Issue 13

Sports

Jeffs Shining on Skates

Women’s Hockey Captures First Place in NESCAC Page 12

Photo by Rob Mattson

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-

Page 5

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”

A&L

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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The independent newspaper of Amherst College since .

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The Amherst Student, February , 

Fresh Faculty of the Week

Petition Hopes to Save Amherst Day School

Mathematics Professor Corey Manack graduated with a Bachelors of Science from Ohio State Univ. He received his Masters of Sciences and Ph.D. from Indiana Univ.

Discrete, it’s really starting at the beginning, logic, sets and the structure, the foundations of higher orders of thinking begin in

What brought you to Amherst?

Well, honestly when I interviewed here, I

What do you do in your spare time?

When spare time existed, what did I like to do? I like bowling.

Since I’ve been here, I’ve been hanging out with Black Studies Assistant Professor Polk. We’ll go out and discuss things over

Continued from page 1 the kids,” she said. “I think it’s important to

sary if you’re going to pursue math. dents on campus, to faculty and staff and to the larger

thought it was an excellent place to teach, even for a visiting position. It was the best school I applied to, and when they offered, I accepted immediately. The students have been great, the faculty’s been great; it’s strange to be at a place where everyone’s happy.

What made you choose math?

The Cookie Monster Cookie Counter! Christmas 1984. There are lots of stories. I think the one that I like the best is, my relative always said that at some point, I was able to add two twodigit numbers before I could really speak the answer, so I think it’s just always been in me. I mean when you get calculators for Christmas, there’s probably something very intrinsic about you that tells you that you should be a mathematician. But it wasn’t always this easy. I thought, at the end of high school, I’d get into computer science, and I really enjoyed my computer science courses, but taking AP Calc my senior year … it really was as romantic as erasing Computer Science as my major and putting down Mathematics, and the rest is history. As far as math goes, it’s beautiful, it’s free of the fuzz of life and you can operate in a world where things are true and always will be true. Models for the atom change and always some theory breaks down if the scale is either too large or too small, and math persists. I mean, the stuff that Euclid proved is still true today, so that ability to leave a legacy of ideas that are impenetrable or just will always stand up to time, is also something nice. Of course, I’d also like to say that I haven’t really accomplished any of this, but the idea of establishing some sort of research legacy is really kind of appealing. And I think math, for me, is more a feeling, than it is really thinking — the excitement of breaking through a problem, or being able to convey that excitement to the students, those things. It’s really rewarding, it’s the best job in the world, I really enjoy what I do.

Which classes are you teaching this semester?

This semester, it’s Discrete and Statistics, and, again, this courses, and Statistics and Discrete sort of live at opposite ends of the spectrum. Statistics is trying to quantify the fuzz, or the uncertainty.

The real world.

Yeah, exactly. But even, there’s a process to that as well; being able to quantify uncertainty can be done. And then with

[also] like hiking.

I heard something about playing Risk…

Oh, of course, the Risk, yes. Well the Risk has sort of now turned into a research endeavor, so I don’t know if it’s really spare time any more. I guess this is really my goal, to fold things I enjoy into the work so it hopefully makes both more enjoyable. But yeah, I’ve always liked puzzles, chess and these things. Turning Risk into research that I always joked about with my fellow grad students, because this is what we did when we should have been working on our dissertations. But, it’s something I think I can sell to the students, and I think it’s ripe for research, so it hits that nice, paper-thin edge of accessible but still, there’s good math in there that you don’t need much background to actually get into.

Riskology is what I call it.

Well, it’s probability, and people like probability because it’s very tangible.

I think so, and plus, you get good results that are surprising, like the Birthday Problem, in probability. It’s just something that I give to my students every class ... [The Birthday Problem] is, if there are 23 people in a room, there’s a 50 percent chance that two of them share the same birthday, which again is amazing, because for 100 percent chance, you would need 367 students.

That would guarantee that two share the same birthday. But to get a 50 percent chance, you need far less than 50 percent of the number of days, you only need 23. This is something that works well in stats, because there is some underlying probability that we’d like to get to. And in Discrete, especially in the beginning, with logic, we’re taking a lot of time formalizing this intuition, so I think there’s a lot of inertia to overcome, as far as why do we really have to make things so formal. And the point is, once you live in this world, you can prove things that defy your intuition. that you can operate well in this world, and communicate your ideas to other mathematicians. But yeah, the Birthday Problem is fantastic. Probably for every class for the rest of my life, I will give the Birthday Problem, because it’s easy, it’s fun and you can test it out in class!

and work here, it’s a connection to the real world. ‘I’m with these young children, I’m helping them, but it’s also a reality check that life isn’t just about my academic life on campus.’”

One of these students, Aubrie Campbell ’14, hoped that the two parties could come to an agreement of early education to human development.

“I think a lot of the reasons so many of us are here is that we had a good early education,” she said. “It’s like Amherst that values education so much, I hope that they would value all types of education.”

Some students, including Timothy Clark ’12 and Mariah Servos ’14, who attended the Little Red as toddlers, have voiced their reluctance to see a historic, 75-year-old building demolished. However, President Martin was quick to assuage such fears, insisting that the College has actually made historic preservation a priority.

“In the recent past we have adopted the approach of adaptive reuse or rehab of our historic buildings, not to tear them down,” she said. “These would include Charles Pratt, Appleton, Webster, Athletics, frat dorms honored with the prestigious Paul Tsongas award from Preservation Massachusetts for ‘Historic Stewardship.’ We will consider all reasonable options for the preservation of the Little Red Schoolhouse when we undertake East Campus planning.”

Nevertheless, students realized that given the cost and scale of the Science Center, preservation might not be possible. “If there’s a way to relocate it … it would be nice, if only for the kids there,” said Clark.

“But I understand that it might not be practical, especially given the priority the College has given to the Science Center.”

Little Red Schoolhouse, the school is a way for the College to give back to the community it belongs to.

“It’s great when colleges can be a real valued part of the community they live in,” said Gray. “Not just providing great education for students, but for colleges to see themselves as part of this village they’re in, and

— Whit Froehlich ’14 interacting with and providing a service to.”

THE CAMPUS CRIME LOG Entries from Jan. 23 to Jan. 30, 2012 Jan. 23, 2012 1:58 p.m., Seligman House someone slumped over the steering wheel of a car. They discovered that the driver’s seat was tilted against the wheel, and no one was in the car.

force. One student, who was intoxicated and disorderly, was placed in protective custody and taken to the town holding facility.

10:15 p.m., East Drive student with beer and hard alcohol. It

2:30 a.m., North ing a disturbance, a small amount of

Jan. 29, 2012 2:11 a.m., Stone Dormitory

8:54 p.m., Waldorf-Astoria someone sprayed the work “Help” using fake blood on a restroom mirror. A resident came forward and reported it was done as a joke.

sponded to an alarm and found it was activated when popcorn was burned 10:28 p.m., Waldorf- Astoria ity was found. monoxide alarm. No problem was found.

$100 for the alarm and a $25 handling fee for the microwave.

11:06 p.m., Waldorf-Astoria

2:18 a.m., Stone

a medical call.

12:56 a.m., Pond

9:06 p.m., Waldorf-Astoria by a drawing. Case open.

Jan. 26, 2012 1:45 a.m., Hitchcock House loud music and issued a warning to a group of students gathering in the

ticed two damaged ceiling tiles. He spoke to a resident who stated he knew who was responsible and that it would be taken care of.

2:33 a.m., Stone Jan. 28, 2012 12:30 a.m., East Drive smoke marijuana. The matter was re-

Jan. 27, 2012 2:28 a.m., North Dormitory disturbance that involved physical

man running along College Street.

The man was a student at a neighboring college and was transported to his residence.

3:44 p.m., Marsh House Drug paraphernalia and a small

10:37 a.m., Pond Dormitory A caller complained about loud mucers discovered a group of students

12:29 a.m., Campus Grounds

they had loud music playing from the building. The volume was lowered.

tagon on foot, he observed three people begin to walk away from the building. One of the men dropped

Jan. 30, 2012 12:53 a.m., Hitchcock

was a pipe used for smoking and it contained marijuana residue. One of the men involved was tracked down

The Amherst Student, February , 

Page 

Students Provide Input at Trustee Meeting Continued from page 1 it is important that we preserve historically valuable spaces in the process.”

Stein mentioned that alumni he met at reunion last year lamented the loss of the Mayo-Smith ballroom and stated that renovating housing was part of re-inventing Amherst history.

Paula Rauch ’77, a trustee assigned to one of the Housing tables, responded that the Building & Grounds Committee has been working to meet these challenges, citing the recent renovation of the Lord Jeffery Inn as a successful outcome of their efforts.

“The Lord Jeffery Inn is a cornerstone of the town of Amherst and a portal between the town and the College,” said Rauch. “It was a beautiful building, but there was a lot of delayed maintenance and serious changes needed to be made. Our renovations retained the historical importance of the Inn while updating the facilities to modern standards.”

Rauch also told students that renovated buildings must meet modern development that can force the Building & Grounds Committee to make drastic changes to remodeled buildings.

The lack of suitable social space for parties was an additional topic of discussion at the event. The construction of the new science center requires tearing down the Socials, starting with Davis next fall. This presents the College with the prospect of severely diminished party loca-

tions over the next few years. Many students pointed out that this change is just the latest of several reductions of common areas suitable for parties, citing the renovations of the dorms on the Triangle as additional examples of this trend. Scott Turow ties table, replied that many of these changes resulted from the Residential Master Plan, a facilities development plan created with the help of students, alumni, faculty and staff in the early 2000s. Turow said that these plans are often several years behind the needs of current students due to the time required for the execution of such plans.

“Planning takes time, and by the time building construction has started, the students who made up the planning committee have all graduated.

Students have to remember that they aren’t going to be here forever.” said Turow.

Students and trustees alike had ambitious ideas to promote sustainability and recycling at the College.

Axel Schupf ’57, a trustee involved in the Sustainability discussion, suggested an inter-dormitory recycling competition as a way to incentivize students to increase recycling. In a similar vein, Hannah Raskin ’14, a student participant in the group, suggested a beer can exchange program as an unconventional alternative to the current three-bin recycling program.

Other students had similarly forward-thinking suggestions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from

College vehicles. George Tepe ’14, the AAS representative to the Sustainability group, mentioned plans to install plug-in hybrid stations on campus and proposed expanding the number of electric vehicles the College purchases. Cherry Kim ’14 suggested a bike exchange as a cheaper and more accessible alternative to electric cars, but both agreed their ideas were not mutually exclusive.

The Community and Traditions discussion group brainstormed creative ideas to increase school spirit and revive lost or forgotten traditions on campus. Romen Borsellino ’12 explained his plan to hold an Amherst History Week to remember historical traditions of the College and encourage the creation of new school traditions.

Laura Yerkovitch ’80, a trustee participating in the discussion, remembered that during her days as an Amherst student in the midst of the College’s transition to a co-educational environment, many traditions were either lost or forgotten due to their “unsavory’” nature, and she also pointed out that the dissolution of fraternities weakened the ‘institutionalized’ character of many traditions.

Interterm as an opportunity to create new traditions at Amherst.

“Interterm is being wasted. Nobody wants to end their break early to take an accounting class or something boring like that; we need more Mixology or wine-tasting classes for

Photo by Ethan Corey ’15

At the Lord Jeffery Inn, students discussed a variety of issues with the trustee committee, ranging from housing to academics. students over 21,” she said.

Other students were concerned about the College’s reputation in the Bajpai ’15, who participated in the Academic Issues discussion, said that he wanted to help build the College’s reputation as a center for talented aspiring scientists.

“I remember from high school that many of my friends who were interested in science didn’t apply to liberal arts colleges because of their perceived weakness in science, but I feel that’s a huge misconception.

Yeah, we don’t have the same facilities as some larger schools, but no-

where else can you get the same level of faculty attention. There’s no better place to study theoretical physics than in a small class.”

The night allowed students to engage in a dialogue with decision-makers in the College community. At the end of the event, Turow said: “We’re going to take back the ideas we heard tonight to the Board and help this event have a tangible impact. At the same time, students need to understand their impermanence at the College. Just because something doesn’t come of students’ suggestions while they’re here doesn’t mean they’re not heard. Things take time.”

Valentine Twitter Started to Connect Students with Dining Continued from page 1

tor of Dining Services.

“The timing was perfect,” Thompson said.

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vices has been thinking of ways to use social media to get the student perspective on Val, and this was the opportunity they were looking for.

“We sort of look at ourselves as entrepreneurs and saw an opportunity for added value for Val,” Hoffstein said.

Twitter, the two budding entrepreneurs reasoned, makes Val seem younger, newer and more responsive to customers. Social media is the big thing of our generation, and Saunders and Hoffstein believed they could be the catalyst to help Val in targeting students to shape the customer experience by giving students a voice in a proactive way. “[We chose Twitter] because it’s such a real-time social media platform. You have an input, and Val’s going to tell you what’s going on. It’s a news feed, really,” Saunders said.

In fact, it’s already working. On Jan. 28, @AmherstDining got the tweet, “choo choo wheels would be a great addition to the pasta bar.” Two days later, Valentine simply tweeted back, “Look out, the train is coming! Choo Choo Wheels are on their way to the pasta bar.”

Hoffstein says it was a simple process of showing the head cook the tweet and seeing if it was possible — and it is.

The account has also provided a way to immediately alert students who lost their ID card in Val and has been answering questions about puzzles like the missing pizza

station (it returned on Monday).

A real-time platform like Twitter would also be useful in cases like last October’s infamous snowstorm, when no one really knew what was happening or what would be open. However, with a Twitter account to update on the dinning hall, anyone following the account or activating the mobile noinforming them that there was warmth, food and light somewhere on campus.

This Twitter account aims to raise student morale about Val and is also a way for Val to show that it is trying as hard as it can to accommodate its customer base, the vast majority of which is the student body. It will be somewhere to learn about plans for the at Val develops but remain unknown to the run by Dining Services.

While plans for the future and suggestions for improvement are being made, Saunders and Hoffstein are still focusing on publicity. Working with Dining Services, “Dinner with Biddy.” students were chosen at random to share a gourmet artisan meal with the College’s president this Wednesday. The two hope that events like this will continue to increase the account’s popularity, making more students aware of Val’s new future. The launchers of this Twitter account added that the more people that join, the more useful the account will become and the better it will be for everyone who checks it.

Hoping to offer transparency to Dining Services, the Twitter account is working each day to improve and build upon what it already has.

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The Amherst Student

Opinion

Letters to the Editor Ron Beaty, citizen activist of West Barnstable, Mass., calls upon elected officials to sign a pledge concerning taxation.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

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Editorial

Students Over the Over-Enrollment

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and mathematics departments are

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A Piece of Kaake

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Andrew Kaake ’14

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Andrew is a conservative, Christian, Political Science and Music double-major who writes a bi-weekly column about politics.

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On the Issues: Three Things More Important Than Electability

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Two Paths Forward

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Elson Browne-Low ’15 is a contributing writer.

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“... I care more about following my moral compass than about voting for a candidate that might win an election only to replace the current regime with one that is the same ...”

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“If President Obama cannot feasibly bring a Democratic majority with him into Congress, the American people should not support him.”

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E X E C U T I V E B OA R D Editor-in-Chief Brianda Reyes Managing News Alissa Rothman Managing Opinion Erik Christianson, Meghna Sridhar Managing Arts and Living Nicole Chi, Clara Yoon Managing Sports Emmett Knowlton, Karl Greenblatt

S TA F F News Section Editor Whit Froehlich, Ethan Corey Opinion Section Editors Diana Babineau, John Osborn, Judy Yoo Arts & Living Section Editor Daniel Diner Sports Section Editors Karan Bains, Varun Iyengar Publishers Chris Friend, Nazir Khan, David Walchak

Associate Editors Brenton Arnaboldi, Jake Walters, Carlyn Robertson Senior Editors Nihal Shrinath, Elaine Teng Layout Editor Brendan Hsu Photographers Risalat Khan, Zachary Sudler Copy Editors Tim Butterfield, June Pan

See Contentious, page 5

Letters Policy

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

The Student will print letters under 450 words in length if they are submitted to The Student offices in the Campus Center or to the paper’s e-mail account (astudent@amherst.edu) by 12 p.m. on Sunday, after which they will not be accepted.

The editors reserve the right to edit any letters exceeding the 450-word limit or to withhold any letter because of considerations of space or content.

Letters must bear the names of all contributors and a phone number where the author or authors may be reached. Letters and columns may be edited for clarity and Student style.

The Student will not print personal or group defamation.

Publication Standards

The Amherst Student is published weekly except during College vacations. The subscription rate is $75 per year or $40 per semester. Subscription requests and address changes should be sent to: Subscriptions, The Amherst Student; Box 1912, Amherst College: Amherst, MA 01002-5000. The offices of The Student are located on the second floor of the Keefe Campus Center, Amherst College. Phone: (413) 542-2304. All contents copyright © 2011 by The Amherst Student, Inc. All rights reserved. The Amherst Student logo is a trademark of The Amherst Student, Inc. Additionally, The Amherst Student does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or age.

The Amherst Student, February , 

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The AAS on a Green Drive, Spring Concert and More -

Pain in the AAS Ian Hatch ’14 and George Tepe ’14 Senators from the Association of Amherst Students are writing a weekly column to keep the student body informed about the goings-on in the Senate.

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Image courtesy of inhabitat.com

The quest for a greener campus: Senators Ian Hatch ’14 and George Tepe ’14 are working on a project to install an electric charging station on campus and buy an electric car to leverage the new infrastructure.

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Arts&Living

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Miming the Silent Movie: “The Artist” sible (including having theaters project it in the old, boxy, 1.33:1 screen ratio), but he makes a misstep in his use of intertitles. There is a stereo-

Film Review “The Artist” Directed by Michel Hazanavicius Written by Michel Hazanavicius Starring Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo and John Goodman

mouths wordlessly on the screen, followed by an intertitle card explaining the dialogue. In fact, if the actors are -

Ethan Gates ’12 Staff Writer

exposition visually. Though he is

There is a tap dancing sequence fairly early on in “The Artist” that simply makes you want to hug evstar George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), on the set of his latest movie, encounters a pair of disembodied but rather attractive legs (a well-placed screen happens to block off the rest of this mystery woman). In a scene that could have been taken straight out of an old Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musical, Valentin and the unseen dancer proceed to duel back and forth, mimicking each other precisely. This ing, the sort that doesn’t need to be depressing to be engaging and doesn’t need to be obscene to be fun.

have engaged in varying levels of cinematic nostalgia, “The Artist” is undoubtedly the most self-conscious throwback of all: it’s a silent blackand-white movie about people who make silent black-and-white movies.

Academy Awards, eat your heart out.

While “The Artist” is certainly targeted to appeal to industry insiders and hardcore cinephiles (that’s me!),

Image courtesy of collider.com

Too much of a homage and not enough of a movie, “The Artist” uses gimmick after gimmick to imitate and reminisce over the silent film. (of the French James Bond-parody series “OSS 117”) has his work cut out for him when it comes to winning over general audiences. Silent an obsolete process, is really an art unto itself, one that requires attentive viewers and a serious knack for visual expression. It’s a method of storytelling that most people today are unfamiliar, or even uncomfortable, with. problem is to make “The Artist” as broad and agreeable as possible. Even if you don’t know much about silent

chance meeting with a beautiful fan, Bérénice Bejo), who is determined to be a movie star herself. Before long, their careers are headed in opposite directions: thanks to the invention of

“talkies” (movies with sound), Peppy’s celebrity grows rapidly while the older Valentin is left in the dust.

This basic narrative has been used over and over, from “A Star Is Born” to “All About Eve” and “Sunset Blvd,” so there is not much inherent tension in “The Artist.” Sometimes we are simply waiting for the usual plot beats to play themselves out, and

nine performer ever (the unbearably cute appearance of Uggie the dog at this year’s Golden Globes probably tory).

Dujardin and Bejo are key to

dragging right when it is supposed to be building to a climax.

The plot, though, is simply a ve-

that Douglas Fairbanks would be jealous, and Bejo’s easy screen presence evokes Claudette Colbert or Carole Lombard. Along with some great character actors like John Goodman, James Cromwell and Missi Pyle, these two carry the movie with their ability to tell a whole story using nothing but their faces.

way, he employs a number of amiable tricks to hold the audience’s attention.

Besides the delightful dance numbers, there is an unexpected, nightmarish scene that plays with the audience’s newfound expectation of silence to haunting effect. And Valentin’s dog Jack is possibly the most adorable ca-

studied the great performers of the late 1920s: with his winning smile and remarkably animated eyebrows,

dence in his cast’s abilities. The director has done a lot to recreate the silent

is still a bit stuck in the mindset that dialogue is necessary to tell a story.

This is not the only time that “The Artist” gets caught up in its own gimmicks. An early shot of a large crowd noiselessly clapping is overly ing “LOOK, IT’S A SILENT MOVIE GUYS!” And Ludovic Bource’s score, overall an extremely valuable

“Vertigo” in a critical scene, in a distracting reference that is both anachronistic and thematically out of place.

“The Artist” is too self-conscious to be completely engrossing; it insists on making constant winks to the audience just to make sure we remember that we are watching something out of the ordinary.

And make no mistake, “The Artist” is anything but ordinary. It has been literally decades since we’ve

so endearing. You could list its shortcomings (as I have), but that would disregard the fact that above all, “The Artist” is just a pleasure to watch. It certainly a likable one.

Rediscovering a Shared Identity in Israel Kylie Fisher Israel/Jewish Life Programs Coordinator A week after landing safely home in New York, I’m still taking time to digest everything that happened in the 10 days of our Birthright trip to Israel. Maybe you’ve seen the signs up around campus: “Free 10-Day Trip to Israel with Amherst College!” It sounds too good to be true, but it really is that good and that true. Through the Taglit-Birthright Israel program, 18- to 20-year-old to and through Israel with their American and Israeli peers. This January, 11 students — the largest group of Amherst college students to go as a group — traveled to Israel on Birthright. It’s great

Photo by Kylie Fisher

Through the Taglit-Birthright program, 11 Amherst students traveled to Israel to explore their shared Jewish heritage.

to come back to campus and have so many people to reconnect with about the shared experience.

It seemed like a whirlwind tour, traveling the length of Israel. The majority of the participants were from Amherst, surrounding schools and… yes, nine students from our rival school, Williams (which put at least a temporary end to the most bitter of rivalries!), as well as seven Israeli soldiers. The Jewish diversity on the trip ran the spectrum, from having no Jewish experience to Orthodox. These religious, cultural and personality differences could not have mattered less by the end of the trip, and we all learned something from each individual. Sometime between partying in Tel Aviv, picking organic carrots on a Negev Desert moshavim, praying in Jerusalem and touring Israeli cities, the huge group managed to form a deep and cohesive bond. For some of us, this trip has been life-changing; for others, it was a meaningful way to connect to Israel and the Jewish people or to their Jewish identities; but for all of us, it was a once-in-a-lifetime way to experience Israel.

We managed to share almost everything as a group: the highs, the lows and the in-betweens; whether it was sharing a hot pot of Bedouin tea together in the cold desert night, sharing a prayer the day together on our long bus rides (everything from achlah, cool to basa, bummer), we were together. To an outsider, Israel can seem like such a complicated place, rife with political and social topic. But Israel is so much more than a sensa-

and daily life of Israel from the view of our Israeli soldiers (a mix of political views and opinions), our tour-guide (a left-leaning art student) and the newspapers (running the gamut from far right to far left) shows the diversity of opinions existing within this tiny state. Ten days is enough to scratch the surface and at least experience what a beautiful yet complex reality exists.

Expectations of Israel: camels, falafel, the Dead Sea and the desert. To be sure, we had our share of these things (and could not get enough of the falafel, especially!). We arrived in the lush

the rural north, we traveled to cosmopolitan Tel Aviv, where dance parties on the roof overlooking the city and the Mediterranean commenced.

Only a day later, the group was praying at the Kotel, or Western Wall, the holiest place in Judaism; whether Orthodox or atheist, there’s something Just a couple of days later, we were waking up in Bedouin tents in the desert at 5 a.m. to climb Ma-

against the Roman Empire. Watching the sun rise over the desert and the Dead Sea was something we’ll never forget.

There’s something special about the energy surging through the streets while the week winds down, nearing Shabbat. In Israel, much of the

country begins to shut down on Friday afternoons, and we were not immune to the ruach, or spirit, of this special time. Many of us marveled at the peaceful quiet of the city as we walked down the nearly empty streets of Jerusalem on the way to Friday night services, which were unlike any we have ever experienced in the United States. The prayers were rowdy, loud and joyful; and dancing in the synagogue ensued. It was really something else. group in so many ways. One of our Israeli soldiers stood and said to us on top of Masada, “I want to take advantage of this opportunity to stand here in front of all of you and say thank you for everything — from the smallest and most basic things in life such as waking up in the morning, seeing colors and nature, meeting new people and going through new experiences and even struggles. I called life, pause and say thank you … through these indescribable 10 days … no matter what we do and where we live — we should never forget that we are all achim — brothers and sisters.”

There will be another Amherst Birthright trip this summer, and for any Jewish student who has not been to Israel on a peer-educational program, you should know that this was the trip of a lifetime for me!

This article was contributed by: Jane Kessner ’14, Claudia Gelfond ’13, Mayya Volodarskaya ’14, Jenna Troop ’13, Dylan Herts ’13 and Hannah Cooper ’14.

The Amherst Student, February , 

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The Artistry of Clean Jeans Siyu Chen ’15 Staff Writer A staple within many a college student’s wardrobe, jeans are ubiquitous among us. Whether it’s your oldest and most faded pair of jeans for a day of outside labor, comfortable jeans you slide into for class or a dark-washed pair for a nice night out, they are probably one of the most common and popular items of clothing there are. Able to last you through almost any casual occasion, jeans today echo their past history almost two centuries ago, as the newlycreated denim pants that were to last gold miners through almost anything.

From the famous Levi Strauss & Co.,

we now have, jeans have served their purpose to last through the decades to

wash them?

Some solve this problem by simply never doing so. The logic of this lies within the idea that, when washed many times, jeans will lose their shape and change or fade in color. But for an occasional spot-cleaning or gentle soak in water, these jean enthusiasts try to stay as far away from the washer and dryer as possible in order to protect the quality of their jeans. Carl Chiara, the director of brand concepts and special projects for Levi Strauss & Co., is a placed any of his 15 pairs of jeans into the washing machine in order to avoid the issue of shrinkage and color change.

Of course, this doesn’t mean he never cleans them. If you prefer to be on the side of never washing, you can always

try Chiara’s method — it only takes a little more work every six months.

The director once told a New York Times reporter that the washing machine can agitate the denim fabric, so that the yarns “tense up and actually get shorter, shrinking the jeans.” Thus, Chiara generally sticks to spot-cleaning with water and some cleaning agent and hanging the jeans in his bathroom as he showers for a kind of steam-cleaning.

Every six months, however, he chooses to go for a complete cleaning session. es of room-temperature water (never go hot with jeans), two tablespoons of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Liquid Soap, and then lay his jeans in for about 20 minutes before taking them out and letting them dry naturally. With this, he comes out with cleaner jeans that, even more importantly to him, still keep their shape and color.

Others have encouraged a reduction in the times you wash jeans for Levi Strauss & Co. pop up again, want-

A Classic Video Game, Revived year as “Diablo II”), but managed to catch aside, the game was superb because it let you manage each mission as you like it. While the game wasn’t open-world a lá Skyrim, it nevertheless let you choose your own path in an open-ended fashion. You could choose to

Image courtesy of ox-planet.com

“Deus Ex: Human Revolution” rejuvenates a classic without losing its original appeal.

Very few of us remember the charm of older video games. Sure, we recall playing Oregon Trail in the computer lab or learning about history with Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego. But what about the true classics: the video games not geared to our premature age group, the ones that made the medium what it is today? ablo II, the brilliant horror/fantasy hack and slash made by the same company that later hit a gold mine with World of Warcraft. I must have been nine: way too young to fully appreciate it, but just old enough to be sucked in by its immersive gameplay. Early games like these were limited by technology, but this limitation forced them to be creative with their gameplay. With the seemingly limitless nature of modern gaming technology, it seems that the days of yore are lost: will the subsequent generations of games be Call of Duty clones, all eye candy and no truly enthralling interactive experience? a classic and rejuvenated it, managing to simultaneously preserve the core gameplay Deus Ex when it came out in 2000 (the same

would rarely reward you, but it would let the consequences of your actions be known. Confronted with robot guards, a player could hack a security console to turn them against one another, discover a secret passage to sneak by undetected or toss an EMP grenade at them.

In most of today’s games, it’s just point-andshoot.

The environments feel just as open, with the improved graphics. On top of that, the story is top notch and will tickle the fancy of any intellectually-oriented college student and the world is incredibly immersive and detailed.

The year is 2027, and corporations have begun to take precedence over nations in matters

augmentations: mechanical improvements to the mind and body. You play as Adam Jensen, rations. After a devastating terrorist attack which kills your ex and many of the company’s employees, you are forced to become heavily augmented to survive. After recovering six months later, you will not rest until the attackers are tracked down and punished.

That said, the game doesn’t limit you to any one attitude. Your Adam Jensen can be angry, emotionally damaged after the attack and ruthless in his pursuit; or he can be a

time to time to kill the germs.

Jeans are a hardy species and can definitely be worn quite a few times before washing, but for those that do prefer to stick to washing their jeans every so often, there are several ways rror.net

Photo courtesy of Sam Tang ’15

Jeans may be a classic staple within many Americans’ wardrobes, but taking care of them is more complicated than one might think.556

and environmental responsibility. The company has said that, from its beginning as a cotton crop to its end at home with its many washes, one single pair of a typical blue jeans will consume 919 gallons of water. Of this water, 45 percent comes from washing. This fact, combined with the Levi Strauss’s fear that water shortages from climate change that could one day make cotton too scarce and expensive, will hurt the company itself, has led to this famous brand coming up with various ways to encourage less washing of jeans.

If you’ve bought a pair from them recently, you’ve probably noticed that

all jeans from Levi Strauss now have a tag sewn on encouraging customers to wash less and use only cold water when doing so.

They’ve also suggested that, if customers are worried about germs that cause smell, they can still keep to rarely washing and just stick their jeans in the

Image court esy of errore

ever, this once-simple denim jean has now evolved into an article of fashion

provided in a variety of styles and colors. And of course, with fashion comes an entirely new set of issues — one of which, for jeans, is the ultimate ques-

never do so in hot water, so stick to cold if possible. When washing them hot, you risk shrinkage, which in a pair of is never a happy occurrence. It’s always good to wash your jeans together, and only your jeans, and separate the lights

GAME THEORY

and darks to prevent color change. If convenient, it would work even better to put new jeans and work jeans that are extra dirty into their own pile. Before washing, turn all your darkwash jeans inside out in order to preserve the color. It’s per load so that each pair can be thoroughly saturated with water and detergent, and to keep the washer on the “delicate” setting.

Though it is best to air-dry jeans by hanging them, when putting them in the dryer make sure it remains on the lowest heat setting to lessen the likelihood of fading and shrinking.

From Amherst purple jeans (it’s always good to show school spirit, and I’m sure the color is out there somewhere!) to traditional blue jeans, this simple denim pant has spread far and wide.

Whether a girl or a guy, there are multitudes of styles waiting (do you go for skinny or baggy, boot-cut or straight?) when you walk into almost any clothing store. They can go upwards to well over $100, designer jeans for those who feel the urge to splurge, or stay lower in the ten-dollar range.

Their look is so popular that they have resulted in the creation of things like jeggings. Whatever the type, design, to stay.

Noah Gordon ’14

Noah Gordon ’14, ASLC major and avid gamer, writes about the role of video games in college life and their place in the future of the entertainPC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. personality but also introducing persuasion mechanics. When you attempt to persuade an opponent (perhaps to avoid a confrontation or gain access to a new area), a monitor pops up recording your level of success. Arguments “correct” answer, and you must play close attention to what your opponent says to correctly convince him.

The game’s combat is fun, but not groundbreaking. Like most modern shooters, the game has cover mechanics and a constantlyrecharging health meter. The game’s controls this is a minor point, and not really what the game is about. What is more commendable is that the game blends combat and stealth in the same system. Both components of the gameplay feel natural to it, and both are fun and viable play-styles. Few games get this right, and the fact that this game does adds true variety to the gameplay.

Of course, the game has its faults, and one cannot simply overlook them. Movement outside of combat is sometimes clunky and unmanageable, and I found myself falling off rooftops accidentally more than once. The game also forces you to walk long distances from objective to objective with no interesting content in between. The one major mistake made by the designers was adding in boss

to investigate every side-mission and read every e-book, the game is hefty but not too hefty (once again, think Skyrim). And as I mentioned before, it’s also sure to pique the interest of those who like to think about the future of technology. Where is the human race headed? Will technology allow us to selfselect our evolutionary track, or is this best left out of our hands and in the hands of God? front these sorts of questions. ing experience, if nothing else. If you’re growing tired of this generation’s overuse of the wow-factor and would rather try something a bit more creative, I highly recom-

to engage with a video game deeply and totally. Try it if only to try something different; something from an era far gone. Like Jensen himself, Deus Ex has risen from its ashes (i.e. the 90s) and emerged something different, yet familiar. Augmented, if you will. See what I did there?

geared toward open combat into open combat situations.

These faults don’t preclude the game from my best games of 2011, and it’s a shame that it wasn’t included on more Top 10 lists. Ei-

for creating such a complete game. Clocking in at 20-25 hours, probably more if you stop

Image courtesy of ox-planet.com

The video game is not simply a point-andshoot; it offers players the freedom to choose their own path.

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The Amherst Student, February , 

Women Find a Place in “Albert Nobbs” Elaine Teng ’12 Senior Editor -

Image courtesy of redriverpak.wordpress.com

“Albert Nobbs” explores gender identity through the use of its two cross-dressing characters.

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Film Review

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“Albert Nobbs” Directed by Rodrigo García Written by Glenn Close and John Banville Starring Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, and Aaron Johnson

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Image courtesy of redriverpak.wordpress.com

Albert Nobbs (Glenn Close) attempts to woo Helen (Mia Wasikowska) with an incomplete grasp of love and companionship.

This Week in Amherst History: Jan. 31, 1985 Five College Events Feb. 3 Creative Work and the work of Creativity: How Colleges and Universities Can Prepare Graduates to Reinvent the World, Mount Holyoke, 4:30 p.m.

Steven J. Tepper, Associate Professor of Sociology, Associate Director, Curb Center for Art, Enterprise and Public Policy at Vanderbilt Univ. will give a lecture on preparing for graduate school.

Tepper’s research and teaching focuses on creativculture, and cultural participation. He is a leading writer and speaker on U.S. cultural policy; his work has fostered national discussions around topics of cultural engagement, everyday creativity and the transformative possibilities of a 21st century creative campus. A reception is to follow, and the event is free and open to the public. It is located in the Gamble Auditorium.

Feb. 4

Photo courtesy of Amherst College Archives & Special Collections

The Amherst Student published an article concerning a student protest aimed at pushing Amherst to divest in South Africa. The protest, which took place during finals week and was directly aimed at the trustees, who were at the College to meet to discuss the issue in January, was part of a larger student effort to raise awareness about issues in South Africa. These included a petition, which received approximately 620 signatures, which advocated for a adopting a time table for divestment. Various student organizations, including Development Dialogue, the Black Student Union and the Progressive Student Alliance, participated in the protest, and increased pressure from the student body followed in wake of other nearby colleges, such as UMass and Hampshire, adopting divestment strategies, as well.

Turn Me On: Fall in Love at the Prom, Mount Holyoke, 8:00 p.m. - 2:00 a.m.

The Network and WMHC Radio Present the 5th Annual “Turn Me On: Fall in Love at the Prom.”

Need a Date for Prom? Wanna make some new friends? Come to Speed Dating in Chapin.

Feb. 4 Smith College Music Department and Music

by internationally-renowned ensembles and solo artists. All concerts begin at 8 p.m. and are preceded by a pre-concert talk in Earle Recital 413.774.4200, or order online at www.musicin-

continues their season welcoming the Jupiter String Quartet to Sweeney Concert Hall. Now in their 10th season, the Boston-based ensemble will explore works by Haydn, Beethoven, and Bartók. .

Feb. 5 lege, 2:00 p.m.

The Northampton Arts Council’s Four Sundays in February series called by the Daily Hampshire Gazette, “the showpiece of indoor winter entertainment in Northampton,” is an example of their vision of artistic excellence. Every year they kick off the series with the Silver Chord Bowl. This show sells out every year and is especially popular with seniors. The Very Best of Collegiate A Cappella: The Dartmouth Aires, Pitch Slapped from Berklee College, UPenn Dischord, Trinity College Quirks, Smith College Noteables and the Doo Whop Shop of UMASS. $12 general admission advance/online. Limited number of assigned Premium Seating in the very front of the hall, $30 in advance, available by phone only, 413-587-1069. Tickets will be mailed to purchasers until one week before event — Clara Yoon ’15

The Amherst Student, February , 

Page 

Women’s Hoops Eyes Regular Season Perfection Jeffs now 20-0 with four games remaining before tournament play 8:07 to go.

Back-to-back threes from Stedman and Kim Fiorentino ’12 quickly increased the Jeffs lead to 14, and a jumper and two free throws from Megan Robertson ’15 put the Jeffs up 24 at half.

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Williams came out stronger in the second half, mounting a 10-0 run early in the half that cut their Jeffs brought the lead back to 20 after a Stedman steal and layup with 15 to play.

Senior Lem Atanga McCormick then scored six straight points for the Jeffs, who cruised to the 80-58 win.

Stedman led all scorers with 22, while Roberston added 16 and 10 boards in another impressive

Jasmine Hardy ’13 looks to keep the Jeffs’ streak alive.

Emmett Knowlton ’15 Managing Sports Editor After sneaking by Colby last weekend to keep their perfect season alive, the women’s basketball team returned to their more dominant ways with two more double-digits NESCAC wins this week, beating Williams, 80-58, and Trinity, 66-44.

Despite a rowdy Williams’ student section and

early full-court press from the Ephs last Wednesday, Amherst took the lead early on after a Shannon Finucane ’12 triple that put them up 7-6 just three minutes in.

Although the Jeffs would lead from that point

senior tri-captain Caroline Stedman’s layup with

Both the women’s and men’s teams suffered hardfought losses to MIT on Saturday.

Big Fish: Katie Vincett ’13

The Jeffs were tied with MIT at 140 points heading into the 400-yard freestyle relay, the last event of the day, but were edged out by just .04 seconds to fall to the Engineers 152-144. Katie Vincett ’13 won two events for the Jeffs. In the 50-yard freestyle, she beat the runner-up by a slim .07 seconds. The 100 freestyle was also a close race, with Vincett victorious by just under a .2-second margin. Diver Lizzy Linsmayer ’14 also tallied a pair of wins, going unchallenged on both the one- and three-meter boards.

First-years Stephanie Ternullo and Ashleigh Stod-

Courtesy of Amherst College

Hamilton College Women (5-1): 177-123 Men (6-0): 228-56 Top Finishers 1,650 free 100 back 200 free

Ryan Lichtenfels ’12 16:06.10 (1) Conor Deveney ’15 52.77 (2) Tim White ’12 1:42.93 (2) 52.10 (2) 3-meter dive Colin White ’14 313.05 (1) 500 free Ryan Lichtenfels ’12 4:39.32 (1) 200 free Stephanie Ternullo ’15 1:55.95 (1) 100 back Sabrina Lee ’15 58.49 (1) 200 breast Courtney Flynn ’15 2:25.43 (1) 50 free Katie Vincett ’13 24.78 (1) 1-meter dive Lizzy Linsmayer ’14 270.05 (1) 1,650 free Becca Thompson ’12 17.43.20 (2)

Next Meet:

Fri.-Sat. Feb. 3-4 at Middlebury Invite

Bantams cut the Jeffs lead to 15 before the end of the half, trailing 33-18 at the break.

The Jeffs brought the lead back up to 20 early in the second half behind a layup from McCormick and cruised to their 19th victory of the season and 36th straight win.

Stedman again led the Jeffs, netting 16, while McCormick added 14, and Robertson posted 11 rebounds.

Last night, the Jeffs traveled to Wesleyan and posted another win, though the game wasn’t their

Photo courtesy of Rob Mattson

Shannon Finucane ’12 has 40 steals on the season.

Surf & Turf Women

Katie Vincett ’13 won two close races for the Jeffs, finishing first in the 50 and 100 freestyle events. She out-touched the runner-up in the 50 by just .07 seconds.

added 11 and junior Marcia Voigt tallied on 10.

That Saturday, the Jeffs faced off against Trinity in Hartford, Conn. Wasting no time, the Jeffs raced out to a 16-1 lead to open the game and never looked back. McCormick paced the Jeffs’ run with 10 of the team’s opening 16 points.

Sabrina Lee ’15 won the 100 backstroke. Breaststrokers Courtney Flynn ’15 and Abby Hahn ’14 went one-two in the 200-yard event and placed second and third in the 100.

The Jeffs were dominant in the 500 freestyle,

The women’s and men’s indoor track teams competed at the Terrier Invitational and Joe Donahue Invitational meets, respectively, with a number of successful individual performances.

Women

The women competed at Boston Univ.’s Terrier Invitational meet.

Sophomore Naomi Bates broke the College’s record in the 200-meter dash. Her time of 25.71 was more than half a second faster than the previous 21-year-old record, set in 1991 by Tarsha Echols ’94. Bates also holds the school record in the 100-meter dash, a mark she set last year.

Bates placed 14th in the 200 and in the long jump. Junior Jessica Mueller was 25th in the long jump.

Sophomore Amy Dao led the Jeffs in the

in third. Nicole Heise ’13 was edged out in both but-

ners. Junior Keri Lambert placed 23rd of 116 runners in the mile.

The women’s next race is at the Smith Tartan Invitational this Saturday.

Co-captain Becca Thompson ’12 led the Jeffs to a two-

Men

Men the season at MIT last Saturday, falling 193-105. Ryan Lichtenfels ’12 and diver Colin White ’14 each won two events for the Jeffs. MIT showed depth, earning the top two times in the 200-yard medley relay and going one-two-three in the 50 and 100 freestyles, 200 Lichtenfels was dominant in the 1,650-yard free-

White won on both the one- and three-meter boards, with Mark Idleman ’15 placing third in both events.

Conor Deveney ’15 placed second in both backstroke events. He was just .05 seconds away from tallying another win for the Jeffs in the 100 backstroke, and was edged out of the win in the 200 by .12 seconds. Tim White ’12 was a close runner-up in the 200 freestyle, and Tyler Bulakul ’14 placed second in — Carlyn Robertson ’14

The men’s team just missed out on a top-10 spot at Northeastern Univ.’s Joe Donahue Indoor Games, placing 11th of 16 teams. The Univ. of Connecticut claimed the top spot with 187.50 points, followed by Brown and Northeastern. Rival Williams placed just ahead of the Jeffs in 10th.

Senior standout Ben Scheetz had a hand in all 800-meter run and was on the winning distance medley relay team along with Pat Grimes ’13, Matt Melton ’14 and Romey Sklar ’15. out of scoring range. Andrew Erskine also placed ninth in the 5,000-meter run.

Matt Melton came in 12th in the 400-meter dash, while Nick Codola ’15 came in 14th in the 500. Lucas Lebovitz ’15 and Charlie Reighard ’14 placed 12th and 15th, respectively, in the 1,000.

The Jeffs 4x400 relay team of Alex Durkee ’15, Codola, Eli Howe ’13 and Chris Erickson ’12 The men return to the track next Saturday at — Carlyn Robertson ’14

Indoor Track Speeding Bullet: Naomi Bates ’14

Swimming

Photo courtesy of Rob Mattson

best. Shooting only 22 percent from downtown, they managed to still cruise to the win, 68-48. Fiorentino paced the Jeffs with 16, while Voigt added 13 off the bench.

The Jeffs biggest remaining test of the regular season will be Tufts, who sits at 6-1 in league play and 17-3 overall.

After facing the Jumbos on Feb. 3, the Jeffs close out their season with home contests over Williams (17-3) and Middlebury (5-13).

Now sitting at 7-0 in NESCAC play and 20-0 overall, the Jeffs are only four wins from regular ably won’t mean much to the defending national champs if their dreams of a repeat are cut short.

Courtesy of Amherst College

Sophomore Naomi Bates, the school record-holder in the 100-yard dash, set the record for the 200 on Saturday with a time of 25.71, besting the previous record by half a second.

Women: B.U. Terrier Invite Men: Joe Donahue Indoor Games

Top Finishers 800 Mile 400 5,000 500 1,000

Ben Scheetz ’12 Pat Grimes ’13 Matt Melton ’14 Andrew Erskine ’13 Nick Codola ’15 Lucas Lebovitz ’15

1:51.42 (1) 4:15.86 (9) 51.28 (12) 15:08.11 (9) 1:08.39 (14) 2:35.24 (12)

200 1,000 1,000 Mile Long Jump

Naomi Bates ’14 Amy Dao ’14 Marlis Gnirke ’12 Keri Lambert ’13 Naomi Bates ’14

25.71 (14) 3:06.34 (18) 3:12.19 (25) 5:01.48 (23) 4.65m (14)

Next Meet

Women: Sat. Feb. 4 at Smith Tartan Invite Men: Sat. Feb. 4 at Springfield Invite

SPORTSBOARD

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GAME OF THE WEEK

Schedule

FRIDAY: Men’s Squash @ Trinity vs. Tufts, 5 p.m.

Women’s Basketball @ Bates, 6 p.m.

Men’s & Women’s Swimming @ Middlebury, Day 1 of 2, 6 p.m.

Men’s Hockey vs. Bowdoin, 7 p.m.

Women’s Hockey @ Williams, 7 p.m.

Women’s Squash @ Trinity vs. Tufts, 7 p.m.

Men’s Basketball @ Bates, 8 p.m.

SATURDAY: Men’s & Women’s Squash @ Trinity vs. TBD, 10:30 a.m.

Players of the Week

The Amherst Student, February , 

Women’s Basketball @ Tufts, 2 p.m.

Men’s Hockey vs. Colby, 3 p.m.

Men’s Basketball @ Trinity, 4 p.m.

Women’s Hockey @ Williams, 3 p.m.

Men’s Basketball @ Tufts, 4 p.m.

SUNDAY: Men’s Hockey @ Trinity, 3 p.m.

Men’s & Women’s Squash @ Trinity vs. TBD, TBD Men’s & Women’s Swimming vs. Springfield, 1 p.m.

Men’s Ice Hockey vs. Bowdoin

IN DEPTH Time: Friday, Feb. 3 7:00 Site: Orr Rink Key Players: Amherst

(#1) Jonathan La Rose ’12 (#15) Johnny Van Siclen ’13

Bowdoin

(#20) John McGinnis ’15 (#3) Jordan Lalor ’12

Coming off a big 3-0 shutout of NESCAC rival Trinity, the men’s ice hockey team will look to carry their momentum into an important matchup on Friday, when they play host to Bowdoin.

III team, having won six of their last seven games, and they are ready to make a push up the rankings with another impressive win.

Amherst will be looking to avenge their only conference loss

it slip away as they were unable to withstand the Polar Bears’ offensive outburst. Amherst has been undefeated in conference play since that loss and will look to make a statement by earning a split of the season series.

Given that the Jeffs allowed a season-high seven goals in their last matchup with the Polar Bears, Amherst’s goalie play will be a big factor in this contest.

Senior goaltender Jonathan La Rose has posted two consecutive shutouts, and another such performance would be huge on Friday.

— Varun Iyengar ’14

Sinead Murphy ’12 — Women’s Ice Hockey

Aaron Toomey ’14 — Men’s Basketball

Goaltender Sinead Murphy ’12 earned NESCAC Women’s Ice Hockey Player of the Week honors. Murphy posted a 0.984 save percentage and only allowed 1 goal, putting her record on the season at 8-2-0.

Murphy began the week with one of the most impressive performances of her collegiate career against Norwich. The No. 1-ranked Cadets had not been shut out in their last 68 games

The seventh-ranked Jeffs held off a late charge from Williams with two clutch free throws from sophomore guard Aaron Toomey to earn a huge victory on the road.

Williams tied the score at 65 with 14 seconds left. The Ephs missed a free throw that would have put them ahead, and the Jeffs capitalized on the opportunity, putting the ball in Toomey’s hands. He drew a

and led all Division III schools in offense and power-play efshots on goal, leading the Jeffs to an outstanding 2-0 victory.

Murphy backed up her performance by stopping 32 shots against Conn. College a few nights later, with 25 of those coming in the second and third periods, helping Amherst earn the 2-1 win.

— Varun Iyengar ’14

foul and drained both freebies.

A 60 percent free throw shooter on the season, he stepped up to the occasion and gave the Jeffs a 67-65 lead they did not relinquish. test with 16 points. He especially carried the Jeff’s in the 3-8 shooting and pulling down three boards.

— Varun Iyengar ’14

Squash Walls up Wesleyan, Falls to Williams in Little III Champs Karl Greenblatt ’15 Managing Sports Editor Throughout the bulk on the season, up-and-down play has characterized the 2011-2012 Jeffs, and this past weekend proved to be no exception.

In action at the NESCAC Little III Championships, both squads were able to defeat hometown Wesleyan before suffering a sweep at the hands of archrival Williams.

The men’s 6-3 victory over the Cardinals did not come easily; four Jeffs ries. Of those 3-2 matches, perhaps the most critical was junior Charles LoeschQuentin’s come-from-behind win at the number four slot. ing off multiple match balls to ultimately win the marathon game, 17-15.

Winning the third game proved to be

a major momentum boost for the Jeffs’ number four, as he went on to cruise in the next two games, 11-6, 11-5.

First-year Scott DeSantis also needCardinals opponent. After winning the two.

Like teammate Quentin, DeSantis 12, to secure an important Jeffs win.

Senior co-captains Steve Severson and Todd Lavine both struggled against Wesleyan, at the number one and six spots, respectively.

Severson, playing atop the Jeffs’ 3-0 to a strong Wesleyan opponent in sophomore John Steele. Lavine, howultimately falling 11-8 in a closely conThe next round of matches were

equally challenging for the Jeffs, and it was ultimately the bottom of the Jeffs’ order, however, that made the differArnold ’12 both swept their opponents, giving Amherst much-needed breathing room.

First-years Max Kardon (No. 6) and Alex Southmayd (No. 7) each needed ing the Jeffs a 6-3 victory over the Cardinals.

In the following match against Williams, the Jeffs would have no such luxury. Only one Amherst player — Mi-

Men’s Hockey Ices Opponents for Two Shutout Wins Continued from back page

and our defense is limiting teams’ second- and third-scoring Consecutive blowouts over Wesleyan and Trinity this weekend could suggest that the Jeffs are widening the gap between themselves and their NESCAC opponents. When Amherst played the Cardinals and Bantams in early December, the Jeffs eked out a pair of one-goal victories (3-2 and 2-1). of NESCAC matchups, the Jeffs’ recent improvement is a

Maruka, but couldn’t keep the momentum, dropping the next three to hand the Ephs the win.

The 9-0 loss served as a disappointing conclusion to what began as an exciting weekend.

NESCAC games this season – Hamilton, Wesleyan and Trinity – the Jeffs outscored their opponents 7-3. Against those same score.

“Playing these teams for a second time enables us to judge how our team has grown and what areas we need to continue larger gains than a lot of NESCAC teams since the beginning

earning a resounding 8-1 win over Wesleyan.

Chandler Lusardi ’13 (No. 3), Lena McNeill ’13 (No. 8) all scored sweeps -

Photo courtesy of Rob Mattson

Co-Captain Todd Lavine ’12 has had a solid year for the Jeffs, notably beating the Brown number six, 3-0. The Jeffs travel to Trinity for NESCACs Friday.

game to beat her Cardinal opponent, 3-1, at the number one slot.

Unfortunately, the women were dealt an equally disappointing blow against Williams, also falling 9-0 to the number 11-ranked Ephs.

Seven Jeffs lost in straight sets, and only Lusardi ever held a lead against her opponent. As on the men’s side, the women were unable to turn a solid weekend into a great one.

The Jeffs travel to Trinity this weekend for the NESCAC tournament, in what promises to be a good test for both squads.

The men and women each open up play against Tufts on Friday.

lot of regular season hockey to be played.”

Having just completed a nine-game stretch of road games, the Jeffs begin February with a crucial home-ice tilt against Bowdoin on Friday. The Polar Bears, who lead the NESCAC

win. The Amherst defense has tightened up since that defeat, surrendering just 1.29 goals per game in the following seven contests.

“Bowdoin is by far the most talented team in NESCAC,” committed to playing defense and we’ll need excellent goaltending.”

If the Jeffs defeat Bowdoin, Amherst would take a complay. Conversely, a Bowdoin victory would cut Amherst’s lead to two points, turning the race for the NESCAC’s top seed into

February. The Polar Bears went on to win the conference tournament that year.

The Amherst Student, February , 

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Men’s Basketball Quiets Ephs; Earns Three More Wins Taylor Barrise ’12 Sets All-Time Three-Point Record

Jaskaran’s Judgement Karan Bains ’14 Karan laments the fact that sports shows casually toss around and overuse the word “legacy” before games are even played. He thinks that with the increase in immediate access to media, shows are running out of things to discuss in the present and prematurely turn their attention to the future and the long-term impacts of players.

Out of Focus

Photo courtesy of Rob Mattson

Jeff Holmes ’12 beats a defender during a home win over Hamilton. The Jeffs are undefeated at home and 18-2 overall.

Karan Bains ’14 Section Editor The men’s basketball team hit the road this week to tip off against a pair of NESCAC opponents in Williams and Trinity before coming home on Tuesday to take on Rhode Island College.

While all three games were valuable experiences, the contest against the hated Ephs was an especially time with the score favoring Amherst at 39–31.

The second half was another back-and-forth affair, as Williams buckled down on defense and held the

in for 11 boards.

Free throw shooting, as always, was an important deciding factor in the outcome of this game, and the Jeffs made 26 out of 28 free throws. By making the most of their opportunities at the line, Amherst avoided late drama, like in the national tournament.

The momentum gained throughout this successful week showed in the RIC game, and the Jeffs look to continue to improve as the season winds down.

The team travels to Bates and Tufts this weekend in a pair of conference matchups, and then will invite Williams and Middlebury to LeFrak to close out the regular season on Feb. 10 and 11, respectively.

A short week after the last whistle blows on the

Ephs back in the game. game ended without an overtime period by drawing a foul and calmly knocking down a pair of free throws to give Amherst a 67-65 win. during the game, hitting only one of every three shots, they relied on other aspects of the game to squeak a victory. The team turned the ball over only twice and shot an impressive 18-23 from the free throw stripe.

Toomey and Pete Kaasila ’13 led the way for Amherst with 16 points each, with Kaasila shooting seven for 10 After the competitive battle against Williams, the Jeffs went to Trinity to continue asserting their NESCAC dominance. Unlike the previous game, however, this one was a blowout, with Amherst coming out victorious by a comfortable 61–30 score.

Among the main contributors for Amherst were Allen Williamson ’13, who dropped 12 points and added

the game in the Jeffs’ favor, a good sign for postseason play.

On Tuesday, the Jeffs extended their young winPhoto courtesy of Rob Mattson

in a contest marked by a pair of notable performances.

Taylor Barrise ’12 scored 12 points and hit three of his

Taylor Barrise ’12 owns the Jeffs’ all-time threepoint record.

The third three-ball proved historic, as it gave Bar-

regular season, the NESCAC Tournament kicks off on Feb. 18, with the Jeffs looking to secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by winning the bracket.

Even if Amherst fails to win NESCACs, the team is assured an at-large bid to the national tournament, but the Jeffs will undoubtedly come out strong nevertheless to avenge their loss to Middlebury last year.

The last few games of the regular season, however,

breaking the Amherst program record previously held

by Jamal Wilson ’97. The trey gave the Jeffs a fourpoint lead with just under 10 minutes to go in the game.

Toomey also brought his best game to the court, scoring a career high 25 points and leading the Jeffs to a 79–69 win against a tough opponent that gave Amherst a battle in last year’s NCAA Tournament. In addition, Kaasila and Allen Williamson ’13 also scored

postseason play, so Amherst must crank up the intensity this weekend to prepare for the challenges to come.

Popular sports discussion has changed immensely in the last few years, transforming everything from how games are covered to the topics that keep talk shows going strong.

Among myriad other novelties, we now hear about trades and injuries on Twitter before the athlete in question has even learned of his fate or gone to the hospital for an MRI. In addition, the only limiting factor in how many games we can watch simultaneously is the number of screens in the immediate locality, whether they be televisions, smartphones or iPads. This enormous jump in accessibility, coupled with the meteoric rise of fantasy sports, has caused the growth of more sports talk shows than we ever could have imagined 10 years ago.

TV personalities such as Skip Bayless, Stephen A. Smith and the duo of Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon have become as famous as the athletes they discuss, and their shows need fodder for daily arguments, new topics to keep viewers tuning in the next day.

The repercussions of this insatiable desire for instantaneous, fresh perspectives and analysis have changed the very content of sports discussion in many ways, but one strikes me in particular. No longer does the ‘L’ word in sports stand for loser — rather, ‘legacy’ is now the term that rules the radio and television waves to an alarming extent.

This is not to say that discussing legacy is meaningless; the word resonates with everyone on a personal level, as leaving a legacy is not limited to the sports arena but enters the thoughts of people in any walk of life.

The importance of the word in the context of sports, however, has gained an inordinate amount of sway over our thoughts. Almost as soon as Novak Djokovic fell to the ground after defeating Rafael Nadal in the Austraruminations began on what the victory meant for the legacies of the two playists Roger Federer and Andy Murray.

What happened to enjoying a match that perhaps has no equal in tennis history without reading into the future of the players? This comes with one caveat: in the particular case of tennis, more than other sports, such discussion may hold merit — we are possibly watching the highest level the sport has ever reached, so the legacies of the titans that battle for six lient question.

Yet, in other cases, the discussion of legacy blatantly intrudes on the present, and the moments in time that eventually determine legacies in the long run are blemished by the constant discussion. Indeed, the very essence of the word legacy as a long term, how the media treats it today. A prime example of this tendency is splashed across ESPN in the week leading up to the Super Bowl, when the demand for information is so great that writers an interesting angle.

This year, no grasping was neces-

amination of legacy, as the Manning brothers both featured prominently in the news. Peyton Manning, the injured superstar of the Indianapolis Colts, watches in his own home stadium as his younger brother, Eli, takes on the New England Patriots in the rematch of one of the greatest Super Bowls ever played — the headlines for this story almost write themselves.

A multitude of analysts have spent time dissecting whether Eli’s legacy as a potential two-time Super Bowl champion could be better than Peyton’s, who is almost universally considered a superior quarterback but has only one championship to show for it.

Peyton’s recurring neck problems and the looming possibility that he may be released by the Colts make the discussion all the more intriguing. At the same time, we seem to forget that so much can still change in this situation, and that throwing out potential scenarios is a waste of time on par with actually listening to what ESPN expert Trent Dilfer, the king of quarterback mediocrity, has to say about players that are better than he ever was.

Eli could go out on Sunday and submit a performance reminiscent of the one that he orchestrated in the 2007 Super Bowl, the greatest upset in NFL history, and still lose, or he could still celebrate with his team if the detriot offense. More likely, he will play a good game and the outcome will depend on the countless other factors that affect a football game.

In any case, a dissection of Eli’s legacy compared with Peyton’s can wait until next Monday, at the very least. The temptation to grab these easy topics must be hard to turn down for people whose jobs depend on entertaining the sports fan, so asking to suppress the ‘L’ word after the game is over may be too much to ask. But comparing Eli Manning to Tom Brady and then to Peyton Manning before the Super Bowl has even been played seems like an extraordinary farce.

At the end of the day, both Manning brothers and Tom Brady are elite quarterbacks that have proved themselves on the biggest of stages, and separating them is a matter of degrees of excellence. Similarly, Djokovic, Nadal and Federer make for the most fascinating threesome at the top of the tennis rankings in the sport’s rich history, so the status of their ‘legacies’ last tournament played. More egregiously, ESPN has already run a poll on SportsCenter asking whether Tim Tebow is headed for the Football Hall of Fame (no word on whether anyone besides Skip Bayless actually voted ‘yes’)!

With that said, here comes a plea to the mass sports media: Can we reserve judgment on how posterity will view these athletes until posterity actually gets here? If that’s too much, can we at least wait until after they play the games? Otherwise, we must all resign ourselves to watching endless debates about potential outcomes and their repercussions that become meaningless the instant the games begin.

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Sports

Inside

The Amherst Student

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Basketball Teams Swish Past Ephs Jeffs continue to dominate Williams in 2011-12 PAGES 9, 11

Blades of Glory

Photos courtesy of Rob Mattson; graphic by Brendan Hsu ’15

Women Freeze Conn.

College in Doubleheader Reilly Horan ’13 Staff Writer This week in NESCAC play, the women’s ice hockey team swept Conn. College in a couple of weekend matchups. The pair of victoas the Jeffs improved their record to 15-3 (9-1 NESCAC).

“I think our games this past weekend against Conn were a really great test for our team,” sophomore goalie Kerri Stuart said. “The NESCAC is a tough, competitive league, and at this stage in the season every conference game is vital for us.”

“Conn was a tough team that played hard, so it was nice to end January on two big wins,” tri-captain Emily Vitale ’12 said.

The Jeffs got started on Friday night by taking the Camels 3-2, snapping their six-game winning streak in the process. Minutes into the game, Geneva Lloyd ’13 took advantage of an early power play opportunity, with Josie Fisher ’12 and Ellen Swiontkowski ’12 picking up the assists. Conn. College immediately tied things up when Olivia Farrell answered less than a minute later.

Lloyd went back to work during another power play, notching her second goal of the game and putting Amherst up 2-1. At 14:22

Photo courtesy of Rob Mattson

Goaltender Sinead Murphy ’12 has stopped 62 of 63 shots in her past two starts.

in the second period, Kaitlyn McInnis ’13 fed Swiontkowski, who bested Camels goalie Amy Leichliter to score Amherst’s third and eventual game-winning goal.

While Conn. tried to mount a comeback in the third period, scoring two minutes into the stanza to put her team within one, Amherst’s defense shut the door to preserve the victory. Stuart, in net, made 20 saves and improved to 7-1.

“Everything that we do starts with team defense. That starts with goaltending, and we’ve had exceptional goaltending all season,” head coach Jim Plumer said.

Amherst went back to work on Saturday, defeating Conn. College 2-1. McInnis lit it up

from a two-man advantage as Melissa Martin ’15 netted a power-play goal.

Conn. College put one on the board in the third and pulled their goalie late in the game for the second time in as many games, but Amherst’s defense denied them again. Sinead Murphy had 32 saves on the day, improved to 8-2, and was named NESCAC Co-Player of the Week after an impressive weekend.

The Jeffs’ winning weekend, coupled with Middlebury’s 2-1 loss at Hamilton, opens the door for Amherst to capture the top seed in the NESCAC. The Panthers (10-2 NESCAC) have earned more points than the Jeffs (9-1 NESCAC), but Amherst currently holds a higher winning percentage (.900 to .833).

Amherst will travel to Williams (5-5-0 NESCAC) for a pair of games this upcoming weekend. In last year’s doubleheader against the Ephs, the Jeffs outscored Williams by a ridiculous 17-4 margin. The Jeffs have dominated the rivalry in recent years, having won the last 10 matchups in the series; Amherst has not lost to Williams since December 2006.

On the week ahead, Murphy said: “Williams is always a challenging weekend for us because of the rivalry and how the games are pretty charged. With Middlebury’s loss this weekend we have an opportunity to host the NESCAC strong play in the next three weekends.”

“We see what the path is, and we have the ability to control our destiny,” Plumer said.

“There’s still a lot of potential in this team, and we’re not ready to rest on what we’ve done.”

Men’s Hockey Ices Opposing Offenses for Two Shutout Wins Brenton Arnaboldi ’14 Associate Editor Fueled by aggressive forechecking, balanced scoring production and stingy defense, the men’s hockey team pounded and pummeled its opponents last weekend, as the Jeffs earned shutout victories over Wesleyan (6-0) and Trinity (3-0).

With the two wins, the Jeffs (14-3-1, 11-1-0 NESCAC) moved four points ahead of second-place Bowdoin (8-2-2 NESCAC) for the conference’s top spot. In a battle of league heavyweights, Amherst and Bowdoin will square off at Orr Rink this Friday night, at 7 pm.

The Jeffs thrashed Wesleyan 6-0 on Saturday, sustaining a physical, high-tempo pace to overwhelm the Cardinals (5-6-1 NESCAC).

ger ’12 said. “We can roll all four lines and wear teams down. Our success comes from the collective effort and team speed.”

“Because we don’t have just one line or a few guys that are explosive offensively, we need to generate and sustain pressure on the other teams,” head coach Jack Arena said.

“We get our chances from the pressure, and when we play physically and skate, we’ve been able to make teams uncomfortable.”

Brian Safstrom ’14 opened the scoring a rebound past Wesleyan goaltender Glenn Stowell for his seventh goal of the season.

The Jeffs broke the game open in the second period, bagging three goals to capture a 4-0 lead. Puck-moving defenseman Aaron into the period, slipping a low shot past Stowell from the top of the circle. Twelve minutes later, Mike Moher ’13 tallied a power-play goal off the crossbar, and Dylan Trumble added a score at 18:30.

Amherst extended the lead to 6-0 with two goals early in the second period, with

advantage in shots. Jonathan La Rose ’12 recorded 23 saves for his second shutout of the season.

The Jeffs continued their Connecticut road trip with a 3-0 victory over Trinity (46-2 NESCAC) on Sunday afternoon. Amherst quickly took the upper hand, as Erik Hansen

Photo courtesy of Rob Mattson

Co-captain Mike Baran ’12 has anchored the Jeffs’ defense to a NESCAC-leading 1.92 goals allowed per game.

Six different players scored for Amherst, and a total of 13 Jeffs registered at least one point.

“We have a very balanced team, unlike a lot of the other NESCAC squads that have one

Similar to the Wesleyan game, the Jeffs’ scoring attack exploded in the second period, as Amherst bagged a pair of goals less than three minutes apart to take a commanding 3-0 lead. Nick Brunette ’13 scored 5:28 into the middle stanza, and Ryan Edwards ’14 netted an insurance goal at 7:52.

La Rose (28 saves) and the defense stymied the Bantams en route to a second straight shutout. La Rose has been phenomenal in recent weeks, stopping 92 of 93 shots in his last four starts. The hot streak has lifted his save percentage to .931, topping in the NESCAC. “Rosie is starting to really get it going in the net. He is seeing the puck well, and See Men’s Hockey, page 10