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We dne sday, Fe bruary ,
Volume CXLI No.
Amherst, Massachusetts
Little Red Schoolhouse Faces Termination everything is kid-size.” Part of their plan is to request money from the town of Amherst’s Community Preservation Act Committee to preserve and move the building. The proposal stresses the importance of the physical environment to the preschool program, arguing that “the building itself is partly responsible for the success and excellence of the program itself.” However, President Martin cautioned that while the College was aware of these efforts, the costs of moving a brick building “would seem to make it prohibitive,” ranging anywhere between $440,000 and $635,000. Another point of discussion appears to be the nature of the Day School. Because it is only a half-day program, many College faculty
Elaine Teng ’12 Senior Editor As the College gears up for one of its largest construction projects in decades, the future of preschool Amherst Day School, affectionately known as the Little Red Schoolhouse, is the Little Red Schoolhouse, located in the heart of the Social Quad, that it would have to close and vacate the premises by June 30, 2012, the Schoolhouse and members of the Amherst community have rallied together to petition the College about extending its future. Proposals range new home, to physically moving the building to an alternate location on campus or in town. Though there are currently no plans to demolish the schoolhouse, President Carolyn “Biddy” Martin explained that the building Photo by Alissa Rothman ’15
ing years due to construction. However, President Martin also stressed that the College took the relationship between the two institutions seriously, given their long history. This history stretches back to 1937, when the Little Red Schoolhouse was built after then-College President Stanley King accepted a petition for a permanent preschool building. Designed by James Kellum Smith, Class of 1915, who was also the mastermind behind the Amherst War Memorial, the Mead Art Museum and the Boston Public Library, the Little Red Schoolhouse was funded by James Turner, Class of 1880, who insisted that the school should be built without regard to cost. His generosity also included an endowment of $400,000, which
Amherst Day School, also known at the Little Red Schoolhouse, could be closed by June of this year. The schoolhouse has been a part of campus since 1937. today provides about 30 percent of the Schoolhouse’s annual operating budget. The building dren, with the interior entirely built to the scale of a toddler. Today, the school serves around 20 children of three teachers, a director and student volunteers. Though the schoolhouse was originally intended for the College faculty and staff, it also serves the community at large. Proponents for saving the schoolhouse building have been petitioning the College to
form a committee to work out a compromise between the two institutions as construction moves forward. “We’ve met with a member of the administration and proposed that there be a study committee to look at the needs of the College for preschool education and the resources of the Little Red Schoolhouse and its staff, and to see where the common ground is,” said Carol Gray, whose husband drafted the petition. “The College hasn’t decided yet what they want to do with the building, but it’s hard to imagine them using it for anything but the preschool because
Siyu Shen ’15 Contributing Writer
Ethan Corey ’15 News Section Editor
Valentine Dining Hall (@AmherstDining) has joined the evergrowing list of Amherst College Twitter accounts. Valentine has joined the popular media site in an effort to connect the dining hall and the students on campus. At 149 followers and one week in, this Twitter account has been testing the limits of its 140 characters to reach out to all those who check its “tweets” each day. Launched by sophomores Quinn Saunders and JJ Hoffstein, the idea was formulated when Saunders began thinking of a way to use the varied student opinions regarding the College’s only dining hall to improve it, rather than just let the comments sit. Bringing his idea to Hoffstein, the two contacted Charlie Thompson, the Direc-
On Thursday, Jan. 26, the Association of Amherst Stuthe Board of Trustees to host a trustee dinner at the newly-renovated Lord Jeffery Inn. The dinner brought students, trustees, faculty and staff together to discuss issues confronting the College. Participants rotated around 10 tables at the Inn, discussing topics such as housing, academics, sustainability, campus community and facilities. Although the College has held similar events in past years, the trustee dinner this year was the largest of such events in recent history. Dean of Students Allen Hart said that this year’s event was part of a joint effort by the AAS and the Dean of Stu-
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See Petition, page 2
College’s future and to address issues important to students. Concerns about preparing the College for the future dominated the night’s discussions as participants explored a variety of subjects, including the new science building, the fate of the socials dorms and electric cars on campus. At the same time, many students expressed a strong interest in preserving and maintaining the history and traditions of the College, emphasizing a need to balance the necessity of change with respect for the past. Alex Stein ’13, AAS Chief of Staff, highlighted the importance of this balance with respect to housing. Amherst,” Stein said. “We are looking to expand as a school, while on the other hand we are tearing down the Socials, and
See Students, page 3
Victorian Era Women Teng ’12 reviews “Albert Nobbs”
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Opinion
See Valentine, page 3
Senators to install on-campus plugin station
childcare needs of Amherst College faculty and staff, and we hope Amherst Day School will be able to help meet those needs,” she said. In this vein, Therese Ross, Director of Amherst Day School, stressed the willingness of the program to compromise and also pointed out the education value of the schoolhouse for Amherst students. “It’s not us versus them. What we are focusing on is the best interests of education and for
Trustees Meet With Students to Discuss Issues
Valentine Dining Tweets
The AAS Goes Green
children to other schools with longer hours, a point President Martin stressed would have to be addressed in future negotiations. “The donor of the endowment that has supported the Little Red and Amherst Day School
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