THE AMHERST
THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER OF AMHERST COLLEGE SINCE 1868
STUDENT VOLUME CXLVII, ISSUE 2 l WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2017
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College Reaffirms Protections for DACA Students Shawna Chen ’20 Managing News Editor President Biddy Martin sent a communitywide email on Sept. 5 condemning President Donald Trump’s decision to rescind Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). In her email, she emphasized the college’s commitment to recruiting and protecting students with DACA status. DACA, an executive action signed into law under the Obama administration, provided temporary status to undocumented immigrants with a spotless criminal record who arrived in the United States before 15 years of age and were working toward a high school diploma or GED. Temporary status included work permits, driver’s licenses and the possibility of status renewal every two years. DACA recipients are often referred to as Dreamers. Photo courtesy of Matthew Chow ’18 On Sept. 5, Trump ended DACA and called on Students gathered on Valentine Quad wearing all black on Tuesday to demonstrate opposition to racialized violence Congress to pass legislation that would “advance after the college police found a rope tied as a noose on Pratt Football Field. Police later found two juveniles responsible. responsible immigration reform,” citing the need for “reliable enforcement” of immigration law, according to a statement on the White House website. DACA will wind down in six months, and nearly 800,000 in the program will be impacted. Jingwen Zhang ’18 geting and killing non-white people, particularly conversation regarding racialized violence would Martin called the decision “reprehensible” and Editor-in Chief black Americans, used from the 19th century un- continue in a meeting next Wednesday in the Oc- called on members of the college community to til as late as 1981. The New York Times reported tagon at 9:30 p.m. Garcia condemned racialized contact elected representatives and appeal for legThe Amherst College Police Department an- that recently, nooses have been appearing more violence, then called for a moment of silence for islative action and remedies before the six-month nounced on Monday, Sept. 11 that two juveniles frequently, including at several campuses across those affected by recent events. deadline. The college will continue to admit and unaffiliated with the college were responsible for the nation, in the National Museum of African Lindsay Turner ’18, senior chair of the BSU meet every student’s financial aid need regardless tying a rope into a noose on Pratt Football Field. American History and at the United States Mint and one of the main organizers of the demonstra- of legal status, she added. The discovery of the noose on Sept. 5 touched off in Philadelphia. tion, said in a post-event interview that the event The Office of Diversity and Inclusion will be a week of student action and administrative comNews of the noose stirred the campus, and was led by the Black Student Union (BSU), an af- providing support for students, and Martin wrote munication condemning the incident. members of the student body began to organize finity group for black students, and the Direct Ac- that students affected by the order should contact The college’s police chief, John Carter, notified in protest of the racist symbol shortly after the tion Coordinating Committee (DACC), a student Tenzin Kunor, associate director of diversity and the college community of the incident in an email police department announced the discovery of group focused on political mobilization on cam- leadership. on Sept. 7. The noose had been shaped from a rope the noose, while the investigation to identify the pus led by Huey Hewitt ’19. Bryan Torres ’18E, a DACA student who unused for athletic training. perpetrators was still ongoing. The event had originally been planned as a dertook a 23-day journey from El Salvador to In emails to the community, Carter and PresiA student-led demonstration took place on protest on the First-Year Quad. Upon learning the United States when he was 12 years old, said dent Biddy Martin said that no more information Valentine Quad at 12:45 p.m. on Tuesday. The that the perpetrators were not affiliated with the he appreciated Martin’s email for its acknowledgabout the responsible parties will be released, as majority of participants arrived dressed in black college, Turner said, organizers changed it to be ment of the DACA students on campus and the Massachusetts privacy laws protect their identities. clothing, and the event’s leaders organized partici- “more of a demonstration and an affirmation that college’s public support. Carter added that reports have been submitted to pants into a large circle. we’re here and we’re not going to tolerate this.” “The administration is taking better action on the district attorney’s office for review. Irisdelia Garcia ’18 opened the event and led Specifically, Turner said, they wanted “to send it than previous semesters that I’ve been through,” Currently, Martin said, the two juveniles have participants in chanting the phrase “What do we a message to the first years who’ve just gotten on he said. been issued no-trespass orders and are barred need?”, which was followed by individuals yell- campus and already exposed to this kind of ignoThe news about Trump ending DACA had from entering campus. ing out words such as “love,” “change,” “security” Continued on Page 3 Continued on Page 3 Nooses symbolize lynchings, a method of tar- and “respect.” Rojas Oliva ’19 announced that the
Noose Discovery Sparks Campuswide Response
Valentine Dining Expands Food Options and Changes Layout Emma Wilfert ’20 Staff Writer The college hired a new director of dining services this year, and along with this transition came a number of changes in the layout and structure of Valentine Dining Hall. According to Joseph Flueckiger, who was hired in the spring of 2017, changes to the dining hall include expanding the fresh fruit display, opening a yogurt and fruit bar for breakfast, upgrading the spice station, installing temperaturecontrolled salad bar wells and removing salt and pepper shakers from dining tables so that the food can taste the way chefs intended. Silverware has been upgraded, to-go cups for coffee were added and the door between the main entryways to the serving area has been removed. Other changes are still in the process of being implemented, Flueckiger said. Students can ex-
pect to see two new soft-serve machines installed this week and a digital menu in the Valentine lobby in the next month. To Flueckiger, the new silverware is one of the most exciting changes. “Small items have a very significant impact on people’s experience,” he said. Other changes focus on food safety. The new bread dispenser and washable table tent displays both reduce the risk of cross-contamination. To relieve congestion in the serving area and reduce the chance that smoothie ingredients will be contaminated with allergens such as dairy and tree nuts, Valentine replaced the do-it-yourself breakfast smoothie bar at breakfast with a full-service smoothie station located near the stir-fry station and operated by dining services staff. “We’ve had some people who are not happy with the smoothies, and we had to make the best decision for everybody, so we’re trying to work individually with people to see if there’s any accom-
modations we can make,” Flueckiger said. Overall, feedback for changes has been positive, both from consumers and employees. “They’re really going to increase the variety at Val,” Rob Barasch ’19 said about additions like the new fruit and yogurt bar. “It’s become more efficient,” said Kathleen Isenegger ’20, who works in Val. She said the changes particularly help people working in the salad bar. “Before it was just ice under the salad wells, and now that they’re refrigerated it’s a lot less mess to clean up and you don’t have to worry about keeping the food cold.” The new table tents and smoothie station are both in line with Valentine’s shift toward sustainability — the table tent displays reduce the amount of paper on every table and the smoothie station helps cut back on food loss from students overfilling their blenders. In addition, Amherst’s other dining services, Grab n’ Go and Frost Cafe,
have committed to stop selling bottled water to encourage students to use reusable water bottles. According to Flueckiger, dining services is currently assessing Valentine’s heat and water use in order to evaluate its environmental friendliness. Flueckiger emphasized students’ role in bringing about these changes. Most of the new changes, like the to-go coffee cups, originated from student requests. “The best way to communicate is through the comment cards or through our email,” Flueckiger said. Isabela Torres ’19, who helped pioneer Green Amherst Project’s trayless movement last year, agreed that students have a huge amount of power over changes at Valentine and encouraged her peers to voice their opinions. Torres added that, in the future, she would like to see Valentine and Amherst Dining Services as a whole continue shifting towards sustainability.