Issue 10

AAS Vice-President Resigns, Citing Discontent

Noor Rahman ’25 Assistant Arts & Living Editor

The Vice-President of the As sociation of Amherst Students (AAS), Jaden Richards ’25, re signed from his office at this Mon day’s AAS meeting, citing discon tent with his relationship to AAS President Sirus Wheaton ’23, as well as frustration with the “tense and uncomfortable” atmosphere of recent Senate meetings.

A special election for another vice-president will be held on Dec. 1, as announced in an email sent by the AAS Elections Committee to the student body on Monday night. Until then, Chair of the Ju diciary Committee Alexandre Ja bor ’23 will preside over the AAS’ weekly Monday meetings. The rest of the executive officers will share the vice president’s other respon

FEATURES 10

sibilities.

In a prepared statement deliv ered at the beginning of Monday’s meeting, Richards expressed his dissatisfaction with his time as vice-president. He said he had been forced to take on the role of the president’s office in addi tion to his own vice-presidential duties. Richards’ resentment was furthered, he said, because he was “cut out of important decisions because [Wheaton] was technical ly [his] superior.”

Richards also cited the dys function of AAS as a reason for his resignation. In particular, he was frustrated with AAS’ excessive spending, unrealistic solutions to problems, and the circular nature of Senate debates. He began to feel “helpless” in his capacity to lead the AAS productively, which is in part what led him to resign.

Richards went on to say that he felt that his attempts to deal with AAS’ dysfunction could not be reconciled with Wheaton’s style of leadership. “While [Wheaton] was happy to exercise the privileg es of his office, I don’t know that he’s doing anything else, frankly,” he said.

“I’ve been very unhappy these last couple of months,” Richards concluded in his statement. “And I’ve come to dread sitting in this chair.” Following his statement, Richards left the Red Room, and Jabor took over control for the du ration of the meeting.

In an interview with The Stu dent, Wheaton said that Richards’ statement was “not an accurate portrayal of the way [they] shared the load.” He added that he views the vice-president’s responsibili ties as centered on handling day-

OPINION 12

to-day business, while the presi dent serves as the ambassador of the AAS to the administration.

In his opinion, there is not much overlap between the two roles. He believes that both he and Richards fulfilled the duties of their offices as defined by the AAS constitu tion.

Wheaton suggested that part of Richards’ discontent stemmed from the fact that he took on re sponsibilities outside the purview of his office. Wheaton said that Richards tried “to be super pro active and a really great vice-pres ident,” adding that he believes that these efforts led to Richards’ over-exertion and ultimate burn out.

He also put forth the possibil ity that Richards’ discontent with

Continued on page 2

Women’s and Men’s Soccer Claim NESCAC Championships in Simultaneous Contests

Men’s and women’s soccer both won their respective NESCAC tour naments last weekend, the third time since 2011 that both teams have won the conference title in the same season (2011, 2016, 2022).

The No. 6 Men’s team, the tour nament’s third seed, beat Wesley an 1-0 in the quarterfinals, before facing No. 20 Middlebury in the semifinal and upstart Connecticut College in the final. Both matches went into overtime; however, the Mammoths were able to pull out 2-1 wins on two straight days to bring home the title.

The No. 8 Women’s team, the NESCAC regular season champion, won the right to host the tourna ment’s final two games with a com manding 3-0 quarterfinal win over the Camels. After a 1-0 overtime win over No. 22 Tufts in the semis, they cruised to a 2-0 victory over Wesleyan the following day to take the title.

This weekend, both teams begin their national championship hunt in the NCAA tournament. The men will host the first two rounds, while the women will travel to RIT.

ARTS&LIVING 19

"The Birdcage": Alex Brandfonbrener '23 reviews the latest Green Room production, which tracks a young couple and the contentious union of their families.

Italian at Amherst: Madeline Lawson '25 explores the history of the college's Italian language pro gram, which was discontinued in 1972.

Brazilian Democracy: Oliver Polachini '26 reflects on the importance of Lula's election for democracy both in Brazil and across the globe.

For the third time ever, both the men’s and women’s soccer teams won the NESCAC title in the same year.

Leo Kamin ’25 and Kate Becker ’26 Managing News Editor and Staff Writer

POLICE LOG

>>Nov. 1, 2022

4:26 p.m., Charles Pratt Hall ACPD took a report of a vandalized Black Lives Mat ter sign.

>>Nov. 3, 2022

4:37 p.m., Off Campus ACPD took a report of on line fraud.

>>Nov. 3, 2022

11:34 p.m., South Hall ACPD responded to a prealarm of fire. The alarm was caused by marijuana smoke

>>Nov. 4, 2022 10:31 p.m., Hitchcock Hall Community Safety respond ed to a noise complaint.

>>Nov. 5, 2022

2:21 p.m., Stearns Hall ACPD and Community Safety responded to a report of a fight.

>>Nov. 5, 2022 11:12 a.m., Woodside Avenue Community Service re sponded to a parking complaint.

>>Nov. 6, 2022 12:08 a.m., Jenkins Hall ACPD responded to a prefire alarm. The cause was

steam from a shower.

>>Nov. 6, 2022 01:17 a.m., Nicholls-Biondi Hall

ACPD and AFD responded to an intentional false acti vation of a fire alarm.

>>Nov. 6, 2022 10:57 a.m., Nicholls-Bion di Hall

A student reported their bed was stolen from their room. It was later recov ered.

>>Nov. 6, 2022

12:24 p.m., Campus Grounds ACPD investigated the report of a stolen bicycle. Bicycle was then recov ered.

>>Nov. 6, 2022 10:26 p.m., Jenkins Hall ACPD responded to the report of loud screaming. Officers discovered a par ty and asked attendees to lower the noise and head inside.

Richards Resigns Amid Disagreement With AAS President

Continued from page 1

the job of vice-president was due to his being the only sophomore on the e-board, while all oth er members are upperclassmen. Wheaton suggested that Richards may have been trying to prove himself up to the task despite his lower class year, and that Rich ards’ onboarding process could have been made smoother in light of this fact. This dynamic had not occurred to him before, though, because he thought of Richards as “such a competent person.”

In interviews with The Student, Wheaton and Richards both not ed that the friction between them was at least in part due to their dif fering communication styles.

Richards noted that this mani fested in the way he chose to mod erate the AAS meetings, saying that the role of the e-board was to create a sense of organization and purposeful direction that he felt has been lacking. “I was stepping out and doing more than the role required because I felt like it was necessary to put some order in the place,” Richards said. “It was up to [Wheaton] whether he wanted to join me in that.”

Conversely, Wheaton said his philosophy is that of the “invisible hand.” He envisions an e-board that allows the Senate to deter mine its own course without ex erting too much control. He felt

that Richards’ moderation of the AAS meetings limited the conver sation and did not allow all voices to be heard.

Richards also expressed con cerns about Wheaton’s lack of transparency to the rest of the e-board, especially about his meetings with members of the administration. In general, he was frustrated by Wheaton’s passivity when it came to communication, claiming that the pair had only spoken one on one a few times.

“I can’t work with someone who has no inclination to work with me,” he said in his statement to the AAS.

Wheaton maintained that he “does not need to relay every con versation he has with administra tors” to the e-board. He also said that his meetings with administra tors were often personal in nature and not relevant to the business of running AAS. Communication, he added, “is a two-way street.” He felt that Richards was not interest ed in talking to him.

Nonetheless, while conced ing that he and Richards “are not friends,” Wheaton insisted that he had been satisfied with their part nership. “People don’t have to get along to work together,” he said.

“The disagreement is in how we saw the running of [the] Sen ate,” added Wheaton. “And I think those things did strain our rela tionship. I think he did take it very

personally.”

Beyond his relationship with Wheaton, Richards was also upset by the increasingly unkind nature of AAS discussions, especially in the aftermath of The Contra’s arti cle “In Defense of Hamas,” which provoked contentious debate during the AAS’ meetings of Oct. 24 and Oct. 31. He described these conversations as “tense and un comfortable,” and said that he had difficulty maintaining decorum during the meeting. He wishes that senators with differing opin ions on the article had expressed more empathy toward one anoth er, rather than disregarding the opinions of fellow senators.

When the Senate was review ing the minutes of the Oct. 24 meeting for approval at the Oct. 31 meeting, one senator suggested editing one of Wheaton’s state ments, claiming that Wheaton had said that most Black students are athletes, and that this had been left unrecorded. The com ment was said to have been made when Wheaton was explaining that Contra articles published be fore “In Defense of Hamas” had targeted students of color, with Wheaton allegedly stating that The Contra’s article in favor of abolishing athletics was harmful towards Black students.

According to the minutes of the Oct. 31 meeting, Wheaton “said that the suggestion [the sen

ator] had made was a racist state ment and not what he said. He said that he had explained why he thought an article was offensive to students of color, and not that stu dents of color were predominantly athletes.”

Richards was distressed by Wheaton having “gaslit” the sen ator who made the changes by denying his statement and having made “accusations of racism … to silence” her. Richards said he “felt incapable of working with an in dividual who acts like that so bra zenly.”

Wheaton remained steadfast in his claim that the suggested ed its did not reflect the intention or meaning of his statement. In addi tion, he told The Student that he had not called the senator a racist, but had called her characteriza tion of his comment racist.

Richards said that when he had stopped one senator from in terrupting another, he was “pub licly reprimanded” by Wheaton. Richards explained that he was extremely offended at being told he was doing his job wrong by “someone who has never done his [own job].” He added, “Disrespect is one of the few things I cannot tolerate.”

Referencing the same incident, Wheaton said he perceived an “in credibly misogynistic tone” in the way that Richards had “yelled at” the senator. “I think there’s no rea

son anyone in [the] Senate should ever have that tone with anyone,” he added. He felt that it was crit ical that he address Richards publicly to ensure that everyone present knew that “to talk down to a woman like that” was unaccept able. He said that he did not “dis respect” Richards or “challeng[e] his authority.”

Wheaton expressed his sin cere regret that Richards had been driven to resign. He called him “very passionate” and “dedicated,” adding that he “hold[s] no ill will” and “wish[es] [Richards] luck in whatever he does.” Both Whea ton and Richards conceded that they should have handled certain aspects of their respective roles differently.

Richards told The Student that he hopes the next vice-president “feels like they are part of a team, that they’re working towards a purpose and that they can achieve that purpose.”

Wheaton hopes that delineat ing the distinct roles of the pres ident and vice-president more clearly will help him have a better relationship with whoever takes Richards’ place.

Candidate statements for the upcoming vice-president elec tions are due to the AAS Elections Committee by Nov. 19. Speech Night will take place at Johnson Chapel on Nov. 30, and voting will take place the following day.

College Anticipates Likely End of Affirmative Action

Cal Gelernt ’24 Staff Writer

On Oct. 31, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases concerning race-conscious admis sions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina (UNC). According to most court observers, last week’s arguments indicated that the court’s conser vative majority appears ready to strike down these programs. Such a ruling, which would come out in the late spring or early summer of 2023, would have far-reaching im plications for admissions programs at colleges across the nation, includ ing Amherst.

The court appeared inclined to side against the kinds of arguments presented by Amherst in an amicus curiae brief to the court asking it to uphold race-conscious admissions. The brief, which was also signed by 32 other “private, highly selective residential colleges,” notes that a reversal of affirmative action would “deal a powerful blow against Ami ci’s effort to create diverse student bodies.”

The brief also specifically dis cusses the effect that a decision in favor of the plaintiffs could have on Amherst: “Amherst … has deter mined that an entirely race-blind policy would reduce the percentage of historically underrepresented students of color in its student body — including Native American, Black, and Hispanic students — by approximately half.”

Court watchers believe, howev

er, that the court will bypass these concerns and argue that race-con scious admissions violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by discriminat ing on the basis of race.

Mathew McGann, the dean of admission and financial aid, waited in line for 15 hours to at tend the oral argument last week, and he stressed the importance of race-conscious admissions to Am herst’s own admissions policy. “We know that if we are no longer able to have a holistic admissions policy that includes race as a factor it will have a negative impact on campus diversity,” McGann said.

Numerous other schools, pro fessors, groups, and organizations filed amicus briefs in support of Harvard and UNC, ranging from the National Association of Basket ball Coaches to the Anti-Defama tion League to members of Con gress and several states.

The plaintiff in the case, Stu dents for Fair Admission (SFFA), a nationwide non-profit that claims to represent 20,000 members, is challenging Harvard’s admission policy on the basis that it discrim inates against Asian American ap plicants. SFFA alleges that Asian American applicants are consistent ly marked lower by Harvard admis sions officers for subjective traits such as likability, personality, cour age, and kindness in order to keep Asian-American admission rates below a certain percentage. In the organization’s case against North Carolina, SFFA claims more gener ally that the admissions process has

treated White and Asian American applicants less favorably than Black, Latino, and Native American appli cants.

The university defendants have claimed that their admissions poli cies do not discriminate, but rather consider race as one factor in a ho listic admissions process, asserting that plaintiffs have relied on a flawed analysis of admissions statistics. Moreover, they argue that their pol icies are consistent with the Court’s ruling in Grutter v. Bollinger, which plaintiffs seek to overturn. Since the case entered the court system, two trial courts have sided with the uni versities, and a federal appeals court also affirmed Harvard’s admission policy.

An Amherst graduate, Ryan Park ’05, the solicitor general for the state of North Carolina, represented UNC before the court.

In addition to banning the ex plicit use of race as an admissions factor, the Supreme Court argu ments also focused on whether students can mention race in their admissions essays. McGann told The Student that a ruling prevent ing such discussion in application materials would be at odds with Amherst’s mission. “We believe in an admissions process that consid ers all aspects of a person’s identity, and we want students to feel free and open to share all the parts of their identity with us that they feel are salient to who they are,” he said.

Zaki Alaoui ’24, who is in his second year as a diversity outreach intern with the admissions office, echoed McGann. “The impact of a decision against the universities would really hurt the overall diver sity and demographic makeup of Amherst, which makes it the special place that it is,” he said. For Alaoui, “diversity is not only essential in the classroom but also essential within social dynamics for understanding people from different backgrounds and cultures.”

Sirus Wheaton ’23, who is also a diversity outreach intern, serves on the Student Anti-Racism Advi sory Committee. Wheaton said that President Michael Elliott discussed the potential ramifications of the impending court decision with stu

dents on the committee. “President Elliott asked if it would be helpful to have a lawyer come in and talk about what the college’s options are,” he said. “He [Elliott] said the school is going to still do as much as they can to promote diversity on campus, but they would have to work under new guidelines and re strictions,” he continued.

Wheaton said that one possible way Amherst may look to continue to foster diversity in the wake of a decision gutting race-conscious ad missions policies would be to look to socio-economic status, using zip codes as an indicator of income lev el. “If the college looked to promote socio-economic diversity, it could also really help with racial diversi ty,” he said.

One other “race-neutral” alter native to race-conscious admissions frequently proposed is to accept top students from a wide range of high schools.The University of Texas, for example uses a “top 10%” rule, which admits students graduating in the top 10 percent of their class from every high school in the state. Because of the high degree of seg regation in Texas schools, the plan promotes diversity on campus without explicitly using race as an admissions factor. But, like the use of socio-economic status as a proxy for race, it is far from flaw less, and would not work as well in states with fewer majority-minority

schools.

Other students also expressed their concerns about what the court’s decision could mean. Theo Dassin ’24 has been following the Harvard case closely. “It’s about quite literally the future of America in a lot of ways,” he said. “It impacts everyone, regardless of whether you are directly benefiting from race-conscious admissions or not. Everyone who goes to Amherst is an example of someone who is ben efiting from the campus diversity that race-conscious admissions fos ters. If the court strikes down these policies, it would have a profoundly detrimental impact on my imme diate community here at Amherst and the country as a whole.”

While many in the community have expressed fears about the im pending decision, McGann noted one bright spot from his trip to Washington. Discussing his expe rience attending the arguments, he said that the number of people who showed up to the hearings last week gave him hope despite the direction of the oral argument.

“So many people in line with me also had a part in the case in some way,” he said. “It made what could have been a very sad occasion into a moment of many students and educators standing up loudly and proudly for the value of diversity. It was wonderful to see just how many people came out.”

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments for two cases challenging race-conscious admissions last Monday. Ex perts say the end of affirmative action may be near.

Photo courtesy of Amherst College

Photo courtesy of dbking via flickr

Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Matthew Mc Gann, who attended the oral arguments in Washington.

Pro-democracy Initiatives Seek To Engage Apathetic Student Body

Liam Archacki ’24 and Leo Kamin ’25 Senior Managing Editor and Manag ing News Editor

Just a few weeks after President Michael Elliott declared in his com mencement address that democracy was “under attack in the U.S. and around the world” and in need of “leaders who have received an ed ucation in the liberal arts,” Amalia Roy ’23 walked into Amherst Col lege Democrats’ (AC Dems) first meeting of the semester to find the club’s president sitting alone in an empty room. Not a single student had shown up.

To some, that empty classroom is indicative of a larger problem at Amherst. Ahead of Tuesday’s mid term elections, which many polit ical observers considered a crucial referendum on democracy, The Student interviewed a number of members of the college community on the state of political engagement on campus. In general, students described a student body that is

smart, interested in politics, and committed to issues like social and environmental justice, yet strangely detached from democratic process es, both within the college and be yond it.

But the interviews also suggest ed that students are broadly aware of the problem of political apathy on campus, and there are clear signs — including the formation of a new club, Amherst College Students for Democracy (ASFD) — that some student leaders are attempting to in spire a renewed faith in democracy.

Roy, who arrived at Amherst in 2017 and returned to campus this year after two gap years during the pandemic, described coming back to “a completely different school” this fall, one with fewer political events and less open debate. When she left to study abroad in 2019, AC Dems and Amherst College Republicans (AC Republicans) still had large presences on campus. She recalled how AC Dems went to work knocking on doors to help flip a House seat in New York in 2018,

and how AC Republicans brought former Attorney General Jeff Ses sions to campus in 2019, sparking a massive walkout, neither of which she could imagine happening today.

However, she said that even be fore the pandemic, students were noticing low and declining engage ment in political issues, both on and off campus. She referenced a 2018 article in the now-defunct student publication AC Voice diagnosing the campus with a “malaise” and also pointing to declining engage ment in the Association of Amherst Students (AAS).

Lucas Romualdo ’24, the pres ident of AC Dems, has observed a similar decline in participation. He remembers being told by seniors during his first year at Amherst about meetings of the Amherst Po litical Union (APU) during the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings in 2018 that drew “50, 60, 70 peo ple.” Though this moment has not been short of political intrigue, these days, he said, the group typically draws around 10 participants.

The president of APU, Melanie Schwimmer ’23, cautioned, how ever, that APU attendance may not be the best metric of students’ polit ical feelings. “I worry about people saying, ‘Oh, the participation APU is low, therefore people don’t care about politics,’” she said. “I think that people might not want to come and talk about politics for an hour. But that doesn’t mean they don’t want to engage.”

She also conceded, though, that engagement with political groups has decreased across her time at Amherst, which she partly connect ed to “a decrease in club participa tion across the board.”

Lower participation prevented AC Dems from doing the kind of get-out-the-vote work that it would typically engage in ahead of yester day’s midterm elections. It did not hold phone banking events this fall after its phone-banks last semester drew low attendance.

The lack of engagement with the midterm elections was distressing to Olivia Ward ’23, the president of

Amherst College Votes (AC Votes), which helps students register to vote and cast their ballots. She sees these midterms as “crazily important in terms of just election integrity and keeping democracy alive.”

Her words echoed those of Presi dent Joe Biden, who cast the election in existential terms, pointing to the presence of hundreds of 2020 elec tion deniers on ballots across the country, and declared last week that “democracy is on the ballot” in yes terday’s elections.

The lack of engagement observed by political-club leaders seems to extend to the college’s on-campus democratic body. While the AAS controls club funding, spearheads many student-oriented initiatives, and holds a direct line to the college’s administration, only around a quar ter of students voted in last spring’s Senate elections. The junior and se nior races had exactly as many can didates as open Senate seats.

At this Monday’s Senate meeting, AAS Vice-President Jaden Richards ’25 resigned from his position, citing personal difficulties among senators and a general inability to engage in respectful debate. In an interview with The Student, he expressed dis appointment with the body’s lack of open discourse. “Most votes in AAS are unanimous,” he said. “And they’re unanimous because senators in AAS quite clearly feel very afraid to be in disagreement.”

Without discourse, he added, “you’re not making the right deci sion. You’re just making the deci sion that the loudest people want to make.”

Richards sees student govern ment as an opportunity for students to “sharpen” themselves before tackling the problems of the broad er society. Ideally, he said, it would prepare both voters and senators for futures as democratic citizens and leaders.

However, Richards said that, throughout his time at AAS, he nev er felt that the student body particu larly cared about his work. “Students aren’t interested in student govern ment,” he said.

Frustrated, he said he under

Graphic courtesy of Nina Aagaard ’26

Community Considers Response to a Democracy in Peril

stood that “I can’t make them in terested. If you want something to serve you, you have to buy in a little and care about it.” The fact that many students do not care is sometimes discussed among senators, he said. “It’s something that lots of people in Senate really wonder about.”

For Richards, the problem runs deeper than just AAS and is indica tive of a community more commit ted to personal ambition than a set of shared values or a purpose. “You have many students here who gen uinely believe a topic is not worth learning unless it gets you a job,” he said. “How are they going to be the ones contributing to democracy?”

Ross Kilpatrick ’24E similarly said he believed that the campus’s lackluster political environment is a function of a campus that brings together “a lot of people who are hyper-ambitious.” Though many students feel strongly about certain issues, very few seem willing to de vote their lives to public service. He worried that some political engage ment is largely inspired by students’ desires to beef up their resumes for jobs in the private sector. Some students “us[ing] all the jingoism of liberalism to leverage that into a po sition at extremely high-paying in stitutions,” such as consulting firms, he said.

Kilpatrick founded a new publi cation, The Amherst Contra, last se mester in an attempt to address what he sees as a lack of political discourse and debate on campus, another issue that often came up in interviews. He cited John Stuart Mill’s idea that so cial suppression of speech is “stron ger than any kind of governmental policy” and said he hopes that by publishing controversial opinions, often by writers who are granted an onymity, the publication can foster greater dialogue on campus.

Since its inception, The Contra has been the subject of controversy on campus, drawing criticism from some that it gives a platform to views that are excessively inflammatory and divisive, though Kilpatrick said that he has heard more positive re actions to the publication than neg ative.

Nonetheless, he lamented that some Amherst students are “very dismissive of the idea that you need disagreement to form correct opin ions” and hopes that The Contra would allow students to engage with the counter argument to their as sumptions and beliefs.

Other students agreed that the lack of political diversity on cam pus disincentivizes political engage ment. Roy said that, before the pan demic, debate and conflict between AC Dems and AC Republicans contributed to a feeling of politi cal energy on campus. Since 2019, though — when offensive messages from AC Republicans’ GroupMe were leaked to The Student and AAS forced members of the club’s e-board to step down — the club has been “in hiding.”

Romualdo said that the lack of a voice on the other side of the aisle made it harder to organize Dem ocrats. “There’s not a whole lot of reason to have Democratic activism on campus if there are no Republi can activists,” he said. “What are you fighting for?”

Romauldo added that he is often one of the furthest right voices in political discussions as a center-left Democrat who supported Michael Bloomberg in the 2020 democratic primary. “That’s a little crazy to me,” he said.

Students remembered a number of prominent conservative voices brought to campus in the past, in cluding Sessions in 2019 and rightwing political commentator Dinesh D’Souza in 2015. There have been few conservatives on campus in recent years, however. This year’s “Point/Counterpoint” speaker se ries, titled “Democracy at a Cross road,” is paid for by the “Seminars on Opposing Views Fund,” although the three speakers it has featured, Congressman Jamie Raskin, Atlantic columnist George Packer, and Har vard Professor Danielle Allen, hold views that could broadly be placed in the left wing of the Democratic party.

Schwimmer argued, however, that simply bringing more con servative figures to campus would not necessarily fix the problem and might be “giving a platform to white

supremacy or … supporting author itarianism.”

Nevertheless, she still worried that “that there isn’t a space for peo ple to engage in intellectual debate about issues.”

Some members of the college community are increasingly con cerned of the mismatch between the level of political energy on campus and existential issues at stake in cur rent politics.

Austin Sarat, the William Nel son Cromwell professor of juris prudence and political science, is teaching a class this semester called the “Death of American Democra cy.” The course examines the current threats to American institutions and norms, which Sarat argues come, to some extent, from both sides of the political spectrum, in part because people fail to empathize with each other and disagree constructively.

On the first day of class this year, he pitched the idea of a club that would encourage Amherst students to intern with groups engaged in work that promotes democracy. A few months later, several students who have performed research alongside Sarat announced the new organization, ASFD, whose main goal is to roll out a “pledge” next se mester asking students to devote one summer, semester, or January break

to a democracy-related internship. Sarat has said that he is working with Loeb Center to find internships with organizations engaged in this work.

ASFD’s first meeting was held immediately after the George Packer “Democracy at a Crossroads” event on Nov. 3, where an impromptu conversation between Packer and Sarat highlighted two different be liefs about students’ role in democ racy. Though both men agreed that American democracy is in crisis, Packer argued that college students already had a lot on their plates, and that saving democracy need not be added on top.

“There’s a limit to what you can do right now,” Packer said. He rec ommended, instead, that students endeavor “to embody it, to practice it, to go about your life, your rela tionships, your class time in a dem ocratic spirit.”

Before the room of students and Packer, Sarat took issue with this, ar guing that there was “an emergency” and that students “need to do some thing now.”

In an interview with The Student, Sarat doubled down, although he ac knowledged democracy’s shortcom ings. “The promise of democracy has not been realized, meaning de mocracy requires inclusion,” he said. “All kinds of people and groups are

excluded from democratic partici pation.”

But he maintained that students still need to take an active role in de mocracy in order to effect the social change they care about. “If you care about environmental justice, you ain’t gonna get it unless you have a functioning democracy,” he said. “If you care about racial justice, gender justice, economic equality, you’re not going to get those things if you don’t have a functioning democracy.”

His work with ASFD, though, isn’t about winning over those who are disillusioned with democracy.

“My hope for the pledge is that we move students away from thinking voting is enough,” he said. “It ain’t enough.”

One of the students who was in spired by Sarat to become a leader of ASFD, Theo Dassin ’24, empha sized that the club isn’t just about upholding the current American political system, either. “It’s about, in some ways, trying to change our current political system to be more democratic, to do things like trying to fight against voter suppression, to do things like fight against ger rymandering,” he said. “But, also, a goal of the club is to help people understand that democracy is not

President Elliott delivering an address at convocation, where he declared that democracy is "under attack in the U.S. and around the world.”

Photo courtesy of Amherst College

Journalist George Packer Speaks About Democracy

Maggie Sher ’26 Staff Writer

“In 2020, I began to think that American democracy was at risk of committing suicide.”

Award-winning journalist, novelist, and playwright George Packer delivered these harrowing words to students in all sections of the first-year seminar “Prog ress?” on the morning of Thursday, Nov. 3, at the first of three events he would speak at that day. At the morning event, Packer provided additional insight for first-year students into his July 2021 arti cle “How America Fractured Into Four Parts” for The Atlantic, which is derived from his 2021 book “Last Best Hope: America in Crisis and Renewal.”

Packer was the second of three guest speakers in this year’s Point/ Counterpoint lecture series, “De mocracy at a Cross Roads,” held Thursday evening. Packer also spoke to members of the new ly formed student organization Amherst Students for Democracy about ways that students can ac tively participate in democracy. Currently a staff writer for The Atlantic, Packer has had work fea tured in The New Yorker, and is known for his account of the U.S.Iraq War in his 2005 book “The Assassins’ Gate: America in Iraq.”

At his lecture in Fayerweather Hall’s Pruyne Lecture Hall, Packer addressed an overcrowded audi ence, many of whom were forced to stand or sit on stairs. Among at tendees were “Progress?” students, students taking classes or majoring in the Law, Jurisprudence, & Social Thought (LJST) department, and President Michael Elliott. James J. Grosfeld Professor of LJST Law rence Douglas and Professor of Philosophy Nishi Shah moderated the event, prompting Packer with prepared questions for about an hour before opening the discus sion to questions from the audi ence.

Much of the lecture was fo cused on Packer’s “four Americas” concept. Packer explained that cat egorizing Americans as “red” or “blue” was too simple, and that op

posing ideals existed within these classifications.

According to Packer, “red” America can be divided into two further classifications that often come into conflict. “Free America,” an elite, somewhat antiquated, lib ertarian sector of the Republican party to which former President Ronald Reagan belonged, clashes with “Real America,” a relatively new sector of the party whose ide als are unconcerned with individu al pursuit and talent, instead seek ing to identify “who really belongs [in America].”

“Real America is essentially the white Christian heartland of the country,” Packer said.

Packer diagnosed a similar split in “blue” America. “Smart Amer ica,” the Clintons’ and Obamas’ division of the Democratic par ty that supposes education to be the “only path to a good life,” was supplanted by “Just America,” a “rebellion” against the other three narratives, which holds that the U.S. does not offer equal opportu nity and instead reinforces historic hierarchies between oppressor and oppressed.

Packer also explained a curious link between the seemingly po lar-opposite Real and Just Amer ica — arguing that both are more concerned with dogma than with legislation. He offered the exam ples of Congresswomen Alexan dria Ocasio-Cortez and Marjorie Taylor Greene, who emerged from Just and Real America, respective ly; although on opposite sides of the political spectrum, Packer said, both are building brands and “dis tinguishing themselves from the establishment by shocking.”

In stark contrast to Congress man Jamie Raskin, the first Point/ Counterpoint speaker of the se mester and an avid optimist about the future of American democracy, Packer seemed solemnly resigned to the very real threat of its “sui cide.”

“Individually and collective ly, we’re losing the skills that we need to be able to govern our selves together,” he said. Nations like France or Russia aren’t at risk of self-destruction, according to

Packer, because they aren’t “de fined by something as fragile and tremendous as an idea.”

Packer emphasized the rigidity of the country’s structures of in equality and the “mirage” of equal opportunity and meritocracy. Re cent data shows increasing num bers of wealthy adults who were born into affluent families, he said, rather than truly being rewarded for their talent alone, as the con cept of meritocracy implies.

In addition to emphasizing the country’s past and current failings, Packer also laid down some ideas for a path toward the reconcili ation of America’s parts and the rectification of its inequalities. His suggestions included dissolving corporate monopolies, empow ering workers in the bottom 60 percent of the income ladder, and moving away from a public school system that relies on property val ues in school districts, which rein forces aristocracy.

But Packer remained uncertain about the winning chances of plans to bridge inequality. “Because in equality and polarization are so entrenched, I don’t quite believe anyone who claims to have the an swer to these ongoing problems,” he said. “I’m going to be skeptical of any 10-point plan, including my own.”

When asked what he thought about the potential of the Supreme Court ruling against the constitu tionality of race-conscious admis sions policies, Packer made the case for class-conscious admis sions in the face of a dramatic drop in students of color admitted to elite colleges and universities. This might reduce the inequality that would arise from the end of affir mative action, and perhaps make the system more just, Packer said.

“I don’t know what your pres ident and other academic institu tions are going to do,” he said. “The other answer is for Amherst and other colleges to go back to what they were before I was born: essen tially havens for the well-connect ed and wealthy.”

Elliott, who stood at the back of the room, interjected: “Since you called me out, we are thinking very

hard, and we are not going back.” He was met with applause from au dience members.

One of Packer’s main con cerns going forward is protecting free speech, which he said is also threatened in the current political climate.

“I’m a journalist,” he said. “As soon as I start drawing lines around what I think is acceptable speech, I’m setting in motion the process by which someone tells me my speech is not accepted.”

Packer remarked that the idea that words are associated with ac tion, or even violence, is one that emerged from the left, and is a slippery slope. He emphasized that when speech is considered a form of action and harm, it paves the way for censorship across the po litical spectrum.

“It’s a potential form of harm and violence that can be abused by either side,” he said.

At one point, Packer prompted the audience to raise their hands if they felt comfortable saying what they thought in class. Some raised their hands, and fewer students openly indicated that they felt they had to censor themselves in class.

“And how many of you are

too scared to answer?” Douglas quipped.

Claire Holding ’26, a student in Rachel and Michael Deutch Professor of Philosophy Alexan der George’s “Progress?” section, “loved” his four Americas argu ment, calling it a “very smart way of dissecting the country.”

A qualm of Holding’s was Pack er’s idea that all Americans belong to one of these groups, which she understood from the first talk. She felt she could identify with multi ple Americas, a sentiment reflect ed among her peers, although the evening Point/Counterpoint lec ture provided more clarity for her.

“He clarified that [the model] is not meant to be exclusive,” she said. “It’s meant to be a way of an alyzing what’s going on in a way that is useful for us.”

Holding also critiqued Packer’s uncertainty in his own prognosis for rectifying both inequality and the multilayered division in Amer ican society.

“I think he sold himself a little short,” she said. “You kind of have to take a leap of faith with reform. It’s not going to fix everything, for sure, but there are definitely ways to improve.”

George Packer, a staff writer for The Atlantic, spoke at Amherst for the second Point/Counterpoint event.

Photo courtesy of New America

Brazilian Students Celebrate Lula’s Presidental Victory

Julia Gentin ’26 Staff Writer

On the night of Oct. 30 in Moore Dormitory’s second floor common room, a group of Bra zilian students watched their country’s presidential election coverage live.

As the results came in, Mate us Francisco Luquini Souza ’26 was “overflowing with emotion,” a feeling that he said was shared by his peers.

Former leftist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, common ly referred to as Lula, won 50.9 percent of the vote, defeating farright incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and marking the first time an in cumbent lost reelection in the 34 years of Brazil’s democracy.

Bolsonaro’s presidency was defined by attacks on the left, the media, and democratic institu tions. He implemented policies destroying the Amazon rain forest, harming the Indigenous population, and exacerbating the pandemic.

Luquini remembered Bolson aro’s win in 2018, when he “was filled with an explicable sense of fear.”

“Now, it’s impossible to feel anything but hope … for a re construction of Brazilian poli tics,” he said.

Luquini is one of three firstyears from Brazil, who have all added positively to the commu nity on campus, said Giulia Mi otto Leal ’24.

Although Luquini said the moment of happiness was quite complicated, studying in the U.S. versus “in the arms of his moth erland, where celebrations filled the streets,” he said he was em powered by the unification of the country for the sole purpose of protecting democracy.

Luquini served in the Bra zilian Young Parliament and formed connections with Lula’s party as a result.

“In general, I’ve always [worked] to mobilize my com munity to advocate against fas cist fallacies, especially coming from a military school where the

teaching of national history is in favor of the Brazilian army and its atrocities,” Luquini said.

Through essays, newspapers, and conversations with fami ly and friends, Luquini said he worked to spread values of diver sity and inclusion.

While similarly encouraged by Bolsonaro’s ousting, Giovan na da Silva ’26, another Brazilian first-year, was less enthusiastic about Lula himself.

“I don’t believe in worshiping Lula,” da Silva said. “This was an election of democratic princi ples. It goes beyond the political spectrum of being left or right.”

Da Silva’s family members make up part of Bolsonaro’s base — they live in the slums or “favelas” of Sao Paulo, in a place enmeshed in poverty with little formal education.

“I was always the inquiring voice in my family,” da Silva said. “Because I wasn’t there to tell my mom ‘this is fake news’ she got informed about absurd things … seeing Bolsonaro as a savior keeping us from a devilish gov ernment.”

Da Silva said that she thought many more people would be against Bolsonaro’s ideals, but acknowledged that she was wrong — Lula won by a margin of less than 2 percent.

“It was a very tight win, which means that almost half of Brazil still supports a narrative of vio lence, discrimination, torture, and destruction,” said Manuela Picq, senior lecturer in political science and sexuality and wom ens’ and gender studies.

Picq grew up in Brazil and considers herself very connect ed to feminist and Indigenous movements in the country.

“We live in social media bub bles so we assume other people think the same way as we do,” da Silva added. “We weren’t con scious of how great the split was.”

Miotto Leal was also con cerned about how close the elec tion was, which she saw as indic ative of a divided country.

Miotto Leal is from Curitiba, and although she has lived in

the U.S. for most of her life, she considers herself more Brazilian than American.

“I was very involved in what happened in Brazil because my significant other is also Bra zilian,” Miotto Leal said. “It’s a good way for me to be informed about what’s happening on col lege campuses and to people our age.”

Although her immediate family was pro-Lula, she became aware of the views of her extend ed family through social media.

“They started posting things on Instagram or Facebook that made it clear they were pro-Bol sonaro,” Miotto Leal said. “We didn’t have outright conversa tions, but it changed how I view conversations [about politics] with them.”

While social media has added to Brazilian political polariza tion, Picq said that it could also be a force for good.

After seeing more than 32 million Brazilians abstain from voting in the first round of the presidential runoff, “the global mobilization of artists, and even superheroes on social media made the election lighter and positive,” Picq said.

Besides artists and celebrities vocalizing support for Lula, the U.S. Congress under Biden said they would cut ties with Brazil in the case of a coup, which Bolson aro threatened.

Picq said that a lot of Bolson aro supporters care deeply about how the U.S. perceives them and value U.S. resources.

“They all want to go to Mi ami and shop, right? So for them to lose the support of the U.S. in the case of a coup was very im portant,” Picq added.

Brazilian politics have been a prominent topic of conversa tion within the U.S. throughout Bolsinaro’s presidency, partic ularly more recently, with con cerns about a peaceful presiden tial transition. Though Miotto Leal said Brazil’s negative cli mate prompted some on-campus conversations, she doesn’t think conversations about Brazilian

politics will be common in the future.

“U.S. media is not that South American-focused,” Miotto Leal said. “People are far more likely to let Brazil fade into the background now, especially as elections are over, assuming the transfer of power goes peacefully in January.”

Instead, she assumes that even within the group of Bra zilian students at Amherst, con versations will shift more toward the upcoming World Cup and soccer, a common topic among the Brazilian community on campus, as they continue meet ing for lunch and speaking in Portuguese.

Picq, who comes to these lunches and facilitates the Brazil ian community on campus more broadly, also emphasized that Brazilian students on campus should be vigilant in continu ing to follow Brazilian news and making others care, especially about the future of the Amazon rainforest.

“The Brazilian Amazon used to be the ‘lungs of the earth,’ but since last year, the Amazon is not a carbon sink anymore,” Picq said. “It’s a carbon emitter because of the amount of forest fires taking place in Brazil.”

Lula’s win is largely seen as a victory for the environment, after Bolsonaro cut environmen tal regulations and oversaw an increase in deforestation in the Amazon.

Besides climate change, the way Bolsonaro dealt with the pandemic was immediately con cerning to students at Amherst.

Luquini noted that “not ev erybody survived, not everybody had a chance to see this moment, which was moving.”

This was a reference to Bra zil’s approximately 700,000 Covid-related deaths, a rate four times the global average.

“Bolsonaro projected a terri ble image of Brazil in these past few years,” Miotto Leal said.

In reference to jokes Bolsona ro made, Miotto Leal added: “To make fun of people dying is real

ly beyond me — there is an utter lack of human regard.”

Picq looks forward to another Lula presidency considering his history of social investments.

“Lula is a president with a re cord of diminishing poverty, in vesting in the poor, and raising the minimum income,” Picq said. “The record that I like the most is his expansion of university ed ucation in unprecedented ways.”

Picq added that nearly tri pling university access from 3 million to around 8 million was “revolutionary in a country marked by slavery.”

“It was the first time that poor, Black people on the periphery could go to university and be come judges, lawyers, ministers, and ambassadors, changing the face of Brazil,” she said.

Picq said this was indicative of a movement away from Bol sonaro’s promotion of violence and guns and toward an invest ment in social policy that “will give people tools to grow and build Latin America.”

Though the U.S. has a sim ilarly fraught political climate and controversial figures like Donald Trump that many com pare to Bolsonaro, Miotto Leal said she noticed politics “trans forming Brazilian society in a way that it doesn’t transform American society.”

While attending a music festi val in Brazil this October, Miotto Leal said it was inspiring to hear a crowd of 5,000 people singing Lula’s campaign song.

“It’s very clear what peo ple think and they’re very open about showing it and expressing it,” Miotto Leal added.

Picq remembered feeling a similar sentiment of political unity when she was 11 years old, at her first protest in support of Lula, and emphasized that Bra zil’s spirit of collective action is something that the U.S. can learn from.

“[The] U.S. is a country where there is a lot of individual ism,” Picq said. “But there’s a lot of power to be found in working collectively.”

“It Ain’t Enough”: Initiative Asks Students To Do More Than Vote

Continued from page 5

just politics.”

The students who spoke with The Student had a range of views on ASFD’s proposals.

Charlie Sutherby ’23E, who at tended the opening ASFD meeting, leads the Better Amherst Initiative, a movement that aims to increase the number of Amherst students who pursue careers in public service. He believes making change requires convincing students that there is a problem, but also showing them that it is a “changeable problem.” Amherst students, he suggested, rec ognize that there is a problem with democracy but often get hung up on the immensity of it.

He said he hoped that the intern ships students pursued through the ASFD initiative would “demonstrate that not only is change possible, but that it's possible relatively soon for you to go have an impact at a place like Common Cause of New York.”

Richards, the former AAS vice-president, tended to agree with

Packer. “It’s hard to be a college student,” he said. “College students should focus first on learning and becoming the people who can de fend democracy. I don’t think any of us right now are capable of doing that.”

Mollie Hartenstein ’23, an AAS senator engaged in campus activ ism, took issue with the initiative for its emphasis on career advance ment. “It’s very upsetting for me, as a person who cares about these issues and has been trying to push these issues on campus, that it takes some one who has so much institutional and real life power as Austin Sarat to call up people to get these fan cy-schmancy opportunities for kids to make people care about issues that probably they should be caring about already.”

She also problematized what she saw as the initiative’s overly nar row conception of democracy and questioned whether the status quo of American politics even deserves saving. “There’s this idea that there’s this time of [fully-realized] Ameri

can democracy that we can go back to,” she said. “And I don’t know if I believe that.”

She argued that there were more kinds of democracy than national elections, many of which take place right on campus. She pointed to the diversity, equity, inclusion steering committees that have been estab lished for every single department at Amherst and on which students can serve; to the Amherst Labor Al liance, which she said is “doing work to increase democracy between staff and faculty and students”; to campus affinity groups working “to change campus policies for the better”; to the poorly-attended pub lic comment segment of every AAS meeting; and to yearly AAS elec tions where upperclassmen senators often run unopposed.

Hartenstein said she believed that the true way to fix democracy and combat political apathy is to increase engagement on a small er scale. “People need to shift their view of democracy from voting for a Democrat to making change at a

local level,” she said. Schwimmer, the APU’s president, also emphasized the undervalued importance of local politics.

“People are not going to be mo tivated to do large scale democracy in the right way without these local changes, too, because they don’t know what it means or what the im portance of it is,” said Hartenstein.

“We have the channels at Am herst to do those things,” she added. “It is a necessary part of this goal of increasing awareness about democ racy.”

Despite widespread acknowl edgement of students’ detachment from democracy, and many initia tives intended to increase engage ment, the community members interviewed seemed skeptical that simply creating more opportunities for engagement on and off campus could fully address the underlying apathy.

President Michael Elliott, whom The Student spoke to in light of his public advocation of the liberal arts’ importance for democracy, was

asked whether there’s a role for the administration, rather than just stu dents, in “fixing” the Amherst com munity’s sense of apathy.

“I’m gonna do a very Amherst thing,” he responded. “I’m going to question the premise of your ques tion, or at least give you a different way to think about it. Think of it less as a problem to be fixed and more as a situation to be improved. It won’t be improved by any student or, for that matter, faculty member or ad ministrator as individuals. It really is about what kind of community we have.”

“Democracy will always be challenged,” Elliott continued. “It’s always unstable. It’s always under threat of one kind or another. And the meaning of it will also change. One of the things Amherst should provide is a place for students to talk broadly about what democracy is and what it should be. If we’re all asking questions, and we’re worried about it together, then that itself seems like something of an im provement.”

Mammoth Moments in Miniature: Nov. 2 to Nov. 8

The Editorial Board

Administration Tests Emer gency Alert System

On Tuesday, Nov. 8, the ad ministration conducted a test of the college’s emergency alert system.

In addition to a siren, which rang across campus, emails, text messages, and calls were made to those enrolled in the system. Though the college runs a sys tem-wide test every semester, this semester’s test was also de signed to help restore the cam pus community’s faith in the alert system following its unin tentional activation on Aug. 26.

CARC Hosts FLI Week

Monday, Nov. 7 kicked off the start of the Class Access and Resource Center’s (CARC) First Generation and Low Income (FLI) week.

Over the course of the week, the center will hold various

workshops and events designed to celebrate FLI students and forge community while provid ing resources for navigating col lege life.

College Releases Masking Sur vey Results

Chief Student Affairs Officer and Dean of Students Liz Agos to sent an email to the campus community on Tuesday, Nov. 8, relaying the results of the col lege’s Oct. 24 survey on the ad ministration’s current masking policy.

Among other things, in the email, Agosto announced that, out of 1029 responses, near ly 90 percent of respondents voiced support for shifting to a mask-optional policy in class rooms and labs.

Agosto emphasized that the community’s comments and re sponses will guide the adminis tration’s decision-making pro cess moving forward.

Keefe Campus Center, where the Class Access and Resource Center (CARC) is hosting its First Generation and Low Income week.

Photo courtesy of Coldham & Hartman Architects

Fresh Faculty

Q: How would you describe your self?

A: I would describe myself as, not first and foremost a computer sci entist, but definitely as a scientist. I really care about describing to stu dents why they might want to learn a thing. That’s something that’s really important to me as a professor. But in terms of who I am and what I do, I’m more on the computer hardware side of computer science compared to a lot of my colleagues. I’m really excited to bring that energy to the department and to the classes that I teach. I do like to talk a lot about not just the data we’re using but how it is stored and why it is stored that way. As a human, I care very deeply for my dogs. I’ve really been enjoying getting to know the area and spend ing a lot of time outside here.

Q: Congratulations on your recent Ph.D. dissertation from Harvard! Now that you’re spending a large portion of your time teaching the undergraduates, what are your cur rent research interests?

A: My current research interests are primarily understanding, modeling, and evaluating the impact of new memory devices ... We’ve reached the end of the road in terms of them just getting faster or denser year over year and our phones being able to get smaller and smaller. Since that’s not happening anymore, we still have a lot of opportunities for new devices like embedded devices, medical de vices, very, very small devices, very, very big computers. We need to have different ways of storing informa tion, and different physical mani festations of how bits are stored, in order to better support a diverse set

Lillian C. Pentecost

about it this way. Why don’t we talk about it this way in electronics class?’ Taking both of those courses at the same time was what made me realize that was the topic I was interested in. That’s when I decided, ‘Oh, I think I want to keep thinking about this.’ So I took more classes that were more relevant to that part of computer sci ence, and I went to grad school for it.

ing a computer scientist.

Q: How do you engage students, especially the non-majors, in your ‘Introduction to Computer Sci ence’ class?

of computers of different sizes and purposes. That’s a really broad idea, but what I do in particular is devel op mathematical models and simu lation tools that estimate the impact of pairing a particular memory technology with a particular set of hardware and a particular set of soft ware applications. And then I also do more hands-on evaluations with small hardware platforms of how a certain application performs when the data is stored or used, or some thing else is done in a different way — [basically changing] those lower level aspects of the system about the hardware and figuring out how that affects software: Can we tune all of the pieces in a way where they work better together?

Q: This question is for our students who are figuring out the majors that they will stick to for four years of college. If you can still remem ber back in the days when you were a freshman, why did you choose to major in physics and computer science?

A: I started out college planning to be a history major. In high school, I had a lot of encouragement about my writing. I went to a liberal arts college, and my older brother is a mechanical engineer. What my brother really wanted me to do was not forget about the fact that I was good at math or science. My brother, when I was selecting classes for my first year, basically said, ‘Oh, you’re good at math. You should take one science class. Just take something that’s not what you want. You want a diverse schedule anyway. Take something that’s not what you end up majoring in.’ I was like, ‘Fine,

only because I don’t want to write too many papers.’ And I took an in tro physics class. In the intro physics class, what really made the differ ence for me was I made a lot of close friends very quickly. I felt a real sense of community in that class. I ended up just getting more excited, and my social sphere [was] becoming really connected to physics. I realized that even though I didn’t feel like I was the best at it, it’s what I was thinking about a lot of the time.

I decided to continue with phys ics, and then, when I was going into my sophomore year, I talked to a physics professor. I was like, ‘Oh, are there any other classes I should take that would make me better at physics or ready to do research?’ I was get ting really eager about it. And they were like, ‘Oh, well, maybe you want to take computer science. Maybe you want to learn how to program. That could be useful.’ And I was like, ‘Fine.’ So I started computer science in my sophomore year. I remember just feeling like, ‘Oh, I didn’t realize there was an academic subject that was just solving puzzles.’ I really liked puzzles, so I guessed I would keep doing computer science too. What really tipped it over the edge for me later on, as an undergraduate, was the fact that I was studying electronics on the physics side, and I was really, really into that class. Then, on the comput er science side, we had a class about hardware and computer organiza tion. I felt like they were two very dif ferent classes that were talking about the same things, but they weren’t really, so I got really interested, and I would ask both of my professors re ally annoying questions like, ‘Well, in the computer hardware class, we talk

A number of years later, I’m here, and that was probably very long-winded, but I really did not start out my undergraduate degree thinking I would do computer sci ence at all. I’ve never forgotten how much I really enjoy writing. I think I also never really forgot how much I appreciated a balance of being in a place where it’s not just science or en gineering that’s valued. When I was trying to figure out what professor I wanted to be, Amherst was a really good fit for me.

Q: How has double majoring in physics complemented the way that you view computer science and other things in life?

A: I think for me, it’s given me two big factors that continue to influ ence me. The first is that because of the research I do, I still actually use a lot of [physics] ... I also think that it gave me a lot of confidence in con sidering myself a scientist at a time, when I didn’t think I would have felt very taken seriously as a scientist if I didn’t have the community and that sense of my physics community as an undergraduate.

Q: In your own experience, what does it take to be successful in the field of computer science?

A: One of the things that I would want to say is that to me personally, there’s been a big difference between being an effective computer scientist or doing well in computer science as a research discipline and now as a ca reer, compared to being really good at applying to jobs in computer sci ence, like being a software engineer or something like that. It’s possible to really engage and be interested and excited about computer science, even without being overly excited about writing code. For better or worse, persistence is a big part of be

A: It’s a question of putting it all out on a platter, in a way that I want to be both exciting and also honest. Like, here are some skills and also some important problems and questions that have to do with computer sci ence. If you can do both those things in a way that conveys your own en thusiasm, that also conveys at least a part of why and how computer sci ence could be the thing for you. The point of COSC-111 [‘Introduction to Computer Science I’] is not to con vince everyone to do computer sci ence because I think there are plenty of other good majors to do, just to be honest. But I think my role as an instructor in COSC-111 is to give an honest and enthusiastic and inclusive view of what computer science could be like for you.

Q: What has your experience been like as the second female faculty member in the computer science department?

A: I feel positively about it, generally. I think it’s a move in the right direc tion. I generally feel like I’m joining a very supportive place that cares about, and is very aware of, the fact that there are two female-present ing tenure track members of the faculty now in the department. But that doesn’t mean that there is repre sentation that speaks to our student body effectively; steps in the right di rection are not necessarily big steps. But the department is only so big. I think it’s a hard question.

Q: Rumor has it that you love bak ing in your free time. What is your favorite pastry to bake?

A: I do have to say that my favorite thing to bake is usually something sa vory, not necessarily sweet things. So I like doing [something] like a scone if I’m in a casual mood. I [once] had a really intense bread phase that has mostly passed now.

Photo courtesy of Amherst College

Lillian C. Pentecost is an assistant professor of computer science. She received a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University. She attended Harvard University, where she received a master’s degree and doc torate.

Ciao! Ciao? The History of Italian at Amherst

Madeline Lawson ’25 Managing Arts & Living Editor

Rarely does an Amherst student spend their nights poring over an Italian workbook. Rarer still is a group studying the language’s verb conjugations or varied pronouns together. Yet, for a majority of Amherst’s history, this would have been a standard sight.

2022 marks 50 years since Amherst last taught an Italian language course, and although the college offers seven other foreign languages, it discontinued its Italian program in 1972, over a century after its conception.

The absence of an Italian program sets Amherst apart from many of its peers: In the Five College Consortium, Amherst and Hampshire College are the only institutions without Italian, and of the 11 members of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), Amherst is one of just two schools that doesn’t offer Italian (the other is Bates College). So, what happened to Italian?

According to the course catalogs maintained by the Archives & Special Collections, the college taught its first Italian class in 1851. All students were required to take Latin and Greek throughout their college career, but they could take modern languages as electives. Students were only able to take Italian during their last term at Amherst, whereas they could take other languages, such as French and German, for multiple terms.

Eventually, the course offerings expanded. By the turn of the century, students could take two terms of Italian, as well as Italian literature courses, usually about Dante’s “The Divine Comedy.” The concentration grew in popularity and peaked in the 1960s, when there was enough interest to warrant a formal distribution. Students could major in Italian, but only jointly with French or Spanish within the Department of Romance Languages. The college

offered language and special topics courses alongside cultural classes such as “Literature of the Italian Renaissance.” Then, suddenly, the Italian program disappeared.

The cause is surprisingly simple: Someone retired. Professor Emeritus of Romance Languages Reginald French joined the college in 1937. He taught a multitude of courses, and in 1970-71, he taught every single Italian class at Amherst, except for “Readings in Modern Italian Literature.” During the 1971-72 academic year, French went on leave, and the only classes offered were the first two courses in the language sequence taught by Visiting Professor of Romance Languages Kenneth Wayne Miller. By 1972-73, Miller had left, and French had retired. There was not enough interest to warrant new hires, so no Italian language or culture course remained at Amherst.

Though beginning and advanced Italian ceased to be taught, cultural studies classes didn’t stay away for long. Classes about the Renaissance have been common at Amherst since the 1970s, and next semester, three different courses on the topic will be offered: “Renaissance Italy,” taught by Visiting Professor of History Jutta Sperling, as well as “Italian Renaissance” and “Renaissance to Revolution,” both taught by William McCall Vickery 1957 Professor of the History of Art Nicola Courtright.

Courtright speaks Italian and has extensively studied the Renaissance period. She noted that her students, as far as she is aware, don’t take her classes because they’re interested in Italian culture. “They think of [Renaissance art] more in terms of the famous art and culture than that they belong to than Italian culture, per se,” she said.

Many art history majors do study in Italy because of its vital place in the Renaissance and European art sphere. Of the students who don’t study Italian beforehand, Courtright said, “They lament a little bit not

learning Italian better, for good reason.”

Yet, some Amherst students still learn the language, either at an intensive summer language program, such as at the Middlebury Language Schools, or by taking classes within the Five College Consortium.

Amherst students can study Italian at UMass, Mount Holyoke, or Smith College. Nick EdwardsLevin ’25 is a German and music major currently studying Italian to improve his operatic skills. He can already analyze librettos (the text of operas) in German, and noted that “being able to do that in Italian would be really awesome.”

Edwards-Levin takes the bus thrice weekly to Smith, and while he praised the quality of the course — saying that he “couldn’t imagine that there’d be any difference between taking the class at Smith versus at Amherst” — he noted his frustrations about the commute. “It’s a solid 30 minutes out, 30 minutes back, so that’s about three hours a week … which definitely adds up,” he said.

Edwards-Levin added that

having the class offered at Amherst would also come with the benefit of cultural activities held by the department, which

night and [a] German lunch table.”

In fact, every language offered at Amherst has a language table, where students can practice their conversational skills over lunch, and many also hold informal gatherings throughout the week, such as the Spanish department’s Tertulias.

Unfortunately, it seems that Italian won’t be returning to Amherst’s course catalog anytime soon. According to Courtright, expanding classes is “a lot more necessary in STEM at this moment, let’s say, than Italian,” due to the sheer demand for such courses.

help create a community while practicing speaking skills or gaining cultural knowledge. “It would be nice to have that proximity [to Amherst] not just for class, but also for Italian table and knowing that there are other students on campus who want to [learn] Italian,” he said. “In the German department, we have Kaffeeklatsch every Monday

However, interested students could still organize those cultural events that EdwardsLevin mentioned, for example, by setting up film screenings of classic Italian cinema or conversation sessions, potentially through a new student organization. Amherst’s Italian department may be defunct, but students interested could still engage with others learning the language or planning a study abroad trip, even if it takes a bit of coordination.

The college used to offer a full sequence of Italian language and literature courses.

Graphic courtesy of Nina Aagaard '26

It would be nice to have that proximity [to Amherst] not just for class, but also for Italian table and knowing that there are other students on campus who want to [learn] Italian.

— Nick Edwards-Levin '25

Vandalize College Row!

The first-year quad is nothing if not austere. The rows of trees that seem to trace an open-air cathedral are matched in the exactitude of their placement only by the stolid right angles of those Federalist bricks that ring the grassy expanse. College Row, on the quad’s west side, looks out over the valley like a monument: It’s permanent, a symbol of an unchanging and aloof college, committed only to learning. If no students ever walked across the lawns, it wouldn’t look all that different. The aesthetic of the college may be pristine, but that comes at the cost of failing to reflect student life.

That severe austerity is the trademark aesthetic of the rest of campus, too: The spaces students traverse are devoid of art except for the straightlaced design of the buildings. These spaces reflect a sincere desire for learning that is present in students and administration alike, but they are irrelevant to a large part of what living on campus means, in the dynamism of the present.

Supporting the proliferation of public art — especially works made by current students — is a simple way to fix this. Currently, visual art made by students is hard to find. It’s corralled into a few spaces: the Indicator gallery on Frost’s second floor is a great example, as well as the posters and advertisements put up by student organizations around campus. Val is looking for student artists to submit art for their own displays, too, and anyone interested should seek out their poster by the entranceway!

Nevertheless, these places are relatively isolated, and advertisements are relatively ephemeral compared to other types of student art. Apart from this, the highest concentration of student art on campus is in the art department’s own Fayerweather Hall, which has a rotating display of art produced in its classes. Student-produced visual art is thereby relegated to spaces that one has to seek out, making it more or less invisible around campus in general.

Making our shared spaces more available for experimental installations is an essential part of this work. The college should establish application procedures for interested students to install their sculptures on any of the many open spaces we have on campus, hang visual works from the walls in any number of academic or residential buildings, and perhaps even commission a rotating installation in some privileged spot on main campus. Departments like Architectural Studies and Art and the History of Art should be able to exhibit their student’s

work in more social spaces on campus like Val and Keefe, and artists who want to create work should have access to the equipment managed by those departments.

There are other authorities on campus who can help to enhance student art: the AAS Arts Committee (which has just sent out a call for student applications!) is charged with advancing the creation and appreciation of art on campus; it currently organizes two concerts per semester and also maintains a “gallery” of student art in Schwemms. This work, while valuable, should be extended to include as much of campus as possible. Student artists should communicate with the Arts committee in order to gain funding and access to equipment for independent projects, and the committee should do all within its power to expand the presence of visual art beyond designated spaces to make it closer to ubiquitous on campus.

The restriction of art to a few privileged spots on campus cordons off student life from the timeless aesthetic of the buildings we walk past. A campus that truly reflects the students that call it home however, should be inseparable from the lives of those students. Campus grounds should be a canvas for student art: If it were, the vistas of the college’s grounds would become an austere backdrop for the lives and experiences of all those who live and work and play here.

Right now, some of the most beautiful spaces on campus are those practically painted with posters and advertisements. It is there that the diversity and vibrancy of student life is most genuinely and colorfully reflected. But student art should never be relegated to fleeting advertisements that may only last for a few days or weeks. Our lives should be obvious to anyone who walks by. Amherst shouldn’t look static. It is inhabited by living people, and its physical space should reflect that, its walls covered and re-covered in murals like an elementary school that centers its students’ experiences of learning, beyond the material itself. This is a campus populated by people, with plenty of painting supplies and a surplus of potential sculptors. Let us not only allow them to make their mark on campus, however impermanently; let us make it easy, and encourage and support them every step of the way.

Unsigned editorials represent the views of the majority of the Editorial Board — (assenting: 17; dissenting: 0; abstaining: 0).

THE AMHERST STUDENT

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Brazilian Elections and Democracies Around the World

Oliver Polachini ’26 Contributing Writer

Every four years, Brazil par takes in its two most important events: the soccer World Cup and the presidential elections. The World Cup is usually held in June, always in time to impact the elections, which happen in October; this year, however, due to Qatar’s extremely hot sum mer weather, the World Cup was postponed to December, so the elections happened first. On Sunday, Oct. 30, over 120 mil lion Brazilians left their homes all over the world to cast their electronic ballots and decide their national leader for the next four years.

Among the many options we had during the first round of voting (which was held on Oct. 2), only the two most polemic candidates made it to the runoffs: Lula, who had already run for president five times between 1989 and 2006 and been elected twice, and Jair Bolsonaro, who was a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1991 to 2018, only leaving to run for — and win — the presidency.

Since moving to the U.S., I have been asked about my opin ions on President Bolsonaro countless times. His anti-Indig enous, sexist, homophobic, rac ist, climate change-denying and Covid-19 negationist views seem to have transcended the borders of Brazil, redefining our coun try’s image in both foreign and domestic ways.

Even after killing over 600,000 people by failing to de termine lockdown measures, while also refusing to buy vac cines and getting involved in a R$40 billion (US$7.77 billion) corruption and bribery scandal, Bolsonaro is still extremely pop ular. His motto, “God, Country and Family,” was originally written by the National Fascist Party in 1931. As of today, it is acclaimed by Brazil’s enor mous Christian population, who think Bolsonaro’s middle name, “Messias,” is a sign that he is the

next Messiah to save our nation. When speaking to moderates, the polite way to refer to Bolson aro’s political stance is “rightwing populism.” Those who are aligned with center-left or leftwing ideas would rather call him a fascist and even a genocidal mastermind. His supporters re fer to him as “Captain” — the rank he held in the Army before being expelled for attempting to bomb a military base — and “legend.” It is impressive Bolson aro still has supporters, to say the least. But the source of his popularity finds itself in the oth er candidate.

In 2002, Brazil elected its first president hailing from the popular classes: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was born in the poor Northeast, only learning how to read at the age of 10, losing a finger in a factory while working at the age of 19 and becoming a sindical, or union, leader after that. Lula is seen both as a savior and as a menace. As president, he brought 25 million people out of hunger, and the number of university students rose from 3 to 8 million. A number of people view Lula as some kind of angel who was sent to save their lives.

However, corruption scan dals such as Mensalão (during which R$101 million, around US$33 million at the time, was directed to pay deputies to the lower chamber in exchange for votes for Lula’s projects) and Petrolão (famously called the “Car Wash operation,” a brib ery scandal involving around R$7 billion, or US$2.33 billion) harmed Lula’s image to an irre versible extent.

These scandals also culmi nated in a coup against fellow Workers’ Party member Pres ident Dilma Rousseff (2016), who was impeached due to fiscal pedaling with no constitutional justifications. Even despite these scandals, Lula was considered the only political force able to combat “Bolsonarism,” the nearcult movement that supports the current president and despises Lula with a passion.

Lula was reelected two weeks ago, though a considerable num ber of his votes came from peo ple who claimed to be simply fighting for democracy and not for Lula himself. For the past years, Bolsonaro has been giving hints that he wanted to change the national voting system from electronic ballots to paper ballots after alleging fraud in this year’s election, and mentioned the possibility of calling for a third turn of elections if he didn't win the run-offs. On Election Day, the Federal Road Police blocked roads leading from poor towns and Indigenous communities to their voting sites: These groups are likely to vote for Lula, who

is estimated to have lost around 200,000 votes due to this inter vention. Right now, Bolsonaro’s supporters are again blocking roads and airports around Brazil while asking for “justice” in the electoral system and demanding the arrest of the president of the Supreme Electoral Court.

Brazilian democracy is threatened: After all, a signifi cant number of Brazilian citizens (including me!) found them selves voting for a candidate only to avoid the other’s victory. When I talked to U.S. Repre sentative Jamie Raskin with the Amherst Political Union a few weeks ago, he discussed how the U.S. is the largest democracy in

the Western world right now. I asked about his thoughts on how the American democracy impacted other democracies in the West, but I also asked about the reverse: How do other big yet fragile democracies such as the one I was born in impact the one which I live in now? Raskin’s response was a confirmation that threats to democracy in any country also do threaten democ racy in the U.S.; just as the Amer ican Revolution served as one of many inspirations for the French Revolution, and populism spread throughout Latin Ameri ca because politicians could see

Oliver Polachini ’26 reflects on the global importance of Brazil's recent election.

Graphic courtesy of Nina Aagaard '26

The Global Importance of Brazilian Democracy

by economic deals and political agreements.

it working in their neighboring countries, upheavals in world democracies often affect others like dominoes falling in a line. It is impossible for a democracy to exist independently, and each democracy helps sustain another

I can see how democracies impact one another when my classmates ask me how things are going politically back in Brazil, or when the U.S. offers interven tions or special representatives to check whether Brazil follows

its interests or not. I also see how non-democracies impact one another when I see the rise of far-right wing movements across the world. Americas to Europe, and from Europe to the rest of the world.

I am extremely happy Lula won. I have my criticisms of him,

but I also acknowledge that my ability to study abroad at Am herst is thanks to his policies and impact while he was president. His victory does not mean any one should can take their eyes off Brazilian politics or the paths current democracies around the world are taking, but at least

Brazilians will get to enjoy the World Cup without another at tempt at a coup d’etat, and maybe see Brazil conquer its sixth title. Or maybe not, depending on how Bolsonaro’s supporters and their own relationships to de mocracy might surprise us from now on.

My Fellow Freshmen, You Are Not Alone

Shane Dillon ’26 Columnist

As we near the end of our first semester of college, first-year stu dents may find themselves strug gling. I know this feeling because I am feeling it myself. Despite the warnings, I don’t think any of us anticipated this year going by as fast as it is. The beginning of the week starts, and the next thing you know, it’s Sunday night, and we’re starting it all over again like clockwork. There seems to be little time for ourselves and I am here to tell you that you are not alone in your struggles.

In the rare event that I have no work, I find myself sitting some where on campus, whether in my room or Memorial Hill — con templating what is to come. What does the future hold, here and be yond? Am I smart enough to face the real world? How different will next year be — and will I even be the same person? Will my friends still like me? And so many other questions that scare the hell out of me, but are necessary to ask. Whether or not you have caught yourself in moments like these, they are real questions, and it is okay to ask them.

For many of us, this is the first time we’re living on our own, away from our families, friends, and the people we have relied on our whole lives. College is meant to be hard. But that does not mean you can’t ask yourself those diffi cult existential questions. I have learned that asking the hardest questions about ourselves and our future yields the most rewarding results. College is a time when we

learn who we are, what we want, why we want it, and the steps we must take to get there. People say that college is meant to be where we figure stuff out, but nothing ac tually prepares us for the figuring out process. We seem to be left to do it on our own.

I have heard people on campus questioning if they will even make it to graduation just because they didn’t do the best on their first midterm. I have talked to people who fear going out on the week ends because they think they’ll fall behind on their work. I know people who are afraid of making friends because they don’t want to push them away when things get rough, and people who are afraid of losing the friends they have made over the long breaks back home. There are so many emo tions unraveling at this time of year, and it is okay to have them.

Nothing prepares us for how accelerated everything is in col lege. How does anyone have time for themselves when they have an essay due and have already asked for an extension? There are times when self-care may have to come later, but it’s crucial to make sure that it comes eventually. As the days grow darker and winter approaches, do not be afraid to seek the help you may not know you need to get through it all. If you have free time during the week, go somewhere you can sit and be at peace with yourself for a few minutes. Use the resources of the Counseling Center if you feel comfortable doing so. Talk to a trusted friend, whether that means someone here or from back home. Talk to a professor that you

have a good relationship with. Write down how you feel; I used to journal, and even though I’ve fallen out of the habit, I remem ber how fulfilling it was to put my thoughts on paper, even if I was the only one reading them.

I know a lot of that sounds eas ier said than done. It has become easier for us to put on a facade, and hide our true feelings; we even hide them from ourselves sometimes. But, a lot of the time not everyone has it all together the way it may seem. It is easy to lose track of time in college and life. It is easier to think about what we want than to go for it. But I am here to tell you that when you find yourself in a place of distress or

struggle, you are the only one that can get yourself out of it at the end of the day.

I am not writing this op-ed to tell anyone what to do or assume how anyone is feeling right now. I am writing to let you all know that you are not alone in any of your thoughts as we near the end of the semester. A lot of your friends may not tell you how they are feeling. Some people may not be struggling at all. But no one is alone in the general feelings of living and thriving in college. Sometimes knowing that we aren’t alone is enough.

While this is directed toward freshmen because it is our first experience here, every person on

campus is not alone. While it may get easier as the years go on, we all need a reminder that someone else might feel the same way that we do. I am not a professional, but I am human, as we all are. So, the next time you wonder if you should take the extra five minutes in the shower, take ten. The extra set in the gym, do two. One more chapter of the book you're reading on the quad, read two. We can’t get any classwork done if we aren’t taking care of ourselves first.

Utilize the resources around you, and never blame yourself for asking the hard questions. Nev er lose yourself in pursuit of the goals we are told to have, and nev er forget that you aren’t alone.

A frantic dash to finish every piece of work shouldn’t be the defining feature of the first-year experience. Instead, every student should take the time to take care of them selves.

Graphic courtesy of Nina Aagaard '26

The Elite Student’s Struggle for Integrity

Zane Khiry ’25 Contributing Writer

slowly moving toward the edge of the world. You performed. You competed. You excelled. But still, perhaps terrifyingly, you did not belong. You felt not unlike an or phan standing at society’s door, waiting anxiously to be let in.

world nourishes us only to then swallow us whole.

I’d like to start my argument with a single proposition: Every human being will, at some time or another, find themselves in a particular social context in which they must be courageous in pursuit of their own humanity. The farmer must choose to ethi cally raise his crops, even against the lure of higher profit. The pol itician must, with conviction, rise above the downward pull of greed and corruption in pursuit of justice. And we, the nation’s academic elite, must choose be tween the conventional trappings of success, on the one hand, and fulfillment, on the other.

If you’re anything like me, you spent the majority of your youth

Then you got into Amherst, or Brown, or any other elite school for that matter, and suddenly the world was at your door, this time bearing gifts. It says to you, “Well look at that. Amherst! You made it, kid,” and proceeds to of fer you all the status and wealth you could reasonably ask for. And who are we, we feel after a lifetime in exile, to say no to the world as it welcomes us with its deceptively open arms — the same way that storied witch wel comed Hansel and Gretel? What we do not see, at the precious age of 18 or 19 or 22, are the fangs ly ing behind society’s smile — that it does not have our best inten tions at heart. What we do not see, to put it plainly, is that the

To put it all in concrete terms, I mean to say that we — and this is through no fault of our own — are blinded to the conse quences of moving through elite pipelines. What we lose when we choose to go to law school, or medical school, or take a job at Goldman Sachs, simply because it is the path of least resistance, is often never articulated to us, but it is nothing less than a life worth living — a life of integrity, of humanity — a life of our own choosing.

It can seem as though the en tire system that gets us into elite higher education, and which propels us forward into the pipe line professions, is designed to stop us from building our true selves. It is fundamentally con formist — and this is evidenced by the way many of us spent our high school, and still, perhaps, are spending our college years.

We resumé pad, we grade grub, and we achievement hunt. We are told constantly, and begin to believe ourselves, that this makes us extraordinary. But conformity does not cease to be conformity simply because one is conform ing to elite standards. The trou ble, which still remains, is that these standards are not our own. They are Amherst’s. They are our parents’. They are McKinsey’s. But terrifyingly still, they are not ours.

Life itself is nothing less than a continuous process not of self-discovery, but of self-mak ing. It is a process of creating one’s own set of standards, and living by them — growing ever more conscious, loving, and crit ical along the way. This, to me, is the fundamental human task. Society, then, seems to be one big conspiracy against the real ization of our humanity — and this is, perhaps, especially true of our elite colleges. They corral

us and funnel us into the most profitable, but often least fulfill ing, professions. They advise us to be neglectful of the process of self-making in pursuit of wealth and status. It is, as one student at Yale put it, “stifling to the parts of yourself you’d call a soul.”

I mentioned firstly that every human being finds themselves in a particular social context which demands that they be courageous in pursuit of their own humanity. I’d like to remind us that this, as the academic elite and perhaps the future leaders of our nation, is ours: to choose lives of our own amid the pull of elite convention.

A Stanford student once posed a brilliant question. She asked: “What are the hidden in centives that are shaping the ways we dream?” It is high time we un cover these hidden incentives, and seek to change them, so that they no longer have power over us. What’s at stake here is nothing less than a life worth living.

by Alice Burg ’23

“History is a graveyard of classes which have preferred caste privi lege to leadership.”

- E. Digby Baltzell

ACROSS 1 Actress DuVall

Sunshine state?, or what can literally be found in starred clues throughout the puzzle

Many of these are a mischief

Where animals may not want to walk in a forest

u / cos = ___

Divide

Raison d'___

Give three stars, perhaps

Student Editor-in-Chief

Jaiden Animations Bird 22 "___ and Trembling" (Kierkegaard work)

Direct

What a split might make dif ficult to hit 28 1815-1825 without Good Feelings

App and ether ending 30 Astronaut Jemison 31 Blanket

2022 anti-colonial epic di rected by S. S. Rajamouli

Word preceding books, pods, and ports

Identity Property constant

Curious George, e.g.

Two under par 41 Manipulate

Stomach tablet

Number used to report wag es to the gov.

"Honest" prez.

Phillies Third Baseman Alec

Defrost

Less than 5G

Lecture hall

___ Time

"Non, Je Ne Regrette ___" (song used to wake up in "In ception")

Organ found on the ventral surface of fish

Blue, in Berlin

Supermarket

In addition or instead

Died in the heat*

Fishing line

Even more mean, to Brits*

2021

The Big Sleep

Climb

Reddi-___

Backwards, Fr.

New York City line going from Eighth Avenue to Rockaway Parkway

Football great Ronnie

Companion of a boxer

Snack

Pasta suffix

The YMCA, e.g.

What may precede X, Y, and Z

What Jack and Jill needed to fetch some water

Pokémon with the most evo lutions

Verb for you

Movie adapted into TikTok musical 30 ___ Carta

Titular "Mrs." in a Robin Williams film

Wipe from one's memory

Sarcastic "magic word"

Name that means "God with us"*

Forever 10 44 ___ One (My Hero Academia villain)

Lock cutter?

Classic English card game

Entr'___

Rishi Sunak and his prede cessors. Abbr.

"Gross!"

T-shirt size

Late night option, colloqui ally

Spiderman's best friend

Solutions: Nov. 2

Seth Yoo ’26 Contributing Constructor

Arts&Living

Worlds Collide: ASO, Choral Society, and Jazz Ensemble

Alex Brandfonbrener ’23 Managing Arts & Living Editor

On Saturday, Nov. 5, the Amherst College Jazz Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, and Choral Society joined forces for a Family Weekend concert. Originally planned for 2020, the concert featured original compositions celebrating the 1920 ratification of the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guaranteed voting rights for women.

The show opened with three piec es from the Jazz Ensemble, which highlighted the melodic flexibility of the group and its talented soloists. First was “Contemplation” by Mc Coy Tyner (arranged by Bruce Die hl), a slow funk that reminded me of John Coltrane. The melody began steady and smooth, slowly building up energy as it progressed into the solos. The standout soloist was Ian Behrstock ’26 on trumpet, who ex perimented with fast and intricate riffs but still reflected the restrained sound of the piece. It was thoughtful and meditative, having both a ques tioning feel and a protesting tone, as if dissatisfied.

Next was “Soliloquy,” an original

composition by composer Erica Se guine, who also conducted the piece. It was melodic and remorseful, roll ing and brewing with emotion. I was struck by the dynamism of its layered sounds: outspoken brass and saxophone riffs on top of expressive vocals. Again, I commend the solo ist, Camila Bonilla ’26 on tenor saxo phone, who improvised comfortably and playfully. The piece ended like a whisper, slowly drifting to silence, with an unresolved, slightly unset tling feeling.

The Jazz Ensemble finished their set with “Peace,” a short Horace Sil ver number arranged by Dan Langa ’18. After the band settled into the vibe, I enjoyed the song’s positive mood. It was the only piece out of the three that resolved its phrases with major chords, as if the sun was peeking through dark clouds on a rainy day.

Up next was the Symphony Orchestra, performing four acts from Margaret Bonds’ “Montgom ery Variations.” Conductor Mark Lane Swanson prefaced it with a few words about Bonds, a Black composer who drew inspiration from her friendship with Langston

Hughes. The piece was dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. and recounts the story of the Montgomery Bus Boycotts, when Black southerners refused to continue to abide by the racist Jim Crow laws.

Act One (“Decision”) was declar ative and pulsing with energy. Fu eled by strong brass notes that felt courageous, it was clear which part of the story of Montgomery protests this was: the moment when people decided to act. Act Two (“Prayer Meeting”) was heartfelt but tense, evoking hopeful sentiments amid adversity. It had a religious sound, influenced by Black Southern Gos pel. I was struck by the orchestra’s careful playing, through provocative oboe sounds and a single pizzica to note by the strings to finish the movement.

Act Three (“March”) evoked the resilient feelings of the 1965 march from Selma to Mongomery. Advo cating for equal voting rights, the march was led by King and took place 10 years after the boycotts. It started small and slow, with just bas soons and cellos, adding on different sections of the orchestra as the piece continued. By the end, the whole

orchestra was rallying together, and it was an exciting progression to witness. Act Four (“Benediction”) closed the orchestral section of the concert with a sweeping theme. It was an uplifting conclusion, juxta posing regret and longing with op timism. At this point in the story, the celebratory march is over, but the disappointing sting of enduring systemic injustices remains.

To finish the concert, the Choral Society and a subset of the orches tra performed “Say Your Name,” an original composition by Reena Es mail that directly tied the music to the theme of voting rights through a libretto written by Rebecca Gayle Howard. The chorus sang “Fear!” again and again to open the piece, accentuating the chaotic and re sentful instrumentation. It was an oppressive start that felt like a reflec tion of the precarious state of global democracy today.

From the cacophony, a single voice rang out — from librettist Sherezade Panthaki. It was a surpris ing moment because she had snuck onstage, slowly moving to the front before I had even noticed. She sang hauntingly and impactfully, and it

felt inquisitive and fearful, as if she were the voice of democracy, at risk of being silenced. At one point, all of the performers — singers and in strumentalists alike — inhaled sud denly. Panthaki replied, “Breathe…”

It was a striking moment that put the themes of the concert into per spective; if we don’t take a moment to frankly look at our democracy, it might disappear before we know it.

The piece then took a sharp turn, sliding into a slanted, jaunty mood. The singers embraced a feeling of conflict, as Panthaki sang “I do not know,” to which the chorus replied, “That’s right, / You do not know.” It was a bit alarming to hear.

But soon, the piece resolved itself as Panthaki voiced her character’s resolve: “Remember — my name is Democracy.” She was joined by stu dent soloist Alice Rogers ’23, who held her own against the Panthaki’s professional chops with balance and confidence.

To finish, the chorus read out the names of famous female trailblazers — Susan B. Anthony, Toni Morri son, Emily Dickinson — on top of a lively but resilient melody. The li bretto closed with prominent calls to action that made it exactly clear what we should do to protect democracy: “Raise your hand / Pull the lever / Stuff the box / Trust the ballot / Hush the bigots.”

It was heartening to see such a strong collaboration between the three groups in the concert, some thing relatively uncommon at Am herst. I was impressed by the amount of time that must have gone into practicing, rehearsing, and coordi nating with each other, especially since the groups had all performed within the last week.

I was also struck by the political nature of the concert: I often over look music as a medium for activ ism. Compared to other art forms, it is easy to ignore a lyric here and there or the contexts of a singer or composer’s personal story. Still, within one week of the election, the message of the performance was clear: Vote!

For Family Weekend, Amherst musical ensembles collaborated to celebrate 100 years since voting rights were extended to women in the U.S. Alex Brandfonbrener ’23 recounts the powerful and thought-provoking concert.

Photo courtesy of Alex Brandfonbrener '23

UMass Dance’s “Scheherazade” Is on Pointe

Sarah Weiner ’24 Assistant Arts & Living Editor

Last week at Totman Perfor mance Lab, the UMass Amherst Dance Department presented “Scheherazade,” a 21st century remake of the classic 1910 bal let of the same name. The Ballets Russes premiered the original ballet in Paris as an adaptation of the collection of folktales “One Thousand and One Nights,” which is framed with the story of Scheherazade. As the murder ous Sultan’s wife, Scheherazade tells him a story with a fabulous cliffhanger each night so he can not kill her too, like he has done with his previous wives, for fear of missing the story’s end.

Choreographed and direct ed by UMass Professor and Dance Program Director Thom as Vacanti, this production of “Scheherazade,” which ran from Thursday, Nov. 3, through Satur day, Nov. 5, and featured dancers from the Five Colleges, reimag ined the troubling parts of both the Ballets Russes version and its source material. In the direc tor’s note, Vacanti details he was motivated to remake this ballet to address the original produc tion’s “racist overtones and its overt sexualization of ‘the other.’” (The original risqué production of “Scheherazade” was not wel comed by many more conserva tive ballet companies.)

Vacanti’s 55-minute remake recounts one of Scheherazade’s stories about the King Yunan and the Sage Duban. When Duban miraculously heals Yunan’s ill ness, the King’s jealous vizier hatches a plan to pit the two against each other, and they both end up dead.

While Vacanti’s production certainly honored the exciting high drama and brilliance of Scheherazade’s stories without the racism, sexualization, or Ori entalism prevalent in the 1910 production, my attention as an audience member was more drawn to Vacanti’s treatment of and commentary on gender and power through his casting choic

es, choreography, and interpre tation of what it means to tell a story.

The performances were danced in a space doused in the intimacy of storytelling. The usu ally expansive dual performance lab/gym was rearranged to con dense both the stage and the au dience to roughly one third of the total space (scenic design by Vacanti). Flowing sheets of trans parent plastic, rendered magical by multi-colored lighting (de signed by Brenda Cortina), were lushly draped across the ceiling, creating a backstage area as they billowed down to the ground to separate the space. In addition to seats on bleachers, audience members also had the option to sit on cushions on the ground — an intentional thematic choice, or an emergency response to two of three performances selling out early that week? No matter, they enhanced the environment per fectly.

Scheherazade (Niamh Roll ins Thu/Sat, Isabela Haskell Fri) opened the show, and spent the majority of her stage time with the Apparitions, the ghosts of the Sultan’s past wives. This stunning group of nine dancers exuded femininity dancing on pointe — an exciting rarity in the Five College Dance world! — in flowing blue tattered dress es (costumes designed by Kitty Ryan and Vacanti). They were united by a strong performance of captivating choreography until each dancer placed a skull beside the books lining the edge of the stage, reminding us of each of the former wives’ short lived power before the termination of their own life story.

Though Scheherazade then began to recount the story of the King and the Sage, her par amount presence in this open ing section was unlike any other part of the ballet. I wonder, did Vacanti mean to associate her so strongly with the group of “the wives” and so little with her own story that makes up the bulk of this ballet’s narrative? Or perhaps it was an effort at solidarity that

places Scheherazade in the com pany of the women who faced the Sultan? Needless to say, I longed for Scheherazade to reappear in some of the story’s most brilliant moments to remind the audience that it is her genius narrations that continues to entertain us.

The dynamics between the Sage, the King, and his vizier plainly comment on greed, jeal ousy and revenge. When the vi zier convinces the King that the Sage has malicious intentions, the once amicable relationship between the two sours. The King orders the Sage to be killed, but not before the Sage gifts him a poisoned book. After the Sage dies, the King wets his fingers to flip each page, thus placing the poison in his body.

In the moment of the King’s death, the vizier (Natasha Toom ey Thu/Sat, Laura Selberg Fri,) bathed in red light, was mounted atop the King’s throne. While the original story could be argued to be a commentary on mascu line greed and domination, the portrayal of the vizier, king, and sage in Vacanti’s production dis tributed femininity, masculinity, and androgyny in a complex mix

across the three roles, through costuming, choreography, and the gender presentation of the dancers.

The King (Cole Ellsworth Thu/ Sat, Isabella Berenstein Fri) and the Sage (Alec Galavotti Thu/Sat, May Saito Fri) performed a duet together that included weight sharing, lifts, and movements traditionally reserved for a spe cific pairing of one male dancer to one female dancer, which was refreshingly not observed here. Vacanti’s interpretation of power had little to do with gender, po litical power, or expected balletic representations of domination, but rather ferocity of move ment, billowing capes, and the surprisingly resonant sound of a wooden cane repeatedly hitting the stage in the absence of the otherwise permeating dramatic soundscape.

The piece ended with a pow erful portrayal of the King’s death by book. The Apparitions flanked him, rustling sheets of paper in their hands as the King fell to the ground. Murder and revenge were palpable, but even more so the powerful lure of sto rytelling, which in triumphant

meta fashion was the same force that drew in captivated audience members and propelled Vacanti’s creative process. Vacanti’s direc tor’s note detailed the evolution of the piece: “Eight weeks ago, we started with a blank stage and a cast of twenty-seven people, with only a vision of how we could bring this story to life.”

The dancers echoed a similar appreciation for this construc tion of a story. Meghan Mac Beath, a dancer from Mount Holyoke College, remarked that it was “interesting to see the overall process from the early rehearsals all the way up to the full production with costumes, lights, set, and props.” Given that “Scheherazade” is the first sto ry ballet a Five College Dance Department has mounted in years, Vacanti’s reinterpretation thrilled audiences with bold statements, dramatic choreogra phy, and a pioneering reclama tion of a rich story.

Five College Dance works will continue to be presented this se mester at Mount Holyoke Col lege this weekend (Nov. 10-12) and at Smith College next week end (Nov. 17-19).

UMass Dance presented “Scheherazade,” featuring dancers from all the Five Col leges. The performance put forth a commentary on gender and power.

Photo courtesy of Sarah Weiner '24

“Wendell & Wild” Diversifies Stop-motion Genre

Erin Williams ’26 Contributing Writer

I was very excited when I learned that Henry Selick was back in the director’s chair after a 13-year-long hiatus with a new stop-motion film “Wendell & Wild.” Selick’s other movies include ghastly favorites like “The Nightmare Before Christ mas,” “James and the Giant Peach,” and “Coraline.” These are all films that I and many others consider staples in the stop-motion anima tion genre. Because “Coraline” is my favorite stop-motion movie, I was hopeful going into Selick’s new film, especially when I learned that he had teamed up with horror mas termind Jordan Peele to make it.

And, sure enough, “Wendell & Wild” did not disappoint.

Streaming on Netflix, “Wendell & Wild” is a film about confront ing your demons, literally and fig uratively. It follows the life of Kat Elliot (Lyric Ross) after the death of her parents and the economic downfall of her town, Rust Bank. Kat has been in and out of juvenile detention centers for a majority of her life, and receives a new chance at life at an all-girl’s Catholic board ing school. She soon learns that she is a “hell maiden,” a person who has the ability to summon demons. Cue the shenanigans of demon brothers Wendell (Keegan-Michael Key) and Wild (Jordan Peele), who strike a deal with Kat to summon them to the land of the living in exchange for bringing Kat’s parents back to life.

Though some aspects of “Wen dell & Wild” are similar to his past works, Selick also presents rebellious characters and explores intense politics that are not typi cally present in the stop-motion industry. It’s apparent that Selick is trying to break out of a mold that many other stop-motion films seem to find themselves stuck in. “Coraline,” “Paranorman,” “Fran kenweenie,” “Corpse Bride,” “James and the Giant Peach,” and “The Boxtrolls” are all beloved stop-mo tion films with compelling plots, but they all lack something import ant: diverse representation.

All of these stop-motion films

feature a predominantly white cast, with the only exception I can even think of being “Kubo and the Two Strings.” But even “Kubo and the Two Strings” is mostly made up of white voice actors. Tim Burton, famous for his stop-motion work, claimed that the inclusion of POC characters in his films would feel like forced representation.

The lack of diversity is often chalked up to the necessities of the art style that directors like Burton use in their films. Because these movies often deal with spooky sub jects like ghosts and the afterlife, characters are designed to have ghostly pale skin and sunken faces. But the claim that deathly features only apply to white people doesn’t make sense. After all, everyone ex periences death.

Selick attempts to refute mis guided opinions like Burton’s in “Wendell & Wild,” and does so wonderfully. The cast consists mostly of BIPOC voice actors. It’s

a great first step towards equitable representation in an industry that clearly lacks it.

The film also made history by featuring the first trans character in stop-motion. Raúl (Sam Zelaya) is a fellow student at the Catholic school Kat attends. A talented art ist and good-natured friend, Raúl is able to help Kat as she attempts to resurrect her parents and de feat Klax Korp. Although this sort of representation can have a huge impact for trans viewers, it also feels effortless in the film. It’s a re assuring feeling to know that a new generation of kids will sit down to watch this movie on Halloween and find characters to resonate with, regardless of race and gender identity.

Another aspect of the film I en joyed was its focus on some inter esting (yet pretty intense) themes. The two antagonists are private prison owners, and the movie wastes no time calling out their in

dustry. By the end of the film, their private prison company, Klax Korp, meets its demise, and the town of Rust Bank is finally able to start rebuilding again. The movie also explores issues like the school-toprison pipeline, the devastating ef fects of capitalism on poor commu nities, and the intersection of grief and guilt when dealing with loss.

I think Selick does a nice job of bringing these topics to light even though the movie is mostly geared towards children. As the characters go through revelations about each societal issue, Selick guides the au dience towards those same realiza tions.

The movie did feel clunky at times, which makes sense because it’s absolutely bursting at the seams with different themes and ideas. It’s a difficult task to cover prison pipe lines, the private prison industry, corruption within religious institu tions, and interpersonal issues like grief, all in an hour and 45 minutes.

Suffice it to say that I found myself winded by the time it was all over.

However, I think that the movie is so enjoyably bizarre and bizarrely enjoyable that I can ignore most of my complaints. It’s clear Selick isn’t really trying to please anyone with this movie, similar to the no-non sense attitude of punk-rocker Kat. Instead, he is trying to call out ev ery corrupt industry and institu tion he could within the timeframe of the film. And honestly? I can re spect that.

“Wendell & Wild” has received lower critic scores than most oth er stop-motion films, and I would have liked to have seen a stronger focus on each of the characters and controversial issues that the movie explores. But I think that “Wendell & Wild” brings something undeni ably unique to the table, making up for its shortcomings with pure, un ashamed creativity. I look forward to what Selick (and Peele) bring to the screen next.

Henry Selick teamed up with Jordan Peele for “Wendell & Wild.” Erin Williams ‘26 reviews the movie, which can sometimes feel bloated but is nonetheless an enjoyable ride.

Photo courtesy of Nerdevil.it.

“The Birdcage”: Family Weekend’s Feuds and Farces

Alex Brandfonbrener ’23 Managing Arts & Living Editor

Family Weekend can be a tense time at Amherst College. Parents witness firsthand the reality of college life for their child. Likewise, students must show that they can handle it on their own — and that their tui tion is money well-spent.

But maybe the most awkward part of Family Weekend is the prospect of your parents meet ing your romantic partner for the first time. Who knows what they will think, or if they will approve? I experienced such an encounter this weekend, when I connected with my partner’s parents over a meal at Ariga to. Between silent moments of dipping sushi in soy sauce, we bonded over our shared inter ests. Thankfully, it was a nice time.

And so, perhaps I should be thankful that it didn’t end up as poorly as the meeting in Green Room’s “The Birdcage,” in which a young college couple decides to get married and must rec oncile their parents — who are polar opposites. One pair is a gay couple who own a nightclub. The other is a hyper-conser vative senator and his devoted wife. Chaos ensues.

The show premiered on Sat urday, Nov. 5, in O’Connor Commons. Based on the 1973 play “La Cage aux Folles” by Jean Poiret, which has been adapted to both musical performance and film, the show contains bla tant racist, sexist, and homopho bic statements. The director of the Green Room production, Langston Prince ’25, acknowl edged the potentially troubling content before the play began, but the script wasn’t notably un savory for me. I appreciated the disclaimer nonetheless.

The play revolves around two families who appear to be radi cally different. Armond Gold man (Dylan Schor ’25) is the stage manager for his partner Albert (Kaisar Perry ’26), the star drag queen of their estab

lishment. They bicker about al most everything, from Albert’s inevitable aging to their son Val’s (Freeman Rabb ’25) unex pected nuptials.

The other family is equally dysfunctional. Senator Kevin Keeley (Kobe Thompson ’24) is the head of the “Coalition for Moral Order,” a bigoted conser vative group that is at risk of col lapse because one of its leaders dies in the bed of a Black, under age prostitute. His wife Louise (Maxine Dobbs ’25) is steadfast in her commitment to him, but often bemoans his nonsensical rambling. Like the Goldmans, the Keeleys think that their 20-year-old daughter Barbara (Shreya Hegde ’26) is marry ing prematurely. But eventually, both sets of parents decide to support their children and meet their new in-laws.

The plot piles on unbelievable circumstances, fueled by the desperate lies the young couple tells to the conservative parents. They convince Barbara’s par ents that Armond “Coleman” (instead of “Goldman,” so that he doesn’t appear Jewish) is a “cultural attaché” to Greece, and that Albert is a housewife. The gay couple goes to great lengths to adhere to these falsehoods, even reaching out to Val’s es tranged birth mother Katherine (Isla Steinman ’26) to play the housewife. Similarly, the senator and his wife must hide the adul terous scandal of the other “Co alition for Moral Order” found er, because they believe that the Colemans will judge them for it; Armond is a cultural attaché, af ter all.

The play uses this dramat ic premise to support its hu mor, and some of my favorite moments came from the farce. Before the dreaded dinner par ty with the Keeleys, the couple replace all of the gay decor in their apartment with a single, huge plywood crucifix. Yet they overlook their dishware, which is emblazoned with Greek male youths.

The comedic script was bol

stered by the strong perfor mances of the cast. All of the actors landed the punchlines with strong comedic chops, but two characters stuck out above the rest. Perry’s Albert was both rambunctious and over-the-top, but fragile. Of all the characters, he is most caught in the middle of the political tensions. He con fidently struts across the stage as a drag queen, but struggles to appear straight for the dinner party. He practices being “just a guy” and bemoans that he must “embrace [his] masculine ten dency for stoicism.” Eventually, he comes to terms with the fact that he is unable to do so. Perry’s outlandish performance made Albert undeniably funny, but also colored him as a character plagued by doubt and resent ment.

Albert meets his match in the rowdy and rambling Sena tor Keeley. Thompson put on a thick, growly Southern accent that never failed to elicit a laugh from the audience. The voice gave the character a familiar quality that impactfully juxta

posed the character’s ludicrous behavior. The senator stumbles through speeches to the press, tells an absurdly boring story at the dinner party, and demands candy when he is upset. The senator is a patriarchal figure who nonetheless comes across as childishly sensitive.

And because Albert and Sen ator Keeley were so loud — fill ing O’Connor Commons with the sounds of their wails — they both served as squawking birds for the titular “birdcage.” The two characters felt like foils for each other: one a drag queen, the other a conservative U.S. senator. At first, I thought that this foil served to represent our country’s political divide. But the true difference between the two is more subtle: One is able to accept himself, while the oth er cannot.

So when Albert surprises ev eryone by entering the dinner party in drag as “Mrs. Coleman,” it feels only fitting that Senator Keeley is completely smitten with her. Some of the funniest moments in the play comes from

the pair’s unlikely romance. When they discuss the untimely death of the other “Coalition for Moral Order” founder, Albert accidently slips up: “Who even hires female prostitutes these days?” The senator responds, unphased, “That’s just what Rush Limbaugh said!”

It all falls apart when Val’s birth mother arrives at the din ner party, and the truth comes out. The Keeleys initially disap prove of the Goldmans, but gain perspective when the senator is forced to dress in drag to hide from the press. All in all, I’m grateful that my Family Week end meal went more smoothly than that.

“The Birdcage” is another re minder of the spectacular quali ty of student theater at Amherst. Even when midterms (both ex ams and elections) loom in all of our minds — even during Family Weekend — I personally find it motivating to see students de vote their free time to the arts. So, if you’ve never seen a theater production at Amherst, take a chance and support your peers.

Managing Arts & Living Editor Alex Brandfonbrener ‘23 reviews "The Birdcage," which follows a young couple and the contentious union of their two families.

Photo courtesy of Maryam Abuissa ‘25

“Survivor” Season 43: Episode 7, Reviewed

Vaughn Armour ’25 Staff Writer

On Wednesday, Nov. 2, “Survivor 43” released its most recent episode. It was a joy to watch, culminating in a surprising vote at Tribal Council. However, the “Knowledge Is Power” advantage made another unwanted return and was misused yet again.

The episode began with Jeanine scrambling. She talked to literally everyone in the game. She told them that she was okay with Elie getting

voted out and just wanted to lie low for a bit. This was solid gameplay, but it’s unusual for one player to have that many conversations the night of Tribal.

The next day, the castaways headed to an immunity challenge. The castaways mainly competed in pairs. At the end, the two remaining pairs (Cody and Dwight, Gabler and Owen) had to hold up a bucket using a bar with rope attached. The more their grip loosened, the more the rope unspooled, and the lower

the bucket dropped. Once the buck et hit the ground, they were elimi nated.

This challenge was not only com petitive, but also the funniest part of the season so far. After Dwight got eliminated, Jeff asked each player what they were using for inspira tion. Gabler brought up his uncle Neil, who had undergone heart surgery the week prior. He dedicat ed the next minute to Neil. Owen brought up his love for “Survivor,” and how winning an immunity

necklace would be a lifelong dream come true. Cody’s motivation dif fered slightly: He still regrets losing a high school wrestling match and was using this challenge to redeem himself.

Gabler likewise dedicated each minute of the challenge to someone or something else. His first couple of dedications were wholesome. He dedicated a minute to Noelle, who had struggled in the first part of the challenge, and one to Lester Tenney, a now-passed war hero that Gabler

had encountered in the operating room. Eventually though, Gabler dedicated minutes to his dog, the state of Idaho, a small man named Muzzie, and even Jeff Probst him self. Gabler rode his motivation to the first individual immunity win of “Survivor 43,” outlasting Cody after an impressive 38 minutes of forearm torment.

Back at the merge beach, the ini tial plan was for those remaining in Baka and Vesi (Cody, Dwight, Jesse, Noelle, Sami, Gabler, Owen, Jeanine) to come together, and split the votes between Ryan and James. But James, Sami, Owen, and Dwight all found an advantage clue at the same time — throwing a wrench in the plans. The clue said that an ad vantage was under the tribe shelter, and somehow James was left alone for long enough to grab it. Word spread about the clue, and the play ers quickly reasoned that it was the infamous “Knowledge Is Power” ad vantage. This advantage can be used to ask any player at Tribal whether they have an advantage or an idol. They aren’t allowed to lie, and if the answer is yes, they have to give it to you. This advantage is insanely powerful, but only if you keep it to yourself. Thankfully, James did not do that.

Within hours, everyone on the beach found out about “Knowledge Is Power.” This basically rendered the advantage useless. They could now plan to switch who is holding each idol — James wouldn’t know who to ask. All this really did was paint a large target on James’ back. Because of this, I was certain that James would be the last player elim inated before the jury.

However, he wasn’t. This was a huge misdirect, and I was genu inely shocked. Cody had wanted Dwight out earlier in the episode, but I didn’t think that his plan would stick. It did, though, and Cody, Jes se, Cassidy, Karla, Sami, James, and Ryan took out Dwight. This was an odd group of people, and I was left wondering how this group came together.

Eleven players remain. Tune in next week for further explanation of this vote, as well as to find out who the first member of the jury will be.

Graphic courtesy of Nina Aagaard '26

Vaughn Armour ’25 recaps the hilarious challenges and unexpected revelations that lead to a shocking elimination.

Men’s Soccer Wins NESCACs With Overtime Heroics

Kate Becker ’26 Staff Writer

It was a banner weekend for Amherst men’s soccer, as the team won its first NESCAC title since 2016 with a pair of 2-1 overtime victories over Middlebury and Connecticut College in the semi finals and finals, respectively. The program’s sixth conference title has secured the team a bid to this year’s NCAA Division III National Championship tournament.

The No. 6 Mammoths made the short drive to Williamstown, Mas sachusetts, the tournament’s neu tral host site, for a full weekend of NESCAC tournament games. First up on the itinerary was a 1:30 p.m. bout with national No. 20 and tour nament No. 4 seed Middlebury on Saturday, Nov. 5, in the NESCAC semifinals.

This game had every indication that it would be a tightly-contest ed affair: When they met in the regular season, the Mammoths and Panthers walked away from Hitchcock Field deadlocked in a 1-1 draw. Determined not to repeat this outcome in the postseason, the Mammoths got right to work. In the 22nd minute, after a run of attacking play, the Mammoths were rewarded — and like so many times this season, their goal came through the air. Niall Murphy ’25 sent a long-range, perfectly paced diagonal cross into the box from distance, where the Mammoths’ leading scorer Fynn Hayton-Ruff ner ’25 was waiting to meet it. He headed it past the Panthers keeper and into the bottom left corner for his team-leading eighth goal of the season.

The Mammoths carried this lead into halftime, but in the first minute of the second half, the Pan thers struck back with a goal off a header of their own, this time cre ated from a corner kick. With the score knotted at 1-1, Amherst con tinued to put pressure on the Pan thers’ defense throughout the half. Laurens ten Cate ’25 got a close-

range header off in the last minute of regulation in an attempt to give the Mammoths the upper hand, but the Panthers goalkeeper thwarted this effort and sent the game to a 20-minute overtime period.

However, Amherst did not ap pear deterred, and just three min utes into overtime, they put the nail in Middlebury’s coffin. Alex Shahmirzadi ’23E launched a long throw-in into the box, where Micah Valadez Bush ’25 was battling for position with a Panther defender. Valadez Bush boxed out his de fender and headed the ball behind him towards the general direction of the goal, and Aidan Curtis ’25 — the reigning NESCAC Player of the Week — managed to get a piece of it to send the ball past the goal ie amid a scrum in front of the net.

With the 2-1 lead from Curtis’s goal (as overtime is no longer played golden-goal style), the sophomore defensive pairing of Simon Kali nauskas ’25 and Ben Clark-Eden ’25 stifled any offensive threats from the Panthers. And 15 minutes later, when the 20-minute overtime period concluded, the Mammoths walked away with the semifinal vic tory.

A mere 24 hours later, the Mammoths headed into the NES CAC Championship on Sunday, Nov. 6, for their second tough test of the weekend. Facing off against defending national champions — Connecticut College — Amherst was eager to leave it all out on the field and avenge their penalty-kicks loss to the Camels in last year’s national championship game and their 1-1 tie in this year’s regular season.

Though Amherst came out strong, preventing Conn. from reg istering a single shot for much of the first half, the Camels showed the opportunism that helped them become defending champions. Against the run of play, Conn. sent a shot that found its way past goalkeeper Bernie White ’23E in the 40th minute — their first shot of the game — to draw first blood. The score remained that way for the remaining five minutes, and the Mammoths entered the halftime break with just 45 minutes to keep their NESCAC title hopes alive.

White kept the score at 1-0 with his first save less than a min ute into the second frame, and the Mammoths fought back, finding

the equalizer after only 13 more minutes of play. In the 58th min ute, Clark-Eden beat his defender to a pass from Valadez Bush on the right wing, sliding to send a cross floating into the box. Shawn Rapal ’24E used all six feet and eight inch es of his height to make the con nection, heading the ball past the Conn. goalkeeper into the far-post side of the net for his second goal of the year. And with strong offen sive and defensive efforts on both sides, including two blocked shots from Curtis on the backline, the two teams would head to overtime once again.

Unlike their thriller in the na tional championship from a year ago, the Mammoths didn’t let this game get to penalty kicks: Like the game against Middlebury the pre vious day, the Mammoths rose to the occasion during overtime once more. In the 96th minute, Hay ton-Ruffner linked up with Vala dez Bush on the right wing, getting the ball to his classmate’s right foot amid a sea of four Camel defenders. Like the Mammoth’s first goal, Va ladez Bush sent another dangerous ball to the far side post. Though the cross initially seemed to harmlessly

sail over the heads of both Curtis and Wyatt McCarthy ’24, Declan Sung ’24E snuck in behind two Camel defends and rocketed a div ing header into the back of the net for a critical 2-1 lead.

With the score sitting at 2-1, Amherst’s defense stepped up for the remaining 14 minutes. And while in the final seconds, the Cam els made one last desperate attempt to tie the score, White came up with the clutch save to secure the win. With his fourth goal of the season, which ended up being the most important of the year, Sung was named this week’s NESCAC Player of the Week.

With the 2-1 victory against Connecticut College, the Mam moths were crowned NESCAC Champions, and received an auto matic bid to the NCAA tournament in which they will host the first two rounds of play. Their campaign for their first national championship since 2015 will begin against Hus son University on Nov. 12 at Hitch cock Field. If they win on Saturday, they will face either St. Lawrence College or Roger Williams Univer sity on Sunday, Nov. 13. Kickoff for Saturday's game is set for 11 a.m.

Photo courtesy of Amherst Athletics

Men's soccer beat Connecticut College in the NESCAC finals this year, redeeming themselves for their defeat in last year's national championship game against the Camels. An overtime goal by Declan Sung '24E sealed the win.

Women’s Soccer Wins Championship on Home Turf

Leo Kamin ’25 Managing News Editor

The women’s soccer team se cured its third NESCAC Cham pionship in six years with a 1-0 overtime win over Tufts in the semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 5, and a commanding 2-0 win over Wesleyan in the finals on Sunday, Nov. 6. The Mammoths will advance to the NCAA Divi sion III National Championship tournament riding a string of 10-straight victories.

Saturday was a 77-degree November scorcher, and a larg er-than-normal crowd of 328, thanks to Family Weekend, packed the hill above Hitchcock Field.

The Jumbos had the first chances of the game, winning a corner around the 7:30 mark and putting a header on goal late in the eighth minute; goalkeep er Mika Fisher ’24 was there to make the stop, though.

However, the Jumbos’ early pressure subsided around the 15-minute mark, giving way to a Mammoth offensive. Amherst’s players increasingly found the ball at their feet in the box, but the Jumbos were able to close down the spaces, blocking or forcing wide every shot.

The Mammoths looked better on the ball and more capable of combining to evade the Jumbos defense for much of the game, but Amherst was content to sit back and break forward when the chances came. The Mammoths nearly opened the scoring in the last 10 minutes of the half, when Abby Schwartz ’24 was able to direct a header on target, but the Jumbos keeper was there to make the save. In the 44th minute, Schwartz got free on the left side of the box and curled the ball to wards the top corner. The Tufts keeper furiously back-peddled; the ball seemed destined for the net. But it sailed high, and amid groans from the student (and parent) section the half wound down. 0-0.

Tufts’ best chance of the game came early in the second half.

With just four minutes gone, a Jumbo forward found her self through on the right side of the goal. She likely would have scored had Charlotte Huang ’25 not made a 30-yard dead sprint to close off the attacker’s angle and force a weak shot that Fisher had no problem hoovering up. And though eight minutes later, the Jumbos put the ball in the back of the net directly off a corner kick, the goal was waved off, as Fisher was fouled by a sea of attackers, rendering her unable to make the save. So the teams soldiered on in search of the opener.

Around the 60th minute the Mammoths began to turn the proverbial screw. A pattern emerged: A strong back-line, anchored by Huang and Fiona Bernet ’25, made clearance after clearance and absorbed a good deal of pressure, before moving the ball forward. In the middle of the pitch, defensive midfield er Sierra Rosado ’25 seemed to effortlessly wriggle through the opposition, constantly dropping her shoulder and turning with the ball to leave her defenders behind. Up ahead, (Managing Sports Editor) Liza Katz ’24 made run after run down the left flank while Patience Kum ’25 stretched the defense down the middle and Isabel Stern ’23 dribbled past de fenders and delivered balls into the box from the right.

The Mammoths’ best chance of finding a win in regulation time came shortly thereafter. In the 68th minute, Stern outran her defender with the ball left of the goal and then cut it across the face of goal for Schwartz, whose left-footed finish clanked off the post. But despite increasing dominance throughout the half, a Mammoth goal always seemed inevitable but never material ized. The score remained dead locked at 0-0 at the 90-minute mark, forcing a nervy overtime period.

The first of two 10-min ute overtime periods was when the Mammoths seized control for good. Amherst’s trademark high-pressure defense forced

the Jumbos into mistake after mistake, and a flurry of chances materialized. Again, the break through seemed inevitable.

And this time, it came, with just three minutes remaining in the first half of the overtime peri od. Ally Deegan ’24 chased a ball through the Jumbos box and was clattered to the ground right on the edge by a Tufts defender. De spite protestations from the away fans, the referee blew her whistle and pointed to the penalty spot.

With a spot in the NESCAC championship on the line, the Mammoths chose the experi enced Alexa Juarez ’23E to take the penalty. She stepped up and roped a ball toward the bottom left corner. The Tufts keeper dove the right way, blocking the shot. She was unable to corral the ball, though, and it trickled straight back to Juarez, who hadn’t given up on the play and tapped the ball into the bottom-right corner. The crowd erupted.

Solid defense from the Mam moths prevented the Jumbos from registering a single shot during overtime, and secured the 1-0 win and a place in the cham pionship game against Wesleyan.

The Cardinals proved an easi er opponent. Playing less than 24 hours after their overtime victo ry, the Mammoths found a way to begin the contest on the front foot. They won an early corner — one of only three total in the game — and fired off the first two shots of the game.

But the Cardinals had their chances: In the 37th minute, a Wesleyan attacker found a clear header, but Fisher was there to make the save — one of just two times she was called upon all game.

The Mammoths closed the first half with a period of strong offense. Katz got off two shots, one of which forced a save, and then Kum almost scored with five minutes left but was stifled by a Cardinals defender on the doorstep. For the second straight day, the Mammoths outplayed their opponents but entered half time at 0-0.

The second half of the match was the Mammoths’ most domi nant of the weekend. Bernet and Huang seemed to always be a step ahead, plugging the gaps and sti fling every Wesleyan attack. The Cardinals took just three shots all half, and only one on goal, which gave Fisher no problems. The center-back pairing proved capable with their feet, too, con stantly moving the ball forward, where the Mammoths looked to work down the wings and send crosses into the box.

That strategy bore fruit in the 56th minute. After releasing down the right sideline from her outside back position, Sophia Haynes ’26 played the ball into the box from the left wing. Dee gan met it and sent a measured left-footed volley into the right side netting, leaving the Wesley an keeper flat-footed. 1-0 Mam moths.

And only three minutes later, the Mammoths bagged a second. After Schwartz found her mak ing a run in behind the defense, Katz played a ball in from the right flank. Schwartz used her height to meet the ball, heading it into the ground near the feet of the goalkeeper, who was unable to read it and could do little but watch the Mammoths’ second goal sail over her head.

From that point on, the Car dinals failed to register a single shot. The Mammoths continued to play some of their best soccer all year, nearly getting a third during a breathtaking tiki-ta ka move down the length of the

pitch in the 63rd minute. Though empty-handed on that occasion, they coasted to the 2-0 win and a coveted NESCAC Champi onship. But that wasn’t the only honors the team took home: For their performances this week end, Deegan and Fisher were named Co-NESCAC Players of the Week.

The win completed the squad’s comeback from a disap pointing beginning of the sea son that included losses to rivals Tufts and Williams in the first few weeks. The Mammoths ha ven’t lost since the beginning of October, winning 10 straight to close their season and conceding just three goals over that span.

With conference honors se cured, a larger prize looms: the NCAA Division III National Championship. One year re moved from a disappointing round-of-32 loss, the Mam moths are prepared for a deep run this time around. They have the strong defense, clutch scor ing, and self-belief necessary to win a national championship and have been battle-tested in one of the nation’s strongest con ferences.

Their pursuit begins on Sat urday, Nov. 12, against West minster College (Pennsylvania) at host site Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). If they win on Saturday, they will face either RIT or Johnson & Wales Univer sity on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 3 p.m. Kickoff for the Mammoths’ first round game against the Titans is set for 1 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

The women's team beat Wesleyan 2-0 at Hitchcock Field.

Football Honors Seniors With Second Win of Year

Liza Katz ’24 Managing Sports Editor

On Saturday, Nov. 5, the Amherst football team took to Pratt Field for the final time in 2022, taking on the 2-5 Bowdoin Polar Bears. While this game looked to be a battle of two teams who hadn’t yet found their groove this season, the on-field dra ma did not disappoint — neither team led by more than four all game, and both squads’ offensive and de fensive units made highlight-reel plays.

The festivities started early for the Mammoths, as they honored their 12 seniors — Alexis Chavez-Salinas ’23E, Nick Diprinzio ’23E, Kevin Girardi ’23, Conor Kennelly ’23E, Manni Malone ’23E, Flynn McGil vray ’23E, Charles McKissick ’23E, Carson Ochsenhirt ’23, Chad Peter son ’23E, John Schiano ’23E, Logan Shooster ’23E, and Tim Swope ’23 — before kickoff.

Amherst seemingly took that joy and used it to seize the early

momentum. On only the third play from scrimmage, Solomon Christo pher ’25 broke on a Polar Bear pass at just the right time and tipped it into the air, where Raymond Dix on ’24 was waiting to come up with the interception. With the ball on the Bowdoin 27-yard line after the forced turnover, the Mammoths worked a short field and hit paydirt only four plays later, when tailback Jack Roberge ’25E rumbled 7 yards untouched into the endzone to put Amherst up 7-0. However, Bowdoin responded with a 17-play, 59-yard touchdown drive of their own that spanned 11 minutes and parts of two quarters to tie the score at 7-all. With neither team able to bank any more points in the second quarter, the game stayed knotted at seven headed into halftime.

Whatever the coaches said at halftime seemed to have worked, as the third quarter produced multiple scores and long drives from both teams. A Mammoth interception by first-year defensive back Matt Mon

teleone ’26, the first of his career, and a 30-yard field goal off the boot of Kennelly gave the Mammoths a slim 10-7 lead with 8:53 to go in the quar ter. But as in the first quarter, the Po lar Bears bounced back immediately, scoring a touchdown only four min utes later to take the lead back.

In spite of the deficit, the Mam moths were undeterred. On the first play of the final frame, first-year Ke mit Fisher ’26 sacked the Polar Bears’ signal-caller for a 12-yard loss to force Bowdoin to punt. After fielding the kick near midfield, Cam Jones ’24, this week’s NESCAC Special Teams Player of the Week, took the punt 20 yards the other way to give the Mammoths the ball on the Polar Bears’ 27-yard line. And again, the Mammoths executed in a short-field situation, as quarterback Mike Piaz za ’24 connected with wide receiv er Owen Gaydos ’25 for an 8-yard score, giving Amherst a 17-14 lead with 11:06 to go in the game. It was Gaydos’ first career touchdown re ception, and would eventually stand

as the game winner.

The win was sealed by McKissick on his Senior Day, on what would end up being his final play on Pratt Field. The senior picked off a Bow doin pass at midfield with less than a minute left to play, stopping the Polar Bears’ last attempt to win the game. It was his first collegiate interception, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Piazza then ran out the clock,

and the Mammoths walked away with a hard-fought, 17-14 win.

The Mammoths will look to end the season on a high note, traveling to Williams to close out their sea son with the Biggest Little Game in America. The game, which will be played on the Ephs’ Farley-Lamb Field on Saturday, Nov. 12, will be televised on NESN. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

Front and Center: We Are Failing Brittney Griner

Melanie Schwimmer ’23 Columnist

“My mind is fading here,” Brit tney Griner told her wife Cherelle last month. Griner, who goes by BG, has been wrongfully detained in Russia for 267 days. BG is one of the best basketball players in the world. She was detained on Feb. 17, 2022, for possessing can nabis oil in her luggage when she arrived in Moscow to play for a Russian team during the WNBA offseason. On Oct. 25, an appeals court in Moscow upheld her nineyear sentence, which effectively sends her to serve the remainder of her imprisonment in a Russian penal colony.

In her appeal, BG’s lawyers emphasized that her nine-year sentence for bringing in less than a gram of medically-prescribed hashish oil is “unusually harsh, even by Russian legal standards.”

Human rights lawyer Arseny Levinson explained that based on

how drug law and trials operate in Russia, if BG received more than three years in jail, then her extended imprisonment is po litically motivated. Griner took responsibility for bringing the oil into Russia, which was prescribed by her U.S.-based doctor, saying she included it in her luggage due to packing in a frantic man ner. Her punishment does not fit the crime. After her appeal was denied, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan re leased a statement that called the trial a “sham judicial proceeding,” and stated that BG is currently “wrongfully detained under in tolerable circumstances.” The U.S. government has made it clear that her overly extended prison sen tence indicates that she is a pawn in a larger sociopolitical struggle between the U.S. and Russia.

A key concern is how BG will be treated as an out lesbian and Black woman in a Russian penal colony known for its homopho bia. The colony she will likely be

transferred to includes a factory where prisoners are required to work 10- to 12-hour days and just 10 small rooms, each housing 80 women who sleep on planks and share only three toilets. In order to attend her appeal, BG was put in a cage too small for her frame and driven around two and a half hours to the site. She is not being treated like a human being.

Gold medals do not protect Black queer women. People were quick to point out that if this was Lebron James, he would have been home within a day and the story would have been plastered all over the news. But this would never happen to Lebron James. He would never have to go play abroad, because he makes mil lions of dollars playing stateside and has numerous offseason training opportunities. There was more public outcry when three UCLA basketball players were temporarily detained in China for shoplifting in 2017.

And what are we doing about

it at Amherst? Nothing. I have not had a single conversation about BG on campus that I have not started. I have heard more people talk about the WNBA this year than ever before, but no one talks about BG. When I do bring her up, most people do not know what I am talking about and quickly change the subject. We have not talked about her in any of my Amherst courses, clubs, or jobs. Where is our outrage? Where are the Amherst athletics teams? Where are the resource centers? Athletes could wear “We Are BG” warm-up shirts, and the resource centers could hold an event with Amherst Athletics to write letters to BG. There are concrete steps we can take, and it is up to us to raise awareness and follow through.

I specifically challenge white male athletes at Amherst to show their support for BG. We are of ten too quick to put the onus on Black, queer, and female athletes to speak up in the realm of so cial justice. It is past time to hold

white male athletes to the same standard. You have been given a platform at Amherst, I beg you to use it.

We can all demand action, athlete or not. We can call our representatives to let them know that bringing Griner home should be a top priority. We can write let ters to BG sending her strength and our support (https://wearebg. org/). I completed these two steps in 20 minutes and know that ev eryone reading this article can do the same. Talk about Griner with your community — do not let her be forgotten. One of BG’s team mates, Brianna Turner, told the LA Times, “There’s not enough outcry, no, period, there’s not enough outcry.”

We are so invested in sports at the college that we build our entire Homecoming weekend around a football game. It is well past time to carry that energy into the intersection of sport and jus tice. We must work to bring Gri ner home.

Photos courtesy of Clarus Studios Owen Gaydos ’25 caught the game-winning touchdown.

Volleyball Falls to Top Seed Wesleyan in NESCAC Semifinals

Kate Quigley ’26 Staff Writer

After earning the NESCAC’s fourth seed this season, the volley ball team traveled to Middletown, Connecticut, for the conference tournament this past weekend. Their quest for a title started on Friday, Nov. 4, against No. 5 seed Bowdoin. While the Firedogs started the tournament strong, winning the game against the Po lar Bears in three sets, they fell to No. 1 seed Wesleyan the next day in a 3-2 nailbiter.

Despite being down both 3-0 and 10-7 at points in the first set against defending NESCAC cham pion Bowdoin, the Mammoths pulled out a win with a comeback effort. After a block from Chloe Chanren ’24E, the Mammoths took the lead 14-13, eventually stretching that lead to 20-16. A few points later, a momentum-sus taining kill from Kinsey Cronin ’25 and an attack error widened the Mammoths’ lead to 20-16. A service ace from junior Katelyn Hamasaki ’24 closed the set.

The second set started with much of the same back-and-forth play as the first: After going down early, a 7-4 run by the Mammoths gave them a small lead of 15-12. Anaya Thomas ’25 and Caroline

Tilton ’23 totaled two kills each, which allowed the Mammoths to keep a three-point lead. The Polar Bears scored three points to tie up the game, but after multiple Bow doin attack errors, the Mammoths got away with another win to go up 2-0.

The Mammoths finished off the night with a bang, jumping out to a 15-9 lead in the third set. To build that lead, Tilton recorded two kills and Cooper put down a service ace. However, Bowdoin bounced back to score six straight points and tie the game 15-15. Kills from Chanren and Sami Underwood ’23 off assists from sophomore Lizzie Papalia ’25 made it 21-17, and Cronin finished the game with three kills to complete the 3-0 sweep.

However, the next day, Satur day, Nov. 5, Amherst tragically lost 3-2 against the top-seeded Wesleyan Cardinals. The Fire dogs opened up a 1-0 lead with an exciting first set win by a score of 28-26. After being tied 1111, Cooper served three of four consecutive points to give the Mammoths the lead, which they increased to 16-12 off of kills from Thomas and Tilton. The Cardinals came back, though, to win five straight points and retake the lead. Battling hard,

Tilton, Papalia, and Underwood notched three straight kills to get the Mammoths back in the game. But again, Wesleyan battled back to tie and ultimately take the lead. However, a service error by the Cardinals took away their chance to win the set, and the Mammoths capitalized, blocking two Cardinals attempts to take the two next points and win the set.

Despite this strong start by Amherst, Wesleyan took the next two sets 25-18 and 25-19. A win looked on the horizon for the Car dinals, but the Firedogs weren’t done yet. In the fourth set, they

rebounded from being down 11-7 and 15-12 with multiple three-point runs. Senior Lani Uy eno ’23 had two service aces, and kills from Underwood and Tilton helped the Mammoths come back. With another service ace and two more kills from Tilton, the Mam moths were up once more, and ultimately finished the set 25-20. Now tied 2-2, both teams were hungry to take the last set.

In the last set, the Firedogs went back and forth with the Car dinals to take a 7-6 lead. Unfortu nately, after a long first four sets, they seemed to run out of steam, and fell behind 14-8. While a four-

GAME SCHEDULE

point run put them back in the game, they ultimately fell short, with the Cardinals winning the next point to send the Mammoths home with a gut-wrenching 3-2 loss.

First-year Charlotte Rasmus sen ’26 said the game was a “tough five sets, but we did a great job ad justing to their offense and hitting past their defense.”

The Mammoths end the 2022 season with a 14-7 overall re cord and their second-straight NESCAC Tournament semifinal appearance. They will look to im prove on this result when the 2023 season begins next September.

FOOTBALL

Saturday, Nov. 12: @ Williams, 12 p.m.

CROSS COUNTRY

Saturday, Nov. 12: NCAA Mideast Regionals @ St. Lawrence College, Women @ 11 a.m., Men @ 12 p.m.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Friday, Nov. 11: Amherst Tip-Off Tournament vs. Springfield, 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13: Amherst Tip-Off Tournament vs. Rowan, 3 p.m.

WOMEN'S SOCCER

Saturday, Nov. 12: vs. Westminster College (PA) @ RIT, 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13: vs. Johnson and Wales (RI)/RIT @ RIT, 3 p.m. (if necessary)

MEN'S SOCCER

Saturday, Nov. 12: vs. Husson University, 11 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 13: vs. St. Lawrence/Roger Williams, 12 p.m. (if necessary)

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Saturday, Nov. 12: @ Albertus Magnus College, 2 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Volleyball finished their season with a second-straight NESCAC semifinal appearance.