Issue 20

THE AMHERST

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF AMHERST COLLEGE SINCE 1868

STUDENT VOLUME CXLVII, ISSUE 20 l WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21, 2018

Women’s Lacrosse Continues Winning Streak See Sports, Page 9 AMHERSTSTUDENT.AMHERST.EDU

national champions

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

With a 65-45 victory over Bowdoin, Amherst women’s basketball completed its second perfect, undefeated season with a record of 33-0. From the last two minutes of the third quarter until the final three minutes of the game, the Mammoths shut out the Polar Bears with organized and efficient defense.

Physics Professor and Students College Remembers Senior Andrew Discover ‘Skyrmion’ Quasiparticle Dorogi After Death on March 16 Kathleen Maeder ’20 Staff Writer Professor of Physics David Hall ’91, working with a team of recent physics graduates, has published a paper about his recent discovery of a three-dimensional skyrmion in an experiment with unusual electromagnetic-like properties.

Though trained as an atomic physicist, Hall was drawn to topology, a branch of mathematics that focuses on the continuous deformation of shapes. “Topology is that thing that lets you distinguish shapes from one another, and it involves taking a shape and possibly deforming it in some way,” he said.

In order to conduct his studies on quasiparticles, Hall and his team first formed a superfluid by lowering atoms to billionths of a degree below zero, creating a “flow of atoms without any viscosity.”

He then studied how quasiparticles introduced to the superfluid behave. Hall’s earlier research discussed how monopoles — “simple point objects,” according to Hall — acted in superfluid. He then worked with knots, which is essentially an extended object — “a twisting that can’t untwist itself,” explained Hall.

Hall’s most recent work has focused on skyrmions. His recent publication indicates that “not only is the [skyrmion] knotted, but the electromagnetic field-equivalent is also knotted.”

Throughout his topological studies, Hall has collaborated with Aalto University in Finland.

He discussed how, prior to their cooperation on publications, he studied vortex-like particles similar to those that Aalto researchers were working on.

“We did this neat vortex experiment… I was working with some theorists at UMass, and we were actually competitors there, at the beginning … and they published their paper first, much to my chagrin,” said Hall.

Mikko Möttönen, the principal investigator from the Aalto research team, reached out to offer advice on adjusting their experiment. Over time, the professors from both universities developed a partnership.

Two of Hall’s former thesis students, Andrei Horia Gheorghe ’15 and Wonjae Lee ’16, were also involved in the research on the three-dimensional skyrmion.

“I was really interested in this project, as we discovered that the spin texture of the skyrmion shows the electromagnetic knot structure, which is analogous to the ball lightning,” Lee said in an email interview. “Ball lightning is a natural phenomenon which hasn’t been explained yet, and we think that studying this skyrmion structure will help us with understanding the ball lightning structure too.”

Hall added that his future research will likely focus on the dynamics of these quasiparticles.

“The first thing we wanted to do was learn how to make [skyrmion], and the second thing we want to do is then discover what they do,” said Hall. “It may give us a hint into what’s happening in the universe.”

Isabel Tessier ’19 Editor-in-Chief Andrew Dorogi ’18, an economics major and varsity football player from Cleveland, Ohio, died on Friday, March 16. President Biddy Martin announced his death in an email to the college community on Sunday, March 18.

“Andrew touched the lives of so many students, faculty, coaches and staff on our campus and his sudden death is a profound blow,” Martin wrote in a second email on Monday.

She urged students to take care of themselves and provide comfort and support to others.

On Monday night, an open community gathering was held in Cole Assembly Room.

The group, a mix of students, coaches and faculty who filled the room to capacity, shared memories of Dorogi and thoughts on how to honor him and comfort to grieving friends. In the middle of the room, a large picture of Dorogi’s senior year roster photo stood surrounded by flowers.

Martin began the gathering with a brief speech before opening up the floor for students, staff and faculty to speak.

“It’s a long process, the work of mourning the loss of someone who’s loved,” Martin said.

“And tonight is just one form of beginning that process.”

Many people remembered Dorogi for his friendliness, humor and enthusiasm for life.

Friend and fellow teammate Kevin Sheehan

’18 said, “To me, Dorogi was just a guy with a huge heart … He was the kind of guy that would always put a smile on your face, no matter what.”

Sheehan shared a memory of Dorogi living in Charles Pratt during his freshman year.

“It didn’t matter what he was up to, everybody was in his room,” Sheehan said. “He wanted that though — that’s who he was. He wanted company, and he wanted to make people happy; he wanted to be with everybody.”

Associate Dean and Director of the Counseling Center Jackie Alvarez closed the gathering with a reminder to students to seek help and support from the college community. In her earlier email, Martin also encouraged students to use the resources made available by the college in the days following Dorogi’s death.

“This is a time for us to reach out to one another and ensure that no one is isolated in their efforts to deal with Andrew’s loss,” Martin wrote.

The Counseling Center will be offering open hours for drop-in consultation and small private group sessions on Wednesday, March 21 at 11 a.m., March 26 at 11 a.m., March 27 at 3:30 p.m., March 28 at 1:30 p.m. and March 29 at 11 a.m.

Boards to write messages and make cards have been posted outside Chapin Chapel, in the Founders Room in Alumni Gymnasium and in Keefe Campus Center.

News

Brendan Seto Thoughts on Theses

March 5, 2018 - March 18, 2018

>>March 5, 2018 4:14 p.m., Converse Hall An officer responded to a report of an unusual odor in the basement. A bad battery pack on a computer was discovered.

10:47 p.m., Merrill Science Center Officers responded to an unusual odor on the fifth floor.

The Environmental Health and Safety Office was notified. >>March 6, 2018 12:47 a.m., Hitchcock Hall Officers responded to a complaint of loud music and people yelling in the first-floor common area. No one was found, but several bottles of hard alcohol were confiscated. >>March 7, 2018 1:37 a.m., Mayo-Smith House While in the building, an officer discovered the glass in a cabinet on the first floor was smashed. >>March 9, 2018 12:04 a.m., Hitchcock Hall While in the building, an officer discovered two unattended bottles of hard alcohol in a common room. They were disposed of.

6:10 p.m., Wieland Dormitory An officer responded to a complaint about the odor of marijuana. While speaking to a resident, a lit candle was found in the room. It was confiscated, as use of candles is prohibited. The matter was referred to Student Affairs.

8:18 p.m., Williston Hall An officer investigated a smoke detector sounding in the firstfloor common room and detected the odor of popcorn. No problem was found.

8:44 p.m., Wieland Dormitory An officer responded to a report about the odor of marijuana smoke on the fourth floor and spoke to a resident. The marijuana was confiscated, and the matter was referred to Student Affairs. >>March 10, 2018 12:02 a.m., Tuttle Farm An officer checked on a man found asleep in a car. He was directed to leave as he had no association with the college.

4:06 a.m., Seligman House A caller reported a door open on a car parked in the parking lot. Officer contacted the owner who checked the car and reported nothing missing.

posed of. >>March 11, 2018 1:35 a.m., Jenkins Dormitory Officers and the Fire Department responded to an alarm and found it was caused by the use of a candle, which is prohibited.

While in the suite, other fire safety violations were found, such as a covered detector and decorations hanging from sprinkler pipes. The matter was referred to Student Affairs.

1:54 a.m., Jenkins Dormitory While investigating a fire alarm, officers discovered a microwave oven in violation of the housing regulations. It was confiscated.

2:00 p.m., Garman House An officer investigated a smoke detector sounding in a first-floor room and found it was activated by a humidifier. >>March 12, 2018 6:32 p.m., Tennis Court Parking Lot An officer encountered two people in a car that was unregistered with the state and uninsured. A boot was placed on the car. >>March 14, 2018 11:20 a.m., Greenway Building B An officer and the Fire Department responded to an alarm and found it was activated by dust from maintenance work. >>Mar. 15, 2018 11:29 p.m., Wieland Dormitory An officer responded to a complaint about the odor of marijuana on the second floor. The odor dissipated and the origin could not be identified. >>March 17, 2018 12:10 a.m., Tuttle Farm An officer checked on two people in a car near the Book & Plow farm. They were directed to leave the area as they had no association with the college. >>March 18, 2018 12:09 a.m., Valentine Dining Hall While checking the building, an officer discovered three men inside the servery. They were identified as students and escorted out. The matter was referred to Student Affairs.

2:13 a.m., Grosvenor House Officers investigated a report of an open exterior door. The building was checked and nothing was found amiss.

3:10 p.m., Greenway Building B A damaged exit sign was reported on the third floor.

1:21 p.m., Hitchcock Hall An officer investigated a report of a smashed window in a firstfloor common room. An unauthorized party was also found and it was shut down.

11:38 p.m., Plimpton House While in the building, an officer discovered unattended alcohol on the first floor. It was dis-

3:16 p.m., Moore Dormitory An officer investigated a report of a large window smashed in a third-floor common room.

Department of Statistics

Brendan Seto ’18 is a statistics major. His thesis focuses on causal inference. His thesis advisor is Professor of Statistics Nicholas Horton.

Q: What is your thesis about?

A: I wrote my thesis on causal inference. It is an expository overview on determining causation as opposed to association. The material covered in my theses is similar to the information that would be covered in one or two classes or early graduate-level class.

The topic of causal inference is briefly covered in undergraduate statistics. Professors at the undergraduate level will tell you there is a difference between causation and association, but they will not necessarily tell you what it is. My mother teaches statistics at a medical school in Hawaii, and she is using my presentation as a lecture in her class.

“

Q: Where did you get the idea for your thesis?

A: Professor Horton suggested the topic to me, and the more I read about the topic the more interested I got. I am interested in medicine, and in medicine, causation is more important than prediction.

Q: What was the timeline for this project?

A: I started doing readings over the summer and continued doing a lot of reading all throughout first semester. I read some foundational articles and causal inferences textbooks. I then started writing at the end of first semester and plan to be finished with it soon.

the topic to submit to a journal, but I decided early on in the year that I did not have time for that.

Q: What was your favorite part of writing a thesis?

A: My favorite part of the process was the lack of an upper bound. I was able to explore and work on what interested me. It wasn’t like taking an exam where there are set requirements and specific scores warrant certain grades. I was able to freely investigate the topic, which can be challenging, but it allowed me to work without limits and see what I could accomplish.

I am interested in medical research, and causal inference is the basis of medical research because it determines why something happens as opposed to what will happen. For example, in the context of medicine, if a patient comes in with a heart attack it is important to determine what caused the heart attack as opposed to discovering if the patient will have a heart attack.

Q: How long did it take for you to put it all together?

A: I did the readings in big chunks, so I would do several hours’ worth of reading three to four times a week, and then the writing component was more spread out. Professor Horton and I have certain standards, and I worked until I reached them. The writing process was not very structured, and Professor Horton would tell me to keep doing what I was doing, and if the work is good, we will keep it, and if it’s not, we will do more work and make it better.

”

Q: What’s the most valuable lesson you learned from writing a thesis?

A: I would say the most important thing I learned was how to operate with that freedom and lack of requirements. I learned to set smaller goals for myself.

Q: Who helped you with your thesis?

A: Professor Horton was a great help throughout the process. He was on leave first semester, but he provided me with a lot of resources to read.

He also gave me suggestions on where to focus within the topic of causal inference and ensured throughout the process that I was on the right track.

Q: What’s next for you?

A: I am interested in medical research, and causal inference is the basis of medical research because it determines why something happens as opposed to what will happen. For example, in the context of medicine, if a patient comes in with a heart attack it is important to determine what caused the heart attack as opposed to discovering if the patient will have a heart attack. Looking at causes is critical in terms of medical research, which is what I am interested in.

Q: What was the hardest part?

A: Although the looseness of the schedule helped me and allowed me to do what I wanted and needed to do for this project, the lack of structure was also challenging. It was at times hard to find a set path or I would wonder if what I was doing was what I should be doing.

Q: Do you have any advice for future thesis advisors?

A: Do something you are interested in! You have to put a tremendous amount of time into the project, and in my case I had to do a lot of reading, so if you are going to put in all this work you better make sure it’s something that you love and want to learn more about.

I also had to write a lot more than I’m used to, so I would also advise that there is a lot of writing needed to complete a thesis.

Q: What were the major roadblocks?

A: The only major roadblock was that I had initially planned on writing another paper on

— Emily Young ’20

The Amherst Student • March 21, 2018

News

3

College Hosts New African American Dance Symposium Natalie De Rosa ’21 Staff Writer The theater and dance department debuted the African American Dance Symposium on Feb. 16. The symposium, which is free and open to the public, consists of master classes, film screenings and lectures leading up to a two-day conference on April 13 and 14.

The symposium was organized by theater and dance visiting scholar Ninoska M’bewe Escobar, whose speciality in African-American dance brought new offerings to the department.

She was impressed by previous strides in African-American dance made by the Five College community, she said, and decided to continue the work at Amherst.

“I began to imagine what I could do, in the limited time that I knew I would be here, to add to that trajectory of attention of African-American choreographers, perhaps a sustained focus within the framework of a small conference,” she said in an email interview.

The symposium will focus on the connections between African-American vernacular or social dance, street dance and concert dance. Escobar found that these different areas of dance highlight specific attributes of African-American culture, such as community and family.

So far, the symposium put on screenings for films like “Free to Dance” and a master class on West African Sabar.

Escobar said she is excited for the audience to examine African-American dance through these different mediums.

“It offers students, faculty and the community an opportunity to observe and listen, and to learn more about the history about African American dance,” she said.

The symposium will highlight the important role that history and politics play in African-American culture, and how it is reflected in forms of dance. “[Dance] also projects social politics,” Escobar said. “When you look at the dance of the 1930s, ’40s, ’50s, ’60s, you see many choreographers including many black choreographers and choreographers of color raising very important social issues in their work.”

Escobar also mentioned community as an aspect of the social politics present in Afri-

Photo courtesy of Takudzwa Tapfuma ’17

Community members participate in a dance master class as part of the African American Dance Symposium, which takes place from mid-February until April and is organized by theater and dance visiting scholar Ninoska M’bewe Escobar. can-American dance.

Escobar, who has been trained by renowned choreographer, dancer and activist Alvin Ailey, incorporated his values of community into the symposium. “[Dancers] need to maintain connection with their own communities,” she said. “That means working with young children, working with adults in various kinds of settings: in community centers, public schools, [and] hospitals.”

Escobar noted that the active participation of the community is crucial to the symposium’s success.

One way Escobar sees this vision coming alive is through the master classes and performances, during which audience members can actively participate in the sessions.

“I’m hoping that the community will turn

out and participate in the weekend symposium,” she said. “I’m hoping that they will lend their experiences with dance — I personally believe that dance is something that builds community.”

Community-building is one of the main reasons Escobar decided to create the symposium. The events and explorations of AfricanAmerican dance are intended to “maintain the connection between what happens on stage and community,” she said.

The symposium also seeks to establish a focus on African-American dance at Amherst.

“If cultural production is not preserved, then it could be forgotten, and there have been many cultural products that have been lost or forgotten,” Escobar said.

Wendy Woodson, chair of the theater and

dance department, expressed the same hope for the symposium.

“There are many gaps in our knowledge of the history of African-American dance forms and their influence in contemporary performance,” she said in an email interview.

“The symposium is a wonderful opportunity for Amherst and the Five College community to learn more about these vital contributions,” she added.

Rebecca Ford ’18, who worked with Escobar to develop the symposium, echoed similar sentiments in an email interview.

“I hope that this symposium sets a precedent for more of these kind of events, which celebrate African-American culture and the history of dance, in the future,” she said. “I have learned so much and I want others to have the opportunity to learn about this his-

SWAGS Holds Panel to Examine #MeToo Movement Emma Swislow ’20 Managing News Editor Since the #MeToo movement became the forefront of national conversation last October, a vast number of people, mostly women, have come forward with their own stories of sexual harassment and assault by people in positions of power. In an effort to process the movement, the sexuality, women’s and gender studies (SWAGS) department hosted a panel on March 6 called “Making Sense of #MeToo,” which featured Masha Gessen award-winning journalist and John J. McCloy professor, and Loretta Ross, key player in the creation of the reproductive justice movement and a professor at Hampshire College.

SWAGS Professors Manuela Picq, Khary Polk, Sahar Sadjadi and Amrita Basu also participated in the panel.

The event opened with Gessen and Ross answering questions posed by Basu, the chair of SWAGS. Picq, Sadjadi and Polk then discussed the movement in more specific contexts, such as internationally and in the U.S. military. Gessen and Ross spoke again, after which all the panelists answered questions from the audience.

Gessen began by speaking about her concerns regarding the #MeToo movement, especially when looking at the story of “Grace,” written by Katie Way, on Babe.com, that accused comedian and actor Aziz Ansari of inappropriate behavior.

“It really brought to the forefront the basic

assumptions underlying the part of this conversation that’s about sex,” she said.

“The basic assumptions are that women give sex and men get sex and what we’re negotiating are the terms of that arrangement,” she continued.

“That seems so problematic to me and so incomprehensible to me as a non-heterosexual person. I don’t understand why we’re talking about it that way and why it’s not challenged.”

The need for longer and more in-depth discussion within the current movement was another concern that Gessen expressed.

“The danger here is the trivialization of rape and the criminalization of bad sex,” she said.

“This is one place where very clear categories, very detailed discussions and nuance is necessary. I don’t think we’re getting much of that.”

Ross then spoke about the history of the American movement against sexual assault, of which she has been a leader and activist since the early 1970s.

“What is not know about the early anti-rape movement is that its leadership was largely African-American women,” Ross said. “One of the things that I question about the current #MeToo movement is why things only matter when the white gaze notices, because in fact, this work has been going on quite a while. I’m just a little impatient with these foreshortened narratives.”

Ross went on to talk about where #MeToo and the fight to end sexual violence should be positioned in relation to activism.

“I don’t think the move to end violence

against women should be situated in the women’s movement,” she said.

“Violence isn’t something that just happens to women. It’s something done by men, so why aren’t we situating this entire conversation in the conversation around toxic masculinity and how we need to have better or different men, not more women better at communicating their desires?” Ross added.

Picq spoke on the reception of #MeToo in a transnational context with a focus on France and Latin American countries.

“Politics gets transformed in translation,” she said. “In France it [#MeToo] became naming the rapist and the hashtag became #BalanceTonPorc or ‘out your pig’ … In Latin America, there was a lot of interest. The first reaction was the usual: feminist women and black women have been doing that for decades, so there’s nothing new, but it generated interest … The main mobilizations of women in Latin America and the hashtags that are most useful are to stop femicide. #MeToo was of limited resonance in that context.”

During her segment, Sadjadi talked about some of the details of the language used in the movement, specifically the term “unwanted sexual advance.”

“Anyone who’s in the position of initiating sex knows that you never know in the first place whether it’s wanted or unwanted,” Sadjadi said.

“We should think about that question and these terms such as unwanted sexual advance and what it means. It’s the question of what

happens when there is a rejection of the sexual advance, and I think that’s the important point,” Sadjadi added.

Following the panel, audience members asked questions to all of the participants. Beni Dieujuste ’20 asked about what comes after someone has been accused and found guilty of sexual assault.

Polk answered Dieujuste’s question by asking people to consider other perspectives on the topic.

“If we’re thinking about forms of restorative justice, or something that is different than the criminal justice system, I would say that students have to think deeply about what kind of repercussions we want for ourselves and for each other,” Polk said.

“What does it mean to imagine yourself as the person accused of sexual assault and what would you want for yourself? I wonder if we can have a discussion on how we think about ourselves and if that will allow us to come up with new forms of justice when these situations occur,” he added.

Lisa Zheutlin ’21 attended the panel and said that she thinks more events of its kind should be held on campus. She found Ross’s historical perspective on the movement to be helpful.

“I was really interested in Loretta Ross’s point that these white celebrities in Hollywood did not start the movement,” Zheutlin said. “ ... It’s important to recognize how and why we are now focused on the issue which we, as a society, need to address.”

Opinion Rethinking Work, Luck and Success

THE AMHERST

STUDENT E X E C U T I V E B OA R D

Success is one of those words that, like love, hate or freedom, means something very different who, when and where you ask. However, here is a common denominator when it comes to our understanding of success that, at least at this point in time, in our culture, is prevalent above all else: money. Taking this notion of success — albeit reductive and superficial — reflectively we want to assign the outcome to some personal attribute like being smart, hardworking or patient. These are heuristics at best. There are plenty of mediocre folk who are “successful,” and plenty of intelligent folk who aren’t. The question is then, what can best explain someone’s ascendant to wealth? Well, a new research study conducted by physicists Alessandro Pluchino and Andrea Rapisarda, along with economist Alessio Biondi, suggest that luck, not talent, is the strongest factor. This finding may be disheartening to hard-working college students trying their luck with finance, legal work, medicine or other lucrative career options. But rather than shifting our trajectory, it should shift how we think of our own position and responsibility to society.

The study was conducted through a computer simulation in which an imaginary world was filled with 1,000 digital people, each was attributed varying levels of talent (intelligence, skill, effort, etc.) and each was given an equivalent unit of capital. During the simulation of 40 years, these individuals randomly encountered lucky or unlucky events, and by the end of it the distribution of wealth (read: success) largely resembled the unequal, skewed realities of our physical world. The talent level was a weaker predictor of success than the exposure to lucky events. Those with a

higher level of talent were more likely to make the best out of a lucky event, but overall, the simulation affirmed that luck is more important than talent for making money.

What do we make of findings such as these? Perhaps our faith that the reward systems we’ve put in place are meritocratic should be more critically questioned. Perhaps donating to charity is more of an obligation than a simple act of kindness. Since wealth isn’t the product of “hard work” that merited compensation, it feels less like that money is rightfully owned by any particular individual.

Or maybe bonuses in work settings ought to be distributed randomly — without regard for past performance — rather than to those who are already achieving success, since this tends to affirm the notion that those who are successful are achieving it through merit. In short, we should strive to devise systems that dispel the notion of “meritocracy” and instead seek to democratize luck.

But what does it mean for us here at Amherst College?

For one, we can be mindful that being at Amherst is, despite all our hard work, also a product of lucky events.

In addition to that, we can rethink what it means to be successful. Perhaps this will change our course of action here at Amherst. Being successful might mean being a great friend or reading the books you’ve bought but never actually had the time to appreciate because of all the work we have. It could be taking care of one’s mental health and prioritizing that over pressures to be “successful.” Or it could remain becoming wealthy. In that case, though, make sure you’ve got a decently-sized list of causes to give your money to.

If I May: I Almost Lost All the Data on My Phone Jake May ’19 Columnist Spring break is supposed to be a fun and relaxing week, where students can unwind and rest before the final weeks of the academic year. For the first few days of my spring break, this was the case. However, on Wednesday, my phone decided that it did not want to work anymore. This fact on its own would not normally cause stress; like most people, my phone has broken in the past. But this time was different. My phone wasn’t just cracked, it wasn’t just unable to connect to a cellular network, it wasn’t just randomly quitting out of apps — all things I have encountered in the past. No, this time, my phone was simply catatonic. When I would try to turn it on, the screen would light up for a second and then go black. Even at this point, I was still optimistic. I would take it to the store and they would be able to fix it. Actually, maybe this was a blessing in disguise; for the last few days of spring break, I wouldn’t have my phone to distract me and I could really relax.

As I came to terms with my phone’s state, I

plugged it into my computer just to see if anything would happen. A box popped up saying that the phone was in “Recovery Mode,” and it needed a software update. I pressed “Okay.” The software began to download. The blue progress bar climbed across my screen. 50 percent. 75 percent. 90 percent! 99 percent! Another box popped up on my screen.

“This phone is unable to be updated. It must be reset to factory settings,” the message read. My heart dropped. Resetting to factory settings means completely wiping your phone’s data and restoring it to the state it was before you took it out of the box. This would mean I would lose all of my saved photos, videos, notes, contacts, everything on my phone. I immediately became distraught. Contact information for high school friends that I’ve lost touch with, gone! All my saved snaps, gone! My stupid ideas for stand-up jokes saved in my notes, gone! I am not kidding; I was seriously upset that I might lose these things. I then became embarrassed that I had become so distraught. Why should I care so much about notes on my phone or photos from two years ago? (Because I am a foolish man.) Have

I become too attached to my phone? (Yes.) “But Jake,” you might be saying. “Can’t you just restore a backup?” That’s true. If one has backed up their phone to their computer or to a cloud, they can restore that information to their phone if it needs to be wiped. The problem here is that I had not backed up my phone in as long as I can remember. “Wait a second, Jake,” you might be imploring.

“You care so much about this silly stuff but you haven’t backed up your phone? How is that possible?”

A good question. As I mentioned above, I am a foolish, foolish fool of a man.

Fortunately for me, I seem to be a fortunate fool. Just before going to the store to try and repair the phone, I discovered that the device became responsive. I quickly plugged it into my computer and backed it up. Huzzah! I would not lose my data! Upon bringing it to the store, I was told that the device was compromised and had to be replaced. So had it not come alive for a few brief minutes before I’d left, I would have indeed lost all of my data. However, after my data was restored, I

Continued on Page 5

Editors-in-Chief Nate Quigley Isabel Tessier Executive Adviser Jingwen Zhang Managing News Shawna Chen Emma Swislow Managing Opinion Kelly Chian Daniel Delgado Managing Arts and Living Olivia Gieger Seoyeon Kim Managing Sports Connor Haugh Henry Newton Julia Turner Managing Design Justin Barry S TA F F Head Publishers Nico Langlois, Mark Nathin Design Editors Katie Boback, Zehra Madhavan, Julia Shea

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The Amherst Student • March 21, 2018

Opinion

5

If I May: Always Back up Your Phone Continued from Page 4 scrolled through my photos and notes. While I was certainly pleased that I hadn’t lost them, I realized that little to nothing on my phone was really of any importance.

I’ve come away from this ordeal with a few lessons. One: back up your phone, you monumental moron. Two: seriously, BACKUP YOUR PHONE, YOU FOOL. And finally, I understood that while it seems silly to care about this stuff, the informa-

tion on my phone is quite important to me. While I should not have been so concerned with losing my photos, contacts and notes, I realized that my cell phone serves as a constantly updated record of my life. However, unlike social media, this record is

just for me, so it can include embarrassing yet sentimental photos, incredibly dumb ideas for jokes, and also my seventh grade history teacher’s email address for some reason. In short, what I’ve come to realize is that I need to backup my phone.

The Subtle Effects of Gender Disparities in the Classroom Olivia Gieger ’21 Managing Arts and Living Editor I’ve always been keenly aware of my gender and the consequences it carries: I know that white women earn 80 percent of what men in the same position make (with women of color earning even less) and need to work harder and longer to receive promotions, and I know that one in three women experience physical abuse. However, coexisting comfortably alongside this understanding of global women’s issues is the awareness that I myself exist in a privileged bubble away from these things. It is a bubble where I cannot directly relate to those who are paid 80 cents on the dollar or those who have faced sexual harassment or assault, for I myself have not encountered those experiences — although I know it’s not outside the realm of possibility of what I may someday face.

Thus, I’ve often felt at a loss for how I fit into the feminist movement; most of the gender discrimination I encounter has been small but nonetheless present. I want to focus on the more insidious aspects of sexism that persist in the classroom, which are overlooked but become internalized and can act as stepping stones for these larger, more harmful acts of misogyny and are indicative of broader misogyny embedded into our cultural norms.

I realized that the entry point for me to recognize how feminist issues impact me was right in front of me: in the classroom. One specific instance on International Women’s Day precip-

itated my thinking of how gender plays out in education. In a group for my environmental studies course, we were discussing an environmental policy and preparing to give an informal presentation to the class. I posed question after question to my group as a way of preparing ourselves for teaching the nuances of the policy to the class.

Rather than build on my comments, though, one group member gave a curt response, in a tone that suggested I didn’t know anything I was talking about. My initial reaction to this, besides embarrassment (maybe I actually don’t know what I’m talking about?), was to stop asking questions; I internalized the feeling of my own inadequacy. I realized later that this reaction was one common for so many women and girls in classrooms everywhere: often, when male students dominate the conversation, female students withdraw, rather than contribute, their voice. This creates a vicious cycle. As I watched in my class, this condescending classmate would always turn to another male group member for confirmation of his facts, never to me, the sole female of the group, which undermined my confidence in my knowledge. Instead of speaking up, I took a backseat in the conversation, worried that I would make myself look like I didn’t know what I was saying again.

This was the wrong thing to do, but it is the all-too-common thing to do. Women are far less likely than men to speak up in class, even if they are just as likely to know the correct answer. This makes conversations in male-dominated classes, like the one I was in, even more likely to center

A Case for Wandering John Kim ’20 Columnist One fine afternoon at Amherst (seldom found nowadays), I took a walk in the wildlife sanctuary. I was just heading out from lunch, and the idea of strolling around for a while suddenly struck me. I went through with this moment of inspiration, and I eventually ended up relaxing at a damp, wooden bench in the bird sanctuary, looking out into the frozen creek with long, calm breaths. Let me tell you about how I got there.

To kill the suspense, nothing crazy happened on the way there. But it was quite different from all the other times I would walk around Amherst, because this time, I decided to wander for a little while. Why did I do this? Well, think about when you’re headed to class. You have a certain destination in mind, and if you’re about habits at all, you have a routine path that you follow to reach that destination. Val to Frost, Frost to class, class to the dorm … you get the picture. So much of your focus is on getting to that place, that most of the time, the actual process of getting there is forgotten. Our memory fails to catch all those routine episodes of walking from A to B, because the motive is fixed; you want to get somewhere, and that place is all you have in mind. So I switched up my motive, and decided that I could walk as fast or slow as I wanted without a destination. The cool thing is, I remember most of my walk.

I won’t take you through what I saw step by step, but I will tell you how I felt. Almost immediately, when I firmly devoted myself to the act of wandering, I slowed down. I felt no need to exert myself more than what I was comfortable with, and for the first time in a while, I felt unchallenged by the constant pressure of having to walk against time. I swiveled my head around and up, taking in the sights, with my focus on that walk and nothing else. I felt like nothing was required

of me, and frankly, it’s a weird feeling to have. You’re not bored, nor unmotivated, nor gloomy. You’re just on a smooth and steady plateau, your body moving along in cadence, and your mind free from all the nudges and pokes of life’s responsibilities. You feel clear-headed, but not spaced out.

Yet, all these descriptions of sensation and feeling are boring, sterile and static. So, I implore all those weighed down by the monotony of habit and routine to wander. This doesn’t mean you have to go somewhere you haven’t been (though it’s likely you might end up at such a place), but precisely that you walk without a strict destination. Set a time limit, put on some comfortable shoes, and see how you feel in your stroll. By the way, it only seems best that you wander alone, for if you tag along with someone, you may feel forced to follow them and vice versa. And at that point, it’s not really wandering, is it?

As a final piece of advice for all you would-be wanderers, don’t fight the urges that come to you. If you feel like taking left over right, one street over the other, do what you feel. The whole point is to feel unpressured, to feel that you can make a decision on the fly without school and life looming over your shoulders. Wandering is like buying a precious block of freedom by changing how you think about something routine. Thus, it doesn’t even have to be about walking, for that matter. Switch up your routine plate at Val, or brush your teeth after you shower if you do it before (don’t not brush your teeth though). If you can keep it improvisational and unburdened by habit, I promise that the day will show you something new. After I walked and relaxed for a bit at the bird sanctuary, I was feeling a quite tired from all my wandering, so I decided to take a nap. I went to King Hall and dozed off in one of the couches in the common room. I actually don’t live in King Hall, but after that nap, I certainly would. Cheers to wandering.

on male voices. It is this internal hesitance to speak up that paints the false picture of female students as less knowledgeable or intelligent than their male peers. As women don’t speak up, their peers are less likely to look to them for answers or more likely to overlook them in discussion, confirming the feeling that women’s voices are less valued in the discussion. Even teachers are more likely to call on male students, a study by a teacher-in-training at Florida State University found.

This is how we enter a vicious cycle that keeps women’s voices out of the classroom, even as more women are in college classrooms. However, while data may capture overall college gender totals, they do not grasp the divides within specific classes and fields. In my experience, all of my classes have had one gender as a distinct majority. The result is a strange skew that makes it so that my environmental studies discussion section has 17 men and eight women while my English class has 19 women and only four men.

This trend of distinct gender divides extends beyond what I have anecdotally observed. Amherst’s Curriculum Committee conducted a report outlining gender and race demographics within the class of 2017’s major. Nearly each major revealed one gender was a clear majority (i.e. almost every field was noticeably more male or female dominated). It is important to note that at Amherst, overall, humanities majors were 56.3 percent female and 43.7 percent male while science and math classes were 43.9 percent female and 56.1 percent male — subtle but clear gender

divide. We must keep these statistics in mind with the consideration that Amherst does have a 50/50 gender split overall. We must also consider the danger of imbalance in either direction (it is just as harmful to have only females in SWAGS classes as it is to have males dominating economics), for it perpetuates gender biases in different disciplines.

This is a strange phenomenon to observe, especially when there is no evidence to suggest that males are innately more equipped for STEM fields. The answer stems, then, from this attitude trend alive in the classroom, of males dominating conversations and pushing women out.

In its report “How Schools Shortchange Girls,” the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation found that “girls are systematically discouraged from courses of study essential to their future employability and economic well-being . . . Girls are being steered away from the very courses required for their productive participation in the future of America, and we as a nation are losing more than one-half of our human potential.”

These words were a potent reminder to me that these tiny irritations I encountered were not just bothersome to me, but were harmful to women as a group, and dangerous to the nation; they remain as a reminder that these small, quotidian encounters add up to an issue larger than each of us. At the same time, it is an issue whose solution begins with each of us, with an act as simple as raising your hand or knowing when to put yours down.

CLIMATE CHANGE AND NEEDED TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

STEVEN CHU

Nobel Laureate and Former US Secretary of Energy will receive his 31st Honorary Degree

Wed., March 21, 7 p.m.

Cole Assembly Room Converse Hall Amherst College

Arts&Living

Amherst Symphony Orchestra and Choir Pay Tribute to Bernstein

Photo courtesy of Faith Wen ‘20

On March 3, Amherst’s choir and orchestra joined forces with guest soloist Wee Kiat Chia to perform the works of Leonard Bernstein in concert.

Annika Lunstad ’21 Staff Writer Classical music concerts often seem inaccessible to those who haven’t spent many evenings discussing Mozart, and wine-andcheese pairings are often considered boring.

However, the Centennial Tribute to Leonard Bernstein on Saturday, March 3, was utterly different. The Amherst College Choral Society and the Amherst College Symphony Orchestra joined forces, along with guest soloist Wee Kiat Chia, to perform some of Bernstein’s most famous pieces.

During the first half of the concert, the orchestra performed “Symphonic Dances” from “West Side Story,” one of Bernstein’s most fa-

mous musicals. “Symphonic Dances” features many of the well-known songs from the musical, which were then masterfully rearranged to become a new piece altogether.

This beautifully-performed piece was alternatively upbeat, happy, sweet, melancholy and triumphant. The original songs from the musical came together seamlessly, yet still retained many of their unique qualities. The music was simply enjoyable, and the fact that this piece was based on such a popular piece of art provided another level of accessibility to those who had not studied classical music, such as myself.

The house itself was packed for the performance, with some even spilling into a previously closed-off area. Sabrina Lin ’21, a vio-

linist in the orchestra, said, “It’s been one of my favorite concerts — preparing is always a little stressful… but seeing the full house that night was worth it.”

After intermission, the choral society joined in on the fun, with several of the musicians in the orchestra joining the choir in the balcony above. Choral director Dr. Gregory Brown then conducted a performance of the “Chichester Psalms,” a series of three pieces, each comprised of partial and whole psalms, sung in Hebrew and set to music by Bernstein.

It was exciting to hear the orchestra and choir work together, and Lin attested to the exciting nature of the collaboration. “I loved being able to work with the choir and soloist,

even as a performer, hearing our instrumental music meld with the vocal melodies gave me chills,” she said.

Chia, the guest soloist, is a countertenor who has performed and won awards worldwide. Currently, he is pursuing his doctoral degree at Boston University. His performance with the orchestra was beautiful and truly impressive, with his voice capturing lovely melodies and the audience cheering loudly for him as he bowed at the end.

Altogether, the evening featured a range of musical styles and performances. This variety is lovely to have, especially in a college performance, where students are exposed to several different kinds of music that all fall under the umbrella of “classical.”

“The Insult”: An Important Window into Other Cultural Conflicts Mohamed Ramy ’18 Contributing Writer I never thought I would hear Arabic in Amherst Cinema.

This past weekend, I went to a screening of “The Insult,” which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Directed by Ziad Doueiri, it depicts the complicated and rich history of Lebanon through a particularly sensitive court case between a Lebanese nationalist, Tony, and a Palestinian refugee, Yasser. Yasser is a foreman of a construction crew that was renovating part of Tony’s building when a bit of water splashes over him from Tony’s apartment terrace. Yasser asks for an apology without avail, and harsh words are exchanged. It becomes apparent to the viewer that both men are stubborn and value dignity more than common sense. Following this simple interaction, a larger conflict arises from the fact that Tony hates Yasser — only because he is Palestinian.

Palestinian refugees have been living in Lebanon for about 69 years, after losing their homes in turmoil. They now make up 10 percent of the population. Most are not able to own property, can rarely obtain citizenship and are restricted from working in most fields.

Yasser is no exception to this. He lives in St.

Eli refugee camp and is regularly treated as a second-class citizen. In the film, he cries out to his wife following the simple interaction, saying, “Palestinians are the n****** of the Arab world,” albeit in the incorrect translation.

Tony demands an apology after Yasser’s cuss.

As a result, Yasser’s boss brings him to Tony’s automobile garage, where Yasser hears one of Bachir Gemayel’s nationalist speeches on Tony’s TV. (This Christian militia leader demanded the expulsion of Palestinians from Lebanon, claiming they were robbing the country and making it destitute.) Suddenly, Tony becomes enraged. In his anger, he exclaims, “I wish Ariel Sharon had wiped you all out.” Yasser loses his cool and punches Tony, breaking two of his ribs. Thus, a silly incident turns into a politically-charged courtroom drama.

In the court, arguments about freedom of speech, premeditated assaults and national divisions arise. “The Insult” slowly transitions from scenes of the earlier incident to shots akin to what happened during the civil war. The case becomes larger than itself, pitting Lebanese against Palestinian. As an Egyptian, I did not know the extent of this divide, and it was revealing to me how little I knew about many other neighbouring countries. It prompted me to read more about this tragic

history, particularly about the old wounds from the civil war.

Lebanon’s civil war ended in 1990, but no one ever spoke about the atrocities that happened. It became “eib,” roughly translated as “shameful,” to bring up the past. For that reason, there are generations of people who continue to live with the trauma of seeing murder and much more. In fact, Tony’s lawyer, Wajdi Wehbe, argues that the civil war is what fostered his client’s hatred of Palestinians. In his opinion, international aid is poured into social programs for Palestinians, refugee camps are built to house them and psychosocial care is provided free of charge. Where were all these resources following the civil war? Were people expected to forgive and forget? The lawyer shows a clip of Tony’s childhood home in Lebanon, which was ravaged during the civil war and was where thousands of people were murdered in cold blood by a militia comprised of Lebanese and Palestinian individuals. The memory seems etched into Tony’s mind, who rises swiftly to stop the viewing. Healing from trauma is a nuanced process — and in the case of Tony, it never even began.

One interesting argument from the courtroom that I want to make prominent, in an attempt to understand its meaning and gravity, is that “no one has a monopoly on suffering.”

I asked a friend what she thought about the sentence, and she thought that it was just talk — that there was no truth in it. I thought to myself that everyone’s suffering is valid, but time is a component often forgotten. A single trauma can take hold of countless generations if unaddressed. Perhaps the more important questions are how can we exercise our limited empathy during moments of suffering, and how and when can we excuse and forgive someone?

“The Insult” tells a story that wrestles with itself. In the courtroom, an argument meets its counter, and the divide between Palestinians and Lebanese becomes a tool to highlight atrocities of the past. Repressed wounds are addressed, and the captivating banter invites one to research Lebanon’s history. Perhaps the lesson gleaned is that prejudiced behavior doesn’t ever come out of nowhere. Viewers will question where they align themselves and may feel themselves being educated throughout, and that’s a force for good. More importantly, they will certainly leave with unanswered questions about the state of the Middle East and the current tragic refugee crisis. If you want to know the ruling of the supreme court, I would highly recommend watching the film instead of using Google Search. I didn’t feel like I wasted a second of my time.

The Amherst Student • March 21, 2018

Arts & Living 7

Why the Grass is Truly Greener on Our Own Side at Amherst

Photo courtesy of Jingwen Zhang ’18

The rural town of Amherst boasts pristine natural scenery and a level of seclusion that are often underappreciated by members of the college student body.

Esther Song ’21 Contributing Writer Amherst is a great little town. Nice restaurants, friendly people, fresh air, squirrels, trees, rocks ... Really, when Amherst promised us the best of all seasons with plenty of snow, amazing fall colors and lush green spring leading to summers spent outdoors, it wasn’t joking around. Every day Amherst surprises us with its ever-changing wealth of nature; we can’t help but be grateful for the quiet lives we are able to lead on the college’s private grounds.

But then again, even the greatest of communities has its share of negatives. And for us, this consists of the few students who complain about the very things that make Amherst College the great place it is. “Amherst is so secluded. There’s literally nothing to do here.” We’ve all heard or seen these students at least once throughout our college careers.

They walk around campus with their perpetually-dissatisfied expressions, grumbling about anything and everything from sloshy snow to black ice. They’re too busy complaining about

what we don’t have — shopping malls, clubs, skyscrapers, fancy restaurants — to realize all we do have. This article is here to remind us of the bountiful benefits that come with being on a small, rural campus — a little nudge in the right direction to help these malcontents realize the true beauty of our tiny, secluded campus. “____ is so far. I can’t walk all the way over to _____ from here.” Fill in the blank with any location on campus, and we get one of our most popular grouch lines. Complaining about having to walk long distances is a classic, especially during the snowier winter season. But of course, the truth is that no place is really “far” for us — everything’s well within walking distance. Enjoying the ability to roll out of bed five minutes before class starts and power-walk across campus to class in time may be the first step in realizing how lucky we are.

With a small campus comes a small student population. We may all start off our first year on campus a little anxious that we won’t fit in or find our group of friends, but by the end of

one semester, there is hardly a face on campus that we don’t recognize. Every walk to Val or class means bumping into someone we know, and each time we exchange our awkwardlymumbled greetings, we can’t help but feel a huge surge of human warmth and connectedness. Just imagine being on a big city campus where people can actually walk around without having to make split-second decisions on whether or not to say “hello” to a semi-friendly acquaintance. How terribly lonely that must feel.

Amherst’s charms extend beyond our campus grounds. The quintessential New England town we are situated in comes with everything we might ever ask for — a bank, barbershops, a little indie cinema and, of course, plenty of restaurants close by, each with its individual appeal.

Not only does our town’s secluded location guarantee a noise-free, tourist-free and pretty much anything-new-or-distracting-free environment, it also means we have the pleasure of getting to know our town like the back of our own hands. Plus, the static nature of this col-

lege town means we save an enormous amount of time and effort that would otherwise have been spent trying to decide on the next exciting activity. In Amherst, we know exactly what our town has to offer.

Last but not least, our rural location ensures that we lead frugal lifestyles. As broke college students, it’s truly a blessing that Amherst is free of anything valuable enough to spend money on. Our only expenses comprise of getting things from the vending machines while doing our laundry, printing papers, occasionally going to CVS to treat ourselves or going to restaurants on those extremely rare days when Val happens to fail us. We don’t have any concerts, clubs or fancy Instagramworthy restaurants to spend crazy sums on or at, and so most of the times, our wallets and bank accounts are safely lying dormant.

We say the grass is always greener on the other side, but for us lucky Amherst students, that is simply not true. Not only is our grass greener, our autumn leaves crisper and our snow thicker — Amherst also comes with all the irresistible charms of a tiny rural campus.

Sidney Gish Brings Young and Unique Talent to the Music Scene

Photo courtesy of Seoyeon Kim ’21

In her latest album, “No Dogs Allowed,“ fellow college student Sidney Gish proved the level of maturity and professionalism a young person’s work can obtain.

Hugh Ford ’20 Staff Writer Although the album “No Dogs Allowed” by Sidney Gish debuted on the last day of 2017, it merits a review even months after its release.

Sidney Gish is a 20-year-old student at Northeastern University in Boston, and she has a penchant for songwriting well beyond her years. On “No Dogs Allowed,” she writes about what she knows best, inviting listeners to see the world through her eyes. She deftly immerses us in both everyday happenings and the larger quandaries of coming of age in the era of the internet. All the while, she pairs her wry humor with playful melodies to create a fun, albeit somewhat melancholy, album.

The opening tracks showcase Gish’s ability to consider complex situations in nuanced yet

amusing ways. On the introductory skit “Bird Lesson” and the immediately following “Sin Triangle,” Gish juxtaposes a 1950s-esque “scientific” voice with her own ambivalent lyrics to question the reliability of the authorities on topics such as education, automation and personality.

The rest of the album continues in a similar vein, contrasting societal expectations with feelings of uncertainty about the future. Gish is a master of ironic introspection. On “Mouth Log,” she reflects on her self-destructive habits, while including ridiculous references to both meme groups “where everyone fights and tries to make straight white boys cry” and Ina and Jeffrey from Barefoot Contessa. On “Persephone,” she comically confuses the Greek goddess for the more modern “purse-a-phone.”

Gish often displays a refined understanding of songwriting, surprising for someone of

her age. The best example of this is probably on “Imposter Syndrome,” which finds Gish wondering whether she has the competence to live as a human or if life might be easier as a dog.

The song calls back to the lyrics of “I Eat Salads Now” with the repetition of “these sweet instincts ruin my life.” That track similarly deals with the theme of acting grown-up, and the reference underscores Gish’s continual contemplation of her place in life.

Although songwriting and lyricism are at the forefront of this tape, Sidney Gish also demonstrates an ability to write compelling instrumentations on “No Dogs Allowed”. The compositions often reinforce or ironically contrast the tone set by the lyrics. “Not but for You, Bunny,” for instance, is a light and airy track about being absentminded around someone special, backed by a high-pitched guitar riff and laid-back

drumbeat. “I’m Filled with Steak, And Cannot Dance” builds from a whisper to a beautiful and captivating crescendo as Gish expresses her frustration. On the other hand, Gish uses a fun, upbeat arrangement on “Where the Sidewalk Ends” while showing apathy towards the topic of unrequited friendship.

When first listening to “No Dogs Allowed,” one is blown away by how professional it sounds, considering it is a self-published album by a college student. On further listens, the introspective lyricism and intricate wordplay proceed to blow you away. On “No Dogs Allowed,” Sidney Gish has established herself as a formidable songwriter, who has a firm grasp on how to create a thematic album. “No Dogs Allowed” is a charming and clever album encapsulating Gish’s experiences and insights as she enters the adult world.

The Amherst Student • March 21, 2018

Arts & Living 8

“A Wrinkle in Time” Embraces Weirdness and Defies the Norm

Photo courtesy of vanndigital.com

“A Wrinkle in Time,” featuring performances from big names like Reese Witherspoon and Oprah Winfrey, opened last weekend in theaters.

Whitney Bruno ’21 Staff Writer In recent years, campaigns for more diverse representation in the media have overtaken public discourse surrounding both the small and big screen. In the realm of Hollywood, a market for progressive, diverse films has slowly but surely developed as a result, and this year’s “A Wrinkle in Time,” directed by Ava DuVernay is just one of many said films.

I opened my review of this film with the subject of representation because as I left the theater, the extreme extent to which I could identify my past-tween self with the film’s main character Meg Murry (Storm Reid) stuck with me the most on the ride home. This connection ultimately positively impacted my experience of this film in a unique manner unmatched by other films. For the first time, I believe I was finally able to understand just how important representation is in the media overall.

In her break-out role, Storm Reid portrays the soft-spoken, reserved, thirteen-year old Meg Murry with incredible finesse. Still reeling from the four-year disappearance of her father (Chris Pine), Meg isolates herself from her peers and stops doing her schoolwork, despite the immense intelligence she possesses.

She lashes out at the mean girls who tease her one too many times on the school yard and is quiet, somewhat awkward, self-conscious and doesn’t know how to take a compliment.

At one point, Meg’s endearing friend, Calvin O’Keefe (Levi Miller), tells her, “I like your hair.” “What?” Meg responds, incredulously.

The main adventure of the story begins soon thereafter in Meg’s backyard, where three celestial beings — Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon), Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) and Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey) — suddenly appear and lead Meg, her genius little brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) and Calvin on a universe-spanning quest to find Meg and Charles’ missing father.

If this film competes for any major accolades, it will be for its stellar visual effects.

Plain and simple, this movie is gorgeous. Each planet and every universe the characters “tesser,” or travel, to is absolutely stunning: sweeping green fields replete with alien, colorful flowers cover the home planet of Mrs. Which and her companions. Another more sinister planet, upon which our three heroes spend the most time roaming, shifts from one visually intriguing and yet unquestionably eerie setting to the next: a dark forest ravaged by storms or a suburban neighborhood with identical, paleyellow homes lined neatly in rows.

And, on the topic of costumes, the three “Mrs.” characters are all worth marveling at in their own right. Their appearances change from scene to scene, switching between a variety of hairstyles that bend and curl in impossible ways, transforming from and into other outfits that drip with beautiful golds and silvers, sometimes covered in rhinestones.

The marvelous visuals of this film, however, aren’t entirely without their drawbacks.

The extent to which this film uses CGI ranges from jarring to almost hilarious when its use seems particularly out-of-place. In one of the more humorous scenes, Winfrey’s character, Mrs. Which, appears in the human world as the size of a giant, providing plenty of unintentional comedy. Another CGI-heavy scene (the details of which I will obscure for the sake of not spoiling the film) left the audience laughing uncomfortably, unsure if the bizarre effects were serious or were designed to act as comic relief.

This weird effect of not knowing what is what or what the tone of a specific environment, moment or effect is supposed to be, is what I love about the film — but it is also its downfall in the world of film criticism. This is a film that asks you not to question its details and logistics but to instead embrace its weirdness.

Embracing the weirdness of the film’s universe is a classic Disney tactic. It’s a message incorporated in the way the plot is executed — that is, oddly. There is no denying the fact that the pacing of this movie, especially that of the second act, is positively strange. The second act begins abruptly by plunging all three heroes into sudden action, and after that point, major plot point after major plot point bleed into one another in confusing ways. An eventual plot-twist about a character’s true nature comes completely out of left field. The count-

less oddities also raise a few overarching questions about the intentions of the film’s stylistic choices: are we, the audience, supposed to accept the weirdness with which the plot is executed as a side-effect of the fantastical nature of the story’s setting? Are the copious unexplained plot-holes in the film then intentional and in-line with the film’s quirks?

Many established, vocal critics of this film have expressed that they do not believe so, and maybe that is the truth — perhaps this movie is simply poorly paced and executed. And yet, the thought of this film utilizing unconventional storytelling methods intentionally is too charming of an idea that fits neatly with the oddness of the story’s setting to be completely implausible.

As Meg stops questioning the weirdness of the universes she traverses through, we see her learn to embrace the weird, internal quirks that make her unique and grow to love herself. As she slowly stops asking questions and doubles down on her quest to find her father, perhaps we too are supposed to stop asking too many questions.

“A Wrinkle in Time” feels like a love letter to all young, nerdy, soft-spoken girls of color more than anything else, which resonates with me deeply. It’s certainly not perfect, and it is weird, quirky and unconventional like its main character, but perhaps, as this film seems to suggest, this sort of weirdness and unconventionality is not so inherently terrible after all.

The Amherst Student • March 21, 2018

Sports 9

Women’s Tennis Returns from Annual Softball Dominates Competition on California Trip with Surprise Upset Spring Break Trip, Moves to 9-1 Arnav Parhik ’21 Staff Writer Away from the blizzards and sub-freezing temperatures that have tormented the northeast for the past few weeks, the Amherst women’s tennis team kicked off its spring campaign in the California sunshine over spring break.

However, the Mammoths faced an uphill battle in their tour opener against No. 9 Pomona College on Monday, March 12.

The tandem of Avery Wagman ’18 and Anya Ivenitsky ’20 won 8-3 on the first doubles court, while sophomores Maddie Dewire and Camille Smukler won 8-5 at the third spot.

This allowed the Mammoths to head into the singles matches with a 2-1 advantage. Smukler, last year’s northeastern region rookie of year, started the spring campaign where she had left off last year as she edged past Pomona’s Caroline Casper 6-4, 7-6(7-2) on the top court.

Meanwhile, playing on court six, Wagman came back from a first set loss to grab the second set 6-3 and pull through to win a hard fought tie break, 10-8.

However, Amherst couldn’t find a win on any of the four remaining singles courts, allowing Pomona to escape with a 5-4 win.

The experienced Mammoths, however, with no first-years on the trip, quickly brushed off the disappointment of their loss to Pomona and breezed past Trinity Univerity (Texas) 6-1 the following day.

A clinical performance on the doubles courts meant that the Amherst entered the singles matches with a 3-0 lead against the Tigers.

Smukler, Vickie Ip ’18 and Wagman all picked up comfortable straight-set wins on the first, second and fourth courts, respectively, to help Amherst take an unassailable 6-1 lead.

Carrying over momentum from the victory against Trinity, the Mammoths secured their first upset of the season the following day against No. 9 Carnegie Mellon University.

The duo of Wagman and Ivenistsky made light work of Cori Sidell and Courtney Ollis (8-1) while Vickie Ip and junior Kelsey Chen battled to a 9-8 tie-break victory.

Even though the pair of Smukler and Dewire lost on court three, Amherst again entered singles action with a 2-1 edge.

In singles, the Amherst women notched victories on every single court except the fourth, leading to a comprehensive 7-2 rout of the higherranked Carnegie Mellon.

After defeating Carnegie Mellon and bringing their record to 2-1 on the year, the Mammoths faced their stiffest test of the trip against No. 3 Claremont Mudd-Scripps.

The sophomores combined to put up a praiseworthy challenge in Amherst’s 6-3 defeat, as Dewire won both of her matches on the third doubles and fourth singles court and Ivenitsky showed tenacity to come out on top against Caroline Cox in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4 on court five.

However the spirited show by the sophomores wasn’t enough to pull off a second upset, and the Mammoths fell to 2-2 on the tour.

On Friday, the Mammoths bounced back from the defeat to end the trip on a high note with a victory over Sewanee: The University of the South.

Continuing the week-long dominance in doubles play, Amherst notched two victories thanks to the duos of Wagman/Ivenitsky and Dewire/ Smukler, the latter of which managed an 8-0 sweep.

With the 2-1 lead, the Mammoths were able to withstand agonizingly close matches on courts one and two in singles play, where both Smukler and Ip lost in tie-breaks.

Showing the depth and strength of the roster, the four remaining players at the bottom of the ladder were all able to pick up comfortable wins to guide Amherst to the 6-3 win.

The Mammoths return to action Saturday March 31 against Case Western Reserve University, a match that will be hosted by Swarthmore College at 2 p.m.

Women’s Lacrosse Moves to 6-0 with Four Wins Over Past Two Weeks Connor Haugh ’21 Managing Sports Editor The Mammoths began their spring break campaign in a NESCAC matchup with Bowdoin. The Mammoths were ranked just ahead of the Polar Bears, who sat at No. 21 in national polls.

Just three minutes into the start of the game, star attacker Julia Crerend ’18 handled a pass from linemate Claire Dunbar ’21, ducked her shoulder past a charging defender and buried a shot past the Bowdoin netminder. The Polar Bears responded quickly, winning and converting a free position shot to tie the score just moments later.

The Mammoths then proceeded to go on an offensive rampage, scoring eight unanswered goals.

Dunbar was a creative force for Amherst’s offense, providing the final pass on three Amherst goals.

The Mammoths continued to hinder Bowdoin’s offense throughout the half, as Bowdoin took lowpercentage shots, committed offensive fouls and was stymied by the prowess of goalie Talia Land ’20, who recorded six saves.

As the dust settled on the first half, Amherst was ahead by ten goals, 12-2.

In the second half, however, the Mammoths offensive machine sputtered, putting only four more goals past the Bowdoin keeper.

Meanwhile, the Polar Bears edged closer and closer, narrowing the gap to just six goals by the end. With a final score of 16-10, though, Amherst emerged victorious and with a better understanding of the team’s remarkable depth. Along with Dunbar’s five assists and Crerend’s five goals, midfielder Rebecca Wistreich ’21 recorded a goal and an assist in her first game action for the Mammoths.

To escape the winter weather, Amherst proceeded to migrate south to Discover Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex to face

Farleigh Dickinson University Florham Campus.

The Devils did not provide strong competition, as the Mammoths dominated the matchup. Amherst cleared the ball with a 70 percent success rate, quite impressive for the beginning of the season, controlled two-thirds of the draws, reduced their turnovers from the previous game by eight and dominated the Devils in the ground ball matchup, winning 21 to FDU-Florham’s 16. The statistics reflected in the final score, as Amherst won handily, 16-5.

The Mammoths’ next matchup, against Stevens Institute of Technology, proved to be a more difficult contest. Although the scoring began, as usual, with goals from Crerend, Dunbar and midfielder Isabelle Sennett ’21, the Ducks struck back, evening the score with six minutes to go in the first half.

As the final seconds ticked away, Cami Santor buried a shot past Land, pulling Stevens ahead going into the break.

The Ducks proceeded to pepper the Mammoths’ net in the opening moments of the second stanza. Finding themselves three goals behind, an unassisted Dunbar tally began another seven goal run for the Mammoths. Having turned the the tide against Stevens, which could only get another goal in edgewise, the Mammoths continued their unbeaten streak with a 13-9 win.

Returning to the Pioneer Valley, Amherst squared off against Springfield College in a chilly Tuesday evening away matchup.

In a dominant preformance, the Mammoths triumphed 14-2.

Dunbar, Crerend and Kathrine Malone ’20 each earned hat tricks, while Maia Noyes ’21 contibuted two goals and two assists.

The Mammoths return to action at noon on Saturday March 25, traveling to Clinton, New York to face Hamilton.

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Andrea Sanders ’20 is currently batting .500 and has played in all 10 games.

Michael Stone ’21 Staff Writer Over spring break, the Amherst softball team travelled to Clermont, Florida to compete in The Spring Games, the country’s largest college softball event.

The Mammoths got off to a quick start in the first day of action, topping Millikin University 6-3. Amherst relied on a big pitching performance from senior Gina Pagan, who threw seven innings and struck out five batters, allowing only four hits and three earned runs. Sophomore outfielder Andrea Sanders collected two hits and scored two runs, while first baseman Alyson Plaman ’21 also collected two hits, including an RBI double that scored Sanders in the fifth.

Amherst carried this momentum into the second game of the day, beating Suffolk University 5-3. Junior pitcher Lorena Ukanwa allowed five hits and three earned runs in six innings of work, while Pagan earned her first save of the year after holding Suffolk scoreless in the seventh. Kyra Naftel ’19 tied the game with a bunt-single in the fifth, and Amherst took the lead when Sanders had a two-RBI double in the bottom of the sixth.

The double was one of two on the day for Sanders and was part of a three-hit, three-RBI game for her.

In the next day of action, Amherst beat both Westfield State University and the State University of New York (SUNY) Geneseo by matching scores of 9-1. In the morning game against Westfield State, Sanders and Annie McCluskey ’20 each totaled three hits, while first-years Nicole Trezza, Ronnie Falasco and Plaman each racked up hits of their own, bringing the Mammoths’ overall total to 10.

In the afternoon game against SUNY Geneseo, catcher Kate Kopatic ’20 went 4-4 at the plate, driving in two runs and scoring two of her own. Additionally, senior Ally Kido and firstyear Audrey Hansen each hit home runs to provide a big boost for the Amherst offense.

On day three of action, Amherst took on Pomona-Pitzer College and Roger Williams University. Against Pomona-Pitzer, Amherst jumped out to an early lead, as Naftel hit an RBI single and was later brought around to score on Kopatic’s two-run home run. Pagan was again dominant on the mound, throwing a complete game and allowing one run on nine hits while striking out eight in the 4-1 victory.

The game against Roger Williams was not as close, as Amherst needed only five innings to win the game 10-0. The Mammoths’ offense racked up 15 hits, with Sanders, who went 3-4 with

three runs scored, and McCluskey, who finished 2-2 with four RBIs and two runs scored, leading the way. Ukanwa was masterful on the mound, throwing a complete-game one-hitter with nine strikeouts.

On day four of action, Amherst took on the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth and Farleigh-Dickinson University (FDU). The Mammoths suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of UMass Dartmouth, as though Pagan pitched well, allowing just one run, the Amherst offense couldn’t put up any runs on the board and lost 1-0. However, the Mammoths bounced back in the afternoon game, beating FDU 7-2.

On the fifth and final day of competition, Amherst beat Lake Forest College 7-2 and Plymouth State University 2-0. In the game against Lake Forest, the Amherst offense was locked in at the plate, racking up 16 hits, and Pagan pitched a complete game.

Amherst concluded its Florida trip with the game against Plymouth State, in which Sanders and Sammy Salustri ’19 each collected two hits, while Naftel added one. Ukanwa improved her record to 5-0 by punching out seven batters in route to a complete-game, one-hit shutout.

Amherst next plays in a double-header homeopener on Friday, March 23 against Springfield College at 4 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Annie McCluskey ’20 leads the team with three doubles.

10

Sports

The Amherst Student • March 21, 2018

High-Powered Men’s Lacrosse Starts Year with Four-Game Win Streak Kelly Karczwesci ’18 Staff Writer The Amherst men’s lacrosse team went 2-1 over spring break, taking down Bowdoin and No. 2 Denison University before falling short to Rochester Institute of Technology, the top-ranked team in the nation and beating Endicott Colllege 13-4 Sophomore Colin Minicus continued his early season dominance on the first Saturday of break in the blustery away contest against the Polar Bears. He netted six goals against Bowdoin goalie John Young, leading all scorers and helping the Mammoths maintain consistent scoring in an incredibly back-andforth game. Jon Coffey ’20 also tallied three goals for Amherst and dished an assist to Wolf in the first quarter.

After three relatively evenly matched quarters, Jordan Sanford ’18, Minicus and Jimmy McAfee ’20 all found the back of the net in response to Bowdoin scores to tie up the contest at 15-15 with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation.

Sophomore Matt Solberg then found the net two minutes later, a tally that proved to be the game-winner, as the Mammoths were able to hold the 16-15 edge until the clock ran out. With the win, Amherst moved to a record of 2-0 in conference play.

Amherst spent the back half of spring break in Owing Mills, Maryland with the top two teams in the nation, Denison and RIT, on

the schedule.

Holding the Big Red to just 13 goals onFriday evening at Mustang Stadium, the Mammoths never trailed in the contest and exploded for six markers in the fourth period as then-No. 10 Amherst upset, 19-13.

The next day, though, the Tigers had a 10-2 lead after the first quarter, a lead from which the Mammoths were unable to come back from despite a tremendous effort over the next three quarters. Junior Jackson Herrick led Mammoth scoring with four markers, and sophomore Dylan Finazzo scooped up 12 ground balls to give Amherst an advantage over RIT in 50-50 hustle plays. However, a 6-3 fourth quarter in favor of RIT allowed the favorites to leave the field with a 21-16 win.

With the loss, Amherst moved to 4-1 overall on the season, while RIT improved to 6-0.

However, the win over Denison and tight loss to the Tigers bode well for the Mammoths’ hopes for the season, as Amherst currently sits at No. 6 in the nation.

Building on this momentum, the Mammoths then faced Endicott College on Tuesday. The Mammoths jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, with Coffey tallying a first quarter hat trick. After this, the Mammoths settled into a groove, controlling the pace of play, eventually winning 13-4.

The Mammoths will next face off against Hamilton College at home on Saturday, March 24, at 1:00 p.m.

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Andrea Sanders ’20

Colin Minicus ’20

Favorite Team Memory: Our trip to OKC for the DIII Softball World Series Favorite Pro Athlete: Serena Williams Dream Job: Ballerina Pet Peeve: Chewing loudly Favorite Vacation Spot: Maui, Hawaii Something on Your Bucket List: Climbing Mount Everest Guilty Pleasure: Dark chocolate Favorite Food: Mac and cheese Favorite Thing About Amherst: Memorial Hill How She Earned It: Sanders led the Amherst offense during the team’s preseason schedule in Florida, helping the Mammoths to a 9-1 finish. The sophomore right-fielder currently holds a .500 batting average through 36 plate appearances, and leads the team in nearly every statistical category, including runs scored, hits and slugging percentage. Sanders has racked up two doubles and three triples thus far, and has struck out only four times in 36 at bats. The right fielder is one of just four Mammoths in a deep Amherst lineup who have started every game so far this season.

Favorite Team Memory: Last year’s double overtime victory over Conn. College Favorite Pro Athlete: Derek Jeter Dream Job: Actor Pet Peeve: When people don’t hold doors open Favorite Vacation Spot: Biddeford, Maine Something on Your Bucket List: Skydiving Guilty Pleasure: Watching Texas hold’em Favorite Food: Cheeseburgers Favorite Thing About Amherst: The scenery and Memorial Hill How He Earned It: Minicus has led the dominant Mammoth offense to their 4-1 record with 30 total points in five games.

The sophomore has racked up 17 goals and 13 assists so far this season for a teamhigh 30 points, registering 14 scores in the last two weeks against NESCAC foe Bowdoin as well as top-ranked opponents Denison and RIT. Minicus’ performance against the Polar Bears, as well as a dominant, eight-point performance over Western New England, earned the attacker his second straight NESCAC player of the week accolades for the week of March 5-12.

Sixth-Ranked Men’s Tennis Goes 4-1 Against Western Competition Matthew Sparrow ’21 Staff Writer

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Jack Norton ’19 scored eight points, registering seven goals and one assist over four games played, with two goals coming against second-ranked Denison College.

Women’s Track Sets Program Record at DIII Indoor National Championships Zoe Atoko ’21 Staff Writer Over spring break, women’s track and field concluded its indoor season in Birmingham, Alabama, competing at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships.

The meet was hosted by Birmingham Southern College and took place March 9 and 10.

Seniors Danielle Griffin and Leonie Rauls, who qualified for the 800-meter run, represented the Mammoths at the championships.

At the Maine State Open hosted by Southern Maine University on Feb. 24, the pair swept the top two spots of the 800 meters, with Griffin logging a time of 2:15.40 to hit the finish line first and Rauls coming in just behind her to clinch second with a 2:15.91 mark.

With their victorious bids in Maine, Griffin headed into the championships as the No. 11 seed with a seed time of 2:13.46, while Rauls arrived in Alabama as No. 16 with a seed mark of 2:14.36.

The action began at the Birmingham on Friday with the preliminaries at 4 p.m. Both harriers excelled, with each woman outperforming her seed time in the run.

Rauls had an excellent race, once again

posting a personal best time with a 2:15.56 mark that saw her finish 11th overall in the event.

Meanwhile, Griffin beat her seed mark by just over two seconds, finishing in 2:11.82 to lead the pack and finish first in the qualifying round, earning herself one of eight spots in the finals.

The next day, at 3:50 p.m., Griffin took to the track to represent Amherst in the finals of the 800-meters run.

Griffin ended up posting a time of 2:12.84, slightly slower than the previous day, but still fast enought to break records and make Amherst history.

The time was good enough for sixth place overall in the event, and as a result of finishing in the top eight of the event, Griffin garnered All-American honors.

Additionally, with her mark, Griffin eclipsed the school record time of 2:13.81 set

by Shauneen Garrahan ’07 in 2005. Griffin is also the first Amherst women’s harrier in program history to garner All-American honors in this specific event.

The track and field team will rest for the next week to prepare for the start of outdoor season, which will commence at Tufts in the Outdoor Snowflake Classic on Saturday, March 31.

Avoiding the cold and snow on campus, the Amherst men’s tennis team made its annual trip to California to kick off the spring season. In the span of a week, the Mammoths matched up against some of the best schools that Division III has to offer, with all five opponents ranked in the top 30 and three in the top 10. Overall, it was an incredibly successful week for the No. 6 team in the nation, as Amherst emerged ahead in four of their five matches.

The weeklong event commenced on Sunday against the No. 27 Skidmore Thoroughbreds. Although Skidmore arrived in California undefeated, the Mammoths blitzed the Thoroughbreds, winning five of the six singles matches and two of the three doubles matches for a 7-2 overall victory.

In doubles play, Sean Wei ’21 and Nathan Kaplan ’20 teamed up to defeat Steven Koulouris and JT Wynne by a score of 8-6 on the first court. Jayson Fung ’20 and Ethan Hillis ’21 continued the success with an 8-3 win over Travis Leaf and Lucas Pickering before Kevin Ma ’21 and Zach Bessette ’19 fell to Jason Keye and Jack McClaren, 8-5, leaving Amherst with a 2-1 edge heading into singles action.

Wei dominated the first singles spot, cruising past Koulouris, 6-3, 6-0. While Bessette suffered a tight 6-4, 1-6, 11-9 loss at the hands of Wynne, Hillis got the Mammoths back on track with an easy 6-3, 6-2 win over Leaf. Kaplan, Ma and Fung all added singles victories to clinch the Amherst 7-2 win.

Next up for the Mammoths was a trip to Claremont, where they faced off against the No. 12 Carnegie Mellon Tartans. Amherst got off to a fast start by sweeping all three doubles matches, including the Wei/Kaplan partnership knocking off one of the top players in the nation, Daniel Levine, and his teammate Chaz Downing, 8-5. While Amherst started slowly on the singles side with Wei dropping the opening match to Levine and Downing defeating Bessette, the Mammoths’ depth proved crucial as Hillis, Kaplan, Ma and Fung all recorded straight

set victories with no opponent recording more than four games in a set. Winning these last four matches allowed Amherst to clinch a second consecutive 7-2 win.

No. 11 Whitman College was the next opponent for the Mammoths, but despite the lofty ranking, did not prove to be a problem for Amherst.

After Wei and Kaplan dropped the first doubles court by a score of 5-8, the Mammoths rattled off eight straight wins to take the match, 8-1. Amherst proved especially dominant on the singles side, where they swept all six matches in straight sets except for Hillis, who toughed out a 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Ben Kirsh. Jesse Levitin ’19 made his season debut in style with a 6-4, 6-1 win against Chase Friedman in the sixth and final singles spot as to Amherst’s next competitor, the No. 9 Washington University in St. Louis Bears, was its toughest to date. Wei and Kaplan opened up with a solid 8-3 win over Konrad Kozlowski and Daniel Li, and though Hillis and Fung dropped the second doubles match, Bessette and Ma recovered with an 8-3 victory to put the Mammoths up 2-1. The match came down to the singles portion, where Wei powered through a nail-biter to claim a 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 win over Johnny Wu. Amherst was faced with some adversity after Hillis lost two tiebreakers in a three-set loss and Bessette was defeated in straight sets. However, the Mammoths managed to turn it around as Kaplan won in straight-sets, Ma came back from a set down to win and Fung closed out the 6-3 Amherst win with a 6-3, 6-3 victory of his own.

In their final match of the break, the Mammoths were pitted against the Claremont-MuddScripps Stags, who entered the match ranked third in the nation. Amherst proved no match for the Stags, with the Mammoths winning only one set the entire event as they were swept in a disappointing 9-0 loss.

Amherst will be off next weekend before traveling to Swarthmore the following weekend to play Case Western Reserve University on Saturday, March 31 and Kenyon College on Sunday, April 1.

The Amherst Student • March 21, 2018

Sports

11

Baseball Sweeps Wisconsin Lutheran, But Finishes 3-5 Over Spring Break

Photo courtesy of Amherst Athletics

Senior captain Max Steinhorn laced two doubles in three at bats against Otterbein in the Mammoths’ first game of the year in Florida.

Katie Bergamesca ’18 Staff Writer The Amherst baseball team opened its season this past week far away from the frozen dirt of Memorial Field. Escaping the frigid temperatures of western Massachusetts, the Mammoths traveled to the southwestern coast of Florida where they played a series of eight games in just seven days.

Action began on Sunday, March 11 in Port Charlotte, where the Mammoths took on the Cardinals of Otterbein College. Otterbein secured an early 6-0 lead in the bottom of the second. Before the end of the game the Cardinals managed to tack on an additional 10 runs. The Mammoths spent the entirety of the game chasing their opponents but ultimately came up short, scoring just five runs to Otterbein’s 16. Joseph Palmo ’21, Topher Brown ’20, Zack Horwitz ’20 and Sam Ellinwood ’18 had one RBI each, while Brown led all Amherst batters, going 3-4 with a run scored.

Seniors Max Steinhorn and Ariel Kenney also had multiple hits, going 2-3 and 2-4 respec-

tively, and Steinhorn was the sole player for the Mammoths credited with a stolen base.

Following the disappointing season opener, Amherst sought redemption and its first win of the season in a doubleheader against Wisconsin Lutheran on Monday, March 12.

While Wisconsin Lutheran was first to get on the board in game one, scoring a run in the top of the first, Amherst did not wait long to respond. In the bottom of the second, the Mammoths had four players cross the plate, before securing the victory in the fifth inning with an additional two runs. At the end of the seven-inning game, the scoreboard read 6-2 in favor of the Mammoths. Third-baseman Nick Nardone ’19 had a big game for Amherst, going 3-3 with a run scored and an RBI, while Brown had another solid offensive performance going 1-3 with three RBIs and a run scored. Starting pitcher Davis Brown ’19 had a solid outing on the mound, throwing five and two-thirds innings with five strike outs and just one earned run.

The second game of the day was much of the same with, the Mammoths holding the

lead for the majority of the game. Zack Horwitz ’20 came in to relieve Ryan Sholtis ’21 after two innings and pitched a solid four innings to anchor Amherst’s 5-1 win. Horwitz allowed only one hit and no runs in four innings for the Mammoths.

After one day of rest, the Mammoths were back on the field to take on Nichols College.

In the tightly contested match-up, Nichols ultimately came out on top winning 2-1. Nardone had the sole run for the Mammoths off a sac fly from Ellinwood in the top of the second. Despite the loss, starting pitcher Andrew Ferrero ’19 performed well for Amherst, giving up just two earned runs on seven hits with no walks over six and a third.

In a 10-3 loss to Haverford College on Thursday, the Mammoths were unable to find their offensive groove, not scoring until the bottom of the sixth. Hardin went 1-1 with an RBI and a run scored, while Simeone and Stephen Burke ’21 scored Amherst’s additional two runs.

The Mammoths were granted another one-day break after the Haverford game, returning to the diamond on Saturday, March 17 to face Marietta College and Susquehanna University. Marrietta was up first for Amherst, and after enduring a similar scoring rut as against Haverford, the Mammoths fell by the exact same score to the Pioneers, 10-3.

Kenney went 3-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Roberson tallied the other run.

Amherst quickly turned it around for its second game of the day against Susquehanna.

The Mammoths were first to get on the board with three runs in the first three innings. Although the River Hawks added two runs of their own, Amherst managed to hold off its opponents to prevail 5-2, in a game in which Roberson, Nardone, Palmo and Simeone had an RBI each.

In addition to his RBI, Palmo went 3-5 with a run scored to pace the Amherst offense. On the mound, Michael Cortelli ’20 pitched five and two-thirds innings, in which he allowed just two hits while facing 23 batters.

This win also marked head coach Brian

Hamm’s 200th career win, a milestone he reached earlier in his career than any NESCAC baseball coach in history.

The Mammoths finished out their week in Florida with a game against Denison University. Amherst was unable to find much offensive momentum against the Big Red, ultimately finishing the game scoreless at the end of nine innings. Denison tallied three runs in the bottom of the second and added an insurance run in the seventh. Simeone and Kai Terada-Herzer ’21 were the two Mammoths with multiple hit games, going 2-4 and 2-2 respectively, but Denison ultimately defeated Amherst 4-0.

After a busy spring break, Amherst sits at 3-5 overall, but has yet to play a conference game. Upon returning to campus, the Mammoths will be back in action quickly. Starting on Wednesday, March 21, Amherst will play six games over four days, the first of which will see the Mammoths host Westfield State at 3:30 p.m on March 21.

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Davis Brown ’19 recorded a win against Wisconsin Lutheran College.

Men’s Track and Field Competes at DIII Indoor National Championships Veronica Rocco ’19 Staff Writer A large squad of Mammoths travelled to the Division III Indoor Track & Field National Championships, which were held at the Birmingham Metro CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama. The trip south was highlighted by the seventh-place finish of Kristian Sogaard ’19 in the 800 meter, an achievement that garnered him his second All-American honor.

The Mammoths were both one of five men’s teams to qualify both the 4x400 and medley relays for the meet and the only NESCAC team in the 4x400 meter relay, let alone both events.

The weekend action started for the Mammoths in the preliminaries of the 800-meter run, where Sogaard ran a well-executed race, crossing the finish line in second place with a time of 1:52.4. The junior sat in second for the majority of the race and responded to late-race surges by other competitors with a sprint to the finish line that earned him a spot in Saturday’s final.

Sogaard returned to the track for the preliminaries of the 4x400-meter relay, in which the Mammoths matched their 10th seed entering the tournament to place 10th in the preliminary round with a fourth-place finish in their heat.

David Ingraham ’18 once again led off for the Mammoths, matching his split from the Tufts Last Chance meet with a time of 50.8 and passing off to Ryan Prenosil ’21 in fourth.

The first-year standout split 49.7 and handed the baton off to Vernon Espinoza ’19, who also matched his split from Tufts Last Chance with a 49.0 leg.

Espinoza handed off to Sogaard, who anchored in 49.3 seconds to bring the team across

the line in fourth with a time of 3:18.97, narrowly faster than their time of 3:19.25 at the Tufts Last Chance meet.

“We had a bad day and didn’t race to our potential, but overall we had a good time,” Espinoza said.

Though the Mammoths did not qualify for the event’s finals, the relay has great potential for this outdoor season and seasons to come, as Ingraham is the only member of the relay who will be graduating this year.

The last event on Friday for the Mammoths was the distance medley relay, in which the Mammoths placed ninth, just outside of AllAmerican honors which are awarded to the topeight finishers in each event.

The relay kept the same order as Tufts Last Chance, with Spencer Ferguson-Dryden ’20 leading off in the 1,200-meter leg and handing off to Ralph Skinner ’20 for the 400-meter leg in 11th place.

Skinner ran a solid 400 leg, moving up one position to hand off to Jacob Silverman ’19 in 10th place and in contact with the main pack.

Silverman held the team’s position during his 800-meter leg and handed off to Cosmo Brossy ’19 in 10th, a few meters behind the main pack.

Brossy quickly caught up to the main pack and held the team’s position in ninth across the line, less than one second out of All-American honors and just behind NESCAC rival Tufts.

The future for the distance medley relay is also bright, as the Mammoths were one of three teams in the field that did not have a senior on the relay.

Sogaard started the second day of action for the Mammoths with his seventh-place AllAmerican finish in the 800. The junior was in seventh with a lap to go but was unable to pass

competitors, ultimately finishing with a time of 1:55. This is Sogaard’s second career All-American honor, as he placed sixth at last year’s outdoor nationals in the same event.

Brossy wrapped up the action for the Mammoths with a 10th-place finish in the 3,000 meters, improving upon his 15th seeding. The junior returned to the track after anchoring the distance medley relay and set a new personal best with a time of 8:24.10. Impressively, Brossy

had also qualified in the 5,000-meter run but chose to run the medley relay with teammates instead, as both events were contested on Friday night.

The Mammoths now look to the outdoor track season, which will begin on Saturday, March 31 at the Tufts Snowflake Classic. The team made huge improvements this indoor season and looks to contend at the NESCAC championship meet on April 27.

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Cosmo Brossy ’19 competed in the distance medley relay and the 3,000-meter race at indoor nationals, finishing in ninth and 10th place, respectively.

Sports

Photos courtesy of Clarus Studios

Junior forward Emma McCarthy was named Final Four MVP for her career-high scoring performances in the semifinals, with 19, and the finals, with 25.

Women’s Basketball Routs Bowdoin To Secure National Championship Dan Papa ’20 Staff Writer The Amherst women’s basketball team captured their second consecutive Division III National Championship this past weekend after knocking off Thomas More in Friday night’s semifinal and NESCAC foe Bowdoin on Saturday in the championship game. For the second straight year, the Mammoths finished with a perfect 33-0 record, extending the team’s winning streak to 66 games.

During its historic season, Amherst broke several records including the program record for consecutive victories (previously 51), the NCAA record for consecutive road victories (previously 36), and the Division III record for scoring defense at 38.8 opponent points per game.

After squeaking by Montclair State college in the Sweet Sixteen 51-40 and blowing the University of Rochester Yellow Jackets out of the water 62-38, the Mammoths advanced to their third straight Final Four in as many years.

In the semifinal matchup in Rochester, Minnesota, Amherst had the tough task of stopping Thomas More College. The Saints, entering the contest on a 29-game win streak, were the last team to beat

Amherst, doing so in the 2015 Final Four.

In the first quarter, Amherst quickly fell behind 5-0. However, after a defensive stop, sophomore Madeline Eck made a layup to put the Mammoths on the scoreboard and Emma McCarthy ’19E made a few key shots to lead the Mammoths on a 19-6 run to end the quarter.

Both offenses struggled to find the basket in the second quarter, but a ferocious defensive approach kept the Mammoths ahead at the half 29-20.

However, the Saints would not surrender as star guard Madison Temple made a three-point shot late in third quarter to trim the Amherst lead to one. In the final seconds of the third, though, Hannah Fox ’20 found fellow sophomore Cam Hendricks, who knocked down a clutch three-pointer at the buzzer to make the score 43-39.

The Mammoths never looked back, routing the Saints 23-9 in the final quarter to make the score 6648 and secure their spot in the championship game.

Overall, Amherst held the Saints to 32.7 percent shooting from the field while forcing 14 turnovers.

McCarthy had a game high 19 points and nine rebounds, while Eck and senior Hannah Hackley also finished with double digit point totals.

In the championship, the Mammoths faced

THU

GAME SCHE DULE

Men’s Swim & Dive @ NCAA Championships, Indiananapolis IN, noon Women’s Swim & Dive @ NCAA Championships, Indiananapolis IN, noon

FRI

Men’s Swim & Dive @ NCAA Championships, Indiananapolis IN, noon Women’s Swim & Dive @ NCAA Championships, Indiananapolis IN, noon

Bowdoin for the second time this year after besting their Maine rivals by just four points in conference play. The Polar Bears came into the game with the fifth highest scoring offense in the country and boasted an impressive 46 percent shooting percentage.

Amherst started the game slow and fell behind early, but McCarthy continued her dominant weekend, first finding the range midway through the first quarter. She scored all eight points for the Mammoths in the first quarter and was responsible for the 8-8 score at the end of the first frame.

In the second quarter, both teams traded baskets including two three-pointers from Hendricks and one from Fox. A pair of key blocks from Jackie Nagle ’18 limited Bowdoin guard and NESCAC Player of the Year Kate Kerrigan to four points at the half, giving the Mammoths a slight 26-23 lead at halftime.

The Polar Bears came out of the half firing, going on a 9-4 run and taking the lead from the Mammoths. However, Amherst’s dynamic duo of McCarthy and Hackley battled to regain the lead. A pair of McCarthy free throws with three minutes remaining in the third quarter put Amherst ahead, and the Mammoths never again relinquished control of the contest.

Softball vs. Springfield College, 3 p.m.

SAT

Leading 42-36 going into the fourth, Amherst’s kept Bowdoin from scoring until the final three minutes of the game. For the second consecutive contest, the Mammoths outscored their opponent 23-9 in the final quarter, making the final score 6545.

Emma McCarthy was named the NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four Most Valuable Player for her 19 point, nine rebound and 25 point, 12 rebound performances in the semifinal and championship games, respectively. With the win, McCarthy also finished her career at Amherst boating a remarkable 66-0 record, having never lost in Division III basketball. Alongside McCarthy, point guard Hannah Fox was named to the All-Tournament team for her performances including a 12 point, seven rebound, three assist and two steal season finale.

Amherst will return the majority of its squad next season, although it will surely miss its senior core of Hackley, Nagle, and Jenna Schumacher.

The 2018 National Championship is the third for head coach G.P. Gromacki and the Amherst women’s basketball program, with the previous two titles coming in 2011 and 2017. Gromacki was awarded the honorific of “Coach of the Year” by D3Hoops. com for his excellent management.

Men’s Swim & Dive Softball @ NCAA Championships, vs. Trinity, noon Indiananapolis IN, noon Women’s Lacrosse Baseball Women’s Swim & vs. Hamilton, noon vs. Westfield St. University, Dive 3:30 p.m. @ NCAA Championships, Men’s Lacrosse Indiananapolis IN, noon vs. Hamilton, 1 p.m.

Softball vs. Springfield College, Baseball Softball 5 p.m. vs. Fitchburg St. University, vs. Trinity, 2 p.m. noon

Baseball vs. Fitchburg St. University, 2:30 p.m.