Issue 13

THE AMHERST THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF AMHERST COLLEGE SINCE 1868

STUDENT

CROSSWORD page 10

VOLUME CLI, ISSUE 13 l WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2021

AMHERSTSTUDENT.COM

Men’s Soccer on to National Semifinals Leo Kamin ’25 Staff Writer

Photo courtesy of Emma Spencer '23E

Students who tested positive for Covid this semester have been required to isolate for 10 days. While some students opted to spend the time, many were taken to the Rodeway Inn in Hadley, pictured above.

Quarantine Reflections From the Rodeway Inn Sonia Chajet Wides ’25 Staff Writer Since the beginning of fall 2021, the college has conducted over 74,000 Covid-19 PCR tests for students, faculty, and staff.

Forty-one of those tests have come back positive; 22 of those have been from students. Per the college’s isolation protocol, students who have tested positive for Covid are required to isolate for 10 days.

With the shift back to in-person learning, isolation has taken on new forms but also presented new challenges, such as keeping up with fully in-person classes that have no remote option. The Student interviewed several students who have tested positive for Covid this semester on their varying experiences with this mandated isolation.

Most students’ experiences entering isolation began the same way: they received a call from the Health Center early in the day, as they ate breakfast or attended morning sports practices.

Ella Peterson ’22 was in Valentine Dining Hall when Director of Student Health Services Emily Jones called her and recommended she return to her room immediately. “I panic-packed as soon as I got back,” she said. “They gave me a packing list.” Peterson relayed that she had a few hours in her room before a staff member drove her to the Rodeway Inn in Hadley, a hotel that the college has been using for isolation since last year.

This semester, students have had the option to isolate themselves at home instead. Student

A, a first-year who asked to remain anonymous due to fear of response from the administration and professors, said she was instructed not to use public transportation, but her mother was able to take her home within a few hours of receiving the positive test result. Christian Powers ’23 was also able to travel home because he lives close by. Both students reported that the ability to spend the isolation period at home instead of at the hotel was necessary for preserving their mental well-being.

Peterson lives within driving distance, but said she has “two working parents [who] would have to isolate for two weeks.”

She noted that being at home “could have been a nice option if you're somebody who lived a little closer to campus, and you had parents who were able to

make those choices.”

Students who stay at the hotel receive food deliveries each morning and are helped by an attendant who is available at all times to be a “genie,” according to Peterson. “He's like, … ‘you text me on this phone number what you need, and then I'll get it for you, and I'll bring it to your door,’” she said. Peterson added that students are able to request any items they need, such as “activity bags and yoga mats.”

Students expressed differing opinions on the outside time they were allowed at the Rodeway, which could only be spent in the hotel’s parking lot. “I just sort of do laps in the parking lot,” said Peterson. “Usually I'll call somebody and I'll talk to them. … It's nice to get some

Continued on page 4

It’s been a season of ups and downs for men’s soccer. But right now, the trajectory is decidedly upward. Two wins last weekend at Hitchcock Field — 4-1 over SUNY Cortland on Saturday, Nov. 20 and 1-0 over Middlebury on Sunday, Nov. 21 — secured the Mammoths a spot in the NCAA Division III Final Four for the second-straight year (the last was in 2019). The Mammoths were propelled by forward German Giammattei ’22, who contributed to all five of the team’s goals, scoring four and assisting one.

The Mammoths — the preseason number-two ranked team in the nation — got off to a rocky start this season, falling in their second game to Bowdoin and dropping from the rankings.

They worked their way back to a 12-2-1 regular season record and a top-10 ranking, but then were brought back to earth after losing to Colby in penalty kicks in the first round of the NESCAC playoffs.

Across the past two weekends, though, the Mammoths have run rampant on the national stage — scoring 13 goals and conceding just one en route to yet another berth in the national semifinal. Especially after last weekend, which saw difficult matchups against SUNY Cortland, the number-five ranked

Continued on page 16

News POLICE LOG

Nov. 18, 2021 – Nov. 28, 2021

>>Nov. 16, 2021

8:33 a.m., Mayo-Smith House The Senior Detective confiscated a propane tank that was stored inside the building.

9:42 a.m., Belchertown Court The Senior Detective assisted a community member with court services. >>Nov. 18, 2021

6:07 a.m., Mill Lane A Sergeant spoke with two individuals looking to hunt in the area. They left without issue.

10:12 a.m., Hills Lot The Senior Detective spoke with two individuals attempting to gain access into a Zip car through a window. The individual was attempting to retrieve their phone after leaving it in the car.

4:17 p.m., Johnson Chapel A detective continued with an ongoing investigation. >>Nov. 19, 2021

1:16 a.m., Seelye House Student Affairs Community Safety Assistant (CSA) staff responded to a noise complaint.

3:30 p.m., Seelye House A Sergeant and a detective responded to an alarm and found it was set off by marijuana smoke.

10:54 p.m., Amherst Police Department The town police requested assistance in identifying a vehicle involved with eggs being thrown from that

Thoughts on Theses Sage Innerarity

vehicle.

Departments of English and American Studies

>>Nov. 20, 2021

Sage Innerarity is a double major in English and American studies. She is writing her thesis on Indigenous creation stories and tribal histories, utilizing the stories as a lens to discuss settler colonialism in her home community. Her thesis advisor is Henry S. Poler ’59 Presidential Teaching Professor of English and American Studies Lisa Brooks.

12:28 a.m., Alumni Parking Lot A Sergeant took a report of someone's vehicle having eggs thrown at it.

11:54 a.m., Hitchcock Road A Sergeant responded to a report of buses idling.

The buses moved out of the area.

5:29 p.m., The Evergreens Detectives responded to multiple intrusion alarms and found that they were activated by a bat. >>Nov. 22, 2021

5:55 a.m., the Quadrangle A Sergeant assisted a parent that was lost.

2:09 p.m., Northampton Road A detective took a report of a past incident where two unknown individuals were yelling at a student. >>Nov. 27, 2021

9:24 p.m., Appleton Hall A detective assisted in removing a bat from the building.

11:39 p.m., Off Campus Locations Sergeants and the town police spoke with individuals at the entrance of a building closed for service.

There were no issues and one of the individuals was offered medical attention. >>Nov. 28, 2021

7:24 p.m. Lipton House Detectives assisted in removing a bat from the building.

Q: What is your thesis about?

A: My thesis is focused on creation stories, tribal histories and family histories. I'm utilizing these stories as a way of talking about settler colonialism in California through a more personal and interpersonal lens.

Q: What sparked your interest in these creation stories and Indigenous histories?

A: My first year, I took “Native Literature” with [Henry S. Poler ’59 Presidential Teaching] Professor [of English and American Studies] Lisa Brooks, and that was the first time that I had ever taken a class where Indigenous storytelling was actually centered. It got me thinking about the creation stories that I heard growing up, and the other tribal histories and oral histories that I’ve heard. That was the first time I was like, “Wow, I could share this,” and [it] would matter to people not only within my community, but outside my community as well. Then, because of the pandemic, I was home, and being home really grounded me. The reason that I care about this so much is because I have not seen my stories in written works. And I was like, “I want to do that.” I want to write these down.

Q: How have you attempted to capture the essence of oral stories and put that down in writing?

A: Before I even get to writing anything down, I practice telling the story so that it flows a little bit differently. I think that has been really helpful because after speaking it, writing it down feels easier because I know what it’s supposed to sound

like. That’s helped me not sacrifice a lot of the emotion that goes into the story and a lot of the interpersonal piece. I think that can only be mitigated so much, because telling a story is not the same as writing it down.

But one of the things that I've been working [on too] is learning bits and pieces of [the] language. I know a few words and a few phrases. I think that's been one of the pieces, having language integrated into the stories.

It gets us one step closer to what the stories sound like.

Q: Who’s your thesis advisor, and how have they contributed to the process?

A: Professor Brooks is my advisor.

I’ve learned a lot from her about the possibilities that there are. It’s really easy to kind of be in this mindset of loss, and coming here and meeting her was one of the first times that I was like, “Wow, I can recover these stories and retell these stories.” So I think first and foremost, she has done so much to instill that hope in me. And seeing that an academic space does not inherently exclude us, and that she’s created a space, has been really awesome.

Q: What kinds of resources have you found to be helpful in your research?

A: One of the big ones that I am relying on is the interviews that I did over the past summer. There are also some works from the classes that I’ve taken because I was very strategic about taking classes that focused around Native storytelling. I didn't know exactly what my thesis would be back then, but a lot of the works from those classes [have] found

their way into my thesis.

Q: Does anything you’ve encountered in your research stand out as particularly surprising?

A: My uncle and my auntie went to Sherman Indian School, which is now a school for Native kids. And I found two resources written about the Sherman Indian School, at least one of [which] is written by people who survived the school. So that was bittersweet, obviously, but I was glad to see those voices represented in a published work and was really happy that I found those. I was surprised that I found something because I had never seen any literature on it before, so being able to include that was really exciting for me.

Q: How does your thesis connect to the current experiences of Indigenous communities?

A: I think first and foremost, there are a lot of revitalization efforts happening all across Indian country.

Especially in my community, I think more and more people my age and younger are really wanting to learn [about the culture], whether it be language, ceremony, song, dance, story. And so, I think that that's part of where the motivation for this is coming from, wanting to be able to contribute to that effort, so that those who come after me don't have to do as much work to have that connection and have that knowledge. I was really lucky to grow up having those stories and hearing the language, but I know that can't be said for everyone from my community.

—Ethan Foster '25

News 3

The Amherst Student • December 1, 2021

Denial of Remote Learning Prompts Accessibility Concerns Kyle Hur ’25 Staff Writer Two weeks into the fall semester, Julissa Fernandez ’22 sent an email to her class dean, Senior Associate Dean of Students Charri Boykin-East, requesting to switch to remote learning. In her request, Fernandez cited experiences of mental and emotional strain from being on campus, as well as financial difficulties.

A first-generation low-income student, she explained that she supports herself and her family, and being on campus had hindered her job opportunities and earning potential.

She also stated that taking a semester off would not be an option for her.

In response, Boykin-East informed her that the college would not be offering a remote learning option to any students this year. “As a compromise, some students have opted to either take a leave for the semester, or as a first semester senior decided to take an educational leave at another institution,” she added. “Some of these students are taking courses closer to their home and some of these courses have even been online courses.”

After receiving this response, Fernandez appealed to several other members of the administration, including Dean of Students Liz Agosto and President Biddy Martin.

However, Fernandez said she either received an “unempathetic” email or no response at all.

Other students have also requested to switch to remote learning and been denied the option. While none of these students were available for comment, Provost and Dean of the Faculty Catherine Epstein confirmed that since the college announced on April 7 that it would return to in-person learning, “a small number of students have asked to study remotely; those requests have not been granted.”

Fernandez reported that she did not get the help that she needed until late October. After meeting with the Counseling Center and the Office of Accessibility Services about her struggles, Fernandez received counseling, assistance communicating with the school’s administration, and the full amount of accommodations she could get. As a result, she has been approved to live off-campus and granted excused absences, but is still not able to partake in remote learning.

According to Provost and Dean of the Faculty Catherine Epstein, the college is not allowing remote learning this year because personal interactions in the classroom, and experiencing residential life, are crucial for its educational mission.

“If faculty members need to provide remote instruction to a small

number of students, that alters the character of the class,” she noted.

“Once a class is hybrid, instructors have fundamentally changed the classroom experience and potentially compromised the education of all the other students in the class.”

“Hybrid instruction and the technological challenges it poses may place an undue burden on faculty members,” Epstein added.

Fernandez said that the administration never gave her a clear answer on who decided to disallow remote learning, prompting her to lament that “there’s no transparency with students on the decisions that are being made [by the college].”

She relayed that, at one point, she was told that faculty members were responsible for the decision, but later,

conversations with a few of her professors revealed that this information was false.

Indeed, several professors expressed disapproval of the college’s policy surrounding remote learning. Olin Professor in Asian Studies (Anthropology) Vanessa Fong commented that, in placing limitations on remote teaching and learning, the college is “depriving faculty and students of a valuable way to improve accessibility, morale, and mental and physical health and safety.”

She also posited that the administration is discounting the quality of education that can be offered remotely.

James E. Ostendarp Professor of English, Emeritus Barry O’Connell expressed that remote learning

should be offered for all students who need it, regardless of the teaching difficulties that may arise. “[Remote learning] can be inconvenient,” he said. “But for any decent teacher on this faculty, meeting the actual needs of students is the primary commitment of their teaching.”

Going forward, Fernandez hopes the college will reconsider their decision on remote learning.

“I’m not very proud of Amherst as an institution,” she reflected. “The college instills these beliefs that they care for their students, but it’s really not true — the college is going to be the college at the end of the day. If that means ignoring students’ needs, they’ll ignore students’ needs.”

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia

The college has denied all requests to learn remotely this semester, after a year of mostly Zoom teaching.

From the Red Room: Nov. 29 AAS Meeting Updates Karina Maciel ’25 Staff Writer On Monday, Nov. 29, the Association of Amherst Students (AAS) held its second to last meeting of the semester. Senators discussed Budgetary Committee (BC) recommendations, a scheduled meeting with Dean of Students Liz Agosto regarding the Omicron variant, committee updates, and the possibility of providing Grammarly for free to all students.

The meeting began with the approval of the BC’s recommendations, led by Treasurer Jae Yun Ham ’22. Funding requests were made by numerous student orga-

nizations, including the Mammoth Mentorship Initiative, Men’s Club Soccer, the Bioethics Society, the Asian Students Association, club volleyball, Marsh Arts House, and the Black Students Union. Requests totaled $15,758.20, and all were approved. As the semester comes to a close, the BC will not be funding any activities that occur past Dec. 7, which is the last day of classes.

Following approval of the BC recommendations, the senators discussed a future meeting they’ve scheduled with Agosto to discuss the new Omicron variant and how it might affect proceedings at the college. Senators plan to ask if the college will have enough resources

to accommodate international students who might not return home during January term due to travel restrictions, and to request more transparency in college proceedings as they make decisions about the variant. As of right now, the Office of Student Affairs is waiting for more information about the Omicron variant to be released before any final decisions are made. The meeting is scheduled to be held on Monday, Dec. 6, and facilitated by President Angelina Han ’22 and Vice President Basma Azzamok ’22.

After this discussion, senators gave officer reports and committee updates. Judiciary Chair Jas-

per Liles ’23 mentioned that the Judiciary Committee will soon release a statement regarding the disciplinary hearing that occurred a few weeks ago, and Han gave updates on the Five College Student Coordinating Board, which most recently met on Monday, Nov. 29 and approved funding the Five College Comedy Club show, which is happening this Friday, Dec. 3, at Hampshire College.

Cole Graber-Mitchell ’22 then gave updates relating to the Climate and Sustainability Committee, which met for the first time last week and is currently waiting for new Director of Environmental Sustainability Weston Dripps ’92 to

start in January. In the future, this committee hopes to hold events educating students about environmental sustainability and the college’s Climate Action Plan.

Following these reports, Shreya Mathew ’25 then asked about the possibility of procuring free Grammarly for Amherst students, similar to how the school provides free Headspace and XFINITY On Campus services. Mathew and a few other senators plan to look into this topic further, and it will most likely be discussed at future meetings.

The Senate will meet for the last time this semester next Monday, Dec. 6.

The Amherst Student • December 1, 2021

News 4

Students Divided Over Quality of Quarantine Experience Continued from page 1 fresh air.” On the other hand, Student B, who preferred to remain anonymous because of fear of backlash, described the outside option as “boring,” since his request to run beyond the parking lot was denied.

In a joint statement to The Student, Jones, Dean of Students Liz Agosto, Provost and Dean of the Faculty Catherine Epstein, and Director of New Student Programs Marie Lalor said that conditions in isolation have changed since last year. “Based on learnings from last year, we made the following additional improvements: increased access to time outdoors; improved wireless connection and access to hotspots; more items for student engagement such as puzzles, yoga mats and more; and the ordering of food from local establishments,” they wrote.

Students expressed continued dissatisfaction with the food provided in isolation, however. On a Zoom call with The Student, one student held up a frozen burrito he had received that morning, and explained that it was the fourth day in a row that he had been given the same item. Each student had used DoorDash at some point or had groceries delivered to the hotel.

Peterson had an overall positive outlook on her stay at the hotel: “You can have a delightful free 10-day retreat at Hadley’s former okayest budget hotel,” she said. “That's what's in store for you if you test positive for Covid.”

Some students were far more disgruntled with having to isolate. In a shift from last year’s protocol, vaccinated close contacts no longer need to quarantine upon exposure, yet — as communicated in the college’s emails announcing positive Covid tests — most Covid-positive students have been asymptomatic upon testing positive, prompting doubts over the validity of the positive tests.

Of those interviewed, Peterson was the only student who

actually experienced symptoms for Covid-19. She reported receiving “wonderful” care from the Health Center, which kept a close eye on her and even sent a nurse in-person to check on her when she seemed to be developing a sinus infection. The rarity of her symptoms was not lost on her: “I was … unofficially informed that I was probably the only proper Covid patient that at least one of the nurses who I was working with had ever interacted with,” Peterson disclosed.

Student A expressed feeling confused at her positive test result because she was asymptomatic and none of her close contacts later tested positive. “I felt completely fine,” she said, explaining that she asked, but was denied, a retest. When she arrived at home to isolate, she took two PCR tests and five rapid antigen tests, all of which came back negative.

Student A was not the only student who believed they had received a false positive. “I really wish we got retested because I honestly don't think I have Covid,” echoed Student B. He reported that he had taken two antigen tests delivered by friends to the hotel where he was isolating, and received negative results from both.

In a statement to The Student, Jones explained that the PCR Covid test “is very sensitive — meaning that it is good at detecting very small amounts of virus.” The Broad Institute, where the college sends the test samples, runs two tests per sample, and returns a positive result only when both tests are positive.

“Even if a subsequent test comes back negative — it does not prove that the previous test was a false positive,” Jones elaborated. “Studies are showing that vaccinated individuals can often clear the virus quickly and therefore could have a negative follow up PCR test soon after their positive one.”

The college follows the requirement from the Mass. Department of Public Health that any vaccinated individual must

isolate for 10 days after a positive Covid test, hence the adherence to the original test result.

Due to his belief that he did not actually have Covid, Student B expressed that the social isolation felt unnecessary. “I feel like I'm left out of a lot of stuff,” he said.

For Student A, the negative follow-up tests were particularly frustrating because her isolation experience had serious ramifications for her academic performance. “I just feel like I'm so far behind and I’m … so worried that I'm not going to be academically successful for the rest of the semester,” she said. “It just made it worse that I didn't even have Covid.”

“ You can have a

delightful free 10-day retreat at Hadley's former okayest budget hotel. That's what's in store for you if you test positive for Covid.

— Ella Peterson ’22

”

“I got no help from my professors at all,” she explained, citing their common response of telling her to ask a friend for notes while not offering her an online option.

“I just felt like I was drowning in work that I didn't know how to do and there was no help,” she said. “I emailed … all these people, and they were like, ‘we could get you a note taker, but by the time it goes through, like you're going to be done with isolation.’”

She expressed that it was difficult to maintain a schedule and “feel like I was still in school” while isolating, due to a lack of structure. “I just felt really helpless … like I was just alone,” she recalled. “And no one was offering me the help that I needed even though I was asking … it just felt like … empty help.”

She described the experience overall as “horrible,” and said

about the college, “​​if you're gonna send people away you can't just leave them with nothing.”

In conjunction with the return to in-person instruction this fall, the college decided that “faculty members providing remote instruction to a small number of students fundamentally changes the classroom experience, potentially compromises the education of all the other students in the class, and may place an undue burden on faculty members,” according to the joint statement by Jones, Agosto, Epstein, and Lalor. As a result, the college does not currently provide a remote learning option to students.

Instead, the policy states that “students should be in touch with their professors, who will walk them through what they need to do to stay on top of their class work.” The administrators interviewed said that academic needs are “among the first things discussed,” and described that students are connected to an academic liaison who can help obtain library books and other resources.

According to the joint statement, class deans also play an integral role; they “work with students to connect with their professors to work through the best ways to manage their coursework … [and] to create draft plans that are inclusive of all of their coursework to help them think through the extensions they are discussing with their faculty.”

There is no specific protocol that professors are instructed to follow; rather, “it varies by course” whether professors provide pre-recorded lectures, Zoom with students, or simply ask students to get notes from a classmate.

Some students spoke about how their experience at the college allowed them to manage their academics while isolating.

Peterson cited her status as a senior as key to the academic success she achieved while isolating.

“I'm comfortable working with professors, I was comfortable

sending those emails, sort of just being straight up with what was going on,” she said. Her establishment in the “broader school community” was helpful in getting “an army of note-takers,” forming connections with teaching assistants, and interacting with people in the Office of Residential Life and the Counseling Center.

Several students also reported that accommodations from their professors made for a much smoother isolation experience.

Powers said that all his professors allowed him to join class via Zoom. “I was able to technically attend class, and I didn't miss anything,” he explained. “So I kind of just came back and really didn't skip a beat.” Student B also said that his professors had been in good communication with him and had given him alternatives to assignment submissions.

Peterson, too, described her professors as accommodating and understanding. “I mean, if they set up an online opportunity, that would be nice,” she said, “But … I think there's a lot of things at Amherst, where people sometimes want some perfect world situation, and sometimes the setup is just bad… Having to isolate sucks, but for what it is, this is probably one of the better case scenarios.”

Peterson and Powers both expressed hope that students will be able to have a more transparent view of isolation so as to help diminish the fear associated with it. “Definitely be optimistic,” Powers said, “because I think I was really appreciative of how the school handled it.”

“Frankly, when I got that call, I was really scared,” Peterson stated. “And I think, If I had known that this was going to be what the experiences were going to be, I wouldn't have been so scared… I also hope that people are more comfortable knowing that if you test positive, it's not your fault. Everyone's not going to hate you. And you're going to be okay, you're going to be decently well taken care of.”

News 5

The Amherst Student • December 1, 2021

Melissa Murray Discusses Racial and Reproductive Justice Sophie Wolmer ’23 Managing News Editor

On Nov. 30, the college hosted the third event of its Fall 2021 Point/Counterpoint Series, “Democracy and its Discontents: a Conversation with Melissa Murray.” At the event, Melissa Murray, the Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law at the New York University (NYU) School of Law, spoke with Professor of Philosophy Nishiten Shah and James J. Grosfeld Professor of Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought Lawrence Douglas about her emergence as a legal scholar, the racist origins of law, and questions surrounding Roe v. Wade. Murray also expressed her thoughts on the upcoming Dobbs v. Jackson's Women's Health Organization Supreme Court case scheduled for Dec. 1. The event was observed by in-person attendees in Pruyne Lecture Hall and via an online livestream.

Murray is regarded as one of the nation's preeminent constitutional scholars in matters of reproductive rights and in the legal regulation associations. In particular, her expertise is in constitutional family law, criminal law, and reproductive rights and justice. Aside from teaching these subjects at NYU, Murray also writes for a range of legal and lay publications like the Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal, New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Nation. Murray also serves as a legal analyst for MSNBC and is a co-host of the podcast Strict Scrutiny.

Douglas opened the event by introducing Murray. In his opening remarks, Douglas emphasized the timeliness of Murray’s visit. The following day, Douglas noted, the Supreme Court will be debating the constitutionality of a Mississippi statute that bans abortions after 15 weeks, except in cases of medical emergencies and fetal abnormalities.

After introductory remarks, Douglas asked Murray about her draw to matters of law and justice and her journey to becoming

a prominent scholar of constitutional law. Murray recalled her first semesters at the University of Virginia as a history major: “I went to college intending to be a history major. In my very small town in Florida, people often asked me why would anyone want to study history, especially when the prospect of a job seemed so uncertain at the end of it. I went to college in the midst of a massive economic downturn.”

Murray continued, “By the time I graduated in 1997, what I learned was how to exchange ideas, how to be a thoughtful listener to other people — even when they don't share your perspectives — and how to learn from each other in a way that is thoughtful, incisive, probing and respectful. and I think more than anything that is so necessary at the present moment.”

Next, Douglas turned the conversation to the racist origins of laws. Contemplating whether it is necessary to reckon with racial history for progress, Douglas questioned “why, if a law has its origins in a racist history, it is applied in a neutral fashion.”

To this, Murray drew on a variety of famous court cases including Ramos v. Louisi-

ana and Apodaca v. Oregon to show that the laws of the United States are inextricably linked to slavery. She said, “There's just so much in our country that is intertwined with the residue of slavery and race. Unless we can figure out what it means to scrub that clean, we're going to have few laws that [don’t] carry residues of their problematic histories.”

When asked about Roe v.

Wade by Shah, Murray emphasized the importance of the conservative legal movement. “The question of Roe v. Wade is the central question of the conservative legal movement. [Roe v.

Wade] is the animating principle that has driven the movement forward for the past 40 years…

Even if it is chipped away at, it hasn't been formally overruled… and that's the problem. That's the rub.”

Following the 50-minute conversation between Douglas, Shah, and Murray, the three took questions from audience members. The first question, posed by a student from the audience, cast light on the “catchy and attractive nature” of conservative legal actors and cast aspersions on whether or not liberal justices need to “contend with original-

ism and textualism.”

To this Murray tipped her hat to the conservative legal movers. “The legal movers have been very successful at marketing their movements. But, this limits the ideas of activist judges because they're bound or tethered to a text.”

Referencing her recent appearance on MSNBC, Murray said, “On air, I said something to the effect that the Constitution — when it was drafted — was understood that it could not be exhaustive. How could it be like they knew they weren't writing a legal code? The Founding Fathers were sort of painting with broad brushstrokes, for the purpose of principles that can later be extrapolated.”

Tying in pressing questions about reproductive rights, next Quinn Nelson ’25 asked “what your thoughts are about the role of the law in terms of equal opportunity versus equal outcome.” Nelson continued to say, “In terms of voting rights and reproductive rights, should the role of the lobby to ensure that everybody has equal opportunity to vote or that of the people who do vote, there's a proportionality in terms of race and gender and other factors that have previous-

ly inhibited people from voting in the past?”

To this Murray mentioned Mike Carvin, “the warrior for Arizona.” Citing his claim that there is no equal protection problem, Murray argued that the Voting Rights Act is about equal opportunities, not necessarily equal outcomes.

“Everyone has an equal opportunity to vote, but there may not necessarily be an equal opportunity to have people counted. And that's the difference between equal opportunity and sort of quality of outcome,” Murray said.

To end the night, a student from the back of the room questioned why a majority of Supreme Court justices come from Harvard or Yale Law School.

For Murray, many famous justices hail from these schools because of society’s obsession with credentials and qualifications. “We're enamored with credentials. I went to Yale because it was number one. Presidents make calculations when they're trying to determine how to get a nominee through a Senate that is very closely divided. Oftentimes, the key is to get someone with ‘unassailable credentials.’” Murray said.

Photo courtesy of Hedi Skali Lami '25

Murray spoke with Douglas and Shah to a live audience in Pruyne Lecture Hall on Tuesday night. The discussion included topics such as reproductive rights and the racist origins of laws.

Op pinion

w

Is It Bussin’?

A site for advertising events, inquiring about lost items, looking for rideshares, and engaging in heated political debate, the infamous campuswide GroupMe “AmherstBussin” serves an eclectic variety of Amherst student needs. It is one of the many pandemic-produced quirks of the Amherst experience. If you don’t talk in the chat, you lurk in it, and if you don’t lurk in it, you hear about it from your friends who do. It has become a nearly universal feature of student life.

And for all of the benefits that a campus-wide, student-governed communication platform offers, the group chat has indisputably had its darker moments. That is to say, “AmherstBussin” is not always bussin’.

Given its current ubiquity in campus conversation and culture, we at the Editorial Board find that, at the very least, it merits an earnest reflection. Is the platform the right space for certain conversations to take place? In what ways does the chat bring value to our lives, and in what ways does it cause harm? How should we structure an all-campus student chat, as iconically chaotic as it is, into a space that is more useful and productive for the community? On a broader level, how do we maintain an intricate balance between upholding self-governance and maintaining some shape of order on a studentrun public forum? These questions may not have clear-cut answers, but if we, as a student body, are to be responsible self-governors of our own discussion, we must confront these questions head-on.

While not every Amherst student is a part of the chat, it currently contains a whopping 1,187 members — nearly 66 percent of the college’s approximately 1,800 student population. As the most extensive and open public forum on campus, the group chat has become a muchneeded space for the student body to virtually connect without moderation or restrictions from the college administration. Even for those who don’t post, the chat fosters a shared network of inside jokes and discussions that every student in the Amherst community can feel included in.

The chat also has other practical applications.

It provides a public forum for students who may not have the chance to express their voices publicly in other ways. It serves as a lost-andfound thread, and even more importantly, allows information to instantly reach two-thirds of the student body. The AAS even encourages posting as a legitimate form of advertising for club events. After all, the chat guarantees immediate

exposure on a level Facebook posts and physical posters simply cannot compete with.

Members of the chat get hundreds of notifications every day, from messages about lost water bottles to announcements about upcoming events and, of course, the occasional dip into political discourse. And because of the prevalence of the chat, even those who aren’t members of it have heard about the heated arguments occurring within it — arguments which have sometimes only created harm instead of forging connections or building constructive dialogues. It’s worth considering the ways in which campus dialogue could be improved and student-organized discussion could be brought to bear on the broader campus to achieve real change.

Many of the conversations, rather than staying in the group chat, should serve as a jumping-off point for more nuanced conversations to take place in real life.

Right now, much of these conversations are dominated by a vocal minority while most chat members just silently watch the controversies unfold, liking messages to show support for whoever they’re rooting for, and in doing so, only fan the flames of the discourse without producing any solutions or constructive conversations regarding the issues at hand. If we truly care about these issues, we need to bring them outside the chat into the real world and not only continue these discussions there, but help develop solutions for them as well.

While there is no easy answer to this, we believe that the community as a whole could reflect upon how to ensure that the space is as effective and safe as it possibly can be, and what role their actions may play in this. We wholeheartedly support a student-run forum for important campus discussions, but the chat as it stands is in need of fundamental transformation to continue to serve as an effective hub of student activity. We should be mindful of the implications of the things we post instead of treating the chat as an anonymous void to shout into like Twitter.

After all, on a campus as small and intimate as ours, most of our interactions through platforms like AmherstBussin lead to greater real-life repercussions.

Unsigned editorials represent the views of the majority of the Editorial Board — (assenting: 13; dissenting: 0; abstaining: 8).

THE AMHERST

STUDENT E X E C U T I V E B OA R D Editors-in-Chief Ryan Yu Rebecca Picciotto Managing News Sophie Wolmer Yee-Lynn Lee Assistant News Caelen McQuilkin Tana Delalio Managing Opinion Scott Brasesco Skye Wu Assistant Opinion Kei Lim Dustin Copeland Tapti Sen Managing Arts and Living Theodore Hamilton Brooke Hoffman Alex Brandfonbrener Managing Sports Ethan Samuels Liza Katz Liam Archacki Managing Podcast Sam Spratford Maggie McNamara Managing Design Anna Smith Brianne LaBare S TA F F Publishers Emmy Sohn Digital Director Sawyer Pollard Social Media Manager Emi Eliason

Letters Policy

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

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

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All rights reserved. The Amherst Student logo is a trademark of The Amherst Student, Inc. Additionally, The Amherst Student does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or age. The views expressed in this publication do not reflect the views of The Amherst Student.

The Amherst Student • December 1, 2021

Opinion 7

Seeing Double: Auditions, To Do or Not To Do? Cole Graber-Mitchell ’22 Columnist A couple of weeks ago, Intersections Dance Company — a student-run dance organization — approached the Association of Amherst Students (AAS) and asked for funding for its fall dance performance. The Budgetary Committee (BC) denied the request since Intersections requires members to audition before they can dance with the group. The AAS has a strong prohibition against funding events that can only benefit a particular segment of the student body, and those against funding the performance argued that it did just that by only allowing people who had passed auditions to perform.

Those opposed to the request identified a compelling contradiction between auditions and equity. By their very nature, auditions differentiate people.

Auditions aim to separate the best from the rest, and they are extremely common among arts groups on campus: the a cappella groups, Green Room, DASAC, Symphony Orchestra, Choral Society, and Intersections all use them to determine who can participate. They’re also common in the broader world, where tryouts and auditions determine who can join sports teams and arts groups.

The discussion at the AAS got me thinking: how do we justify auditions in an equitable society? I disagreed with the BC’s decision, an argument that I’m not going to relitigate now. (The rest of AAS almost unanimously endorsed the BC’s view.) But I do believe that auditions and a commitment to equity are not inherently contradictory.

Sometimes, selection is necessary for certain art forms to flourish. Take theater. A play only has a given number of roles, so directors hold auditions to select the best people for those parts. Often, many more people audition than there are roles available, so most people end

Photo courtesy of Amherst College

Intersections Dance Company, one of the various student-run dance groups on campus, was denied funding for its fall dance performance by the Budgetary Committee due to its requirement of auditions. up with diddly-squat. The same is true for dance, where a piece might be choreographed for only a few dancers.

There are ways of doing theater and dance that eschew selection in favor of allowing more people to participate — I was in my high school’s production of “Rent” solely because we cast 50 people instead of the script’s designated 15 or so. But it is true that the art itself can call for cutting down. There are shows that can only be done with three people, no more and no less.

And those shows are beautiful, fun, and worthwhile.

However, the fact that some art needs to select participants doesn’t mean it needs auditions.

If we wanted to be equitable, why wouldn’t we just employ a lottery or rotation system? To me, that’s actually an attractive model in some situations. I can imagine art groups dedicated to education and beginner theater rotating between actors to ensure that everyone who wants to participate is able.

But it’s also true that such a system would rarely produce excellence. Can you imagine Broadway if they did that? You’d have schlubs like me on stage making a mockery of the show’s script. Auditions are a tool that we use to promote and celebrate great art, and they should coexist alongside other tools that allow everyone to participate.

In an equitable society, not everyone will be equal in talent, and that’s okay. Dealing with people fairly does not mean pretending that my drawings are masterpieces or that my co-columnist’s shower rendition of Stars from “Les Misérables” deserves a Tony. And the college’s devotion to diversity, equity, and inclusion does not mean that anyone can put their art in the Mead.

Of course, a commitment to equity does include eliminating unfair bias from auditions. No matter how they’re structured, auditions discriminate between people, selecting some and rejecting others. And they can do

this in unfair ways by discriminating on the basis of characteristics, like race and gender, that we deem unacceptable. For example, once professional orchestras began putting a screen between juries and auditioning performers, the number of women in professional orchestras shot up. And groups like the Guerilla Girls fight against sexism and racism in curated galleries and point out how curators more often display works by white men.

Any equitable society worth living in has a strong and inclusive art culture, because art is part of what makes life wonderful. Everyone should be able to do art: art education and materials should be available to all, and we should encourage even those with no experience to act, dance, and sing. However, we also need a chance to celebrate excellence and enjoy beauty and skill. There should be dance and theater companies that select the cream of the crop (in a fair fashion) to perform awe-inspir-

ing works, and I should be able to perform with my community choir one day and attend a virtuoso’s concert the next.

In his short story “Harrison Bergeron,” Kurt Vonnegut describes a dystopian world in which everyone is made to be the same regardless of their talents.

The beautiful wear prosthetics to make them ugly, the smart are given devices to disrupt their thinking, and the strong wear weights. The ballerinas are graceless and the musicians cannot play.

I’m deeply committed to the pursuit of equity and I have strong misgivings about meritocracy — the idea that some people should have more power or wealth on the basis of “merit.”

But I also believe that my progressive politics do not require me to deem all people equally talented or reject auditions outright. The world of “Harrison Bergeron” — bereft of joy and excellence — cannot be the end of our struggles for equity and justice.

The Amherst Student • December 1, 2021

Opinion 8

The Lyceum Project Brings the Humanities Out of the Basement

Photo courtesy of Emma Spencer ‘22

Site preparation for the Aliki Perroti & Seth Frank Lyceum began on Nov. 15. It will serve as the new home for the Center for Humanistic Inquiry, the college’s History department, and other faculty members selected to drive discourse and critical thinking at the college.

Dustin Copeland ’25 Assistant Opinion Editor As disruptions go, the Lyceum Project’s beginning on Nov. 15 was not particularly annoying, or even very noticeable. Indeed, if I didn’t check the Daily Mammoth with abnormal frequency, I might not even have known that the month of site preparation had begun. But begun it has, in a campus development that is (perhaps surprisingly) unequivocally good.

The new development is happily being built to move the History department out of what is very probably the most atrociously designed building on campus: Chapin Hall.

With its uninspired brickwork and Howard Johnson’s-esque cupola, Chapin is one of the least architecturally valuable buildings in the venerable legacy of McKim, Mead, & White. On the inside, too, the building is lackluster: with the exception of the gorgeous CHAP-108, with its ceiling-height bookshelves and wood-trimmed plush furniture,

even the aboveground rooms in Chapin feel “basement-like.” With two classes in 201 myself, I can attest to this fact — ergonomic chairs are not conducive to an attractive learning environment.

Not only will the Lyceum Project provide a welcome new space for the History department, it will house the Center for Humanistic Inquiry which is currently squirreled away in Frost. A real front door for the CHI will go a long way towards making the organization more accessible and recognizable as its own entity. Moreover, providing space for the CHI alongside the History department lends legitimacy to the college’s branding of the building as the “Lyceum” — an Ancient Greek public space for open lectures and learning.

This final point is most crucial about the new building. While it is inarguably good in conception, a failure in execution would defeat the stated purpose of the building and effectively ruin the entire project. A functional Lyceum would provide

accessible and open spaces which are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also conducive to informal discourse, serving as a community meeting space as effectively as it conducts class. Ideally, this new building should be a place that students want to do work in.

Location is the first major part of that consideration. Almost directly across the street from Johnson Chapel, the Lyceum is placed in a spot out of the way of most students’ daily paths. Because classes will be held there, a population of students will have regular interactions with the space, but a significant portion will have a much harder time mentally justifying the trek on a regular basis, despite the beautiful walk. Nevertheless, the building will change traffic patterns for students daily, and isn’t so out of the way as to be unreachably distant — that is, if students love it. A repeat of Chapin’s architectural execution, for example, would all but guarantee an empty CHI. Luckily for us (and unlike the

far-off new student center), the Lyceum’s architects have publicly available design studies! Bruner/Cott is a Boston firm with a storied history for campus architecture, from the restoration of Harvard’s Memorial Hall Complex to Hampshire’s Kern Center. They’ve had history here, too: the Powerhouse renovation is their work. That building is one of the most promising signs for the upcoming Lyceum: The Powerhouse makes amazing aesthetic use of a previously utilitarian building and what are possibly the best large bathrooms on campus. Indeed, if the new building lives up even to the standard the Powerhouse sets, it will be not only an effective solution to the architectural challenge poised, but a well-liked community space.

Perusing the design study only furthers this budding optimism: the Lyceum reuses a historic house already on the plot, preventing costly and emissions-heavy destruction to help the sustainable addition’s goal of contributing to the college’s goal of near-future carbon neutrality.

The addition itself then represents a sustainable counterpoint to the Science Center, its wide-open windows and daylight-preserving strategy an elegant response to that building for the humanities at the college. A view of the front of Johnson Chapel through floor to ceiling windows in the enclosed common area abutting the Lyceum’s historic house, for example, sounds like a heavenly place to study. That view alone is enough for me to be excited about the Lyceum, a building that is much smaller in scale and is more aesthetically pleasing than its STEM counterpart. It settles into its environment naturally, its new glassy face playing collegiate-modern counterpoint to the traditional piece of our New England environment it abuts and is contextualized by. It manages to be exciting while preserving the surrounding neighborhood’s feel.

Assuming that the expected completion date isn’t too optimistic, I can’t wait to study, take class, and explore around the updated CHI’s home over the hill.

The Amherst Student • December 1, 2021

Opinion 9

Satire: Students Rally Around New Alcohol Pledge Ethan Samuels ’23 Managing Sports Editor A group of Amherst juniors met in Glasgow last weekend, making a pact to phase out their alcohol consumption by 2050.

The program will see over a hundred students drink normally in the short-term, before decreasing their consumption to net-zero levels by the mid-century mark.

The students have guaranteed their classmates that their drinking levels will not change in the coming decades.

Joe Robinette Bailey ’23 is leading the efforts, having recruited most of the students signed onto the plan. While Bailey is known by his peers as the biggest drinker

on campus, he is committed to a sustainable future. When pressed for comment, Bailey stressed the importance of a steady switch to non-alcoholic alternatives. “It’s not practical to think we can transition away from alcoholic beverages right now. We need to use a slow, phasedout strategy, and it’s okay to make new short-term investments in 30-racks,” he said.

While many are accusing the students of agreeing to an “all talk, no action” pact, Kaitlyn Harris ’23 says Bailey’s latest drinking antics prove the students are heading in the right direction. “We absolutely love Keystone beer — it’s extremely cheap and it’s the most efficient option we have. We used to drink it so much that the underclassman called

our friend group the ‘Keystone XL Pipeline.’ Now, Bailey has heroically outlawed any future Keystone consumption. That’s a step in the right direction,” Harris said.

However, Harris noted that certain students may utilize credits earned from their sober prepschool days, so the actual consumption end date may be well over 2065.

To speed up the process, some students are using the fridges provided from the college to store empty beer cans in what is widely known as the ‘capture and storage’ method of sequestration. “By using an alcohol sequestration strategy, we may actually be able to continue to drink forever, storing the negative effects of alcohol deep in the Morrow basement.”

At the Glasgow convention, one junior living in Hitchcock made an impassioned plea to the other students that change needs to happen immediately. With tears in his eyes, James Shaw ’23, who may be forced to move dorms in the coming years if alcohol levels aren’t curbed immediately, presented evidence to his classmates that their drinking is causing his room to flood with IPAs on Saturday nights.

While 98 percent of experts backed Shaw’s claims, Bailey emphasized that there was no need for swift action. “Yes, I’m the biggest drinker on campus,” Bailey said, “But think about how many other students drink. This is a campus-wide problem, perpetuated by the first students to come through

our college hundreds of years ago.

And Shaw drinks minimal amounts at formals too, so it’s only fair if we move at an equitable pace towards a future without drinking.”

Nat Light ’23, who provides alcohol at all campus functions, has been coined by the Economics department as the story’s hero. Even though Light will continue to produce alcohol at Amherst parties, he has devised an ingenious “alcohol offset” approach to limiting alcohol consumption. Light has purchased an unused plot of land at Hampshire College, vowing to save it from being turned into a vineyard in the foreseeable future. By purchasing these “offsets,” Light is the first student to officially reach alcohol-neutrality on campus.

Satire: Students Return for Break No More Motivated Than Before Andrew Rosin ’25 Satire Columnist Students who dedicated their Thanksgiving Break to relaxing and recharging returned to campus this past weekend feeling no more motivated to work or study than they did the week before. “I felt burnt out in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, and thanks to a week of doing nothing, I feel more burnt out than when I first came home,” shared Sophia DiGiacomo ’23. “I didn’t think that I would make it to Thanksgiving Break, and now I don’t know if I’ll make it to Winter Break.”

Students have been reporting high rates of burnout since the second week of school. “I spent the first week of classes reading each of my syllabi cover to cover,” explained Bill Carlson ’25.

“This was a major step-up in my workload compared to the summer, when I did not read any sillabi.” Carlson argued that his feelings of burnout are heightened by the return to in-person learning. “Don’t get me wrong, I worked hard during virtual school to master GamePigeon cup pong and learn how to use Zoom’s wide range of filters,”

Carlson added. “However, I wasn’t prepared to do more than one to two hours per week of real school stuff like coming to class.”

Professors observed major changes in student behavior since Thanksgiving Break. “Before break, three to four students would fall asleep in my class every week,” commented Professor Austin Sarat. “This week after break, three to four students didn’t show up to class.” These students, sources have found, spent Sarat’s class sleeping in and “desperately trying to find the willpower to do anything related to school.”

Some members of the campus community have argued that professors are overworking students to the point of burnout. When The Student reached out to Professor Sarat for comment, he replied with a thumbs up emoji and assigned The Student’s reporters, who do not currently take a class with Sarat, 125 pages of reading and a 1,000 word essay due next Monday.

“Burnout is the result of students’ overexerting themselves with extracurriculars and taking challenging classes like my own, which is specifically designed to

overexert students,” Sarat later wrote.

Carlson shared that he is counting down the days un-

til Winter Break: “I worry that come Dec. 17, I’ll lose all ability to study set theory and analyze the temporality of political vio-

lence. I might even forget how to compute basic arithmetic, speak in full sentences, and get out of bed every morning.”

Photo courtesy of Amherst College

Feeling well-rested after Thanksgiving break, students immediately await deserting the campus after the semester ends, during the weeks leading up to winter break.

Amusements

w

Restaurant Races | Crossword ACROSS 1 Black ____, dangerous African snake 6 “Pizza by the Slice” 14 Follows, as orders 15 Chief Tui’s position, relative to the titular character in a 2016 Disney film 17 Art house, that might watch art house films 18 Bagel shop by Amherst Center 19 Study of cancer, for short 20 Swerve suddenly 21 Not PM 22 Chinese restaurant on the road to Northampton 29 “I” is to “my” as “we” is to ____ 30 Interval of an octave 33 Becca or Ryan, to the staff of The Student,

informally 37 Ancestor of Muhammad 38 Feisty foal 39 Amherst Coffee, to an Italian 40 The Cavaliers of the NCAA 41 Place for tots 44 Twin sister of Apollo 47 Capital of Alaska 48 Golfer’s little helper 49 Insane oodles at ____ 55 Not FM 57 Common piercing sites 58 Take-away sticks game 60 Scorpion bowls galore!

65 Lead singer of “Yellow Submarine” 67 Northampton music hall, with the name of a steam locomotive 68 Polygraph-jiggling act 69 Dessert delivery up to 3 a.m.

70 Nebraska senator

Ryan Yu ’22 Editor-in-Chief Solutions: Nov. 17

DOWN 1 Amherst’s taste of Tibet 2 “This is how the world ends.

Not with ____, but a whimper.”

3 Thanks in Toulouse 4 Place for “good and healthy” burritos, in short 5 Fire’s residue 6 Yellowish resin 7 Norway to (some) Norwegians 8 “Torus” is to “Tora” as Taurus is to ____ 9 Loneliest number?

10 Badger, pester 11 The letter after F ____ 12 Beethoven’s “____ to Joy” 13 Bareilles or Lee 16 ____ V (psychiatrist’s manual) 20 Origin for one local Mexican restaurant 23 “Mhmm, that’s right,” silently 24 Bubble-blowing product

25 Competitor to Pasta e Basta in Northampton 26 When people ask “Are we dating or not?” (abbr.)

27 “What’s your ____?” (When will you be here?) (abbr.)

28 Old Testament book, following Micah 31 Underground distributor of bubble tea 32 Reddit Q&As 33 Pilgrimage to Mecca (var.)

34 Twins Jacob and ____ 35 How a lot of classes were conducted during the pandemic, in short 36 Now watch me whip, now watch me “____” (×2) 37 “____, then B...”

42 Wax (comb. form) 43 Small battery type 45 ____ Talks (educational

lecture series) 46 Slippery fish 50 Long, pine, crave 51 Moroccan-born French singer with name like Nas 52 “Coffee ____?”

53 Heath Ledger in “Brokeback Mountain” 54 Uses ASL 55 Bee (prefix) 56 Husband, in Le Havre 59 Competitor to 31-Down 61 The “N” in NDA 62 Internet naming system, for short 63 Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian ____ 64 5 p.m. is to EOD as Nov. 30 is to ____ (abbr.)

65 “Treasure Island” and “Dr. Jekyll” initials 66 New-ish Japanese restaurant towards UMass

Arts & Living 11

The Amherst Student • December 1, 2021

Detangling Hidden Meaning in “The Power of Dog” Miles Garcia ’25 Staff Writer There’s a shot in Jane Campion’s subversive new western film “The Power of the Dog” that I think encapsulates the entire film’s approach. Phil Burbank (Benedict Cumberbatch) points to the hills in the distance across the brown, sunset-covered land and tells his nephew Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee) that while most people just see the hills, Phil’s mentor Bronco Henry saw— “A dog,” interrupts Peter.

Then, only subtly indicated by the camera’s brief shift in focus towards the hills, is the image of a dog with its mouth wide open, created by the overlapping shadows of the winding slopes. Situated in between scenes of stolen glances, sparse and incisive dia-

logue, and the writhing tension between Phil’s rugged individualism and his repressed fears, this moment can easily be missed. It’s the film’s central image, and Campion hides it in plain sight.

What I mean by this example is that, while the information presented in “The Power of the Dog” seems simple enough, the smallest details are also the most deliberate. The first hour or so of the film can slog while setting up, but once all the pieces have been stacked on top of each other, the mental process of figuring out exactly how they’re about to fall (or whether they’ve already fallen) leaves an uneasy pressure that lingers long after the film is over.

The story follows Phil and his brother George (Jesse Plemons) across 1925’s Montana. The two

couldn’t be more different from each other. They both know how to herd in cattle, but Phil’s venomous outbursts of toxic masculinity provide a stark contrast to George’s quiet, tender demeanor.

When George marries Peter’s mother Rose (played by Plemons’ real-life partner Kirsten Dunst), both Phil’s homophobic remarks toward Peter and his attempts at mentally toying with Rose grow stronger and more frequent.

At first these games appear to be an expression of Phil’s aggressive, Daniel Plainview-esque attitude — just another extension of an established western archetype. But Phil’s motives come into question as these flares of temper become more like defense mechanisms than manipulative attempts to wield power. He starts to take

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia

In “The Power of the Dog,” Academy Award winning director Jane Campion uses the wild, wild west as a backdrop for a nuanced study of toxic masculinity and lingering traumas.

Peter under his wing. “We got off on the wrong foot,” says Phil. “Did we?” asks Peter. It isn’t long before they’re making rope and killing rabbits together, sharing the blood of their prey as Phil shares stories about Bronco Henry.

Campion always has something up her sleeve, even if she isn’t ever adamant about revealing quite what that something is.

Every aspect of drama in “Power of the Dog” occurs in the silences, from which the genre-specific passages of cowboy dialogue are a mere distraction.

Cumberbatch also plays Phil more intricately than initially meets the eye. His performance is searing. He lights a room on fire with his eyes when he walks in, and one can envision that same flame extending to the dry plains of grass around him if he doesn’t keep it in check. Plemons plays an important foil who provides the audience a lens of moral reference through which to view the skewed principles of the other characters. Rose’s demons, like much of the film’s core character drama and psychosexual tension, reveal themselves slowly but meticulously. Whatever sympathy we might have for Peter — who could easily be read as a weak, lanky, emotionally manipulated teenager — starts to dwindle when his uncomfortable habits emerge to the foreground, like when he brings a rabbit home to dissect it in his study and drives away people who annoy him.

Each character has a rich history that may not be explicitly expanded upon, but the looks on their faces indicate deep, solitary traumas that all converge into a tornado of disturbing potential energy. Campion forces us to sit with that potential, never quite releasing it in a climactic gunfight but instead letting it simmer in the abstract implications of the plot and the character moments that float to the surface like small pockets of air.

The film is adapted from Thomas Savage’s 1967 novel of the same name, and its visuals feel as deliciously descriptive as is possi-

ble in a cinematic context. Director of Photography Ari Wegner paints a clean, concise picture of the Montana landscape despite shooting the film in New Zealand.

The aforementioned shot of the dog on the hill is just one example of how the visual elements come together in a way that is both clear and hidden like ghosts that lie just at the edges of the frame.

Prolific film composer Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead fame imbues the film’s score with his trademark sense of impending dread. If Wegner captures the spirits of the past in the glistening glow of an afternoon horseride, Greenwood captures it in the haunted, creaking strings of his orchestra.

The film’s expressionistic traits are complemented strongly by the depiction of brutality that Campion seamlessly and deviously weaves into the atmosphere of animal hides and jangling boots. It’s an atmosphere where a cow’s distressingly real castration fits in as appropriately as the sound of a rabbit’s neck softly cracking. The west is wild, and the people living in it are wilder. Campion lays it on thick like a collection of sweat-stained journal entries, so that the realization of this violent world stays connected to the depraved characters at its center.

“The Power of the Dog” is not for everyone. Its glacial pace and refusal to put its central plot ideas above its carefully measured subtlety can make the film a frustrating experience. As is the case with all movies where hyper-detailed craft reigns before appeasing expectations, a certain amount of buy-in is required from the audience. Still, Campion makes the experience worth it for those who put in the effort; it may not be obvious during the film, but in the hours afterward, lingering thoughts remain, as if the truth sits just as plainly in sight as that dog in the shadows.

Easy to see in theory, but you’ll need more time to figure out exactly where that shadow, and where this film, appears.

Arts & Living 12

The Amherst Student • December 1, 2021

Netflix Crowned the Colossus of Christmas

Madeline Lawson ’25 Staff Writer

Once upon a time, Hallmark Channel had nearly monopolized the genre of kitschy Christmas movies. But with the rise of online streaming, Netflix has begun to usurp its throne. The movies remain wholly the same: a woman, discontented with her life, meets a man who shows her the true magic of Christmas, and she falls in love with him. There are variations of this formula — sometimes the protagonist stays in her hometown, sometimes she leaves for a new country, sometimes it ends with a proposal or a confession of love — but the overall premise stays the same.

While most Hallmark holiday movies are self-contained, Netflix has the advantage of being easily rewatchable, and they have the funds to produce sequels of their Christmas movies. Netflix has now completed two holiday trilogies: “A Christmas Prince” and “The Princess Switch,” both of which fall under the subgenre of “Royal Christmas.”. The first trilogy was completed in 2019, but “The Princess Switch” recently wrapped up with its third installment, “The Princess Switch 3: Romancing the Star,” which was released this November.

“The Princess Switch” series follows Chicago baker Stacy (Vanessa Hudgens), along with her best friend and assistant Kevin (Nick Sagar) and his daughter Olivia (Mia Lloyd). They travel to the fictional country Belgravia for a Christmas baking competition. Stacy discovers that she looks identical to the Belgravian prince’s fiancee, Lady Margaret of Montenaro (also Vanessa Hudgens), who only wishes to spend two days as a normal person before being married to the prince, Edward (Sam Palladio). Stacy agrees to switch places with Margaret in a Parent Trap-esque situation, complete with a hair-cutting scene and secret handshake montage. During the brief period of role-switching, Margaret falls in love with Kevin, and Stacy falls in love with Prince Edward.

Photo courtesy of film-rezensionen.de

The days of the Hallmark channel’s monopoly over holiday films are a thing of the past. Netflix has emerged as a legitimate competitor, with franchises like “The Princess Switch,” starring Vanessa Hudgens, bringing in big bucks.

Within a year, Stacy is the princess of Belgravia. The subsequent movies follow similar premises.

The second installment introduces Margaret’s cousin Fiona (Vanessa Hudgens, again!), and includes the coronation of Margaret as queen of Montenaro — and more importantly, her marriage to Kevin.

The third movie follows Fiona, instead of an equal mix of Stacy and Margaret like the previous movies had done. During a vaguely international Christmas festival, a fictitious artifact loaned by the Vatican called the Star of Peace is stolen by Fiona’s ex. She enlists the help of another ex-boyfriend to help retrieve it, falling back in love with him and reconciling with her estranged mother.

Typically, Christmas movies have flat and one-dimension-

al characters, in order for the viewer to be able to easily project themself onto the protagonists.

Yet, “The Princess Switch” series has distinct characters — after all, the viewer has to be able to discern which role Vanessa Hudgens is playing in that moment.

These three movies are enjoyable for what they are, but are much more entertaining when you critically examine all of the characters, who are truly horrible people.

Fiona is an obvious one. She is the main antagonist of the second movie and kidnaps Stacy to try to take the government of Montenaro’s money for her own good, but the other two Vanessa Hudgens characters are equally terrible. In the first movie, they each kiss people while disguised as the other, and Stacy continually lies to her husband through-

out the series, even when there seems to be little reason to. Margaret leads Kevin on while she is taking Stacy’s place, and once they switch back, all of the men involved simply forgive them for their trickery.

These movies are certainly enjoyable, and they mark a change in the Christmas movie genre.

Having released two holiday trilogies, Netflix has quickly become viewers’ main source for Christmas films. The online streaming giant possesses the power to shift the genre, and it already has.

With a heist and mystery-centered plot that is rarely found in standard Christmas movies, the third “The Princess Switch” movie is remarkably different from the previous two. These movies also accommodate multiple protagonists, whereas other holiday movies usually center around

one protagonist, one love interest, and side characters with no backstories.

Most notably, Netflix has left one specific, distinct mark on the genre: the rise of royalty-themed movies. While the Hallmark Channel only aired one or two such films, there are now a dozen of them on Netflix included in the platform’s most anticipated premieres each year. These movies are even more similar to each other than typical Christmas rom-coms: an American woman travels to a vaguely European nation, where everyone has English accents, and falls in love with the prince. And it doesn’t seem like they will be stopping anytime soon. “The Princess Switch” movies are entertaining in themselves, but more so, they cement Netflix as the Christmas movie genre’s newest leader.

Arts & Living 13

The Amherst Student • December 1, 2021

“No Time to Die”: Craig’s Final Feature Falls Flat Davis Rennella ’24 Staff Writer

Going to see the latest installation in the James Bond series, “No Time to Die,” I had a general feeling of what to expect: a worn-out 007 gets reluctantly drawn back into action in the face of a mysterious threat, reassuming his role in the familiar suit-gray colors we’ve come to know and love. There will be car chases, gunfights, a love interest who brings out his softer side, and a dramatic and personal confrontation with the antagonist.

It’s nothing earth-shattering, but I expect these elements to coalesce gracefully, and with enough twists and turns to keep me engaged. Instead, “No Time to Die” clumsily handles the plot and fails to build enough momentum to make its numerous surprises feel meaningful, ultimately creating a film that simply feels unfinished.

The writers had no shortage of ideas for interesting plot points, but they failed to follow through on all but a few of them. In the main thread, it appears as if the criminal organization Spectre, recently a staple foe in the Bond franchise, is hatching a new plot. But a new mastermind named Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek) overshadows Spectre, and starts experimenting with deadly virus-like nanobots, with which he plans to dominate the world. The film would have been much better off sticking to that core story. Instead, I was distracted with a smattering of undercooked subplots that derailed the central narrative.

For example, there are bits and pieces of a resentment-filled relationship between Safin and Bond’s estranged girlfriend, Madeline (Léa Seydoux), but this isn’t well-explored, leaving me with many unanswered questions. For an assignment, Bond (Daniel Craig) meets with a charming rookie CIA agent (Lashana Lynch) whom we never see again once the mission is over.

Characters come and go as if they have cameo roles, and I struggled to know who was actually important. The story effectively restarts over and over, making Bond’s main quest difficult to follow.

The film’s editing doesn’t do the suspense-building any favors, either. Many of the scenes are cut off without proper transitions, leaving dialogue hanging like a sentence without a period. And when the shot moves from place to place, there is often no explanation for how the characters arrived there.

At the end of a perilous escape from a sinking ship, Bond looks out on the horizon to see a shipping vessel on the horizon. Then, we are cut to him sitting comfortably in a chair in the MI6 headquarters. We can connect the dots as to what might have happened in the interim, but this moment of confusion disrupts the plot flow — and it doesn’t look pretty either. It’s a wonder how, with all these holes in storytelling, the film still manages to be nearly three hours long.

We’ve always known Bond to have a stiff upper lip, but Craig’s performance in this film leads us to believe that this is all there is to him. Living in Italy with his new girlfriend, Madeline, Bond is abruptly thrown back into a familiar world of danger when an explosion nearly kills him at the grave of Vesper, his deceased ex-lover. He suspects that Madeleine set it off out of jealousy, and tells her to get on a train and never see him again.

But his expression while watching Madeline drift away from the platform might as well have been the same one he wore while having a sentimental conversation with her earlier, or even while pursued by evil Russians through the streets.

There is little more to indicate the emotional quality of this scene other than sappy background music and Madeleine awkwardly running down the train aisle to see him for a bit longer. The actors’ performances somehow not only lack emotion, but subtlety too. For instance, when Madeline affirms her love for Bond upon their reunion later in the film, her effusive declaration seems more like a statement on the shortcomings of the screenplay than of the depth of her feelings.

Bond’s sense of humor also felt stunted. He makes fun of an unfamiliar CIA agent’s uptight demeanor in a way that is more mean-spir-

ited than clever, and I started to feel that he has lost his touch. Just after, he encounters a beautiful woman named Nomi who appears to be seducing him, but who only does so in order to talk with him in private; she is actually an MI6 agent calling him back into action. Apparently, Bond suspected this the whole time and was just playing along. But there is no shift in tone, or witty remarks to give this reveal any semblance of comic relief. The two simply start talking business as if nothing had happened beforehand. The film attempts to cultivate a rivalry between Bond and Nomi, but this only amounts to a few snide remarks and childish one-upmanship. Their entire relationship seems like the result of the writers rummaging through a box of cliches, and stitching a “young upstart making the old veteran feel insecure” into the screenplay without enough passion or creativity.

If you’re coming to the theater simply looking for espionage and some high-octane action, “No Time to Die” does a passable job.

After the explosion during Bond’s visit to Vesper’s grave, we feel the

force of the blast in a loud ringing effect that muffles all other sound while he staggers to his feet. It emphasizes the jarring transition from his “normal” life to the world of danger he so often finds himself in. I was especially impressed by Bond’s gruelling fight up a metal staircase in Safin’s WWII bunker turned evil lair. Bond has to go from using his own weapons at a distance, to taking cover behind the bodies of his fallen enemies, to finally defeating the last man at the top in a desperate hand-to-hand brawl. This scene actually built suspense, and followed through instead of throwing it away.

As supervillain schemes go, this one is admittedly pretty clever.

Although the nanobots spread to everyone who touches an infected person, a given group of nanobots will only kill someone if their DNA has been programmed into it beforehand, and there’s no essentially no way to know if you are one of the targets before it’s too late. Even if you aren’t a target, there is no known way to remove them from the body once you catch them, and you can spread them asymptomat-

ically, killing anyone on the DNA database that makes physical contact with you. The story employs the nanobots for some unexpected twists, including a sudden tragedy towards the end which caught me off-guard. It’s a shame, however, that the film couldn’t convince me to actually care about the characters. Against the choppy storytelling and unmoving dialogue, these big reveals are like a stool missing a few legs, and pretty much fall flat.

I wish I could isolate these final few scenes of the film, which do give Daniel Craig a noble sendoff from his role as 007, and have the story leading up to it retold with more focus. Perhaps a muted performance such as this was necessary under the circumstances — if Craig poured his heart into every one of the stories the writers gave him, we would feel exhausted by the time the credits rolled. I’d have liked to see him keep his concentration, and give his all for one or two causes that really mattered to him. In his last performance as James Bond, Craig deserves to put on a show. But sadly, he simply wasn’t given the opportunity.

Photo courtesy of Wired

Daniel Craig’s final performance as 007 disappoints, marred by unemotional acting, overcomplicated plot points, too many characters and weak writing.

Arts & Living 14

The Amherst Student • December 1, 2021

Mitski: Mixing Music and Mental Health Yasmin Hamilton ’24 Staff Writer

As most things go in this day and age, I found out about the end of Mitski’s hiatus not thanks to a news source, but from the finely tuned algorithm of my Instagram explore page. The fact that Mitski’s fans were able to spread the word of her album announcement faster than most news agencies is typical of the cult that her music has fostered. It’s a fanbase that has not been hindered, and in fact may have been strengthened, by her absence from the industry since 2018.

Mitski’s upcoming album, “Laurel Hell,” will be released on Feb. 4, 2022, followed by an international tour. It’ll be her first album since 2018. While she is well deserving of so much praise for her past music, the mixed quali-

ty of her two most recent singles raise some concerns for the quality of the album.

Mitski announced her return in early October with a new single titled “Working for the Knife.” The song touches on mental health and overcoming suicidal thoughts, as well as Mitski’s discomfort with capitalizing on her songs that are predominantly about grief. The song’s title itself is emblematic of this.

The “knife” that Mitski is working for takes on many different meanings — suicide, the oppressive expectations of fans, and/or the industry’s expectations for her once she gains fame. The music video released with the song plays with these themes, ending with around two minutes of Mitski’s “dancing” — which mostly consists of writhing in pain as a

crowd cheers for her.

Mitski has expressed trepidation before about the fact that so much of her music deals with personal grief, and the disconnect between the idealized perception that fans hold of her and her mental state. In “Remember My Name” on her 2018 album “Be the Cowboy,” she sings “‘Cause I need somebody to remember my name/After all that I can do for them is done.” The line seems to be saying that while Mitski knows her music helps people , she is saddened that none of her fans will “remember her name” outside of what her music does for them. “Working for the Knife” is typical of Mitski, inviting us into her brain while also probing us to question the relationship between musician and listener.

Mitski’s newest release, “The Only Heartbreaker” came out early this November along with another music video. The song and video diverge from “Working for the Knife” and the rest of her discography by avoiding much of Mitski’s trademark relatability and intimacy. Instead, the song centers around a strong ’80s-synth vibe and a mostly positive tone, even though it deals with sour relationship dynamics.

The video shows Mitski dancing around a lugubrious landscape filled with dead trees and plants that Mitski has killed inadvertently with her touch. The visuals take after the song’s ’80s pop influence, with a mixture of awkward family photo-style shots of Mitski’s singing and CGI explosions. This song seems to be exactly what the last song expressed

discomfort aboutg — it’s a semicatchy tune overlaid with deeply personal lyrics. At the same time, it’s extremely forgettable in comparison to much of her past discography. In addition, the music video feels a bit kitschy and unapproachable to some fans, which might be indicative of the widening gap between her and her still younger fanbase. “The Only Heartbreaker” provokes no emotion or thought, and it is unclear if it is even trying to do so.

All of Mitski’s albums have slight differences in style and mood, so I’m curious to see how her style has evolved in the almost four years since “Be The Cowboy.” Despite “The Only Heartbreaker” being a bit disappointing, I still have hope for her new album to channel more of “Working for the Knife’s” energy.

Photo courtesy of Meetfactory

After a four year hiatus, Mitski has released the first two singles for her upcoming sixth album, “Laurel Hell.”Between “Working for the Knife’s“ introspective soul-searching and “The Only Heartbreaker’s“ comparative shallowness, the two songs hint at different futures for the album.

Arts & Living 15

The Amherst Student • December 1, 2021

The Amherst Student Editorial Board Wrapped: 2021 From The Editorial Board With Spotify Wrapped rapidly approaching, our editorial staff decided to share some of our top tracks and favorite finds of late.

From Indie to Pop, our collective playlist has no shortage of repeat-worthy songs for you to explore!

While taking classes online during the pandemic, I took a road trip through Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona with my good friend Alex Noga ’23. Every morning, we began our drive with “On the Road Again” by Willie Nelson. It’s a quick, 2 minute, 38 second piece, and the lyrics seemed to perfectly sum up our journey: “We’re the best of friends, insisting that the world keep turning our way. And our way is on the road again.”

Waking up early and driving from national park to national park with some funky Willie Nelson banjo in the background is a memory that will stick with me forever. As a Texan, my love for Willie Nelson runs deep.

—Ethan Samuels ’23 One of my most-listened to songs from this past year is “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman. I like to ask people — by Instagram story poll or in conversation — whether they have a word for the idea of moving forward, building momentum out of something, or the strain needed to start change in some way. I care about this idea because it sums up what I love about my rural hometown of 300 people in eastern California — it’s the way that people have this desire to change the place for the better and move it forward through community.

I’ve spent this year writing a lot about my home and trying to figure out what words I can use to best and most authentically describe its complexity, and the closest I’ve ever come is listening to Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” The song has no determined resolution or destination. It’s simply about the motion forward, driv-

ing fast, driving towards something, although that something might be undefined. I think that’s what makes the song more hopeful than it is sad, which is why I love it.

—Caelen McQuilkin ’23 Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well” has always been one of my favorites, so when she released a ten minute version of it on “Red (Taylor’s Version)” I was super excited. While ten minutes may seem too long for one song, I can’t get enough of it; its melody never gets tiresome and the lyrics are touching. The accompanying music video has beautiful imagery of falling leaves and heartache, and gives its viewers a sense of the nostalgia that Taylor feels as she reflects on one of her past relationships.

—Tana DeLalio ’24 I’ll admit; I’m kind of a fake fan — I first heard Ricky Montgomery’s “Life Without a Hook” on TikTok around Summer 2020.

As soon as I listened to it though, I fell in love. While I will admit that the actual song is merely very good, the bridge — “She’s a, she’s a lady and I am just a line without a--” is possibly the best musical progression I’ve heard. For anyone reading this, I 100% recommend listening to “Montgomery Ricky” by Ricky Montgomery — and I especially recommend listening to “Mr. Loverman,” “My Heart is Buried in Venice,” “Out Like a Light,” and “Snow.”

—Tapti Sen ’25 Discovered by Pharrell Williams at an NYU master class in 2016, Maggie Rogers’ breakout song “Alaska” launched her rise to fame. “Alaska” made its debut on her album “We Love Summer 2016” and again in her then-new album “Heard It In a Past Life,” which evokes a degree of purity among listeners. The lyrics describe an individual seeking new beginnings with an initiative to reinvent themselves in light of newfound healing. While the song was released almost six

years ago, it still makes its way into the single digits of my Spotify wrapped every year because of its message of self-discovery and rebirth.

—Brianne LaBare ’25 I really enjoy “telepatíá”

by Kali Uchis. When I scroll through my Spotify, I find that it is the only song I press almost undoubtedly. Also, it’s really good and Uchis is such a good singer. I don’t know Spanish but I still vibe to the song. ­—Alex Brandfonbrener ’23 “Holding On” by Tirzah. December 2020. It was during one of the days right before my 21st birthday. I was sad and lonely in quarantine. I was mindlessly watching some Youtube video and a Burberry ad started playing with “Holding On” in the back.

Tirzah’s familiar sleepiness in her voice triggered my memory of me first downloading this song back in high school during a time when I also sad and lonely. It had been buried in my “liked songs” since. After that night, I could not stop revisiting this song throughout this year. The hazy synth, almost uncanny, seems to signal a new beginning as Tirzah asks “But what’s keeping me from holding on?” over and over again

—Skye Wu ’23 I’m almost certain that Car Seat Headrest’s “Deadlines (Thoughtful)” will end up near the top of my Spotify Wrapped this year. “Deadlines (Thoughtful)” opens with ninety or so seconds of a brilliant synth-driven section — which starts unsteady and stuttering but layers one synth line on top of another, rapidly gaining momentum towards a swirling conclusion. Just as this section reaches maximum velocity, it cuts out. The rhythm section carries on alone into the first verse, and the song begins taking on a more traditional structure.

The song’s “can’t get connected/can’t stay connected” chorus simply but effectively channels a large section of the isolating

2021 experience, while the music behind the lyrics keeps the song constantly enjoyable.

—Theo Hamilton ’23 You can never go wrong with 90s alt-rock. At least that’s what I’ve always thought. And while Pavement is known for rejecting typical music industry sensibilities — their songs are played on poorly tuned instruments and sung with a smirk — “Gold Soundz” is as close as the band comes to authenticity. Musically, it’s an up-beat, moderately paced song, an easy head-bopper. Yet the lyrics add an insistent wistfulness: the narrator cryptically longs for a lost love, yearning to “go back” in time. As a result, “Gold Soundz” is an ear-friendly, nostalgia-tinged listen that will make you think of good times past — and hopefully those still to come.

—Liam Archacki ’24 This past year has been defined by personal transition for me: I’ve gone to college, moved physically and mentally far away from my friends in Jersey, and restarted life so completely that I don’t even know if I can call my childhood house my “home” anymore. In that vein, I have a playlist called “restart” full of songs that I’ve discovered and that my friends have recommended since coming to school. Of those songs, 100 gecs’ “reanimation” of Linkin Park’s “One Step Closer” has been my happy place.

The first time I heard the song I burst out laughing, and sections like the sudden transition into a death metal growl and the squirrelly rendition of “just like before” bring a smile to my face every time. The sheer ridiculousness of the song just makes me so happy. “One Step Closer” was a song of my childhood — I had a father who, for some reason, became a massive Linkin Park fan by the time I hit high school. So 100 gecs’ reanimation is familiar as much as it is strange, and the twisting around of the (admittedly not amazing) song I’m so

familiar with might reflect my own twisting around as my year has become defined by my college experience. Or I just think it’s fun.

—Dustin Copeland ’25 This school year has so far been marked for me by a distinct feeling of pre-nostalgia—knowing that the routines, people and spaces that have become standard to my daily life will look different in less than a year’s time.

“Cold War” by Cautious Clay has been a safe zone as that specter of change looms large. It’s not so much the particularities of the song itself — though the lyrics and the music are top-notch.

Rather, I came upon the song at the beginning of my first semester at Amherst and had it on repeat for much of that fall. Listening to it again reminds me of all of those first-semester associations—the novelty of this campus, the excitement of change. It allows me not only to lean into the pre-nostalgia but also reminds me that change happens often—and there’s something oddly stabilizing about that.

—Rebecca Picciotto ’22 For almost two years now, it feels as if I’ve been living in a state of constant disorientation. Things appear out of place at every turn, and I’m often left wondering whether what I’m perceiving is really real. But I suspect that I’m not alone in interfacing with this surreality, and Magdalena Bay’s “Hysterical Us” is a perfect indication of that. Off of their new album, “Mercurial World,” the song embarks on a perpetual spiral of reality-questioning that leaves listeners inescapably enthralled. The hook, in particular, uniquely captures the age of paranoia that we’ve entered: “Hysterical us / Checking the locks again / Remember when we could sleep? Are we alone? / Are we in love again? / What do you want from me?” A parable for our contemporary condition, and a fun one at that.

—Ryan Yu ’22

Sp ports

Men’s Soccer Soars to NCAA Final Four Continued from page 1 team in the nation, and conference rival Middlebury, the Mammoths have firmly reestablished themselves as title contenders. According to Head Coach Justin Serpone, they have their “swag” back.

SUNY Cortland SUNY Cortland ended up posing a more difficult challenge on paper than on Hitchcock Field.

During this tournament run, the Mammoths have made a habit of getting on the scoreboard early. The pattern held against the Red Dragons. In the 12th minute, forward Ada Okorogheye ’24 was tripped up by the Cortland keeper in the 18-yard box. The whistle blew and — despite protest from the Red Dragons — the referee pointed to the penalty spot.

There was no question who would take the shot: Giammattei stepped up and slotted the opener past the Red Dragons’ goalkeeper, who dove the wrong way, to give the Mammoths a 1-0 lead.

Almost as soon as play resumed, the Mammoths doubled their advantage, again through Giammattei.

Sebastian Derby ’22 won possession on Cortland’s side following a poor pass out of the back from the Red Dragons’ goalie. Derby slid the ball to Giammattei, whose outside-ofthe-boot finish would stand as the eventual game-winner.

Within just 12 minutes, the Mammoths found themselves in full control of the game, thanks, in large part, to the Cortland goalkeeper.

The onslaught continued in the 26th minute. Defender Ben ClarkEden ’25 won possession then quickly moved the ball up the field to Giammattei. The forward added an assist to his two goals, playing a ball behind the Cortland back line for Okorogheye, whose calm finish extended the lead to 3-0.

The Mammoths entered halftime with the game essentially in their hands. They refused to stop

Photo courtesy of Amherst Athletics

The Mammoths flash four fingers in the air to celebrate clinching back-to-back NCAA Final Four bids. at three, though. Just five minutes into the second half, an arching ball over the top found Giammattei, who seemingly could do no wrong on the day. Streaking toward goal, he brought the ball under control, cut inside, and secured his hattrick.

The Mammoths saw the game out comfortably, with the only blip coming in the 58th minute, when the Red Dragons were awarded, and scored, a penalty. It was the first goal the Amherst defense had conceded in over a month — putting an end to a streak of 617 goal-less minutes.

It’s hard to imagine this is weighing heavily on the Mammoths’ minds though. Ultimately, there is one central aim in an elimination tournament: in the words of legendary college basketball player and coach Jim Valvano, “Survive and advance.”

And Amherst advanced.

Middlebury The notoriously defensive Middlebury Panthers gave the Mammoths one of their toughest games of the season in early October, in NESCAC regular-season play. Then, too, the Mammoths came away with a 1-0 victory.

One would expect a win-or-gohome matchup between two defensive juggernauts to be a physical

slogfest, but the contest at Hitchcock Field was anything but — especially in the first half. In October, the two teams combined for just 13 shots total. On Nov. 21, they surpassed that mark in just 33 minutes, eventually mustering a combined 26 attempts, with 17 of those on goal.

The game could have swung either direction in the first half.

In the 25th minute, the Panthers came within inches of scoring: an in-swinging Middlebury corner brushed the Amherst goalline, but was cleared away by Amherst keeper Kofi Hope-Gund ’22.

A few minutes later, the forward duo that has proven so lethal throughout the tournament — Okorgheye and Giammattei — found themselves with a twoon-one in the Panthers’ half. Giammattei threaded the ball through for Okorogheye, but the Middlebury keeper blocked his point-blank effort with an outstretched leg.

Chances continued to flow on both ends of the field, but solid defending and goalkeeping by both teams had a halftime stalemate looking increasingly imminent.

But then, in the 44th minute, the Mammoths found the opener via — who else? — Giammattei. A well-placed, looping ball was played

over the top of the Panthers defense.

The Amherst number nine corralled it, then flicked it back into the air over a Middlebury defender, who promptly crumpled to the ground.

He then continued his run into the box, cutting left across a second Panther before firing a shot past the goalkeeper.

Still, it took more than Giammattei’s heroics to see out the win.

Middlebury dominated the second half, as the Panthers flooded forward in search of the equalizer.

They put up eight shots to the Mammoths’ zero in the period, forcing Hope-Gund to make six saves — a number of them highlight-worthy.

At many points, a Middlebury goal seemed almost inevitable, but the Mammoths’ defense always had an answer. The weekend, dominated

by Giammattei’s offensive prowess, could have ended in despair if it weren’t for Hope-Gund’s gloves.

But the defensive line held, and the Mammoths are still dancing. Before this season, there wasn’t a player on the Amherst roster — first year to fifth-year senior — who could say they had beaten Middlebury. After last Sunday, they can all boast having done so twice in the same season.

Giammattei, a senior, ended his

storied career at Hitchcock Field on a high note. He has 45 goals and 12 assists in 60 career games for the Mammoths, and he will never play another game in Amherst, Mass.

His eyes are still fixed on the future, though. “It’s sad,” he said “but I still haven’t thought about it much.”

Mostly, he and the team are “excited to play [in the Final Four].”

Serpone doesn’t seem overly surprised to see his team in this position.

To him, the season has not been the roller coaster that some may make it out to be. The few times the Mammoths stumbled — losing to Bowdoin, Tufts, and Colby; drawing with Wesleyan — were less a result of poor play than bad luck in front of goal. “We were getting chances, we just weren’t scoring goals,” he said.

Four playoff games, 13 goals — goal-scoring no longer seems to be Amherst’s problem.

They face the 16-5-1 University of Chicago Maroons this coming Friday, Dec. 3 at 7:45 p.m., in Greensboro, N.C. Washington & Lee and conference rivals Connecticut College will meet in the other semifinal, with the winners of Friday’s games advancing to the national championship game on Saturday, Dec. 4.

The Amherst Student • December 1, 2021

Sports 17

Women’s Ice Hockey Begins Season With a Tied Record Maya - Reiner ’25 Staff Writer Over the Thanksgiving Break, the defending NESCAC champions opened their season at 2-2, falling twice to Hamilton College before decisive wins against Manhattanville College and Johnson & Wales University.

Hamilton College The Mammoths had a challenging start to their season, falling to Hamilton College in the third period of their game on Saturday, Nov. 20 by a score of 3-1. This was Amherst’s first game back on the ice since March 2020, as their 202021 season was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Being back on the ice is great, and we are really excited to finally be playing games with each other,” Anna Baxter ’25 said. “We didn’t play together for months [which is a long time] compared to other teams in the conference, so we are still feeling things out.”

The teams started the game with two scoreless periods, with play going back and forth and no team gaining steady momentum.

However, the tie was broken when All-American goalie Caitlin Walker ’22 started the play that would lead to the team’s first goal of the season.

Defensewoman Elizabeth Holubiak ’22 passed the puck to Carley Daly ’23, who took it from the defensive end all the way up the ice, going coast-to-coast to score the first goal of the game.

But the lead for the Mammoths didn’t last long. The Continentals quickly fired back, scoring two goals seconds apart from one another.

Hamiton’s Allie Curry made the game even, then just 17 seconds later, sophomore Abby Smith fired and scored as well, giving the Continentals the lead. Curry put another one in the net at the 14:29 mark to secure the game for the Continentals.

Overall, Walker made 28 saves for Amherst in the contest. Daly scored the Mammoth’s lone goal, while having three shots on goal. In the contest, Holubiak had one assist and five shots on goal. Forward Kate Pohl ’23 had four shots on goal during the

first game of the season.

The Mammoths had a second opportunity against the Continentals on Sunday, Nov. 21, but they saw history repeat itself, falling 2-0. The Continentals took the lead in the game’s second period, where they scored both of their goals.

Continentals junior Nancy Loh made the score 1-0, putting a shot in the bottom-right corner. This was Loh’s first goal of the season. Later in the period, the Continentals took advantage of the power-play opportunity and Abby Kuhns found sophomore Clarie McGennis who tipped the puck in the net to widen the gap to 2-0.

Though the Mammoths couldn’t find the back of the net, they held a 36-23 advantage in shots on goal.

Continentals goaltender Sidney Molnar recorded a career high in saves in the game, saving all 36 shots that the Mammoths took.

Manhattanville College The hockey team had a double header the following weekend, on Nov. 27 and Nov. 28, where they looked to rebound from their first losses of the season.

The team first hosted Manhattanville College in their home opener at Orr Rink. The Mammoths stepped up their play from the previous weekend, finding their groove in a decisive 7-3 win on Saturday afternoon with many first-years earning the first goals of their Amherst careers.

Amherst had seven different players score seven goals. The Mammoths started the game dominant, notching four goals in the first period, while limiting their opponents to only one.

Gia Servalli ’25 scored the first goal for the Mammoths at the 6:04 mark. Baxter and Alyssa Xu ’25 assisted Servalli’s goal. This was Servalli’s first collegiate goal, as well as Baxter’s and Xu’s first collegiate points.

Though the Mammoths took the lead early on, the Valiants quickly answered back, making the score 1-1 just shortly after the Mammoths scored.

To take the lead back, Ellie DeCarlo ’24 put a goal in the back of the net off of a perfectly placed pass

Photo courtesy of Amherst Athletics

Four Mammoth skaters, including Carly Daly ’23 and Avery Flynn ’23, celebrate after scoring a goal in Nov. 28 game against Johnson & Wales University. in front of the net by Leslie Schwartz ’23. But the Mammoths didn’t stop there, building their lead with a firing shot from Sydney Raaths ’25, her first collegiate goal.

Daly scored the Mammoth’s final goal of the first period, giving the team a three-goal lead. It was Daly’s second goal of the season.

The Mammoths came out hungry in the second period, wanting to make the lead more definitive. They accomplished just that when Rylee Glennon ’24 beat the goaltender on a two-on-one, giving the Mammoths yet another goal and scoring her first collegiate goal.

The team did not become complacent after taking the lead; Holubiak took advantage of the power play, putting the Mammoths up 6-1 The team’s final goal of the game came from Baxter, who took the advantage to score on another power-play opportunity. This was Baxter’s first collegiate goal and second point of the game.

Of the game and the team’s improvement, Baxter said,“We are really starting to work well together and finish on our chances. We are [also] definitely taking more advantage of our opportunities.”

Despite the Mammoth’s decisive

lead, the Valiants continued to fight back. Grace Genest snuck one past the Mammoths in the last minute of the second period, giving her her second goal of the season.

The third period was scoreless for the Mammoths, but Manhattanville took advantage of the time on the ice and Annie Niedermier put one in to make the final score 7-3.

The Mammoths led the contest in shots on goal with 45 compared to the Valiants’ 11. Amherst took more shots in the first two periods, and in the final period, Amherst and Manhattanville were even with four shots each.

Johnson & Wales University The Mammoths clinched another victory Sunday afternoon, coming on top 4-1 against Johnson & Wales.

Xu, Baxter, Stephanie Nomicos ’22 and Jayna Park ’24 each had a goal, with all four coming in the first and third periods of the game. Xu and Park’s goals were their first goals as part of the Amherst team.

Xu gave the Mammoths the lead when she took advantage of their first power-play of the game, knocking in a rebound given up by the Wildcats’ goalie.

The Mammoths kept their 1-0 lead until the Wildcats tied the game, also scoring on a power-play.

Late in the second period, Haylee Owen from Johnson & Wales struck a shot from the front of the net, making it a tied game.

The Mammoths then capitalized on two more power-play opportunities in the final period. Baxter scored to give the Mammoths the lead, making it 2-1. Nomicos added another point for the Mammoths in the third period, putting a goal on the scoreboard off of yet another power-play opportunity.

Amherst secured their win with a fourth and final goal from Park, her first collegiate goal.

The Mammoths held the advantage in shots on goal, taking 37 shots compared to the Wildcats’ seven.

The team is now 2-2 after a strong weekend against two non-conference opponents.

“The team atmosphere is awesome,” Baxter said, “and we are starting to find good chemistry on the ice.”

The Mammoths return to the ice later this week, hosting the Middlebury Panthers for a two-game series on Friday, Dec. 3, at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 4, at 3:00 p.m.

The Amherst Student • December 1, 2021

Sports 18

Men’s Basketball Undefeated in First Five Games Alex Noga ’23 Staff Writer The men’s basketball team is off to a white-hot start, handily winning their first six games by commanding margins. After a home victory against Thomas College on Nov. 19, the Mammoths have strung together four consecutive home victories, outscoring their opposition 436 to 244 in total for a colossal average point differential of 32 points per game.

In their home opener on Nov. 17, the Mammoths defeated Colby-Sawyer College by a score of 89-52. After the Chargers scored the first basket of the game, the Mammoths responded with eight unanswered points and held the lead for the remainder of the game.

After leading 46-33 at halftime, the Mammoths embarked on a 23-0 run, during which they shot 9-of-14 from the field and forced six turnovers. It was a complete team effort, with 48 points coming off the bench, including 15 points from Mohammed Alausa ’24, who shot 4-for-5 from the field and 6-for-8 from the free throw line.

The Mammoths forced 19 turnovers and held a 24-11 advantage in points off turnovers. They also

held the edge in second-chance points, collecting 13 offensive rebounds and registering 18 points off rebounds compared to the Chargers’ seven.

The Mammoths followed up thir strong showing at home with more displays of their superiority at the Ken Wright ’52 Memorial Invitational Tournament on Nov. 19 and Nov. 20. Amherst opened the tournament against Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) and won by a lopsided score of 100-38. Captain Grant Robinson ’22 recorded his 1,000th career point en route to a 21-point performance. He sat at 997 points prior to tip-off and hit a three pointer to score the first basket of the game. He is the 31st member of Amherst’s 1000-point club and, with 1040 points through the first five games of the season, is among Amherst’s top 25 all-time scorers.

Amherst never relinquished the lead after Robinson’s first bucket, going on an 18-0 run in the first half and outscoring the Trailblazers by a 35-8 margin in the final 10 minutes of play. The Mammoths shot 55 percent from the field (39for-71) while holding the Trailblazers to a hapless 15 percent (10-for65). By the end of the game, there

was no doubt who was the real Massachusetts liberal arts college.

Following this victory, Amherst defeated SUNY Geneseo 7931 the next day to claim the title of tournament champions. Captain Garrett Day ’21 led the way with 26 points and added four rebounds and a career-high five steals to be named MVP of the tournament.

All of Day’s field goals were three pointers, as he shot 8-for-14 from beyond the arc and was a perfect 2-for-2 from the charity stripe.

Robinson, who added 21 points, and Michael Schretter ’23, who averaged 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds over the two games, were both named to the All-Tournament team.

While most of the college community was away from campus enjoying the break, the Mammoths returned to action on Tuesday, Nov. 23 to defeat Westfield State by another convincing score of 8959. The Mammoths once again did not trail at any point in the contest.

Day recorded a career-high 31 points, hitting eight three pointers for the second game in a row and shot a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line. Robinson added 14 points and corralled 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the

year. Canin Reynolds ’25 tallied a career-high 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting in just his fifth game.

Through their first five contests, the Mammoths are shooting .506 from the field and holding their opponents to just .309. They are firing on all cylinders on offense, averaging 89.8 points per game, and are playing suffocating defense on the other end, allowing just 49.2 points per game. The Mammoths are currently on pace to set a record for the highest average points per game that was set in the 1997-98 season with 87.12.

Alausa credits the team’s focus, hard work, and selflessness for their early success. “Everyone is buying in and giving up personal goals for team goals,” Alausa said.

“Everyone has been extremely selfless and has put aside any distractions that might inhibit the team’s success. Every guy is super reliable and super caring, so it’s great to foster a competitive and safe environment.” This is Head Coach Marlon Sears’s first season with the Mammoths, after taking over the program from historic coach Dave Hixon who led the team for 42 seasons. Alausa acknowledged the strong leadership qualities that Coach Sears has been able to

Photo courtesy of Amherst Athletics

This past weekend, Grant Robinson ’22 became the 31st Mammoth to score 1,000 points during his Amherst basketball career. instill into his team. “Since he got to campus, [Coach Sears] made it clear that all the players were his number one priority, which shows his dedication and resolve towards Amherst basketball,” Alausa said.

“Even off the court he is always there for us, and on the court we trust him, so it’s kind of the best of both worlds.”

The Mammoths continued their blazing start with another 25pont victory against Thomas College on Tuesday, Nov. 30, beating the Terriers 79-54. They will next travel to Morristown, N.J. to battle Saint Elizabeth University on Dec. 4.

Women’s Team Squashes Stanford, Men’s Beats Dickinson Violet Glickman ’25 Staff Writer Over Thanksgiving break, the women’s and men’s squash teams took the courts for the first time since February 2020. Both teams traveled to Philadelphia and swept dual meets on Saturday, Nov. 20 before dropping their Sunday matches to top-10 team Drexel University.

The 13th-ranked women’s team routed Dickinson College 8-1 before beating 10th-ranked Stanford University 5-4. The 17th-ranked men’s side edged out a 5-4 win against Dickinson College before topping the U.S. Naval Academy 6-3.

Women’s Squash In their season opener, the Mam-

moths won 25 out of their 30 combined sets en route to a decisive victory against 18th-ranked Dickinson College. In her collegiate debut, Tanmai Pathak ’25 won at the top of the ladder, setting the pace for the whole team. Amna Fayyaz of Dickinson took a 1-0 lead in the top match before Pathak rallied back to win the next three sets and the match.

That afternoon, Amherst fought hard to beat 10th-ranked Stanford.

After dropping the four games at the top of the ladder, the 5-9 spots came up big to push the Mammoths over the Cardinal. On the day, Callie DeLalio ’24, Lilly Soroko ’22, Isabelle Tilney-Sandberg ’25, and Maggie Pearson ’24 all won both of their matches — notably, Tilney-Sandberg and Pearson did not drop a

single set.

After a successful Saturday, Amherst matched up against seventh-ranked Drexel University in a battle of two undefeated teams.

While the Mammoths put up a solid fight, they dropped all nine matches to Drexel. This was Drexel’s sixth sweep of the young season.

Reflecting on the weekend, Daksha Pathak ’23, former NESCAC Freshman of the Year and All-NESCAC First Team player shared, “It felt amazing to play matches again, especially after not having a season [last year, due to Covid]. The whole team has worked so hard since the season started and it was really rewarding to see that displayed in our results. In addition to having the opportunity to play, the most mem-

orable part had to be cheering for my teammates on the women’s and men’s team” Men’s Squash The Mammoths squeaked out a pair of opening wins over the weekend through sheer perseverance. Their opening match against Dickinson College came down to the number-six matchup between Captain Charles Sutherby ’22 and the Red Devils’ Zachary Hollander. After dropping the first set 6-11, Sutherby powered back to win the following three 11-2, 11-9, 11-7. Kedar Nagaraj ’24, Sutherby, Andrew Leung ’22, and Nate Mossé ’23 all won both of their matches on Saturday, bringing key points to the team.

Neal Malani ’24 won his first match

at the top of the ladder against the Naval Academy to add an additional win in the Mammoths’ matchup with the Midshipmen to put Amherst ahead 6-3.

Like the woman’s side, after a sucessful Saturday, the Drexel men’s team swept the Mammoths to win 9-0. Matthew Granovsky ’25 recorded the only Amherst set-win on the day, taking the third set in his matchup at the eighth spot on the ladder.

Both teams plan on taking the momentum from Saturday and lessons from Sunday forward as they begin their NESCAC campaign.

Both sides host Trinity, the reigning men’s and women’s NESCAC champions, on Tuesday, Dec. 7 at the Davenport Squash Courts at 6:30 p.m.

The Amherst Student • December 1, 2021

Sports 19

Women’s Basketball Continues Dominant Start Mike Schretter ’23 Staff Writer Women’s basketball started off strong this season, and kept up their stellar play during the Thanksgiving Break. Led by Anling Vera ’25, who was named NESCAC Player of the Week last week for her performance, Amherst put together a 2-0 stretch, with wins over Gordon College and Bates College in non-conference bouts.

Gordon College The Fighting Scots gave Amherst all they could handle in the first half, as the Mammoths started the game trailing 11-6 before battling back to take a 13-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. Gabrielle Zaffiro ’22 led the comeback effort, scoring 11 of the Mammoths’ 13 first-quarter points. In the second quarter, the Mammoths widened their lead to 29-21, paced by two three-pointers points from Vera, who hit two of her three shots from behind the arc.

It wasn’t until the third quarter that the Mammoths were able to take firm control of the game. Amherst outscored Gordon 17-12 in the third quarter, led by five points from Vera and four points each from Zaffiro, Lauren Pelosi ’22 and Jade DuVal ’22.

They also held Gordon to 36 percent

shooting in the third quarter as they took a 13-point lead into the fourth.

DuVal, Pelosi and the defense led the way in the final quarter. DuVal led the Mammoths with eight points in the quarter, with Pelosi close behind with four points. Nevertheless, defense was the key to the Mammoths outscoring the Fighting Scots 17-6 in the final quarter. Gordon was held to 27.3 percent from the floor and zero percent from three in the final quarter as Amherst was able to blow open the game en route to a 63-39 win. Zaffiro finished the game with 17 points, DuVal had 16, Vera had 11 and Pelosi had 10. DuVal also recorded 13 rebounds in the contest, including nine on the offensive end, to notch the first double-double of her career.

Gabrielle Zaffiro ’22 drives to the lane against Gordon College, a game in which the senior scored 18 points in 36 minutes of play, adding two steals and two assists.

Bates College While the Gordon win was lopsided in favor of the Mammoths, Amherst had to battle to squeak out a win on Nov. 21 against Bates College.

The Mammoths were able to get by the Bobcats, winning the game 60-54 on the back of Vera’s first career triple-double.

The matchup was close from the beginning, as Amherst was led only 16-15 at the end of the first quarter, led by Vera’s seven points, five points from Pelosi off the bench and four

points from Courtney Resch ’22.

The Mammoths expanded their lead to six with a 15-10 edge in the second quarter, with big contributions

by Zaffiro, Vera and Reeya Patel ’24, chipping in five, four, and four points, respectively.

The fast-paced affair continued after halftime, with both teams combining to score 47 points in the third quarter. Amherst was able to edge out the Bobcats, 25-22 in the quarter, led by Patel, Vera and Resch. Patel recorded seven points, and Vera

Photo courtesy of Amherst Athletics

and Resch each had five to help the Mammoths widen the score to 56-47 and take a nine-point lead into the fourth quarter.

However, the fourth quarter tightened up the game again, as both teams found it difficult to score. Amherst only managed to score four points in the quarter, with Patel and Zaffiro scoring for the Mammoths.

Nevertheless, the team’s defense showed up in the clutch. The Bobcats were also stymied on offense, only scoring seven points in the quarter,

allowing Amherst to keep a six-point lead and hold for a 60-54 win. Vera was undeniably the game’s MVP, finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists and a triple-double.

Patel and Resch had 13 and 11 points respectively. Other key contributors were Zaffiro with nine points, Pelosi with seven and Dani Valdez ’22 with four points in the win.

Next up for the 5-0 Mammoths: a trip to Middletown, Conn. on Friday, Dec. 3 for a battle against the Wesleyan Cardinals at 7 p.m.

Swimming, Diving Team Makes a Splash in First Competitions Violet Glickman ’25 Staff Writer The 2021-2022 season is looking bright so far for both women’s and men’s swim and dive (ASD). On Saturday, Nov. 20, both teams hosted Colby College in Pratt Pool for the season opener, before traveling to Wesleyan University on Monday, Nov. 22, to face off against their Little Three rival.

Colby The women’s team dominated Colby in all but one event, ending with a 212-87 win over the Mules.

The meet was especially triumphant for the first-year swimmers, with Cora Spelke ’25, Ali LaCroix ’25,

Megan Lee ’25, and Jennifer Adams ’25 all taking the blue ribbon in at least one event. Team captain Marie Fagan ’22 led the great butterfly migration through the 200-yard medley relay and 100 and 200-yard butterfly.

Meanwhile, Grace Tarantola ’23 demonstrated her endurance and grit, finishing first in the 1000-yard freestyle. Not to be outdone by the full-time water babies, diver Hannah Karlin ’22 channeled Trey Songz as she dove into first place on both the 1 and 3-meter boards.

Men’s swim and dive saw similar success in their season opener with a 188-108 win against Colby. If not for his obvious hard work and determination, something might seem a little fishy about Tor Metelmann ’25 — he

scooped up three individual wins in the first meet of his collegiate career.

The officials might have to check him for gills and fins next time. Gabriele-Filippo Lunardi ’25 also represented the first-years well with his win in the 500-yard butterfly. Justin Papagelis ’24 and Tyler Knightly ’24 also hit the water with a splash, each racking up individual wins as well as a third place finish in the fly and freestyle events, respectively.

Team captain Scott Romeyn ’22 and Noah Scanlan ’24 also collected two individual wins each, in addition to performing well in their roles in their respective relays.

Wesleyan Just two days later, the teams

headed off to Middletown, Conn. to show the Cardinals which mascot dominates both in the wild andthe water. While the Mammoths, both male and female, were expecting a win against their Little Three rival (as they had for the previous 29 and 27 years, respectively), the scores of 163-123 and 190-99 remain quite impressive. LaCroix collected three total wins, two individual in the 50 and 100-yard breaststroke events and one in the 200-yard medley relay. The other three members of the winning relay, Fagan, Tarantola, and Lauren Eng ’24, all racked up individual wins as well. Jessica Gordon ’23 also had an excellent meet, placing first in both the 100 and 200-yard freestyle events.

Following his success against Colby, Metelmann touched the wall first in the 50-yard breaststroke.

Andrew Yuen ’25 demonstrated his versatility by taking the wins in the 50-yard races for both backstroke and freestyle. Other top finishers for men’s swim and dive include Malcolm Scannell ’22, Christian Moy ’23, and William Taylor ’24, all of whom collected individual wins in their races in the meet against the Cardinals.

If these first two meets are any indication of how the rest of the season will go, all signs point to 2021-22 being another season for the books for ASD. Tune in on Saturday, Dec. 4, to watch Middlebury eat Amherst’s bubbles in the team’s third meet of the season.

The Amherst Student • December 1, 2021

Sports 20

Men’s Hockey Falls to 1-3 After Opening-Week Play Liam Archacki ’24 Managing Sports Editor As many Amherst students trekked home for Thanksgiving Break, eager to enjoy a brief reprieve from their coursework — and the opportunity to feast on pumpkin pie — men’s hockey put their skates to competitive ice for the first time in nearly two years.

The Mammoths played a slate of four games over their week-long initial return to action: Nov. 19 at Hamilton College, Nov. 23 vs. Saint Michael’s College, Nov. 26 at Utica College, and Nov. 27 vs. UMass Boston (hosted by Utica). Despite consistent effort from the team, results were mixed, as the Mammoths stumbled to a 1-3 record to begin their season.

Hamilton The hockey team’s season opener, a NESCAC matchup against dire foe Hamilton College, started smoothly for the Mammoths.

After the initial face off, the teams battled back and forth, exchanging several shots on goal — and the corresponding saves. But in the 12th minute, Amherst landed the first solid blow. On a power play, defenseman Connor McGinnis ’24, propelled the puck to forward Mat-

GAME SCHE DULE

teo Mangiardi ’22, who managed to place it past the Continentals’ goalkeeper for the Mammoths’ first goal of the season.

Amherst’s elation was shortlived, however. Hamilton, on a power play of its own, was able to find the net in the 19th minute — then twice more in the second period, and another two times in the third. At the end of the bout, the scoreboard read 5-1 in favor of Hamilton, and the Mammoths were presumably only thankful for the fact that they could now head back to their home campus.

Saint Michael’s The Mammoths made their return to Orr Rink in a Tuesday afternoon matchup against Saint Michael’s College. And Amherst again got off to a quick start. Forward Sean Wrenn ’22 offered a spark, scoring a power-play goal halfway through the first period. The rink was set ablaze, however, when forward Nick Bondra ’22 sunk a pair of strikes for the Mammoths — the second of which succeeded even though Amherst was short-handed at the time. Defenseman Pieter von Steinbergs ’22, who also tallied three assists in the game, merely fanned the flames with his power-play goal two minutes later. And

the shot netted by forward Bobby Luca ’25 in the game’s final minutes: the pat of butter atop a perfectly executed performance. Once again, the final scoreboard displayed 5-1 for the home team — but this time Amherst had far more to be thankful for.

Utica On Friday, men’s hockey journeyed to Utica, N.Y. to participate in the Utica College Thanksgiving Tournament. The Mammoths faced off against tournament host Utica College in their first matchup.

While the team hoped to ride the momentum of its decisive victory over Saint Michael’s, the gravy train had already made its final stop.

The Mammoths couldn’t catch a break on offense, failing to capitalize on any of their 16 shots or four power plays. Although Amherst did keep a lid on Utica’s offense through the first period, the Pioneers broke through with a second-period strike, followed up by two more goals in the third.

The Mammoth defense, anchored by goalie Alex Wisco ’24, did limit the potent Pioneer offense to three goals, the team’s lowest scoring output of the year, but it was not enough to prevent the 0-3 shutout loss.

Photo courtesy of Amherst Athletics

Nick Bondra ’22 scored twice in the victory against Saint Michael’s College on Nov. 23.

UMass Boston In their final game of the break, which was also the consolation game of the Utica Tournament, the Mammoths looked to cap off their initial slate of games with a victory. However, Amherst soon faced an uphill battle. UMass Boston found the net in the first 10 minutes, getting on a roll that the Mammoths were unable to stomach.

The Beacons then scored a pair of power-play goals within three minutes of each other, before capping off their electric day on offense with a finishing blow halfway through the second period.

Amherst forward Mitchell Shults

’22 did sneak a shot past the stout Becons defense early in the third, but it would have taken a Thanksgiving miracle to turn the tides at that point — and it so happened that the Mammoths had not torn off the big side of the wishbone.

The Mammoths fell 1-4 in its fourth game of the season.

Although Amherst’s Thanksgiving Break return to the ice did not go exactly as the team might have hoped, there were still positives to take away — not least of all, an obvious no-quit attitude that will serve the team well in games to come. Men’s hockey will look to start fresh in a NESCAC matchup at Trinity College on Dec. 3.

FRI

SAT

TUE

Women’s Basketball @ Weslayan, 7:00 p.m.

Men’s Swim & Dive @ Middlebury, 1:00 p.m.

Men’s Squash vs. Trinity, 6:30 p.m.

Men’s Hockey @ Trinity, 7:00 p.m.

Women’s Swim & Dive @ Middlebury, 1:00 p.m.

Women’s Squash vs. Trinity, 6:30 p.m.

Women’s Hockey @ Middlebury, 7:00 p.m.

Women’s Hockey vs. Middlbury, 3:00 p.m.

Men’s Basketball @ Springfield College, 7:30 p.m.

Men’s Soccer NCAA Semifinal vs Chicago, @ UNC Greensboro, 7:45 p.m.

Men’s Hockey @ Weslayan, 3:00 p.m.

Men’s Basketball @ Elizabeth University, 3:00 p.m.