 breaks down the trend's insensitivity and the discrimination Muslim women face for wearing hijab and niqab.

Muslim women face for wearing extremely similar clothing is tone-deaf and hypocritical.

Muslim women have faced discrimination for wearing hijab and niqab for a long time, but the global trend toward nationalism has exacerbated the issue. France has banned girls under the age of 18 from wearing hijab, prohibited parents wearing hijab from accompanying their children on school trips, and outlawed the “burkini,” a covered bathing suit made for Muslim women. For many, the prohibition of hijab brings to mind France’s colonization of majority-Muslim African countries. During the Algerian War of Independence in the late 1950s, for example, the French Army organized public ceremonies in which Algerian women were forced to remove

their head coverings and burn them, which were followed by speeches promoting the liberation of Muslim women.

Discrimination toward Muslim women wearing hijab is not limited to France, however. Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi ran on a campaign that was fundamentally based on nationalism and hatred towards Muslims, who make up 15 percent of the Indian population. Earlier this month, Indian courts banned hijab in school, sparking national protests. In the United States as well, there have been various incidents of Muslim women being discriminated against for wearing hijab.

For example, in October, in Maplewood, New Jersey, a sevenyear-old girl’s hijab was forcibly removed by her teacher.

The ease with which non-Muslim women in the fashion industry can sport the balaclava despite the danger Muslim women face daily for wearing functionally the same garment is striking, and the lack of acknowledgement of this double standard from anyone within the fashion industry is appalling.

For a long time, the luxury fashion industry has equated ultimate female liberation with showing skin. The corresponding belief that choosing to cover up is old-fashioned and indicative of a lack of freedom has infiltrated celebrity culture and mainstream fashion choices.

Besides being indicative of the rampant hypersexualization of women in Western culture, this foundational axiom has made it difficult for many groups of

people — specifically Muslim women — to enter the industry.

Consequently, there are very few voices within the industry able to point out the appropriation of Muslim culture that is perpetuated by the trend of the balaclava.

At best, the new trend is a hypocritical indifference to discrimination. At worst, it is a mocking middle finger to the millions of women who have chosen, in the face of physical danger and government-sanctioned oppression, to define female liberation for themselves by staying true to their faith. Either way, the message from the fashion industry is clear: covering your body is oppressive if Muslim women do it, but practical, comfortable, and trendy if anyone else does it.

The Amherst Student • March 2, 2022

Arts & Living

18

The ‘Desencanto’ of “Encanto”: Repression in the Latinx Family Piero Campos ’25 Contributing Writer Earning a whopping $246.5 million in the box office worldwide since its November release, “Encanto” has become a Disney classic for families across the globe.

However, within the funny and light-hearted scenes of the musical film, there lies a deep message for the Latinx community across the world.

“Encanto” tells the story of a teenage girl named Mirabel Madrigal (Stephanie Beatriz). Residing in a small town in Colombia, each member of her family bears unique magical powers. Unlike their other family members, Mirabel and her grandmother, Alma Madrigal (María Cecilia Botero) or “Abuela,” do not possess any special abilities.

Yet despite not having any explicit magical powers, Abuela is the matriarch of the Madrigal family, the widow of Pedro Madrigal (who was murdered by implied imperialist soldiers or Spanish conquistadors). After the death of Pedro, Abuela escapes into the mountains with her three children and finds an “Encanto,” a cluster of nonphysical sparks of magic that imbue a candle she carries with power. The candle blesses Abuela’s descendants with magical powers that they ultimately use to help protect a town near the Madrigal family’s magical “Casita.”

As the years go by, the Madrigal family continues to grow when Abuela’s daughters, Julieta (Angie Cepeda) and Pepa (Carolina Gaítan), marry and give birth to children. However, Abuela’s son Bruno (John Leguizamo), who is gifted with precognition, disappears after his sister Pepa’s wedding day. Years later, Mirabel discovers cracks in her house and sees the magic candle flicker uncontrollably. Mirabel realizes that the cracks are omens of the downfall of the Madrigal family’s magic, which Bruno had foreseen long ago.

Mirabel decides to find the truth about Bruno, who disappeared after predicting the family’s downfall. He felt ashamed and decided to leave for the sake of the family’s survival. Thus, Mira-

bel embarks on a journey to save her family and the entire village from collapse. Mirabel, however, is shunned and blamed for the family’s misfortunes, resulting in a confrontation with Abuela that leads to the collapse of the “Casita.”

Although “Encanto” shows the beauty and loving emotions that come with having a big family, the film does not fail to show the audience the potential for toxic repression that could arise from Latinx families.

Latinx culture is known for putting a strong emphasis on family as a collective group that protects its members from the hardships of life. While it sounds loving and caring on the surface, family in Latinx culture is much more complex. Like Mirabel’s family, Latinx families usually consist of abuelos, abuelas, tios, tias, primos, primas, and of course, your hermanos and hermanas. And if you’re lucky, you have your “primos” and “primas” from your “tios” and “tias” who are nowhere near your bloodline but are still part of the family; it’s just natural to have thousands of “cousins” from close family friends in Latinx culture.

Like in Mirabel’s family, all

of the sisters, brothers, cousins, aunts, and uncles in many traditionally organized Latinx families have roles that must be fulfilled in order to maintain family structure and balance in the household. A majority of the time, it is the eldest members of the family, the abuelos or abuelas, who are the heads of the household. If any family member disrespects or fails to recognize the family structure, it can lead to conflict or dissatisfaction.

In “Encanto,” Mirabel and Bruno are shunned because they question the family and fail to help their community. Hit songs like “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” clearly show how Bruno’s precognition conflicted with the family’s views, even though he spoke the truth and warned them of their downfall. He feels that the “Encanto” unfairly gives preference to the powerful members of the family.

Similarly, Mirabel is brushed aside

by Abuela and her sister Isabela (Diane Guerrero) for “hurting the magic.” It is no surprise that both of them eventually leave the family at some point in the movie.

At the same time, fulfilling family roles keeps the household together, often at the personal ex-

pense of the family members. Luisa (Jessica Darrow), another one of Mirabel’s sisters, has the role of being the “rock” of the family because of her gift of super strength.

Without her, the entire family and town would collapse since she’s seen as the most reliable one in the family. However, Luisa carries the community’s burdens to the point of feeling vulnerable and drained.

She mentions in her song “Surface Pressure”: “I’m pretty sure I’m worthless if I can’t be of service …

Who am I if I can’t carry it all?” She explicitly tells Mirabel that she’s scared of being weak and that her greatest fear is letting her family down.

Isabela, who is the “golden child” of the family because of her beauty and ability to turn surfaces into flowers, is also expected to fulfill a specific role even though she is favored by Abuela. The family calls on her to show “perfection,” and she is forced to marry Mariano, a local town member. Yet again, the movie presents a song that expresses doubts to the audience, called “What Else Can I Do?” Isabel does not want to be perfect all the time, but she feels like she must.

It’s clear that characters such

as Luisa and Isabela depict what can result from a toxic practice of “familismo.” I define familismo to be the importance of strong family loyalty, bonding with and contributing to the wellbeing of the nuclear family, extended family, and kinship network in Latinx culture.

Characters like Luisa struggle to come to terms with the pressure of being the “rock.” She can’t cry or talk about her emotions, which many Latinx families see as unnecessary when dealing with the hardships of life. Such a value is called “marianismo,” which gives women the role of showing inner strength while sacrificing their needs for others.

Isabela’s character dynamic is also a product of machismo, which sets gender roles on women that expect them to be perfect in beauty.

Isabela is forced to marry Mariano despite not loving him, resulting in her pent-up emotional struggle.

The messages for the Latinx community in “Encanto” seek to bring light to the toxic practices of our culture. Even with the beauty of having a strong family community, deep issues still lie in many Latinx family dynamics that must be addressed.

Photo courtesy of Wired.it

Disney's new animated movie "Encanto" has received widespread acclaim. But for many viewers, it resonates on a personal level. Piero Campos '25 discusses Latinx culture and family dynamics within the plot.

The Amherst Student • March 2, 2022

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film society X THE STUDENT

Brought to you by Amherst College Film Society and The Student’s Arts & Living section. Written by Treasurer Aiden Orr ’24 and Screening Coordinator Diego Duckenfield-Lopez ’24.

Photo courtesy of alaluna.wordpress.com

Amherst College Film Society explore the ways Studio Ghibli's "Whisper of the Heart" validates anxieties about love, dreams, and the future in adolescents and adults alike.

This past Valentine’s Day, the Amherst College Film Society had a screening for Yoshifumi Kondō’s “Whisper of the Heart” (1995).

This unique love story by Studio Ghibli follows our young protagonist Shizuku (Brittany Snow) as she stumbles through the challenges of adolescence in the outskirts of Tokyo. Instead of trivializing teenage struggles, Kondō validates the existential anxiety which accompanies the transition into adulthood.

From awe-inspiring cityscapes to the fantastical floating islands of Shizuku’s dream world, Ghibli’s hand-drawn animation style transforms every frame into a work of art. The heavy green tint and abundance of trees, bushes,

and grass that occupy each frame breathe life into the cityscapes Shizuku inhabits. The ridiculous attention to detail that accompanies her travel pushes viewers to re-examine the most unremarkable aspect of their day — commuting.

In fact, one of the film’s longest and most important sequences springs from a simple errand. On her way to deliver her dad’s lunch, Shizuku runs into a cat riding the subway and begins to talk to the cat. When she discovers that the cat is getting off at her stop, Shizuku decides to follow the cat through unfamiliar and quiet neighborhoods. The cat leads her to an antique shop where she encounters the baron, a cat statuette

that inspires her writing later in the film. Shizuku’s physical act of meandering off her intended path is what catalyzes her journey to pursue her dream.

At this same antique shop, Shizuku befriends Seiji (David Gallagher), a boy her age who dreams of handcrafting violins in Italy. Shizuku and Seiji quickly fall in love, and Seiji’s conviction to study in Italy causes Shizuku to reflect on her own goals. Upon doing so, she begins to fear that she does not have a clear purpose like Seiji. As a result, Shizuku experiences feelings of inadequacy, adopting a mindset that is common among many people her age: believing they’re not good enough.

While it would be easy to tell

a stereotypical success story that alleviates this feeling, Kondō provides us with a different resolution. Rather than associating self-worth with material success, Kondō emphasizes the importance of one’s willingness to try, showing that worthiness is much more than the success or failure of one’s actions. Although Shizuku initially perceives Seiji as having it all figured out, she eventually recognizes that this is not the case.

During a conversation with her friend Yuuko (Ashley Tisdale), Shizuku recalls that Seiji had said, “There’s lots as good as me.”

In this moment Shizuku realizes that Seiji, like her, doesn’t have it all figured out. What makes him different, however, is his drive to pursue his dream, regardless of potential failure. Seiji’s resolve inspires Shizuku, who concludes, “He’s going to find out if he has talent. Well, so will I!” Shizuku and Seiji’s relationship reminds audiences that happiness doesn’t have to come from success and finality, but in pursuing the things you love and embracing the uncertainty and failure that accompanies doing so.

Just like when Shizuku decides to follow the cat, she decides to explore the unknown territory of

writing and relishes in the process as opposed to the final goal. She learns that success isn’t in achievement, but in self-fulfillment. You can’t be successful unless you define what success means to you.

And in order to do this, you have to explore unknown territory. No one can teach it to you, and you won’t get it from your parents or from school. You have to follow the cat. You’re not thinking about where the cat came from or where it will go; the cat represents a powerful instinct, compelling you to strive for your goals.

This film is so special because it inspires us to dream, even in the face of uncertainty and the obstacles of daily life. Shizuku has validated our own desires to pursue meaningful creative endeavors in the face of building pressures to spend our time more “productively.” From film production to clothing design, it’s easy to dismiss our amateur endeavors as a waste of time. There’s no guarantee we’ll ever reach the levels of the greats that we aspire to, but as long as we trust the process and do what we love, it won’t matter. “Whisper of the Heart” reminds us that success is not marked by the results of our effort but by our willingness to make the effort in the first place.

The Amherst Student • March 2, 2022

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“The Tragedy of Macbeth”: Finally, a Good Remake Davis Rennella ’24 Staff Writer “Out, out brief candle ... Life is but a walking shadow.”

Macbeth’s (Denzel Washington) quiet agony in these lines, after learning of his wife’s untimely suicide, speaks to the insecurity we all feel over our lives’ work — the question of whether, if we step back, anything we did was really meaningful. In A24’s movie adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy, this line takes on a literal, as well as existential meaning, as we are thrust into a dark and gloomy 11th century Scotland while Macbeth’s life collapses around him.

Shot in black and white, and in a cinematic world that is devoid of detail or accents of any kind, every word seems to be spoken into a void. Even while Lady Macbeth (Frances McDormand) tells her husband her plan to kill Duncan (Brendan Gleeson), the king of Scotland, Macbeth’s face is veiled in shadow.

We cannot truly tell how much he heard of her speaking, and his sudden reversal to being content with murder comes as something of a mystery. With the production’s move to obscure all expression, we become just as uncertain as to what Macbeth’s motivations are as he is.

The Scottish play is about ambition, and how a prophecy given by three mysterious witches that Macbeth shall be king of Scotland moves him to murder, treason, and self-destruction. Despite the intense psychological breakdowns Macbeth and his wife suffer while reflecting on the guilt of their deeds, the film focuses on the inanimate to bring us into this space of insanity. The set, for instance, is much like a diorama — Macbeth’s castle almost looks like it was made of wooden building blocks — and the fact that real human beings are there at all becomes almost uncanny. We hardly ever see the sky, and when it does appear, it is only as a suffocating and totally out of focus aura in the background. We get a

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Davis Rennella '24 reviews A24's adaptation, "The Tragedy of Macbeth," directed by Joel Coen. The film's unconventional set design and focus on the inanimate make it a unique take on Shakespeare's classic play. sense of being trapped in a world that is entirely made of artificial substances — even the scenes in Birnam Wood have the trees lined up as if to form a long corridor where there is only one path to follow. The characters’ fates, and the roles they play, seem like affairs they have no choice in. As a result, their interactions often take on a more restrained tone, as if they are shutting down psychologically in the face of living their lives perpetually on a stage, at the mercy of whoever is directing the show.

In this world where coldness is the norm, moments of strong emotion come with a special impact. And although “Macbeth” is Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedy, only some of the violence is brought out in its true, horrific nature. When the traitorous Thane of Cawdor is set for execution at the beginning of the play,

we get a shot of him kneeling before the Thane of Ross (Alex Hassell) with sword in hand, but we can only infer his demise after Macbeth draws a tent’s curtains to talk with his friend Banquo. And Macbeth’s stabbing of King Duncan is nearly silent, with Macbeth clamping down the king’s mouth when he draws the knife. Watching the plot take shape is like walking through a dark forest with a beast dwelling within. We know that we’re being followed, but only hear a distant snapping of a twig or rustling of the leaves as the action slowly crescendos towards outright violence. Malcolm’s (Harry Melling) throaty cry of “Horror!” upon discovering the slayed king is like the first look into the dreadful monster’s eyes — the moment when cruelty breaks out of its sterile confinement and is reflected in Malcolm’s disbelief as he races down

the castle stairs, saying: “Tongue nor heart cannot conceive nor name thee!”

This particular line, among others, is delivered with a certain haste and economy that seems to defy Shakespeare’s verse. But this speech pattern doesn’t come up uniformly across the board.

Macbeth’s way of speaking is by far the least Shakespearean, and he sometimes seems to be trying to simply evict thoughts from his head as quickly as possible, ashamed of their content. People such as Duncan and Lady Macbeth, who are more firm of purpose, take on a more varied and emphatic way of speaking. And the witches, who are given an at once mesmerizing and disturbing performance, slow down to a hypnotic chant. Being able to see into the future, they speak with complete confidence, and their words inherit a musical quali-

ty that can only be maintained by someone with power such as theirs. It’s small but significant choices like these which make this production not just good, but great.

This production of “Macbeth,” save the script, certainly breaks a lot of expectations for Shakespeare. But from the minimalist, stage-like set to the understated dialogue, everything makes sense in this new framework of a small and claustrophobic Scotland that the producers conjure up for us.

And when Macbeth finally has to fight to defend his ill-won throne, the action is classic in its excitement and doesn’t disappoint. I finished watching this production feeling like I had seen something truly one-of-a-kind. Even if Shakespeare is not normally your speed, you are sure to be compelled by this fantastic production.

The Amherst Student • March 2, 2022

Arts & Living

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Photo courtesy of Lalineaonce.altervista.org

Poetic Perspectives In our first edition of "Poetic Perspectives," Mikayah Parsons '24 pens a coming-of-age tale of queerness, grief, and growth in her piece "Sour Grapes."

Glances exchanged at school behind separate hives, A pulsating heart through a back stabbed by knives.

You didn’t know each other at school.

Giggles concealed in church while the pastor loomed near, A pained conversation about publicity and fear.

A knock on the door and mother entered the room.

An issue of Women’s Health hurled at the broom.

Her hand rests on the handle, the other on a white basket.

She bends over and picks the magazine up.

“I’m grabbing your laundry.” She collects your stuff.

Salted watermelon danced across desperate tongues, Above mud-caked Chucks and panting lungs.

Plastic chairs painted patterns across the backs of too-thick thighs.

Lingering sensation of limbs too close, As toes curled in the sand, eyes observed the coast.

Jerseys exchanged as girls in the locker room talk.

You’re on separate teams, and the loser’s team walks.

She raises her eyebrows and wishes you luck on the game.

Your eyes glance over a rib cage you once knew, And you stare a moment too long as her eyes condemn you.

Fingers fit around bottlenecks, naturally so, And beer caps littered the beach, unwilling to go.

Lips tasted like salt water– A tear? A droplet of rain?

The memories of that summer blur in your brain.

Part of you wishes you didn’t hate yourself so much, The way your body still sizzles at the slightest touch.

You spike the ball angrily and hear her skull crack.

It’s the sound of her ass hitting the floor.

She points a finger at your chest and calls you a whore.

The soft slide of ice cream melting from the cone.

Fears shared and tears shed over dying alone.

The memories of panicked screams echoing off the walls.

Nights spent stretched out on the bed or makeshift fort, Star-speckled sky and drunk confessions of wanting more.

The anger you should feel is overshadowed by sorrow.

The principal tells you you’re expelled from school tomorrow.

You try to remember where it all went wrong.

Principal Brown is lecturing you about anger in sports.

Your mother slaps your hand at your undignified snort.

A glazed-over gaze on a set of tanned legs, Muscles flexed by bespectacled boys who handled the kegs.

These boys carried with them confessions of a crush.

Clothes peeled off, abandoned by the lukewarm lake, Underwater tangle of legs like fate.

The boy from the beach takes you for milkshakes that night.

He tells your mother he’s your tutor, and she squeals in delight.

Somewhere in the evening, he gets a little too eager.

He puts his hands in your curls and studies them a beat too long.

He tells you his parents are racist, and the moment is gone.

The friction of mouths teasing out moans, Parent-authorized curfews resulting in groans.

The evolution of a kiss– Once a feather-light touch, curious and young, Now a dash of desire danced out by the tongue.

At graduation years later, she is the girl most known.

You study her from afar alongside pictures in your phone.

She and her boyfriend speak in hushed tones.

The camera around your neck is where you feel you belong.

It has a strap, so it doesn’t have to be strong.

Palms pushed against chest and weight shifted with vibe, The squeak of the bed and lovers trying to survive.

Morning spent with blankets in a heap on the floor.

Hands held together or brushing at sides, The close of summer and the lowering of tides.

She’s going miles away to a school out of state.

She’s leaving you in the closet to lie in wait.

You blame her for your chest– For all this pain.

You place the camera around your neck and take pictures in vain.

The Amherst Student • March 2, 2022

Arts & Living

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“Drive My Car”: Meaning and Mourning in Motion Joe Sweeney ’25 Staff Writer To get his production of Russian playwright Anton Chekhov’s masterpiece “Uncle Vanya” off the ground, theater director Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima), the protagonist of “Drive My Car,” makes his actors spend many days in table reads. At this point, nothing in the production is physical.

Kafuku urges them to cast their eyes down at the page, reduce their voices to slow monotones, unearth the text’s vital nuances — and then grind them to dust.

As I’m watching, what I feel is what I imagine anyone else might feel in the face of something so tedious: nothing at all, outside of a general state of responsiveness — responding to line after line, word after word. I’m waiting for something to say: start moving. And yet that expectation for motion, central to any story, is so at odds with the barren place I’m standing — I wonder to myself: How will I? From that space, an actor knocks the table to signal the end of their line. Hydraulically, a door opens in the corner of my mind.

A break from the monotony. An invitation: “Easy. Just hop in”. Alright. Let’s see if I can manage to pick up where they left off.

Before seeing “Drive My Car,” I had never heard of now four-time Oscar-nominated writer and director Ryusuke Hamaguchi. If the film is anything to go by, though, his career was destined for a flashpoint. Running just under three hours, it’s the kind of film that will inevitably be described as a “slowburn.” Yet to me, the film’s brilliance is that it captures what that term often obscures, what is directly implied by the words themselves. “Slow-burn” usually means a movie whose “scenes develop slowly, methodically toward an explosive boiling point.” They’re supposed to be about the thin trail of smoke, and the revelation it leads to. Hamaguchi, on the other hand, takes the phrase at face value to reveal something far more startling: everything is already on fire.

The movie begins with Kafuku,

a respected actor who is having domestic issues with his wife, Oto (Reika Kirishima), a screenwriter. Or, more accurately, has been having them for the past 15 years, since their daughter passed away.

Nothing overtly dramatic is going to happen between two people bonded by their dead child — no shouting, no breakdowns, no recriminations. The viewer understands that everything they’ve been brave enough to say has, somewhere along the line, already been said.

What remains is stiltedness: whole conversations flare up in the imagination, only to be just as suddenly obscured. When Oto introduces a young actor, Koji (Masaki Okada), to Kafuku, the actor compliments Kafuku on how wonderful his wife is. Oto’s face drops.

She leans in: “Don’t call me that.”

Kafuku quickly asks the young man a question to smooth the moment over. But that moment lives on — like a thin cloth draped over a candle. The flame is veiled, but light still pulses through.

One morning, Oto tells Kafuku that there’s something she wants to talk about when he gets home.

When he returns, late at night, he finds her lying on the floor. The next scene is a funeral, low chanting, a framed picture of Oto — congenial. The young actor from earlier is there; there’s something desperate about the look on his face. Kafuku, meanwhile, is stoic.

He doesn’t process the unavoidable question, doesn’t feel like he deserves to ask it: How, why did this happen? Two men, walking down the path from the shrine: “Cerebral hemorrhaging,” one says. The other nods his head. Ah. What a shame.

That’s the answer Kafuku lives with for the next two years. He accepts a residency to cast and direct “Uncle Vanya.” It’s hard to imagine him having done much in the meantime, absorbed in his grief. It’s good, then, that the lone image the film gives us fills that two-year space with such oozing finesse: Kafuku in the titular car, a Red Saab 900. Cruising around the prefecture, reciting Vanya’s lines

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Joe Sweeney '25 reviews "Drive My Car," the first Japanese film to be nominated for a Best Picture, which follows an aging theatre director who bonds with his young chauffeur after the death of his wife. with a tape his wife had recorded for him. An aimless, worthless life, to be sure, yet one that Kafuku can’t help but feel is deeply earned, a consolation for the loss of his last connection to his daughter.

Which is why, when he arrives at his residency, he is so troubled by an unexpected clause in his contract. He will not be allowed to drive his own car. They’ve hired a driver to take him to and from his hotel. Kafuku is skeptical. He argues: My car is where I practice my lines. It has all kinds of mechanical oddities. These inconsequential details are Kafuku’s way of taking a stand. He has spent his life letting things slide. Not this.

Why? It’s hard to explain.

There’s something about the motion of a car, of moving through the world completely on your own, that seems to appeal to him.

Not the home anyone would imagine in their future. When you’ve ceased to belong anywhere, you learn to inhabit the places that you can. This is one of them for Kafuku. Maybe the only one.

But he’s got a driver now. She’s a young woman in her early 20s.

She’s quiet — not shy, just a little detached. She’s been with the company for years, the program director assures Kafuku. She’s never gotten a complaint. Just see if

you don’t like her. Still doubtful, Kafuku takes the backseat. It is in this small way, too, that he finally yields control.

I’ve spent so much time on the beginning of this film because I’m convinced there is something special about the way Hamaguchi prepares your emotions to feel Kafuku’s loss. The movie is based on the short story of the same name by internationally celebrated writer Haruki Murakami, from his collection “Men Without Women.” I’ve never read that collection, but I have read and loved many of Murakami’s novels because of the moments where he makes impossible things real on the page.

Things that you aren’t supposed to say, to even imagine, in a novel — he makes them happen. These moments unmoor themselves from what the story is supposed to do.

And the story flies off on its own.

You gotta be close enough to the ground to appreciate how high it goes.

Don’t let the Russian drama fool you. This is a movie about driving, and it’s a movie about the only two people who understand that. Kafuku learns that the young woman, Misaki (Toko Muira), is an impossibly smooth driver. With her at the wheel, he forgets that he’s in a car; he forgets the reasons

he wanted to be driving the car.

The development of their relationship is soft and understated. There isn’t much to say to someone who understands what makes your life tick better than you do yourself.

Still, this isn’t good enough.

Nearing the day of the performance, a shocking incident halts production of the play. Kafuku stands in a barren parking lot, looking cold. Maybe he’s been going in circles all this time, but he’s come far enough to admit it to himself: he knows he killed Oto — even if it’s the only thing he ever really did know about her.

He needed his car. He needed to ride out certain pressures in his life, see where they could take him.

Alright. But when the tape started playing, he could’ve stopped it. Let the silence take its due, and force him to confront what he needed to. Instead he just said his lines, slipped right in. He passed his life by.

He looks to Misaki. Where can you go when you’re certain you missed your chance to arrive at the place you were supposed to be?

She knocks on the hood of the car. I know a place. It may not be any good, but if you hop in we can get there. A new line begins. Let’s see if we can pick up where we left off.

Sp ports

In NESCAC Quarterfinals, Men’s Hockey Falls to Ephs Alex Noga ’23 Managing Sports Editor On Saturday, Feb. 26, the Amherst men’s hockey team lost 3-1 to eternal rival Williams in the NESCAC quarterfinals, ending the Mammoths’ season on a sour note. The Saturday matchup was the third meeting between the two teams this season, with Williams emerging victorious in every contest, though the Ephs’ largest margin of victory in any of those games was only two goals.

The Mammoths entered the quarterfinals at Chapman Rink in Williamstown well aware of the stakes: win or go home. They faced a very familiar foe in Williams, with their most recent matchup resulting in a tightly contested 3-1 loss just the weekend before (Feb. 19).

In the lead-up to the game, Evan Lichman ’23 predicted a physical affair, emphasizing the

need to finish checks, compete for loose pucks, and commit to the backcheck. This philosophy was on display from the opening faceoff, as the Mammoths came out of the locker room with high-energy play, looking to impose their physical will in the early stages of the contest. The magnitude of the matchup was readily apparent in the Ephs’ play as well — both teams engaged in extracurricular pushing and shoving after early whistles in the first period.

The Mammoths dictated play in the opening minutes of the contest, overwhelming Williams with their aggressive forecheck and backcheck, their quick play in transition, and their physicality, which prevented Williams from generating any early momentum. However, in a sign of things to come, the Mammoths were unable to translate their momentum into scoring chances, and the Ephs struck first, seemingly against the run of play.

After the Mammoths killed off a too-many-men penalty, the Ephs got on the board midway through the opening period on a deflection from a harmless-looking shot from the point. The Mammoths struggled to respond quickly, allowing another prime scoring chance from the high slot in the closing minutes of the period that was saved by goaltender Dan Dachille ’23.

The Mammoths needed a strong start following the first intermission to regain some of their prior momentum, but instead it was Williams who capitalized on their early chances. Four minutes into the second period, the Ephs doubled their lead with a clean wrist shot from the top of the circle on an even three-on-three rush, sending the late-arriving home crowd into a fit of hysteria as Ephs players celebrated in front of them.

The Mammoths did not go quietly, and their effort level never faltered, finally being rewarded on

their first power play of the contest, 12:54 into the second period.

Twenty seconds after a scramble in front of the net in which they couldn’t finish multiple rebound opportunities, the Mammoths tallied their first goal of the game.

Matt Toporowski ’25 circled from the right side boards to the top of the point and fired a shot into a sea of players. Max Thiessen ’25 managed to get his stick on the puck, deflecting it past the Ephs goaltender with just two seconds remaining on the power play. The goal was the first of Thiessen’s collegiate career and cut the Ephs’ lead in half heading into the second intermission.

A back-and-forth third period ensued, with the Mammoths possessing most of the puck but failing to generate genuine scoring chances. The Ephs goaltender stood tall on all Amherst chances, cutting down angles and preventing any threatening second chance oppor-

tunities. The Mammoths’ best opportunity to level the contest came early in the period in yet another scramble in front of Williams’ cage, but, once again, they could not find the back of the net.

With their season on the line, the Mammoths pulled their goalie in favor of an extra attacker for the final minute and change of the third period but couldn’t convert any of their shots into legitimate scoring chances. The Ephs withstood the Mammoths’ attack and added an empty-net goal right as the final horn sounded, putting a bow on their 3-1 victory and sending them through to the NESCAC semifinals.

Although the Ephs outshot the Mammoths 23-20, the close tally showed that the final result could have gone either way. The Mammoths conclude their 2021-22 season with a 9-13-2 final record and a sixth-place finish in the NESCAC standings.

Women’s Squash Team Finishes Fifth At B-Level Nationals Hedi Skali ’25 Staff Writer The Amherst women’s squash team closed out their season with a 12-7 regular-season record, finishing the season on a high note with their first victory over Williams since 1998. While the team ultimately lost to Brown in the CSA Tournament, they over-performed their ranking and finished fifth in the B-level national championships.

Their season included a dominating win streak during J-term that put them at 14th in the nation according to the College Squash Association rankings. This qualified them for the B division national championship, the Kurtz Cup — an upgrade from 2020’s qualification to the C division Walker Cup. With their final regular season ranking of 14th in the nation and placement into the Kurtz Cup,

whose competitors rank between nine and 16 in the CSA rankings, Amherst came into the tournament as the sixth seed. The team was slated to face third-seeded Brown in their opening match. With their superior roster depth, the Bears overwhelmed the Mammoths in the 2-7 loss. Nevertheless, Lilly Soroko ’22 battled hard in an incredible final elimination match of her Amherst career. Twice down a game, she managed to fight back to tie the match each time until Brown’s Esha Lakhotia finished the job with an 11-5 win in the final game. In the ninth seat, facing an 0-1 deficit, Maggie Pearson ’24 completed the comeback, dominating her opponent in three consecutive games to win 3-1.

After falling to Brown, the Mammoths entered the consolation bracket and were set to face a familiar opponent — Bates. Am-

herst overpowered the Bobcats in their first two matchups 7-2 and 6-3, highlighted by Blair Englert’s ’24 perfect 11-0 game in her 3-1 victory in the second match. In the first seat’s 48-minute thriller, Callie Delalio ’24 came out strong with a 2-0 lead over Bates’ star Andrea Martagon, but could not hold her lead and fell to Martagon (6-11, 8-11, 8-11) in the 2-3 loss. With Isabelle Tilney-Sandberg ’25 losing her own nailbiter, the Mammoths relied on quick decisive sweeps from Daksha Pathak ’23, Lauren Weil ’22, and Soroko. While the Kurtz Cup match proved to be slightly more challenging, their 5-4 win came as no surprise.

In the battle for fifth place, the Mammoths’ long-awaited opportunity for redemption against Williams arrived. Williams led with three straight sweeps to start the matchup; no match lasted more

than 23 minutes. Not to be deterred by the early setback, the Mammoths fought back relentlessly. In the second seat, Pathak began the rally with two commanding 11-7 games, and then only lost one point in the last game to put away her opponent.

Weil and Tana Delalio ’24 echoed Pathak with dominating 11-2 and 11-3 games, respectively. After her close loss in the match against Bates, Tilney-Sandberg sought redemption in the best match of the day. In the first three games, the lead did not exceed a margin of three points, but Tilney-Sandberg got the better of Williams’ Amanda Solecki, earning a 2-1 lead. Solecki, however, was relentless and easily took the fourth game 11-6. She sought to continue her domination, leading the final game by a score of 10-7, comfortably giving herself four match points to put Amherst away. Against all odds, however,

Tilney-Sandberg refused to lose, winning three straight points to tie the game up at 10-10. She was again faced with a Solecki match point but tied the game up again. After a marathon of a match, she was presented with her own opportunity to put the match away, and secured the point to win 13-11, notching a key win and earning the Mammoths’ first victory against Williams since 1998.

Reflecting upon her career at Amherst, Emma Spencer ’22 shared how much the Williams win meant to the senior class: “Since freshman year, our team’s main goal has been to break this dry spell, and to have it be our last match as the senior class was an unforgettable experience.”

While the team portion of the season is over for the Mammoths, they will conclude their resurgent season with CSA National Individual Championships this weekend, March 4-6, in Philadelphia.

The Amherst Student • March 2, 2022

Sports

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Despite Lawsuit Win, Equal Pay Fight Isn’t Over Liza Katz ’24 Managing Sports Editor A world-famous team. A fifth World Cup Title. A historic settlement. But, looking closer, so much work yet to be done.

After almost three years of contentious relations, the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) settled their class-action equal pay lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) for $24 million. The team’s lawsuit was initially filed in March 2019 by 28 national team players who accused the USSF of “institutionalized gender discrimination” on the basis that toward the team receives significantly lower compensation than their male counterparts. The players were seeking a payout of around $66 million, a total that took into account back-pay and damages, from the USSF, in addition to the promise of equal pay.

The two sides announced the settlement on Tuesday, Feb. 22, in a court filing which details exactly how the $24 million will be allocated. USWNT players will receive a lump-sum payment of $22 million, which will be distributed to players in a way proposed by them and approved by the District Court. The USSF will also pay another $2 million to be placed into a fund used by the players in post-career goals and charitable efforts related to women’s and girls’ soccer.

The settlement is contingent on a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) being ratified by the players on the USWNT that contains equal pay going forward, at which point the money will be allocated and the litigation “fully resolved.” As part of the settlement, the USSF has also committed to providing equal pay going forward for the USWNT and USMNT “in all friendlies and tournaments, including the World Cup.” Having this clause included was a huge win for the players, as the discrepancy in World Cup and post-game bonuses was an issue for the team in the past. Before the lawsuit, under the old CBA, making a World Cup team would net a men’s player $67,000, while a

woman would make only $37,500.

A win by the USMNT against a team outside the top 25 in the FIFA rankings would result in a player receiving a bonus of $9,375, while a loss would result in a payment of $5,000. For the USWNT, a similar amount ($5,250) was awarded for a win against a team ranked outside the top eight, but nothing was paid for a loss. The USMNT’s World Cup qualifying loss to Trinidad and Tobago, which shocked the world and prevented them from going to Russia in 2018, stands out as one example of this discrepancy — USMNT players actually made money for that pitiful performance, while the women would not have, since Trinidad and Tobago was ranked 99th in the world at the time. In fact, I can’t think of a USWNT loss even close to comparable to that one since I’ve been alive.

Even winning the biggest game in soccer — the World Cup Final — wasn’t enough. Winning the World Cup would net each USMNT player $407,608, while a woman would make $110,000. The men’s team has never even made a World Cup Final, let alone won one. The last time the USMNT even qualified for the tournament was in 2014, whereas the USWNT has won not one, but two, Women’s World Cup titles since then, in 2015 and 2019.

The USWNT Players Association called the settlement “an important step in righting the many wrongs of the past.” That past has included a lot of setbacks: in May 2020, the equal pay portion of the lawsuit was dismissed, forcing the players to appeal, which they won. In the end, USWNT players emerged with a considerable amount of money, albeit less than what they asked for initially.

I do agree with what many soccer pundits have been saying since the news broke: by settling with the team, U.S. Soccer has done little to mend their public image, which has taken a huge hit since the beginning of this saga. An example from my recent memory of USWNT matches: on March 11, 2020, the USWNT took the field for the SheBelieves Cup final against Japan. Playing on home soil, they emerged from

Photo source: Wikimedia Commons

The United States Women's National Team celebrates a tournament win. the tunnel wearing their warm-up jerseys inside out in protest against U.S. Soccer’s most recent court filing. That court filing, sent in the day before the match by lawyers representing the USSF, argued, among other things, that the two teams “do not perform equal work requiring equal skill [and] effort,” because “the overall soccer-playing ability required to compete at the senior men’s national team level is materially influenced by the level of certain physical attributes such as speed and strength.” They also argued that this is not “a sexist stereotype,” just “indisputable science.”

This antiquated argument was yet another symbol of the system that the team was trying to dismantle by filing the lawsuit in the first place.

Since the lawsuit was filed, USWNT games have been filled with signs, chants, T-shirts, you name it, promoting equal pay. I actually experienced this for myself when I went to watch the USWNT play Spain on March 9, 2020, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J. While the game ended with a 1-0 U.S. win, it almost didn’t feel like one because of the obvious tension between U.S. Soccer and their fans. It felt like fans were spending more energy jeering the USSF than cheering on the team — the chants for equal pay began almost immediately and didn’t stop until the game was over and the stadium was almost empty.

Now that the long-awaited first step toward reaching that goal has been achieved, what comes next?

Women’s soccer has come a long way in the last few months. The USWNT won a bronze medal at the rescheduled 2020 Tokyo Olympics, after winning their fifth World Cup in 2019. The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) is getting its highest viewership in the league’s history; the league is adding two new expansion teams, San Diego Wave FC and the majority-female-owned Angel City FC; and Washington Spirit youngster, reigning NWSL Rookie of the Year and USWNT rising star Trinity Rodman just signed the largest contract in NWSL history, a four-year deal worth $1.1 million. The USWNT is still as good as ever, and a younger generation of players are showing heaps of potential, winning the 2022 SheBelieves Cup without veterans like Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, and Christen Press on the roster. It seems like it has never been better to be a women’s soccer player in the United States.

But there is still so much farther to go. The USWNT settled for about one third of their initial asking price. Retired USWNT goalkeeper Hope Solo said of the settlement, “A ‘promise’ of equal pay from the Federation and backpay for a select group of players isn’t equal pay and it’s not what this fight was about.”

And as much as I despise Solo for her actions off the field, she’s right.

If we really want to make Equal Pay happen in American soccer, we need to consider every single female professional soccer player, not

just the 30 or so who are picked to play for the USWNT. I have friends, people whom I have met over the course of my own career, who are now pros and play for NWSL teams or hope to in the future. They deserve the same amount of respect as any USWNT player and deserve the same compensation for their work as a man gets. This goes for the retired players who started this fight too, who have no way of receiving any type of compensation for their work under the settlement. It takes a village to burn down the proverbial house, and now that the house has been burned, not everyone is seeing the fruits of their labor.

While I agree with the general public that, yes, this settlement is certainly a win, we have to dig deeper. With equal pay, any progress in the right direction is progress worth celebrating. But, looking into the weeds, it is easy to see that we are viewing this settlement through rose-colored glasses. There is so much farther still to go — and we cannot stop now.

If you want to get involved, there are petitions you can sign (like this one on Change.org), organizations you can volunteer with (like the Equity Project), and so many other things you can do to make your voice, and all the other voices in female athletics, heard. In no way will this fight end with the USWNT’s settlement. It is just one country, in one sport, for one team. And I, for one, will not fall silent.

The Amherst Student • March 2, 2022

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Mammoth Memories: The Origins of Little Threes Alex Noga ’23 Managing Sports Editor The Little Three is said to be “America’s oldest, continuous intercollegiate athletic conference without a membership change.”

Made up of Amherst, Williams, and Wesleyan, the league traces its roots back to 1899. However, relations between the three teams were not always as amiable as they are today. At the turn of the 20th century, Amherst actually left the league for about a decade over a conflict not unlike the NCAA’s amateurism disputes of the modern age.

It is widely known that Amherst played the first organized baseball game against Williams in 1859, but organized leagues did not take shape until over two decades later when, in 1880, Amherst joined a baseball league alongside Brown, Dartmouth, Harvard, and Princeton.

Football started to become popular among the Amherst student body around this same time, though early football games were originally only played among the Amherst classes. Amherst’s first intercollegiate football game took place in 1878, a defeat against Yale in which Amherst failed to score a single point. Six years later in 1884, Amherst met Williams on the gridiron for the first time and fell by a final score of 15-2.

In 1892, following the construc-

tion of Pratt Field the year prior, a new football league was formed with Amherst, Dartmouth, and Williams. Amherst had its greatest football season yet, winning their first championship in the sport.

The Amherst team finished with a record of 8-5, although they outscored their opponents by a 314141 margin, defeating Dartmouth 30-2 and utterly embarrassing Williams 60-0 — the largest margin of victory in any of the 135 football games the two rivals have played.

Dartmouth subsequently withdrew from the league in 1899 and Wesleyan joined in its place, creating what was known then as the Triangular League, or the Tri-Collegiate League. This new league was expanded to include other sports besides football as well, and Amherst won its first league championship in baseball in 1901.

Controversy arose just three years after the league’s inauguration, however. Prior to the start of the 1902 baseball season, representatives from each of the three colleges met to set eligibility requirements for participating in the league. Sim-

ilar to the NCAA’s current eligibility rules, any player who played a sport professionally and received financial compensation for their efforts was disallowed from playing in the league.

Amherst’s Jack Dunleavy ’04, a star left-handed pitcher with aspirations of playing professional baseball (his Olio bio reads, “‘Jack Dunleavy’ is another way of spelling baseball”), was one of the early victims of this new rule. He was identified as receiving money while playing for a semi-professional team in Malone, N.Y., and was thereby banned from playing in the league before the 1902 season began. Dunleavy would never play for Amherst again, but he was immediately hired as a coach for the Amherst team. He then left Amherst after his junior year and went on to play three major league seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Following this, Wesleyan representatives brought similar charges against Frank Kane ’04 during the season, alleging that he had played professional baseball for two teams in Maine the previous summer.

Image credits: Wikimedia Commons

Kane was a talented and popular athlete on campus. His Olio entry states, “His principal occupation in college has been reading what the newspapers have to say about him, and incidentally shaving about three times a day.”

Kane was alleged to have used a fake name while playing over the summer to avoid being caught for receiving money. Under the league’s sanctions, allegations such as these were to be investigated by a supposedly unbiased faculty committee at the defendant’s institution, meaning that it was Amherst faculty members who were to investigate Kane’s case. Affidavits were received from managers of the two teams he had played for over the summer, stating that he had not received a salary for his play. Kane was subsequently acquitted of all the charges.

Kane was thus allowed to continue playing for the rest of the season, and he pitched the championship game against Williams on May 3, resulting in a 5-4 victory in which Kane recorded 10 strikeouts.

Williams played the game under

protest.

However, this was not the end of the saga for Kane. Wesleyan unsurprisingly appealed the acquittal, and a hearing among league officials took place on May 9. After a long deliberation, Kane was declared ineligible by a predictable vote of 2-1.

The decision was the talk of the campus on the following days.

Amherst held a mass meeting of students and faculty just three days after the decision, which lasted for nearly five hours and resulted in Amherst choosing to leave the league following the conclusion of the season. A special edition of The Student, which dedicated two full pages to the controversy — including letters from notable faculty members — stated, “it is plain that the only way in which the college can do justice to itself and to Mr. Kane is to withdraw from the league.” Kane was still allowed to play on the Amherst team the following year, as the only rules he violated were those of the Triangular League.

After leaving the league in 1902, Amherst did not play Williams in any athletic competitions until the 1905 season. Tensions with Wesleyan appear to have been even more strained, as no contests were played with Wesleyan until 1910. It was not until competition among the three schools resumed in 1910 that the Little Three as we know it today truly began.

Women’s Dive Punches Ticket to Nationals Alex Noga ’23 Managing Sports Editor Three members of the women’s dive team competed at the NCAA Northeast/North Regional Diving Championships on Feb. 25 and Feb. 26. Two earned spots in the NCAA Division III National Championships with their remarkable performances.

While swimmers can qualify for the National Championships by posting qualifying times at any point during the year, the regional championship is the only means by which divers can secure an op-

portunity to compete for a national championship. The contest occurs over two days, with the 1-meter dive held on the first day and the 3-meter held on the second. The top seven divers qualify for nationals, as the top three in each event receive an automatic bid and the remaining spots are filled by subsequent divers if the same individuals finish in the top three spots in both competitions.

The Mammoths kicked off the 1-meter competition on Feb. 25 with spectacular performances from Hannah Karlin ’22 and Sydney Bluestein ’25, who finished first

and second, respectively. Karlin, who was awarded NESCAC Diver of the Year after winning the same event at the NESCAC championship meet this year, posted a score of 422.8, with three out of her 11 total dives earning at least 40 points.

This is Karlin’s second time qualifying for nationals, but the competition was canceled the first time she earned a spot due to Covid. She looks to defend Amherst’s title in the event, as Lindsey Ruderman ’21 won a national title in both the 3-meter and 1-meter competitions in 2019. Bluestein followed closely behind her veteran teammate, fin-

ishing less than two points behind Karlin with 421.65 and becoming the second Mammoth diver to qualify for nationals. Hannah Colaizzo ’23, the third Mammoth competing, finished eighth with a score of 375.15 in her regionals debut.

Colaizzo had a prime opportunity to join her teammates in earning a spot at nationals in the 3-meter competition the next day, but came up just short with a fourth place finish. Her score of 401.40 was less than eight points away from third place and an automatic bid to nationals. Karlin and Bluestein also

competed in the 3-meter competition, though Karlin finished seventh and Bluestein finished sixth.

The Mammoths, who are ranked 21st in the nation according to CSCAA, now look ahead to the Division III National Championships on March 16 in Indiana. Karlin and Bluestein will join nine members of the swim team (Jennifer Adams ’25, Lauren Eng ’24, Marie Fagan ’22, Jessica Gordon ’23, Alexandra Hartwich ’23, Megan Lee ’25, Cora Spelke ’25, Grace Tarantola ’23, and Grace Walker ’24) to compete for a national title, and Colaizzo will continue training as an alternate.

The Amherst Student • March 2, 2022

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Women’s Basketball Win Streak Snapped in Finals Leo Kamin ’25 Managing Sports Editor

Amherst women’s basketball looked unstoppable ahead of their trip down to Hartford, Conn., for the NESCAC championship game on Sunday, Feb. 27. They had won 11 games straight, gone undefeated in the month of February, and steamrolled their quarterand semi-final opponents by a combined 44 points. But all runs come to an end at some point.

The matchup with Tufts on Saturday, Feb. 26, was, on paper, the tougher test of the weekend.

The Jumbos came into the game ranked ninth nationally, the Mammoths eighth. Nevertheless, the Mammoths took the lead with three minutes to play in the first quarter and never relinquished it. A short rotation — just eight players touched the floor, two of whom played all 40 minutes — proved effective. A staunch defensive performance held Tufts to 35 percent shooting from the field and just above 20 percent from three; the Jumbos had averaged well above those numbers for the season, at 41.7 percent and 34.3 percent, respectively.

AnLing Vera ’25 ran the offense, putting up 23 points and seven assists on an efficient 9 of 15 from the floor in yet another starring performance for the first-year guard. Courtney Resch ’22 posted a double-double (14 points, 12 rebounds) and helped the Mammoths shut down Tufts’ formidable post attack with other forwards in foul trouble throughout the game. Despite dominating the glass and snatching 18 offensive rebounds, the Jumbos proved unable to run with the Mammoths. Fast-break points were decisive: Amherst had 10; the Jumbos had only one. This proved the bulk of the difference in a game the Mammoths ultimately carried 73-59, setting up a matchup in the final with Bates.

In the first matchup between the two squads this season on Nov. 21, the Mammoths had shot nearly 50 percent, with Vera recording a triple-double en route

to a 60-54 victory. But on Sunday in Hartford, it was clear that this contest would be different. In a messy opening five minutes, the Bobcats jumped out to a 7-0 lead.

Shots just seemed to be refusing to fall for the Mammoths. But Bates didn’t exemplify efficiency either. As the two teams shot 7 for 29 across the first 10 minutes, a layup by Vera and and a pair of buckets from Dani Valdez ’22 were enough to keep the Mammoths in the game at the close of an attritional first quarter. They headed into the second down 116.

The second quarter wasn’t much different: both teams shot less than 25 percent from the field. Amid a flurry of turnovers and steals, the teams traded buckets. The Mammoths would pull to within striking distance, then the Bobcats would stretch the lead back out. Amherst cut the lead to four on a Valdez layup with four minutes to play in the first half, but a mini-run by the Bobcats in the last few minutes put the halftime deficit at nine, 21-12.

Something seemed to change for Bates during the halftime period. They came out of the locker room and immediately knocked down a jumper, stretching the deficit to 11. They proceeded to shoot just under 50 percent across the next 10 minutes — running up the score against an Amherst team that, after more than a month of dominance, just couldn’t seem to get anything going. Vera showed signs that she was regaining her shooting-stroke, though, knocking down a three-pointer late to make the game feel a bit less insurmountable. Nevertheless, the Bobcats carried a shocking 4020 lead over the higher-ranked squad into the final 10 minutes.

Vera continued to be the team’s go-to scorer with the NESCAC title slipping away. She drilled an early 3-pointer, sparking a scoring run. The Mammoths scored seven points across the next two minutes, trimming the lead down to 11. Suddenly, the game felt winnable. But, again, the Mammoths

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Forward Jade DuVal '22 jumps to the basket against Bates. In the NESCAC Championship game, Amherst lost to Bates despite an impressive fourth-quarter surge. went cold. Neither team made a field goal in the next five minutes. Fouls allowed the Bobcats to maintain a healthy cushion, even as they shot 0-7 from the field in the fourth quarter. A string of free throws jacked the deficit back up to 14, and even after Resch hit a three with two minutes left, the game began to seem out of reach.

But yet again the Mammoths began to claw the game back.

Lauren Pelosi ’22 and Vera hit back-to-back 3-pointers to bring the deficit down to five, and the Mammoths had hope heading into the last two minutes of regulation. Again, though, the Bobcats redeemed their poor fieldgoal shooting at the foul line. A

string of made free throws allowed them to see out the game and claim their first-ever NESCAC championship, by a final score of 51-42.

Though the loss was a major disappointment for the Mammoths, who came into the season with NESCAC title aspirations, the team’s season is not yet over.

For their play this season, the Mammoths were awarded an atlarge bid to the 2022 NCAA Division III tournament, and will assume hosting duties for the first two rounds of the 64-team championship bracket.

Abbey Skinner ’24 suggested that the team is just happy to have something still to play for.

“We are excited to get to play in the NCAA tournament and even more excited to get to host the first weekend,” she said.

She couldn’t help but look ahead to a potential third matchup with the Jumbos: “We definitely have an interesting placement with the potential to play Tufts in the Sweet 16 (assuming we win this weekend).”

However tantalizing, such a matchup is still two sure-tobe hard-fought wins away. The Mammoths will start their title run at Lefrak Gymnasium on Friday, March 4, taking on the SUNY Polytechnic Institute in the round of 64. The tipoff time is to be determined.

The Amherst Student • March 2, 2022

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Women’s Hockey Qualifies for Conference Semifinals Liza Katz ’24 Managing Sports Editor No. 3-seeded Amherst women’s hockey returned to action this past weekend, taking on the No. 6 seed Bowdoin Polar Bears in the NESCAC Tournament Quarterfinals. With a dominating second and third period performance, the Mammoths easily dispatched the Polar Bears 5-0 to move on to the NESCAC semifinals next weekend.

However, the game didn’t start as smoothly as the Mammoths had likely hoped. In stark contrast to their hot start last weekend against Colby in their final contest of the regular season, the team came out of the locker room flat in their first postseason game since 2020. Bowdoin commanded the first 20 minutes of play, notching a lopsided 19 shots on goal to Amherst’s three, and earning two power-play opportunities to the Mammoths’ one. However, Mammoth netminder Caitlin Walker ’22 came to play, stopping all 19 of the Polar Bears’ shots in the first period. That single-period total is higher than the number of total saves she has recorded in five other games this season.

With Walker putting in work on the defensive end, the Mammoths’ offense finally found a spark. On the power play with about two minutes to go in the first frame, Rylee Glennon ’24 collected the puck on the blue line and slid it to Avery Flynn ’23, who slotted a perfectly placed cross-ice pass to Alyssa Xu ’25 for an easy finish into a mostly open net. While the goal was waved off due to goaltender interference, it was the momentum shift that the Mammoths needed. The teams left the ice at the horn with the score still tied 0-0.

Glennon said of her team’s performance, “We started off a little slow, but with Walks [Walker] playing amazing in net we were able to feed off her energy and pick it up in the second and third.”

And pick it up they did. After a first period defined by offensive struggles, the Mammoths scored

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Defenseman Stephanie Nomicos '22 and goaltender Caitlin Walker '22 skate to each other in celebration. twice in the first five minutes of the second to seize the momentum. The first goal came less than a minute into the period, when Carley Daly ’23 won the puck on the forecheck deep in the Mammoths’ offensive zone. She curled towards the net, taking two shots on goal that Bowdoin goaltender Dani Martinez could not cleanly corral. After the Polar Bears’ goalie gave up the second rebound, Leslie Schwartz ’23 made sure it was the last, launching a rocket that went bar-down for the Mammoths’ first goal of the game.

Only four minutes later, Angelina Wiater ’22 collected a loose puck just outside the offensive zone, and Kate Pohl ’23 finished off the resulting two-on-one opportunity with a wrister set up by another beautiful cross-ice pass to double the Mammoths’ lead. The second period would end with the score

standing at 2-0 in favor of Amherst.

The third period was no different than the second. The Mammoths again got on the board early, this time via the stick of Glennon.

After she won the puck on defense, Glennon poked it up the ice to Xu, who transitioned into the offensive zone. In another well-executed two-on-one opportunity, Glennon received a return pass from Xu and beat Martinez with a backhand to give the Mammoths a 3-0 lead.

Bowdoin appeared to quickly narrow the gap to 3-1, but their goal was also disallowed, and the Mammoths took advantage only 20 seconds later. Winning the resulting faceoff, the Mammoths quickly broke out of their zone, with Xu again finding Glennon skating up the ice. She entered the offensive zone with a three-on-one opportunity, skating to the right

side of the zone and firing a shot from the faceoff circle past the Bowdoin goaltender for her second goal of the game. With her two goals on the day, Glennon now leads the team in both goals and assists, with nine goals and 11 assists, good for a team-leading 20 points. She also leads the team in shots, with 99 on the season.

The Mammoths finished off their offensive explosion by adding their fifth goal of the game with only 1:48 remaining, this time courtesy of Daly. The junior forward finished off yet another Mammoth odd-man-rush opportunity (the third time on the day) with a wrister into the top corner off of a pass from Elizabeth Holubiak ’22. The final horn would sound just over a minute later, with the Mammoths advancing to the NESCAC semifinals off of a 5-0 win.

Following the win, the team is looking forward to playing with the NESCAC’s best next weekend.

“Saturday’s game was a huge team effort … [and] I think we have the talent and heart to make it really far in the tournament,” Glennon said. “We are all really excited to prove ourselves [to the rest of the league] next weekend in Vermont.”

With the win, the Mammoths move to 13-8-2 on the season, and advance to take on No. 2-seeded Colby for the third time in two weeks, this time with a berth in the NESCAC championship on the line. The game will be played at No. 1 seed Middlebury, who will take on No. 4 seed Hamilton in the other semifinal matchup.

The puck will drop for the Mammoths’ contest with the Mules at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 5.

The Amherst Student • March 2, 2022

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Track and Field Shows Well at DIII Championships Ava O’Connor ’24 Staff Writer This past weekend, both the men’s and women’s track and field teams traveled to compete in the New England Division III Championships on Feb. 25-26. The men journeyed to Middlebury and placed sixth out of 25 teams, while the women came in third out of 26 teams at Colby. Both teams had successful weekends overall, with some outstanding individual performances at both locations.

For the women, Eliza Cardwell ’25 not only crushed her competition in the 60-meter hurdles, winning her race in just 8.73 seconds, but she also set a school record while capturing the fourth best time in all of Division III this season. Ella Rossa ’21 had set the previous record back in 2020 to win the championship at this same meet, but Cardwell now holds that title.

Cardwell was also one of two Mammoths to take home All-New England honors in the long jump, with a personal-best jump of 5.58 meters. Muffie Mazambani ’24 was

the other, finishing fourth in her first New England Championship with a jump of 5.39 meters, also a personal best. Mazambani earned All-New England honors in the triple jump as well, with another personal-best jump of 11.31 meters, which secured her a fifth place finish. Julia Zacher ’25 captured All-New England honors in the high jump, clearing 1.59 meters and coming in sixth in her New England Championship debut.

For the first time in Amherst history, the Mammoths’ 4x400-meter relay team won the New England title thanks to a phenomenal group effort by Anna Madden ’22, Juanita Jaramillo ’22, Katie Lingen ’22, and Casie Eifrig ’25. Jaramillo and Lingen also earned All-New England honors in their middle-distance races, finishing seventh in the 400-meter and fourth in the 600-meter dashes, respectively. A pair of first years also earned top-eight finishes in middle-distance races, as Julia Schor ’25 finished fourth in the 800 meters with a season-best time of 2:18.86 and Ava Zielinski ’25 posted a 2:21.73 to claim sixth.

FRI

The long-distance races were also sources of success for the Mammoths. Sidnie Kulik ’25 and Sophia Wolmer ’23 both earned All-New England honors in the 3,000-meter run, with Kulik finishing second in a season-best time of 9:54.93, good for 15th in the nation this season. Wolmer repeated as an All-New England finisher with a season-best time of 10:02.92, finishing fourth. Wolmer also notched a fourth-place finish in the 5,000 meters.

The men impressively tallied 11 All-New England performances this past weekend. Although they placed sixth at New Englands, they still ranked second in their smaller region in the most recent USTFCCCA Division III rankings.

With a personal-best score of 4,637 points, Jack Trent ’23 secured third place in the heptathlon and a top-20 mark in Division III this season. Trent also ran a personal-best time in the 1,000 meters, capturing his first career All-New England finish.

Henry Buren ’22 also had an impressive showing this past weekend, not only placing top-

four in the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes, but also notching a personal best time of 6.94 in the 60 meters and securing his sixth career All-New England finish.

The men also emulated the women’s success in the middle-distance events. Gent Malushaga ’25 posted a season and personal best of 2:33.61 in the 1,000 meters to finish in fourth place. Not to be outdone, Kolya Markov-Riss ’24 marked his New England Championship performance with a fourthplace, All-New England finish in the 600 meters, and Wilson Spurrell ’24E earned All-New England honors and a seventh-place finish in the 800 meters with a seasonand personal-best 1:55.44. The Mammoths’ 4x800m relay team also secured All-New England honors, with the team of Braedon Fiume ’24, Spurrell, Jack O'Hara ’25, and Alexander Rich ’25 finishing sixth.

Looking to long distance, Owen Daily ’23 ran a 4:21.39 mile, coming in eighth place among both sections of the race and winning his section. Daily also earned his third career All-New England

Women's Basketball NCAA Round of 64 vs. SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Women's Hockey NESCAC Semifinal vs. Bowdoin, @ Middlebury, 4:30 p.m.

SUN

Men's Squash CSA National Individual Championships @ University of Pennsylvania

Women's Basketball NCAA Round of 32 (if necessary)

Men's Squash CSA National Individual Championships @ University of Pennsylvania

Women's Squash CSA National Individual Championships @ University of Pennsylvania

Track & Field National Qualifying Meet @ Tufts

Women's Squash CSA National Individual Championships @ University of Pennsylvania

SAT

Men's Squash CSA National Individual Championships @ University of Pennsylvania

Men's Lacrosse vs. Hamilton, 1 p.m.

Women's Squash CSA National Individual Championships @ University of Pennsylvania

Women's Lacrosse @ Middlebury, 12 p.m.

selection in the process. He was also a part of the distance medley relay team — comprising himself, Fiume, O’Hara, and Charlie Clary ’24 — that captured All-New England honors this weekend.

Juniors Kelechi Eziri ’23 and Chris Gong ’23 were also among those to earn repeat All-New England finishes, landing strong performances in the jumping events.

Eziri claimed third place in the triple jump with a mark of 14.05 meters, and Gong finished third in the long jump, leaping to a personal-best distance of 6.88 meters.

First-year Camden Heafitz ’25 cleared 1.91 meters to finish sixth in the high jump.

A select group of both the men and women’s team will compete at Tufts on Saturday, March 5, for their final shot at clocking more top times before the upcoming NCAA Division III Championships on March 11 in North Carolina. An elite group of the top 20 athletes in each individual event and the top 12 relay teams will qualify to square off against the best of the best at this year’s championships.

Women's Hockey NESCAC Final (if necessary)

TUE Women's Lacrosse vs. Springfield, 6 p.m.

GAME SCHE DULE