OPINION

The Amherst Student • November 2, 2022

Opinion 13 Kayah’s Korner: A Guide to Navigating Coursework

Mikayah Parsons ’24

Columnist

Anonymous writes, “I’m already overwhelmed with work! It feels like it takes me one hour to read one page! Help!”

Dear Anonymous,

As an English, American studies, Black studies, and history major, I know a lot about the struggle of endless reading in the humanities. Your question thus prompts several responses, but I will limit my advice to four key points.

1. Organize your time.

You are the best judge of your learning style. Some students like to crank out work in a five-hour chunk of time, while others break their day up by alternating between two-hour bursts of work and leisure. Some students use a planner — monthly, daily, hourly (if you’re anything like me, you’ll use all three). The challenges of this are that sometimes our learning styles change or that we can’t always accommodate them. There have been semesters where I completely abandoned all three of my planners and instead relied on a daily to-do list app (I recommend “Do!” for all your listing needs). Some of those semesters, I didn’t have time to write everything down in three journals. Some trial and error might be necessary, but try to focus on pinning down an organizational tactic that works for you within the first few weeks of a new semester.

2. Learn how to skim.

During my first year, I thought I had to read every single word of every assigned text to fully understand the material. While I would encourage getting as much of the assigned reading as possible done, there are moments when it simply isn’t possible. In those moments, you have to rely on yourself to skim the material. One trick that often works for scholarly humanities readings is to first read the introduction, which will often map out the author’s main argument and the trajectory of the rest of the book. Then read the conclusion, which will often restate the author’s argument and summarize the results of their findings. If you have time, also look at the first and last paragraphs of every chapter. On this note, if you lack confidence in your ability to contribute to discussion without reading all of the material for a particular class (looking at you, philosophy), consider your strengths and weaknesses. Are you able to synthesize the material from your Black studies class well enough to form an insightful discussion question from just a single sentence in the reading? Perhaps you do all of your philosophy readings and only part of the readings for your Black studies class. No matter what, always make sure you bring points of discussion to the day’s class.

3. Tap into your resources.

We are fortunate enough to engage with extremely empathetic professors on the daily. While I can’t speak for every professor or every course, I think Amherst professors are generally open-minded and recognize each student as a holistic human being. Communicate with your professor that you’re struggling, and you’ll be surprised at the advice and strategies they can offer to help out! One semester, when I was working upwards of 40 hours a week, my professor told me which readings to focus on and which were less foundational to the course. I revisited some of the texts I couldn’t get to in a later semester, and I was extremely grateful for this professor’s flexibility. I was a much more engaged student having completed only half of the readings than if I had sacrificed my personal needs to get the reading done before the original deadline.

4. Lastly, and most importantly: Shift your mindset.

Much of the anxiety of low-income students comes from a need to prove oneself. Again, I can’t speak for every low-income student, but I can share my personal experience and the experiences of those close to me. I wasted much of my time here at Amherst trying to give to the institution as if I hadn’t earned my spot here, as if I had started from a place of incompetence and needed to work my way up. I spent much of my study sessions thinking of the “right way” to do the reading. I could also try the following bridging sentence just before it: Since much of the admissions process was spent trying to prove our level of intellect, many students come to college with the assumption that the purpose of college is to demonstrate knowledge one has already gleaned. The secret to college is this: You aren’t here to show off knowledge that you already have, such as figures or facts. I’m not suggesting those things aren’t important, but they’re not the destination. If they were, the entire conception of college as a transformative educational experience would need to shift. You’re here to expand your knowledge and apply it, to push your mind past its limits until you realize there’s no such thing. There’s a point at which you realize that you must make the institution work for you. College, despite its often uniform requirements, is not as one-size-fits-all as public discourse would have it seem. The reality is, you’re here to discover your interests, where your contribution feels most valuable, and what work feels most fulfilling to you. Remember that this is your education. Where do you find yourself feeling the happiest? What makes the most impact in your personal life? Where do you see yourself making the most impact? This is not to suggest that you should abandon or shut your mind to other endeavors. It’s to say that it’s okay if you can’t give 110 percent of yourself to every single thing that you’re doing. As you find your place here, you’ll begin to prioritize what you feel suits yourself best as a student, and that is ultimately exactly what you should do.

I hope I was able to address some of your concerns. Best of luck on your journey for the rest of the semester!

With love, Mikayah

Mass. Insider: On the Ballot

Shane Dillon ’26

Columnist

I have spent much time in this column writing about the Governor and Lt. Governor’s race — but let’s talk today about the other names lining the state ballot this cycle.

The most exciting part about this election cycle in the Commonwealth is that the nominees in five of the six statewide races are women. This is the first time Massachusetts has had this many women running for statewide office, and it’s about time. In fact, all six nominees would have been women if the almost 30-year incumbent State Secretary of the Commonwealth had not decided to run for yet another re-election.

In the Attorney General race, former Boston City Councilor and Council President Andrea Campbell reigned supreme in the Democratic primary. Many in Western Massachusetts political circles have argued that Ms. Campbell won the nomination only because gubernatorial nominee Maura Healey endorsed her in the lead-up to the primary — an argument which, given Campbell’s lackluster political record prior to this race, may not be too far off the truth.

Regardless of party endorse-

The Amherst Student • November 2, 2022

Meet the Other Massachusetts Candidates

Photo courtesy of Shane Dillon ’26

Shane Dillon ’26 with State Sen. Diana DiZoglio at a State Committee meeting in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Continued from page 13

ment, Campbell boasts a strong set of qualifications. According to the Berkshire Eagle’s endorsement, “Ms. Campbell’s resume includes time as a legal services attorney with EdLaw, an employment attorney, general counsel at the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission, and legal counsel to Gov. Deval Patrick.” Her motivations for running for the state’s top law-enforcement position are clear, too: She often references the tragedy of her brother’s death while incarcerated, endowing her campaign with enormous meaning and drawing attention to the awful conditions endemic to the prison system. It’s clear Campbell is qualified for the job, but can she beat her opponent?

Campbell will face Republican Jay McMahon, who ran unopposed in his primary. A little-known name in politics, McMahon believes that there is too much “wokeness” in the Attorney General’s office. On his campaign website, he promises to, among other things, “initiate ‘Extreme Prosecution.’” According also to his website, “laws are supposed to prevent the bad guys from doing bad things. Therefore, laws that prevent good guys from doing lawful things do not reduce crime, they in fact enhance crime.” While researching and participating in state politics, I have never seen a campaign website as unserious and utterly ridiculous as this one. McMahon is dangerous, and if a candidate as unserious about the position as he is were to win the election, our Commonwealth’s future would be very dark indeed. Thankfully, according to a recent UMass Amherst poll, Campbell is expected to electorally annihilate McMahon 58 percent to 33 percent.

Next up, the State Auditor’s position. The State Auditor’s is perhaps the least known of the statewide offices, but its race is one of the most important. According to the Massachusetts Auditor’s website, “the Office of [the] State Auditor (OSA) conducts audits, investigations, and studies to promote accountability and transparency, improve performance, and make government work better.”

Boston area State Sen. Diana DiZoglio won the Democratic primary race for the Auditorshipdespite her lack of Democratic Party endorsement. Her opponent, Chris Dempsey, who has never held an elected office and is possibly most famous for having led the effort to keep the 2024 Olympics out of Boston, was endorsed by the current state auditor, Suzanne Bump, and won the state party endorsement in June. Dempsey won the party establishment endorsement, but DiZoglio triumphed.

DiZoglio spent most of her primary campaign appealing to young, progressive voters in the state and capitalizing on already being an elected official from eastern Massachusetts. DiZoglio made headlines in 2018 when she broke a non-disclosure agreement on the Massachusetts House of Representatives floor in order to make a statement against NDAs. Since then, she has advocated in the legislature to support victims of NDAs. One of her campaign pitches was that as Auditor, she would audit the Massachusetts Legislature to root out the apparent corruption — corruption like the silencing she faced when she had to sign her NDA years ago. More on her auditor plan can be found here.

In the general election, DiZoglio faces fellow Italian American Anthony Amore, the head of security for the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

I have one of DiZoglio’s lawn signs on my lawn back in Springfield, and they are the biggest lawn signs I have ever seen. She told me a couple months back at an event that she wanted a picture of her on the lawn signs, so voters understood that she was the Italian “woman” in the race. I like Sen. DiZoglio a lot and believe that she will use the full power of the Auditor’s office to seek and root out the corruption and systemic injustices within our state agencies.

I only know a little about Amore. I have yet to see him at a single event in the western part of the state throughout this campaign season — a fact perhaps reflective of commonly-held perceptions of the region’s importance. To be fair and honest, I had no clue who Amore was until I had to look him up to write this. I fully support DiZoglio.

Finally, in the Treasurer’s race, Deb Goldberg is running for re-election. Her only opponent is a Libertarian nominee, and third parties, like in the rest of the country, do not stand a chance in Massachusetts. I fully support her return to the office.

Also on the ballot are four questions. YES on Question One would establish an additional 4 percent state income tax on annual taxable income exceeding $1 million. I am voting yes because I believe that the wealthy need to pay their fair share.

YES on Question Two would expand access to dental insurance throughout the state and help begin to close healthcare inequities. I am voting yes on question two.

YES on Question Three expands the ability of retailers to sell alcoholic beverages. I am leaving this question blank because I am not of drinking age. A NO vote would not change any alcohol-related laws in the state.

Finally, Question Four. YES on Question Four would allow undocumented immigrants to apply for and receive a driver’s license in the state of Massachuesetts. The Massachusetts legislature has already passed this law and it will take effect in July 2023. A yes vote would keep the law in place and a NO vote would repeal it. I believe in expanding access to citizenship and the resources one can receive under it, so I am voting yes on question four and encourage everyone else to do so as well.

This column is being published just a week before election day! Please plan to get to the polls any way you can on Nov. 8 and make your voice heard!

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Deb Goldberg, Democratic incumbent nominee for State Treasurer.

The Amherst Student • November 2, 2022 Let’s Talk About Israel and Palestine

Mason Quintero ’23

Staff Writer

I am a Zionist. Think about your reaction. Agreement? Disgust? Curiosity? When I call myself a Zionist, I mean that I believe the Jewish people should have a nation in the land of Israel. Some may think that as a Zionist, I must be anti-Palestinian. But that’s not the case. I firmly believe Palestinians should have a nation in the land of Palestine.

On this campus and many others, Jewish students who believe in self-determination for their own people are afraid to say so publicly for fear of backlash. Last year I spent four months doing research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Most students talk about their study abroad with anyone who will listen, but I look over my shoulder anytime I’m about to bring it up. I’m concerned that others will make snap judgements about me just because I visited the Jewish state. Many feel the need to go even further: in a Brandeis Center survey, roughly half of Jewish college students reported at times hiding their Jewish, never mind Zionist, identity.

In order to have a respectful discourse on Israel/Palestine, we have to start by listening to each other’s narratives, something that can be painful and too easily derailed. Both Jews and Palestinians have a historical connection to the land, and their need for self-determination has been demonstrated by the way they have been treated in lands controlled by others.

The Jewish connection to the land dates back thousands of years, and Jews have maintained a presence there ever since we were exiled by the Romans nearly 2,000 years ago. Those of us in the diaspora pray facing Jerusalem, our holiest religious sites are there, and every year after our Passover Seder, we exclaim, “Next year in Jerusalem!”

I can only give my perspective and don’t presume to speak for Palestinians yearning for a state of their own. That being said, the Palestinian connection to the land dates back over a thousand years. Jerusalem is a place of religious significance for Muslim and Christian Palestinians. Many of the Palestinian refugees still have the keys to their homes in Israel proper, to which they hope to return.

The connections that both have to the land are undeniable, and the distressing situations of each in lands controlled by others is proof of the need for a nation for both peoples.

Since being exiled from the land of Israel, Jews have faced persecution and expulsions in many of the places we’ve lived. This includes the expulsion of Jews in England, France, Spain, and Portugal in the Middle Ages, and the approximately 850,000 Jews expelled from Iraq, Libya, Morocco, and other Middle Eastern and North African countries in the 1940s-70s. From 1946 to 1948, the British interned more than 50,000 Holocaust survivors, fleeing to Mandatory Palestine, in detention camps in Cyprus, where 400 of them died. Ever since Jews rebuilt a state in their ancestral homeland, surrounding nations have invaded it many times, including in 1973 on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for Jews. Even in the U.S., antisemitic incidents made up more than half of religious based incidents of hatred in 2020, despite Jews only making up 2 percent of the population. Given this, having a state that Jews can turn to in times of need is critical.

Palestinians have also faced persecution living in lands controlled by others. From 2011 to 2020, Syrian forces killed over 3,000 Palestinians, nearly 500 due to torture. Palestinians born in Lebanon are denied work in dozens of professions, access to full health care, and education in Lebanese schools. In the West Bank, the Israeli government has restricted Palestinian movement so that they must go through checkpoints — where they face humiliation and abuse — in order to get to their jobs, visit family, and attend friends’ weddings. Shortly after Hamas, a U.S. and E.U. designated terrorist organization, seized power over Gaza in 2007, Israel and Egypt began enforcing a blockade there that monitors everyone and everything going in and out. This has led to high levels of unemployment, increased aid dependency for basic necessities, and limited ability to travel outside of Gaza. Palestinians living in Gaza, under Hamas, and parts of the West Bank, under the Palestinian Authority, have not had parliamentary or presidential elections since 2006, taking away even that measure of self-determination. Given their current situation, Palestinians also need a state that they can turn to.

We must understand that not everyone who declares themselves pro-Palestine hates Zionists and not everyone who declares themselves a Zionist hates Palestinians. Let’s work toward a world where that is true of all people who call themselves pro-Palestine or Zionist. It begins with recognizing that both Jews and Palestinians have claims to the land of Israel and Palestine, and understanding that both need a nation that they can turn to in times of need. Once we agree on that, the hard work begins.

Red Herring: Wisdom Teeth Recovery

by Isaac Streiff ’24

w Amusements

A Swift Solve | Crossword - Nov. 2, 2022

ACROSS

1 A Dr. Martens, perhaps 5 Glass container 8 "Company" company 12 Outside the box 14 City found on 3am Edition 15 Song on "folklore" that introduces fictional love triangle between Betty, James, and Augustine 16 "Brave" protagonist 17 Where most people are from 18 Squeeze out 19 Artist whispering in "Snow On The Beach," to fans 23 Musical exposé allegedly about Taylor's relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal 28 Rules that limit free speech in Congress 30 Undertaker undertaking? 31 Fish eggs 32 Boater's barrier 33 Aflame 34 With 39-Across, song in which Taylor declares, "I'm the problem, it's me" 35 Taylor's tenth album which has taken all the Top 10 spots on the Billboard 100 39 See 34-Across 42 Snakelike fish 43 "I can't wait!" 47 Broadway star Noblezada 48 Conehead by Zero Gravity Craft Brewery, e.g. 49 Sold-out sour beverage at Fall Fest 51 Taylor's response to being called a "snake" in 2016 54 Percussive dancing style 55 "___ Duke" (Stevie Wonder hit) 56 Bro 58 Month claimed by Swifties 61 Album released two days before Taylor's birthday 66 Food Guy 67 Home Depot purchases 68 Marine plant that can grow to be 100 feet tall 79 Spearheaded 70 "Let ___" (Beatles hit) 3 "Star Spangled Banner" contraction 4 Iota 5 Halloween puppet 6 Benefits 7 Having to do with the kidneys 8 Baseball Hall of Famer Rod 9 "Thank U, Next" singer, to fans 10 "___ the Science Kid" 11 Airport org. 13 Aunt in Acapulco 14 Orange tea 16 Member of TeamRocket 19 Some TVs 20 Sound of satisfaction 21 International grp. 22 Spanish mission where an 1836 battle occurred 24 Kindling 25 East ending 26 Auction unit 27 Floral necklace 29 Squid Game contestant that lost his marbles 33 Baby beginning? 34 "From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ___" ("You're On Your Own, Kid" lyrics) 36 Fly away 37 How a drink may be ordered 38 Cartoon cat 39 Singer of "America the Beautiful" at Super Bowl LV 40 First lady? 41 Music whose subgenres include drill and emo 44 It is usually made of willow in cricket 45 Laudatory poem 46 "That's right!" 48 "Who's there?" response 49 Where Pei designed his pyramid 50 Without a doubt 52 Play Richard III 53 Pinnacle 57 What a new Tavlor album drop brings, to Swifties 58 Not playing, in gamer speak 59 180° turn 60 Salon application 62 X-ray alternative 63 Umpire's call 64 Late SCOTUS justice who visited Amherst, for short 65 WNW opposite

Brianne LaBare ’25 and John Joire ’26

Managing Arts & Living Editor and Managing Puzzles Editor

Solutions: Oct. 19