Opinion THE AMHERST STUDENT

made that society at large needs to change: the public must value skills from humanistic disciplines more, and the purpose of college should be reconceptualized. The explorative approach of liberal arts at Amherst can still make certain adaptations to stop declining enrollment in humanities departments. The AHA program is a laudable start, but the crisis of humanities at Amherst is about much more than a gap in understanding.

The availability of funding also limits the support that humanities students are able to receive at Amherst, since student research opportunities depend entirely on donor and department funding. The lack of funding for the humanities can be clearly seen when comparing summer research opportunities in the two disciplines. While STEM fields boast several opportunities with faculty guidance, the only humanities-specific program, the Schupf Fellowship, enrolls 20 students yearly, and receives less faculty support. While some of these aspects are inherent in the differences between the fields — STEM professors can need more research assistance than their humanities counterparts — the funding gap widens the inequity.

Funding new professorships and staff creates more student research opportunities, allows for more community-building within departments, and attracts higher class enrollment. Funding infrastructure can move humanities departments out of sparse locations on campus and provide them with more public space. Additionally, humanities departments across academia, including Amherst’s, can be very insular and disconnected from everyday realities. Departments can emerge from this cave by shifting their hiring practices. An emphasis on public scholarship and outreach will increase public engagement while allowing humanities students to see their study as a enrichment of how they live their lives, rather than an alienating pursuit. Amherst has the unique platform as an elite liberal arts institution to promote this shift.

As the crisis becomes more visible, it’s time to ask ourselves: how do we protect the value of humanities at Amherst? As a well-endowed haven for the liberal arts, Amherst is perhaps among the last institutions that prioritizes the humanities in a shifting landscape of higher education. Even so, Amherst’s uniquely diverse student body and funding inequities mean that, apart from a privileged few, humanities students are being abandoned on a campus filled with glittering reminders of the humanities’ value — a value that is frustratingly out of reach.

Unsigned editorials represent the views of the majority of the Editorial Board — (assenting: 8; dissenting: 3; abstaining: 4).

Executive Board

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Liam Archacki

Sam Spratford

Senior Managing

Dustin Copeland

Kei Lim

Managing News

Ethan Foster

Leo Kamin

Michael Mason

Managing Features

Sonia Chajet Wides

Caelen McQuilkin

Eleanor Walsh

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Tara Alahakoon

Yasmin Hamilton

Tapti Sen

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Stacey Zhang

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Alexander Brandfonbrener

Cassidy Duncan

Brianne LaBare

Madeline Lawson

Noor Rahman

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Hedi Skali

Slate Taylor

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John Joire

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Andrew Rosin

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Karina Maciel

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Andrew Kim

Brianne LaBare

Managing Photo

Claire Beougher

Slate Taylor

Managing Graphics

Nina Aagaard

DEI Editor

Erin Williams

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Robert Bischof

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Sawyer Pollard

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Emi Eliason

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