Issue 22

Women’s Lax Matches Best Start in Program History

See Sports, Page 10

THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF AMHERST COLLEGE SINCE 1868

VOLUME CXLIII, ISSUE 22 • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 9, 2014

Admissions Selects Class of 2018

College Accepts 13 Percent of 8,468 Applicants

Senator Debuts Take Your Room Out Program Sophie Murguia ’17 Managing News Editor

Photography Editor Olivia Tarantino ’15

Natalie King ’14 answers phone calls at the front desk of the Office of Admissions. This year, the Office of Admissions admitted 1,103 out of 8,468 applicants.

Elaine Jeon ’17 Staff Writer The College has accepted 13 percent of applicants for the class of 2018, offering admission to 1,103 out of 8,468 students who applied this year.

Applications to Amherst rose by more than 6 percent this year, making this the second largest applicant pool in the College’s history. The Office of Admission received its highest number of applications in 2012, when 8,565 applicants applied for the class of 2016.

Earlier this year, Amherst accepted 169 students from the Early Decision pool for the class

of 2018. At end of March, the College accepted 934 Regular Decision applicants.

The acceptance rate for Regular Decision applicants alone was 11.25 percent.

One thousand students were placed on the waitlist. Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Tom Parker said that usually about 500 waitlisted students choose to accept their spots on the list.

However, he said that it is quite possible that even fewer students will remain on the waitlist this year.

“We were the second to last college to notify applicants about the result, so by then, students had already heard back from most schools,”

Parker said. “It is likely that they do not need to stay on Amherst’s waitlist because they have another college to attend.”

Students who remain on the waitlist are selected based on the needs of the class once accepted students have decided whether or not to attend Amherst next Fall.

“There is certainly a waitlist within a waitlist,” Parker said. “For example, if the number of women is lacking in comparison to the number of men, we can repair that ratio with students from the waitlist, and vice versa. Likewise, if diversity is not what we would like it to be, or if Continued on Page 3

Current and former Williston residents will gather together next Friday for the pilot event in a planned series of “Take Your Room Out” dinners.

Association of Amherst Students senator Juan Gabriel Delgado Montes ’16 is spearheading the program, which aims to forge new connections between students by inviting them to share a meal with the other students who once occupied their first-year dorm room. For instance, first-year Michael Bessey, who lives in Williston 210, will have the chance to eat dinner at a table with his roommate and the six other current Amherst students who lived in Williston 210 during their first year.

“I think it’s a really interesting idea,” Bessey said. “I’d love to meet upperclassmen. I’d love to make some more friendships with people who have been here longer and who have a lot of valuable experiences to share.”

Take Your Room Out, or TYRO, draws the inspiration for its name from the popular Take Your Professor Out and Take Your Staff Out dinners. While TYPO and TYSO allow students to invite College faculty and staff to dinner at a restaurant in town, TYRO will take place entirely on campus.

All current and former Williston residents who attend will gather in Lewis-Sebring Commons next Friday, and tables will be assigned by room number. The attendees will share a meal in a casual atmosphere and listen to a speech by President Biddy Martin.

“The idea is to have Take Your Room out be a new campus tradition,” Delgado Montes said in an interview. “For first-years there’s a chance to meet upperclassmen with all kinds of differContinued on Page 2

Getting Strategic: Diversity and Community Sitina Xu ’16 News Section Editor This article is the third in a four-part series about the four core committees involved in this year’s strategic planning process.

This year, the Diversity and Community Strategic Planning Committee has been working to examine the meaning of diversity at Amherst.

Along with the three other main committees involved in this year’s strategic planning process, the Diversity and Community committee has been involved in thinking about the College’s identity and plans for the future.

In meetings and discussions about the College’s future, the committee has been discussing such issues as what it means to live in a community of heterogeneity, and what it would mean to truly make diversity a core value of the College.

Amherst is already recognized for its high commitment to racial, ethnic and socioeconomic student diversity. In recent years, the Office of Admissions has stepped up its commitment to

admitting a diverse body of applicants that includes many low-income students, first-generation students, non-U.S. citizens and students of color.

“The College was thinking about representation, of having as many different people as possible come in the door,” said Shruthi Badri ’16, an Association of Amherst Students senator and member of the committee. “We always say that it’s a small thing, but it’s a huge thing. It involves unprecedented, massive amounts of financial aid and a great deal of outreach.”

However, the committee is also interested in moving beyond the representational diversity of admitted students and thinking about how to increase the Amherst’s commitment to diversity within the College community.

“We hope our students will go out into the world and make things happen in a world that is increasingly multicultural, and so why not start that process here?” said Professor Rhonda Cobham-Sander, professor of Black Studies and English and chair of the committee. “The idea that people could come together to collaborate and

learn from each other, is really, really important to how we see learning at Amherst and intellectual development at Amherst.”

According to Cobham-Sander, the committee recognizes that in order to build a community of diversity in which different groups can learn together and communicate meaningfully with one another, the College must do more than simply get diverse groups of people to live in the same place.

“Putting people of different races and cultures together does not guarantee that they will get along or learn from each other,” CobhamSander said.

Cobham-Sander said the committee realizes that simply putting people of difference together can actually lead to harm instead of good. In order to address this problem, the Committee has put forth plans for a safe and secure environment that supports and respects difference to enable all members to freely communicate across difference.

Psychology Professor Elizabeth Aries, a member of the committee and author of the

book “Race and Class Matters at an Elite College,” cited a study she did about the anxiety that can prevent intergroup dialogue. Aries has found that a major obstacle to intergroup dialogue is fear of saying something wrong or unintentionally offensive when discussing charged and sensitive topics such as race or socioeconomic class.

“Two-thirds of the white students in my study and half the black students said they’d wished they had more conversations about race when they were here,” Aries said. “They felt that they missed an opportunity.”

Aries also found that when students were asked why they didn’t have these conversations, they said they were afraid of what might happen if they did have conversations about race.

“It’s because it’s anxiety provoking,” Aries said. “They can go badly, people can get very heated and angry. People can say things that offend each other, unwittingly.”

According to Aries, teaching community members cultural competency, empathy and Continued on Page 2

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News

“This year, applicants had the option to submit a graded paper from one of their classes in lieu of a traditional supplement essay.”

Class of 2018 Page 3

March 25, 2014 - April 6, 2014

>>March 25, 2014 9:23 p.m.., James Dormitory An officer investigated a smoke detector sounding in the first floor common room and discovered food had been burned in a microwave. >>March 27, 2014 2:33 a.m., The Bunker Officers and the Fire Department responded to an alarm but could not identify the cause. >>March 28, 2014 1:54 p.m., Wilson Admissions An officer investigated a fire alarm and found it was caused by cooking smoke. The system was reset. >>March 29, 2014 12:27 a.m., Amherst College Police A visitor came to the police station upset about how she was being treated by some friends of her host. Arrangements were made for a friend from Hampshire College to come and pick her up.

2:10 a.m., College St. An officer observed a man make inappropriate movements, and statements, to several women passing by in a car on College Street. The man was identified and checked for warrants. After being warned about his behavior, he was directed off campus. >>March 30, 2014 1:50 p.m., Marsh House An officer assisted a student who was searching for a missing iPhone. The student was able to track the phone and it was found outside of Taplin. >>March 31, 2014 2:01 a.m., O’Connell Lot An officer investigated a car alarm sounding in the O’Connell parking lot. No problem was found. >>Apr. 2, 2014 9:54 p.m., South College Dormitory Officers investigated a smoke detector sounding in the first floor common room and found it was caused by cooking smoke. >>Apr. 3, 2014 8:06 p.m., Newport House An officer responded to a report

of a female screaming at Newport and located a resident who was venting.

10:25 p.m., Frost Library Amherst Police reported information on a missing 12-year-old female. >>Apr. 4, 2014 9:54 a.m., Cohan Dormitory A caller reported the odor of marijuana on the second floor. The origin could not be located.

10:51 a.m., College Hall An officer investigated a fire alarm and found it was caused by cooking smoke. The system was reset.

11:39 p.m., Seelye House A member of Student Security who was working an event on the first floor reported possible drug use in a restroom. An officer checked the area but no activity was found. >>Apr. 5, 2014 6:09 p.m., Alumni Gym A student reported her coat was stolen from a table on the first floor level near the Fitness Center.

The coat contained a wallet, IDs and room key. >>Apr. 6, 2014 12:01 a.m., Wieland Dormitory An officer encountered an unauthorized party in the third floor common room. It was shut down.

12:42 a.m., Plaza Dormitory An officer discovered the latches on two exterior doors were jammed with paper keeping them in the unlocked position. The residents were fined $200 for tampering with a safety device.

4:20 a.m., Mayo Smith House While checking the house after a registered party, an officer found a yellowish white powdery substance in the first floor common area. It tested positive for methamphetamine. The matter was referred to the Dean’s Office.

12:19 p.m., Merrill Science Rd. A student reported her car was vandalized while parked on Merrill Science Road. Four letters were scratched in the paint on the driver’s door.

Reported Incidences of Sexual Assault At the beginning of every month, The Amherst Student will print incidences of sexual assault as reported in the Clery Report during the previous month. Except for the month in which the assault occurred, all details of the incidences will be omitted to protect the identities of the victims.

Last month, a past assault and battery was reported to a member of the Title IX Team. The matter is under investigation.

Anyone that may have witnessed the incident or may have information is asked to contact the Amherst College Police at 413-542-2291.

Resources and information regarding Sexual Misconduct are available on the College’s Sexual Respect and Title IX webpage here https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/sexual_respect

First Take Your Room Out Dinner to be Held April 18 Continued from Page 1 ent interests, so it’s kind of a mentoring experience. And for upperclassmen there’s a chance to reconnect with your old roommates or just to meet other people who you shared your room with.”

The Association of Amherst Students will fund the TYRO pilot event. If all goes well, Delgado Montes hopes to secure funding from the President’s Office for an entire series of TYRO dinners that would launch in the fall.

“Ideally it would be one weekend,” Delgado Montes said of the TYRO events he hopes to hold this fall. “It would be, let’s say, Charles Pratt, Stearns and Williston one Friday, and then the other dorms on Saturday.”

Although the pilot event is taking place in the spring, Delgado Montes said that it would be ideal for TYRO dinners to be held at the beginning of the academic year so that students can form new friendships at the start of the semester.

“I think it would be very helpful so that as you’re starting a new year, you get to reconnect with someone from last year — your roommate, if you’re a sophomore,” he said. “If you’re a firstyear, you can start meeting people from across campus. And if you’re an upperclassman, you get to reconnect with all different people.”

For the events in the fall, Delgado Montes hopes to recruit professors and other speakers

to give talks related to on topics such as friendship and community building. He said that the idea while he, Martin, and former Dean of Students Jim Larimore were brainstorming ways to fix the college’s “community deficit.”

“One of the things that we’ve been very good at at Amherst is bringing people here, diversitywise,” Delgado Montes said. “But in terms of having an overall community feel, we’re lacking — at least that’s my understanding — in regards to our peer institutions.”

He said that he hopes the TYRO program will help to build a greater sense of community by encouraging students to have more meaningful interactions with one another and to feel more comfortable around other students whom they do not know very well.

Delgado Montes admitted that hosting dinners for such a large number of students will prove to be a logistical challenge. Although smaller dorms such as Williston have close to 30 residents per year, Charles Pratt houses more than 100 residents. As a result, Delgado said that holding events for some of the larger dorms will prove to be more difficult.

“The logistics of that are a bit beyond me right now,” he said.

If the pilot event goes well, Delgado Montes will continue working with Pat Allen, the College’s Director of Conferences and Special Events, to iron out the logistics and prepare for an official launch this fall.

Strategic Planning Discusses Diversity at the College Continued from Page 1 listening skills can create the more safe and accepting environment needed to foster and enable communication across differences to take place. A model for one currently exists as the Intergroup Dialogue Program at the University of Michigan.

The committee is also focusing on how members of the community reconcile the many diverse sides of their individual identities.

“How do we create balance between all the diverse aspects of ourselves?” Cobham-Sander said. “If diversity were just about putting the reds next to the blues next to the yellows next to the greens, then, we wouldn’t have really changed much about those individual things. It’s more about allowing people to explore the complexities of their own diverse experience.”

In order to reach this goal, the committee has brainstormed three essential ways that the College might support and incentivize community building through diversity.

First, Cobham-Sander said the committee had the idea of holding the College and all its members accountable for their actions by creating a system of incentives to support and promote actions of diversity. The need for a built-in system of accountability would force the College to be active in fostering diversity in all of its forms.

“We’ve got to find ways to promote that this is a value across the institution, not just so say, ‘Oh, this is nice’ when something good happens by accident, but to really say, ‘If you work towards this, you’re going to be rewarded, if you don’t work towards this, we’re going to hold you accountable,’” Cobham-Sander said.

Second, the committee recognizes that the physical layout of the College is an integral part of its image and that the layout of Amherst’s buildings can help communicate the College’s commitment to diversity.

“We’ve got to be able to look at the way that the buildings are laid out, what is next to what, what separates different functions and people

in different groups from each other,” CobhamSander said.

She added that the images that people on the outside looking in associate with Amherst “tell them something about what the institution values.”

For example, Cobham-Sander posed the hypothetical, what would happen if the College moved the Multicultural Resource Center closer to the social dorms?

“We think of those two groups as completely separate. What would happen if we laid space out that means that those two groups of students had to communicate?” said Cobham-Sander.

According to Cobham-Sander, what often happens in situations of diversity without a strong sense of community is that people think “they need to fight for resources to defend their space.”

Cobham-Sander said the committee sees a strong community that respects and regards all people as equally important in helping to change the dominant view away from the idea that “good fences build good neighbors.”

Badri agrees with the inherent tension between belonging and difference.

“Diversity and community is interesting because those are essentially two things that are put at odds with one another,” she said. “That you forgo a sense of community because you include diversity or that diversity makes it harder to have a sense of community. That a homogenous set of people are more likely to easily form a community than a diverse set of people because they have more in common, more shared interest.”

Cobham-Sander said the committee recognizes that this is a difficult problem for the college to get past, yet the only path towards communication, interaction, and understanding between different groups lies in getting past this problem.

“It’s going to be messy,” Cobham-Sander said.

“But as people learn that power is not just in one place anymore, but that power is shared, things are going to change.”

The Amherst Student • April 9, 2014

News 3

Wangené Hall

to create this world from my imagination.

Thoughts on Theses Department of Theater and Dance

Wangené Hall is a senior majoring in Theater and Dance.

Her Theater and Dance thesis “Naked in Heels: Confessions of an Aspiring Pop Star” will be performed at 8 p.m. in Holden Theater on April 10, 11 and 12. Her advisors are Professor of Theater and Dance Wendy Woodson and Visiting Professor of Theater and Dance Charlotte L. Brathwaite.

Q: Tell me about your thesis project.

A: My thesis project is a music theater extravaganza. It’s sort of a combination of all my work at Amherst: I’m a vocalist, songwriter, producer and pianist. My interests are theatrical, they are cinematic, they are musical, and so my thesis is called “Naked in Heels: Confessions of an Aspiring Pop Star.” The show is really about how you create your own myths. It’s about the stakes of your selfcreation, and it’s about blurring the lines between reality and fantasy and becoming yourself.

Q: Along the way to becoming a pop star?

A: Yeah. It combines tracks that I produced and written, it combines just music that I find very inspiring and exciting, it combines voice-overs and also me playing a piano. So it combines all these modes of performance — exciting and pop, it’s like a rock show or pop show, like a crazy theater show all rolled into one.

Q: Is it a one-woman show?

A: Yes, it’s one-woman show.

Q: So are you the director, producer and per-

former?

A: I’m playing all roles, wearing all hats. I actually do have director though. Her name is Charlotte Brathwaite, and she’s a professor here, she’s visiting for the year. She’s really great. She’s really helped me shape the vision but it’s really me saying, “What do I want to exist in this world?” I’m the writer of the script, the music and creator of everything that exists in this world.

Q: So it’s you with some guidance from your director?

A: Yes, but I also have a great team. I have sound designer, Justin Knoll ’16E. I have a music producer, Spencer Brooks ’14. I have a stage manager, Lynndy Smith ’17. I have set designer, Reilly Horan ’13. I have a lighting designer, Kathy Couch ’95. I have a visual design research professor, Suzanne Dougan. And I have costume designer, Yang Liu ’14.

Q: So you’re working with a whole team to put this show together?

A: Yes! The whole team, and they all report to me.

I say what I want to happen in the world and I get

Q: How has that experience been?

A: It’s been fantastic. It’s been everything I could ever dream of. I came into Amherst and I was like, I knew what I want to be: I want to be a pop star, that’s it, I’m going to be a pop star! And I’m happy to say that that ambition hasn’t really changed. I still want to perform. I don’t necessarily go around [saying], “I want to be [a] pop star” — except sometimes. But yeah, I’m a performer, I write, I create, but I’m really most myself when I’m playing for other people. When I’m connecting, when I’m there, and when it’s just the audience and me.

Q: Is that your favorite part of performing?

A: That is definitely my favorite part of performing. I also love songwriting. I’ve been a songwriter since I was 13, and it’s been a huge part of my life.

I grew up in a mixed musical household: my dad was former musician in a black church, but my grandma was really the one who was really supportive. She played piano and sang. We used to do duets together. I grew up in an African restaurant and all these Afro-pop world music stars would come and sing. I sang at Obama’s inauguration. I did selfies with Sara Bareilles. So I’ve had all these crazy cool musical experiences, and it’s really just me being, “This is my story, this is who I am, and I can decide who that is.”

Q: What has been the most challenging part of this?

A: I would say that definitely early on it was more challenging. Before I had the full team, before I had full set of people I could collaborate with, when I was just working on my own in a room.

What is most challenging to me is sitting in a

room, by myself, and it’s just me in my own head and I don’t have feedback or a way to get out and be like, “What does this actually look like? How do I make it better? And how do I make it from ‘Oh god, I can’t do this. Oh god, it’s a lot of work.’”

How do I take all these negative things, where I feel like I’m sort of stuck to opening it up and being, “No! This is going to exist in the world. This is my work.” And it’s not the only representation of who I am as a person, but it is what I do.

Q: When were you able to work in the Holden Theater?

A: We were actually able to work in the Holden fairly early on. We started rehearsing by mid-February and definitely by the end of February I was in the Holden pretty much every day. This show is every day! This show is work. It is work, but if what you want to be — and the only thing you can be — is an artist in the world, then you wake up to the work and you go asleep to the work and the work is your life and it is your story. But at the end of the day, you can say, “This is me. This is all me. Top to bottom, I did this.” And that’s really powerful.

Q: Do you have any advice for someone considering doing a performance thesis?

A: Let’s see. Obviously start early, but aside from the obvious, find people whose feedback you respect and trust. And ask them what they think.

Ask them early and ask them often, because the feedback you get is going to make your piece much stronger. It’s going to help you get from having created this thing to being able to evaluate objectively, to make it better, make it stronger.

— Sitina Xu ’16

Admissions Accepts 13 Percent of Applicants Continued from Page 1 the orchestra needs a certain instrumentalist, we look to our waitlist. We believe this system works really well in terms of ensuring that right kids go to the right schools. Not everyone gets into their top choice, but at the end of the day, the majority of people will end up at the appropriate schools.”

Parker added that the Office of Admission is especially proud of Amherst’s continued tradition of accepting many highly qualified students of color. This year, Amherst accepted 607 students who identify as students of color. Of those 607 students, 160 identify as African Americans; 169, Latino; 152, Asian American; 118, multiracial; and 8, Native American.

The College also accepted 116 non-U.S. Citizens. Parker said that Amherst attracts many international students because of its promotion of racial diversity and its need-blind admissions policy for international students.

“Non-U.S. citizens bring multiple perspectives to Amherst student body, and we are thrilled by that,” Parker said.

Parker said that the demographics of admitted students have shifted slightly in recent years.

Last year, California had the greatest number of accepted applicants, and the class of 2017 has more students from California than from any other state.

This year, California was the top state one again, with more applications and acceptances than any other state. This year, 25 percent of admitted students come from California, Florida and Texas. According to Parker, the number of teenagers who live in the Northeast is declining, and this may be one contributing factor behind the demographic shift.

The Office of Admission does not know how many students are first-generation college students until the students matriculate. After financial aid for admitted students is sorted out, the Office of Admission will know the exact number of first-generation students.

However, the number of accepted children of alumni is easier to confirm. This year, Amherst admitted 86 children of alumni. Parker guessed that about 50 of them will matriculate, and said that he was very impressed with the admitted legacy students.

“Their academic credentials were unbeliev-

able,” Parker said. “It is hard to deny that the educational accomplishments of Amherst parents carry over to their children. Also, these kids grew up in a very pro-education environment where it is typical, for example, for the dad to be an M.D. and mom to be a J.D.” He said that ideally 450 students, including Early Decision students, will have deposited and committed to Amherst by May 1. If that is the case, then the Office of Admission will select 23 students from the waitlist so that a total of 473 first-years can join the College’s student body next academic year.

With the admission cycle for the class of 2018 coming to a close, admissions officers have begun planning for applicants to the class of 2019.

The number of visitors to Amherst has been increasing steadily in recent weeks.

In May, the admissions staff members will attend a retreat, where they will brainstorm supplement essay topics as well as any possible changes to the application process for next year.

According to Parker, an important topic of discussion at the retreat will be the new supplement essay option that was used for the first time this year. This year, applicants had the option to submit a graded paper from one of their classes in lieu of a traditional supplement essay.

Parker said that admissions officers were surprised by the variation in writing levels that the papers displayed.

“There were times when I would be reading the essay and being awed by the poor level of writing, while the teacher still gave an A to the student,” Parker said. “It was a great opportunity to have a deeper look into the varying levels of writing education in high schools.”

He added that the graded papers might provide insight with regard to how First-Year Seminars could be restructured in order to attend to the needs of all writers.

The Office of Admission has not yet decided whether it will continue to offer the option of submitting a graded paper.

Some prospective members of the class of 2018 will get a preview of Amherst this upcoming weekend when about 130 admitted students will attend the College’s overnight open house.

Admitted students will have until May 1 to decide whether to accept the College’s offer of admission.

Admitted Students to the Class of 2018: Just the Facts • Of the 8,468 students who applied, 1,103 were accepted ... 13 percent of students were accepted ... 169 students were accepted through Early Decision and 934 through Regular Decision • 607 of those accepted identify as students of color ... 607 is 55.3 percent of the accepted class ... In addition, 116 non-U.S. Citizens were accepted • 25 percent of admitted students are from California, Florida and Texas ... California is the best-represented state among those accepted • The average SAT score of those accepted was 735 for Critical Reading, 731 for Math and 731 for Writing. The average ACT score was 32 ... SAT scores marginally improved from last year ... The average ACT was unchanged • 86 children of alumni were accepted ... The number of first-generation college students is not yet known

Opinion Editorial

AAS Election Turnout

Yesterday, Amherst students went to the online polls to cast their vote for the AAS president and vice-president. Well, some of them at least, if yesterday’s run-off election was anything like the previous year’s run-off, in which 797 of the 1414 students eligible to vote actually cast a vote for AAS president. As a percentage that translates into a voter turnout of about 56 percent, which is fairly close to the voter turnout of 58 percent in the 2012 US presidential election. That is not to say, however, that they are comparable because they are not. All that an Amherst student has to do to vote in the AAS election is click a link in an email, and the number of students that do not vote does seem alarmingly high.

The first cause that comes to mind is that students are exceedingly busy and do not feel that their choice of an AAS presidential candidate will have an impact on their personal lives. To an extent, this may be true. The AAS is not a radical institution. Many of its functions are budgetary and bureaucratic, and its ability to implement substantive change is limited

by the administration and factors beyond the control of its members. Nonetheless, students’ apathy and difficulty in differentiating between candidates in a large part has to do with the lack of transparency in the AAS. Perhaps out of modesty or a fear of irritating students, the AAS does not seem to actively publicize its accomplishments, and most students are not well informed about its actions and the individuals responsible for implementing them.

AAS elections are not of monumental importance like national and state elections, and complaining that not voting in AAS elections is a dereliction of democratic duty is a loaded claim. Rather, the low voter turnout in AAS elections is disappointing in the same way as the low turnout at most athletic and extracurricular competitions (and perhaps the low readership of this editorial). AAS candidates spend a tremendous amount of time and effort campaigning, and the least that we can do is take a minute to show that we appreciate everything that they are attempting to do to improve the campus community.

“We have to learn how to navigate through different worlds.”

Community of Humanity... Page 5

Letter to the Editor Joshua Ferrer ’17 writes in about the state of AAS executive elections.

While I have to wait another seven long months before casting my vote in the “real” midterm elections, this past Thursday I had the privilege of voting in an election much closer to home and, arguably, more important to my immediate life: the executive student board of Amherst College. It seemed to me to be an exciting race, with four well-qualified candidates running for the top spot and each offering a different vision of what the future of Amherst holds. Regardless of the winner, the president for the 2014/15 school year will be uniquely situated to influence significant changes in Amherst.

Unfortunately, my fellow students appeared not to share my enthusiasm; despite the competitive presidential and vice presidential elections, voter turnout amounted to little more than 50%. For the country as a whole, this turnout might be written off as mediocre. For an institution such as Amherst, one filled with the brightest students from all over the world, this turnout was a resoundingly sad cry of apathy towards student government.

That being said, the blame cannot solely fall on the student body. I encountered systematic problems with the voting experience, problems that have no excuse for existing and are easily remedied. The primary problem involved the lack of information and outreach involved in the election. There were no nonpartisan posters advertising the voting day and no email remainders the week leading up to the election.

For students who do not regularly check their emails, there was no physical voting space (public voting stations in Keefe, Val, and Frost would significantly increase turnout). There was no transcript or video feed of the debate. Also, there was no website or depository of candidate platforms. The Amherst Student itself neglected to print any information on the candidates, ignoring its duty to inform the student body.

While I applaud the 24-hour voting time and online voting, the operation of this election was counter to the principles of free and open elections. I urge the AAS Elections Committee to step up its game and take simple and intuitive measures to increase voter turnout. If an institution such as Amherst fails to effectively manage its elections, it is no wonder America continues to struggle as well.

Mental Illness (Mostly About Depression)

Anonymous Contributor Contributiting Writer

**Trigger warning for a detailed account of my depression symptoms towards the middle of the note, including suicidal thoughts.** Since this has started, I have interacted with a few people who are misinformed. I’m hoping this will be informative to at least one other person to prevent people from accidently hurting their friends.

I’ve been depressed on and off for about two months now. I’d never been depressed in my life before. Nothing triggered the beginning of it; it just started all of a sudden. Medication seems to be helping more than talk therapy so far.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about 26% of Americans 18 years old or older have a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. For major depressive disorder, 6.7% of those 18+ in the U.S. suffer every year. For an 1,800 person school, that’s 450 with a mental disorder and 121 with major depression. In a survey administered by the American College Health Association to students at two and four year institutions, about 30% of college students reported feeling “so depressed that it was difficult to function” at some point in the past year. For how common mental illness is, it is not talked about sufficiently.

A common misconception is that mental illness is something you can snap out of if you are mentally strong enough. This is not true. If it were as easy as that, then this wouldn’t be such a widespread problem. Also, who would want to deal with this kind of thing if they didn’t have to?

Saying that you can snap out of it is the equivalent of telling someone with the flu, “If you have strong enough control over your immune system, you can stop having the flu whenever you want.”

Would you ever seriously tell someone the latter?

No, because you would sound like a jerk? Then don’t say the former either!

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Before I became depressed, I didn’t quite understand what people with depression had to deal with. And I still don’t completely understand what people with other disorders have to go through.

It’s one of those things that sound terrible but you don’t know exactly how bad until you experience it yourself, like the pain of a breakup or the death of a loved one. However, this doesn’t give people the right to make remarks such as the one in the last paragraph. If you do and the other person tries to inform you of why that comment was unacceptable, then the least you can do is apologize.

Anything else and you are almost definitely being a douche-canoe (thanks to whoever introduced me to that term, I love it and would give you credit but I have a bad memory for names and faces, sorry). **Trigger warning for the following section.** To help people understand what depression can feel like, I’m going to go into detail about the symptoms I’ve had. It’s also important to stress that people can have a wide range of symptoms in terms of type and severity. They can also change over time like mine has over the past two months.

At the very beginning, I felt extremely alone even though I have an awesome, loving partner and decent network of family and friends. I was never the type to need constant reassurance from my partner that I am cared and loved. But during this time, part of my mind would try to convince the other part that I was actually alone and not cared about. I needed (and got) a lot of outward affection. This was a typical battle in my mind during that time: “You’re alone and no one cares about you.” “Nuh uh, I have Ben [not his real name] and some friends and family.” “Really? If so, then why didn’t they respond to your messages right away?” “Ben is in class and busy and my other friends probably are too.” “Mhmm, he knows that you are depressed. If he really cared, wouldn’t he respond no matter what?” And I would end up crying contemplating if anyone in the world really

cared, because my mind rationalized that if they did, they would magically know that I really needed for them to get back to me right away because that was how I was measuring how much they cared about me at that point in time.

There was also a time when my mind chastised me for eating: “Why are you eating right now? You don’t deserve to eat and live. You should starve yourself and die.”

When I have suicidal thoughts, I ponder whether the good parts of my life are worth having to deal with the bad parts. During the first month or so, I had about two or three awesome days and the rest have ranged from being terrible to limited episodes of depression. I’ve gotten pretty close to attempting suicide twice now. Both of those times, I just wanted to get away from dealing with the world because of work, stress, and the way being depressed made me feel. It felt like the feeling of getting worse was never ending so I should just stop it from getting worse.

There have been moments where I felt stuck in place and couldn’t move for short periods of time (maybe five to ten minutes).

After the first month, I’ve had more episodes of feeling dragged down or hollow and not wanting to do anything. I’ve felt like I need more sleep than the 6-7.5 hours that was enough for last semester. I get agitated more easily now and can’t handle stress as well. Having more than one big assignment or exam a day totally stresses me out to the point of not being able to handle it. When the anxiety is bad, just looking at the paper I’m supposed to be reading makes me have a breakdown. I don’t want to not be able to do work but if just looking at it makes me have a crappy few hours, it’s hard to start. Even though I’ve been less directly depressed, the anxiety and stress have been getting worse to the point of triggering depression. I can have a decent day and then a few hours later, it just hits me for a while. Episodes can last anywhere from minutes to hours at a time,

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and it’s common for me to have multiple episodes in one day. **Trigger warning ends here.** So what can you do to help? Tell them things that prove that they are cared for and not alone: • You’re there for them (but only if it’s true because if they call in the middle of class and you get annoyed, they’ll feel like a burden and not reach out to you again).

• They are cared for, loved and missed when you can’t be with them. Specifics examples and affection (even virtual) help.

• They can get hugs, cuddles, etc. from you.

• You can just hang out to talk about whatever (or nothing at all) to help them get their mind away from depressive thoughts.

• You want to help (it’s okay if you don’t know how, they’ll probably tell you how).

• They aren’t a burden, that this is what partners, friends and family are for, getting through the rough times.

• It gets better even if it doesn’t feel like it.

• Inviting them to go to events/out with you, even to Val .

• Make planned and unplanned stops by their room.

• Check-in on them through calling, texting, emailing, etc.

• If you’re not sure if someone needs support, just offering to talk if they want to can mean a lot.

The above are the things that I like/need but they can vary from person to person so just ask.

Sometimes they will be afraid of being a burden or that you’re just trying to be nice even if you don’t really care so you might have to be insistent that you want to help and negate those feelings.

I’ve decided to take a medical leave for the rest of this and next semester instead of trying to catch up on all of the work I’m behind on. Hopefully the anxiety and depression will no longer be an issue by next spring.

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The Amherst Student • April 9, 2014

Opinion 5

Big Question: What do You Need to Learn?

Tania Dias ‘13 Provost Office What do you need to learn? This is the latest question we will be grappling with around campus from Friday, April 4 to Friday, April 11. This question relies on personal stories and experience. The answers we give this question define us as human beings. We asked four people around campus for their thoughts on this month’s Big Question: What do you need to learn?

Austin Sarat, Professor of LJST and Political Science, Associate Dean of Faculty Needing to learn is a little like needing to breathe. Life cannot be sustained without it.

But what anyone needs to learn will, of course, depend to some extent on their life situation or life project so it is hard to say what the most important things to learn are for anyone and everyone. With that said, I’ll name two things that I have had to learn. First, I think that learning from loss, pain and suffering is a crucial life skill. Not just learning to live with them but rather figuring out what, if anything, can be learned from them is essential. I am still trying to figure that out. Second, I was a first generation college student coming from a family where few understood what I was doing. Still today many in my family cannot quite fathom it. So then I had to learn how to bridge a chasm in my own family and today I still need to learn how to keep love and communication alive in the absence of an easily shared set of mutual understandings.

Cara Sullivan, Campus Police Officer An interesting question to ponder while sitting by the pool at my hotel in Key West (Yes, cops have fun too). And then it dawned on me...

There is something that we ALL experience and have this love-hate relationship with on a daily basis and that “thing” is called, making time… for ourselves. Think of all the things that you make time for on a daily basis that are for other people. Professors, parents, friends, family and so on…Now think of the amount of time you take out of your day for yourself. If you’re like me, your “me time” ratio is a thin sliver on a pie chart. A friend of mine, who has her Masters in Statistics, literally made a pie chart of my time and how it is spent (or not spent) because, you know, that kind of stuff is fun for her. To actually see my time plotted out on a chart was mind blowing and eye opening. Now, I’m not saying to go out there in the world being selfish and not being there for others. Obviously, I wouldn’t last too long as a Police Officer if I had that mentality.

But what I realized is that if I don’t take time out for myself I can’t fully be there for others. Learning to make time for the things you love is the only way to balance out this crazy experience we call life. So, before I go back to my “me time” by the pool, I leave you with this challenge: Think of something that you love to do but that you keep putting off. Is it time to make your own pie chart? Hmm… Jayson Paul ‘16, Physics and Philosophy Major What I need to learn is a sense of balance in my life. I need it; I must have it, and not just to learn, but especially to learn. Balance, for me, re-

Education and the Community of Humanity: An Interview with Sharline Dominguez ‘16 Defining Amherst Vivian Mac ’16 Defining Amherst is an initiative about exploring the purpose of an Amherst education. For more information, visit definingamherst.wordpress.com.

An interconnected world needs an interconnected education. When explaining her purpose of an Amherst education, Sharline Dominguez ’16 stresses the importance of being an active participant in the communities that she is a part of, as well as the importance of interacting with communities that she is not a part of. Her education is not limited to the boundaries of the Amherst classroom. In a world where our actions affects others in ways that we might not be aware of, an education that enables us to address global issues is crucial. We, as individuals of different communities, all belong within the community of humanity.

But is our education doing enough to help us learn what it means to be a part of humanity?

During our interview, Sharline said, “I have to be very aware of the fact that my education is not the center of my life. I love learning, but there others things I have to worry about as a human being.”

Her fascinating comment brought up questions that I had about our education. Why does there seem to be a gap between being educated and being a human being? How can Amherst improve in educating the whole person, and not just our intellectual selves? Would there be less of a distinction between our education and our lives?

At a time when we’re developing our various identities, how can our education help us find ourselves in the community of humanity?

VM: What is the purpose of your Amherst education?

SD: At this point, I think the purpose of my Amherst education is to become more of a critical thinker and more of an active participant, not only in this community as an intellectual, but in every community that I’ll be part of and am a part of right now. My Amherst education has helped feel more confident in what I believe in. I’m never really scared to express myself to others who are not part of this community and to stand by issues that I really care about.

VM: What communities are you a part of?

SD: I’m part of the MRC [Multicultural Resource Center], the writer/artist, the Dominican, and the New York community. I don’t think of my communities as one that’s only limited to this space.

A community can be a safe space, but it’s also a space where I am supposed to feel uncomfortable.

It motivates me to think outside of the box and not be complicit with the way things are.

VM: How does your education relate to your life?

SD: I’ve always been a good student, and I’ve always asked “dangerous” questions that push things further, but it really wasn’t until I got here that I realized that I’m actually the one forming my own education, not only in classroom, but also outside of it. Relating my education here in and out of the classroom is a lifelong process. I’m willing to tackle that, and I am tackling that right now.

Trying to explain the significance of my Amherst education to my family comes with its challenges, [like] trying to explain to my mom [that] I’m an American Studies major with a concentration in Latino/a studies. She doesn’t understand and I don’t think she will until she sees that I have a job, on my feet doing my thing.

VM: Do we all have a larger, common purpose at Amherst?

SD: Although I’d like to think there is a larger purpose here, I cannot speak for everyone. Even though Terras Irradient is supposed to be our common purpose, there are so many different interpretations of that mission. I don’t know if there has been a common purpose yet.

VM: What does Terras Irradient mean to you?

SD: I think that as students, we like to think that we can light the world because we’re these amazing super human beings. That’s cool, but we also have to be aware that there’s a larger world out there. Terras Irradient is something that we can live by at Amherst, but I don’t know if we can live by it right way when we go out into the “real

From left to right: Austin Sarat, Cara Sullivan, Jayson Paul ‘16, Meghna Sridhar ‘14 quires free space — time, physical space, mental space and emotional space. Space to grow and spaces to grow into. Not to have these things means to live in reaction to the world around me and to be incapable of the reflection that actually learning versus, say, memorizing, remembering or even understanding, requires. Learning is more active, more complete and more worthwhile than any of those alone. What I need to learn then is just how to create that balance in my life. To take the world as it is and find and create ways of framing it and encountering it that open up the field; that create those spaces where I can actually learn in everyday life as well as in the classroom. What I need to learn is temperance, discipline, self-honesty and passion — the internal forces of fulfillment and achievement.

Meghna Sridhar ‘14, LJST major One of the most important things to learn is power and resistance: what are the institutions that hold power? How are you tacitly complicit

in their expressions of power? How can you best learn how to resist that power and stand up for those that are oppressed by it? Relatedly, another thing very important to learn is the courage to speak in your own name, against power, for justice and equality and inclusion, and in solidarity with those who resist. Empathy, resistance and courage constitute intelligence — agreeing with the status quo and upholding it is merely a sign of empty and meaningless self-preservation.’

world.” It’s a big phrase and it has that connotation of saving which I have a problem with, because I’ve seen it happen in marginalized communities.

I don’t like the way it looks and the way that people feel about it in face of all this saving. That may be just me with my historical critical lens. I’m figuring out how I can help, but not in a paternalistic, condescending way.

VM: What is a historical critical lens?

SD: A historical critical lens is not only viewing phenomena, people, and events through not only the present, but also in years past. I like to view history from the bottom-up perspective, and learning about social movements [through] the working class. A lot of history books are written by people in power. Power likes to do the naming, but it never names itself.

VM: How did your education change your perspective on life?

SD: In my history class called “Struggles for Democracy in Modern Latin America, 1820 to the Present,” we’re talking about the histories of the popular revolutions that have happened in Latin American and the U.S. influence on all of that.

Even though I’m reading about these things, I’m not satisfied. People are still dying in Latin America. There are still very deep socioeconomic inequalities. But I’m here.

I emigrated from the Dominican Republic when I was three [years old] with my family to escape [from] economic problems. Even though I live here now, my heart is still out there. I didn’t realize that until taking this class, and that’s a good thing, but it’s also very sad because it took me to get into academia for me to realize that, when I think that should have happened long ago.

My education here has really impacted the way I view my life very personally, because there’s a huge difference between reading about something and actually going to the country and experiencing it. But I still have an internal struggle.

There are a lot of people who don’t have opportunities [for education], so there is that sense of guilt in my learning in general. It would be interesting to see if other students feel that way, regardless of socioeconomic class, race, or anything.

VM: I think that being here, having an education, and learning about these issues already puts us in a privileged position because we’re not directly experiencing all of that suffering. But do you think that it gives you an ability to help in some way, or a better sense of responsibility?

SD: Absolutely a better sense of responsibility, but I wouldn’t go so far to say it’s [good] to go and help, because that’s not my place. I’m very fortu-

nate to be getting an education here, but I’m aware of the fact that there are people who haven’t had an education, or don’t believe in it and have different ways of looking at life. I have to be prepared to step outside of my privileged position and realize that I’m more than just my education. There are so many different identities that I need to learn how to own before I can really impact other people. I think I need to figure out who I am first.

VM: Is figuring out who you are something that you will constantly refine?

SD: I think it’s something I’m constantly refining. This is a process, and again there is guilt.

I housed Haitian students from this YMCA program when I was in New York City. I know that education is everything for them. For them, it’s a mode of survival. For me, it’s a form of moving up the social ladder and making something of myself. I have to be very aware of the fact that my education is not the center of my life. I love learning, but there others things I have to worry about as a human being.

VM: What kinds of identities are you developing?

SD: I’m developing my identity as a woman, a family member, an activist (even with that label I have some problems), a citizen, a community organizer, and a religious person. I think that [when] being educated here, we forget about our spiritual self. All [of] these [identities] are different parts of refining who I am.

It’s very emotionally draining. A lot of adults don’t realize that when they give us a lot of work and these high expectations at Amherst. I don’t think they realize there so much growing and forming of our character that we’re doing outside of class. Sometimes they think we’re only academics, but there’s just so much. Sometimes everyone’s excuse is “I don’t have enough time,” and I hate that shit because all we have is time. How do you not have time?

VM: How did your values change at Amherst?

SD: When I go home, I try to be the Sharline that I was with my family, but they don’t always see me that way. When I went home for spring break, my sister said, “You’re so serious, you’re like a revolutionary leader now. You’re too academic, you need to tone it down now.” I’m in a new place now, so my values have changed. I learned how to have relationships with other people who are different from me. Meeting people I disagree with has been a big part of my experience here. But there’s also a part of me that wants to keep the person I was before. We have to learn how to navigate through different worlds.

Ask Big Questions (ABQ) is a pilot initiative organized by the Provost Office to create thoughtful, co-curricular spaces that bring students, staff and faculty together in personal conversation. Our aim is that Ask Big Questions will contribute towards meaningful connection, community and understanding at Amherst. Sign up for the second round of ABQ sessions as soon as possible @ amherst.edu/ go/ask/signup. For more information go to amherst.edu/go/ask.

Arts&Living

“The SHEs are hosting a number of events this week to promote mental health and well” De-Stigmatizing...Page 7

Game of Thrones is Back: Season Preview Image courtesy of www.fourthdayuniverse.com

The slightly directionless Season 4 premiere of Game of Thrones will hlpefully soon aim itself towards a specific endgame that will delight viewers.

Marquez Cummings ’16 Contributing Writer Even though the winter has just begun to leave our lives for the next eight months, it is still coming for “Game of Thrones.” After a ten-month hiatus, the hit HBO series is back and I am happy to report that its premiere on Sunday was nearly flawless. Although I have read the books, I promise not to reveal any future developments for this season. But, before I go any further, let me get one thing out of the way ... SPOILER ALERT! DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE SERIES UP UNTIL THIS POINT! Right off the bat, the writers decided to add another blow to the already beaten, bloodied and more-orless buried Stark family of Winterfell.

Watching Tywin smile as the Stark family Valyrian sword, “Ice,” was melted down to create two Lannister family blades was a brutal touch to an already powerful scene. Not only that, we see Tywin toss a wolf ’s pelt into the flames of a crackling fireplace, a symbolic end to a once powerful and noble family. This represents a crucial shift in tone for the series. This time around, GoT seems to be heading in a brand new direction. With Stannis defeated during his attempted raid of the Red Keep and the Starks narrowed down to two young girls, a disabled boy and a banished bastard, I have to say that there seems to be a void. Who is left for us to root for?

Where can we go from here?

Luckily, with this lack of direction, “Two Swords” focused intently on developing the stories of the remaining characters. At the Red Keep,

Jamie has returned to the cold embrace of both his father and his sister/ lover. It seems that both Tywin and Cersei realize that something beyond losing his hand has altered the Jamie that they once knew. Hell, even Joffrey lays into his “uncle” for disappearing before the battle on the Blackwater with Stannis and his forces. Although this seems like a downturn for Jamie, I would argue that he has become much more likeable by the end of this episode. We now know that he truly cares about his honor when he argues with Tywin over lordship of Casterly Rock and that he may be willing to help Sansa escape the Red Keep with Brienne. I look forward to seeing if he continues to progress as a protagonist this season.

Tyrion Lannister has a series of different problems to navigate. For one, Shae has become jealous of his wife, Sansa (yes, that actually happened). Although this conflict was the briefest of the bunch at the Red Keep, it seems fairly palpable as Shae steals a steely look towards Tyrion while he attempts to comfort Sansa as she grieves the loss of both her brother and her mother (it’s also important to note that she and everyone else have no idea that both Bran and Arya are alive, making her the only known Stark remaining in the Seven Kingdoms). On top of this conflict between his lover and his duties as a husband, Tyrion does not seem to be getting much more respect than when we last saw him. With the arrival of the Dornishmen of the South for Joffrey’s wedding, we see that the Imp’s reputation precedes him. One of the funnier moments of the episode comes when Bronn compliments Tyrion’s skills in

diplomacy as the Dornish horsemen ride by him without acknowledging his welcome. I know it’s definitely to early to tell, but I really hope that the writers work Tyrion more into future episodes: his wit and sharp dialogue has always been a highlight of the show and “Two Swords” could have benefited by giving him more opportunities to display his character.

While we are on the topic of the Dornishmen, I think that the brief introduction of Oberyn stands as a major highlight of this premiere episode.

Like I said earlier: there seems to be no one willing to oppose the Lannisters at this point in the story. Now, we have Oberyn: a vengeful, lethal, and Lannister-hating wildcard that has brought an exciting dimension to the series. We even get a scene of him roughing up a couple of lowly members of the Lannister family just for the hell of it. Let’s hope he gets a crack at some more important Lannisters as the season progresses.

Before I move away from the Red Keep, let’s talk about Sansa. Yes, we know that she is starving herself over the death of the rest of her family, but we also get an interesting callback to a minor character from season two: Ser Dontos. Remember him? Probably not, but he was the drunken knight that Sansa saved from Joffrey’s wrath on his name day celebration.

Although he is still as drunk as ever when we catch up to him during “Two Swords,” he seems eternally grateful for Sansa’s protection. It seems odd that the writers would make it a point to introduce such a minor character in the premiere of a new season, so I’m interested to see whether or not he makes an impact in the future.

Although the majority of the main characters seem to be condensed at the Red Keep, “Two Swords” also gives some great looks at Jon Snow, Ygritte, Arya and Daenarys. Let’s start with Daenarys. First and foremost: dragons! It seems like yesterday that these guys were the size of large lizards, now they seem almost large enough to ride (please let this happen this season!). However, we also get to see that these dragons seem to be getting out of hand. The image of Drogon snapping at Danny (I hate spelling her name out) as she reaches out to pet him was both shocking and effective in establishing these beasts as powerful characters of the show.

Before now, the dragons seemed to be more of a gimmick than actual factors, so it’s nice to see some early development in this premiere episode.

Aside from that, Danny continues her trek to power as she plans to make her way across the Narrow Sea to reclaim her birthright: The Red Keep.

Before the premiere, we saw that Jon Snow made his escape from Ygritte and the rest of the Wildlings that he accompanied over The Wall.

Now that these love-stricken characters are separated, a brand new conflict has emerged. With the Wildlings planning to attack the Night’s Watch from the North and South, it seems to be inevitable that Jon and Ygritte will come to arms again later on this season (although we also learn that Ygritte let Jon live as he escaped from the group). On top of this, Jon must now explain himself to the rest of the Night’s Watch for turning his cloak

and joining the Wildlings over The Wall. Although it seems that Jon is off the hook for now, the rest of the Night’s Watch may be less likely to accept him back as a brother. Also, where the hell is Ghost? We cannot have another Direwolf go down in this show.

I saved my favorite storyline for last: Arya and The Hound. Now that Cattlyn is dead, it seems that The Hound has decided to bring Arya to her crazy aunt in The Twins. I have always been a huge fan of Arya’s story arc and her “kill list,” so watching her drive Needle through Polliver’s neck was a huge win in my book. Although she has been passed around from character to character since season one, it’s awesome to see her end up with The Hound. Watching these two characters clear out an entire Tavern full of low-life soldier-turned-bandits was immensely satisfying to watch.

Now that this deadly tandem make their way to The Twins, it seems more than likely that we will get to see some more action-packed scenes in the near future.

Overall, “Two Swords” was an excellent beginning to a promising fourth season. Although there are still a few characters to catch up with and the void created by the Red Wedding looms heavily on the narrative, I think that the writers did well by leading off with this initial group of storylines. Hopefully, this slightly directionless beginning will soon aim itself towards a specific endgame that I am sure will delight every viewer.

Overall Score: 9.5/10

Image courtesy of www.schmoesknow.com

After a ten-month, hiatus, the hit HBO series is back with a vengeance.

The Amherst Student • April 9, 2014

Arts & Living 7

Is Saturday Night Live Past Its Prime?

Image courtesy of www.live.drjays.com

While SNL may currently be in a transitional state between old and new castmembers, it’s time for viewers to give new castmembers a chance.

Johnathan Appel ’16 Staff Writer It’s all part of a cycle that started before most of us were even born.

Members of Saturday Night Live leave, viewers get upset and they become convinced that no one could ever replace the old core group.

Then, when the new cast is busy getting their bearings, people switch off, angry that their expectations of Chevy-Chase-falling-down-stairs levels of hilarity aren’t being instantly met.

SNL is in such a transition right now and is fast losing viewership,

ratings and fan approval. Andy Samberg left for bigger and brighter things (watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine, it’s hilarious). Kristen Wiig has become a movie star with hits such as “Bridesmaids.” SNL no longer has the Lonely Island writing all of its digital shorts, nor does it have Target Lady, recurring staples that could be relied upon for at least solid laughs by the writers and viewers.

After watching last week’s Anna Kendrick show, I’ll admit that I shared a similar feeling. Most of the skits just weren’t that funny and I missed the genuinely funny staples I had remembered seeing. Where was

a song that balanced cleverness and shock value as perfectly as “I’m On a Boat”? (“Dongs Around the World” really wasn’t covering it.) The cold open featured the chairman of GM in an awkward Senate hearing and was just biding time until they could scream “it’s Saturday night!” I began playing 2048 during one of the worst recurring sketches, “Principle Fry,” because there are only so many times I can hear that annoyinglyvoiced “attention teachers and students!”

The show wasn’t all bad though.

The funniest moments for me came from the always reliable “Fox and

Friends” sketch, which mocked the ridiculous slant the Fox News network has been putting on ObamaCare’s trial period. Kyle Mooney’s sketch about flirting with his neighbor was actually pretty funny. And it finally seems like this cast’s “Weekend Update” is slowly coming into its own. While Colin Jost isn’t particularly funny on camera yet (and he curls his lip after literally every joke), he’s handling things pretty well and Cecily Strong is absolutely hilarious.

Yet, looking back at that list, I realize something: they’re all recurring segments. That might not sound so weird at first. Why wouldn’t we, as viewers of the show, most enjoy the parts of the show that the cast and writers put the most effort into developing and producing rather than the one-off sketches randomly sprinkled in? But this trend actually speaks to the larger issue of why SNL faces these transitional problems every time it loses a good cast member and. With him or her goes a bunch of trademark sketches that the audience has grown to know and love.

The fact is that people love consistency in comedy. Not that people want to hear the same joke all the time but given the choice between seeing the same comedian that you died laughing at last time or a brand new one you’ve never heard of, odds are you’ll pick the old comedian.

I watch re-runs of Seinfeld all the time because I know they’re guaranteed to make laugh, even though

they’re twenty years old. Viewers came to trust that Dan Ackroyd and Chevy Chase and Bill Murray knew what they were doing and that they could be relatively funny. Then suddenly, they were gone and SNL had a fundamentally different character.

Yet, what viewers often forget is that not all of the sketches that old cast members produced were actually funny. I’ve seen the old SNL episodes and, while there are a few that are side-splittingly hilarious, most of them are outdated to say the least and plain boring to be blunt. While we might come to rely on routine for our entertainment, we risk getting too wrapped up in nostalgia and not changing or adapting to the future.

I’ll be the first to admit that I miss the cast I grew up with. I miss Kristin Wiig, Bill Hader, Andy Samburg and all the others that left since I started watching in high school.

But there are only so many awkward situations that the Lonely Island can rap about (they hit 100 digital shorts) and so many times Penelope could try to one-up someone else in a ridiculous fashion. It takes time for new people to get adapted to the demands that SNL places on them, and it’s hard to be funny consistently every week. So hard, in fact, that it’s never been done. Instead of concluding immediately that recurring sketches and old cast members are the funniest and that we can switch off anything we aren’t familiar with, we should start giving SNL a chance again.

De-Stigmatizing the Counseling Center Katie Warshaw ’16 Contributing Writer If you were to ask students what the greatest health concern is here at Amherst College, they might give answers such as the binge-drinking culture, or maybe the recent measles breakout over at Smith. However, there is a major health concern that flies under the radar even though it affects a significant number of students on a daily basis. It can go quiet and unnoticed, and if it is noticed, it is often brushed off.

The widespread prevalence of depression and anxiety among students is a troubling topic that deserves to be addressed. In a 2012 health survey at Amherst, 33% of students reported having been so depressed that it was difficult to function. It’s a concerning statistic, and it’s also important to note that it is higher than the national average for college students (31%). If this statistic seems surprising, it may be because depressive behavior is not immediately apparent to others and often goes unnoticed unless help is sought out. Unfortunately, many students dismiss these serious problems as being an expected or normal part of Amherst’s academic rigor. Granted, some level of stress is expected, but what if stress spirals out of control?

Depression is often triggered by outside factors: a loss, a breakup, a traumatic experience, or academic stress. That being said, outside factors are not always the root of the problem. Feelings of low self worth, lack of control or lack of support

from friends or family can contribute to depressive behavior. Depression can also arise from a combination of seemingly small events that align and cause feelings of hopelessness or despair.

Anxiety disorders are similar in that they can be caused by internal factors, external factors or a combination. While anxiety is a normal human emotion, those with anxiety disorders can experience the emotion on a constant basis and sometimes without warning. Test anxiety and social anxiety are common forms of this disorder.

College students are especially susceptible to stress, depression and anxiety. Fortunately, college students also have the incredible opportunity to receive free counseling from the Counseling Center. While therapists and psychiatrists in the outside world can be wildly expensive, Amherst’s counseling center offers free and easily accessible appointments to anyone, regardless of the reason. Many students know that the Counseling Center exists but have the notion that their problem isn’t “big” enough to warrant making an appointment. The Counseling Center will help students with any number of problems, big or small. The opportunity to talk to someone in a non-judgmental, confidential environment can lift a substantial amount of weight off of one’s shoulders.

In an effort to address mental health issues on campus and destigmatize the Counseling Center, a number of groups on campus are

holding events this week. Yesterday, the CCE, SHEs, Keep Sound Minds, TWLOHA, the Mental Health and Wellness Task Force and the Counseling Center sponsored a “Stress Management and Resiliency Event.” The event featured the premiere of the film “Let’s Talk,” sponsored by Mental Health Education and filmed by Kate Beemer ’15 and Annika Nygren ’16.

The film aims to start discussions surrounding de-stigmatizing struggling at Amherst.

“Whether it be with friends, an RC, a professor, the Counseling Center or any of the other fabulous resources we have here on campus, we want people to start being more open with each other and themselves” said Annika Nygren ’16.

The film features four students who bravely share their “story” of a time in which they struggled, and the resources they used to overcome their situation.

“On our small campus and with the number of students we had participate in the filming, Kate and I believe that every Amherst student who watches this video will recognize at least one person throughout the film,” said Nygren.

“Let’s Talk” encourages students to open up to the peers that they trust and also be good listeners. For those who want to improve their listening skills, Mental Health Educator Jessica Gifford is teaming up with the Peer Advocates to host an Active Listening Skills workshop. The workshop will be this Thursday evening from 7-8:30 p.m. in the McCaffrey room.

Image courtesy of amherst.edu

The Counseling Center is holding an opening house this Thursday evening from 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

The SHEs are hosting a number of events this week to promote mental health and well-being amongst students. Tonight, Professor of Economics Daniel Barbezat will host a talk titled “Well Being at Amherst: a Discussion about Daily Stresses and Pursuing Happiness.” Professor Barbezat, who recently authored a book on mindfulness in higher education, teaches a first-year seminar called “Happiness” and an Economics course called “Consumption and the Pursuit of Happiness.” The talk will be at 8 p.m. in Pruyne lecture hall.

Additionally, the SHEs are hosting a day to “unplug” from technology on Thursday, April 10th. Technology use has been linked to higher levels of stress, anxiety and loss of sleep.

Students can sign up in Keefe to par-

ticipate in a technology-free hike with the SHEs on Thursday afternoon.

For those who would like to learn more, the Counseling Center is hosting an open house on Thursday, April 17th from 3:30 to 5 p.m.. Students can meet the staff and refreshments will be provided.

Stress can seem like a daily part of life to Amherst students. If it escalates quickly, feels overwhelming or gets in the way of normal daily activities, help is easily accessible. To avoid a level of stress that becomes problematic, students of all backgrounds should consider making an appointment at the Counseling Center. No problem is too small, and talking to someone can help get students back on track to enjoying all the wonderful opportunities that Amherst has to offer.

8 Arts & Living

The Amherst Student • April 9, 2014

Picture by Elizabeth Paul ‘16

Image courtesy of Sun Kim Bop

Sun Kim Bop food truck offers delicious, healthy Korean food options that are perfect for Amherst students that want to take advantage of warmer spring weather at an affordable price.

New to Amherst: Korean Food Truck Foodtruck South Pleasant Street (Town Common) Generally open 12-2 p.m. and 4-7 p.m.

Check facebook.com/sunkimbop for details Eleanor Andersen ’15 Staff Writer We are in the thick of it. School will be out soon, and the campus buzzes with activity. Every Saturday brims with various events, from thesis performances and dance shows to sports games and track meets, all of which keep us moving from morning to night and leave little time for leisurely meals. As the sun evaporates those crisp morning gusts and brings in warm and reassuring breezes that remind us of summer, I simply do not want to spend a meal sitting inside. I want to be out in the fresh air, taking advantage of some of the first days of heat after a brutal winter. The air is full of opportunity, adventure is around every corner, and we have to make the most of these last few weeks at Amherst.

Of course, this past Saturday was not one of those ideal spring days that began with a hint of winter and blossomed into a beautiful afternoon of Amherst students running about in tank tops and flip flops. In fact, it was one of those cloudy, drizzly days that reminds us why “April showers bring May flowers.” Neverthe-

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less, I marched into town on a quest to find the new Korean food truck and try out an exciting and new food venue.

When I say “new,” I do not simply mean that this food truck has been wandering about for the last few months and that we’ve been too focused on trundling from dorms to class in the midst of nippy gusts and biting wind to notice a large, orange truck parked near the village green. I mean that Sun Kim Bop only opened on April 1st. And when I say “exciting,” I mean that food trucks present a bit of a challenge and the thrill of the chase. These moving purveyors of food have no obligation to stay anywhere. They can move about in a way that no restaurant may, and their hours depend upon their location. In order to even find this source of sustenance, I needed to do my research, so I turned to Google and Facebook. Luckily, a simple search for “Amherst Korean food truck” immediately presented Sun Kim Bop’s Facebook page, complete with daily postings of when and where the food truck stations would be stationed, as well as a their phone number and their spring menu.

In short, Facebook made my quest a whole lot easier, but the ease of finding this information did not necessarily ensure success.

Just before noon, I headed into town. My excitement grew as I neared the common green and scanned the grass and bordering parking lots, searching for anything that

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might remotely resemble a food truck. Finally, on the edge of the common nearest Hitchcock and Seeley, I spotted a shiny, orange mid-sized truck with a serving window and bright yellow smiley face on the side advertising surrounded by “Sun Kim Bop” and “Seoul Street Food & More.”

My pace picked up as my stomach grumbled in anticipation of a tasty meal. After careful deliberation while searching the Facebook menu, I had already decided upon the Bibim Bop Burger, a Korean take on the American burger with vegetables, and Korean-style BBQ beef sandwiched between seasoned rice buns ($6). As I approached the truck, I encountered a mother and her son already waiting for their orders, and I waited, thinking about that hot, spicy beef I would soon be savoring while fighting my hunger’s desire to devour it too quickly. And then I waited some more as the two women inside the truck worked to prepare the mother and son’s vegetarian meals (vegetarians are welcome)! Soon, one of the women was ready to take my order and as I asked for the Bibim Bop Burger, she quickly motioned to the chalkboard standing in front of the truck and listing only the dumplings (five for $4 and 10 for $7) and Kimp Bop ($5). Quickly I revised my order, realizing she meant that the daily features were only these two options.

Of course, I had to try both.

While I may have desired that Bibim Bop

Burger more than you know and didn’t really want to compromise, I found that the dumplings and Korean-style sushi could not have presented better alternatives. As my teammate Sydney commented on the pot-sticker dumplings, which were served on a bed of spicy coleslaw, the flavor lingered in a pleasant manner for a few moments before dissipating, rather than sticking around to remind us of what we had eaten for hours on end. What’s more, the Kim Bop, or Korean sushi, held a delicately balanced combination of warm brown rice, pickled vegetables, egg and beef that left me feeling refreshed and ready to run about on my various Saturday activities. All in all, I would highly recommend Sun Kim Bop as a novel institution within Amherst that you should definitely try. No item exceeds $8 and all of them appear relatively healthy and sustaining, a great way to keep yourself feeling nourished and energetic and not overstuffed while running about Amherst all day.

Finally, I would like to note that any waits or limited menus are sure to come with the territory of starting a new business, particularly as the owners have not had the time to work out the kinks. I am sure that within the next few weeks, Sun Kim Bop will have (mostly) everything figured out and be able to serve their wonderful food without a hitch. And, I can assure you that I will be visiting them any chance I get.

KenKen

The numbers you use in a KenKen puzzle depend on the size of the grid you choose. A 3 x 3 grid (3 squares across, 3 squares down) means you use the numbers 1, 2, and 3. In a 4 x 4 grid, use numbers 1 to 4. A 5x5 grid requires you use the numbers 1 to 5, and so on.

The numbers in each heavily outlined set of squares, called cages, must combine (in any order) to produce the target number in the top corner using the mathematic operation indicated (+, -, ×, ÷).

Then be a Managing Editor for the Arts & Living section!

Email mmcullough15@amherst.edu or epaul16@amherst.edu if interested

Here's how you play: •

Use each number only once per row, once per column.

•

Cages with just one square should be filled in with the target number in the top corner.

•

A number can be repeated within a cage as long as it is not in the same row or column.

KenKen® is a registered trademark of Nextoy, LLC. Puzzle content ©2014 KenKen Puzzle LLC. All rights reserved. For more KenKen puzzles, visit www.kenken.com

The Amherst Student • April 9, 2014

Sports 9

Baseball Splits Double Header with Williams Conner Gunn ’16 Hits Third Home Run of the Season

Devin O’Connor ’16 and Karl Greenblatt ’15 Staff Writers The Jeffs completed another solid stretch of play, sweeping their series over Hamilton, winning their home opener over Springfield College and taking two out of three from Williams.

Inclement weather forced Amherst to travel to Baseball Heaven in Long Island, N.Y. for a twogame series against Hamilton on Friday, March 28. Good pitching led the way for the Jeffs in the doubleheader, as senior starting pitchers Fred Shepard and Dylan Driscoll proved to be too much for the Continentals’ bats.

Shepard tossed seven strong innings, as he picked up eight strikeouts and allowed four hits, one walk and one run. After Hamilton grabbed a run in the top of the first, the Jeffs moved ahead for good with two runs in the bottom half of the inning by way of a sacrifice fly from right fielder Mike Odenwaelder ’16 and an RBI single from senior center fielder Alex Hero. Shortstop Taiki Kasuga ’14 had two hits and a run for the Jeffs, as Kasuga was driven in by sophomore catcher Conner Gunn in the sixth inning to make it 3-1, which would be the final score in the victory for the Jeffs.

In the second game against Hamilton, Driscoll turned in a dominant pitching outing in Amherst’s 9-2 win, as he threw seven shutout innings and had nine strikeouts, allowing just three hits and one walk. Offensively, sophomores Odenwaelder and third baseman Andrew Vandini ’16 both had three hits and scored a run in the ball game. Kasuga, Hero and first-year left fielder Anthony Spina each had multiple hits as well. One of Spina’s two hits was a towering home run to left field, the first of his collegiate career, to put the Jeffs up 7-0.

On Wednesday, April 2, Amherst defeated

Springfield 9-4. Gunn led the offense for the Jeffs, going 3-for-4 from the plate with two RBIs, a double and a home run. Gunn’s homer got things started in the bottom of the first. A three-run homer from first baseman Eric West ’15 followed later in the inning, plating Hero and Odenwaelder to give the Jeffs a 4-0 lead.

The Pride cut the deficit to two in the second, but Amherst upped its lead to 6-2 in the fourth, pulling away, 9-4, by the sixth.

Quinn Saunders-Kolberg ’14 picked up the win for the Jeffs, while Keenan Szulik ’16, John Cook ’15 and Odenwaelder each pitched a perfect inning of relief. Offensively, besides Gunn, West finished 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs, while Spina, Vandini and Odenwaelder also contributed two hits apiece.

The Jeffs opened Little Three play on Friday with a 16-6 victory over the Ephs. Amherst got on the board early in the first when Gunn hit a double to bring home Kasuga followed closely by a single from Odenwaeler to drive in Gunn.

With the help of some poor defense from Williams, the Jeffs led 5-0 after the first inning.

Amherst got on the board with five more in the second inning, putting the game out of reach at 10-0. Eight different players contributed to Amherst’s 15 hits, while Driscoll earned his fourth win of the year with seven strikeouts.

Amherst split day two with the Ephs, falling in game one 7-3, but coming out with the 5-2 victory in the second game. It was the Ephs turn to come out early on Saturday, scoring four runs in the first inning, punctuated by a three-run home run from Thomas Stephens off Amherst starter Fred Shepard.

The Jeffs cut the deficit to three in the third but never took back the momentum. The Ephs put three more runs on the board in the fourth, fifth

and seventh, and the Jeffs’ two runs in their half of the seventh came too late. Despite not being able to put together a big rally, the Jeffs hit plenty of balls hard against the Ephs’ Thomas Murphy. Odenwaelder had another strong day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI, while junior Tyler Jacobs went 2-for-2. Shepard took the loss, his first of the year. In a bright spot for the Jeffs, Keenan Szulik ’16 pitched 2.2 solid innings of relief, continuing his strong season thus far.

In game two, the Jeffs got on the board in the bottom of the second with an unearned run. In the bottom of the fifth, with the score sitting at 1-0, West and Yanni Thanopoulos ’17 both delivered RBI hits. In the sixth, Gunn — named the NESCAC Player of the Week for his torrid 9-for14 overall performance — homered to increase the lead to 4-0. The Ephs weren’t ready to quit,

putting a run on the board with a home run in the top of the seventh and a run in the eighth to cut the deficit to two. Amherst retaliated with a run in the bottom of the eighth when Hero singled to bring in Vandini, and the score stuck at 5-2.

Cook pitched seven stellar innings, allowing only five hits and striking out eight Ephs. Eric Kotin ’14 and Odenwaelder relieved Cook and didn’t allow a hit in the last two innings of the game.

The Jeffs handed Williams their first two losses in league play and won the season series against the Ephs for the fourth straight year.

With a leg up in the Little Three standings, Amherst (14-4 overall and 4-1 record NESCAC record) returns to action on Wednesday, April 9, when host to MIT at 4 p.m. The Jeffs have the week off from NESCAC play and will also travel to Endicott for a doubleheader on Saturday, April 12.

Photo courtesy of Rob Mattson

Third baseman Andrew Vandini ’16 has 24 hits and 16 runs on the season.

Vandini had one hit and scored a run in the team’s 5-2 win on Saturday.

Women’s Tennis Takes Softball Improves Record to 12-4 Home Nor’Easter Bowl Title Virginia Hassell ’16 Staff Writer

Chris Rigas ’16 Staff Writer After convincing defeats of Babson and Skidmore, the fourth-ranked Amherst women’s tennis team knocked off MIT on Sunday to win the Nor’easter Bowl championship, hosted by Wellesley College. The Jeffs’ three victories ran their win streak to six matches, and their overall dual match record to 8-2.

Amherst opened play on Friday against Babson. Seniors Jordan Brewer and Gabby Devlin picked up where they left off at the top of the doubles order. After going undefeated in doubles on the team’s California trip, they beat Babson’s duo of Alex Freeman and Dina Weick 8-1. Seniors Zoe Pangalos and Jen Newman handled Alexis Ferraro and Tori Paolino 8-1 as well, and the combination of Sarah Monteagudo ’16 and Safi Aly ’15 shut out Sarah Whitaker and Courtney Fischer 8-0.

Coach Jackie Bagwell gave Devlin and Brewer the day off in singles, so Newman played in the No. 1 court, where she lost to Freeman, 7-5, 6-3, in what was to be the Beavers’ only victory of the day. Monteagudo won in the No. 2 court, and first-years Megan Adamo and Simone Aisiks won in the No. 3 and 4 courts respectively.

Aly and senior Isabel Camacho wrapped up the 8-1 victory with wins at the bottom of the singles order.

On Saturday, the Jeffs did not drop a single set to 19th-ranked Skidmore. Brewer and Devlin blanked Lee Ford and Madeline Benn, 8-0, while the teams of Pangalos and Newman and Monteagudo and Aly won 8-4 and 8-1, respectively.

Bagwell mostly returned to her usual singles lineup, so Brewer and Devlin were back in courts 1 and 2. Brewer defeated Melissa Hirsch, 6-2, 6-1, and Devlin collected a 6-3, 6-2 win over Ford.

Newman, (6-3, 6-0) sophomore Sue Ghosh, (6-0, 6-1) Pangalos (6-2, 6-4) and Monteagudo (6-2, 6-2) completed the sweep for Amherst.

Sunday’s final against 17th-ranked MIT was a rematch of a March 8 contest, which the Jeffs won 9-0. Amherst produced a similar result Sunday, beginning with another doubles victory from Brewer and Devlin, who overwhelmed Lauren Quisenberry and Julia Hsu, 8-2. Newman and Pangalos battled to a 9-7 triumph over Elysa Kohrs and Victoria Tam, while Monteagudo and Aly beat Michelle Dutt and Krystal Lai 8-2.

Kohrs did not present a challenge to Brewer in the No. 1 singles court, as the Jeff coasted to a 6-1, 6-0 victory. Devlin knocked off Wendi Kong 6-1, 7-5 in the No. 2 court and Newman handled sophomore Sunnie Lampl comfortably, 6-1, 6-0.

Ghosh beat Lai 6-1, 7-6 (7-1) in the fourth court.

Although she dropped the only set of the day for Amherst, Pangalos managed to rally and defeat Hsu 6-2, 2-6, 10-6. Monteagudo completed the rout, rolling to a 6-2, 6-1 win over junior Vynnie Kong.

“No matter if it’s 6-1 or 7-6, you have to stay focused. Even if you’re up 5-1 in a set, you have to really concentrate in order to close it out because it’s really easy to lose focus. Sometimes it’s easier to stay focused when it’s neck-and-neck because there’s a lot of intensity there. It’s easier to keep my head in the game when it’s a close match,” said Ghosh regarding her 6-1, 7-6 win against her Thoroughbred opponent.

This Friday, the Jeffs will visit seventhranked Bowdoin in what will be their first NESCAC match of the season. On Saturday, they will face off against third-ranked Emory at Bowdoin in the morning and wrap up their weekend by visiting NESCAC opponent Bates.

“Last time we saw Emory it was the semifinals of the national tournament last year, and we barely lost. We had a match point, so I think it’ll be really interesting to see what will happen this weekend,” Ghosh added. “I know the team has been working really hard, and we’re all really pumped to see them again.”

Two weeks into conference play, the Amherst softball team (12-4 overall and 3-2 in NESCAC) stretched its win streak to five games, beating Wesleyan in back to back contests the weekend of March 28, before dropping a three-game series to Middlebury this past weekend.

Though the team was originally scheduled to play home games, poor weather conditions moved the Wesleyan series to Middletown, Conn.

“Despite the rain, the team was so pumped to be starting off conference play,” senior co-captain Kaitlin Silkowitz said.

A little rain couldn’t cool off Silkowitz’s bat either. Continuing her hot streak at the plate, she doubled down the left-field line in the bottom of the first and would eventually score to put Amherst ahead 1-0. Adding five more runs in the bottom of the second, the Jeffs pulled away with a comfortable 6-0 lead. Wesleyan was held scoreless until the top of the third when the Cardinals knocked in one run. The Jeffs responded as junior Donna Leet fired a deep drive off the left field fence, bringing home two RBI and upping the margin to 8-1.

First-year Jackie Buechler tossed the complete game, surrendering only six hits and two runs, while striking out four. Leet and Silkowitz led the Jeffs’ offense, both going 2-for-3 at the plate. Sarah McKay ’16 chipped in two hits in her two at-bats, while Kelsey Ayers ’15 finished with two RBI. The next day, the Amherst bats continued to stay alive, as the team recorded 17 hits en route to a 13-4 victory over Wesleyan.

Senior co-captain Carolyn Miller led all batters in the first game going 4-for-4, while Leet followed up her previous day’s performance, going 3-for-4 with three RBI. Silkowitz followed suit with a perfect day at the plate, going 3-for-3 with three runs and two RBI. Impressively, the rest of Amherst’s lineup all contributed with at least one hit. Senior co-captain Arielle Doering clinched the win on the mound and improved to 4-0 on the season.

This past weekend, Amherst battled it out

against Middlebury in three contests. The Jeffs’ five-game winning streak skidded to a halt with a 1-0 loss to the Panthers. Truly a battle at the mound, Middlebury senior Elizabeth Morris pitched a phenomenal game, retiring 14-consecutive batters and striking out five. Buechler countered with some great pitching of her own, but the Lord Jeffs offense couldn’t find its stride.

“Sometimes you just have to tip your cap to a pitcher who has a killer game” Silkowitz said.

“Jackie pitched great, and a 1-0 game is always a tough one to lose.”

Closing out a three-game weekend against Middlebury, the Jeffs split the doubleheader on Sunday. After dropping the first game 4-1, the Jeffs rallied to a 6-1 victory in their second of the day.

In the 4-1 loss, the Jeffs offense struggled to produce runs. However, Annie Apffel ’17 had a lead-off homerun in the bottom of the third. Sophomore Brianna Cook led the offense going 3-for-3, while Leet, Silkowitz and Ayers all recorded one hit apiece.

“We had runners in scoring position almost every inning but couldn’t seem to get those clutch hits to bring them in,” Silkowitz said on the loss.

After back-to-back losses, Amherst responded by returning to their impressive batting performance. In the second inning, Nicolette Miranda ’16 ignited the Amherst offense with a two-out single. Miller was able to cross the plate on a Panther error and the Jeffs never looked back. In the bottom of the third, Alyssa Sherwill ’15 hit an RBI single, while Miller knocked in Leet to add to the scoring.

Buechler hurled another complete game in the Amherst victory, allowing only six hits, and struck out two.

“Softball is all about having a short memory, and the third game required us to forget about what had just happened and go in thinking we were going to win” Silkowitz said.

Amherst will return to conference action on Friday at 5 p.m. against currently undefeated Williams. The archrivals will then face-off in a doubleheader on Sunday at home starting at noon.

10 Sports

Schedule WEDNESDAY Baseball vs. MIT, 4 p.m.

FRIDAY Men’s Golf @ Westport Hampton Inn Invitational, 1 p.m.

Women’s Tennis @ Bowdoin, 3:30 p.m.

Softball @ Williams, 5 p.m.

SATURDAY Women’s Tennis vs. Emory (@ Bowdoin), 9:30 a.m.

Men’s Tennis @ Bates, 11 a.m.

Women’s Lacrosse vs. Tufts, 11 a.m.

Softball vs. Williams (DH), 12 p.m.

Men’s Lacrosse @ Tufts, 1 p.m.

Baseball @ Endicott (DH), 1 p.m.

Women’s Golf @ Vassar Invitational, TBD

The Amherst Student • April 9, 2014 Men’s Golf @ Westport Hampton Inn Invitational, 1 p.m.

Women’s Tennis @ Bates, 5 p.m.

Women’s Outdoor Track & Field @ UMass, All Day SUNDAY Men’s Tennis @ Bowdoin, 2 p.m.

Women’s Golf @ Vassar Invitational, TBD TUESDAY Baseball vs. ECSU, 4 p.m.

Softball @ Wellesley (DH), 4:30 p.m.

MONDAY Women’s Tennis vs. Tufts, 4 p.m.

Women’s Lacrosse @ Skidmore, 6 p.m.

Men’s Lacrosse @ Springfield, 7 p.m.

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Quinn Moroney ’16

Elizabeth Ludlow ’14

Favorite Team Memory: Running the Seven Sisters to raise money for Student Sponsor Partners Favorite Pro Athlete: Paul Rabil Dream Job: Provost Pet Peeve: 100-second long Snapchat stories Favorite Vacation Spot: Jackson Hole, Wyoming Something on Your Bucket List: To make a documentary about Sam Lawlor Guilty Pleasure: The “Pitch Perfect” soundtrack Favorite Food: Lighter side chicken Favorite Thing About Amherst: Every aspect of the Five College Consortium

Favorite Team Memory: Beating Middlebury this season Favorite Pro Athlete: Alex Morgan Dream Job: Professional singer Pet Peeve: Messiness Favorite Vacation Spot: Fire Island Guilty Pleasure: White Hut Burgers Favorite Food: Steak Favorite Thing About Amherst: The new field house

Third-Ranked Women’s Lax Stays Undefeated At 10-0, Jeffs Match Best Start in Team History

Holly Burwick ’16 Staff Writer The third-ranked Amherst women’s lacrosse team amassed four wins over the past two weeks, bringing their undefeated record to 6-0 in the NESCAC and 9-0 overall. Their recent victories featuring two key NESCAC wins over fifth-ranked Middlebury, who was previously ranked third going into the game, and 13th-ranked Colby. With an 11-6 win last night against Conn. College, the Jeffs are off to their best start since 2000 season.

On Wednesday, March 26, the Jeffs took on Wheaton College in an out-of-conference matchup. Senior co-captains Elizabeth Ludlow and Krista Zsitvay each had three goals to lead Amherst to a decisive 14-5 victory. Other Jeffs that contributed to the scoring included Rachel Passarelli ’16 and Priscilla Tyler ’15 who had two goals apiece, while Alex Philie ’14, Sarah Spector ’15, Mia Haughton ’16 and Devin O’Connor ’16 all recorded one tally.

Philie also notched a team-high nine ground balls, 10 draw controls and forced seven turnovers. Amherst dominated the entirety of the game with a 2413 shot advantage and a 17-4 edge in draw controls.

Christy Forrest ’16 had three saves in net.

The following Saturday, March 29, the Jeffs hosted Middlebury at Pratt Field. The Jeffs pulled away 11-10 in the end — their closest contest to date. Just over a half a minute into the game, O’Connor scored a wrap-around goal to start things off, and Meghan Mills ’15 and Haughton each successfully converted free-position shots.

Amherst held a 16-7 edge in draw controls, including a 10-3 edge in the first half, which was a key to the successful possessions that allowed the Jeffs to get on the board early and often. O’Connor scored her second goal off a draw control win, and Mills also netted her second off a Philie assist.

Down 5-0, the Panthers got on the board after exchanging a pair of goals with the Jeffs. Zsitvay and Passarelli each added a score in this trade-off to bring the game to 7-2. Middlebury continued to fight back and only trailed 7-5 at halftime.

Zsitvay recorded a goal just 39 seconds into the second half, but it failed to shift the momentum.

The Panthers followed with four goals to give them the first lead of the day at 9-8. Haughton evened the score briefly at nine all, but Middlebury drew ahead again with another goal. Philie added another tally that brought the teams neck and neck at 10 a piece with time winding down on the clock.

With 3:35 remaining, Ludlow launched a shot to the upper right corner past the Middlebury goal-

tender for the game-winner. As the game wound down, the Jeffs largely kept possession and prevented the Panthers from evening the score. The 11-10 win was the first victory against Middlebury for all players on the current squad, and it also marks Middlebury’s first and only loss on the season thus far.

“We out hustled Middlebury on 50-50 balls and played fearlessly, which is exactly what we needed to do to win,” Coach Chris Paradis said.

“Lots of risk taking, some worked and some didn’t, but we needed to play with that kind of mentality to elevate our level of play.”

“We have something really special this year.

We have incredible leadership across the board in our senior class and our team gels on and off the field in an incredible way,” Mills added. “The Middlebury game was a culmination of all these factors and our hard work coming together … It proved to us and every other team in the NESCAC that we are the team to beat this year.”

On Wednesday, April 2, the Jeffs had another NESCAC matchup against Little Three rival Wesleyan.

“Wesleyan was not our best game of the season, and they were out playing us much of the game, but we found ways to put the ball in the back of the net.” Paradis said. “Our defense is playing incredibly well, and this is giving us that many more chances to score.”

Mills and Philie capitalized on Wesleyan’s defensive errors to get Amherst on the board early.

Mills’ shot deflected off a defender’s stick and past the Wesleyan netminder, while Philie converted a turnover into a tally for the Jeffs. Thanks to a pair of Haughton assists, Passarelli and Mills each scored to extend their lead to 4-0. Before the end of the half, Wesleyan got on the board twice and Haughton had another assist, this time to Tyler.

In the second half, Wesleyan cut the Jeffs’ lead to two. Forrest had a huge save — one of 10 on the day — from a point blank shot to hold off the Cardinals’ push. The Jeffs pushed on to an 8-4 win thanks to additional goals by Tyler, Philie and Ludlow.

This past Saturday, the Jeffs traveled to Maine where they snapped their ten game losing streak to the Mules, avenging their loss in the NESCAC quarterfinals last season. Amherst continued its trend of scoring often and early. Philie and Passarelli brought the Jeffs up 2-0, but the Mules answered by tying the score. Zsitvay buried an unassisted goal and successfully converted a freeposition shot before the end of the first half to put

the Jeffs up 4-2.

To open the second half, Philie, Passarelli and Zsitvay each recorded additional goals. Colby decreased their deficit to 7-4, but Forrest’s nine saves kept them from getting any closer. Amherst pulled away with the win thanks to two goals from Mills, one from O’Connor and another from Passarelli.

Paradis was very happy with her team’s performance, calling it “brilliant.”

“Total team effort from start to finish. We smothered them and strategically focused on their

best two attack players, which shut down their offense,” she added.

Last night, Amherst defeated Conn. College 11-6 to remain undefeated in the NESCAC. The Jeffs will continue conferenece-play Tufts this Saturday at 12 p.m. at home and will then travel to Skidmore the following Tuesday.

“No one is satisfied with just being undefeated.

Everyday we strive to get better and as long as we keep doing that I think we have a really promising outlook for the rest of the season,” Mills noted.

Dear Gomes: Johnny Football Dillan Gomes ’16 Columnist DEAR GOMES — I loved watching Johnny Manziel dance around and make ridiculous throws at Texas A&M and am wondering how his game will translate to the NFL. Is he going to be the next big thing?­— Aggie Lover Dear Aggie Lover, The NFL game is changing. It is much faster and relies on quarterbacks to make good decisions in short periods of time. With speedy defensive ends such Jadaveon Clowney and Clay Matthews hunting quarterbacks, it is essential for quarterbacks to be mobile in the pocket. Johnny Football does exactly this. He made breathtaking, highlight plays and put up phenomenal stats during his college career, which included the coveted Heisman trophy. He is super competitive and single handedly willed his team to many of their victories. I believe Johnny Manzeil will be successful in the NFL, but I am skeptical if his success is sustainable.

First off, throughout college, Manzeil played with reckless abandon and put his body on the line every play. The success of NFL franchises relies on the stability at quarterback. For example, the Indianapolis Colts were predicted to compete for the playoffs, but once Peyton Manning sustained a season ending neck injury they did not win a game all season. Manzeil is very talented and will be productive when healthy, but he must be cognizant of his body. He must avoid taking unnecessary hits to conserve his body. If that means going out of bounds 3 yards before taking a hit from a 300 pound linemen, then he must do so.

A major issue for NFL executives is his com-

mitment to football and whether he is willing to make the time commitment to be a NFL quarterback. It has been well documented he likes to party and had a very controversial summer before his sophomore season, which included getting arrested in a bar fight. But what college student hasn’t made some mistakes? While it has taken him a long time, Manzeil understands his ability on the football field has thrusted him into the media spotlight. In American media, athlethes rise fast but can disappear at a moments instant, i.e Vince Young. I have no doubt that Johnny Manzeil act as a professional once drafted. He showed signs during his terrific pro day and scouts have marveled over the improvements he has already made. He will put whatever time necessary to become a great quarterback.

There is no doubt in my mind that Manzeil will be a great quarterback in the NFL, but the pieces must fall into place. He must go to an organization that will nurture his playing style to be productive in this league (aka not getting drafted by Oakland). It would be foolish to think that he is a Day 1 starter as well. Aaron Rodgers and Colin Kaepernick took the time to learn on the sideline before becoming some of the league’s elite quarterbacks. It is important that the process is not rushed and he is comfortable with the challenges the NFL poses. In the end, Johnny Manzeil is way too talented to not be successful in this league. He has the athleticism and the big arm to be successful. Players such as Russell Wilson and Drew Brees have paved the way for smaller quarterbacks too. Personally, I cannot wait for his first NFL game and it will be must watch TV. P.S. In the late rounds of fantasy, if Manzeil is available he must be taken. My prediction is that he will have an incredible first year with defenses trying to adjust to his playing style.

The Amherst Student • April 9, 2014

Men’s Tennis Extends Winning Streak to 10

Nicole Yang ’16 Managing Sports Editor The fourth-ranked Amherst men’s tennis team picked up its first NESCAC victory of the season on March 29 against Tufts. The team’s success continued this past weekend, as the Jeffs won three more matches to extend their unbeaten streak to 10.

Against Tufts, the Jeffs swept the Jumbos 9-0, earning wins down both the singles and doubles ladders. In doubles, seniors Joey Fritz and Justin Reindel won 8-6 to continue their stellar play in the top spot. The team decided to change up the pairings for the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, inserting sophomores Aaron Revzin and Andrew Yaraghi in the second slot where they won 8-2, and Michael Solimano ’16 and Chris Dale ’14 in the third, winning 8-1.

All Jeffs were able to win their singles matches in the straight sets, except in the No. 6 spot where Revzin went to a third set tiebreaker to grind out the victory.

“Everyone played very well. It was a very good match for us, especially at the top of the line-up. They’re strong, so it’s nice to get wins up there,” Solimano said.

Notably, Fritz led the pack with a 6-3, 6-2 win in the top singles spot, and Solimano won his match by the same score in the third spot. In the No. 2 singles spot, Dale also found success, defeating his Jumbo opponent 6-2, 6-4.

“It’s hard to win any match 9-0,” Revzin reflected on the win. “They’re a team on the rise, so it’s nice to have such convincing wins against NESCAC rivals, especially when we’ll be seeing them for the next two years.”

This past Saturday, Amherst played its first home match against 18th-ranked Gusatvus Adolphus, where the Jeffs had another 9-0 win. After jumping out to a 3-0 lead after doubles, the Jeffs continued the sweep with six singles wins. Of note, Fritz’s, Dale’s and first-year Anton Zykov’s wins all featured a 6-0 set.

On Sunday, the Jeffs played two matches against Babson and Skidmore. Against Babson, Revzin and Yaraghi won their match in the No. 1 doubles spot 9-7. Sean Rodriguez ’15 and Justin Hendrix ’14 stayed unbeaten as a pair this spring, winning their match 8-3. In the third spot, sophomores Carlos de Bracamonte and Russell Einbinder cruised to an 8-1 victory.

In singles, Revzin fell in the No. 1 singles spot, losing 7-6, 6-0.

“After winning the first set that could have gone either way, the Babson player rode the momentum in the second,” Coach Chris Garner remarked on the match.

Babson also claimed the No. 3 singles match, where Rodriguez lost the third set tiebreaker 10-8 after splitting the first two sets 7-6, 2-6.

Einbinder and fellow sophomore Phillip Qu ’16 won their matches in the second and sixth singles spot, respectively. First-years Myles Tang and Sam Silver also won their matches in the fourth and fifth spots, respectively.

“They all earned the opportunity to play through their effort and play in practice over the last couple of weeks,” said Garner on the firstyears’ performances over the weekend.

The match against 26th-ranked Skidmore featured the Jeffs’ tenth 9-0 victory of the spring.

When asked if he views 9-0 differently from victories, Garner remarked, “I don’t. As much as I want the team to do well, I want the guys to have a great experience to complement the incredible opportunity they have in the classroom. Obviously winning is more enjoyable than losing, but it is the time together that the guys will remember most.”

Fritz and Reindel picked up another victory in the top doubles spot, winning their match 8-3.

Solimano and Yaraghi also had success in the No. 2 spot with an 8-4 victory, and Zykov and Dale won in the third spot, 8-2.

In singles, Fritz dominated his Thoroughbred opponent, rolling to a 6-1, 6-1 win. Dale earned another victory in the second spot, winning his match 6-3, 6-2. In the third spot, Solimano bounced back after losing the first set to win his match 4-6, 6-4, 10-4. Zykov, Reindel and Andrew Arnaboldi ’17 rounded out the singles victories at the bottom of the ladder.

This weekend, the Jeffs will travel to face two NESCAC foes, Bates on Saturday and 12thranked Bowdoin on Sunday. At 22-2, the Jeffs hope to cement their place as one of the top teams in the NESCAC. “The most important part of the week is making sure our seniors have the time needed to finish their thesis work. Bates and Bowdoin are always very competitive matches, so hopefully we will be ready,” Garner said on the upcoming weekend.

Track Teams Open Spring Season at Tufts and AIC

Dori Atkins ’16 Sports Section Editor

Taylor Summers ’16 won the women’s long jump with a leap of 5.04m, as the Amherst women’s track & field team opened its outdoor season at Tufts on March 29, finishing sixth out of 24 schools. The men’s team placed 19th out of 26 teams to open their spring season as well.

Summers placed first out of 27 competitors in the long jump, while teammate Louise Atadja ’16 took 11th. On the men’s side, Khalil Felmming ’16 placed 11th as well with a jump of 6.14m.

Summers also competed in the 100-meter, finishing eighth with a time of 12.99, and Naomi Bates ’14 was fourth overall in the event. In the women’s 400m dash, Victoria Hensley ’16 snagged fifth with a time of 1:01.54, while Dennis Kennelly ’16 led the way for the men with a time of 54.11.

Three Lady Jeffs recorded a top-10 showing in the 800-meter run. Leading the way in second was first-year Hannah Herrera, while Keelin Moehl ’16 and Olivia Tarantino ’15 found fourth and ninth, respectively. Amy Dao ’14 paced the Jeffs in the 1500 meter run, finishing as the runner-up with a time of 4:49.42, while Jessie Kaliski ’15 led the way in the 10,000-meter run, placing third with a time of 38:43.84.

In the men’s field events, junior Josiah Ter-

rell-Perica won the javelin with a 57.11m toss, beating out his closest competitor by 22 feet.

This past weekend, in a field that featured Div. I, II and III schools, the women’s team earned seventh out of 20 in the Yellow Jacket Invitational hosted by American International College, while the men finished 11th out of 20.

Karen Blake ’17 highlighted the day on the women’s side, winning the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.30 seconds and finishing second in the 200 meter dash (25.07).

Matt Melton ’14 highlighted the day for the men’s team with a second place finish in the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.37. Melton also took home another top-10 finish, claiming eighth in the 200 meter dash with a time of 22.81 seconds.

Picking up a win for the Amherst women in the field events, Bates claimed the long jump with a leap of 5.88 meters. The Lady Jeffs grabbed another top-five finish in the 4x100 meter relay, as the ‘A’ squad finished third in 49.01.

On the men’s side, Greg Turissini ’15 and Dan Crowley ’16 finished right behind one another in the 1500-meter to claim seventh and eighth, respectively. In other notable performances on the day, KC Fussell ’15 finished third in the 5000-meter with a time of 15:22.65 and Flemming leaped 13.73 meters in the triple jump for fourth.

The Jeffs will return to the track this Saturday, April 12 at the UMass Invitational.

Sports 11

What’s in a Word: Athleticism TK14

Tom Kleyn ’16 What does it mean to be athletic? What makes the elite athletes stand out against their competitors? While there are most definitely common characteristics amongst the best of the best, is it fair to compare athletes across sports to one another? Certain sports place emphasis on the grunt work and intense physicality, while others require a resilent mental game, and we still use the same word, “athletic”, to describe the excelling athletes.

Athleticism. It’s a word that means so much in the world of sports, yet it is often hard to identify what exactly it means to be athletic. The assumption is that the most athletic people are the ones who reach the highest levels of their respective games. In the NBA, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James and Michael Jordan immediately come to mind. In the NFL, we think of Michael Vick and Calvin Johnson.

In the MLB, names like Derek Jeter and Robinson Cano come into conversation.

However, because sports can be so different from one another, how can we use the same word, “athletic,” to describe all elite athletes? Is it fair to compare athletes across sports? Or is this comparison impossible?

The beauty of competitive sports is that every athlete who plays at a high level has found his or her own way to be successful.

Personally, I played a unique combination of sports in high school: tennis and football.

Eventually, I decided to pursue football at the college level, so when I tell people now that I was a tennis player, they often act surprised.

This reaction has made me think more about the concept of athleticism across sports.

Naturally, I feel like I know the most about the athleticism of a football player, which is often more natural than technical. When I say natural, I mean that football players at the professional level are sought after for their ability to run, jump and lift weights as well as for their general size and stature. Teams look for guys who are genetically gifted.

When I blew out my knee on the second day of football practice this past fall, I knew immediately the remainder of my football career would not be the same. Half of a football player’s success comes from simply taking care of his body in order to stay on the field, and it is hard to believe that a surgically repaired knee with metal screws in it will ever be as healthy as a normal knee.

Well, as it turns out, the genetic freaks in the NFL do not seem to follow this logic. Running back Adrian Peterson was not only back on the field just nine months after tearing his whole knee up, but he also was closing in on the NFL single season rushing record, which left doctors everywhere dumbfounded. The human body is not designed to simply brush off such a traumatic injury, which just goes to show that many professional football players are blessed with natural athleticism. Adrian Peterson’s body fat has been measured at a mindboggling four-percent. The man is the epitome of raw power and explosiveness. I can only hope that my body responds half as well as Peterson’s in attempting to come back from my surgery next season.

The athletic mold of a football player is one of blunt power, force and durability, but it does not define all athletic molds.

Let’s shift gears and think about a sport based on finesse and mental toughness. Take a solo sport like tennis for instance. The dynamic of success becomes completely different than that in an eleven-man team sport like football. The best tennis players have the ability to keep cool under the tremendous pressure of a single shot. It’s the mental toughness that separates the good from the great.

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are two of the best tennis players of this era and of all time. Most of their memorable clashes are not decided by who hits the harder shots or who puts better spin on the ball, but rather who can last longer without giving in to physical or mental exhaustion.

The 2012 Australian Open final between these two men lasted over six hours in temperatures upwards of ninety degrees at times.

Marathons like that are not won because one player is more talented, but rather because one player has that much more mental and physical dexterity. After the match, both players could not stand up at the trophy session due to cramping, and Djokovic’s toes were bleeding. It is interesting to think about athletes like Peterson, Nadal and Djokovic because although they are the same in that they are all top tier athletes, the required physical skillsets for their sports are so different. You have Peterson with the body of a bull, crafted to be able to absorb hit after hit in exerting short bursts of energy. On the other hand, you have Nadal and Djokovic with the stamina and conditioning of a marathon runner, just hoping to be the last man standing when the match is over.

I am a firm believer that different kinds of sports require different intangibles to reach the highest levels. The intangibles make me wonder whether LeBron James could really be a great football player or if he possesses only the basketball intangibles.

Now I do not play basketball, but I do know that one of the most important intangible qualities of football is to not fear contact and the force of a collision. By intangible qualities, I am talking about qualities of success in sports that a coach cannot teach. Of course, as more rule changes take place every year in the NFL to protect players against violent collisions, and rightly so, flashy wide receivers like Calvin Johnson and A.J. Green make their money off of elegant athleticism and sheer physical ability to go up and grab a ball out of the air.

However, when you see the small players in the league who don’t seem to be the fastest, strongest or most athletic, you know that those are the guys that make their living of simply being tough and unafraid of the physicality of football. Look at Danny Woodhead, generously listed at 5’8” and 200 pounds. He went unnoticed at first and was not drafted into the league, but the fact that he is now a featured running back for the San Diego Chargers shows that he is doing something better than others. That something is the intangible quality of toughness. LeBron James may lift more weight, jump higher and run faster than Danny Woodhead, but can he run straight into a 240-pound linebacker without flinching? I’m not so sure.

Let’s take a look at the intangibles in tennis again just because it is the other sport I have the most experience in. While toughness certainly plays a role, it is not the “X-factor” intangible quality for tennis like it is in football. As I mentioned before, tennis is a solitary sport, and there are no teammates out there to pick you up when you’re down. As a result, one of the most important intangible qualities tennis players must possess is self-confidence.

It sounds simple, but more often than not tennis matches are lost because one side gives in to the defeat rather than the other side actually winning the match. Going back to the sixhour Nadal-Djokovic Australian Open match, it’s easy to see that those guys are the best at not relenting, otherwise they wouldn’t have been in the final nor would the match have lasted six hours.

Sports are intriguing in the way that they require some skills that simply cannot be taught. You either get it or you don’t. Those who have that “it” factor will tend to make it to the top often in spite of other shortcomings. When you combine the “it” factor with physical gifts, you get the blends of great players like Adrian Peterson, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.

Sports

“The fourth-ranked men’s tennis team picked up its first NESCAC victory of the season on March 29...”

Men’s Tennis Extends Winning... Page 11

Photo courtesy of Chloe McKenzie ’14

Quinn Moroney ’16 leads the Jeffs with team-high totals in both points (55) and assists (39). The sophomore also has 16 goals on the season, four of which came in Amherst’s 14-7 win over Colby this past Saturday.

Men’s Lacrosse Picks Up Pair of NESCAC Wins Hands Wesleyan Its First NESCAC Loss of the Season

Greg Williams ’16 Staff Writer The men’s lacrosse team played three important NESCAC games in the past two weeks.

The Jeffs had a one-goal loss to Middlebury, followed by two big wins over Wesleyan last Wednesday and Colby this past Saturday. Amherst is now 4-2 in the NESCAC and 8-2 on the season.

On March 29, the Jeffs journeyed to Vermont for their first tilt after a successful spring break trip to Florida. Middlebury got on the board first, but five minutes later the Jeffs took a 2-1 lead when Devin Acton ’14 and Patrick Moroney ’14 each found the back of the nets off of assists from sophomore Quinn Moroney, his first two of five.

Middlebury scored three in a row to regain the lead, and by halftime they edged the Jeffs by a goal. Kane Haffey ’16 recorded his second and third goals of the game in the third quarter to tie it up for Amherst, the lone goals of the period. In the fourth, Middlebury scored early, but Q. Moroney tied it up at 7-7. However, the Panthers’ Jack Rautiola put the game-winning goal between the pipes with 7:22 remaining.

Despite a number of chances, the Jeffs were handed their first loss in five games.

Traveling to Wesleyan the following Wednesday yielded better results for the Jeffs, who stayed resilient and overcame a four-goal deficit to top the Cardinals.

The Cardinals came out hot scoring the first four goals of the game, but Amherst struck back by scoring the next six. Wesleyan outscored the Jeffs 5-4 in the third, but the final period was all Amherst, as they sealed the victory with four more goals. Aaron Mathias ’14, Acton and Haffey all finished with three goals, while Q. Moroney racked up three more assists on the afternoon. Dylan Park ’16, Charlie Gill ’16, Matt Killian ’17, Q. Moroney and P. Mo-

roney all found the back of the net as well.

Wesleyan outshot Amherst 41-30 and had more groundballs, although Amherst was the only side to capitalize on one of their man-up opportunities. Both teams had 17 turnovers, and Greg Majno ’14 finished with 16 saves.

The Colby game, played on Pratt Field this past Saturday, featured explosive offensive by the Jeffs. The Mules managed to score the first goal of the game to take a 1-0 lead, their only of the game, but Amherst rattled off five straight goals. Colby wouldn’t score again until late in the second quarter.

The Jeffs entered the second half up 5-3, and Q. Moroney was quick to add to that lead.

Colby answered 21 seconds later, but then the Jeffs went on another tear, this time racking up eight goals in a row. Q. Moroney racked up seven of his nine points on the day during this run, concluding an all-around excellent offensive performance.

“Scoring nine points was pretty cool. A lot of my points were products of great plays by my teammates, such as Devin and Kane,” Q. Moroney said. ”In the Colby game we started off a bit sloppy, but once we got the jitters out of us we didn’t look back. Our defense played unbelievable against them. It didn’t seem like their offense could beat any of our defenders one-onone, and Greg Majno had another outstanding game. The defensive midfield did a great job of creating transition offense, which led to a bunch of goals for us. On offense we were patient with the ball, but also took our looks in unsettled.”

Colby scored three goals in the fourth, bringing the final score to 14-7. Acton had four goals, Haffey had three and Killian and P. Moroney account for the remaining three Amherst scores.

“It was a solid performance,” Coach Jon Thompson said. “We rebounded in the second and third quarter, sparked by the play of Quinn

Moroney and Matt Virgilio. Those two guys really stood out in terms of their effort during that stretch. We are still working on putting 60 minutes together, but we’ve seen growth there. “ The Jeffs traveled to Conn. College on Tuesday, where they dominated the Camels, winning 17-6.

“Conn. College is a perennial power in the NESCAC. They have made it to the NESCAC final four weekend in each of the past two seasons, and they are a heck of a challenge for us,” Thompson said.

“It’s easy to go out and fly around defensively when you have complete trust and confidence in our offense to get the big goals when we need them. Defensively, we’re coming to-

gether as a unit, and it’s hard for opposing offensive guys to get the looks they want when we have an incredible goaling making big saves every game,” Ryan Cassidy ’16 added.

The Jeffs will travel to Medford, Mass. on Saturday to face fellow NESCAC rival Tufts, who is currently third in the conference. On Monday, they will face Springfield.

“I really think our team is just realizing how good we can be when we play our style of lacrosse. Our defense is starting to shut down opposing offenses, which leads to transition play and more opportunities for our offense to score the ball. If we continue to play like we have been, we are going to be a tough team to beat no matter who we play,” Q. Moroney said.

Photo courtesy of Chloe McKenzie ’14

Aaron Mathias ’14 has made significant offensive contributions for the Jeffs this season, including 15 goals and five assists.