Issue 18

Page 1

Sports

Ice Hockey Heroes

Men’s hockey captures second NESCAC crown Page 12

We dne sday, M arch  ,    

Volume CXLI No. 

Frost Café Has Soft Opening Alissa Rothman ’15 Managing News Editor On March 1, Frost Café had its soft open-

Students Fear Tight Housing for 2012-2013 Siyu Shen ’15 A&L Section Editor

hopes to answers calls for food and drink in Frost Library. Planning for the café started since last spring, while construction began immediately

Rumors about what will happen for room draw

mid-February. Dining Services then spent time

residential living is going to create more triples and doubles, students are clamoring for answers. Most of the rumors are false, but what is true is that there will be no room for change once the school year starts. “We actually don’t have a housing crunch, per se. We actually do have enough housing to deal with all the students that are here. It’s just that we’re going to lose Davis as they get ready to do

resulting in the March soft opening. However, shortly after spring break, the café hopes to have a grand opening, with more fanfare and possibly with some giveaways. The soft opening gives the Library and Dinthe café offers.

that both will evolve to match how and when students use it,” said Bryn Geffert, Librarian of the College. So far the soft opening has been a large success. “It’s been fun to watch eyes grow wide and then smiles appear as students walk through the

Amherst, Massachusetts

Photo by Peter Mack ’15

empty rooms where if Davis had to be demolished tomorrow, we could put people in other places,” said Torin Moore, Director of Residential Life and

Frost Cafe offers students hot beverages, cold beverages and high-scale pastries. than those served in Valentine Dining Hall and Schwemm’s), cappuccinos, lattes, teas and hot chocolate. “The pastries are more similar to what you

and research,” Geffert said. “It’s important that libraries encourage and accommodate the social aspects of research — the need to bounce ideas off others and discuss avenues of inquiry. It’s

Geffert said. “Business, so far, has been good. Tony, the café manager, told me he barely had time to breath last night — the line at the counter nearly reached the library entrance.” So far, the product line has been very well received. The café features more upscale versions of pastries found at Schwemm’s, rang-

what is at Schwemm’s],” said Charlie Thompson, Director of Dining Services. The library hopes the café will help position the library as a communal academic venue, where people can talk, debate, and work together.

and brownies. It also features cold drinks like Vitamin Water, IZZE, Orangina, V-fusion, S. Pellagrino and Evian water, and hot drinks such as Dean’s Beans coffee (a different blend

that void. We want the library to be a place not only for solitude and individual work, but also for discussion, debate, conversations, classes

take a few minutes to decompress during long stretches of concentration.” So far, students seem to enjoy the café. “I like it a lot. I think it’s a really good option for students who spend a lot of their time in the library. Now they don’t have to go to Val or Schwemm’s for food,” Devin Pence ’14 said. “It looks nice too. I like the new furniture.” Frost Café will be open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, closed Saturdays and open Sundays 2:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

capacity scattered throughout the residential areas rooms probably would not be ones the students

rooms that are not already designated as doubles Valentine Hall has 14 rooms that can be designated

room triples. Chapman has large one room on the

See Davis, page 3

Men’s Project Seeks to Raise Awareness About Sexual Assault Warning: Students drifting into Valentine Dining Hall last Wednesday night were targets of a hard-hitting poster campaign organized by the Men’s Project in assault on campus.

were taped to tables and drink dispens-

Opinion

Students Weigh in

Mass mailing controversy sparks debate Page 4

them. One read, ‘Most men aren’t rapists… But 98% of rapes are committed by men. How do you want to be repre-

said Jareb Gleckel ’12, who reactivated the Men’s Project this semester. “They think it doesn’t really happen at a place

times when I kiss my girlfriend and take off her pants, I see her start to tear up. When she has bad dreams and wakes up in the middle of the night, I am there for her. I wish I could have been there for her that night.’ “People think that certain commu-

ize that this is an issue that’s close to home, and that it affects both men and women.” The goal of Wednesday’s campaign was to spark conversations among students to engage them and change their

Men’s Project aimed to create enough buzz to press the student body to con-

They aren’t going to any of these things where they’re going to make any progress.”

While the Student Health Educators

lence] because of a very high academic reputation or some other circumstance,”

‘culture of silence’ surrounding the issue. By placing posters in Valentine, the

lence, Men’s Project member Shamari Sylvan ’13 believes they only reach students who already have an interest in taking action: “There are men walking around campus who have commit-

to the 2010 National Intimate Partner

people aren’t going to SHE workshops.

See Group, page 3

Collaborative Art Project Project tries to increase arts on campus

A&L

Jisoo Lee ’13 Contributing Writer

Page 6

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

women have been raped in their liferape before the age of 25, while one in


Page 

The Amherst Student, March , 

Fresh Faculty of the Week Economics Professor Brian BetEconomics from McMaster Univ. He holds a doctorate in international economics from the Graduate Institute at Univ. of Geneva. He has taught at Concordia Univ. in Mon-

not a large comprehensive school. It was sort of midrange by any U.S. standard. So I was taking various courses, almost following a liberal-arts kind of program, and then eventually I gravitated to economics and mathematics, so I graduated actually with a double major in economics and mathematics. I got interested in economics at that time, and then continued in my master’s with economics, and then did my Ph.D. in international economics;

commercial banking and macroeconomic consulting. and then gravitate towards those things that make sense. I had a strong interest in mathematics; I probably could have continued in applied math, which would have been a completely different

What brought you to Amherst? It was fairly simple; I called Chris Kingston, the chair of the Economics department. I’d heard they were looking for a visitor, and I was looking to do something a little different. I called him up, he answered the phone and it’s that simple. It was kind of refreshingly simple in the kind of world that we’re living in. Where were you at that point? I’d been working mainly in consulting. I’d been working in different, maybe combine some teaching with consulting, that kind of thing. I was looking for something that might be a different combination of activities. Have you taught at other institutions? I did, I taught for a period of time as an adjunct professor, because I was employed full time immediately after getting my Ph.D. I was still interested in teaching, so I did some adjunct teaching, which was mainly in the evenings. I was living in Montreal, Canada at the time, so there was a downtown campus where they offered quite a number of evening courses, and they needed adjunct professors to help them out. So I did that for a couple years, and I got out of teaching for a period of time as I got more involved in professional activities. I got involved again, just to see

How did you get into economics? Well, I was in a college, actually in Canada, that was a comprehensive school, so they did have graduate programs, but it was

but for whatever reason I decided to continue with economics. It’s been a fascinating area. What do you like about Amherst? almost every area. I was very pleased to get the invitation; it was relatively straightforward, there weren’t a lot of complications. I

herst campus. I’ve been to a number of colleges in the Boston area, obviously, and then in other parts of the U.S. and Canada, so I’ve

macroeconomic topics course this semester. I did have one in the previous semester, and this semester it was not a course that had been offered. It wasn’t on the calendar initially, but there was a strong interest in having the course. In fact, I think initially we had about 15 to 20 students that were interested, and that was actually too large for that type of discussion group. We unfortunately had to of being an economics major and a senior. You get a little bit of special treatment when you’re a senior major, so that’s something to look forward to. What do you do in your free time? In my free time, I have quite a range of things that I have been interested in. It’s a question of number of hobbies that, depending on the circumstances, either I can get involved in that or not. I’ve been quite active in terms of physical activity. For a period of time, I’ve done a lot of cycling; I’ve been involved with some charity work involved with cycling, the Pan-Mass challenge in particular. Other than that, I do enjoy all kinds of outdoor activity, including sailing and swimming and things involving underwater activities, snorkeling and skin diving. I enjoy a lot of different things, and of course it all depends on what circumstances present themselves. I haven’t been able to do much cycling here, simply because I haven’t actually brought my bicycle down with me. So I’ve converted to running down the bicycle trail and hanging out in the to have those facilities available for that type of thing. I have always had a strong interest in international issues, so I picked up a couple of languages when I was in Canada; I started

worked out as well as they have. What classes are you teaching this semester? Well, this semester I’ve got Principles of Economics, the introductory course, and I also have an intermediate macro course, which is a mid-level course, but it gives you a good general introduction to macroeconomics. I’m also leading a seniors’ discussion group on macroeconomic topics. So I have actually three courses I’m running right now. How did the third one come about? The third course actually came about because I had some senior majors that approached me with respect to having another

in French, and I also know some Spanish. I’ve been to Europe a number of times, so I like doing some of the international travel. I’m very interested in other parts of the world. In my topics course, actually, I did a special focus on Europe, simply because of all of weeks just diving into issues relating to the currency zone, the European Union, what were the issues, some of the problems, the stresses and how potentially to resolve them. I’ve always enjoyed that part, the international part of economics. — Whit Froehlich ’14

THE CAMPUS CRIME LOG Entries from Feb. 27 to March 5, 2012 Feb. 27, 2012 7:48 a.m., Keefe Campus Center

Feb 29, 2012 12:18 a.m., Social Quad 2:23 a.m., Davis

couch from the building. Subsequent investigation found that a student had taken the couch. It was returned the

Vehicles. 12:30 p.m., Coolidge

8:05 p.m., Valentine Dining Hall

tainer of Creatine powder supplement from the suite. Case open.

8:27 p.m., LeFrak Gymnasium While working at a basketball game,

11:23 p.m., North Dormitory

about a man acting inappropriately.

1:55 a.m., Pond

loud music and issued a warning at a

about his behavior. No further action was necessary.

about loud music. They issued a

March 1, 2012 12:20 a.m., Stone Dormitory

March 3, 2012 12:09 a.m., Pond Dormitory

ered.

located.

2:39 a.m., Hitchcock House

11:57 p.m., Hitchcock

loud music and issued a warning at a

nance signal from a smoke detector

vending machine. Case open. Feb 28, 2012 12:37 p.m., Coolidge Hall from her wallet that occurred several weeks ago. 3:50 p.m., Coolidge

March 4, 2012 2:33 a.m., Appleton about the odor of marijuana on the

and glasses from his room. Case open. 6:20 p.m., Appleton Hall

4:00 p.m., Coolidge

about the odor of marijuana on the sec-

ed that a television was vandalized. Someone cut the wires to it. Case open.

be located. 11:31 p.m., Coolidge

March 2, 2012 2:04 a.m., Davis Dormitory

ly 60 people were found in the room, and there was a high humidity level, which apparently caused the signal. People were cleared from the room, the area was ventilated and the smoke detector reset. 12:56 a.m., Seelye House While assisting a student at a medical

dents and informed them of the complaint. 7:24 p.m., Morris Pratt Dormitory

March 5, 2012 12:10 a.m., Hamilton House

credit cards. Case open.

countered a student from a neighboring college in possession of a fraudu-

11:44 p.m., Pond

and the Registry of Motor Vehicles

that had been used to smoke marijuana. The matter was referred to the .

and issued a warning.

1:23 a.m., Stone

2:23 a.m., Davis

1:36 a.m., Boltwood Avenue

11:55 p.m., Davis

sponded to an alarm and found it was activated when someone pulled an

a device used to grind marijuana. The

bus stop who were throwing snowballs at passing cars. They were iden-

man with alcohol. It was disposed of, and the matter was referred to the

sponded to an alarm and found it was caused by marijuana smoke. One stutered a group of people leaving the building. They were warned about the complaint and left the area. 11:43 p.m., Social Quad nating in the social dorm quad. He was

room and spoke with several students. The volume of the music was lowered.

apparent reason. They system was re-


The Amherst Student, March , ď™…ď™ƒď™„ď™…

Page 

Davis Demolishing Leads to Room Draw Fears

Continued from page 1

point, our biggest project, which was going to be the socials, was going to happen,� Moore said. Hitchcock, before it reopened in 2009 as a dorm housing 73 students, could once only hold 36 students. Seligman, which until now has been

year, the new addition of Leland allows for two large triples. This is all clearly stated on the residential website. However, any student living in Val will realize there is not a single student there living as part of a triple. Residents in Chapman will note that everyone in the dorm this year has a single. The four students living in the aforementioned rooms

for students by the time the fall semester of 2013 begins. These are the dorms, among others, that

nitely two-room doubles, not triples. There are no dorms using triples on campus this year because there was more than enough room to avoid that.

of 56 beds. However, rumors that the trailers will turn into doubles or even triples, possibly for for upperclassmen. Other than the four dorms already mentioned, no other dorms hold triples. Even in Val, it is highly unlikely the current small fact that they are listed as such on the residential website. However, the large rooms that can act as triples and some doubles in dorms throughout campus that are currently singles, could very well

ment, the Board of Trustees felt major projects like this needed to be squared away with their

Photo by Peter Mack ’15

Students examine the housing layouts outside of the Residential Life Department. 2013,� said Megan Doyen ’13, also part of years this year that now live in singles because one roommate moved into another dorm or room.

so insistent that students make careful choices for lem, students will be forced to deal with it for the entire year. Students, however, will still be allowed to

ney ’12. This year, students have been allowed to

dent willing to do the same. Though these cases are often few and far between, it will still be al-

Whether it be an issue of incompatible roommates or other pressing reasons, there have been several cases in which students have been able to

What will not be happening is construction during the academic school year. “Construction doesn’t happen until June

will be demolished. The biggest difference for the socials will be the loss of 56 spaces. However, aside from the noise typical in that area and the space around Merrill, there will be no disruptions or construction while students still need to study. Meanwhile, the residential renovation master cial crisis will begin again. Eventually, the entire east campus will be torn down and rebuilt. One at a time, the socials will be demolished to prepare for newer, more aesthetically-pleasing dorms. “We were going pretty consistently from 1999 to 2009 with redoing and refurbishing the

foremost is the science center, the socials remain an important part of this. Because Davis is in the footprint of the plans for the new science center, it has to be demolished now. The project will impact the eastern part of campus, and part of the reason for the reconstruction of the socials is to create a balance between the dorms and the new center. Though the residential reconstruction will take a few years before it really starts and there is currently no time line set for the demolition of the rest of the socials, at the end the College hopes to have a completed vision that acts cohesively throughout the campus.

before they graduate. The College campus, which has been changing and improving over the past few decades, is and will continue to do so. In the meanwhile, nothing has changed for the process will bring increasing information and decisions for students taking part in residential life for the 2012-2013 academic year.

Group Brings Attention to Sexual Assault Continued from page 1 lence. One in 71 men are raped in their lifetime. is probably 10 percent of what actually occurs,� said

when chances are, they do.� Most students who were interviewed were they did not believe they knew anyone who had been affected. “I don’t know how prevalent it is, what the school’s response is, what the disciplinary committee does,� Eric Sullivan ’13 said. assault is the result of the ‘culture of silence’ sur“People either don’t want to believe it happens or would believe it if they knew it, but they don’t know it. People oftentimes don’t even tell their close friends because they’re really afraid of being judged or not understood, which can be isolating.� ence as assault or rape, in part because they do not wish to consider themselves ‘victims.’

“I want everyone to know that rape happens us survivors. There are a lot of different forces acting to keep us silent — shock, disbelief, denial, shame, grief, fear of being judged or disbelieved. Many of us have been silenced. That’s why you might not know that we’re here, or that you know one of us, or that

ing triggered by Wednesday’s posters, illustrating the delicate balance of raising awareness among the general population without retraumatizing those who

Men’s Project covered posters with ‘trigger warning’ sheets, some were removed over the course of dinner. Gleckel regretted that survivors were triggered by the posters and offered his sincere apologies. “I to get a message across, no matter how few people were hurt and how many people got the message.� The Men’s Project received many positive re-

others saw the posters as unduly heavy on the shock factor and an intrusion into their eating space. Remarks such as, “This is depressing — I don’t want to

to report her rape to the College. “For a long time, I he did was rape,� she said. “I knew I’d screamed at him to stop and that he hadn’t. I knew he’d made me bleed. But he was my boyfriend. He was not a strange man in the bushes who raped me at knifepoint. He was someone I loved and trusted. He didn’t tim stereotype. But the stereotypes are wrong. Our society just doesn’t recognize these people as rapists.� “Reporting rape means having to talk about it. I had to describe over and over the disgusting, painful

tiny of everyone — my college deans, professors, going to have to sit at the same table as my rapist and testify.�

sider rape,� Oblaise Mercury ’13 said. “I talked to a friend who made rape sound like a ‘he said, she said’ thing. He made it seem like it isn’t real, when it happens. If more people came out and talked about it, people would know that it is real. I see it happen a lot at parties. People kind of brush it off and belittle it, which is a problem.� The Men’s Project aims not only to stand up feel that they are doing the right things. Gleckel said, “It’s easy to get defensive about it as a male because you don’t want to be seen as a potential perpetrator. males, but not every guy is a rapist and in fact, most of us aren’t. It’s important for men to know that not but we’re not guilty of anything.�

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Opinion

The Amherst Student

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Editorial

Email Controversy: What To Take Away

T

his week saw a lot of tension on campus on the subject of mass emails, sparked by a student voicing a grievance that many shared on campus: that the annoying nature of mass mailings requires students to avoid the temptation to

ticularly for smartphone users and those genuinely not interested in parties, sports or chatter between friends. We feel strongly about the principle of fair use of such campus resources. If all students and groups resorted to the list as a means of publicity, our inboxes

campus email addresses. Students responded in various ways to this complaint — some of them reactionary and unpleasant in nature. We would like to explain why we see the event as a clash of student interests, while offering visions for the future of peer outreach at the College. First, the immature activities of parties involved disappointed the Editorial Board. Student groups and individual students seeking to sell furniture or recover lost items should not have abused the accidentally-leaked list of addresses for their own personal purposes. This brings us to our second point: all use is abuse in the mailing regime’s current state. We feel this way not so much because of the annoyance and inconvenience this causes, par-

eating spam every day. This appears to us as the likely outcome, since there’s no reason why students wouldn’t leap at a cheap and lazy alternative to posters, table tents, tabling, etc. The groups who refuse to contribute to this problem and refrain from using the list put themselves at an unfair disadvantage — after all, we’d all like people to attend the events into which we invest so much hard work. In this light, the original complaint is highly understandable, if unfortunately sarcastic and public. Some of the responses, however, were completely uncalled for. Sending a picture of anyone to the student body at large, especially for the purposes of humiliation, constitutes cyberbullying. Hitting “reply all” and furthering the conversation in public is equally inap-

propriate. As responsible adults living in a community together, we must be more mature and level-headed in our interactions with each other. That said, this series of events sparked interest in the scheme of mailings — our third point of interest. Many students expressed that they liked the substantive use of all-campus mailings, particularly those pertaining to sports events and parties. These open invitations could bridge the divides in a fractured student body by bringing together people of all groups to common events and games. The Senate, during Monday’s meeting, brought up the possibility of having have moderated access and an optout process for anyone annoyed at what they considered spam. Other suggestions include a campuswide Facebook page or student life Twitter account that re-tweets student bulletins about campus events and games. These options not only attract the masses to school-wide events, but also keep individuals updated about events they would otherwise be unaware of.

The Ark Ophelia Hu ’12 Ophelia is an Environmental Studies major who writes a bi-weekly column sharing a Christian perspective on social, environmental and political issues.

Jedi Club Initiation Meeting C onsider three cases. Case 1: Most of us have received emails in the last few months about various sports games, parties, and items lost at said parties. A few days ago, there was also an exchange between Matt Fernald ’13, who requested with a bit of both humor and gumption that students stop abusing the leaked listserv, and a backlash by other students angry that he would dare to express a dissenting opinion – one that many of us held but had not publicized. In the immediate hour after his email, which attacked neither an individual nor a group, several students responded rudely to Matt, still addressing the massive listserv, even stating that we students should be glad to receive emails notifying us of various parties on campus. At the same time, students poured out their support for and solidarity with Fernald over Facebook. Neither side engaged the other in discussion, but Fernald straddled the fence, reaching out to the students that said hurtful things with the slightest provocation. Some of the students have since apologized to Fernald in private. Mean-

Mouth: “Why can’t we be friends?” Beyond the fact that these emails violate the Amherst College Electronic Resources Acceptable Use Policy, it’s just inconsiderate to email the entire school. Frankly, I don’t care to know about random parties on campus, the same way that students wouldn’t be very pleased if I hacked the listserv and sent everyone an email inviting them to the semesbe at Mahoney’s Irish Pub tonight at 11pm.) Case 2: Last week, I had the privilege of talking with a staff member who has been an encouragement and comfort to me, and undoubtedly to countless other students who have had the chance to meet her. She told me about the ways in which staff members were often treated as though they were not a visible, let alone valuable, part of campus life. Hearing her story, which was said with neither indignation nor anger, reminded me of past conversations I’ve had with other staff members who had felt equally disregarded

See Community , page 5

concluded with some poignant words from Smash

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

Publishers Mary Byrne, Chris Friend, Nazir Khan, David Walchak News Section Editor Whit Froehlich, Ethan Corey Opinion Section Editors Diana Babineau, John Osborn, Judy Yoo Arts & Living Section Editor Siyu Shen Sports Section Editors Karan Bains, Varun Iyengar

Letters to the Editor Matt Fernald ’13 writes on his personal response about mass mailings on campus. To the Student Body: My name is Matt Fernald. A fair number of you know me as a friend, a friend of a friend, a Zumbye or a name that pops up now and then. You may also know me as the guy who spammed the school about not spamming the school. Responses were, shall we say… mixed. It is for this reason that I write. nature of my email. It runs against an issue that has long worried me, namely, the divisions within our student body. I do not want anyone to take away the wrong message from this email of mine. If emotions take over, they will only widen these divides.

I do not want people who sympathize with me to feel they have won some victory over those who were spamming. I do not want those who spammed to feel belittled or angry. I merely hoped to point out that spamming the entire school for personal gain of some kind is generally seen as immature and, in many cases, rude. All Amherst College students on this campus can and do contribute to the genuinely unique and stimulating atmosphere that we boast here. We should support each other in all of our endeavors, even if they are not our own. The day when diversity turns inward upon itself and divides this campus more than it unites it will be a tragic one. Only we students have the power to stop that from happening.

Pain in the AAS Alex Southmayd ’15 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.

The Voice of the Senate

T

he year of 2012 has afforded the AAS seven productive meetings so far.

a Twitter account. @AmherstDining has kept us up to date on the meal schedule with tweets dents got to eat dinner with President Biddy separate World Cuisine events, including an American Tour sampling food from the East Coast, South, Midwest and West Coast, along with a thoroughly Fat Tuesday lunch and dinner menu for Mardi Gras and a delectable Argentine dinner. We’ve provided funding for trips, talks and events to numerous student groups including the Black Student Union, the Amherst College Christian Fellowship, the Council of Amherst Publications, the Amherst Economic Forum, the Peer Advocates, the Amherst Equestrian Club, Pride Alliance, College Connect, Amherst College Mock Trial, Model UN, Ultimate Frisbee, the African & Caribbean Students Association, Hillel, Amherst Dance, Amherst Fencing Club, Program Board, the International Student Association, WAMH, the Debate Team, Habitat for Humanity, the Amherst Feminist Alliance, the Senior Ball Committee, Women’s Rugby, the Amherst College Military Support Corps, Globe Med and many, many more. We’ve launched a pilot program for latenight dining at Keefe which brought in over

members to discuss a wide range of topics changes in the advisor-advisee system, the future of the Little Red Schoolhouse, and the awareness and accessibility of mental health resources on campus. We’ve also managed to solution to the spring concert problem. We’ve put aside our busy schedules, worked through our differences and disagreements, battled against administrative resistance at times and collaborated with individuals from every corner of the Amherst campus to create innovative solutions to solve dynamic problems. But what we’ve really striven to do is commit to a new, higher level of focus on student opinion and reach out in more ways than we traditionally have, in order to gain a more diverse perspective, irrespective of how diverse the Senate already is. Senate seats are open to anyone who wants to run, but that doesn’t typically beget masses of students signing up to present on Speech Night. We’ve polled the student body in times of doubt and certitude alike, never forgetting that the purpose of our existence is to repreOur forums have always been open, and we constantly seek to improve how we operate. But lest we lose the true meaning of the AAS, we need constant feedback from you. Amherst wouldn’t be anything without its body of 1,700 uniquely talented and motivated individuals. Let’s not forget what the AAS

than 700 students for breakfast. Individual senators have made progress on their respective Senate projects including creating an Amherst iPhone app, a bike share ing station and AC Dollar machines. We’ve met with a host of different faculty and staff

Associate Editors Carlyn Robertson, Jake Walters Senior Editors Nihal Shrinath, Elaine Teng Layout Editor Brendan Hsu Photographers Joyzel Acevedo, Peter Mack, Crysta Song Copy Editors Tim Butterfield, Stewart Longsworth

Amherst Association of Students is just that — a group of Amherst students. Feel free to email us, come to our meetings and talk to We want to hear your voices, because without them, the AAS wouldn’t have a voice.

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, March , 

Page 

Community Building Inclusivity and Participation Continued from page 4

by the school community. Case 3: In addition, many of us disregard the school’s facilities. As I mentioned in a previous column, composting is a logical solution to incredibly simple for us to compost, I have lost track of the times I’ve seen students, discontent with untouched burgers and full bowls of soup, seemingly unable to pour unwanted food into the compost bins. This makes the dishwashers’ jobs harder, but because we can’t see the workers behind the conveyor belt, it’s easy for us to dispose of our refuse without thinking about its effects down the line — literally. The same can be said of our recycling habits. In many places around campus, recycling and garbage bins sit beside one another, yet students seem repelled from recycling. And although most of us eat at turning our dishes and silverware, which often sit in fetid piles in our dorms for months before Out of desperation, the College has started leaving bins in dorms, hoping that it can at least collect dishes from us so that it doesn’t have to more for room and board to cover our thefts. These are only some examples of facilities abuse; among the rest, the myriad of dorm damage speaks for itself. Each of these cases highlight a sense of entitlement that I’m sure we’ve noticed on campus. Entitlement is a very offensive word, I realize, and I use it with hesitance. Still, it seems the only proper term to describe the attitude that plagues many of us students: we come to Amherst College believing that we have worked for about two decades to arrive at our destination — a four-year-long stay at a gas stathe accolades, connections, job prospects and into the comfortable lives we’ve earned. Sometimes we do and say incredibly hurtful things to one another, excusing our behavior with the belief that we only have to bear with each other for four years. Sometimes we disregard and outright disrespect the staff members who don’t write us recommendation letters or dole out academic consequences for our misconduct.

Sometimes we trash our facilities because we believe that it isn’t our home, and that therefore someone else should clean up for us. Or perhaps we think that it is our home, and we’re accustomed to someone else cleaning up for us. But what if Amherst College did not exist simply to titillate its ever-rising tide of students? The College is a place of servitude, but this servitude is not a one-way road. In order as many of us have been requesting, especially in the last month, we must recognize our role as an integral part of the Amherst College community, not as passers-by, but as responsible, considerate neighbors to our faculty and staff, and as stewards of the College’s resources and facilities. Amherst College is not a bed-and-breakfast. It is a home that we have chosen for four years, and with our housemates, we share the honor of cohabiting this remarkable, transformative place. It has the potential to turn us into more aware, responsible and compassionate people. If we allow it to transform us for the better, we will be surprised daily by its ability to exceed our expectations. It has certainly transformed me for the better. forming a more considerate student body can be Everybody Has a Story Week, a part of President Obama’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge, is currently providing a forum for some campus divisions and issues of personal faith and identity to be discussed and hopefully healed. Each hour-long discussion is a chance for one consenting student, faculty and staff member — grouped without their prior knowledge of one another — to be heard and to listen to one another.) Some students have come back from time spent abroad with heightened sensitivity to the amount that we take for granted at Amherst College. I certainly felt it, too, and when I returned to campus after my time abroad, I recognized ways in which my own behavior exuded a sense of entitlement. The remedy to our community’s collective inconsideration is personal responsibility. Each instance of inconsideration mentioned above was caused by the actions of individuals. Therefore, individuals have the ability to eliminate the College’s air of entitlement and transform it into a place where servitude is the norm.

Climate Change and the E.U.’s Soft Power T his year of the apocalypse actually began with good news about climate change. In a perfect example of soft power with an edge, the European Union decided to leverage its weight as the world’s largest economic market to compel the majority of the world’s airlines to participate in its Emissions Trading ises to both directly cut emissions, as well as provide incentive for airlines to

the excess amount of pollution, and the number of permits issued will decrease each year. Enforcement would include

that either depart from or land in the

operating in European airports. Yet, as is to be expected, other major economic players have sharply reacted against the E.U.’s decision. China, the U.S. and nearly two dozen other nations have all threatened retaliation in some form, with China even banning airlines from participating in the scheme, and similar legislation present before Congress in the U.S. The resistance is ultimately shortsighted and costly — the effect is no more than a few dollars per ticket, and lines incredible sums in the future anyway. It’s kind of like the way Americans would be on the verge of armed revolt in the face of a gas tax to raise

that takes place in E.U. airspace. Airlines who exceed their emissions allotment must purchase carbon offsets for

true cost of consumption, and would spur the investment in alternative energy infrastructure that would make

globally — and it foreshadows what could be a new approach to tackling the world’s biggest, most pressing challenge. From 2012 on, emissions permits will be issued to any airline that uses an E.U. airport. Emissions will be calcu-

Sarah Nyirjesy ’13 is a contributing writer.

I

would like to discuss the school-wide email chain dilemma. On Saturday two emails were sent to a school-wide chain advertising sporting event. The hockey team was in the

NCAAs. Matt Fernald ’13 responded in a very provocative manner ultimately stating that this “spamming” was not only an inconvenience for him, but it also caused him to lose respect for those who sent it. In response, several other students sent emails that were extremely negative and even offensive. This then sparked administration to warn against sending out emails to the whole school and stating that disciplinary action could be taken for those using this privilege. I understand why the administration took the steps they did because the responses to the original email were offensive and needed to be condemned. However, all of the emails leading up to the original provocative statement were a very positive, inclusive part of Amherst College. They encouraged school spirit and camaraderie between students. It is one of the few all-inclusive aspects of the Amherst social life. Last year, these same emails invited other students to these same social events and went to the same 150 students. While some of these emails may have implied consumption of alcohol, those who choose not to partake in these activities or attend sporting events, can easily just delete the email or even mark it as spam. They will never have to deal with this type of invite again. While the direction the thread has gone in because of the original email has turned very negative, I still believe that access to a school wide email list for students was a positive resource and could be restored to its once inclusive, constructive position. Though some of the emails sent on this chain were about sporting events or lost electronics, it has also been used positively, such as an email from the Student Health Educators encouraging positive body image. drawn lines between Amherst social groups. Now it has become almost a feud against athletes, regardless of the fact that none of the aggressive responses to the original email were even from athletes. We all know that Amherst is a top tier school, being an athlete is not mu-

tually exclusive with intelligence, just as going to parties is not mutually exclusive with being friendly and open to others. I personally am a three-season athlete. I am also a tour guide, and on my tours I tell people that my favorite part of Amherst College is the feeling of camaraderie and openness of the students. I work in a neuroscience lab, tutor other students and am part of a bible study, and I also consider myself friendly with Fernald, who wrote the original incendiary email. I have friends who are varsity athletes who also sing in A capella groups, participate in community service and even know of several varsity athletes who graduated phi beta kappa. The point is, Amherst is a small school with a lot to offer; we have just as strong extracurricu-

“I still believe that access to a school–wide email list for students was a positive resource and could be restored to its once inclusive, constructive position.” lar activities in music, acting, dancing, religion, community service and many other categories as we do in athletics. The administration, in sending such a generic condemnation of the email chain has really sold itself short. One of the greatest aspects of Amherst is that the administration not only encourages camaraderie between students, but it also tries to engage students from different social groups to come together. By denouncing the usage of the email chain, students cannot advertise their extracurricular endeavors and achievements to the entire student body. The actions of the very few members of the student body who responded in a negative manner resulted in the punishment of everyone. We are adults and the actions of a few should not penalize the future of the whole student body. In conclusion, while I do not agree with any of the confrontational emails that were sent, I believe that overall use of the all school email chain is an advantageous resource that can and should be used in many positive ways.

Hurst’s House Alex Hurst ’12 Alex Hurst ’12 is a Political Science major who writes a bi-weekly column on the subjects of domestic politics and world events.

electric vehicles and so on even more cost effective. But we waste trillions of dollars on failed Middle East policy to safeguard access to the same hydrocarbons slowly choking the world’s economic future. To its credit, the E.U. has pledged even with the threats of looming trade war. For decades, the world has seen summit after summit, negotiation after negotiation, and panel after panel of bloviating bureaucrats. Look at where we are and how little has been accomplished. Agreements are rarely reached, and when they are, individual or blocs of nations stymie true action. Now, before the Rio 2012 Earth Summit, is a perfect opportunity to set a visionary agenda — one that the world sees will be backed up by credible action from its foremost economic power. Consensus is fantastic, and international cooperation is always something to be strived for. But time is running out, the costs of inaction will

be immense, and sometimes soft power needs to be backed by hardliners. By being this hardliner, the E.U. has the opportunity to cut through much of the meandering, and send a signal that change is coming. The rest of the world can be on board or not, nonetheless, but the necessary action will be forced nonetheless. In the past, climate change agreements have always depended on signatory nations to come through on their own. This voluntary system is failing, and even if nations can’t impose consequences on each other directly, big powers with the will to do so can mold, prod and force global industry in effective ways. Many E.U. leaders have been stubbornly committed to ‘pain now, gain later’ austerity measures. Misapplied though they may be to the detriment of tackling the euro crisis, just such a stubborn commitment to that philosophy is just what the world needs on climate change.

Scandinavian Impulses 2:

Vengeance & Violence umass.edu/impulses

The Violated Body and the State: Scandinavian “Crime Queens” Paving the Way for Stieg Larsson Dr. Sara Kärrholm Malmö University

Monday, March 12, 2012 5:00 p.m. Campus Center 803 designed by Kyle Frackman


The Amherst Student

Arts&Living

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

For Arts Enthusiasts, New Opportunities Nicole Chi ’15 A&L Managing Editor Twelve years ago in a neighborhood in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, a project called “Sudden Flowers” to collect the unheard and unseen stories of Ethiopian youth was born. Part of this exhibition, created by the College’s current Artist-In-Residence Eric J. Gottesman, is currently displayed in the Eli Marsh gallery. It is a multimedia effort that involved a group of Ethiopian children who had lost their parents to AIDS, the residents of villages at which Gottesman showed his exhibit and – the latest and the most spontaneous part of the process – many Amherst students who simply wanted to help create art. For part of “Sudden Flowers,” Gottesman took photographs and and created portraits of a hundred kids that he knew or worked with over the 12 years he was working on the project. As part of the installation at Amherst, he decided to create a large mural that is segmented into three parts of a map depiction of the town in which he was working. For each kid that worked within “Sudden Flowers,” he took a picture of them and put them where they lived to unify them as a community, as well as to show their individual identities. He knew, however, that he would need help to paint it. Expecting very few volunteers, Gottesman talked to a painting class

Photo by Amanda Villarreal ’12

“Sudden Flowers,” a collaborative multimedia art exhibition, is currently being displayed in the Eli Marsh gallery. Students helped Artist-In-Residence Eric J. Gottesman paint the mural last week. at the College and told them about his project. By chance, one of the students in the class was Amanda Villarreal ’12, a senator who is a part of the new Arts Committee of the AAS. She immediately saw this project as a chance to work towards enhancing the visibility and accessibility of art on campus, and used the Arts Committee to help publi-

started to see the exhibition. Of the participants was a small group of students who came back repeatedly – Ethiopian students and students with ties to Ethiopia.

of painting, a surprised Gottesman greeted a group of roughly 25 students who were all excited to paint – and more kept coming. According to Gottesman, the participants shifted the way he

said Gottesman. “They came up with very different ways from how I

I had all these small pictures that I wanted to install along the walls. I gave some of them to the students from Ethiopia to assemble and to

It really added to the project and how the pictures were going to tell the story.”

Villarreal, who attended Gottesman’s lecture on his exhibition, said that in part, the purpose of the project was to “change the approach that photojournalism has to [Ethiopians], which propagates a very alien, distanced persona to these people” and “to make their actual lives shown and bring their own perceptions into how they want to be seen.” Indeed, art is an important force in creating and showing the identity of not simply individuals but also of groups of people. Unfortunately for people like Villarreal, who view art as a huge part of their identity, there is no cohesive arts community to be

immersed in at the College. “Right now you can go to Marsh or the Zü for an arts community, but those are actually marginalized spaces at Amherst. If I want to do something artistic and want to be around people who thought the same way, then I can only take classes,” she said. This is why she thinks the new Arts Committee, with its overarching goal of creating a safe and casual space for people of all arts backgrounds, is so important. Other future projects that the Arts Committee is working on include getting student art in Schwemm’s and the new Frost Café to showcase the creative talent of Amherst students in more visible places, as well as creating a cement wall along Pond where people can put their handprints on and paint over. They are also trying to make music practice rooms more accessible. Meanwhile, Gottesman’s experience working with the students in his “Selections from ‘Sudden Flowers’” has led him to begin thinking of other projects he can do with students during the semester. Amherst students clearly are not lacking in creativity, and there appears to be much demand for more outlets through which to express it. However, although there appears to be some discontent with the visibility (or lack thereof) of the arts at the College as of now, students will hopefully see the results of the Arts Committee’s efforts in the near future.

Pulling it Together: Men’s Fashion Nuances Brendan Hsu ’15 Layout Editor

your presentation from good to clean and crisp. Having a full wardrobe is a good foundation, but truly turning it into an knowledge of the basic rules. Understanding the principles behind

Shirt Cuffs

Buttons

Rolling the cuff of a button-up is a great way to add a casual touch. Just because you are wearing a collar does not mean you have to adhere to the most rigid formalities. However, whether it is to cool you off on a hot day or purely for looks, guidelines do exist for rolling your sleeves up. Do not just shove the cuff up your arm. Instead, fold it over itself a few times. This preserves the cuff’s shape, stops it from rolling back down and — above all — looks much crisper than a bunched up sleeve. You should also stop rolling at around the elbow in order to keep your shirt proportional. Otherwise, why not just wear a polo?

Generally, the bottom button of a blazer should be undone. This gives you a less boxy look, though you should completely open your jacket when sitting. For peacoats and other heavy jackets, the top button should be undone and the bottom left fastened. The lapel of a peacoat creates a small “V” that, when widened, gives your upper body some more shape. As for dress shirts, unbutton the collar and, if you wish, the next button. Fastening everything is pointless as it both looks stiff and chokes you. Conversely, going three buttons deep shows off too much

DO:

DON’T:

DO:

DON’T:

Modeled by Darius Onul ’15 and photo by Joyzel Acevedo ’14

you top off a look and understand just when you should break the mold.

Pant Cuffs

Socks

Pant cuffs are more important. If you are not getting everything you wear tailored, chances are you have pants that are a tad long.

White socks occupy an awkward space in a wardrobe. On one hand, every guy probably has a ton of them. On the other, they can only be worn with two

up a few times. Do small (less than one inch) rolls until your leg is straightened out while standing. Any further and it reduces your Rolling up your pant cuffs also lets you show of some sock if you

DO:

DON’T:

DON’T:

gym, or a casual shoe. With the latter, snazzy, dressy socks or more plain dress socks are preferred. If you are wearing boat shoes or certain boots, socks are even optional. Just do not go white. Cuffs, buttons and especially white socks scratch the surface of dress minutiae. Color composition, pattern use, jacket length and a multitude of other factors I have not even encountered yet form the evolving social standard for dress aesthetic. In the end, this self in an elegant, fresh light.


The Amherst Student, March , 

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But Wait! There’s More to “A Separation” ostami, other prominent directors of the so-called Iranian New Wave. But there is a propulsion and precision to “A Separation” more reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock or Sidney Lumet. Farhadi’s script is so well-realized that the audience’s sympathies can turn on a mere line or two of dialogue, much like Lumet’s courtroom drama “12 Angry Men.” Nothing is out of place;

Ethan Gates ’12 Staff Writer Simin and Nader are married. Simin and Nader want a divorce. There is a simple solution to this problem, yes? Get a divorce. Huzzah, we’re done! Boy, that was a short movie. Nader live in Iran. Simin, unsatis-

troubles. Chance and circumstance are to blame, not ill will. Which is not to say that the characters, particularly the adults, don’t exacerbate those circumstances. They lie, omit information and passively pressure their children to make unfair, uncomfortable decisions. The latter point is especially crucial. Multiple times, Simin and Nader pass off responsibility that should be theirs on to

place in the whole.

Film Review “A Separation” Directed by Asghar Farhadi Written by Asghar Farhadi Starring Peyman Moadi, Leila Hatami and Sareh Bayat

country (particularly, though this remains inexplicit, for women), wants to move to the West with Nader and their 11-year-old daughter Termeh. Nader does not seem to disagree, but cannot leave; his elderly father has Alzheimer’s, and he must stay behind to take care of him. The Iranian court decides this problem is “too small” to merit a divorce, although without a divorce, Simin will not be able to leave the country. Simin is furious — her daughter’s future is not a small problem to her.

Image courtesy of cdn07.film.com

ing photocopied, presumably at the

Simin and Nader, from “A Separation,” are sympathetic yet flawed characters whose mistakes will resonate far beyond their time.

to the narrative, but suggest that the dilemmas to follow run deeper than just

But wait, there’s more, and more, and more. “A Separation,” the recent winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, opens as

they are systematic, ingrained in contemporary Iranian society. Soon Simin and Nader are introduced, bickering over their divorce. They stare directly at the camera as they make their argument, immediately establishing a tone

viously frustrated with Nader, moves out to her parents’ house. Nader hires a maid, Razieh, to handle the household chores and look after his father while Nader is at work and Termeh is at school. Reziah, a pious woman, task of handling Nader’s father, who is too senile to even properly control his bodily functions. She hides her employment from her husband Hodjat, a hot-tempered, unemployed man who would not be pleased to hear either that she is attempting to pay off his debts, or that she is doing so by working in the house of a “single” man.

into something broader, although it never expands out of its claustrophobic, domestic setting. Simultaneously a legal thriller, taut character study and subtle political/cultural commentary, the best way possible; it is not hard to eting to watch, but its characters constantly twist and turn and evaluate and re-evaluate each other, complicating every action and reaction. camera, and the movie’s rough, lowbudget aesthetic is well in keeping with the work of Mohsen Makhmal-

Nader throws Reziah out of the house.

on opposite sides of a hallway in the courthouse, still unable to break their impasse. Somewhere in the building,

are all hard-working, well-intentioned,

out. A baby’s cry wails above the din. Nothing, in the end, has changed; the sins of our fathers and mothers are constantly handed down for the next generation to carry. It’s an idea that resonates far beyond just Iranian society. There is not a single false note in “A Separation.” The acting feels absolutely natural and unaffected, even though the dialogue must have been meticulously written. The story confronts issues of religion, women’s rights and morality without advocating any particular agenda. This is expert,

each have their own logical viewpoint, and there is no easy solution to their

doubt the most deserving Oscar winner of the year.

husband and wife, between parent and child, between accuser and accused. Nader, or between Nader and Reziah, are particularly anxious and strained experiences for the audience because they are, to their very core, ambiguous. character to the next, for there are no

Reziah stumbles in her duties and Nadmaid and in his anger accuses her of

with lying to keep her father out of jail, and ultimately she must choose which of her parents she wants to live with. These are burdens that no child should ever have to bear. And this is the cycle that Farhadi subtly and scathingly criticizes. At the

Amherst Bytes: Reading on the Web — Three Helpful Tools Dylan Herts ’13 Staff Writer Reading written work in a web browser is oldfashioned. [No, it isn’t…] Saving an article for later

dire straits, many other sites have followed suit. In the web browser you can often circumvent these little barriers, but doing so becomes much harder in still have to leap from app to app to process all your an app for all of them.

email. As articles update, we click through different sites and pages sorting out what’s new and what we’ve read, often running up against subscription walls or dead links. In short, it makes you want to just pick up a newspaper at Val. And so, I present three helpful little tools to

1.) Instapaper/ReadItLater Specialized sites like Instapaper and ReadItLater offer solutions for a few of our problems. These free services, as well as a few others, offer a consumption or even allow you to email them to and log back into their interface. Instapaper even offers a little bookmark widget that, when clicked, adds the current page to your personalized to-read list. That said, you still have to navigate through the not pose a problem on a normal web browser, but it can get a little a frustrating on mobile devices. So these sites solve only one of our problems. Still, it’s not a bad idea for storing articles to read them later. 2.) Site Applications Apps are the simple solution to easier reading on mobile devices, so long as a site has its own dedicated app. Firing up the New York Times mobile app is a heck of a lot easier than tapping through half a dozen links on their website. Articles are sorted in sections, and most apps have some sort of sharing option that plugs into your email or Facebook. Of course, familiar users will point out that the New York Times app uses a subscription wall, limiting browsing for those who haven’t paid for mobile access. With print news readership and revenues in

3.) RSS RDF (Resource Description Framework) Site Summaries (RSS) are a little gaggle of web feed formats that sites can use to publish updated information. Subscribe to one RSS feed, and you’ll receive whatever comes down the pipe; subscribe to several, sort them in categories, and you’ve got yourself an a la carte periodical option. Rather than scroll around to your six favorite blogs, you can just tell them to drop new articles on your digital doorstep. Plus, almost any site out there has an RSS feed if you look around for it and most (including the Times) offer unlimited free access. There’s even one for the Valentine menu that’s updated each night.

Your Mind Matters. People are looking for creative thinkers like you. For arts and sciences students who would like to start careers in businesses, non-profits, or self-promotion: t fluency in business language t introduction to business etiquette

But reader programs, used to sort and process all these little subscriptions, are now available crossplatform and often for free. You can use Google Reader as an online interface, and synchronize subscriptions, reading records, saved articles and more across most RSS readers on any device. In

t social media techniques t marketing and strategic thinking t training in management skills t sessions with creative businesses and successful alumni t introductions to potential employers

through news articles or a few tech blogs. The app tracks what I’ve read so far and archives old stories, but saving one for later or sharing it takes a single tap. And when I open Google Reader back at home later, it knows what I’ve read earlier and what I’ve saved until now to read.

Reeder

USA Today

New York Times

Kelley Art of Business Summer Academy Three - week intensive summer institute email: artofbiz@indiana.edu facebook: Art of Business Summer Academy http://kelley.iu.edu/aob/

Images courtesy of appadvice.com


The Amherst Student, March , 

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The Best Fictional Bands You’ve Watched Jake Walters ’14 A&L Associate Editor On Feb. 29, Davy Jones of the Monkees passed away due to a heart attack. While not many people will know the Monkees by name — though most probably know their biggest hit still be felt. Their brand of supremely lighthearted (and light-weight), ridiculously optimistic (to some, cringe-inducing) and exceptionally catchy music struck a sound somewhat between the Beatles and the Beach Boys, and by ultimately dropping any pretense of being a “serious” musical act, they went the route of being as purely pop as possible. With this in some way being the dominant philosophy of the best-selling popular music today, there’s an argument to be made that the modern artists to pop music. beyond this. You see, the Monkees were not a “real” band, at least originally. They were assembled to write music for and star in a TV show about a Beatles-esque band doing things that a Beatles-esque band would naturally be drawn to, such as driving around in a car with their name on it, enjoying their swinging bachelor pad (although they never actually hint at the swinging; it is a kid’s show after all), helping children overcome their oppressive adult masters and generally reveling induced vibe of the 60s. You know, the basics. And of course, at least once an episode, they would break out in a spontaneous song, presented as a music video, because, naturally, that’s how it was during the 60s. The memcharacters bearing their own names for two seasons and sang the music for the show. Only with the success of the show did the once TV-only band begin to actually function as an actual band with creative control over their music, something they were pretty successful at for a couple years after the show ended, before ultimately disbanding in 1970. As such, the Monkees can be seen as among the earliest popular incarnawhich has become more and more pop-

all the way to the present day. And so, with Davy Jones’ passing, it seems like an appropriate time to look back on this trend. Some of them would go on to become actual bands, whereas others (mostly the animated ones) would remain trapped in the medium that spawned them. But all of them, either for their music or their personality, deserve a look. The Beets from “Doug” I start off the list with another obvious take on the Beatles, The Beets, titular character Doug Funny’s favorite band. It earns a spot on this list largely because their songs, despite being ridiculous (featured lyrics from their best song “Killer Tofu”: “I didn’t eat it, ow, but it ate you!”), are not only funny but legitimately catchy. Bonus points for the fact that it implied that what is essentially the Beatles would have been the favorite band of a bunch of middle schoolers circa 1991 and the fact that one of the member’s names is “Chap Lipman.” The Blues Brothers from “Saturday Night Live” This rhythm and blues revival band, despite not writing any songs, sure knew how to play, all the more impressive when you consider that its two central members were lead vocalist Jake Blues, played by comedian John Belushi, and harmonica player/ backing vocalist Elwood Blues, played by comedian Dan Aykroyd. The band, originally created for Saturday Night Live (back when being on Saturday Night Live actually required being funny), served as a musical guest on the show before releasing the awesomelytitled album “Briefcase Full of Blues” and eventually going on to star in “The Blues Brothers,” a Hollywood movie about the duo featuring one of the

Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem from “The Muppet Show” I’m a sucker for a great band name, and it doesn’t get much better than Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. The band featured leader, vocalist, and keyboardist Dr. Teeth, bass guitarist Sgt. Floyd Pepper, lead guitarist Janice, Saxophonist Zoot and over-the-top drummer Animal. Featured heavily on

The Muppet Show and other Muppets media, this semi-parody semi-homage to rock ‘n’ roll had numerous compositions under its belt (much more so than any other band here, with close to 50 distinct songs performed overall). But it is ultimately their exuberant attitude that places them on this list, as the band itself was the real treat (even though a number of the songs are strong enough in their own right), often bringing the comedy just as much as any other cast member on the show. Dethklok from “Metalocalypse” This band, featured on the animated love letter to/parody of death metal TV show “Metalocalypse,” might win the award for funniest band on the list, stiff competition considering how most of the artists featured here have their roots in comedy. Lead guitarist Skwisgaar Skwigelf (opening theme tune: “taller than a tree”), rhythm guitarist Toki Wartooth (“not a bumblebee”), Bassist William Murderface (“Murderface Murderface”), drummer Pickles (“doodily doo ding dong doodily doodily doo”) and lead singer Nathan Explosion are gut-bustingly and endearingly idiotic both on stage and off, with hilarious song highlights including “The Duncan Hills Coffee Jingle,” “Dethharmonic” and “Hatredcopter.” The band mocks other metal bands,

Image courtesy of robsrecordscdsdvds.com

The Monkees were one of the first relatively successful music group to their success on TV as a fictional band. to a tee. Even outside their songs, they manage to poke fun at a decade of musicians whose heads were often in their pants, with tour names such as the “Ladies, We’re Staying in Room 203 at the Ramada” and a coloring book with colors such as “lipstick red” and “black leather black.” And all this is without mentioning their Saturday morning space.’”

hear bass of Metallica by saying that they wipe the bass parts out of the song entirely but still keep the bassist around for appearances. The humor gets much weirder from there, such as when the only. A special shout-out should also go to Guns ’n’ Roses parody Snakes ’n’ Barrels and glam metal parody Dr. seventh largest economy, which is saying something. Limozeen from “Homestarrunner. com” Another metal parody band, this lok, is simply too funny not to mention. Their songs, such as “Because, It’s Midnite,” “Nite Mamas” and “Feed lyrics “hey hey la la la na na doo doo”) parody the stupidity of 80s hair metal

The Rutles from “Rutland Weekend Television” Another Beatles parody, this time by former-Monty Python member Eric Idle, the Rutles were originally featured on various 70s British television shows before becoming a touring comedy band in their own right. Unlike other Beatles parodies, this one directly took on the Fab Four by essentially rewriting their songs with different lyrics, the most famous of which being “All you Need is Cash,” also the name They’re a lighthearted effort, one which arguably lacks the wit of other parody bands (such as the aforemenmany of their songs are inoffensively and charmingly goofy none-the-less. Spinal Tap from “This is Spinal Tap” If the Monkees were the grandfather of fake bands, then Spinal Tap

was the dad. I can’t think of another the band which headlined one of the funniest movies ever made, 1984’s “This is Spinal Tap.” David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) embody everything lovable and idiotic about rock ‘n’ roll music, with ridiculous songs such as “Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight,” “Cups and Cakes” and “Big Bottom,” which might win the award for smartest stupid song of all time. Anchored by three great comic performances and a watch these guys do just about anything and not laugh. Although “These go to eleven” is the classic line that caps off the classic scene, my favorite amidst hefty competition is the scene where the band discusses their past drummers. One died in a freak gardening accident, one spontaneously combusted on stage and one passed out and choked on vomit. Not necessarily his own vomit though, as Nigel is careful to note, because “You can’t really dust for vomit.” Clever stuff. The band would go on to thrive elsewhere, even performing “Big Bottom” at Live Earth, with just about every bass player there on stage playing with them. But they never topped “This is Spinal Tap.”

This Week in Amherst History: March 8, 1989 Five College Events March 9th Japan Faces the Future: Overcoming the Devastation of 3/11, Smith College, 4:00 p.m. Consul General Takeshi Hikihara will discuss the current situation in Japan after the Great East Japan Earthquake along the northeastern coast. He will provide details on the ongoing recovery process, discuss the current realities in the aftermath of the earthquake and explain future prospects for the rebuilding of Japan. The event is free and will take place in the Graham Hall.

March 10th Photo courtesy of Amherst College Archives & Special Collections

The Amherst Student published a “Campus Conversations” which detailed several small news stories on campus, among them a surprise visit by Amherst College President Peter Pouncey and Dean of Students Benson Lieber to an Amherst TAP to observe the College party scene and, more specifically, the presence of alcohol and intoxication at the party. Having recently implemented new changes to the College alcohol policy, President Pouncey and Dean Lieber were interested to research their effectiveness and visiting the TAP in Seligman House and observing the students first-hand was part of this plan. After noting that he found the TAP “interesting,” Dean Lieber also had trouble finding his coat, in typical Amherst student fashion. —Jake Walters ’14

“Distinguishing Debussy: Debussy as Man and Artist”, Smith College, 10: 00 p.m. There will be a lecture by Denis Herlin: “Distinguishing Debussy: Debussy as Man and Artist.” Denis Herlin, former President of the French Musicological Society, is the Director of Research at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientithe Complete Musical Works of Claude Debussy

be made by Professor of Humanities Peter Bloom. Part of SmithArts Fest. For more information, see: http://www.smith.edu/music/ar tsfest/2012/debussy.php. The event will be located in the Earle Recital Hall.

March 11th Screen Test: Movie Trivia Madness, Smith College, 3:00 p.m. Movie Trivia Madness, Amherst Cinema and Pleasant Street Theater’s signature event: Celebrity guest is John Hodgman, actor, author and humorist known for his correspondent work on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” Bill Dwight, a 25-year employee of Pleasant Street Video will emcee. Twenty-four teams will vie for

an iPad2 are $10.00 each and can also be purchased can be purchased at www.amherstcinema.org, and

see: www.amherstcinema.org. Tickets are $7 for Cinema members and $10 for the general public.

— Clara Yoon ’15


The Amherst Student, March , 

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Women’s Basketball Sinks St. Joseph’s, Babson Maggie Law ’14 Staff Writer

Hardy added a career-high seven rebounds. Savannah Holness ’15 followed with a career-high nine points.

Leading by just two points at halftime, the women’s basketball team used a second half burst Saturday night to defeat Babson College, 61-48, in the second round of the NCAA tournament. On Friday night, the Jeffs dominated on the court with 11 different players scor-

with eight points, while seniors Shannon Finucane, Jackie Renner, Stedman and Atanga McCormick combined for 13 points and nine rebounds in the victory. The senior class broke the program record

Amherst (29-0) jumped out to a quick start Friday evening with a three-pointer from Caroline Stedman ’12 that ignited a 12-0 run for the Jeffs. St. Joseph’s Megan Moran hit a pair of free throws to unanswered points to take the 17-2 lead. Two layups and a free throw they would come to catching the Jeffs for the remainder of the game. Back-to-back layups from Marcia Voigt ’13 sparked another offensive burst as the Jeffs stole the show with a 15-0 run. Lem Atanga Hardy ’13 buried two three-pointers to give Amherst a 25-point lead. The Jeffs outscored the Bears 21-11 over the next 10 minutes, as a layup from Livia Rizzo ’13 brought the lead to 32 with just under two minutes remaining in the half. St. Joseph’s put up six points before the buzzer to cut the Amherst lead to 52-24 heading into the break. The second half started out slow, with only seven points scored tum, however, as Kim Fiorentino ’12 capped off an 8-3 run with a three-pointer to put the Jeffs ahead by 36.

with a 120-9 record overall. On Saturday evening the top-ranked Jeffs downed Babson College in the second round, eliminating the Beavers from the NCAA tournament for the fourth consecutive year. Amherst, who is now 19-4 in tournament play, has won 48 consecutive games including 65 in LeFrak gymnasium. to an early 5-0 lead. Fiorentino sparked the Amherst offense with a

The teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half, tying nine times in 16 minutes of action. Amherst built a three-point lead on a ated with three consecutive points to tie the game at 25. A jumper from Atanga McCormick and a pair of free throws from Babson forward Kathleen King tied the game up again with just 30 seconds left in the half, but Stedman pulled through with a jumper to put the Jeffs ahead, 29-27, heading into the break. Babson looked energized coming into the second half, tallying the next three minutes of action, but a layup from Stedman gave the Jeffs the lead at 38-36. King buried another pair of free throws to trim Amherst’s lead to 41-40, but back-to-back layups from Atanga McCormick and Voigt to three, but Voigt pulled through for Amherst on a jumper with 8:21 to put the Jeffs up by eight. Babson responded with four consecutive points, but once again Voigt came through with a layup to make it 52-46. The Beavers strug-

lead with just over four minutes left in the game, but a layup from Robertson and yet another three from Voigt stretched the Amherst seconds secured the Amherst victory, 61-48. Voigt led the team with 15 points, scoring 13 in Amherst’s

Photos by Mark Idleman ’15

Senior tri-captain Caroline Stedman was named NESCAC Player of the Year. She scored 15 points against Babson.

1,185 career points. Robertson followed with nine points and 10 rebounds, while Atanga McCormick and Fiorentino combined for 16 points and 10 boards. Stedman was recognized last week for her outstanding performance this season, earning NESCAC Player of the Year for the second time in her career after leading the Jeffs to their third-straight league championship. Stedman ranked third in the conference in captain scored in the double digits in 21 of Amherst’s 27 regular season games, becoming the 12th player in program history to join the 1,000-point club after a 17-point performance against Bowdoin. She

victory, defeating the Bears 84-30. The Jeffs held St. Joseph’s to just 20.8 percent shooting, while home court advantage helped the scoring with 15 points, shooting six-for-eight and grabbing nine rebounds. Voigt added 12 points, four steals and three assists, while

classroom and in the community. Atanga McCormick was also recognized for her success, earning a spot next to Stedman on the All-Conference First Team. The senior

NESCAC Rookie of the Year Megan Robertson ’15 had nine rebounds against St. Joseph’s and 10 against Babson. forward averaged 11 points and 5.5 this season, scoring double digits Cormick grabbed the top spot on Amherst’s career blocks chart with four blocks against Tufts. Fiorentino joined her classmates on the All-Conference Second Team after scoring double digits in 13 regular season games. She’s currently tied leading the team in assists per game, while ranking second in rebounds, blocks and free-throw percentage. Robertson was selected as the NESCAC Rookie of the Year after making an immediate impact for the Jeffs on the court. On the season, she sits at second on the team in scoring with 11.3 points per

goal percentage (.555). With the win against Babson on Saturday, the Jeffs advance to tional championship, Amherst will face off against York College on Friday night in LeFrak Gymnasium. Emmanuel College and King’s chance to compete for a spot in the Final Four.

Women’s, Men’s Indoor Track Place Second, Third at ECAC Championships Carlyn Robertson ’14 Associate Editor

personal record of 4:53.76, the second-fastest

Ben Scheetz ’12 won the 1,000-meter run, crossing the tape at 2:25.50. He broke a 25-year-old school record by almost a full second, as well as an 11-year meet record. Scheetz was two seconds ahead of the runner-up. Amherst’s next win came from sophomore Matt Melton, who posted a personal-best in the 500-meter dash. His time of 1:04.19 was just

automatically for NCAAs. Women The women’s indoor track team won two

claimed the top spot among the 57 teams that scored points. The Jeffs ended the day with 46 points. Junior Lauren Almeida earned one of 1,000-meter run with a time of 2:59.19, 0.5 seconds ahead of the runner-up. Amy Dao ’14 time of 3:03.43. The 4x800 relay team of Ellen Richmond ’12, Lambert, Melissa Sullivan ’12 and Dao

tance medley relay, joined by Almeida, Bates and Sullivan. Their time of 11:52.12 was also the school’s second-best. and the 200-meter dash, with times of 7.83 and 25.68. She ran a personal-best in the 200, beating the school record she set earlier this season. First-years Lizzy Briskin and Abraelle Shirley had strong individual performances. Briskin placed 17th in the mile with a 5:12.03, dropping 28 seconds from the beginning of the season. Shirley’s time of 26.34 in the 200 was a personal best.

Earning the top spot in the mile, junior Pat Grimes ran a 4:12.25, fast enough for an NCAA provisional cut and 0.2 seconds shy of the meet record. Andrew Erskine ’13 also made a provi-

of 14:49.41. Grimes, Melton, Scheetz and Alex Durkee ’15 scored points with an eighth-

Men The Jeffs had their highest ever program

Armory Tack and Field Center. Lambert gave the Jeffs a 40-meter lead during the second leg of the relay, and Sullivan and Dao maintained the gap to win by four seconds. Lambert placed second in the mile with a

three events and scoring points in three more. The third-place Jeffs (34) trailed only Bates (69) and Tufts (48) and were one of 62 teams that scored points.

Photo by Steve Dao

Junior Lauren Almeida won the 1,000meter run with a time of 2:59.19.

a 10:04.90. Durkee, Romey Sklar ’15, Eli Howe ’13 and Lucas Lebovitz ’15 teamed up for the 4x800 and placed seventh. Lebovitz anchored the team with a career-best time of 1:55. The indoor track NCAA Championships


SPORTSBOARD

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GAME OF THE WEEK

Schedule FRIDAY: Men’s and Women’s Track NCAA Championships (@ Grinnell, Day 1 of 2), TBD Women’s Basketball NCAA Sectional Semifinals (vs. York), 7 p.m. Men’s Basketball NCAA Sectional Semifinals (@ Franklin & Marshall), 7:30 p.m.

Women’s Hockey vs. Norwich Univ.

Women’s Basketball NCAA Quarterfinals (vs. TBD), 6 p.m. Men’s Basketball NCAA Quarterfinals (@ Franklin & Marshall, vs. TBD), 7 p.m. Men’s Hockey NCAA Quarterfinals (vs. Plattsburgh), 7:30 p.m. SUNDAY: Women’s Lacrosse @ Bates, 12:30 p.m. Men’s Lacrosse vs. Bates, 2 p.m.

SATURDAY: Men’s Lacrosse vs. Colby, 12 p.m. Women’s Lacrosse @ Colby, 12 p.m. Women’s Hockey NCAA Quarterfinals (@ Norwich), 3 p.m.

Players of the Week

The Amherst Student, March , 

IN DEPTH Time: Saturday, March 10 Site: Norwich Univ. Key Players: Amherst

(#33) Sinead Murphy ’12 (#11) Geneva Lloyd ’13

Norwich

(#7) Julie Fortier ’12 (#9) Kaycie Anderson ’15

The Lady Jeffs suffered a heartbreaking overtime loss to Middlebury in last Sunday’s NESCAC Championship game, falling by a mere 1-0 margin. Still, as the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Sinead Murphy remains a force to be reckoned with after shutting out Middlebury in regulation. Geneva Lloyd ’13, the NESCAC Player of the Year, will join all-NESCAC teammates Ashley Salerno ’14 and Josie Fisher ’12 as part of a potent trio that will keep the Norwich squad on its toes. The Cadets, the defending Div. III National Champions, are no stranger to the big stage. Over the weekend, they breezed to their third ECAC East Tournament Championship, defeating Manhattanville, 6-3. Norwich boasts its own Player of the Year, Anderson, the ECAC’s Rookie of the Year. Although the Cadets enter at an impressive 25-2-1, recent history is on the Jeffs’ side. In 2010, Amherst downed Norwich, 7-2, to take home the National Championship, and, on Jan. 24, the Jeffs blanked Norwich, 2-0 — the last time the Cadets lost. Expect the be a heated affair. —Karl Greenblatt ’15

Marcia Voigt ’13 — Women’s Basketball

Jonathan La Rose ’12 — Men’s Hockey

Marcia Voigt’s clutch second-half performance helped the Lady Jeffs overcome Babson, 61-48, in the second round of the NCAA Div. III Championships. Of Voigt’s 15 total points, 13 came after intermission in a game that was — unlike most of the Lady Jeffs’ other efforts this year — anything

including a three-point dagger that put the game out of reach with just over 90 seconds to play. Showcasing her well-balanced game, she also amassed eight rebounds in the victory. The Amherst squad continues on to the Round of 16 on Friday, March 9, where they will face York College.

Before the Jeffs’ weekend had even begun, Jonathan La Rose had already been crowned NESCAC Player of the Year. When his team hit the ice for the NESCAC Semi-

7-of-12 shooting on the day,

— Karl Greenblatt ’15

all-world goalie backed up the accolades, holding the Ephs to just one score in 27 chances for a 2-1 victory. In the following day’s

championship game against Middlebury, La Rose helped the Jeffs triumph, 4-3, despite being outshot by the Panthers, 36-22. With the NESCAC title under their belt, the Jeffs prepare to face Plattsburgh on Saturday, March 10, in Tournament. — Karl Greenblatt ’15

Amherst Athletics Supports Big Brothers Big Sisters Reilly Horan ’13 CCE Liaison & Staff Writer This weekend, Amherst College students, student-athletes and coaches rallied around the 17th annual “Big Brothers Big Sisters Bowl for Kids’ Sake Bowl-a-Thon,” the organization’s biggest annual fundraiser. Two athletic teams — women’s soccer and men’s track — were represented at the bowl-a-thon, which raised over $65,000 this year (exceeding its fundraising goal). BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) is one of the CCE’s major partnerships in the community. At Amherst, the organization works to pair college students, or “bigs,” with middle school and elementary school students, or “littles,” in the area to forge lasting, impactful friendships. Ruth Harms, the Case Management Supervisor for BBBS of Hampshire County, spoke to the merits of such a friendship: “Our program gives a child a positive, adult role model outside of their family who can have fun with and teach him or her. For a lot of the kids, the friendship opens

up a world within Amherst that they didn’t even know existed. Also, spending time on campus helps instill a sense of the importance of collegiate education.” At Amherst College, four Community Engagement Leaders — Jess Wall ’12, Dave Bradshaw ’12, Gina Ringelberg ’13 and Tania Dias ’13 — serve as liaisons between BBBS and the Amherst student body to help facilitate either site-based pairings that exist solely on campus or ible schedule and location. “We’re a support system for these kids; the theory behind it is to go beyond one-time tutoring sessions or activities and create real friendships has worked with BBBS all four years that she’s been a student at Amherst. “Data has revealed that these sustainable, consistent relationships foster better familial relationships, stronger schoolwork performance and a better chance that these kids aren’t going to choose to get involved with drugs or alcohol.” “The best part about BBBS is that I get to see how this person changes over time,” Ringelberg

said. “My little has grown so much in the three years I’ve known her. You can see the difference that you’re making in a person’s life.” THE BOWL-A-THON With the powerful impact of this organization in mind, it is important to know that each big/little pair costs about $1,000 a year to maintain. Ruth outlined their three big fundraising events, two seasonal craft fairs and this bowl-a-thon, that, with the help of many enthusiastic supporters, raise the majority of the organization’s funds each year. Bradshaw explained how Amherst’s branch prioritizes this necessity of fundraising through a number of annual events like this bowl-a-thon, the popular campus-wide strategy game “Assassins” and trivia nights. “For the bowl-a-thon, we have the most participation out of all the schools in the area,” Bradshaw said. “We made fundraising a priority for our branch about two years ago, and it is becoming a staple of the program.” ATHLETES BOWL FOR A CAUSE While each of Amherst’s 30 bigs participated in the event, Amherst athletics also contributed to the cause. Women’s soccer and men’s track pitched in to raise money for the organization and bowl this weekend. A number of other bigs are also student-athletes (who bowled without their support from their teammates and coaches. Two players on the women’s soccer team, Jess Wall and Allie Horwitz ’12, have their own littles and encouraged their team to contribute to the tion, and now we’ve been doing this bowl-a-thon for four years,” head coach Jen Hughes explained. “Every spring we sit down as a team and talk about some offseason community engagement we’d like to do, and this is one of our continued relationships.” “The team originally got involved to support the couple of us who have littles, but they’ve stayed involved because they’ve become passion-

Photo courtesy of Reilly Horan ’13

Members of the women’s soccer team went bowling with Big Brothers Big Sisters over this past weekend.

She and her little, Kyle, have a mutual interest in sports, which explains his presence on the sidelines of the team’s soccer games among other sporting events that the two have frequented over the past two years. The team raised over $1,000

dollars for the organization in the couple of weeks leading up to the bowl-a-thon. Younger team members who have become inspired by their seniors’ involvement have applied to become bigs to keep the team’s partnership an ongoing one. Just a few lanes down, a group of men’s track runners and coaches got together to rally for the BBBS cause. Head coach Erik “Ned” Nedeau, who quickly admitted that he was “a better coach than bowler,” explained that one of his runners and BBBS big, Kash Aleshinloye ’14, worked with one of the team’s captains, Chris Erickson ’12, to put together their spring community engagement project. Aleshinloye pitched the idea of the bowl-a-thon at a team meeting and encouraged his teammates to raise money even if they couldn’t make it to bowl. With that backing, Aleshinloye and his little, Omar, spent the afternoon bowling with some teammates and coaches, knowing they had raised money and awareness for an impactful organization. Track is always in season, which means the team works to keep community engagement a priority despite lacking the freedom an offseason would provide. “We always make sure to do an engagement project each season, especially over interterm,” Nedeau elaborated. “I tell my players that giving back to the community is a way to better yourself, and another part of being a member of this team.” “It’s awesome to have athletic teams be at our events, to mobilize that many people who are dedicated to our cause,” Wall commented. “And it’s one place we can grow — team participation,” Harms added. “When CELs or current student-athlete bigs make a push for their team to participate, we raise funds more successfully and, ultimately, recruit even more bigs.” HOW TO GET INVOLVED Being a Big Brother or Big Sister is not only

one for a busy student-athlete. If you or a teammate is interested in becoming involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters at Amherst, contact Jess Wall at jwall12@amherst.edu, David Bradshaw at dbradshaw12@amherst.edu, Tania Dias at tdesousadias13@amherst.edu) or Gina Ringelberg at gringelberg13@amherst.edu.


The Amherst Student, March , 

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Men’s Hoops Crushes NYU; Headed to Sweet Sixteen looked back and dominated the second half. While sponded with an 18-4 run that turned the matchup into a blowout. During this eight-minute period, Barrise and David Waller ’12 both showcased their shooting prowess, but more notably, so did center post, drifted outside the arc and knocked down only the third three-ball of his Amherst career and his

Photos courtesy of Chloe McKenzie ’14

Pete Kaasila ’13 remains a rock-solid post player for the Jeffs. Karan Bains ’14 Sports Section Editor

After the Kaasila triple, the Jeffs took the life out of the Violets and won comfortably by an 80-56 margin. While most of the team came out and gave solid efforts, Aaron Toomey ’14 once again stole the show, netting a career-high 34 points on 9-of-14. Toomey was also automatic at the free throw line, as usual, nailing 14 of his 15 attempts. Willy Workman ’13 supplemented Toomey’s scoring prowess by doing the tough work for the Jeffs, as he compiled eight points, nine rebounds and three blocks. With their 30th straight victory in LeFrak, the Jeffs are also on a general 14-game winning streak that seems to have them in prime position to make a deep run in the tournament. Amherst puts its 26-2 record up against Franklin & Marshall College on Friday in the Round of 16. The Jeffs are making their 10th appearance in the Round of 16 but are hoping that the journey does not end there. The team will need to continue its exceptional play to overcome Franklin and Marshall this weekend, as it looks to improve on its overall NCAA Tournament record of 28-14.

The men’s basketball team, riding a wave of momentum into the NCAA Tournament after winning the NESCAC Championship, continued to dominate LeFrak Gymnasium this weekend in ice hockey beating Williams before the basketball game, the atmosphere was electric in the Amherst student section, which competed against a full contingent from visiting New York Univ. The Violets brought fans and cheerleaders to LeFrak, hoping to catch some energy and pull off an upset of the heavily favored Jeffs. While NYU had to reach their second round however, the Jeffs had the luxury of waiting and practicing before the second round after earning a bye with their impressive accomplishments to date. with the urgency and execution necessary in an elimination game. The Violets refused to lie down of the game saw intense back-and-forth action. In fact, after almost 10 minutes of play, NYU managed to take a one-point lead at 15-14 before a Taylor Barrise ’12 three-pointer sparked a 7-0 Amherst run. Despite watching their slim lead evaporate, the Violets battled back to within a basket until the Jeffs the locker room with a 40-28 lead. a huge turning point in the game, as Amherst never

Allen Williamson ’13 gets to the rim during the Jeffs ’ victory over NYU. Amherst travels to face Franklin & Marshall in the Sweet Sixteen.

Varun’s Viewpoint

Varun Iyengar ’14

Varun weighs in on National League MVP Ryan Braun’s recent steroid allegation and its sudden reversal. Despite unnaturally high testosterone levels and traces of synthetic testosterone, Braun managed to successfully appeal the ruling. Steroids continue to plague sports, and according to Varun, they have changed the way we watch them.

Brains over Braun Ryan Braun and Steriods

The Age of Steroids is upon us. Today, doping allegations seem to be at the forefront of every sport. From the Olympics to the Tour de France. From the NFL to the PGA tour. The question of athletes “juicing” has become unavoidable and, seemingly, universal in the world of sports. Still, no sport has received the scrutiny that baseball has. And for good reason. In the past decade, many of the sport’s best players have been linked to performance-enhancing drugs: Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire, Roger Clemens, Manny Ramirez. The list goes on. Three months ago, however, we added yet another name to that growing list: Ryan Braun. The Milwaukee Brewers’ slugger, named the National League MVP in late November, was placed in much more undesirable company only a few weeks later when he tested positive for Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs). It was a devastating blow for the MLB. Was one of the most likeable and talented stars really a cheater? Braun, of course, immediately spoke out in his own defense, maintaining his innocence and promising to appeal the result. Last week, as a consequence of this appeal, the MLB overturned their previous ruling based, not on science, but a technicality. Apparently, the test collector took Braun’s sample home overnight to store in a cool refrigerator, as dictated by protocol. On the basis of this decision though, taking into account the possibility of tampering overnight, MLB commissioner Bud Selig let Braun off the hook. By all accounts, it would seem to be of the doubt. Right? Here are the facts: Braun tested positive for high levels for testosterone. A person naturally produces testosterone in about a 1-to-1 ratio with a second substance, epitestosterone. The MLB, however, leaves room for deviation, considering levels of 4-to-1 and lower to be acceptable. When tested, Braun’s level was at 20-to-1. Furthermore, not only did he test positive, but additional tests showed that the testosterone in Braun’s body was synthetic. Lastly, and perhaps most damning, the sample, when tested by the Anti-Doping Agency, showed no signs of tampering. These are the details as we know them. And yet, in the face of this sciento one conclusion, the MLB chose to weigh the small margin of doubt more highly. Innocent until proven guilty, right? To avoid the miniscule chance of wrongly convicting one of the game’s most popular stars, the MLB made a cautious decision. I, on the other hand, am much more inclined to believe the facts. Is there a rational explanation for Braun’s high testosterone level? Is there a reason the testosterone was synthetic? If so, why hasn’t someone spoken up? On the other hand, are we expected to believe that someone broke into the sample collector’s home and spiked the sample? And then somehow found a

way to replace the tamper proof seals in such a way that the interference could not be detected? That is a whole lot of damning evidence. And, if there is a reasonable explanation for the positive test, I think that Braun would have told us by now. Rather than vaguely claiming to be a victim, he would have shown us proof to substantiate his innocence. Perhaps he was taking a medication. Perhaps it was a mistake. But, given how this situation has played, I think the evidence weighs heavily enough against Braun to stick with the original ruling. Take the analogy of a murder trial. In the face of overwhelming evidence, would a federal court let a murderer go free on account of a small margin for error? Of course not. There is always a chance of making a mistake. If this is how our decisions were made, we would rarely sentence anyone denying their charges. In any case, the not-guilty verdict is questionable. Not only does it illustrate ing system, but it serves as a slap across the face to all clean players. It undermines all the Derek Jeters and Ichiro Suzukis of the league, demonstrating that players can get away with bending the rules. If hard work is not going to pay off, that does not leave much incentive to play by the book. That too, athletes are some of the most important role models in our society. Stories such as this one set poor examples for kids, suggesting that the rewards of steroids are worth the risk. Ryan Braun recently signed a $150 million contract extension; regardless of his guilt, no one was going to take that from him. Such examples put an system, rather than playing fairly. Here’s the bottom line: the use of steroids diminishes the essence of sports. When we watch a walk-off home run or game-winning shot, we should took to make that happen, not question whether steroids helped win the game. When we watch an incredible diving catch, we should respect the hours of drills it took to make that a reality. A “juiced” home run mean nothing compared with a single earned on a players’ own merit. so we can focus on the sport and not look at athletes without the constant doping scrutiny. Before this steroid era, kids would buy their favorite athlete’s gear so that they could play like them and idolize them; wearing Air Jordans to make you feel like Mike. But, to play like Ryan Braun, are kids in the future going to bulk up on steroids? Is that what we are headed for? Admittedly, Braun has not been proven guilty. That fact is that no one, outside of Braun himself, really knows too high testosterone levels. Perhaps he has been honest, mistakenly accused by the brains of the scienOr, perhaps, it’s brains over Braun.


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Sports

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Inside

The Amherst Student Women’s Hoops Soars into Sweet Sixteen Undefeated streak now 48 straight. PAGE 9

Ice in Their Veins: NESCAC Champs Brenton Arnaboldi ’14 Staff Writer

Dylan Trumble ’13 was able to dig out the puck and move it towards the goal mouth; an alert Andrew Kurlandski ’14 beat his defender to the loose puck, backhanding it past the Panthers’ goaltender at 12:03 of the period. The Jeffs capped a strong second period -

Bolstered by clutch goaltending and tenacious forechecking, the men’s hockey team battled its way to a NESCAC championship this weekend, grinding out victories over Williams (2-1) and Middlebury (4-3) to capture the pro-

that was blocked in front, but Moher pounced on the juicy rebound for his team-leading 13th goal of the season. Amherst’s power-play unit, which went two-

Having outworked and outhustled league opponents during a 17-1-0 NESCAC regular season campaign, the Jeffs delivered another workman-like effort to prevail over Williams Orr Rink against Middlebury, the jubilant Jeffs and sticks up into the air before mobbing each other in front of a raucous home crowd. pionship. That’s the goal at the beginning of guys were rewarded for all of the time and effort they put into the season,” head coach Jack Arena said. After crushing Hamilton 6-0 in the quarter-

Photo courtesy of Chloe McKenzie ’14

The Jeffs defeated Williams 2-1 and Middlebury 4-3 to earn their first NESCAC title in three years. seman Jeremy Deutsch ’12 one-timed a pass from Nick Brunette ’13 at the 10:03 mark. The

The result marked Amherst’s seventh consecutive win over the Ephs, a streak dating back to 2007. The Jeffs skated to a strong start against

long stretches in the second period, outshooting -

minutes into the game. Andrew Fenwick ’15 stuffed in his own rebound near the right post after receiving a pass from Jamie Hawkrigg ’13 to put the Jeffs ahead 1-0 just 4:25 into the opening period. Amherst doubled its lead on a power-play midway through the second period, as defen-

left in regulation, but goaltender Jonathan La Rose ’12 made several crucial saves to preserve the victory. La Rose stopped 27 of 28 shots to anchor the Jeffs’ defensive effort. liams,” Arena said. “Both Williams and Middle-

all season; the Jeffs led the league with a 27.6 percent success rate. “Our power play was good this weekend. We had some fortunate bounces that led to a couple of goals, but we were in position and opportunistic when we got them,” Arena said. “Our power play guys have worked hard to understand what we’re looking for and have been great reading and reacting during the games.” The Panthers would not die quietly, however, and came out skating more aggressively in

bury are well-coached teams, and the games were every bit as close as the scores.” With little time to savor the victory, the Jeffs encountered a stiff challenge from Middlebury in Sunday’s championship tilt, falling behind

with a power-play goal with 8:45 left in regulation, with the Panthers’ Charles Strauss scoring his second tally off a rebound from a hard slap

in a shaky start, Amherst struggled to contain Middlebury’s offense as the surging Panthers dictated the early stages of the contest. Looking to quell Middlebury’s momentum and get his team to regroup, Arena called a timeout immediately after the Panthers took a 2-0

dangerous opportunities. Receiving a pass in the slot, the Panthers’ Chris Steele snapped a quick

tentative at the beginning of the game, and after

appeared to tie the game when a Panthers’ forward batted an airborne puck into the net, but the

with 1:39 to go, Middlebury mounted a furious

With 50.8 seconds left and Middlebury still

to remind them that our normal game has been Arena said. riod, Amherst scored a critical power-play goal puck quickly around the perimeter before Mike Moher ’13 found Mark Colp ’12 with a cross-ice feed to the goal mouth, allowing Colp to jam the puck into the cage. more puck battles along the boards, and a series of gritty forechecking efforts propelled the Jeffs by diving after a loose puck near the Middlebury goal line, nudging the puck away from a defender and into the open slot. Brian Safstrom

Photo courtesy of Rob Mattson

Jonathan La Rose ’12 is the first goalie ever to earn the NESCAC Player of the Year award. He had 33 stops in the championship game against Middlebury.

the gaping net to even the score at 2-2 at the 9:12 mark of the period. Less than three minutes later, the Jeffs grabbed the lead after winning another tough -

(the player’s stick went above the cross bar). From there, La Rose and the Jeffs hung on for the victory.

with 33 saves, as Middlebury out-shot the Jeffs period. bury,” Arena said. “The constant this year is that we’ve worked and competed hard every game fect, we’ve worked hard enough to win.” Fresh off a NESCAC title, the Jeffs have turned their sights to a national championship. As the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Jeffs will State (19-4-4) on Saturday night. “When you get to playoff hockey, it’s often just a play or two that decides the game,” Arena said. “Fortunately we’ve been able to make those plays up to now and hopefully that can continue for a few more games.”

Women’s Hockey Falls Just Short of NESCAC Title

Reilly Horan ’13 Staff Writer

This weekend, Amherst fell to Middlebury in a heartbreaking 1-0 overtime loss in the NESCAC Championship game. The Jeffs’ post-season continues, however, as they secured an at-large NCAA bid on Monday morning. Starting on Friday night, Amherst faced Bowdoin in the NE-

fought battle, the Jeffs fell to Middlebury in overtime, 1-0. Murphy went at it again, making 24 stops in the game in a formidable defensive effort. While Fisher, Salmon, Megan Doyen ’13 and Babineau all came up big with memorable challenges on Panther goalie Annabelle Jones during regulation, the game remained scoreless at the end of the third period.

straight NESCAC championship appearance. First-year Tori Salmon was the game’s hero, breaking out with

team’s second-straight NESCAC title. The following morning, Amherst tuned into the NCAA Selection

night’s game-winner. She was helped by Erin Babineau ’12 and Geneva Lloyd ’13, who was recently named to the All-NESCAC First Team and was dubbed NESCAC Women’s Hockey Player of the Year. Ashley Salerno ’14 and Josie Fisher ’12 were also named to the All-NESCAC Second Team in that announcement. Sinead Murphy ’12 goaltended for the Jeffs, registering 16 total saves and her 10th career shutout. Amherst stayed the night in Middlebury, Vt. to take on the Pan-

giving their post-season new life. with how we played this weekend we have a lot to be proud of and build off of for Saturday’s game,” Lloyd said. Amherst drew Norwich Univ., the current No. 1 seed. The Jeffs faced Norwich earlier in the season and tallied an impressive 2-0

Photo courtesy of Rob Mattson

The Jeffs were defeated 1-0 by Middlebury but will continue their postseason after earning an at-large NCAA bid.


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