Issue 12

THE AMHERST

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF AMHERST COLLEGE SINCE 1868

STUDENT VOLUME CXLVII, ISSUE 12 l WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2017

Women’s Hockey Claims Pair of Wins See Sports, Page 12 AMHERSTSTUDENT.AMHERST.EDU

College Files Brief Supporting MIT in Suicide Lawsuit Shawna Chen ’20 Managing News Editor

Photo courtesy of Sarah Wishloff ’19

Two cases of meningitis were reported at UMass Amherst on Nov. 16. Amherst Health Services is strongly recommending that Amherst students who spend substantial time at UMass receive the specific vaccine for this outbreak.

UMass Meningitis Outbreak Prompts Concern

Eddie Rego ’19 Staff Writer An outbreak of meningitis was reported on Nov. 16 at UMass Amherst. Two students were confirmed to have been diagnosed with meningococcal disease in October and November.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were involved in conducting the testing of the two students. The situation has been classified an outbreak because the two students infected contracted the same strain of serogroup B meningitis. No reported cases of meningococcal disease have been suspected or identified on Amherst’s campus.

The classification of an outbreak means there is increased risk of contracting the disease both on- and off-campus. UMass has recommended the serogroup B meningococcal vaccine for all of its undergraduate students.

Likewise, Amherst College Health Services has strongly recommended the serogroup B meningococcal vaccine for all Amherst College students who take classes or spend con-

siderable time at UMass. The meningococcal vaccine required of all students before entering Amherst does not protect against this particular strain of meningitis.

Over the past few weeks, the meningococcal B vaccine has been administered by appointment to more than 1,400 students at large walk-in clinics at UMass. The Amherst College Health Center has also been administering the vaccine, which involves two doses administered at least one month apart, to Amherst College students. Amherst’s health insurance covers the cost of the vaccine and no student will be denied the vaccine due to inability to pay.

Amherst Health Services is offering small clinics this week by appointment for students who want to be vaccinated. A list of dates and times is available on the Health Services website. Vaccines are also available at most nearby pharmacies.

Meningococcal meningitis refers to the infection of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. According to the CDC website, it takes close or lengthy contact, like

coughing or kissing, to spread the bacteria. The disease is also not as contagious as the germs that cause the common cold or the flu. People cannot catch the disease through casual contact or by simply breathing air where someone with meningococcal disease has been.

Given that the disease is not as contagious as the flu or cold, classes have not been interrupted at UMass, and the campus will maintain regular operations. There are currently no recommended restrictions for Amherst students attending classes at UMass.

Director of Student Health Services Emily Jones referred The Student to the Amherst website for information related to the outbreak. The site advises students to take healthsmart precautions.

“Don’t swap saliva,” the webpage read.

“Avoid sharing food, drinks and personal items that contact saliva, including drinks from punch bowls. Wash hands with soap and water or hand sanitizer. Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your sleeve. Don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth — germs spread easily this way.”

Amherst College filed an amicus brief on Sept. 7 supporting the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in a lawsuit filed against the university in 2011 by the family of Han Duy Nguyen, a doctoral student who died by suicide in 2009. The family is suing the institution, two professors and an associate dean, claiming that they did not do enough to help Nguyen even though they had known for months that he had ongoing mental health issues.

The suit alleges that one professor had a phone conversation with Nguyen minutes before his death, in which the professor scolded Nguyen for an email Nguyen had sent — “I read him the riot act,” the professor wrote to another faculty member after the call, according to court documents.

MIT and its officials have denied that their actions played a role in Nguyen’s death. According to MIT’s lawyer, the school referred Nguyen to on-campus mental health services, but Nguyen decided to see an off-campus psychologist.

The lawsuit reached the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court earlier this year.

In a joint brief with 17 other colleges in Massachusetts including Harvard, Tufts, Williams and Smith, Amherst made its support of MIT clear. The brief said that the court should not expand Massachusetts tort law to “create a duty that requires non-clinician university employees to secure students against selfinflicted harm” and that universities should not be held to a “voluntarily assumed” duty to prevent student suicide simply because they provide certain mental health services.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 15 and 34, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

According to Chief Communications Officer Sandy Genelius, who consulted the Office of the General Counsel in her response, the college “carefully considered the request” to join the 17 other schools in supporting MIT,

Continued on Page 3

Former OLs Raise Questions about Program’s Future Sehee Park ’20 and Emily Young ’20 Staff Writers Applications to become an orientation leader (OL) for the next academic year opened on Nov. 27. Past OLs, however, have voiced concerns about the future of the program — the number of OLs were cut in half this past summer, increasing individuals’ workload, but the position remains an unpaid one.

According to the Amherst College website, “orientation leaders are expected to be representative of the campus community, knowledgeable of campus resources and supportive of first-years and their guests.”

Julian Brubaker ’20, who had been an orientation leader this year, said he applied because it is an important job on campus. Brubaker said he had been positively influenced by two

OLs in his first year, which encouraged him to become one as a way to “pay it forward.”

Brubaker and 36 other OLs came to campus two weeks before classes started. One week was dedicated to training and the second week was first-year orientation. According to Brubaker, “for two weeks, it [being an OL] is your life.”

Becoming an OL included one week of 12hour days, with training for most of the day and more activities after dinner. On the day that first-years arrived on campus, OLs spent the entire day helping new students move in.

For the rest of the week, OLs were responsible for conducting several “squad meetings” with their designated group of first-years. In past years, two OLs were responsible for around 15 first-years per squad. This year, most squads had only one OL. Brubaker said he had been nervous about

having one squad all to himself, because he was worried he wouldn’t be able to handle all the students on his own.

Kayla Hall ’20 echoed this sentiment. “It definitely caused an issue for some people when the first-years actually came in and we had to lead these group discussions, and sometimes it got very difficult … so it would have been nice to have somebody with you,” she said.

Some OLs also had to do double duty as LEAP trip leaders, another unpaid position that required additional training during the week before orientation. After they came back from the LEAP trips on the Sunday before classes started, they had to go through another day and a half of orientation before classes started again.

“There was zero break in between,” said Olivia Zheng ’20, who was also an OL this year.

Brubaker said no one explicitly told the OLs that they were going to be paid, but the understanding among OLs was that the college cut the number of OLs in half so they could receive compensation.

“To me, it felt like they were intentionally not talking about pay,” he said.

The Student contacted Sophie Koff, the head of the orientation program, but Dean of New Students Rick Lopez responded on her behalf, writing in an email interview that the college plans on keeping the number of OLs the same as last year is looking into ways to “financially compensate orientation leaders for their contributions.”

“Orientation leaders are at the heart of what makes orientation a success,” Lopez said. “The

Continued on Page 3

News

Andrea Quiles-Sanchez Nov. 27, 2017 - Dec. 4, 2017

>>Nov. 27, 2017 5:17 p.m., Mayo-Smith House Officers investigated a smoke detector sounding in a second-floor room and found it was activated when the resident sprayed air freshener. >>Nov. 29, 2017 6:51 a.m., James Dormitory An officer investigated a smoke detector sounding in a secondfloor room and found that it was activated when a candle was used. The Student Affairs office was notified as use of candles is prohibited. >>Nov. 30, 2017 5:06 a.m., Jenkins Dormitory Officers and the Fire Department responded to an alarm and found that it activated when a basement water pipe burst.

8:04 a.m., 271 South Pleasant St. An officer investigated an intrusion alarm and found it was accidentally set off by an employee.

8:59 p.m., Wieland Dormitory An officer investigated a complaint about the odor of marijuana on the fourth floor. The origin could not be identified and the odor dissipated. >>Dec. 1, 2017 12:08 a.m., Hitchcock House Officers responded to a noise complaint at a registered party after the sponsor could not be reached by phone. Approximately 100 people were found, and they began to leave the area. Several bottles of hard alcohol were found in violation of the party guidelines.

The Student Affairs office was notified.

11:21 p.m., Mayo-Smith House A town resident complained about noise from a registered party at Mayo-Smith. The party sponsor could not be reached by phone.

The responding officers located approximately 75 people and hard alcohol was available, which is a violation of party guidelines. The Student Affairs office was notified.

11:48 p.m., Hitchcock House A resident of Hitchcock House complained about loud noise coming from a registered party.

The party sponsor was reached by phone and advised of the complaint. >>Dec. 2, 2017 12:18 a.m., Hitchcock House Officers and the Fire Department responded to an alarm which was activated by a first-floor smoke detector for an unidentified reason. A registered party was taking place and over 200 people had evacuated the building.

12:30 a.m., Hitchcock House While investigating a fire alarm, an officer discovered two people in a third-floor room who failed to evacuate while the alarm was sounding. They were identified,

Thoughts on Theses

and the Student Affairs office was notified.

12:35 a.m., Hitchcock House While investigating a fire alarm, an officer discovered a pipe used to smoke marijuana in a third-floor room. The Student Affairs office was notified.

12:41 a.m., Hitchcock House While investigating a fire alarm, officers discovered that a significant amount of hard alcohol had been available at a registered party in violation of the party guidelines.

The alcohol was confiscated, and the Student Affairs office was notified.

9:47 p.m., Hitchcock House An officer discovered that a second-floor resident was using a candle in a room which is prohibited under the housing regulations.

It was confiscated, and the Student Affairs office was notified.

10:01 p.m., Hitchcock House While in the building, an officer discovered hard alcohol unattended in the common room. It was confiscated. >>Dec. 3, 2017 12:09 a.m., Plimpton House While in the house, an officer observed a person drinking from a bottle of hard alcohol. The person was underage so the alcohol was confiscated and the matter was referred to Student Affairs.

12:21 a.m., Plimpton House While responding to several medical calls related to a registered party, officers discovered a significant amount of hard alcohol was available in violation of the party guidelines. The party was shut down, and the Student Affairs office was notified.

12:27 a.m., Plimpton House An officer and three town paramedics who were removing a patient from the building were urinated on by several males who were standing at the third level of an exterior staircase.

12:56 a.m., Plimpton House While in the building, an officer discovered a keg in the basement.

No keg permit was on file with ACPD. The person who purchased the keg was identified, and the Student Affairs office was notified.

11:49 a.m., Morris Pratt Dormitory A resident reported that someone entered her unlocked room while she was away for an extended period and left it in a ransacked manner. >>Dec. 4, 2017 1:20 a.m., Hitchcock House Officers responded to a resident’s complaint of loud people in the first-floor common room. A small group of students was found, and they were advised of the complaint.

Department of Sexuality, Women’s and Gender Studies

Andrea Quiles-Sanchez ’18 is a sexuality, women’s and gender studies and psychology double major. Quiles-Sanchez’s thesis explores causes for depression within the Latino community.

Her advisor is Assistant Professor of Sexuality, Women’s and Gender Studies Sahar Sadjadi.

Q: What is your thesis about?

A: It’s looking at depression among the Latinx community, trying to see what the causes of it are. Obviously, being Latinx is a very expansive identity, so I focus on acculturation, assimilation, other factors that might affect people with depression. I’m running a study, … which I haven’t done yet. I may be a SWAGS major, but I’m also a psychology major and I’ve taken other social sciences. I’m very much focused on quantitative data but there’s also a personal aspect to it. It was very much based on personal experiences where I deal a lot with depression. I’m very analytical, so I was thinking about what exactly it is about my life. So thinking about being Latinx, there are usually a lot of religious factors; a lot of people are Catholic. I started looking at religion within my family. I also started thinking about discrimination and not feeling like you belong at school. There are stereotypes and the pressure to fulfill them. I want to see what are the major causes. What actually inspired this was the beginning of my freshman year: I read an article saying that among young Latinas, they are the highest rate of the people who commit suicide. I thought, “Well, that’s a lot — why is that?”

Q: What has been the process for writing your thesis?

A: I started over the summer, and what I did was I looked at a whole bunch of studies that did very similar things … I used them to try to inspire me and look at how I had to go about doing this. That was the first process. I actually ended up writing a literature review for my advisor, just so she knows what I’ve done. After that, I did a procedure and looked at how to do this step by step. Recently, I filled out a form to the IRB, which is the International Review Board in psychology. What that is, is whenever you have human participants, you have to go through the IRB to make sure your study is ethical. I’m currently waiting on them to get back to me because they might reject my proposal. They might tell me to change it a little bit, or change it a lot or they’ll accept it. I don’t really think my study is going to be causing harm, but it does cover hard issues. So I’m going to send a survey out, then I’m going to have a followup interview. In the survey, I’m going to ask about language, communities that they feel most comfortable in, discrimination, then after that asking about mental health issues.

Then I’m going to do the same thing in the interview, but I want it to be more free and more in-depth because I want people to tell me everything. I’m a little behind schedule, so I want to do at least a couple of studies now so that I have something to do during interterm. After that then it’ll just be me looking at the data, and looking at the interviews to figure out what’s going on here. I want to divide things up into themes — what things do people bring up? That’s more important than the numbers. I want the numbers to back it up, but I want to focus on the story, which is why I chose to do this in the SWAGS department.

Q: What is the best part about writing a

thesis?

A: I never realized how much I like to research things. I think it’s really fun, and it’s not something I had much experience in. It has opened me up to this world, and maybe it’s something I want to pursue after graduation. I did a very small version of this for a class junior year, which actually inspired my thesis. My professor said for any of us juniors that this could be our thesis. I was talking to her about what I wanted to do and she was like, “Listen — if you do really well, you could get this published.” For me, that’s really exciting. I never really considered going into academia. I think why I’m so excited is because I’m interested in social justice, and mental illness is something I really focus on.

To think that I can help people not just by doing advocacy but by doing research is really important. I’m trying to find the causes, and if you find the causes you can fix them. It’s been a wonderful time.

Q: What has been the hardest part about writing a thesis?

A: My thesis advisor isn’t here this semester.

She’s on sabbatical so she’ll be back in the spring. I’m in the SWAGS department, which is a very small department, so they had no one that could help me. They were like, “We love your thesis, but no one here has done any relevant work.” They pointed me to professor Sadjadi, but she does more ethnography. I’m not doing ethnography, but she has experience and she’s very smart. So for me that was the hardest part of the semester. I didn’t have her here so I didn’t have a specific idea of what I was supposed to do. What I did though was I contacted other professors to help me. It was really lonely though because my friends would see their thesis advisors once a week.

Meanwhile, I just contacted everyone I knew.

To a certain extent, my thesis is very interdisciplinary, so I wanted to get in touch with as many people as possible. That was the hardest part, where I didn’t have a path, which is partly why I’m behind schedule.

Q: Any advice for students who want to write a thesis?

A: Start sooner rather than later. I’m definitely glad I started doing my research over the summer. I would not have had time to do that during the semester. Also, don’t do a thesis just because you think you need to do one, because that’s no fun. As a freshman, I didn’t want to do a thesis because I thought it would be too much work. When I came up with the idea, I realized that this is something I really care about, which is why it’s been so much fun. If you’re doing something that you don’t really care about, there’s no point. Maybe you can graduate with honors, but I don’t think that’s worth it. So start sooner, and do it because you want to and not because you feel like you have to.

—Natalie De Rosa ’21

The Amherst Student • December 6, 2017

News

3

OL Program Faces Challenges Over Compensation and Workload Continued from Page 1 entire orientation planning team places the highest importance on recruiting some of the most talented students on campus, providing them with strong leadership training and a rewarding experience and communicating to them how much the entire community values their contributions.”

According to Brubaker, OLs met with Koff following orientation, and she allegedly said that while she made efforts to secure pay for the OLs, there was inadequate funding.

“People were really frustrated and felt like for the amount of time time put in, that we should be paid,” said Brubaker.

It was easy for the orientation leaders to feel underappreciated, Hall said. “Becoming an OL, you do spend a lot of time training and doing a lot of activities, and especially during orientation week, you’re very very active in helping make the first-years feel welcome and integrated into the school community … and it’s a lot more work than it seems,” she added. “I also feel that [the work] doesn’t stop after orientation stops.”

Brubaker said not receiving pay made the OLs feel devalued by the college.

Though Lopez said the college wants to be able to pay OLs, “There are some issues to work through.”

“Ideally, I would like an increase in funding to cover it, but if not, then we would have to decide what programs to cut out of Orientation next year to free up funds,” he said. “It would be expensive, so it might require some deep cuts to programs for next year’s entering class.”

According to Lopez, the college is in the early stages of putting together next year’s budget. “Conversations of what this might look like are still in process,” he wrote.

Despite her frustrations, Hall said that she would still consider applying to be an orientation leader again. “It was an opportunity for me to become closer to first-years and people I don’t know and to step outside of my comfort zone and to meet other people,” she said.

Zheng, on the other hand, said that she would not consider reapplying unless it was a paid position. “It’s right before going into a new semester, and it was just so exhausting, and I felt like I wasn’t as prepared going into

Photo courtesy of Sarah Wishloff ’19

Former orientation leaders have raised concerns about the amount of work required of the position and lack of pay. the semester because I was already so tired,” she said.

She said that she hopes the training will be structured differently in the future, “in a way that was not as exhausting and pertaining more specifically to the things were going to do dur-

ing orientation.”

Similarly, Brubaker said that although he had a good experience, he will not be applying again unless it became a paid position.

The deadline for OL applications is 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 26, 2018.

Amherst’s Investments Included in ICIJ Paradise Papers Emma Swislow ’20 Managing News Editor The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists released 13.4 million financial documents, termed the Paradise Papers, on Nov. 5 that name more than 100 other educational institutions, including Amherst College, as having had investments in offshore accounts.

There are a wide variety of uses for offshore accounts, including the ability to invest money in fossil fuels or avoiding taxes on endowments, according to The New York Times.

Eleven other schools in Massachusetts were also named in the documents, including Williams, Tufts, Smith and Boston University, among others.

Chief Financial and Administrative Officer Kevin Weinman said in an email that Amherst “does not use ‘offshore tax havens,’ nor does the college use any structure for the purpose of avoiding taxes or hiding what it owns.”

The reason Amherst is named in the documents is because of its investment in an insurance entity called SCUUL (School, College and University Underwriters, Ltd.) in 1986, he said.

At the time, schools were having difficulty

finding insurance in the commercial market that did not charge exorbitant premiums or consider the institutions too high-risk to insure, according to Weinman.

Not knowing whether coverage would continue from year to year was also an issue, according to an article in Education Week.

Since many colleges across the country were having similar difficulties, the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) invested in SCUUL in order to get the company started, according to Weinman.

“NAIS was simply trying to create an insurance option for schools to address gaps in the commercial insurance market, whereby existing insurers were not covering the needs of higher education at all (e.g., athletics injuries) or were doing so at an exorbitant price,” Weinman said. “There also was a lack of certainty that coverages would continue to be available year over year.”

This lack of consistent and affordable coverage in the commercial market is what led Amherst to invest money in the company to begin with, Weinman said.

SCUUL provided coverage for a variety of issues that a college might face, such as “catastrophic losses that could negatively impact our students, our operations, and our finan-

cial health,” according to Weinman.

While an investment was required to become a member of SCUUL, this investment was not one that generated any profit for the college.

Though Weinman did not work for Amherst at the time, he said the investment went toward “start-up funding and to build reserve capacity for the new entity to fund operations and pay out claims” rather than toward anything that would allow the college to make a profit.

“SCUUL was not an investment to generate financial returns to fund Amherst operations the way an endowment investment is intended to do,” Weinman said. “Instead, the upfront investment was a paid-in-capital requirement that was necessary to access insurance coverages.”

SCUUL was originally based in Bermuda because the U.S. had legislation at the time that made it very difficult for a captive insurance company like SCUUL to form domestically and provide insurance for institutions all across the country, Weinman said.

Since then, states like Vermont have passed legislation that allows for “affinity groups” like educational institutions to form risk retention groups that are based in the U.S.

rather than offshore, according to the Michael Horning, chief financial officer of United Educators, the company that Amherst currently gets insurance from.

Once the first piece of legislation was passed in late 1986, SCUUL began the process of restructuring and merging with United Educators.

Amherst has had no relationship with SCUUL or any other offshore insurance entity for more than a decade, according to Weinman.

The school has since self-insured, for the most part, through a cooperative entity called the Collegiate Catalyst Fund that is based in Vermont and includes Mount Holyoke, Smith and Hampshire, according to Weinman.

The school also has some insurance from United Educators to “cover large losses that self-insurance can’t adequately protect against,” Weinman said.

Chair of the Board of Trustees Cullen Murphy ’74 said in a statement to The Student, “There are legitimate uses for offshore structures, but Amherst College does not employ any mechanism to hide what it owns or to avoid paying taxes.”

President Biddy Martin could not be reached for comment by press time.

18 Colleges Including Amherst Voice Support for MIT in Suicide Suit Continued from Page 1 an effort initiated by Boston University.

“It’s important to clarify that the heart of the matter in this lawsuit is not a question of us not caring about our students — we deeply and sincerely do and hope that, in some way, we meaningfully demonstrate that every day — or whether faculty or staff should be indifferent to a student experiencing mental distress,” Genelius wrote in an email interview.

She cited the college’s provisions of mental health resources, including the Counseling Center, case managers in the Office of Student Affairs, a 24/7 on-call counselor and Student Affairs administrator, faculty and staff who are “sensitized to the issue” and “routinely refer students to these resources.”

Suicide, she said, is an “incredibly complex and devastating issue for those who are touched by it.” The brief does not dispute that, she said. Rather, it questions whether the court should create obligations for faculty and staff “that are potentially counter to students’ best interests.”

The issue of obligations being discussed in this case, she said, could theoretically require schools to take actions resulting in a

higher number of student involuntary withdrawals, which “could have the unintended and unfortunate consequence of creating an environment where students in Massachusetts become disinclined to seek assistance with mental health issues out of concern that their school would overreact.”

President Biddy Martin wrote in a statement to The Student that the brief “is not intended in the least to deny our commitment to or our moral responsibility for student welfare and well-being.”

The college chose to join the brief, she said, “because the court has been asked to go so far in the direction of assigning individual blame that it could have the practical effect of placing students experiencing suicidal thoughts at even greater peril when individuals who are not mental health professionals are required by law to take matters into their own hands in ways that are harmful rather than helpful.”

The 18 Massachusetts colleges and universities felt that the court needed to hear the colleges’ perspective before making a decision, Martin added.

According to Associate Dean of Students and Director of the Counseling Center Jacqueline Alvarez, the Counseling Center

conducts mandatory training sessions with residential counselors on recognizing distress and responding to signs of suicidal ideation.

The Counseling Center also works with Residential Life and Student Affairs to educate case managers, assistant directors, class deans and office employees on basic support skills for students in moments of distress and referral skills to connect students with resources.

Alvarez added that Jessica Gifford, associate director of health education and mental health promotion, holds similar programming for faculty and staff, though it is not mandatory.

When a student expresses suicidal intent, “we strongly encourage faculty not to hold that information, but either to pass that on to the class dean or our office directly so that students can get the help that they need,” she said.

“We don’t expect anybody in the community to be taking on that kind of responsibility given they may not have the training or the expertise to support the student that way,” she added.

Once a student expresses suicidal ideation or intent to self-harm, Alvarez said, the

Counseling Center makes a risk assessment based on four factors: long-term, unchangeable risk factors that put people at higher risk for either engaging in a suicide attempt or high-risk behavior such as history of trauma; acute factors that assess what is currently ongoing for the student such as intensity, duration and frequency of suicidal thoughts; potential mitigating or protective factors that would decrease the likelihood of self-harm such as social support and engagement with treatment; and potential triggers that might increase risk such as acts of violation to the student.

Students have the right to decline services, however, and all counseling is voluntary. Amherst does not mandate counseling or assessments.

In the end, Genelius wrote, the college wanted to ensure students were aware of the college’s resources if they underwent mental health crises and felt comfortable using those resources.

“We decided to join the brief with 17 other schools because we were concerned that the court’s ruling could be unintentionally and unfortunately antithetical to those goals,” she said.

Opinion Trump, the Press and Democracy Journalism, The Amherst Student included, deserves criticism. Often times what journalists write is wrong, sensationalized, unfair or incorrectly focused. But while other presidents have complained about the press, President Donald Trump has dangerously changed the role of journalism by not acknowledging the essential role that an independent press plays in our democracy.

As of Nov. 13, The Washington Post reported that Trump has made 1,628 false and misleading claims since taking on the elected position. Over 50 times, he has incorrectly stated the U.S. has the highest stock market ever and enthusiasm of companies moving into the U.S. is the highest ever.

The pervasiveness and chaos of his false claims combined with his explicit vilification of journalists remains dangerous in how we consider what is true and may make us complacent in how we question the truth.

More dangerously, it may jeopardize the public’s ability to assess what is a credible news story and what is fake.

According to a poll conducted by Politico, 46 percent of the American population thinks the media makes up stories about Trump.

A constant and honest look into different institutions is crucial for protecting our citizens, but this task, historically entrusted to a free press, is made harder when Trump belittles and disrupts the news media responsible for challenging his false claims. As Amherst College Professor of Philosophy Alexander George wrote in The New York Times this February, Trump’s denigration of individual members of the press and of entire news organizations serves to “poison the wells of reasoned public discourse, a

prerequisite for a functioning democracy.”

Moreover, Trump’s proposals for changes in laws related to the First Amendment, like libel statutes, may systematically change what journalists write about for fear of being prosecuted. According to the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, there have been 32 arrests of journalists, 24 times equipment was seized, stolen or damaged and 35 physical attacks on journalists since the start of 2017. Free speech as we know it remains fragile as long as criticism of the government could become discouraged or even illegal.

The news media must do more to address the chaotic nature of his presidency in such a way that citizens don’t become distrustful of responsible, ethical journalism. The individualized cases of absurdity in his statements distract from and drown out stories about changes to legislation and policy that more directly affect the day-to-day lives of average Americans, such as taxes and health care. The focus should be shifted from the daily criticism of his tweets and comments to analysis of how our system allows such statements to be made and accepted by him and by others.

Overall, Trump’s relationship with journalism is a threat to democracy. His lies, his threats to silence those who criticize him and his defamation of entire news organizations all suggest that he is dedicated to corrupting the tools that the American public uses to inform itself and make sense of the surrounding world. A healthy, factbased public discourse, informed by ethical reporting, is essential to democracy. Trump’s assault on the institutions responsible for providing that reporting puts the whole system in peril.

If I May: What to Watch During Interterm Jake May ’19 Columnist Finals are around the corner, and that means that interterm is around the next corner. If you’re anything like me, you spend your interterm pretending to be too cool for your parents (even though you actually really want to hang out with them) and watching TV and movies. So, I thought that I’d give a few recommendations for some good things to watch during interterm.

1. “Party Down” “Party Down” is my favorite television show of all time. It aired on the STARZ network for just two seasons, beginning in 2009 and ending in 2010. It centers around a catering team in Los Angeles made up of aspiring actors. Each episode takes the form of an event that they are catering. It is a truly hilarious and easyto-watch show, featuring great performances from Adam Scott of “Parks and Rec”, Lizzy Caplan of “Masters of Sex”, Martin Starr of “Silicon Valley”, Jane Lynch of you know who she is, and many more. There are some cool smaller parts played by actors who would go on to be much more famous, such as J.K. Simmons and a young Kevin Hart. Unfortunately, it’s not available on Netflix, so if you want to

Interested in covering campus events and changes?

watch you will have to buy it on iTunes. Or, you know, you could find it somewhere else on the internet, probably. I wouldn’t know.

(Or would I?) 2. “High Fidelity” “High Fidelity” is my favorite movie of all time. It came out in 2000 and stars John Cusack. He plays a record store owner who decides to reconnect with old girlfriends that have dumped him. This is just another very fun watch. The fourth wall is frequently broken, and Jack Black plays an insane record store clerk in his breakout role. You know, the two things you need for the movie to be a fun watch! Seriously, though, the performances are excellent. Jack Black steals every scene he’s in, and John Cusack is at his neurotic best.

Check it out!

3. “Michelle Wolf: Nice Lady” I wrote a few weeks back about Michelle Wolf and how amazing she is. Luckily for us, she just released her first stand-up special on HBO this past weekend. I had very high expectations, because everything that Wolf has ever done has been excellent. It is safe to say that I was not disappointed. Her comedy is just so wonderful. It is pointed, self-aware, joyful, and critical all at once. She absolutely

commands the stage, even though she doesn’t move around all that much. Michelle Wolf is a comedy force to be reckoned with. She’s going to be around for a long time, during which she’ll probably be producing excellent work.

I’d recommend getting on the Wolf Train now.

You can watch the special on HBO GO or HBO NOW or HBO whatever-it-is.

4. “The West Wing” In my last column, I wrote some very mean things about “The Newsroom,” Aaron Sorkin’s most recent show, because it is horrible and deserves to be insulted every time it is brought up. So, I thought I’d be a little nicer to Mr. Sorkin in this column. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend checking out “The West Wing” (created by Sorkin). It is a fantastic show centered on the senior staff in a fictionalized version of White House and the presidency. This show is Sorkin using his writing talents for good: the dialogue is sharp and engaging and the political messages are conveyed in a way that is not overly pretentious (although sometimes still pretty pretentious, but hey, you’re watching a Sorkin show, what do you expect?). The performances are all fantastic, but particularly good is Allison Janney as press secretary C.J. Cregg. Fortunately for you, the entire series is on Netflix. Binge away.

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THE AMHERST

STUDENT E X E C U T I V E B OA R D Editors-in-Chief Nate Quigley Jingwen Zhang Managing News Shawna Chen, Emma Swislow Managing Opinion Kelly Chian, Daniel Delgado Managing Arts & Living Paola Garcia-Prieto, Olivia Gieger Managing Sports Connor Haugh, Kasia Krosniak, Henry Newton Managing Design Justin Barry Design Editors Katie Boback, Zehra Madhavan Head Publishers Emily Ratte Mark Nathin

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The Amherst Student • December 6, 2017

Opinion

5

A Farewell Letter from the Editor-in-Chief Jingwen Zhang ’18 Editor-in-Chief The path to becoming and staying editor-in-chief of The Student has been far from easy. As a managing editor for the news section starting my sophomore year, I had gotten a taste of the complexity of our campus. This was in the midst of great change, with Amherst Uprising and the ousting of controversial and unofficial mascot Lord Jeff. Then there was the 2016 presidential election, which launched the school into another era of campus activism.

Being editor-in-chief, I assumed, would continue to be challenging and complicated.

Still, I remained somewhat of an idealist — in the way that many student journalists are idealists. It was easy to pick on mainstream papers’ flaws and think that we could avoid the same problems. I wanted to help lead this paper in pursuing truth and journalistically ethical reporting.

But during my time on this paper, that idealism came face to face with the reality that “truth” and “ethical reporting” are in fact not as simple as they seem.

When I wrote on Amherst Uprising as it happened, several students initially willing to speak on the record later changed their minds. They also urged me to cover the unfolding events from their perspective instead.

As someone who had only ever written for the news section and valued being fair and not taking sides, I couldn’t.

At the time, I didn’t understand their demands of me and accusations that I didn’t care about them and their cause. But looking back,

I’ve come to recognize that these students were simply speaking from their own perspectives. From the truth of their experiences of marginalization and hurt that led them to protest, they sought coverage that they believed would stand up to oppressive forces. That was the exposure they wanted; it was just not my immediate assignment.

Moving from student activists to members of the college administration, there is a significant shift in what’s considered journalistically responsible. This became apparent in conversations with various administrators after recent articles on campus sexual misconduct, student dissatisfaction with financial aid and the controversial (and quickly withdrawn) decision to enact campus-wide gender-designated housing. Administrators’ responses ranged from denying or criticizing our coverage to expressing their dissatisfaction that we published those articles in the first place. This could be because their jobs require maintaining the college’s image, a goal which naturally may conflict with the job of student journalists, who aim to expose the truth, even if it’s inconvenient or unflattering.

Alumni, too, often hold very different views from current students. I’ve seen it in the letters that arrive in our office and in my email inbox. I’ve received criticism for topics we have (or have not) covered and the ways in which we covered them. There’s dissonance between current students and alumni from years and decades ago. Alumni remember Amherst as it existed in their four years here, which shapes their understanding of fairness and responsibility. However, much has changed at the col-

lege since then. Certainly, the campus itself — with its women, its people of color and its students from different socioeconomic classes — has changed.

Our experiences play an undeniably important role in shaping how we think about truth and journalistic ethics. Truth — in facts, stats and events — has not changed, but I have learned that what constitutes accurate representation can vary vastly between different people. The questions raised in gray areas where people disagree on what’s fair and accurate often have no easy answers. My attempts at resolving these conflicts have sometimes strengthened my initial convictions. Other times, I have had to learn how to recover from mistakes and carry these lessons into the future.

These past three years of editing, writing and managing have taught me about being firm and resolute as well as being humble and empathetic. In all honesty, being part of The Student — contending with upset readers, angry administration, exhaustion in leadership and loss of belief that I was doing anything meaningful — has taken a lot of me. But I have also experienced unique growth.

I’ve been lucky enough to see other members of our staff grow in experience and rise up to any challenge they’ve faced. Most of my time as editor-in-chief has been shared with my co-editor, Drew Kiley. We worked well together to navigate difficult decisions, including the one to derive most of our funds from the AAS for the near future, which we detailed in an editorial in our fourth issue this year. We also read and edited so many exciting

and interesting stories, many of which Drew outlined in his own farewell piece at the end of October.

I’ve been working with new editor-in-chief Nate Quigley, who has taken over Drew’s role; next semester, former news editor Isabel Tessier will join him. I have seen their excitement and passion and have no doubt that they will bring valuable skills and perspectives to their leadership. I’m grateful that I can leave the paper in their hardworking hands.

The entire newspaper staff, past and present, has made my time here memorable and valuable. I particularly looked up to former editors-in-chief Sophie Murguia and Lauren Tuiskula, under whom I wrote and edited and who showed me the true value of student journalism. They’re a major reason why I accepted my current position. When I began as a firstyear staff writer, Dan Ahn and Elaine Jeon were my managing news editors who helped me become a better writer and reporter. Head design editors Justin Barry and Gabby Bishop spent countless hours making our paper look fantastic. Publishers Emily Ratte and Tia Robinson were instrumental in facilitating our financial transition. I also thank our readers for continuing to read our weekly issues and supporting us with your encouragement.

As I step down and The Student continues to move forward, I encourage you to keep reading and supporting student journalism.

In the coming months and years, I hope that you can continue to see in our words a continued dedication to reveal and inform, as well as an effort to facilitate communication, understanding and empathy beyond boundaries.

“It’s on You”: Sexual Assault and the Limits of Liberal Language Jacob Pagano ’18 Contributing Writer The “It’s On Us” campaign was initiated in the fall of 2014 by the Obama administration and the White House Council on Women and Girls to increase awareness of and reduce sexual assault on campuses across America.

The announcement was followed by celebrity endorsements, social media campaigns on the importance of consent and individual endorsements by universities. As anyone who has attended Amherst in recent years can attest to, the campaign found a form of discussion on this campus: bystander intervention trainings, the creation of Peer Advocates for Sexual Respect and the phrase “It’s On Us” (along with shirts emblazoned with both the slogan and the Amherst logo) represent some important facets.

Yet, as with any movement, any shift in the language used to represent and counteract the problem of sexual assault undoubtedly one of the most pressing, misunderstood and traumatic issues on this and other campuses one must ask: What actual changes in culture does the change in language bring? “It’s On Us” as a

slogan means nothing on its own. It only carries meaning through its actualization: when students begin to feel safer, more self-assured, trusting of peers and capable of seeking help if the need arises.

The extent to which the campaign, and the initiatives and resources that followed it, has really changed our campus’ culture itself is a hard question to answer. While climate surveys that ask for student responses might be a place to start, assessing the environment as it is felt and experienced on a daily basis remains difficult.

One place to start is by recognizing that there is an often enormous divide between language on the one hand, and practice and lived experience on the other. Media stars, notably Charlie Rose and Matt Lauer, were in many ways beacons of liberal ideals. And both were, for years, conducting themselves abhorrently and assaulting colleagues.

Not only did they preach liberality before the allegations broke, they also did it after.

Charlie Rose used the language of consent, suggesting that he was “pursuing shared feelings,” while Matt Lauer said in his apology that “there is enough truth in these stories to make me feel

embarrassed.” Both are lies, perversions, distortions: there were “no shared feelings,” and there is not “enough truth,” but truth alone.

We can hope that Rose and Lauer know this, but their writing clearly did not reflect it.

Instead, they choose to believe the catchphrases — the acceptable language — and to see their actions as fitting into them or as slight aberrations from them. Their intellect failed to lead them to the true ideals behind these phrases: honesty.

All of this is to say that the divide between language and reality that reveals itself in our media stars is not necessarily something totally foreign, given the divide that many students on college campuses feel. That is, the existence of “It’s On Us” doesn’t often transfer to any greater sense of safety, security or trust on any given night.

It also means that the language of “It’s On Us” might be inadequate. Surely the campaign is well-guided, and it represents one of the first steps for universities to implement changes in policy, offer services and counseling and create reform in culture under the banner of collective responsibility. Indeed, one of the core ideas implied by “It’s On Us” is that a society, or

college campus, cannot rely on a conception of “others”— be they police or administration — for justice. Justice is possible, the slogan says, only when our responsibility to each other, to “Us,” is upheld. This is certainly true.

But at times, and in the wake of these most recent scandals and the discourse that surrounded them, one wonders whether collective responsibility is really what we need. One might also wonder, “Who is this ‘us’? Is it the whole campus? Is it your group of friends? Is it your team? Is it the school as a whole? Or is it simply an abstraction?”

It is difficult to say. But it seems that something about the belief in collectivity — that we are doing something together to end or interrupt sexual assault — that displaces individual responsibility and creates the illusion of change that precludes each of us from realizing the necessity of our own actions as friends or bystanders.

What might make more sense and actually lead to more of a changed, equitable culture is changing the terms.

“It’s On You” means that there is no us, there is no collective sense of shared responsibility, until you, again and again, do your part.

lessness. There’s no one to blame or be mad at. No one is snubbing me: people really are stretched thin. Deadlines have crept up on me too, and I know how bad people feel turning down a request to get dinner or hang out.

There’s no way to make people less busy, including myself. I’ve had to turn down some of those same requests with the same feeling of dread because of my own mounting workload. The reason the formula feels so familiar is because it is looming and unstoppable; it’s hard to expect consistent companionship in such a rigorous environment.

Not all of this melancholy has been purely negative, at least. I think that realizing my powerlessness in it all has allowed me to smother some of my less helpful thoughts, like the idea that it’s my fault that I’m alone a lot or that I’ve done something to be rejected

by Amherst as a place. But all in all, my loneliness here has led me to appreciate the interactions that I do have so much more. When those Val dates do work out or I have a club meeting to attend, I can value the time I’m spending with people as a relaxing respite out of both of our schedules, a time where work has decidedly been set aside for the sake of reconnecting with another human being.

I can’t say how the positivity and negativity coming from this loneliness has resolved itself, nor can I say what my outlook or my solution is. But I do think that sharing a small piece of what the daily grind can be like at this college might be helpful to someone imagining that this situation is something unique to only them. Hopefully, by speaking frankly about this kind of thing, we can be a little less lonely in our loneliness.

Reflections on Loneliness DivineAsia Miller ’19 Contributing Writer This routine is not daily, but it is familiar: I realize with a good amount of dread that for the last eight hours, I have had no social interaction with live human beings in my schedule. I’ll reach out to friends and try to set something up, but there will be one snag or another and nothing will end up working out (they’re busy, or not on campus, or they really want to focus on this essay, etc.). So I’ll try to work somewhere other than my room, hoping that just being around other people will be enough to soothe my extrovert cravings for companionship. It doesn’t; I go to sleep with an odd and harrowing feeling of loneliness, unsure if the next day will look the same way.

There’s a myriad of reactions that one can

have in this struggle, and I’ve probably cycled through all of them by this point in the year.

Because it’s an inexplicable situation to end up in, there’s an endless number of ways to brood over the feeling of loneliness and an endless number of feelings it can inspire. I used to blame myself for how my energy would dwindle the more discouraged I got, wondering why I was sometimes “settling” for this situation by not reaching out to even more people.

I wondered where exactly I had gone wrong in my social planning to end up with so many wonderful friends but so little time spent with them. I wondered, too, what was wrong with me that I couldn’t find enjoyment indulging in any one of my many hobbies with that empty time in my day after work and classes.

The biggest feeling that I have about my social life, however, is a feeling of power-

Arts&Living

Decolonizing Space Through Words: Amherst Hosts “Voices 2017”

Photo courtesy of Obi Ezeogu ‘18

Irisdelia Garcia ‘18 won the student slam poetry portion of Voices on Friday, giving her the opportuity to perform on Saturday with a lineup of professional poets.

Brandon Medina ’19 Staff Writer This past weekend,Amherst College’s student-run La Causa hosted its 20th annual Voices event, the largest free spoken word concert in New England. Voices’ mission is to bring poets of color from across the country together in one space for a weekend of decolonizing the arts through slam poetry that revolves around the subject of marginalized people’s experiences.

Both professional and student poets performed their work to a packed Powerhouse with food provided by Fernandez Family Restaurant, a Puerto Rican establishment in Holyoke. As always, Voices ended up being both a lively night filled with a warm familial feeling, as well as a beautiful showcase of creative talent. Most importantly, it was a safe space for those willing to share and relate to traumatic experiences and harsh truths about living as a person of a marginalized race, gender or sexuality.

On Saturday, the event started off with a piece by Irisdelia Garcia ’18, who had won the student Slam Poetry Contest at LimeRed, which had kicked off the celebration the previous night.

One of the most well-known and prolific spoken word artists on campus, Garcia recited a poem about the humanitarian disaster in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Irma. Her poem brought up images of bodies, both accounted for and anonymous, that now fill the morgues and float in the waters, evoking feelings of despair and of mourning. It also spoke to the perspectives of those on the U.S. mainland who may have

sympathy to a certain extent but do not feel the destruction on the same level. At the end of the poem, Garcia offered a powerful image of her people descending from a long line of resilience.

Her poems often deal with themes of Puerto Rican identity and the morphing of the body over time in a colonialist space. Garcia hails from the Bronx but has family in Puerto Rico, and her poem left the entire audience, most of whom had witnessed her performative prowess before, feeling a respectful camaraderie.

Before the poets took the stage, emcees Silvana Romero ’19 and Lea Morin ’21 brought up one of the most unique aspects of slam poetry: the fact that audience members participate in the performance by letting their voices be heard when something the poet says speaks to them in some way. As Romero said, “This is not an event where you’re meant to sit quietly and politely applaud afterward.” Having the audience express solidarity with the performers’ experiences or voice support for and validity of them is one of the essential steps toward decolonizing the arts and “taking them out of the ivory tower” as Romero said. The poets who performed included current college students as well as more seasoned artists, and all of them brought their lives to the stage, whether they were funny, tragic or both.

The performers’ main way of engaging with the audience was to state the theme of their poem right before reciting it. For example, Ariana Brown, when reciting a poem about the legacy of black women, said, “Make some noise if you’re a black woman.” Then, in response to the

outburst of noise, she said, “This one is for you.”

This call-and-response audience engagement showcases the intersectionality of slam poetry.

Voices was originally conceived as a concert featuring only Latino poets, but in recent years, it has expanded to include poets of all marginalized groups. Given that the call-andresponse practice was conceived of by African slaves brought to the Americas, it seems just that African-American and other performers of African descent would have place in this concert.

Fittingly enough, the first professional poet perfectly encapsulated the intersections between black and Latino identities.

Ariana Brown is a black Mexican-American poet from San Antonio, known for her poems about healing and spirituality centered around black and brown women. One of the poems that got the biggest response from the audience was about Spanish in American elementary schools, and her offense at white classmates treating the language as a hobby. Her other poems included works with themes of black women, self-love, depression and colonialism. Brown spoke with confidence but also a slight treble, stating that she wants for her poems to uplift black working class communities like the one she grew up in.

She closed her set with one of her most powerful lines: “If you are alive, you are descended from a people that refused to die.”

Hieu Minh Nguyen was next up, a queer Vietnamese-American poet from Minneapolis. It was apparent that he was much different from Brown: more extroverted and boasting a more traditionally humorous side. However, he

began to take us on a psychological journey into his past almost immediately, with stories about his grandmother’s fight with Alzheimer’s, his being forced to learn English at an early age and the double-edged sword of memory, both on a micro-level within his own family and a macrolevel regarding the history of Asians in America.

In one of the more haunting images, Nguyen described growing up in America as feeling like being painted over into something socially acceptable, saying he can “still feel the brushstrokes on my tongue.”

Jacqui Germain was the last performer that I saw, a poet and student organizer from St. Louis who focuses much of her work on the city of St. Louis and its history as a site of black, brown and indigenous resistance. She recited poems based on being tear-gassed at the Ferguson riots, a fictionalized version of Nat Turner visiting Washington D.C. and a rant toward Quentin Tarantino and his movie “Django Unchained.”

Germain’s tone was more that of an activist than the first two poets’, and her poems described resilience in the face of physical violence.

Other performing poets included Black Ice, Terisa Siagatonu, Mayda Del Valle and Alas Nocturnas.

“Voices 2017” was a restorative night of creative talent from brilliant, radical artists of color.

It lived up to its promise to decolonize a space in the arts that often does not make room for them. La Causa and the poets that performed provided a space where healing, knowledge and camaraderie was possible for Amherst’s people of color.

Photo courtesy of Obi Ezeogu ‘18

Photo courtesy of Obi Ezeogu ‘18

Silvana Romero ‘19 and Erika Zambrano ’19 celebrate the 20th Voices event.

La Causa E-Board and visiting poets pose at the close of the two-days of poetry.

The Amherst Student • December 6, 2017

Arts & Living 7

Amherst Chamber Musicians Perform Art of Claude Debussy

Photo courtesy of wikipedia.com

The art and writing of 1800s France greatly influenced Debussy’s music.

Annika Lunstad ’21 Staff Writer Last Friday evening, from 7 to 8 p.m., a number of Amherst students put on a beautiful performance of Claude Debussy’s musical works in the Mead Art Museum. The event, presented by the Amherst College Student Chamber Musicians, included eleven students, each of whom played or sang a differ-

ent piece.

This performance took place in the historic Rotherwas room and was advertized on the event page as being “in conjunction with the current exhibition in the room ‘From the Picturesque to the Modern Vision: Landscape Painting in Europe throughout the Ages.’”

Audience members stood at the entrance to the Rotherwas room, either craning their necks to get a glance of the musicians inside or sitting and listening peacefully. Inside, the seats were quite full and rows of people of all ages sat in the beautiful, wood-paneled room. At the far end of the room in front of the antique windows stood a grand piano, around which musicians gathered and played a variety of pieces.

Many people closed their eyes peacefully when listening to one of Debussy’s most famous pieces, “Claire de Lune.” While it was lovely to listen to such a beautiful and popular piece, the evening also featured many of Debussy’s songs which are far less famous.

The singing showcased on Friday, while classical in some senses of the word, was deeply unlike songs that follow a more rigid and traditional format. It was a lovely experience to hear captivating songs that did not quite fit the stereotype that one generally associates with classical music.

The Rotherwas room lent itself beautifully to the evening. Saya Woolfalk’s futuristic art in the Mead’s most historic room

complemented the wonderous and daring modernist sounds of Debussy. Because we are limited by our own experiences and the time in which we were born, we cannot quite understand how Debussy’s music would have been viewed during the composer’s own life.

However, the juxtaposition of science-fiction art with the a deeply traditional room perhaps aided one’s imagination in appreciating both the music and its initial reception as a more non-traditional, futuristic production.

To audience member Maya Houssain ’21, the event’s setting of the Mead provided the perfect venue for listening to Debussy’s works.

“The Mead…has the unsung potential to heighten a listening experience,” Houssain said. “The works of Debussy, on their surface, have very little to do with the contemporary installations on gender identity, relationships, and politics. Yet, I found while wandering the exhibits, the conjunctive sensations of listening and looking complemented each other in unexpected ways.”

In general, it is understood that the impressionistic painters of the time greatly influenced Debussy. His music certainly does not adhere to classical forms and is better understood using terms often reserved for the visual arts.

Furthermore, a short essay attached to the program at the event argued that Debussy was perhaps more strongly or directly influenced by the literature of the time.

The connection between the written words of the late 1800s and Debussy’s music was clear. Before her flute solo, Robin Kong ’21 explained the background story that Debussy managed to translate into a wordless song, telling the audience to watch out for various changes in sound within the storyline.

Sara Bradley ’21, a member of the audience, noted that it was “really amazing to see the musical talents of the students here … the atmosphere was very peaceful and introspective.”

The music was followed by a reception with wine, cheese, grapes and sparkling water in the main gallery. People continued to mill around, look at the photographs and chat about the evening.

Ultimately, the evening was an example of how the Mead seeks to connect the visual arts with both other kinds of art as well as the larger Amherst community.

Personally, the choice of Debussy seems fitting, not only for the landscape paintings within the Mead, but for the school as a whole. As students at a liberal arts college, we are encouraged to take inspiration from all disciplines and use it to create new and exciting things in our own fields, similarly to what Debussy did. This evening gave students another opportunity to connect with art, learn from our classmates and possibly even carry some of that inspiration and beauty into our own daily lives and work.

The Magic of Pixar’s “Coco”: Breaking the Taboo Around Death

Photo courtesy of vimeo.com

“Coco” producers were thoughtful in creating this film about the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos, hiring cultural consultants to prevent stereotyping.

Seo Yeon Kim ’21 Contributing Writer Pixar movies have a special place in my heart. One of my favorite parts about going to see one is the animated short film that precedes the actual movie. Before “Coco,” however, came an original short which was neither original nor short. “Olaf ’s Frozen Adventure” was the short in question, and after being forced to watch twenty-odd minutes of the all-too-familiar snowman from “Frozen” bellowing about the joys of a perfect Christmas, I was more than ready for “Coco” to start.

“Coco” is a visual masterpiece. I couldn’t help but marvel at the beauty of the artwork, as the bustling streets of Mexico were brought to life. The movie is also a breakthrough; it completely reimagines our belief in a pale, final death and a concrete, un-crossable line between the living and the nonliving. In the world of “Coco,” the afterlife is a place of warmth, color and enchantment. And on the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos), our

loved ones are able to transcend that seemingly impenetrable boundary — if they are still remembered by the living.

“Coco” revolves around Miguel Rivera (voiced by Anthony Gonzalez), a boy with musical aspirations bigger than those of his family members, who insists on him joining their shoe-making business. Miguel’s greatgreat-grandmother had been abandoned by a musician, and thus the Riveras are vehemently opposed to music, doing anything to keep Miguel from inching closer to his dreams.

Convinced that his great-great-grandfather was the legendary guitarist/singer Ernesto De La Cruz (voiced by Benjamin Bratt), Miguel refuses to give up on his music. But, after a mistake on the Day of the Dead, Miguel is inexplicably transported to the world of the dead where he meets his Abuelita (voiced by Reneé Victor), the erratic Hector (voiced by Gael García Bernal) and even Frida Khalo (voiced by Natalia Cordova-Buckley). On his journey to return back to the world of the living, Miguel must find a way to reconcile his love for his family and his passion for music.

The concept of a family-friendly animated film about death seems like an impossible idea, but “Coco” is all that and more. Pixar has a habit of making movies that bring to life inanimate objects — see the “Toy Story” franchise and “Wall-E” — but “Coco” does something else entirely; it changes our preconceived notions of a colorless and brutal death, all while managing to remain visually brilliant and heartwarmingly musical.

The tunes of “Coco” were remarkable.

Miguel and Hector’s duet “Un Poco Loco” was a vibrant hit, both with their audience in the world of the dead and their audience in the cinema, and Frida Khalo’s eccentric and bouncy performance with dancing papayas were an auditory and visual delight.

When Miguel sings a tear-stained rendition of “Remember Me” in one of the final scenes of the movie, I heard muffled sniffling from all around the darkened theater and couldn’t help but think about the last time I called my mom.

Pixar also took great care when taking on this traditionally Mexican holiday by hiring

over 40 cultural consultants and hosting multiple early screenings of the film in order to receive feedback.

The filmmakers have been very open about the process after receiving backlash in 2013 for trying to trademark “Dia De Los Muertos,” an early title of the film. The movie slips untranslated Spanish phrases in the English version, further adding a level of awareness of the story’s origin.

The film, which premiered in Mexico in early Novemeber on Dia de los Muertos weekend, has received tremendously positive reviews from Latin American viewers.

The film-makers were also very considerate about pleasing their Mexican-American and Latino-American viewers, who constitute over 20 percent of moviegoers in the United States, and have been playing the Spanish dub version in select cities.

“Coco” approaches the overdone cinematic trope of family values in a way that no kids’ movie has ever done before. An animation masterpiece bursting with original music and vibrant spirit, “Coco” is a must-watch.

The Amherst Student • December 6, 2017

Arts & Living 8

Lil Peep’s Death Sparks Talk About Destigmatizing Mental Illness

Photo courtesy of wikimedia.com

Lil Peep tragically took his own life recently, reminding us of the role we have in discussing mental illness.

Jack Klein ’20 Staff Writer On Nov. 15, at the tender age of 21, the rapper known as Lil Peep died on his tour bus. His tragic death, reportedly caused by an overdose, leaves the music community as a whole with more questions than answers and forces both artists and fans to reevaluate their roles and obligations to each other.

Before he died, Lil Peep released a series of Instagram posts in which he took a pill and announced that he had consumed six Xanaxes. This display of unchecked consumption is not necessarily unique; rappers frequently post videos and photos on social media that depict or suggest drug usage, especially that of marijuana. These same

artists also frequently reference and celebrate these drugs in their music. This publication of abuse was and is especially dangerous, considering that Lil Peep’s fan base consisted mostly of young people.

However, it is both shortsighted and insensitive to blame Lil Peep for setting a bad example. To understand and evaluate his actions, one must consider how both celebrities and regular civilians confront the topic of mental health.

Lil Peep admitted both in Twitter posts and in interviews that he struggled with depression. Back in January, Lil Peep told “Pitchfork” in an interview: “I suffer from depression. Some days I wake up and […] I wish I didn’t wake up. Some days I’ll be really down and out.” He had also posted tweets admitting that he has issues, like one from July 27, 2016 that simply read “I’m suicidal,” followed by a smiley face emoji. These were not a series of innocuous passing comments that casually explained a minor dip in his mood; rather, those closest to him were aware of his mental illness and seriously worried about him. He claimed that “everyone always begged him to [go on medication]” for his depression, but he preferred to take non-prescription drugs to take the edge off. Because of this decision, his passing sadly did not come as a surprise to his inner circle. After his death, his manager tweeted: “I’ve been expecting this call for a year.”

Lil Peep’s family and friends set an excellent example for what one is supposed to do when their loved one shows signs of suffering from a mental illness. They took his feelings seriously and did their best to take him to a doctor, who could better assess his illness and prescribe him medicine. The fact that he refused help may have been related to

the stigma surrounding mental health, a stigma that dictates that individuals, especially men, should be able to conquer their demons alone.

Lil Peep isn’t the only artist to reveal his personal struggles to both those closest to him and his fans. Both Kid Cudi and XXXTentacion, two artists from different generations of rap, have publicly disclosed their battles with depression. However, they chose starkly different methods: Cudi posted a thoughtful essay on Facebook directed at his fans while XXXTentacion has made passive and suggestive remarks about ending his own life, both in his music and on social media.

Kid Cudi’s post serves as an exemple of the positive power that can be exercised using the platform of fame. By expressing his vulnerability, Cudi demonstrated to his fans, especially his teenage fans who are at an especially impressionable age, both that it’s OK to admit that you have a problem and that you’re not weak for seeking help. Unlike many places on the internet, where people spew hatred behind the safety and anonymity offered by their monitors, Cudi’s post has garnered almost 600,000 likes and elicited thousands of positive and supportive comments, such as: “While not only getting yourself through these things, you expressed it in music and helped all your fans to get through similar stuff. Respect man. Never be ashamed of who you are.” Many other fans offered support by saying that his music had helped them survive tough times of their own. By acting in a responsible and positive manner regarding his illness, Cudi has helped to destigmatize mental illness and has presented a constructive way to safely deal with depression.

Kid Cudi isn’t the only artist who uses his fame to promote mental health awareness. Celebrities in other fields, including the critically acclaimed author John Green, also make an effort to share their struggles and promote asking for help. Green battles the stigma that exists around mental illness by freely admitting to his battle with anxiety on his Tumblr page, in interviews and even in his work.

His recent novel, “Turtles All the Way Down,” was inspired by his fight with anxiety and described by The New York Times as “wrenching and revelatory […] provid[ing] a window into what it’s like to live in constant fear of your own mind.” Green has also been candid about the fact that he takes medicine and goes to a therapist for help. Furthermore, he directly interacts with fans by answering online questions about his anxiety and gives tips on dealing with the it on his Tumblr, Twitter and his podcast “Dear Hank and John.” Green successfully strives to address this sensitive and pertinent topic.

Lil Peep’s death and the role social media played in his struggle with depression ultimately gets at the larger question of how we as a society discuss and depict mental illness. His tragic death reminds us of the dangers that mental illness poses without the proper attention and of the importance of promoting healthy ways for individuals to receive proper treatment to deal with mental illness before it is too late. His death also reminds us that our heroes and idols are human too. Hopefully, artists in the future who are struggling can learn from celebrities today like Kid Cudi and John Green to use their platform to raise awareness of mental health issues.

11 Songs that Perfectly Describe Your Emotions This Finals Season

Graphic by Justin Barry ’18

This playlist follows the ups and downs of finals studying — from “Scholarships“ to “Mad“ ­­— with a range of music as diverse as the emotions it describes.

Hugh Ford ’20 Staff Writer

“Chamber of Reflection.” This peaceful song should let you crank out practice problems in a jiffy.

The holidays are just around the corner, and the festive spirit is on full display just about everywhere. Well, everywhere except college. A different season is on the horizon here — exam season.

While the holidays are a time for cheer, exams can be quite rough, to put it lightly. As the rest of the world busily decorates and sips eggnog, students must buckle down and study. With the holidays seeming so close, yet so far away, you might not be ready to turn on Michael Bublé and Mariah Carey just yet. Here is a short study playlist I put together to lift your spirits and get you through the next few weeks.

3. “Pick up the Phone” – Lupe Fiasco After spending five hours in self-imposed solitary confinement, it may be time to pick up the phone.

Take a break from studying, and call a friend.

1. “Scholarships” – Drake & Future “Scholarships” is the perfect song to get you started on your studying. Drake and Future’s collaboration reminds you of how hard you’ve worked all semester and advises you to stay away from distractions.

A good motivator, you’ll definitely want this on rotation.

2. “Chamber of Reflection” – Mac Demarco This is a great study song, slow and dreamy. Mac Demarco, asks you to “spend some time alone” hitting the books. Make a Frost A Level cubicle your

4. “So Good at Being in Trouble” – Unknown Mortal Orchestra OK, so by “take a break,” I didn’t mean “watch the whole ‘Stranger Things 2’ in one sitting.” You should probably get back to work. You might be panicking, but don’t worry; you’ve been in trouble before. You might even say you’re good at being in trouble. You work best in crunch time. This peaceful song should calm your nerves enough to get you back to studying.

5. “Dang!” – Mac Miller feat. Anderson Paak.

Did “So Good at Being in Trouble” not quite calm you down? But it’s so smooth! Anyway, your heart rate is pretty amped up because it’s already 7 p.m. and you’ve barely started studying. Or maybe it’s those three cups of coffee you drank. Dang! We’ll never really know. Nothing to do now but to find a song to match your adrenaline levels. This uptempo jazzy collaboration from Mac Miller and Anderson Paak is perfect!

6. “Buried Alive Interlude” – Drake feat. Kendrick Lamar There’s just too much work to do. You really should start prioritizing now. Only bother with the important stuff.

7. “I Need Some Sleep” – Eels “I need some sleep, I can’t go on like this.” At this point, it’s probably better to get a good night’s sleep instead of trying to cram in more vocab words.

“You just got to let it go.” I mean, your brain will probably sort everything out for you by the morning. Right?

8. “Close Your Eyes” – The Bullitts feat. Jay Electronica & Lucy Liu Even though it’s pretty late, you’re probably going to have trouble falling asleep. Equations and theorems float around in your head. You just need to close your eyes. Let Jay Electronica tell you how far you’ve come. You’ve got this! “Never let the seed of doubt deter you from your lofty aims …

Close your eyes and dream big like Faith Evans.”

9. “Words I Don’t Remember” – How To Dress Well Well, it’s exam day. Now you admit to yourself that maybe you should have put just a little more time in. It was kind of ridiculous that you thought you

could get a whole semester’s worth of French vocab memorized in one night. That’s OK. It probably won’t be on the exam anyway. Let this soothing R&B get you in the zone for the exam.

10. “Mad” – Solange feat. Lil Wayne That exam was kind of bonkers. There was material from the readings not discussed in class, and there was definitely not enough time for the two blue book essays. And, of course, there was that one person who finished 50 minutes early. Yep. They’re the worst. You’ve got the right to be mad. Exams aren’t everything though. Lil Wayne has a “mass account” and “didn’t wear a cap and gown,” so one bad exam can’t hurt you.

11. “Life Goes On” – Lil Yachty feat. Cook LaFlare Life goes on. A bad exam is nothing to worry about. Yachty himself was once a “college kid lost just like everybody else.” You’ve made it through your exam. Forget about it, and enjoy break.

Scan the QR code using your phone for the playlist or search The Amherst Student on Spotify.

The Amherst Student • December 6, 2017

Sports 9

Men’s Ice Hockey Ties Wesleyan and Trinity in Weekend Matches

Photo courtesy of Rob Mattson

Steven Mallory ‘19 has anchored Amherst’s second defensive line this season.

The team as a whole has been strong defensively, allowing 2.40 goals per game.

Delancey King ’18 Staff Writer It was a big weekend for the Amherst men’s hockey team, as the Mammoths took on conference rivals Wesleyan and Trinity. Both games went into overtime, and Amherst came away from the weekend with two ties and now boasts a record of 2-1-3 overall and 0-0-3 in the NESCAC. Saturday’s matchup against Wesleyan was physical and fast-paced from the opening whistle. The Mammoths accrued 10 penalties over the course of the game while the Cardinals recorded seven, and each team managed to

earn a penalty shot. Though Amherst outshot its Little III rival 41-18, the momentum constantly shifted throughout the 65 minutes.

Senior captain Thomas Lindstrom put the Mammoths on the board late in the opening period during an Amherst power play. Receiving a pass from Patrick Daly ’20, Lindstrom ripped a first-time shot over the shoulder of Wesleyan’s Tim Sestak to notch his second goal of the season. The Mammoths held onto the 1-0 lead until the end of the second period, when Jordan Jancze capitalized on a turnover in Amherst’s defensive end to knot the score at 1-1.

Only 46 seconds into the third period, Dylan Holze gave the Cardinals the go-ahead

Men’s Squash Routs Conn. College and Northeastern in Round Robin Jamie Mazzola ’21 Staff Writer This past weekend, the Amherst men’s squash team continued its undefeated campaign by defeating both Conn. College and Northeastern University in a round robin tournament hosted at the Mammoths’ home Davenport Courts.

With the two wins, Amherst’s record now stands at 4-0.

Against the Camels, Amherst won all nine competitive matches as well as the exhibition court contest, sweeping seven of the 10 courts.

The first-year class keyed the Mammoths’ victory, with first-years winning their matches in the first and third through sixth spots.

Terrence Wang ’21 easily won on the first court 11-5, 7-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-4. Meanwhile, David Merkel ’19, Robert Parker ’21 and Cameron Bahadori ’18 swept the second through fourth courts, respectively. Pavan Nagaraj ’21 won another close match on court five, while Reggie Brewster ’21 and Mateen Mills ’20

notched sweeps on the sixth and seventh courts.

Chris Zimmerman ’20, Arnav Parikh ’21 and Lucas Sheiner ’19 won the final three matches for the Mammoths.

“We’ve got a really strong freshman class,” Zimmerman said. “Everyone is really committed to getting the most out of the season.”

Against Northeastern, the Mammoths swept all 10 matches of the event, while playing in the same positions as against Conn. College. A few highlights of the day included Mills winning on the seventh court 11-0, 11-3, 11-1 and Zimmerman winning on court eight 11-2, 11-1 and 11-1.

“We have really high hopes,” Zimmerman noted. “Even though the overall quality of college squash has gone up in recent years, we think we can compete with the best.”

Amherst will not compete for the rest of the month of December, but will return on Sunday, Jan. 7 when it will host Yale. For the rest of interterm, the Mammoths will be busy, competing against their major rivals including Middlebury, Brown and Williams.

Photo courtesy of Mark Box

Mitch Ford ’20 helped Amherst to victory with a win on the ninth court.

goal. Tyler Wyatt sent a beautiful pass to Holze at the left post, and Holze had an easy tap in.

Five minutes later, Walker Harris increased Wesleyan’s lead to two, firing a shot from the top of the left circle for his first goal of the year.

Keeping Amherst in the game, PJ Conlon ’20 scored on a penalty shot seven minutes into the period. Conlon deked to his forehand to beat Sestak and cut the Cardinals’ lead in half. Late heroics from senior captain Patrick Mooney sent the game into overtime. Getting a quick shot off from the point, Mooney rocketed the puck into the bottom left corner to tie things up with just under six minutes remaining in regulation. After playing out the rest of the third period and five minutes of overtime, the score remained knotted at 3-3, and both teams walked away with a tie.

On Sunday, the Mammoths took on national powerhouse Trinity, which has been to the DIII national title game twice in the past three years. Outshooting Amherst 42-30, the Bantams managed to come back from a three-goal deficit in order to preserve their undefeated record. Goaltender Connor Girard ’19 was outstanding for the Mammoths, making 39 stops against the potent Trinity offense.

David White ’18 notched Amherst’s first goal of the game with just under four minutes remaining in the first period. Converting on the power play, White tipped in a wrist shot from Phil Johansson ’19. Trinity continued to create quality chances throughout the period, but the visitors struggled to capitalize.

Lindstrom doubled the Mammoths’ lead in the second period as he pounced on a pass from White just seconds before the second intermission began. Rounding things out for Amherst, Johansson recorded his third goal of the season a mere 16 seconds into the third period.

The junior defender found the puck off a faceoff and fired a shot past Trinity’s Alex Morin.

Only one minute after Johansson’s goal, the Bantams began their comeback. Goals from Anthony Sabitsky and Charlie Zuccarini brought Trinity within one of the Mammoths.

With 1:27 remaining in regulation, the Bantams pulled their goalie to have six skaters on the ice, a move that paid dividends.

Finding the top left corner of the net with 8.9 seconds to play, Barclay Gammill notched the equalizer to force overtime. After a scoreless period of overtime, the game ended in a tie.

Next up, the Mammoths will face historic rival Williams at home in Orr Rink on Friday, Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Rob Mattson

John Festa ’19 has contributed an assist this season.

Women’s Swim and Dive Tops NESCAC Foe Middlebury, 167-122, Moves to 3-0

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios, Inc.

Katie Smith ’19 led the 200-meter medley relay team to victory this weekend.

Matthew Sparrow ’21 Staff Writer Continuing its winning ways, the Amherst women’s swimming and diving team knocked off Middlebury in the Mammoths’ first home meet of the season by a score of 167-122. It was an impressive victory for the 12th-ranked Mammoths, who will likely climb a few spots in the national rankings, as the Panthers had entered the meet ranked 15th in the nation.

Amherst started off hot, winning the first 12 events of the meet. To open the action, the team of Stephanie Moriarty ’18, Katie Smith ’19, Geralyn Lam ’18 and Natalie Rumpelt ’20 dominated the 200-yard medley relay. This marked the third straight win in the event for the quartet, whose time of 1:47.96 beat out the second place finishers by nearly 2.5 seconds.

In the 1000-yard freestyle, the Mammoths used a mix of youth and experience to claim the top two spots. Promising first-year Julia Ruggiero posted a time of 10:47.71 to win the event, while senior Marie Maxwell took second with a time of 10:56.98. The 100-yard breaststroke proved to be one of the closest races of the day, as Smith narrowly out-touched Nina Fitzgerald ’21 by just .38 seconds to claim first place, while Meg Parker ’20 placed fourth.

In the sprint events, Ingrid Shu ’20 won the 50yard freestyle with a blistering time of 24.90. Zoe

Pappas ’19 and Hanna Sanford ’21 finished third and fifth with times of 25.29 and 26.55, respectively. The story was similar in the 100-yard freestyle, in which Rumpelt took first in 52.82, followed by Sarah McDonald ’20 at 54.97.

The best event for Amherst was the 200-yard freestyle, in which Rumpelt took first with a time of 1:55.48, Livia Domenig ’19 placed second with a time of 1:56.23 and McDonald claimed third to finish off the sweep.

On the diving side, Lindsay Ruderman ’21 scored a fantastic 288.30 in the one-meter diving competition to win the event, well over the NCAA B-cut score of 255.00. Nina Kiley ’21 was also able to pick up an additional point, thanks to a score of 205.13. Ruderman continued her success with a 266.55 mark in the three-meter diving, again topping the NCAA B cut score of 265.00.

Amherst closed out the meet in the same way that it had started by dominating the final few events of the day. Heather Grotzinger ’20 had the fastest time in the 200-yard individual medley at 2:11.91, with classmate Isabella Weiner claimed the second fastest time in 2:15.60. In the final event, the 400-yard freestyle relay, the team of Moriarty, Lam, Domenig and Rumpelt clinched the Mammoths’ last win of the day in a time of 3:34.73 to seal the dominating win.

The Mammoths will now have a four-week break before they return to the pool against Union College on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 1 p.m.

10

Sports

The Amherst Student • December 6, 2017

Men’s Swim Swamps Middlebury in Weekend NESCAC Matchup

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Sean Mebust ’20 swam the 200-yard freestyle in 1:45.8 seconds. Mebust finished second in the race as part of a Mammoth sweep of the event.

Jordan Rhodeman ’21 Staff Writer On Saturday, Dec. 2, the Amherst men’s swimming and diving team hosted Middlebury in the Mammoths’ home opener at Pratt Pool.

Maintaining their perfect record, the Amherst men drowned the Panthers 165-102.

Ranked 16th in the nation, the Mammoths demonstrated their overwhelming talent in the weekend win.

Starting the meet strong as always, Craig Smith ’20, Elijah Spiro ’18, Tristian So ’21 and Jack Koravos ’20 gave Amherst its first win in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:33.63.

Following right behind in second place, Sam Spurrell ’18, Chris Quinones ’19, John Janezich ’18 and Bobby Meyer ’21 clocked in at 1:36.10.

Following the same pattern in the 1000yard freestyle, Flanagan Waldherr ’21 touched the wall in 10:15.48 to snag first place.

Less than a second behind the first-year, Nathan Ives ’18 placed second with a mark of 10:16.02.

Improving on recent results, the Mam-

moths amazed in the 200-yard freestyle with Eric Wong ’20 (1:44.65), Sean Mebust ’20 (1:45.87) and Brandon Wang ’20 (1:47.86) sweeping the top three spots.

After his event-winning split in the 200yard medley, Spiro continued his success by setting a pool record of 56.94 seconds in the 100-yard breaststroke.

Again, Josh Chen ’19 and Justin Lee ’19 followed right behind Spiro with times of 58.03 and 59.99, respectively.

Bennett Fagan ’20 (260.93 points), Jake Meyer ’18 (196.50 points) and Bobby Shogren ’19 (181.20 points) swept the three-meter diving event, respectively.

Gaining momentum as the meet advanced, Sam Spurell ’18 and first-year Adi Arifovic, placed first and second in the 200-yard butterfly.

Paralleling their teammates’ success, Koravos, So and Matt Sanders ’21 swept the 50-yard freestyle in times of 21.32, 21.54 and 22.27, respectively. Mebust and Quinones led the 200-yard breaststroke with times of 2:09.33 and 2:11.49.

The Mammoths will look to continue their three-match winning streak at Union College on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 1 p.m.

Women’s Squash Maintains Perfect Record with Two Wins on Saturday

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Jenna Finkelstein ’20 won her match without dropping a single point Zoe Atoko ’21 Staff Writer The Amherst College women’s squash team extended its spotless record this week with wins against Conn. College and Northeastern University at home on Dec. 2. The Mammoths began the round robin tournament with a match against NESCAC rival Conn. College.

The match against the Camels saw Amherst notch wins on nine of the 10 courts. First-year Riddhi Sampat led the Mammoths by battling back to win in five sets at the number one position, 5-11, 11-2, 11-6, 8-11, and 11-8. The momentum only built from there, as Madison Chen ’21 glided through her match in the fourth position to win 11-1, 11-0, and 11-1. This was followed by Pierson Klein ’20 and Katy Correia ’20

at the sixth and eighth slots respectively, who won 11-2, 11-4, 11-3 11-2, 11-2 and 11-1, respectively.

A couple hours later, the Mammoths were back on the Davenport Courts, this time squaring up against Northeastern’s club squash team.

This contest proved even easier, as the hosts swept each of the 10 courts.

Rachel Ang ’19 won her singles match at the second position 11-0, 11-2, 11-5. Margaret Werner ’21 and Jenna Finkelstein ’20 both had great showings as well, besting their opponents 11-0, 11-1, 11-3, and 11-1, 11-0, 11-0, respectively.

Correia continued her dominance from the Conn. College match, not allowing her Northeastern opponent to score a single point in an 110, 11-0, 11-0 win. Rounding off the Mammoths’ sweep in the challenge match was Ashira Mawji ’21 winning 11-1, 11-1, 11-2 to seal the overall sweep.

“Coming into the match, our focus was on shot selection and ensuring we were in control of every point,” Werner said. “We definitely followed through with this, and in all of the points I saw, the Amherst women and men played controlled, well-placed shots. The 9-0 sweep of both matches in the round robin really reflects the focus both teams had throughout the day.”

The Mammoths are now undefeated at 4-0, with this weekend’s two wins adding to earlier routs of Tufts and Boston University. The Mammoths have yet to face a formidable opponent, a situation that is likely to change soon now that the season is in full swing.

Though the team will not have matches for the rest of the month, Amherst will face its first true test of the season when it returns to action against Yale on Sunday, Jan. 7 at 11 a.m.

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

David Merkel Merkel ‘19 ’19 David

Geralyn Geralyn Lam Lam ’18 ‘18

Favorite Team Memory: Every interterm Favorite Pro Athlete: Lionel Messi Dream Job: Writer Pet Peeve: Tardiness Favorite Vacation Spot: Where there are mountains, I am happy Something on Your Bucket List: Climbing Aconcagua Guilty Pleasure: 7!

Favorite Food: I like a good doughnut Favorite Thing About Amherst: My pals How He Earned It: Merkel continued to have a very strong season for the Amherst men’s squash team. Playing in the two spot against opposing teams’ stronger players, Merkel has dominated the competiton. Through this season’s four matches so far, Merkel has yet to drop a single set, winning each of his four matches in straight sets. Perhaps Merkel’s most impressive victory came in the Mammoth’s first match against the 29th-ranked Tufts, when he beat his opponent 11-2, 11-5, 11-8. Merkel and the rest of the team will face off next against Yale on Jan. 2.

Favorite Team Memory: Going to Puerto Rico for our team training trip.

Favorite Pro Athlete: Serena Williams Dream Job: Being head of grab and go department Pet Peeve: Not having salt on the tables in Val Favorite Vacation Spot: Pratt Pool Something on Your Bucket List: Bringing back yoghurt chicken Guilty Pleasure: Reality TV Favorite Food: Anything gluten free Favorite Thing About Amherst: When there was salt on the tables in Val How She Earned It: Lam was a key component of No. 12 Amherst’s downing of No. 15 Middlebury in this weekend’s meet. Lam was a member of the 200 yard medley relay that captured first place with a time of 1:47.96. This relay has been a key piece of the Mammoths’ success all season, placing first at Wesleyan and Colby. Lam also turned in an impressive solo effort, winning the 200yard butterfly with a time of 2:07.73.

Men’s Basketball Dominates Pair of Non-Conference Foes, Moves to 5-0 Mary Grace Cronin ’18 Staff Writer After four days of rest, the Amherst men’s basketball team was back in action this past Saturday, Dec. 2, when the Mammoths made the trip to Boston to take on Emerson College in an out of conference match-up.

Amherst continued to exhibit its team-wide excellence, coming out strong from the first whistle. Thanks to a great offensive effort, led by firstyear point guard Grant Robinson, the Mammoths toppled the Lions 78-65, ending a three-game win streak for the host team. Robinson, who has been a consistent force on the court, continued to show his offensive acumen in his fourth collegiate contest.

Senior co-captain Michael Riopel followed close behind Robinson’s team-high 18 points with 15 of his own. Eric Sellew ’20 finished out the game with a double-double of 14 points and 15 rebounds, while Johnny McCarthy ’18 was the fourth of five starters to score in the double digits, tallying 10 points. McCarthy also played impressively on the defensive end, coming away with three steals. First-year Fru Che reached doubledigits off the bench, closing with 10 points.

Amherst’s suffocating defense kept the Lions at bay, allowing them to come within single digits of the Mammoths’ lead only once late in the second half.

When asked about how he feels about the first couple weeks of the season and what he thinks the future holds for this young Amherst team, Riopel was excited.

“It is a different feel on the court this year, both in practice and in games,” Riopel said. “You can tell how much everyone wants to succeed. John and I are thrilled to be able to co-captain a team that possesses so much enthusiasm.”

Thanks to their perfect start to the season following the win over Emerson, the Mammoths moved from being unranked to No. 21 in the d3hoops.com national rankings.

Amherst’s strength and endurance will be test-

ed in the upcoming week, as the team will take the court three times over the next six days.

On Tuesday, Dec. 5 Amherst returend to Lefrak Gymnasium to host Anna Maria College in another non-conference contest. The purple and white dominated the game from the start, eventually recording a resounding 78-41 victory. Sellew led the team with 15 points.

The Mammoths will be back on the road later this week, when they travel to Wellesley, Mass. to face the defending national champion Babson on Thursday, Dec. 7.

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Senior Johnny McCarthy scored 11 points in a win over Anna Maria College.

The Amherst Student • December 6, 2017

Sports

11

The Hot Corner Jack Malague ’19 Columnist Jack argues the decline of the National Football League’s ratings has nothing to do with fears about head injuries. Rather, he claims, it has to do with the NFL’s own organizational problems and the increased dullness of the game.

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Fresh off of an undefeated season that ended with a national championship last year, Amherst women’s basketball has yet to lose this season.

Amherst Wins Two Road Games, Continues Dominant Undefeated Season Kelly Karczwesci ’18 Staff Writer The Amherst women’s basketball team improved to a perfect 6-0 record after going undefeated in two tries this week, topping Eastern Connecticut State University (ECSU) in an away matchup on Thursday before turning around and routing Farmingdale State University on Saturday.

The Mammoths went on the road on Thursday evening for the first time this season against the ECSU Warriors and returned with not just another victory, but with a milestone for head coach G.P. Gromacki as well. Gromacki, in his 11th year at the helm, achieved his 300th win at Amherst.

It was a rocky start to the game for the Mammoths, who trailed at the end of the first quarter for the first time all season, falling behind 19-18 thanks to fierce defense and steady shooting by the Warriors.

However, Amherst quickly regained its composure in the second quarter, disrupting ECSU’s offense to the tune of forcing six turnovers in 10 minutes and holding the hosts to only four baskets.

Additionally, Amherst began to find its stroke, as the Mammoths were able to pour in 19 points in 10 minutes.

Emma McCarthy ’19 and Hannah Hackley ’18 helped out under the basket, snatching up offensive rebounds and putting them back in for several second chance points.

When the whistle blew to mark the end of the first half, Amherst was up nine points.

Though ECSU had been hoping to make a comeback, such hopes were quickly discarded in the third quarter.

A combined 15 points from Jackie Nagle ’18 off the bench and starting point guard Hannah Fox ’20 gave the Mammoths a 19-point lead, 57-38, heading into the final 10 minutes.

Four Amherst starters finished the game in double figures, led by Hackley’s 16 points to pace all scorers and McCarthy’s doubledouble with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Madeline Eck ’20 added 13 points and Fox put in 10. Nagle added 15 points off the bench, going an impressive 7-8 from the floor.

With a score of 72-54 in Amherst’s favor at the final whistle, the Mammoths left with the win, running its season-long win streak to five games and overall win streak to 38 straight.

Amherst came up with another away victory two days later, trumping Farmingdale State by 30 points to improve their record to 6-0.

Fox was instrumental in the win, putting up 18 points to lead all scorers and providing poise and calmness from the point guard position.

She also dished out three assists and grabbed six rebounds to help the Mammoths out under the basket.

McCarthy had a big game as well, recording her second double-double of the week with a game-high 12 rebounds and 13 points in the victory.

With this victory, reigning national champs have recorded 39 straight victories, dating back to last season’s opening game.

Amherst does not have a midweek game this week, but will host Bridgewater State at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9 in a non-conference matchup.

After that, the Mammoths will take a few weeks off before travelling to Las Vegas for the 2017 d3hoops.com Classic tournamentfor a first round matchup against UC Santa Cruz. They will then face off against Trine, Unviersity, Chapman University and University of Redlands.

The National Football League (NFL) announced last month that it would fine Miami Dolphins linebacker Kiko Alonso for hitting Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco in the head as he started to slide. Flacco, on a third-and-10 play on the Dolphins’ 20-yard line, dropped back to throw before scrambling to his right past the line of scrimmage. Alonso, who had dropped back toward his team’s end zone to defend against the pass, charged in to stop Flacco before he reached a first down. Alonso lowered his shoulder right as Flacco started to slide, crashing into Flacco’s head and knocking off his helmet. Flacco, visibly dazed, motioned to the sideline and then crumpled to the ground. A melee broke out around him, and the referees flagged Alonso with a personal foul. Flacco was led off the field and left the game with a concussion.

This provided the sports networks with a couple days’ worth of fodder. Commentators hemmed and hawed over whether Flacco had slid late, if Alonso could have backed off the gas at the last minute and how desperate the NFL should be to protect their quarterbacks. A week later, Flacco met the media with a tempered response to Alonso’s hit.

“A lot of times for those [defenders], it’s not avoidable,” Flacco said. “You’re going and hitting guys. It’s football. That’s why people love this sport … they get to watch people go to battle. That’s what separates this sport for fans and players.”

That may be why some love the sport, but it

“ “You’re going and hitting guys. It’s football. That’s why people love this sport … they get to watch people go to battle.”

”

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Natalie Nardella ’20 has made 75 percent of her free-throws on the year.

also is increasingly posing a serious problem for the NFL and football in general. Brutal stories of players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), from Aaron Hernandez to Fred McNeill, have made America’s most popular athletic obsession a little bit harder to stomach. Though it is not news that football is dangerous, recent studies on CTE, a brain disease common among those who have experienced repeated brain trauma, are making it tougher to pretend that the violence we watch on television stays within the white lines.

In 2014, Eric Kester wrote an op-ed in The New York Times chronicling his experience as a ball boy in the NFL. The piece is devastating. In particular, he describes one of his primary tasks, which was to give smelling salts to players after they absorbed particularly brutal hits.

“After almost every crowd-pleasing hit, a player would stagger off the field, steady himself the best he could, sometimes vomit a little, and tilt his head to the sky,” he wrote.

The ball boy would run over with a packet of smelling salts to give the player some supply of superficial alertness, and the player would return to the field to start it all over again.

Football is not the first American fixation to threaten the well-being of its participants. For decades, boxing captivated the public imagination.

Iconic personalities, from the U.S. and countless other nations, became characters in a mythical drama. Many boxers from working class backgrounds traded their rags for celebrity. The ring was also a theater for social battles. Max Baer wore a Star of David on his shorts when he beat Max Schmeling — a German fighter of whom Adolf Hitler was quite fond — in Yankee Stadium in 1933. Joe Louis later fought Schmeling twice and beat him both times, dealing the Nazis a good deal of embarrassment. Decades later, Muhammad Ali became a key figure in the civil

rights movement and was famously arrested for draft evasion before the Supreme Court overturned his conviction. Boxing displayed unapologetically the totality of American ugliness and beauty, deftness and brutality. The “sweet science” that had cost boxers their lives since Baer killed Frankie Campbell in 1930 maintained the aura of a ballet.

The list of boxers who have died of injuries sustained during boxing matches is depressingly long. About 500 fighters have died of boxing-related injuries in the past century and a half. Many of these victims did not succumb until hours, days, or even weeks after they left the ring to the cheers — or scorn — of spectators unaware they

“

Brutal stories of players with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), from Aaron Hernandez to Fred McNeill, have made America’s most popular athletic obsession a little bit harder to stomach.

”

were watching a dead man walk.

A common-sense narrative of boxing’s decline is that we realized the danger of the sport as a society, and many of us decided we no longer cared to watch. The reality, however, is less satisfying. For one thing, boxing’s dangers were never much of a mystery, and there was not too much effort to sanitize the sport. Boxing’s decline began not from more enlightened sentiment, but from organizational failing. From 1921 to 1963, the National Boxing Association, now the World Boxing Association (WBA), was the sport’s major governing body, awarding champions in eight weight classes. Now, the WBA competes with the WBC, WBO and the IBF and awards a dizzying 17 world championships for men and 13 for women. For all but the most dedicated fans, this became too much to handle. Though stars

“

Today, however, the NFL cannot seem to get out of its own way.

”

like Mike Tyson, Ann Wolfe, Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather attract periodic attention and make millions for pay-perview companies, boxing commands very little interest among the general public. The average fight simply does not mean that much and, consequently, is not that interesting.

As recently as a couple of years ago, the idea that football would go the path of boxing was preposterous. Ratings were soaring and the league was making money hand over fist. Despite football’s documented ugliness, the country’s fanaticism had never been stronger. Today, however, the NFL cannot seem to get out of its own way. TV ratings are plummeting while the league continues to trot out bizarre promotions and soporific primetime matchups. Meanwhile, college football ratings are doing just fine, and UFC is carving out a sizable following. As was the case with boxing, the NFL is not losing traction because it is violent, but because it is boring. In a sport with overzealous refereeing, interminable replay reviews and an inexplicable shortage of talented quarterbacks, ugly hits are really all there is to talk about. The league that once seemed to big to fail might now be on the ropes.

Sports

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Junior Jamie McNamara has played in every game for the Mammoths, and registered a goal and an assist against New English College on Nov. 26.

Women’s Hockey Sweeps Weekend Series Against NESCAC Rival Trinity Kelly Bergamesca ’18 Staff Writer This week, the Amherst women’s hockey team returned to action and picked up two important wins against NESCAC rival Trinity to push the team’s overall record to 4-2.

In their first contest against the Bantams, the Mammoths used a dominant offensive performance to leave the ice with an impressive 6-2 win.

Following a scoreless first period, Trinity was the first team to get on the board, scoring in the sixth minute of the second period during a power play stemming from an Amherst hooking penalty.

The Mammoths responded two minutes later, when Laura Schmidlein ’19 scores her first goal of the season to even the score at 1-1. Despite Trinity taking the lead again in the second period,

GAME SCHE DULE

Amherst managed to peg them back, knotting the score at 2-2 off of senior Alex Toupal’s unassisted goal.

Amherst then made use of a third period offensive spree to clinch the win. Miriam Eickhoff ’19 gave the Mammoths their first lead of the day just 53 seconds in the last stanza of play, with assists awarded to Toupal and sophomore Eliza Laycock.

Toupal then notched another assist on the next goal by Jocelyn Hunyadi ’19 to put Amherst up 4-2.

The Mammoths continued to pour it on, as junior Katelyn Pantera scored off a power play goal from another pass by Toupal before Rose Mroczka ’21 put the final nail in Trinity’s coffin with an unassisted goal toward the end of the game, registering her first collegiate point, givng Amherst

the 6-2 win. Amherst closed out the game with 5 unanswered goals.

The next day, the Mammoths returned to the ice and once again routed the Bantams in a decisive 4-1 victory. Unlike the first game, the Mammoths got off to a quick start that pushed them into an early lead and would not relinquish it at any point.

Amherst’s first goal of the day came in the opening period after Eickhoff collected a pass from Hunyadi and capitalized on the team’s first man-up opportunity.

Toupal registered the second assist on this goal and, with this point, registered the 100th point of her collegiate career. Toupal has scored 12 points on the year, and now sits sixth on the Amherst women’s hockey all-time scoring list.

Courtney Hanlon ’12 is the leading scorer with

WED

THU

FRI

SAT

Women’s Ice Hockey vs. Norwich, 7 p.m.

Men’s Basketball @ Babson, 7 p.m.

Men’s ice Hockey vs. Williams, 7:30 p.m.

Men’s Ice Hockey vs. Middlebury, 3 p.m.

Men’s Basketball @ Lasell, 3 p.m.

Women’s Ice Hockey @ Elmira, 7 p.m.

126 points.

Back on the ice, both teams fought back and forth for the remainder of the first period, and Griese scored what ended up being the gamewinner off an assist from senior defender Kristen Molina.

Hunyadi continued her weekend-long dominance, giving the Mammoths a commanding 3-0 lead on an unassisted effort in another man-up situation in the second period.

While Trinity managed to pull one goal back in the third period, Schmidlein restored Amherst’s three-goal advantage with a tally assisted

by Molina and Hunyadi, which doubled as the final goal of the game.

Amherst’s next game is against Norwich University at Orr Rink on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m.

Women’s Basketball @ Bridgewater State University, 7 p.m.