Issue 18

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Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

Photo Courtesy of dailypricetonian.com

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are known for hit singles like “Thrift Shop� and “Same Love� (feat. Mary Lambert), both off their debut studio album “The Heist.� The concert will be on Saturday, April 27 in Lefrak Gymnasium.

Alissa Rothman ’15 Assistant Editor-in-Chief Yesterday evening, Program Board announced that Macklemore will headline Spring Concert on April 27. Macklemore, whose real name is Ben Haggerty, is a rapper and musician who has risen to stardom recently with his successful debut fulllength studio album, “The Heist,� which reached the No. 1 position on the U.S. iTunes Albums chart within hours of its October 2012 release, selling over 78,000 copies in the first week and debuting in the No. 2 spot on the U.S. Billboard 200. Known for his No. 1 hit “Thrift Shop,� Macklemore has been independently releasing music since 2000 and now collaborates with producer Ryan Lewis.

He released an EP titled “Open Your Eyes� in 2000 under the

name Professor Macklemore and released his first full-length album “The Language of My World� in 2005. In 2009, he released “The Unplanned Mixtape,� featuring his debut single “The Town.� In 2010 he teamed up with Ryan Lewis to create “VS. Redux,� which reached No. 7 on the iTunes hip-hop chart.

His most well-known singles include “Thrift Shop� with Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz, “My Oh My,� “Wing$,� “Can’t Hold Us� with Ryan Lewis and featuring Ray Dalton and “Same Love� with Ryan Lewis and featuring Mary Lambert.

The opening act will by Sol Moravia-Rosenberg, known simply as Sol, who is a northwest hip-hop artist based in Seattle Washington whose second album “Yours Truly,� released January 2012, rose to No. 1 on iTunes U.S. Hip Hop Charts and charted on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart. “The opening act, Sol, was chosen because he runs in similar

circles with Macklemore,� said Danica Richards ’14, Co-Chair of Program Board. “We thought it would be a nice complement.�

Program Board was able to make the announcement after the long, arduous process of putting together Spring Concert was completed last week. “I worked on Spring Concert last year and learned lessons from that. Last year with Ludacris there was a bit of a fiasco,� said Peter Crane ’15, Spring Concert chair and Association of Amherst Students (AAS) representative to Program Board. “So this year, going into it, we said, let’s do this super early.�

Program Board quickly began searching for artists in October, when they sent out a Spring Concert survey to students for input.

Continued on Page 3

James Larimore Eager to Join College Community Joy Huang ’15 Contributing Writer When former Dean of Students Allen Hart ’82 took a leave of absence July of 2012, a search committee composed of eight members, selected by President Carolyn “Biddy�

Martin, began the search for a new dean.

The eight members of the search committee included faculty and staff of the College spanning from multiple backgrounds and academic fields and two students, Tania Dias ’13, president of the Association of Amherst Students, and Jasjaap “Jess� Sidhu ’14, member of the Disciplinary Committee. Chaired

by Professor Austin Sarat of the LJST and

Political Science Departments, the committee hired Isaacson, Miller, a national executive search firm to help search for candidates for the committee to consider.

The search committee spent the first two months of the search learning and comprehending exactly what being a Dean of Students entailed. After organizing an all-student meeting, Dias and Sidhu realized that they wanted “someone who would ultimately be a very strong champion and advocate for us students, within the administration,� Dias said.

Isaacson, Miller started with a given position description of what the candidates should embody based on multifaceted input

from different members of the College community. From that description, the firm selected a pool of suitable candidates tailored to meet Amherst’s goals and expectations, all of whom were highly qualified, according to Professor Sarat. However, after a brief meeting with each applicant, only four became finalists, James Larimore among them.

The four finalists came to campus and met with the committee on educational policy, attended receptions and spoke to faculty and students alike. Search committee member, Senior Coach Billy McBride, assistant athletic director and director of diversity and inclusion, highlighted the overwhelming positive feedback Larimore received following the re-

ceptions. “He exudes a type of quiet strength and quiet demeanor that makes him a great facilitator,� Coach McBride said. “Students told me afterwards that Dean Larimore came off more as a father or a grandfather; he knows how to make people listen.�

While the College has undergone drastic changes and met with turmoil in the recent semesters, everyone who participated in the selection process remained optimistic that these transformations would be assisted by the selection of a capable, experienced Dean of Students, and more optimistic still that Larimore is the man who can manage it.

Continued on Page 3

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News Entries from March 6 to March 10, 2013 >>March 6, 2013 12:49 p.m., Pond Dormitory An officer investigated a smoke detector sounding in a first-floor room. It was discovered that a hair dryer was used too close to it. >>Mar. 8, 2013 1:56 p.m., Crossett Dormitory Residents of a first-floor suite reported the doors to their suite were obstructed by someone who tied them off with electrical cord. An officer spoke to a room group who may have been responsible. Case open.

4:49 p.m., Taplin House While at a second-floor suite, an officer discovered an sign belonging to a local business. It was confiscated.

11:18 p.m., Seelye House Officers discovered an unauthorized party in the first-floor common room involving approximately 50 students. The event was shut down, and alcohol was confiscated. >>March 9, 2013 1:31 a.m., Valentine Dining Hall An officer investigated some writing done in red lipstick on the building. Case open.

2:15 a.m., Stone Dormitory Officers responded to a report of loud banging and the sound of breaking glass. Upon arrival, officers determined two intoxicated students smashed a window in the entryway. They will be responsible for the damage. The matter was referred to the Dean’s Office.

6:30 a.m., Valentine A Dining Services employee reported a large

window was found smashed. The responding officers found a rock inside the building. Case open.

4:06 p.m., Mayo Smith House An officer assisted a resident who put a package containing tin foil in a microwave causing it to flash inside. No damage was done.

4:04 p.m., Hitchcock House An officer observed three people on the south balcony roof who returned to the building via a second-floor window. The officer was unable to make contact with the resident of the room. The resident was fined $100 for a roof violation/allowing an endangering condition to take place.

11:41 p.m., King Dormitory An officer discovered a small party on the third floor with alcohol and a beer pong table set up.

The event was shut down, and the alcohol was confiscated. >>March 10, 2013 12:11 a.m., Crossett An officer encountered three students urinating outside the building. They were fined $100 each for the offensive behavior.

1:41 p.m., Moore Dormitory Officers responded to a complaint about a foul odor on the third floor and located a jacket in a closet that was covered with vomit. It was removed from the building.

10:48 p.m., Garman House A resident reported a bulletin board and a file folder on a door were vandalized. A fire extinguisher on the second floor was partially discharged. The residents were fined $100.

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Thoughts on Theses: Deidre Nelms Major: Comparative Philosophy (Interdisciplinary Major) Thesis Advisors: John Drabinski, Alexander George, and Andrew Poe Q: What is your thesis on?

A: Well, my thesis is about Nothing. It is an attempt to ask the question “what activity does the word ‘metaphysics’ name?” by comparing the work of Wittgenstein and Heidegger. Both of them, in very different ways, say that Metaphysics is an activity of asking about nothing. An example of a metaphysical question would be “what is Being?”

For Wittgenstein, this question is a nonsensical question. If you know how to use the word “is”, and all of us do use it a hundred times a day, then Wittgenstein argues that you already understand everything you need to know about “Being.” So the question is “about” nothing.

Heidegger, on the other hand, thinks that the question of Being can and must be raised, but that we face a fundamental difficulty in formulating that question. We are trembling at the prospect of asking this question, because we lack not only the words for it but also the resolve. It is a strange question, because unlike other questions that take on the same form, like “what is a home?” or “what is a moth?” there is no thing that we can point to that is being. “Being” is a mysterious verb. We know only that we are being, we are existing — but we are unsure what we are doing by being.

What is important about the question of Being, according to Heidegger, is that it forces us to confront ourselves as an existing “we,” about which we know very little. In trying to answer the question, we find that we have nothing to point to. Thrown before the question “what is Being?” we find we have nothing to say, and at first are even unsure what we are asking (or if we are asking at all).

What my thesis attempts to do is put Wittgenstein and Heidegger in confrontation with one another, in a kind of five act play. Of the five chapters some are historical and some speculative, and the progression is chrono-

logical, beginning with Wittgenstein’s 1915 unpublished manuscripts and ending with Heidegger’s 1941 lecture series “Basic Concepts.”

So in another way it is a thesis about nothing, because the confrontation between them never actually occurred, and an attempt to “recreate” it might be completely hopeless, a series of failed encounters.

Q: Why did you pick this concentration?

A: I am an interdisciplinary major studying “Comparative Philosophy” which is pretty much my own nonsensical name for a department that doesn’t exist. I wanted to work with professors from different departments, and to some degree needed to, because Wittgenstein and Heidegger belong to very different traditions. All of my advisors have been fantastic for putting up with me.

Q: How have you gone about writing your thesis?

A: I’m not really sure. When I get writer’s block, I dance in my room.

Q: What are your plans, if any, for this thesis after its completion?

A: After my thesis is done I am heading to the Cranberry Isles in Maine to become a farm apprentice for six months through MOFGA. I will be getting up at 5:30 every morning to take a ferry to work, and then spend nine hours a day taking care of lettuce and chickens and other little beings. I may be applying for philosophy grad school programs, but I’m not sure yet.

Q: What has been the most difficult part of writing your thesis?

A: The most difficult part is sharing unfinished and sometimes really terrible writing with professors before it’s ready to be read. It’s painful.

Q: What tips do you have for students considering writing a thesis?

A: You have to be prepared for a lot of solitude and suffering, but in a lot of ways it’s been a very joyful experience too. So just be ready for both! Or not, and focus all your longing and dissatisfaction on something else.

-Chloe Revery ’16

451 Russell St. (Route 9), Hadley, MA

CAMPING – HIKING – SKIING – CANOEING – CLIMBING ALL SALES FINAL! Quantities are limited to the stock on hand. All Items subject to prior sale. Sorry, no returns, refunds, exchanges, coupons, rainchecks, layaways or trade ins. Discounts are taken off the lowest ticketed price. Open regular store hours. We accept Visa, MasterCard, & Discover. No Checks.

5IF "NIFSTU 4UVEFOU t .BSDI

News

AAS Mandates Use of Zaikah Event Calendar for All Clubs Rainer Lempert ’15 Staff Writer Last Monday the Association of Amherst Students (AAS) approved a motion that will hopefully result in increased attendance for campus events. Club leaders are now required to post their AAS–funded events on Zaikah, an event–calendar website created by Amar Mukunda ’15. “The whole idea is to improve the way that students get information out about their events,� AAS Vice President George Tepe ’14 said.

The AAS will still provide $10 of funding for clubs to advertise their events through posters, fliers and table tents. “Zaikah is a new tool for campus use that will provide the first comprehensive listing of events,� Mukunda said.

Mukunda started work on Zaikah about one year ago. “I started Zaikah because I think that our community — as well as most other college and university communities — has poor infrastructure for communication,� Mukunda said. “I am trying to create the best possible calendar and event system anyone could ever imagine.�

Mukunda hopes that Zaikah will be an exportable model after success at Amherst. “It is a set of tools which will be useful for communities to communicate important things,� Mukunda said. “I hope it can help unite the Pioneer Valley, and if it has success here we can try to export it to other locations as well.�

Mukunda also stressed that Zaikah is a work in progress, and that he wants “the community to be engaged into what sorts of tools go into the site.�

Mukunda was approached by Senate member John Yarchoan ’13 about the idea of the College adopting his website. “I’ve known Amar since high school, and we periodically talked about his ideas for his website,� Yarchoan said. “I thought that it

solved a problem the Senate faces when we give money to clubs that don’t follow through with the rules of having their events be open and nondiscriminatory.�

In the past, clubs have had the option of posting their events on the College event calendar, located on the Amherst website. However, this calendar has proved less than effective at informing students of upcoming events. “I don’t think that many students even know that the Amherst college campus calendar exists,� Yarchoan said. “It’s pretty is hard to navigate,� Tepe said. “Zaikah’s interface is much better and easier to use.�

The vote for this ruling was not unanimous, passing 18-12 with 4 abstentions. “The pros were that we liked the interface, and we thought that it is sometimes difficult to pick out one event from all the posters and table tents,� Tepe said. “The major con was the idea of this requirement, seemingly forcing students to tell them how they need to publicize.�

Due to this problem, the requirement is in a trial phase this semester. “There is a sunset clause that means that our ruling will end after this semester,� Tepe said. “Next year’s Senate will have to vote to reup Zaikah.�

Some club leaders have expressed frustration at the Senate’s new implementation of Zaikah. “At the end of the day it doesn’t help the students – it’s redundant,� WAMH leader Tony Russo ’15 said. “We get e-digest emails every week listing events.�

However, Yarchoan sees a need for Zaikah. “Zaikah can do things the College event calendar and e-digest emails will never be able to do,� Yarchoan said. “The calendar will support mainly academic things but Zaikah can have social functions, athletic events, even stand-up comedians. It is a far broader and better idea.�

According to Mukunda, the faculty will consider adopting Zaikah at its next meeting.

Photo Courtesy of electricpandamusic.com

Sol Moravia-Rosenberg, who is known simply as Sol or Solzilla, released IJT BMCVN i:PVST 5SVMZw JO +BOVBSZ UP DSJUJDBM BDDMBJN

Macklemore Set to Rock LeFrak Continued from Page 1

“In the survey we took, a lot of people wrote [Macklemore] in,� Richards said. “So we figured that he would be a good choice.�

With a limited budget of $40,000, Program Board decided to act early in order to get their bid accepted. “We maxed out, because he was a rising artist,� Crane said. “We were on top of a lot of bids, obviously, because he is very competitive.�

In order to push their bid over the edge and secure the initial step towards booking the concert, Dean Hannah Fatemi, Assistant Dean of Students and Director of the Campus Center, and the Student Activities Office gave the group an extra $5,000. After locking in the bid, Program Board entered the contract stage. “That’s been a lot longer process, because the contracts go back and forth dealing with riders, personal items, all these little things such as us insisting on a 60 day cancelation contract to make sure we didn’t get screwed over,� Crane said. “That finally got set in January or February.�

Program Board then began looking into finding an opening act. After looking into DJ’s, they ended up looking into hip-hop artists at

Macklemore’s request. They choose Sol, who is a fellow Seattle artist who often collaborates with Macklemore. “Sol plays with a full band so his full band is going to be coming whereas for Macklemore it’s just going to be him, Ryan Lewis and a trumpeter that he works with,� Crane said.

The opener was just settled this past week as the deadline for Macklemore to pull out of his contract also passed. “In some ways, we’ve known since November, and in some ways we haven’t definitely known until now,� Crane said. “Now we are able to say it with confidence.�

Spring Concert will be held in LeFrak Gymnasium on April 27. Tickets will be given out in Valentine Dining Hall and by the Campus Center Manager. The tickets will be free for Amherst students for the first one or two weeks. Every student on campus can receive one free ticket during the early window period.

After that period, tickets will be available for Five-College students and non-college members. “If the student body is happy, so am I. I hope they are excited,� Richards said. “We hope that in years following, the process will be just as smooth.�

Larimore Brings New Ideas to Dean’s Office Continued from Page 1 According to Professor Sarat, Larimore is a “wonderful combination of experience, insightfulness, sensitivity and concern, coupled with a vision for what student life can be,� further describing him as possessing a sort of “intelligent wisdom�. “He challenged himself and others to think of issues from a different perspective.

From opinions on the alcohol policy to multicultural issues, he brings such an interesting, passionate and insightful vision to the table,�

Dias said. “I am very confident that students will find it refreshing. “ On Feb. 19, the search committee met with President Martin to present Larimore as the selected finalist. President Martin remarked that it was “rare to find someone with experience in a similar liberal arts college setting.� “[Larimore] seemed to be one of the most thoughtful candidates, who gave multilayered responses to questions about Amherst College, able to look at Amherst College specifically while answering,� President Martin said.

President Martin pointed specifically to the responses Larimore gave addressing the issue of alcohol policy on campus. She is confident that Larimore, rather than dictating changes, will help put in place infrastructure necessary for students to make the differences that define Amherst College.

Larimore describes being a college dean as

“[his] idea of the best job in the world�. His enthusiasm for the “transformative power of a residential liberal arts experience� can be seen not only in his previous positions at Dartmouth College, Stanford Univ., NYU, and Swarthmore College, but also in the way he commits himself to learning about the College specifically. “My time at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been intellectually stimulating, and it has been a privilege to work with an amazing set of grantees, partners and colleagues to ensure that students who have the will to go to college will have a way to get there, and the support that they need to succeed,� Larimore said. “But I am, at heart, a dean, and I have missed the rhythms of life on a campus, opportunities to meet and mentor students, and a chance to roll up my sleeves and do the work. Foundations can shape and influence and support the work, but others actually do it, and I have missed being on a campus and being more directly involved with students.�

Larimore is currently in Seattle with his family, busy before the transition to becoming the new dean. While he waits for his sons, Anthony (fourth grade) and Joey (third grade) to complete the school year, he anticipates visiting the College several times between now and the end of May. Larimore keenly awaits joining the College community.

Photo courtesy of thedartmouth.com

Before coming to the College, Larimore worked for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Swarthmore College and Dartmouth College.

Opinion

5IF "NIFSTU 4UVEFOU t .BSDI

Idiotic Mandates & Thesis, Advising and Pointless Favoritism Faculty Culture in the AAS Editorial

In past weeks and in weeks to come, academic planning comes to the forefront of our minds as students. With add-drop approaching, students will be meeting with their faculty advisors; with deadlines for thesis proposals looming or passing, students stress over finding their faculty thesis advisors. Whether they are also looking to create a class, write a thesis, add a major or find replacements for advisors going on leave or sabbatical, students will be engaging with faculty both familiar and unfamiliar during this time of the school year.

As always, dealing with advising, majors and departments give rise to their usual student complaints. Certain professors have always been busy and unavailable, and situations involving departmental procedure are unlikely to change.

However, The Student feels that a growing number of students complain that it is difficult to find the professors they want for the variety of roles that professors serve: advisor, research mentor, etc. The problem really is twofold. First, a large part of this complaint is driven by the desire to find professors who have an academic interest in the student’s topic of interest. Second is the desire to find professors who are still relevant in their fields of study.

The former part of the complaint may be driven by a perceived increase in the number of faculty who are leaving or left the College, whether because they are on sabbatical, entering retirement, taking leave or absent for some other reason. This may not be a systemic trend, but rather a perception among some students.

The second part of the complaint is more troubling since it may prove more systemic and of greater long-term concern for the College. In certain departments, the number of professors next year who have recently published research and stay on the forefront of their respective fields will fall to lows that reflect badly upon departments and the College.

More than just an institutional image prob-

lem, this phenomenon handicaps Amherst students. Professors carry students forward in ways beyond that which transpires in the classroom, and the ability for students to work alongside their professors on their latest projects is an important way that students gain the skills and name-recognition they need for their own postgraduate ambitions, regardless of whether it entails research, continued education or their competitiveness in the job market.

The administration, faculty and student body ought to take seriously the idea of review of tenured professors since it will be important to fixing this phenomenon. How departments should act after considering such reviews can be entirely up to them. However, what faculty should not do is insist that a review process in and of itself can be detrimental — if anything, faculty should appreciate the opportunity to receive feedback, respond to criticism and find motivation to make improvements, some of which they may not have seen prior to a recent review.

Such ideas receive such push-back from the start, and a large part of that speaks to the tremendous power that tenured professors wield in the policy-making process at the College. This is a product of the broader faculty culture on campus, and such a power structure will likely remain invisible to students unless they talk to professors themselves, but it is important to see power where it occasionally collides with student interest.

Not all professors are resistant to the idea of review, and some take the feedback very seriously — many professors completely modify the teaching style, format and material of the class based on student-criticism. However, to address some of the problems students see with faculty at the College, it’s important for students to consider the faculty culture and its effects at the College, just as professors often discuss amongst themselves the culture amongst Amherst students.

RE: Social Justice -BSJTTB %BWJT Contributing Writer

tion in the Marquez piece.

In the March 6, issue of The Student Katrin Marquez ’14 penned an opinion piece about the ongoing search for an Interim Director of Amherst’s Multicultural Resource Center (MRC). In the piece Marquez expressed revulsion at the idea of a person with an awareness of social justice leading the new MRC. Troublesome is the most benign description of the piece I can offer. Misrepresentation by omission is another. Although I would love to put forth an argument for justice in society, though I question why I or any person should have to defend it at all, I’m confident other adept students can and will issue those due responses. I instead will address the argumenta-

E X E C U T I V E B OA R D Editor-in-Chief Brianda Reyes Managing News Ethan Corey, Alissa Rothman Managing Opinion Erik Christianson, James Liu, Managing Arts and Living Jeffrey Feldman, Annalise Nurme Managing Sports Emmett Knowlton, Karl Greenblatt

On the search committee…

By opening her piece with the example of myself and others going out to solicit feedback from various campus groups, Marquez undermines her claim that the search committee desires to hire a leader for the MRC who will exclude students. I, along with a number of other students and administrators met with numerous student constituencies. We reached out to groups ranging from Athletics, affinity organizations and the QuestBridge Student Network to RCs, College Council, the AAS and roughly fifteen other groups in between. The EDU was one of those other groups.

Continued on Page 5

5POZ 3VTTP Contributing Writer Last Wednesday, AAS (Association of Amherst Students) treasurer Abigail Xu emailed the College’s 100-odd club leaders informing us of yet another obligation that we must follow for funding, lest we be penalized. This obligation, as you may already know, is the mandate that every club event has to be publicized on both the Amherst College website (which makes sense) and on the independent event site Zaikah (which doesn’t).

This probably confused the people who hadn’t heard of Zaikah, let alone could they pronounce it. What is this thing that I am suddenly being forced to use? And why am I being forced to use it? I was familiar with the site because its creator, Amar Mukunda, is a floormate of mine and a friend. And he will be the first to admit that Zaikah is a bad site. For the past seven weeks, not a single event has been seen on this event calendar website. Not a one — unlike the fairly active Amherst calendar. I wish I could say Zaikah has seen better days, but this is a website that has utterly failed to take off with users. With a sickening color scheme, unclear text and a disorienting homepage layout, its struggles are not likely to change soon.

Being a club leader is difficult enough.

As the leader of WAMH (Amherst College Radio), I spent hours filling out paperwork and sitting in on meetings just to get the funding to put on two concerts last semester. Why, then, is the AAS making our work even more tiresome? Why are we going to be wasting everyone’s time with this redundant, bad site? Ultimately, there is no satisfactory answer, for the only conclusion is pointless favoritism.

The ostensible reasons are 1) Eco friendliness and 2) “Incidences where wellfunded events received extremely low attendance.” The first simply doesn’t make sense when flyers/poster/table tents are still a well-accepted and popular form of advertising. The AAS surely will still be funding this medium, and posters will continue to bring color to our campus walls.

The second reason deserves more attention. A high-quality event calendar would likely improve people’s knowledge of gatherings.

But that will have no impact on what the AAS must think is an ignorant or apathetic student body. In fact, every event already is emailed out to us weekly with the title “Amherst College e-Digest,” a compendium of everything going on at the school that has been submitted to our Amherst website’s calendar. What the AAS doesn’t seem to realize is that forcing people to post to a website won’t actually get people to use

Letters Policy

S TA F F Design Editor Brendan Hsu Opinion Section Editors Diana Babineau, Julia Milmed Sports Section Editors Varun Iyengar Publishers Mary Byrne, Chris Friend, Nazir Khan, Mike Osorio, David Walchak Copy Editors Marisa Dolmatch

a website — just as forcing e-Digests into our email boxes hasn’t fixed the low turnout at some events. Nevertheless, the vision of a campus of a jolly student body bouncing from gathering to gathering has blinded the AAS senators from a mess of gaping holes in logic.

The most significant issue here is that students must now advertise on a for-profit website. We will have zero insight into what is happening with our data and what it is being used for, yet it will still be mandatory. Now, the AAS and Amar will insist that because this website is free, we should not count those problems as a concern. Our collective internet experiences, however, have proven that if you’re not paying for something, you’re the product (see: those ads on your Newsfeed — they’re hard to miss). And while that day may be far off in the future, Zaikah is now running out of the pocket of its operator. Until it is monetized — ad-supported or however that happens — corners will be cut, and our data and login identities have no guarantees of security.

But, furthermore, this Zaikah business is generally pointless. We already have a fully functional, more usable calendar on the Amherst website. Asking students to post there makes sense because every event should be made public to students regardless of poster visibility. But the posters aren’t going away, and neither is our site’s own calendar. So Zaikah represents redundancy on both fronts.

Then it is pertinent to ask: why Zaikah of all sites? Facebook has a very popular event application. Why not make all clubs create Facebook fan pages and events? Or why not use Craigslist? Why not Eventbrite? Why not a fully functional site created last fall by Smith students, in5ync. com (pronounced in-sync)? Heck, at least people would remember that name, and it’s specifically directed towards the Pioneer Valley. Some Amherst organizations are already using In5ync — you can’t say the same for Zaikah.

Ultimately, regardless of promised future improvements, forcing club leaders to use a bad application doesn’t make it any better. I’m sure Amar will be working hard now that the pressure is on, and I’m sure this publicity stunt will raise awareness. But people have already resoundingly shown through their lack of usage that the site isn’t helpful. Whatever the AAS does, its mandates alone cannot program more usable code.

So with this in mind, WAMH will not be posting to Zaikah. We’ll start posting when the site improves, and proves itself worthy of anyone’s use, time or attention. We look forward to that day.

Photographers Janita Chalam, Jennifer Lee, Olivia Tarantino Senior Editor Amro El-Adle

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 views expressed in this publication do not reflect the views of The Amherst Student.

5IF "NIFSTU 4UVEFOU t .BSDI

In Memoriam: Pema Tsering

On March 6, Pema Tsering passed away at the College. The below statement appears on the Amherst College website at amherst.edu/aboutamherst/news/memoriam.

“We write with news of the tragic and untimely death this morning of one of our beloved custodians, Pema Tsering, who had been at the College since 2004.

Pema will be missed by everyone who knew him and all of us who benefitted from his work, his collegiality, and his generosity. He was a man of deep faith, whose positive energy and spirit enriched lives of the people around him. His commitment to his family and to his position at the College was an inspiration.

Pema came to the United States from Tibet, and considered the two audiences he received with the Dalai Lama to be among the highlights of his life. At Amherst he provided excellent service, for the last several years at James Hall and Pontypool House, where he was treasured by students, staff, and colleagues. Pema is

survived by his wife, Tashi Youdon, who works at Valentine Dining Hall; two children, a son, Tenzin Lekmon; and a daughter, Tenzin Yeshi. Our hearts go out to them.”

We encourage our readers to contribute to his memorial fund at giveforward.com/ pematseringmemorialfund.

SUMMER INTENSIVES IN NEW YORK May 28–June 20, 2013 Four-week Courses and Workshops in Dance, Environmental Studies, Film Production, and Writing – Earn four college credits* – Study at The New School—a legendary urban university in Greenwich Village – Network with top professionals – Collaborate with peers

www.newschool.edu/langsummer

*Check with your college to see if credits are transferable.

An affirmative action/equal opportunity institution. Photo: Matthew Sussman.

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Moving the Mark Forward, a Milestone at Amherst

Continued from “Social”

We visited these groups with the intent to solicit input on what type of background and qualifications to include in the written job description of an Interim MRC Director. What Marquez elides in the “Social Justice” piece is the fact that neither I nor other persons from the search committee approached groups in order to proselytize or speak at students, but rather to listen to them. Marquez also fails to mention she broached social justice as a factor, not anyone else in the room. Students in The EDU, as well as other groups visited, piped up to list some of the qualifications they wanted for their college’s MRC Director (e.g. a candidate with a Master’s or PhD, someone with at least 5 years of experience successfully directing a similar center at a peer institution, etc.).

Some words I noted included “charismatic,” “entrepreneurial,” “visionary,” “trained in sensitivity,” “skillful dialogue facilitator” and “liberal arts background.” None of these words ring antagonistic to me.

On antagonism and hate…

Marquez’s piece indicates a distrust not just of the students and staff working to hire an Interim MRC Director, but also the broader campus. Yet, it was the students who went out to students like her to solicit genuine feedback. These same students formed an ad hoc working group with the administration (and members of the MRC Steering Committee, which Marquez sits on) and petitioned administrators to expand the reach of student input (inclusion) in this search process. Rather than making the student body labor to have their say — i.e. relying on students to self-select, draft application essays and hope to be selected by the student government to a precious few at large spots on a committee — these students decided to incorporate the broader campus by living democracy and going out to meet students where they are. The search committee members are sufficiently aware that the Center will play a key role in student life and social constructions that permeate campus. Therefore, I question, call out and challenge the patronizing tone Marquez carries in her piece.

The search committee members recognize the spectrum of positions and understandings that exist on issues of magnitude in this country and on this campus — far greater than the reductive liberal-conservative binary that Marquez offers. Moreover, the members have no motivation in guilting or antagonizing any segment of the campus. Simply, social justice is not about that life.

Marquez makes a false equivalence between social justice and hate. The piece makes an assumption that a person with an understanding of social justice will necessarily spew hate and breed animosity among students. Moreover, it supposes that an MRC (specifically because of its link to social justice) will tokenize students.

That is wrong. The leader of the MRC, particularly if they understand social justice, would accept their role to build the campus’s intellectual community by recognizing and valuing unique histories as well as intersections that challenge the us-them mentality. Social justice

is not about dehumanizing.

A person who understands social justice does not “impl[y] the existence of a form of structural social injustice.” There is no need to hide behind an implication. There is nothing to imply. Structural injustices exist. People are not “thought to be oppressed” as Marquez writes. People are oppressed, people are silenced and people are shut out and marginalized.

Myself or any other person speaking words such as power, privilege, oppression and dominance should not be perceived as an attack on person. These words target ideas. The consequences of ideas that shackle these words to our society transcend a mere individual. An MRC director at Amherst — as with MRC directors at nearly every other one of our peer institutions — will not attack students, incite riots or espouse hate. A person who understands social justice rises to the next level and works to effectively address injustices. They employ the concept of inclusion, but do not use it as a means to dilute real problems, real stakes and real consequences. An MRC director will come to this campus able to effectively engage all constituencies and will have a palatable presence.

On division…

Palatable, however, does not mean buckling to fear and drowning ourselves in what is comfortable to just the identities we are a part of, or the experiences we have had. Challenging issues are not the easiest things to think about, talk about, or work through. If they were easy they wouldn’t be a challenge. But, that doesn’t give us the license to ignore that these challenging issues exist.

Though Marquez acknowledges divisions on campus (and in our larger society), her piece fails to get at the heart of the matter: Why do these divisions exist at Amherst? Why do some students feel tokenized or targeted?

How can work through these issues? Without going further to posit these questions, is the piece suggesting we should live in this squalor?

Our peers and the college have spoken, and they say “No.” An MRC Director, particularly one with an understanding of social justice, would be able to help the campus constructively navigate these difficult issues, difficult issues whose unanswered questions still guide the way we think about ourselves, society, and our relationships to others.

On moving forward…

The EDU itself is a diverse group, spanning the spectrum in everything, save age. The EDU is also a group committed to social justice. And, it is a testament to this, social justice vis-à-vis education, that both Marquez and I are active members of the group. Therefore, I think the opinion piece published last week was against social justice, but against the incorrect conception of social justice that it relied on. A new full-time, qualified director of the Multicultural Resource Center, who will hire a full-time staff, will come to the campus.

This is a milestone for Amherst, not a reason to incite mayhem. Amherst College deserves this, and this is what it gets.

Arts&Living

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At the Table with Ellie: Chez Albert

&MMJF "OEFSTFO Staff Writer

This past Thursday night was a highlight of my time at Amherst; it will forever endure as a cherished memory.

At 6:30 p.m., my friend Marisa and I met outside Stone and marched into town, chattering excitedly as we strode through blustery gusts of biting wind that blew heavy, wet snowflakes into our faces and hair. We hiked across the park and past Fresh Side, CVS and Miss Saigon before finally reaching one of my favorite restaurants in the world.

Chez Albert is a small French restaurant and bar situated down Pleasant Street, one minute past CVS. In the bright and balmy months, they provide comfortable and casual seating outside; sitting inside in the winter months is a cozy escape from the bitter drafts of a raw Massachusetts winter. As we stepped inside, passing through the coatroom to reach the host, we began stripping away our scarves and jackets, already thawing from the frosty walk.

We requested a table for two, although we could have chosen to eat at the bar as well. Soon we were sitting at a candlelit copper table, pouring over the menu, exclaiming over each option and comparing the merits of all. After a few moments, Emmanuel, the host — whom I consider to be the face of Chez Albert — arrived to announce the specials, which included house cured salmon with horseradish beets ($12) and a hangar steak with roasted potatoes and tomato bordelaise ($26).

Emmanuel left us in a tizzy. Now we were entirely confused about what we wanted, but we had a plan.

Rather than have the full meal of an hors d’oeuvre, an entrÊe and a dessert, we were going to try and share multiple appetizers, basically creating a meal of French tapas.

We startled Emmanuel as we began our order of six appetizers with no entrees in sight, but he quickly caught on and requested that we allow him to decide the order of our

Images courtesy of Ellie Andersen ’15

"DDPNQBOJFE CZ B TMJDF PG 'SFODI UPBTU UIF QVNQLJO JOGVTFE DSĂ’NF DBSBNFM NBLFT GPS B MPWFMZ mOBMF meal. I exclaimed, “Of course,â€? happily trusting him to make our meal unforgettable.

As we awaited our first course, Marisa and I delighted in nibbling on the simple sourdough bread and creamy white bean, rosemary and olive oil spread. This bread and spread are an unwavering staple of Chez Albert that I cherish. I’ve even tried to make it at home, with varying but hopeful results.

And then our meal was underway! Emmanuel started us off with our six oysters ($2 each) and the escargots a l’Albert ($9) that still bubbled and sizzled cheerfully. We started with the oysters, not wanting to sacrifice our taste buds to the heat of the escargots. Each oyster had been beautifully shucked, scraped and dressed with a simple mignonette sauce of vinegar, shallots and chives. We savored the mild bite of the sherry vinegar that mingled with the slightly salty brine of the oysters as the shallots added a soft sharpness. Too soon the oysters were finished, and we turned our attention to the escargots. I quickly popped the first escargot into my mouth, praying that I wouldn’t immediately regret my impatience. As I tenderly chewed the snail, I delighted in the rich flavors of garlic and olive oil.

Soon I was dipping the sourdough bread into the leftover oil and garlic, hoping to collect extra pieces of the cooked garlic on my bread. As

Marisa and I finished the last escargots, I almost wished I could order more.

While we waited for our second course to arrive, I praised the restaurant’s atmosphere, enjoying the various French posters, the low lighting that creates a greater sense of intimacy, the booths that can accommodate larger groups and the light fixtures that glow with beautiful engravings of cows, pigs and roosters. We felt comfortable, and almost as though we were at home, even though this was quite an occasion for us.

Suddenly, we were onto the next course, this one being frog legs ravioli ($11) and the special hors d’oeuvre of crispy chicken hearts and chicken livers ($12). I began with the ravioli and could barely stop myself from eating more than half.

I had never had frog, but I can now say that I have and that I love it. The tender meat and fresh pasta melded perfectly with the hint of lemon zest, the saltiness of the capers and finely shaved Parmesan, the sweetness of the roasted cherry tomatoes and the slight bitterness of the watercress.

I almost didn’t want to share, but then I did want to try Marisa’s crispy chicken hearts and livers, which she described as “better than bacon.� We traded plates, I pushed aside any apprehension about eating hearts and I dug in, dipping a piece of heart in the drizzle of port wine reduction.

The candy of the wine mixed with the crispy salt of the batter and the wonderful, rich flavor of chicken.

Marisa was right. It was better than bacon. I then tried the liver, this time combining it with the arugula and onion salad. The onion supplied a satisfying crunch and tang to the tender liver, acting as the perfect complement.

Now, I’m realizing that I could go on and on about this meal, and I’m only halfway through‌ So, onto the next course. We finished with the Chez salad ($9) and the oxtail ($10). Emmanuel told us we would be fighting over the oxtail, and I think that I could fight for it. Tender strips of oxtail lay nestled atop sundried beets while supporting a generous dollop of mild horseradish. The meat melted in my mouth while the beets counteracted the edge of the horseradish with a bit of sugar. After a few moments of pure rapture, I thought to look at Marisa’s plate and noticed that her Chez salad was not as I had expected. As she soon explained, the Chez salad is not your simple salad but rather one topped with an egg and duck confit, which is crispy duck meat fried in duck fat and is also better than bacon. Needless to say, her salad was scrumptious, and I was surprised she even wanted to share, until I re-

membered that she was getting the oxtail in return.

Finally, we couldn’t resist dessert, and we couldn’t just get one.

We shared the chocolate pot de crème, topped with biscotti, and a pumpkin-infused crème caramel, complemented by a sweet piece of French toast. We ate slowly, savoring the comfortable atmosphere and the delicious desserts and realizing that we were entirely stuffed. However, we still finished the magnificently creamy chocolate pot de crème and the light, refreshing crème caramel, and as we checked our watches, we realized that it was nearing 9:30 p.m. and that we had been there for three hours!

As we left, I realized that I could have stayed even longer. The joyful ambience of the restaurant, combined with Emmanuel’s exacting care for and gleeful presentation of our meal, as well as Marisa and my shared loved of food, had made for one of the most enjoyable dinners I have ever had. However, I also realized that this meal was an occasion. I cannot eat at Chez Albert whenever I want, and for that I am all the more thankful for each opportunity I have to dine there. I will be begging my parents to take me next time they visit, but for now I shall savor each memory of Thursday night’s meal.

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The Sound and the Fury, Now Live

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5BOZB 5BHBR T QPXFSIPVTF WPDBMT BOE JNQBTTJPOFE TUZMF NBEF IFS BO VOGPSHFUUBCMF BDU UP CFIPME "OESF 8BOH Staff Writer Tanya Tagaq, the Inuit throat singer who held a concert at the Buckley Recital Hall last Friday, cracked a light joke shortly before her performance began. Amplified by the microphone that she tore from the stand, her hearty laugh rumbled and echoed in the air.

She kicked aside her high heels within seconds of her entrance and seemed completely at ease.

The audience did not quite share Tagaq’s composure. They politely listened to her anecdotes of the extreme cold in her hometown of Nunavik and her emotional connection with Inuit throat singing, an art Tagaq adapted from its original purpose as an entertaining contest for female duets. Tension flared up as soon as she opened her mouth and it lingered in the hall even after the concert was over. Several listeners near me were at the edges of their seats, their glances uneasily sweeping over others in the audience for an affirmation of normalcy or an explanation. Most stayed perfectly still — stunned, appalled, electrified or perhaps a mix of all

three.

To call Tagaq’s performance avant-garde is misleading: throat singing is one of the oldest forms of music, though great regional differences remain. Propelled by breath rather than melody, Inuit throat singing traces its roots back to the hunt-and-gather times and has great cultural significance. Tagaq kept many elements of the traditional folk

Tagaq’s experimental spirit is “unmistakably present. � music alive on stage by inheriting its improvisational style and most of the guttural technique. Yet Tagaq’s experimental spirit is unmistakably present. Apart from merging two competing voices into one, violinist Jesse Zubot and percussionist Jean Martin added great texture and color to her one-hour sonic saga. Charged with a wide range of emotions, her rendition also carried ambitious intensity and sophistication that traditional Inuit throat singing does not concern itself with.

The theatricality of her performance extended beyond her vocals and overwhelmed her body, which astonished and intrigued the au-

dience as much as the raw sounds did.

I had never listened to Tagaq’s recordings prior to the concert, let alone watched her live, and I could relate to the shock that drove a dozen audience members to leave during the performance. In one dramatic moment, she knelt with her torso contorted forward as she lashed out full-blown roars that made death metal sound like sweet lullabies. Toward the end of the first “movement,� she moaned in short, urgent successions, her pitch roamed up and down as much as her free hand did on her body. And frequently she murmured in an indecipherable tongue, fervently telling a story we did not understand. If taken out of context, she might have been seen as violent, overtly sexual and altogether otherworldly.

Yet Tagaq’s seemingly hysterical outbursts followed sensible progression of melody and mood, which conserved the integrity of her narrative. Rather than a collection of isolated episodes, her musical odyssey was constantly driven by her loyalty to sensations and emotions, the richness of which opened a full realm of possibilities and imagination.

My experience of exploring that realm was a peculiar one. Lack of caffeine at the end of a big day made me quite sleepy halfway through the concert. As other audience members’ hair stood, my eyelids drooped. In between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself immersed in mental images of vast, pristine land and ostensibly aboriginal people in their daily grinds. Tagaq’s voice visualized in my head and unfolded the landscape of a world where serenity and turmoil syncopated one another. I felt heavy in my seat, yet my mind wandered far; at times I watched her performance with a strange detachment, yet at other times I caught myself engulfed by her stories, as if I could vicariously experience her feelings. Paradoxically, I could not decide whether I loved or hated her performance, because her presentation took me through the highs and lows with such heat and passion that it became difficult to evaluate. I imagine that Tagaq would not care much about reasoning or reaching a conclusion either: for her, the intimacy of the

Five College Events Thrusday, March 14

“The Joffrey Ballet,� UMass, 7:30 p.m.

A memorable evening of works including Nijinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps. $50, $40, $15; Five College and 17 & under $10.

For tickets call 545-2511, toll-free at 800-999-UMAS or purchase online at www.fineartscenter.com.

Saturday, March 16

“From Petals to Paper: Poetic Inspiration from Flowers,� Smith College, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

A display of contemporary poetry inspired by the beauty of nature, selected by student interns at the Smith College Poetry Center, Janan Scott ‘13 and Liliana Farrel ‘13. Poets represented in the exhibit include Li-Young Lee, Jean Valentine and Louise GlĂźck. Both have been working for the Poetry Center for two years. As stated by Scott and Farrel, “the shapes, colors, smells and textures in this stunning array of blooming are reflected in poetry’s rhythms, sounds and imagesâ€?. “All-You-Can-Eat Pancake Breakfast,â€?

UMass, 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

The Annual Dakin All You Can Eat Pancake Breakfast. Volunteer chefs will provide a palate-pleasing buffet of pancakes, sausage, bacon, fruit, and beverages. Top off your pancakes with maple syrup tapped from sugar maples on the

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5BOZB 5BHBR FNCPEJFT BO BOJNBMJTUJD JOTUJODU of heart or the sheltered minds shaped exclusively by the Western canon. But should you let down your preconceptions and invite her artistry into your territory, she will broaden your horizon by going for the jugular — in more than one sense of the phrase.

What are your plans after graduation?

Center’s property, generously donated by local sugarer Richard McIntire and his grandsons.

Suggested donation: $10 adult/$5 child. “Cultivating the Nobler Part of Her Nature: Books for Women and Girls in Early America,� Smith College, 8:00 a.m This exhibition was jointly curated by the seniors in the Book Studies Concentration, who collaborated on this project (and its online component) as part of their Capstone Seminar in the fall of 2012. The display supplements “A Place of Reading,� an array of books and prints from the American Antiquarian Society, which illuminate the rich history of reading in America. “Collecting Art of Asia,� Smith College, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Marking the 100th anniversary of the first gifts of Asian art from the preeminent collector Charles Lang Freer, “Collecting Art of Asia� will highlight transformative moments, people, and gifts in the history of collecting and displaying Asian art at Smith College Museum of Art (SCMA). The exhibition, spanning two floors of the Museum, will include Chinese, Japanese, Korean, South and Southeast Asian art from the permanent collection of SCMA, as well as promised gifts. The galleries will feature: traditional art; prints from 1950 to the present; contemporary painting, sculpture and installation as well as video art.

by Jeffrey Feldman ’15

present overshadowed everything else. She did not think; she felt, and she radiated all that excited her.

The divinity of feeling is probably what fueled Tagaq’s performance and transformed it into a wonder of candid power. Unapologetically organic and original, her music defied the conventions of mainstream, cultured music that over the ages have graced and defined concert halls. One word that sprung into my mind when I first heard her sing was “violation:� violation of the norm to maintain certain appearance on stage, violation of the impression I formed from seeing her portrait in the posters and, in some fleeting moments, violation of euphony. But I have since felt as if I was the brutal perpetrator for witnessing an exploration so bare, exposed and vulnerable. Tagaq’s music is not for the weak

M.S. Business Analytics M.S. Management M.S. Financial Engineering & Risk Analytics M.S. Supply Chain Management M.S. Technology Commercialization & Entrepreneurship MBA/ISP (International Scholars Program)

Architecture Acoustics

Wednesday, March 13th: 11am – 1pm

Built Ecologies (SOM) Lighting

Amherst College | Keefe Campus Center www.lallyschool.rpi.edu

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Mark of the Ninja Lacks Depth, Still Shines /PBI (PSEPO Staff Writer

The stealth genre is one that game developers ought to approach with caution.

Stealth-centered games are difficult to execute well, and it isn’t difficult to understand why. Any proper stealth game has to balance its genre’s three core gameplay concepts: waiting, sneaking and acting. Getting the equilibrium between the three can be difficult, and it varies from game to game: the Hitman series emphasizes the waiting aspect, and most of one’s time is spent gathering information and artfully setting traps (although one can choose to forego these elements and play instead a mediocre shooter). Assassin’s Creed, on the other hand, makes a headlong freerunning dash for its action sequences and includes waiting or sneaking only as a faint, weak homage to its conceptual “stealth� origins.

No game in recent memory has struck so perfect a balance of these three elements as Mark of the Ninja, the side-scrolling stealth game from Vancouver developer Klei Entertainment. The game is charming and fun, if not very deep, and is worthy of praise for the sublime example it sets for the stealth genre. That is, Mark of the Ninja allows you to tailor your gameplay to how you like it without letting you drop any of the

three core components — waiting, sneaking and acting — thereby circumventing the game’s challenge or turning into an action game.

In Mark of the Ninja you play — you guessed it — a ninja. The objectives to each level are pretty simple: using the myriad of ninja-y skills and tools at your disposal, get from point A to point B and complete some optional tasks along the way.

Each level is populated by guards, who will shoot at you if they see you, and traps, which are, ironically, the more perilous of the two types of enemies.

The game is all about strategic movement from one point to another; gameplay depth comes from the player. In each scenario you have several choices. Your first is rather straightforward: will you attempt to peacefully sneak by the guards, or are you willing to get your hands dirty? By implementing a point system for evasion and diversion, the game does not favor one approach over the other. It is, however, impossible to complete the game without using the tools available to you — smoke bombs, noisemakers and the like — to slip quietly by the guards.

If you’re more of a, well, traditionally-oriented gamer like myself (see my article on violence in video games), you won’t have any scruples about taking out some guards. You may even opt to turn each level into

a puzzle of sorts, drawing the guards away from each other and silently executing them one by one. If you finish one in a particularly gruesome manner, you may terrify the others, providing sufficient distraction for you to move about freely. Or, if you’re particularly impatient, you can run in headfirst; you may not find that option particularly attractive once alarm bells start ringing, and it’s likely you’ll have to make a hasty retreat.

Mark of the Ninja shines in its gameplay and in the way it allows you to take control of a rather simple scenario. To complement this, movements and actions are both very snappy and the game’s art is stylized and perfectly suited to its tone. In short, the game is a joy to play, both conceptually and experientially. It doesn’t ever feel clunky or cumbersome, and I did not encounter a single bug or glitch that hindered the gameplay.

That said, the game lacks many of the components that would make it more memorable. It is weighed down by an oppressive and clichÊd storyline, mostly told through the cut-scenes in between levels. While the cartoon art style is clean and interesting, the script used for these cut-scenes is very dry. The game’s low production value comes through the clearest during these cut-scenes with their poor voice-acting and in-

Image courtesy of http://cdn.steampowered.com

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There is also not much gameplay depth to be found here. What I’ve described is essentially the entire game, aside from the specifics of level design and the diversity of tools available to the player. It sometimes feels more like a very good online flash game than a full-feature download, but I suppose I shouldn’t compare it to releases with high production value since it’s an independent game with a much lower price point.

Nonetheless, I think that it could do with a bit more complexity. Initially I had planned to do a pacifistic replay of the game, but after seeing all of its mechanics hashed out I’m not

so sure that a replay is worth it.

Overall, Mark of the Ninja is a fun diversion that’s worth the experience. It plays very well and is perfect for intermittent homework breaks; it won’t suck you in and it isn’t too shallow to provide a good diversion. I picked it up on sale for $5, and I’ve more than played my money’s worth. If you’re looking for a grand stealth adventure, I suggest playing the recently-released Dishonored or eagerly awaiting the release of Thief 4. I recommend Mark of the Ninja to the gamer looking for something simple, yet different — you may find it in this game’s 2D stealth mechanics.

Pronoun Troubles: Not Just In English +BNFT #BSSFUU .PSJTPO Contributing Writer Over the past few weeks, a couple of Letters to the Editor in The Student have gone back and forth over the use of gender-neutral pronouns in English, particularly, as pointed out in a letter by Ryland Richards ’13, the distinction between “ze� and “they� as options for those who do not identify as “he� or “she,� or when the gender identity of a person is ambiguous or unknown. The discussion around what to do in such circumstances has been circulating among English speakers for some years. But the discussion around the gendering of pronouns isn’t exclusive to English — many languages have been having similar discourses around the topic in tandem with the one going on in English. By ignoring the experiences of those languages’ speakers, English speakers are missing a set of potentially applicable lessons for how to deal with our own pronoun

discourse.

Pronouns are a key part of language, and exist in almost all languages around the world.

In particular, third-person pronouns (the ones covered by English “he, she, it, they�) very often convey information about the gender (or lack thereof) of the person or thing being referred to. But this is by no means universal.

In many languages, the issue of gender expression is a moot point — pronouns do not express gender. A good example is in spoken Finnish, which only has two third person pronouns, se (singular, covering “heâ€?, “sheâ€?, and “itâ€?) and ne (plural “theyâ€?). In written Finnish, there is another pronoun, hän, which covers people of any gender, but not things or ideas.

Similar systems, with the gender of a person entirely irrelevant to the pronoun used to refer to them, exist in a wide variety of languages, from Turkish to Mandarin Chinese.

But these languages are often not the ones we encounter most frequently. Nearly all lan-

Image courtesy of earshott.wordpress.com

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guages of Europe, being part of the Indo-European language family, have inherited strongly gendered systems, particularly of pronouns but also (as in Spanish, French and German) of nouns. It is these languages, which we, as English speakers, can learn from most in trying to understand what to do about our own pronouns.

One clear example is that of Swedish.

Swedish, like English, has inherited a gendered third-person pronoun system from its Germanic ancestor, with the feminine hon “she� and masculine han “he.� But in Sweden, there is a major movement towards not just gender equality, but gender neutrality, especially among progressive parents who wish to raise their children in as non-gendered a way as possible. To that effect, a gender-neutral pronoun, hen, began to gain currency in the 1990s. It has taken root particularly among parents, but also in academic settings, which, in Sweden as in America, are often at the forefront of experiments in language. But there has been a vocal backlash against the use of hen by some parts of Swedish society, both those who argue for linguistic purity and retention of the old pronoun system, and those who view the introduction of a gender-neutral pronoun as a symptom of radical leftism and feminism.

Although hen has not become universally adopted in Sweden, I see it as a particularly successful example of a gender-neutral pronoun, precisely because it has had such a vocal outcry against it. Issues of gender and pronouns have gotten major media attention in Sweden, and political parties have express positions in favor of or against hen. I wish that in America issues of gender and language would get the treatment in the media that they are getting in Sweden.

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to present on this topic at the Five College Queer Sexuality & Gender Conference at Hampshire College. I was amazed at how my audience had had a wide variety of experiences with trying to express gender outside of the male-female binary in languages other

Image courtesy of laughingsquid.com

5IJT 4XFEJTI BEWFSUJTFNFOU UBLFT B HFOEFS OFVUSBM TUBODF PO UPZT than English. Many, if not most, of us at Amherst College and in the Five Colleges operate in English alongside one, two or more other languages. While English is the de facto language of Amherst College, and discussion about pronouns and gender on campus will likely remain mostly about English, it is important to recognize that in addition to other forms of diversity among the Amherst student body, linguistic diversity is key.

Anyone who has tried to express genderneutrality in Spanish or German class or in conversation with friends in French or Russian has run into much the same problem as in English — how to deal with obligatory expression of gender when someone’s gender is ambiguous or falls outside the male-female binary? By looking at the experiences of Swedish and other languages and expanding the discussion beyond English alone, I hope we can come to a better understanding of what to do when trying to account for gender in all languages.

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Sports 9

SPRING SPORTS PREVIEW

Softball Searching for NESCAC Crown

The Jeffs Won 22 Straight in 2012, but Fell in the Playoffs Karl Greenblatt ’15 Managing Sports Editor It would be difficult for the Lady Jeffs to experience more regular-season success in 2013 than they had in 2012.

To give some idea of the extent of the squad’s early-season dominance, the Jeffs won their first 22 games of 2012 while relinquishing more than three runs in only three of those contests.

After a rare loss to Keene State, the Jeffs didn’t seem to be fazed: they went on to win 12 of their next 13 and looked to be in position to coast to a NESCAC Championship.

That, however, was not to be. Bowdoin, the same program that proved to be the Jeffs’ playoff nemesis on the baseball field, was just as stingy on the smaller field, downing the Amherst squad, 6-5, in a dramatic eightinning game.

The deflation of this loss seemed to mire the Jeffs in an offensive funk; they would go on to lose to Tufts, 1-0, and to Middlebury, 2-1, and were promptly eliminated from contention on their home turf.

Inexplicably, with the league title on the line, the Jeffs had lost three straight for the first time all year. But even this could not negate the Jeffs’ early excellence, which earned them an at-large berth in the NCAA Div. III Tournament.

Once again playing on their home field throughout, the Jeffs went 2-2; their season ended on May 13 after a 4-1 loss to Cortland.

The Lady Jeffs may have won the Little Three title, made the NCAA tournament and recorded the 10th-best single-season turnaround in Div. III history, but, undoubtedly, they will not forget the abruptness with which their NESCAC season came to a halt.

Without speculating as to whether the Jeffs’ early success led to complacency later on, one can assume that the squad will be tweaking its formula somewhat in 2013.

As always, the focus on staying “hungry� will start at the top with the coaching staff. In this area, the Jeffs will be starting anew: longtime Coach Sue Everden stepped down following last spring in order to focus on her responsibilities with the volleyball team. In her place, Whitney Mollica Goldstein, Everden’s assistant of two years, was promoted to interim head coach.

Mollica Goldstein will lead a squad that features 11 returning players, which bodes well for the Jeffs’ chances to go the distance this time around.

As she was a year ago, senior Theresa Kelley will be the Jeffs’ unquestioned ace on the mound. In 2012, she compiled an astonishing 19-3 record to go along with a miniscule 1.16 ERA. Joining her from the class of 2013 will be infielder Reilly Horan, a leader by example and, with a .345 average and 33 RBI’s in 2012, a key cog in the Jeffs’ lineup.

With only two seniors, the Jeffs will have a young team. That said, there is no shortage of talent among the squad’s returning

Megan Robertson ’15 Public Affairs Office

4PQIPNPSF %POOB -FFU IJU B JO her rookie season and returns as the Jeffs biggest offensive threat.

sophomores and juniors. Quite the opposite: Donna Leet ’15 will be back in the middle of the Jeffs’ order after tearing up the league to the tune of a .408 average in 2012.

Fellow outfielder Kaitlin Silkowitz ’14 was nearly as fearsome last year, hitting at a .379 clip. Catcher Kelsey Ayers ’15 will also be invaluable to her team both for her offense and her quickly developing game-calling skills behind the plate.

Idalia Friedson ’15 and Carolyn Miller ’14, the Jeffs’ leading home run hitters a year ago, round out the returners.

Last year, the Jeffs got off to a great start by going undefeated over their spring trip to Clermont, Fla. Ideally, the Jeffs would like to begin with the same kind of success this year; with 12 scheduled games over the week of spring break, the squad will have plenty of tune-up opportunities for its regular-season schedule.

After returning north, the Jeffs will kick off league play on March 29 with a road series against Middlebury.

The squad will host Hamilton over the weekend of April 5-6 before a much-anticipated home-and-home with Williams over the weekend of April 12.

After playing Wesleyan and Keene State, the Jeffs will enter the NESCAC Championship on Friday, May 3, with — they hope — a seed as high as last year’s.

The Jeffs would like there to be one major difference, however: this time, they hope to end their NESCAC season with a victory.

Women’s Lacrosse Splits a Pair in Openers; Lady Jeffs Beat Bates after Falling to Colby

Maggie Law ’14 Staff Writer The Amherst Women’s Lacrosse team opened its season last weekend with a pair of NESCAC games against No 7. Colby and Bates, falling 10-7 to the Mules on Saturday but coming back for an exciting 9-8 victory against the Bobcats on Sunday afternoon. The Jeffs were ranked eighth in the first Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association poll heading into the weekend, showing a promising start to the season.

Priscilla Tyler ’15 led an experienced attack squad with eight goals, netting four on Saturday in the loss to Colby and another four on Sunday, including the game winner with three minutes left in regulation after the Jeffs came back from an 8-6 deficit midway through the second half. Senior captain Hilary Densen followed close behind with a three-goal, three-assist performance against Bates, in addition to her first goal of the season against Colby.

Captain Marta Randall ’13 added three goals and an assist over the weekend, while first-year Mia Haughton made her college debut with one goal and four assists.

Offense will be the key this season as Amherst returns a talented group looking to lead the team to its first NESCAC title and 11th NCAA tournament appearance, building off last year’s success which included a 13-5 overall record and the team’s first NCAA appearance since 2008. Leading the attack this year are tri-captains Densen, Randall and Wyatt Davis ’13, three of last season’s top five scorers. Randall finished last season ranked sixth

in the NESCAC with 45 goals, earning her first-team All-Region honors. Densen led the team in assists, ranking seventh in the conference with 21 helpers. Davis also proved herself as a force on the field with 12 goals and 10 assists.

Elizabeth Ludlow ’14 will add depth to the seasoned attack after finishing fourth on the team with 20 goals last spring. Sophomores Tyler and Sarah Spector will also make their

Niahlah Hope ’15 Public Affairs Office

Senior tri-captain Marta Randall had three goals and an assist in the team’s two games this weekend.

mark coming off a solid rookie season, while first-year attackers Elizabeth Paul and Devin O’Connor will look to add to the offense’s depth and talent.

Juniors Alex Philie, Krista Zsitvay and Caroline Holliday will anchor the squad’s midfield this spring after a breakout season in 2012.

Philie returns as the team’s most decorated player, earning first-team All-NESCAC and All-Region selections and second team All-American honors last year after netting 29 goals and five assists. The junior also led the NESCAC with 74 draw controls and finished ninth with 25 caused turnovers.

Zsitvay earned the team’s most improved player award after notching 17 goals and tallying 20 draw controls, finishing second on the team behind Philie. Holliday also proved dangerous offensively with 10 goals and one assist. Classmate Annelies O’Dea will sit out this spring while recovering from off-season ACL surgery, a significant loss to the team’s offensive squad.

The juniors class will look to sophomores Heath Cockrell and Meghan Mills for help defensively this season. Mills started all 18 games in 2012, racking up nine points, 14 turnovers and 18 ground balls in an impressive rookie season.

Coach Christine Paradis will also look to Cockrell for defensive stability, while firstyears Rachel Passarelli, Katie Paolano and Houghton will add depth to an already solid midfield squad.

Amherst’s defense enters the season in a rebuilding stage after losing first team AllAmerican Meredith LaRose, as well as All-

Region stars Claire Bennett and goalkeeper Lamia Harik to graduation. Led by this impressive senior trio, the Jeffs boasted the third-ranked defense in all of Division III, holding its opponents to an average of 6.44 goals per game.

Paradis is still experimenting with various combinations for her back line this spring, with sophomores Fiona Dearth, Kerry Fusco and Annah Jamison fighting for starting positions in what hopes to be a breakout season. The sophomores are bolstered by a solid group of first-year defenders, including Emy Kelty, Gina Lambiase, Meghan McDonough, Abigail Rose and Katie Reilly. The shifting defense will look towards midfielders for support on the back line, with Holliday, Mills, Zsitvay and Philie likely dropping back to help the defensive unit.

First-years goalies Christy Forrest and Katelyn Salerno will step in to fill the shoes of Harik this season, as each is already showing great promise in the net.

The Jeffs will need a strong effort from all three lines this season, with match-ups against four NESCAC teams in the IWCLA’s top eight and six in the top 20.

The team hopes to carry momentum from last year’s successful season, which ended in a heartbreaking one-goal loss to No. 4 College of New Jersey in the regional round of the NCAA tournament.

Amherst will travel to Bowdoin next Saturday and then down to Pennsylvania during Spring Break for non-conference contests against Swarthmore and Elizabethtown. Start time is set for 12 p.m. next weekend at Howard Ryan Field in Brunswick, Maine.

10 Sports

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Schedule

Game of the Week

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WEDNESDAY Men’s Lacrosse vs. Eastern Conn. State, 4:30 p.m.

FRIDAY Women’s Basketball vs. UW-Whitewater (NCAA Semifinals @ Holland, Mich.), 5:30 p.m.

SATURDAY Women’s Lacrosse @ Bowdoin, 12 p.m.

Men’s Lacrosse vs. Bowdoin (@ Brown), 3 p.m.

Men’s Basketball vs. Randolph-Macon (NCAA Third Round), 3 p.m.

Women’s Basketball NCAA Finals (@ Holland, Mich.), TBD Baseball vs. Western New England (@ RussMatt Central Florida Invitational), 4:30 p.m.

SUNDAY Softball vs. Allegheny (@ Clermont, Fla. ), 9 a.m. vs. Plattsburgh State, 11 a.m.

Matt Melton ’14 took sixth place in the 800-meter run to take home sixth place at the NCAA Div. III Indoor Championships. Running in his first-ever national meet on Saturday, March 9, Melton earned the only points for the Jeffs, who finished 45th out of 63 scoring programs. His time of 1:53.63 put him well ahead of the seventh-place finisher and was good for second among NESCAC competitors. For his performance, Melton earned All-American honors, capping his best winter yet and, the Jeffs hope, setting himself up for a similarly excellent spring season. —Karl Greenblatt ’15

MEN’S BASKETBALL vs.

Randolph-Macon When and Where: Saturday, March 16 Lefrak Gymnasium 3 p.m.

For those who will still be on campus, the men’s basketball team will be playing at home Saturday with a chance to advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Div. III Tournament. No matter what, this will be the Jeffs’ home finale, as the next round, should the squad reach it, will be held in Salem, Va. The Jeffs couldn’t ask

for more momentum; they have won 20 straight, including a thrilling one-point victory over Williams in the NESCAC title game. Last week, in the first round of the tournament, the Jeffs routed Plattsburgh State thanks in part to 25 points from Aaron Toomey ’14 and a doubledouble from senior Allen Williamson.

The Yellow Jackets, meanwhile, started their season just 8-8 but proceeded to win 13 of 14 and capture the Old Dominion Athletic Conference title. Most recently, Randolph-Macon scored an 11-point upset over WPI which featured four players scoring in double figures. Saturday is sure to be a clash of two very hot, prepared and motivated teams. —Karl Greenblatt ’15

Priscilla Tyler ’15 wasn’t able to guide the women’s lacrosse team to a win in its season opener, but she did her part, leading all scorers with four goals on the day — and doing the same the following day. In the team’s opener, Tyler was 4-for-4 in shots on goal, an efficient performance that, despite the loss, showcased the full extent of her offensive prowess. The eighth-ranked Lady Jeffs fell 10-7 to No. 7 Colby, but, the following day, they earned their first win against Bates, in which Tyler again led all scorers with four goals. She hopes to maintain her torrid pace over spring break. —Karl Greenblatt ’15

Men’s Basketball Cruises to Sweet Sixteen Jeffs Set to Face Randolph-Macon

e Niahlah Hope ’15 Public Affairs Office

*O UIFJS XJO PWFS 1MBUUTCVSHI 4UBUF UIF +FGGT SPEF UIFJS XJO TUSFBL UP HBNFT JODMVEJOH B QFSGFDU SFDPSE JO 7BSVO *ZFOHBS Staff Writer After getting a bye in the opening round of the Division III NCAA Championship, the men’s basketball team opened their tournament play by hosting Plattsburgh State over the weekend.

The second-ranked Jeffs came into the contest riding a 19-game winning streak and were looking to earn their third consecutive Sweet 16 berth. Behind an impressive, offensive outburst from Aaron Toomey ’14, Amherst did just that, riding a big second-half to a lopsided win and keeping their title hopes alive.

Having gone two weeks since last taking the court, some rust was certainly a concern for the Jeffs. However, behind a blistering start, the team brushed aside those fears quickly.

An Allen Williamson ’13 dunk followed by a Toomey three-pointer kick-started the offense and paced the Jeffs to an early lead.

Building on that momentum, Amherst got more aggressive on the defensive end. Within five minutes of the opening tip, the Jeffs were firing on all cylinders and playing their way to a double-digit advantage. A 17-3 run bookended by a pair layups from Peter Kaasila ’13 pushed Amherst’s lead to 13 points midway through the first half.

The Jeffs were not done though. Looking to put the game away early, Amherst continued to add to their cushion. A pair of triples from Conner Green ’16 and David Kalema ’14 pushed the lead over 20 and a Williamson bucket two minutes later put the score at 4418.

Unfortunately, that was as big as the lead would get. Rather than capitalizing on their

lead, Amherst became complacent and paid the price. The final 5:01 of the half showed the Jeffs just how quickly a significant lead can vanish.

Fighting for a chance to keep their season alive, Plattsburgh dug in admirably. Out of nowhere, the Cardinals caught fire from the field, making eight of their last nine shots in the period. Behind that effort, Plattsburgh put together a 19-6 run, capped by a three-pointer at the buzzer to pull within 13 points at intermission.

Plattsburgh would continue to inch closer at the beginning of the second half. A pair of triples got the Cardinals within 10 points on two separate occasions, but a well-timed timeout finally got the Jeffs back on track. Sparked by a Toomey three-pointer, Amherst rediscovered their shooting stroke and put together a 15-2 spurt. The run extended Amherst’s lead to 23, giving the team some breathing room once again.

The Cardinals, though, had one last push left in them. Capitalizing on a couple of Amherst miscues, Plattsburgh narrowed the deficit to 14 with five minutes to play.

However, behind timely baskets and defensive stops, the Jeffs did just enough to keep Plattsburgh at bay. A dunk and three-pointer from Kalema finally iced the game with just over two minutes to play, giving the Jeffs a 21-point lead and ending any Plattsburgh threat.

On the afternoon, Amherst was led by impressive play from their guards. In addition to a game-high 25 points, Toomey also tacked on seven rebounds and five assists. Willy Workman ’13 was equally notable, putting together a line of 11 points, nine boards and five assists, while tacking on three steals and two blocks for good measure.

Coming off the bench, Kalema provided the offensive spark Amherst dearly needed, connecting on three triples en route to a 15-point, three-assist performance. Breaking the backcourt trend, Williamson also had an impressive game, recording a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards.

With the victory, the Jeffs earned the chance to play for a quarterfinal berth this coming weekend.

In what will be their final home game re-

gardless of the outcome, Amherst will host the Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets for a Saturday afternoon showdown.

The Yellow Jackets are coming off an upset of No. 4–ranked WPI and will be looking to continue their Cinderella story against Amherst. After being upset in the third round last year, the Jeffs certainly know not to underestimate an underdog.

The Elite Eight beckons, but not before Amherst takes care of the business at hand.

Niahlah Hope ’15 Public Affairs Office

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Men’s Lacrosse Drops First Two in OT #SFOUPO "SOBCPMEJ Staff Writer Enduring some growing pains with a young, inexperienced roster, the men’s lacrosse team suffered back-to-back overtime defeats at Colby and Bates last weekend.

In both heartbreaking losses, the Jeffs (0-2) rallied from late deficits in regulation, only to concede the first goal in sudden-death overtime. Amherst is now just 2-8 in its last 10 games against NESCAC opponents (dating back to last season).

After head coach Jon Thompson led Amherst to a fantastic debut season in 2011 — capturing the NESCAC’s No. 2 seed and a NCAA Quarterfinal berth — the program has endured a difficult slide in recent years.

Burdened by high expectations last spring, the Jeffs rose to No. 3 in the national rankings by late March, but went 2-7 down the stretch to tumble out of contention. Seeking to reinvigorate the program with a slew of young talent in 2013, Thompson said he would adopt a longterm developmental approach to coaching this year, “to focus more on the process and less on the outcomes.”

Regardless, after two crushing losses, the Jeffs might be hard-pressed to block out some of the negativity that creeped into the program during the team’s second-half slump in 2012.

On Saturday, the Jeffs nearly eked out a remarkable comeback victory at Colby (2-0, 1-1 NESCAC) — surmounting an early 4-0 deficit — but the Mules prevailed 11-10 in overtime.

Devin Acton ’14, Jeff Izzo ’13 and a trio of firstyears (Dylan Park, Kane Haffey and Sam Lawlor) each chipped in two goals.

“The outcome was obviously not what we hoped for, but there were a lot of positives to take away from the game,” Co-Captain Danny Gold ’13 said. “A bunch of the younger guys played well, and we fought back from the early four-goal deficit.”

Paralyzed by early-season nerves, the Jeffs stumbled to a shaky start against Colby, conceding four goals in the first 4:48 to fall behind 4-0 less than five minutes into the game. With Colby sporting a 26-4 record over its past 30 home games, Saturday’s contest initially seemed to be heading toward a blowout.

“We lost a few faceoffs in a row and Colby capitalized on their opportunities,” Gold said.

“We had so many young guys out there and I am sure they were a little nervous at first.”

Recovering nicely from the nightmarish start, the Jeffs responded with four goals in the next 10 minutes, closing the deficit to 5-4 by the end of the first quarter. Park netted the first goal of his collegiate career with 9:05 to play before Acton — the Jeffs’ leading scorer in 2012 — converted on a nice rush to the net at the 6:47 mark.

After Colby took advantage of a botched Amherst defensive clearance to go ahead 5-2, the Jeffs struck twice in the final 43 seconds of the period, with Lawlor and Acton providing the goals.

“Once we settled down and started to play our game, our young guys didn’t skip a beat,” Gold.

The furious scoring rate in the first quarter slowed considerably in the second quarter, as both teams notched only one goal apiece, giving Colby a 6-5 advantage at halftime.

Recovering from the frenetic, actionpacked pace of the opening quarter, the defenses continued to hold strong in the third quarter.

Colby outscored Amherst 2-1 in the period to take a 8-6 lead into the final quarter.

After the teams traded scores in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter (with Colby pulling ahead 9-7), the Jeffs netted three unanswered goals to take the lead.

Izzo ignited the rally with a goal with 7:25

remaining, cutting the margin to 9-8. Lawlor knotted the score at 9-9 with 3:48 left in regulation, before Haffey capped the surge after receiving a slick pass from Acton with 1:57 on the clock. After a miserable start, the Jeffs appeared to be on the cusp of a rousing, confidencebuilding victory.

Having mounted the valiant comeback, however, the Jeffs faltered in the dying moments. The Mules won a crucial late faceoff to regain possession, then stunned Amherst with an equalizer just 55 seconds later (with 1:02 on the clock).

The Mules carried the late momentum into overtime, scoring the golden goal just 1:05 into the extra session. Colby’s All-American Ian Deveau fired a high, blistering shot past Amherst goalkeeper Rob Dickinson ’15 to finish a thrilling — but gut-wrenching — contest.

“We need to do a better job of not digging ourselves into a hole early in games,” Gold said.

Sunday’s game against Bates (1-2, 1-1 NESCAC) followed a similar script. The Jeffs overcame a three-goal deficit in the final quarter, but fell agonizingly in sudden-death overtime.

Finishing near the NESCAC basement last year (2-8 record), the Bobcats stunned the Jeffs with an improved performance. From 20092012, Amherst had dominated Bates in headto-head matchups, winning four straight contests by at least three goals.

“Bates played well and we think they will surprise some people this year,” Gold said.

After the Bobcats netted a quick tally 43 seconds into the game, Acton scored a pair of goals 1:31 apart to give Amherst an early 2-1 lead. The score remained 2-1 until the Jeffs’ defense disintegrated in the final three minutes of the opening period, with the Bobcats exploding for three goals in a 2:58 span.

Rebounding from the blow, the Jeffs carried the play in the second quarter, outscoring Bates 3-0 to take a 5-4 lead at halftime. Quinn Moroney ’16 and Haffey struck the nylon at 11:51 and 10:13 to tie the game at 4-4, before Acton completed his hat-trick with 4:45 remaining in the quarter.

The match featured a series of wild momentum swings in the second half, culminating in a furious overtime finish. After Izzo scored 1:14 into the third quarter, Bates stormed back with five unanswered goals, turning a 6-4 deficit into a 9-6 lead. The Bobcats dominated possession in the third quarter — outworking the Jeffs for ground balls (14-7) — and thus created substantially more scoring opportunities.

Staring at a 9-6 hole with 10 minutes remaining, the Jeffs mounted another spirited comeback to send the game into overtime. Acton rejuvenated the team’s slumbering offense with a man-up goal at the 9:47 mark, ending Amherst’s 19-minute scoreless streak. Four minutes later, Park rifled a shot to cut the gap to 9-8, with Moroney dishing out his third assist of the day.

With 2:11 remaining on the clock, Park scored again to knot the contest at 9-9, sending the Amherst bench into a frenzy.

But for the second straight day, elation was followed by inconsolable anguish, as Bates’s Dan Hines sealed the victory 2:22 into overtime, sending Amherst to another demoralizing loss.

“We got better as a team from Saturday to Sunday, but we still have a lot of work to do,” Gold said. “On defense, we improved our clearing game from Saturday, which was one of our points of emphasis going into the Bates game.”

The Jeffs will look to enter the win column against Eastern Connecticut State at home (Gooding Field) this afternoon at 4:30 pm. During spring break, Amherst will face Bowdoin at a neutral site (Brown Univ.) on Saturday. Later that week, the Jeffs will play two non-league games against Endicott and Nazareth.

Sports 11

Rest Days

'PVM 5SPVCMF (BMFO .VTLBU Galen gets introspective and gives us some details into the life of an endurance athlete and the power of exercise and, ultimately, of rest.

If you were ever an endurance athlete (running, nordic skiing, cycling, for instance), you know what it’s like to develop a routine. That is, six days a week — for months at a time — of intervals, distance, tempos, strength, followed by a coach- or trainer-imposed (or self-imposed, if you were training alone and very disciplined) rest day.

The routine can be hell: the dread of the eight 400-meter intervals you’re going to have to run in just a couple of hours — just the thought of a negative split makes you nauseous; maybe it’s just tying the shoes and starting a 14-mile midweek run that’s hardest.

(The latter is my biggest hurdle, though once I’m out there, I’m good to go — no turning back, the open road in front of me, and the joy of being Alan Sillitoe’s lonely long-distance runner.)

Yet whether intervals, distance, tempo or strength, there’s always the post-workout euphoria that I anticipate.

What’s more, a mental clarity presents itself for the remainder of the day and even into the night, and I sleep like a baby after just about every workout-day. Sometimes the joy even arises mid-sprint, smack in the center of an interval day when I breathing and legs and mind all work together for a rare but treasured minute.

And I live for those moments.

Then there’s the seventh day: the day of rest; the off-day; la siesta — whatever you want to call it. (I just realized that whole seventh day/day of rest bit could be construed as very religious, but please know that this is not my intent — in fact, I’m a diehard atheist, but that’s a conversation for another day.)

At first, waking up without any regard for workout preparations is delightful. My mind is at ease for the next couple hours, too; I relish in the overindulgence of my breakfast — one I won’t have to worry about seeing in reverse during the run; I consider how good it will feel to lounge about, my only responsibility toward exercise to down a few liters of water by day’s end.

By the time lunch rolls around, though, I begin to feel somewhat purposeless. After all, there’s nothing like eating a meal after a huge workout has passed.

Even sitting down to do school work feels a little better knowing I’ve accomplished a tough physical activity; and if I sit down to work before an afternoon workout, I know my mind will receive a break when I lace up my sneakers.

Then my stomach contributes. I feel a little bloated from all the water, but the protein-heavy lunch on top of the palletpleasing breakfast is starting to hit my head, too.

With this, a little guilt comes in as the evil, exercise-oriented half of my conscience whispers in my ear: you know, you’re not going to burn this off today. It’s just going to sit. Unused. Wasted. Don’t you want to run it off?

Even though I know it’s my day off, at this point I’m driving myself crazy. I consider a strength workout, but decide it won’t be the same without the complements of cardio.

I begin to ponder a short, slow run because, let’s face it, I’m feeling pretty sedentary at this point. I know I need the rest day, but after eight hours, I don’t want to take any more time off.

So I give in: shorts, shoes, gloves, windbreaker. I’m up and out, breaking my coach’s rule of an off-day. Four days later, mid-interval, my quads are screaming at me for not resting. *** That was how it usually went during high school. I ran to train for Nordic skiing, and when skiing was over, I ran just to stay in shape and avoid the feeling of fatness that every off-day seemed to bring.

Without intervals to worry about during the summer months (my peers who wanted to break records in cross-country continued the coach’s routine throughout the summer, but I ran schedule-free), running without an off-day seemed like a nobrainer: no overly-taxing workouts didn’t seem to require any rest.

That was my attitude until the beginning of last week when, after three weeks of running with intense pain in both knees, I went to the athletic trainer for a diagnosis.

Here’s what she told me: loose cartilage surrounding one knee’s patella — which has led to an overuse injury in the form of a popliteal cyst behind said knee — and a strained MCL in the other.

Luckily for my runner’s self, neither is structural, and in four to six weeks I should be back to running. Having stuck to ellipticals (a nightmare for any runner, I think) and the stationary bike (not much better), the pain has even begun to subside.

But one word she uttered still hurts: overuse.

Should I have taken those rest days so many years ago? Should I have maybe considered six days of running with a day off, as my coaches had recommended, instead of my own 13-to-1 ratio?

Well, duh.

I wish I had listened to my coaches and my body and sucked up one day off each week.

Some might have said it was mentally strong to run without taking a day off, but I’d disagree from the seat of my exercise bike — or from any seat during the two days off each week the trainer [probably wisely] mandated — and say it was mentally weak.

Forget weak: it was stupid.

I was so worried about the state of my body and, at that, just feeling out-of-shape for one day that I couldn’t let it go. (With that in mind, perhaps it’s appropriate that this column is following the College’s “Love Your Body” week?)

Though I didn’t prior to injury, I can say now that I love (and miss) my knees.

Before, though, I did them a horrible injustice by not providing the necessary rest.

If my knees ever heal — knock on wood — I can say for sure that I’ll be resting up once a week, pampering my joints and enjoying a non-out-of-breath lifestyle for at least twenty-four hours at a time.

If you’re one of those exercise loons, give yourself some rest every so often — if not for your mind, at least for your body. It may not always seem like you need it, but believe me: you do.

Your muscles and bones will thank you whether you’re gritting through intervals, pumping up the final hill or hitting mile nine of your long, slow distance run tomorrow.

Rest up.

Sports

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Niahlah Hope ’15 Public Affairs Office

Jeffs Headed to Fifth Straight Final Four After Topping Widener, Jeffs Book Ticket to Michigan

Kevin Hoogstraten ’15 Staff Writer Women’s basketball is headed back to the Final Four, defeating Tufts and Widener Univ. to earn their berth in Friday’s national semifinal. The team capitalized on near-perfect foul shooting to gut out a defensive battle with Tufts, 47-42, before using a trademark second-half run and huge individual performances to defeat Widener, 59-45.

With the victories, the Jeffs (30-1) clinched their fifth consecutive Final Four appearance and will be looking for their second title in three years.

It was tough sledding offensively for both Amherst and Tufts on Friday, as two of the nation’s top defenses faced off in a thrilling game. Tufts (253), the national leader in scoring defense, held the Lord Jeffs to 26.7 percent shooting overall, while Amherst did its part by forcing their opponent to shoot at a 33.3 percent clip. The Jumbos actually made more field goals but were outdone at the charity stripe, as Amherst shot 18-21 from the line in what Coach G.P. Gromacki called a “clutch” performance.

Neither team could get anything going early on, and at the 10-minute mark the score was 9-2 in favor of Amherst. Amidst a flurry of turnovers, Marcia Voigt ’13 hit a tough off-hand shot before Megan Robertson ’15 hit just her third career three-pointer to beat the shot clock and stretch the lead to seven.

Tufts’ offense revolved around individual ballhandling and quick drives, and the Jumbos answered with a beautiful reverse layup. After Cheyenne Pritchard ’16 picked up a questionable offensive foul and had to sit, fellow first-year Haley Zwecker hit a three in transition to make it 12-6.

Savannah Holness ’15 hit four straight free throws as the Lord Jeffs grabbed some offensive

rebounds to extend possessions, and she added a layup down low with 4:21 left and the score 1810. Both teams traded layups before reaching the bonus as the half wound down, leading to Tufts getting three points and Amherst getting two from the line. A Tufts three-point attempt rattled out as time expired, and the teams went into halftime with the score 22-17.

The game came alive in the second half, and Bridget Crowley ’13 set the tone with an early post move. Tufts used a rare block of Robertson to string together four points, only to see Jasmine Hardy ’13 drill a three-pointer. The Jumbos committed an offensive foul on their next possession, and Crowley got to the line to make it 29-21 with 16:50 left.

Amherst’s lead waxed and waned over the next seven minutes, as the Lord Jeffs came up with big plays every time the Jumbos threatened.

Pritchard made a key three-pointer with Tufts within four, and, when the Jumbos again came within four, Hardy converted an incredible fourpoint play with 11:25 remaining. Tufts found some momentum as three straight tough dribble-drives made it a one-possession game. Megan Robertson stopped the bleeding, but Tufts answered with a jumper.

Up two with four minutes to play, the Lord Jeffs closed things out by hitting seven of eight foul shots. Crowley and Pritchard combined for four points, and Voigt came up huge on defense, nabbing two steals when Tufts had the ball down four with under a minute to play. Tufts came within three after Robertson was fouled and went 1-for2, but Crowley hit both of her subsequent free throws to seal the game.

Amherst’s scoring was spread out amongst seven players, with Crowley leading the team with 10 points. Voigt added seven assists and 10

rebounds, and Robertson grabbed five offensive rebounds.

The Lord Jeffs matched up better with Widener (24-6), who lacked the necessary size to stop both Crowley and Robertson in the paint.

The Pride countered by occasionally doubling or fronting down low, which led to a feast-or-famine defense that generated lots of entry pass denials but also allowed plenty of easy layups. As a result, Crowley and Robertson both had big nights, with Robertson logging 10 points and four blocks in just 20 minutes and Crowley recording a monster 17-point, 16-rebound double-double.

“Bridget was huge for us all night long,” Gromacki said.

The game stayed tight throughout the first half, with Amherst gradually opening up a cushion but never leading by double-digits. With the score 9-7 seven minutes in, Crowley hit a nice jumper before Widener pushed the pace and nailed a deep three-pointer. The Lord Jeffs answered with a transition layup before the pace slowed again, with Robertson eventually making a layup to resume the scoring and make it 15-10.

Widener mixed in a matchup zone as time went by, while the Lord Jeffs stuck to their man-toman defense. Amherst found openings in the zone as Hardy and Voigt forced the defense to respect the deep threat, and on the other end the Pride simply could not hit shots, shooting 23.8 percent for the game.

Widener did pull within four with under two minutes left before a Hardy three-pointer and a Crowley floater stretched the lead to 30-23 at halftime. Crowley dominated the first half, scoring 15 points off a variety of post moves.

In an effort incredibly similar to that against Williams in the NESCAC final, Voigt took over in the second half with 16 points, keying Amherst’s

game-changing run and preventing any comeback attempts. The Lord Jeffs scored 11 of the half ’s first 12 points and never let Widener back into the game.

The half began with Voigt finding Robertson for two and then capping off a mazy drive with a reverse layup. She continued her strong play with a tough runner to stretch the lead to 13, and after Widener went 1-of-2 from the line Roberston, playing with three fouls, used a spin move to score.

Voigt continued to orchestrate with another layup and a nice assist on a touch pass inside to Holness, but Widener responded with their biggest run of the game, cutting the lead to 10 at the 10:33 mark. The Lord Jeffs looked to their leader on offense, and Voigt answered the call with two straight pull-up jumpers, the second one coming off of a gritty steal from Holness.

Amherst held the lead down the stretch thanks to their starters, with Hardy, Pritchard and Crowley never coming out and Voigt playing 37 minutes. Widener’s last chance came with 3:23 left, as their press generated a couple turnovers and they found their shooting touch to pull within nine. On the next possession, however, Crowley grabbed an offensive rebound to milk the clock before Hardy hit a dagger of a three. Voigt put the exclamation point on the victory with two foul shots and a layup.

Crowley, Robertson and Voigt combined for 46 of Amherst’s 59 points, outscoring the Pride by themselves. Voigt led the charge with 19 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and fellow tri-captain Hardy added two threes.

The Lord Jeffs will head to Holland, Michigan to face twenty-second-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater (26-6) at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The winner will play either number one DePauw (33-0) or Williams (27-5) on Saturday at 7 p.m.