Issue 3

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF AMHERST COLLEGE SINCE 1868

THE AMHERST

STUDENT

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VOLUME CXLIX, ISSUE 3 l WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2019

@amherststudent AMHERSTSTUDENT.COM

College Seeks to Modernize Information Systems in BIG Initiative Ryan Yu ’22 Managing News Editor

Photo courtesy of Matai Curzon ‘22

The AAS and the JC will begin creating a new appeals process not currently found in the AAS constitution. Other forms of appealing JC decisions, such as a senate supermajority vote, are not possible due to AAS restrictions.

ACR Requests Appeals Process From JC Zach Jonas ’22 Managing News Editor The executive board (E-board) of the Amherst College Republicans (ACR) has asked the Judiciary Council (JC) to appeal its decision last spring to sanction ACR after the Association of Amherst Students (AAS) was made aware of ACR GroupMe screenshots containing derogatory language toward LGBTQ students and staff. The request, however, has brought attention to the lack of a formalized process in the AAS constitution for directly appealing a JC decision.

Last spring, after The Student published screenshots of the club’s GroupMe chat, which showed ACR members making hateful and transphobic comments about the LGBTQ community on campus, the AAS filed a complaint to the JC. In early April, the JC announced its sanctions “based on reports of discrimi-

natory language or hate speech,” according to the announcement made after the April 4 hearing.

The JC ordered ACR’s then E-board and E-board elects to step down from any and all E-board positions and release a statement in The Student “affirming that they condemn hate speech” before the end of the academic year. If the group did not take these actions, it would not be able to receive funding from AAS, the JC ruling said. The AAS constitution does not give JC authority to de-register student organizations.

ACR did not carry out any of the mandated actions.

Near the end of the spring 2019 semester, Sarah Melanson ’20, now-president of ACR, asked the JC to appeal its earlier decision, claiming that the punishment did not fit the crime. And she wasn’t the only one scrutinizing the JC’s decision.

Since the end of last semester, the JC has backpeddaled parts of the de-

cision such as who on the E-Board should step down, while other sanctions, such as the mandatory anti-bias training for all RSOs, have yet to be implemented.

In an email exchange obtained

by The Student, the JC clarified to a member of the ACR E-board that by originally declaring that “the current E-board and E-board elects of ACR must step down from their positions and will not be permitted to hold an E-board position in any RSO for the remainder of their time at Amherst,” the ruling required only a select few E-board members, not all, to step down from their positions. Two of the ACR E-board members sanctioned in the original decision graduated in the spring of 2019. One did step down from his position before the end of the year.

In an opinion piece published in The Student last spring, Chief of Student Affairs Karu Kozuma asked the AAS to more carefully recon-

sider the JC’s ruling. “Neither the Judiciary Council nor the AAS has the authority to enforce the Amherst College Honor Code, which is cited as a foundational basis for the punitive measures that were announced,” he wrote. “The [measure of removing the ACR E-board from their posts on all RSOs] may have ripple effects that are punitive of other students and student organizations that have no relation to the underlying incident [JC] addressed in the measures.”

He added that he was concerned “there may also have been some procedural anomalies.”

The JC responded to Melanson’s request near the end of last semester stating that it had no power to appeal its own decision as outlined in the AAS constitution. Instead, the JC decision must be appealed by either a three-fourths majority in the AAS

Continued on page 4

This past July, the college started implementing the first phase of its Business Improvement Group (BIG) Initiative, a project designed to modernize business processes at Amherst. The initiative seeks to overhaul the college’s nearly twodecade-old business management software and consolidate workflow — from payroll and human resources activities to student advising and registration — on a new digital cloud-based system, replacing existing tools such as ACData and migrating paper-intensive activities online.

The first phase of the BIG Initiative, which has an expected completion date for the end of June 2020 and will be implemented shortly thereafter, is tasked with migrating Amherst’s existing finance and payroll systems from Ellucian Colleague, the college’s current resource planning system, to Workday. The new system will largely eliminate the use of paper forms in payroll or reimbursement-related matters, instead requiring forms to be completed online, according to Chief Finance Officer Kevin Weinman.

Formally scheduled to begin after the first phase is complete, the second phase of the BIG initiative will focus on transitioning the student experience to Workday over an 18- to 24-month period. While

Continued on page 4

News

Victor Guevara Fresh Faculty

Sept. 10, 2019 – Sept. 16, 2019

>>Sept. 10, 2019 1:24 a.m., Hitchcock Dormitory A soap dispenser and paper towel dispenser were taken off of the wall.

1:41 a.m., South College A trashcan full of water was intentionally tipped over into a residence hall room.

5:56 p.m., Hitchcock Field An officer dismissed a group of spectators causing a disturbance toward officials and the visiting team from a soccer game. >>Sept. 11, 2019 1:38 a.m., College Street An officer observed individuals spray painting the walls under the train tracks. >>Sept. 13, 2019 2:57 p.m., Pratt Field An officer responded to a fire that occurred while a vehicle was jump-started.

6:13 p.m., South Pleasant Street Officers responded to a report of someone painting a transformer box. The individual was painting for an art project approved by the town. >>Sept. 14, 2019 1:50 a.m., Tyler House Officers responded to a town complaint of loud voices and music.

They found no sign of

either of these.

1:35 p.m., Gooding Field Officers responded to a report of an intoxicated individual yelling and disrupting a game.

The person was leaving the area upon the officers arrival. >>Sept. 15, 2019 12:04 a.m., Quadrangle Road An officer spoke with individuals smoking marijuana.

1:39 a.m., Mayo Smith House An officer responded to an alarm and found it was caused by marijuana smoke.

8:42 a.m., Hitchcock Dormitory An officer responded to a report of a mirror found intentionally broken.

11:29 a.m., Garman House Officers responded to an alarm and found it was set off by a hairdryer.

Department of Geology

Victor Guevara is an assistant professor of geology. He completed his undergraduate degree at Middlebury College, and holds a master’s degree from the University of Montana and a doctorate degree from Virginia Tech.

Q: What was your first encounter with the study of geology and what drew you to the subject?

A: My first encounter with the study of geology was my second year of college. I was just looking through the geology course catalogue and I saw a class — it was called Dynamic Earth — and I said, “That sounds pretty cool.” So I took that geology class, and that was the fall of my second year. Where I went to school, we had to declare our major by the end of our second year. I was running out of time and so that spring I was really struggling to decide what I wanted to study, and I was down between physics and psychology, as it goes. My dorm where I was living had a nice view of the Adirondack Mountains across Lake Champlain to the west. I was looking out to the view and starting to wonder why there are mountains over there. It was this eureka moment when I was like, “I should study geology.”

5:32 p.m., Frost Library A student reported their unlocked bicycle which was stolen from the Frost bicycle rack.

Q: What has been your experience as a faculty member so far?

A: It has been great. I feel very supported both by my colleagues and by the students. The students are really a joy to teach, at least so far. I’m not just saying that to sound good for course reviews. I’ve just been having a lot of fun this last week and a half. Students have been asking really good questions and they’re also really engaged.

>>Sept. 16, 2019 1:41 a.m., Lipton House Officers responded to an unknown individual knocking on a student’s door. No one was found in the area.

Q: Can you tell me about the classes you are teaching at Amherst?

A: Right now, I’m teaching GEOL111, which is called Principles of Geology, an introductory geology course where we try to learn about different types of rocks that the earth is made of. In the future, I’m plan-

ning to teach a course in mineralogy, looking at minerals and rocks, what the earth is made of, from the atomic to the global scale. And then another course called Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology, which delves into the formation of igneous and metamorphic rocks and what the formation tells us about dynamic geological processes. Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology is going to be taught next semester, and Mineralogy is going to be taught next fall.

Q: What do you hope students will take away from the courses you teach?

A: I hope students can appreciate the earth and understand how processes that occur in the earth — geological processes — occur over a variety of length scales. From the atomic scale to the global, how the processes that occur over the atomic scale are manifested. Not only being able to understand how the earth works on different length scales, but also on time scales. Geologists think about things that happened either a few seconds ago, all the way up to four billion years ago. I want students to understand how the earth works along various different length scales, and along various different time scales that span many orders of magnitude.

Q: What is your current research and how did you become interested in it?

A: My research is on metamorphic petrology, which in plain language is the study of how rocks get hot.

How do rocks get from 600 degrees Celsius to 1000 degrees Celsius? Ultimately, rocks get hot because of plate tectonic processes. However, we can’t really drill down into an ac-

tive plate boundary and study what’s happening to these rocks as they get hot, what’s happening to the physical chemical changes that occur to them as they get hot. I study exhumed metamorphic rocks from ancient plate tectonic boundaries to try to understand what is happening in parts of the earth that we cannot access right now.

Q: Where in the world would you most like to travel to conduct research and why?

A: I’m working on these rocks from the Pakistan Himalaya. They were collected in 1994 during a slightly different geopolitical configuration.

Right now that part of the world is inaccessible to geoscientists for political reasons. There are some really fascinating things there but obviously that’s not a place I can really go. That’s a place that I really wish I could study.

Q: What would you have wanted to major in if not geology?

A: Art history. A geologist reads the history of earth through the record left behind in rocks. An art historian reads the record of human history left behind in art. They are very similar lines of thinking.

Q: When you are not teaching at Amherst, what do you do in your free time?

A: The most prominent hobby I have is spending time with my dog Jordie.

He’s a golden retriever mix. One of these days I’ll bring him to the office. I enjoy taking [Jordie] for runs, mountain biking on the trails along Amherst and a little bit of rock climbing and just spending time outside.

— Sydney Ireland ’23

News 3

The Amherst Student • September 18, 2019

Walk for Mental Health Funds Made Available for Student Projects Lauren Pelosi ’22 Staff Writer Students, faculty and staff can now request funding from the newly-established Community Mental Health Fund for projects intending to promote positive mental health on campus. The fund, announced more than a year after the first fundraising effort in May 2018, contains half of the money raised from the last two springs’ Walks for Mental Health.

The portion of the money raised by the annual walk that will not go into the Community Mental Health Fund will support Mental Health Awareness Week, held in the first semester of each academic year.

This semester, the week will begin on Sept. 23.

The decision to allocate the funds was made by a committee of students and staff who were involved in planning last spring’s walk.

The annual walk, which was established after the death of Christopher Collins ’20 by suicide in March 2018, raised $25,000 in its first year. About 400 students, staff and faculty have participated in the walk in each of the past two years.

The walk was spearheaded by students from Active Minds and the Presidential Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion; it was a collaborative effort that included the Association of Amherst Students, Facilities, Student Activities, Mental Health Promotion, the Amherst College Police Department and Communications.

It was initially funded by the Presi-

dent’s Office.

All members of the college community are invited to request between $500 and $3,500 from the fund to use for projects of their own design. Requests for funding will be reviewed by a committee that will include students from Active Minds and AAS, the Presidential Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion and Jessica Gifford, associate director of mental health promotion. All funds not designated to projects will roll over to the following year.

Gifford said that the fund was established in the hopes that it would “encourage community members to think creatively about possible avenues of impact.”

“We encourage students to partner with staff and faculty on their projects, and vice versa,” she said.

“We can also help connect students to appropriate resources to help support successful implementation of the project.”

Gifford noted that funding requests for projects involving collaboration across campus groups will be given priority. “We are deeply concerned about mental health issues on our campus, as well as nationally and globally,” Gifford said.

“This is a complex problem that can’t be solved by any single office or department, and we envision the fund will support interdisciplinary projects, and projects that bring together different constituencies, to create positive change in our community,” she said.

Nicole Fortune ’20, who is cochair of Active Minds and helped plan the walks and participating

in creating the Community Mental Health Fund, said the development of the fund is a culmination of change in mental health discourse on campus.

“I think the community has and will continue to benefit from having the walks and the fund,” said Fortune. “Just seeing people turn out to walk for the past two years and raising more awareness about resources like the Counseling Center has made me feel like we’ve done a bit to start a change and help people on campus.”

Gifford is also optimistic about the effectiveness of the fund as a community tool for change. “Every one of us has the power to make a difference,” she said. “We hope the fund will be used to amplify that power.”

ResLife Implements a Series of Changes, Including Free-Play Laundry Ryan Yu ’22 Managing News Editor Effective for the beginning of fall semester, students will no longer have to pay $1.25 for each laundry wash or dry cycle, instead facing a $33 increase in residential fees to offset the costs of operating the laundry machines. The change to laundry payment, called the free-play laundry initiative, was jointly developed by the Association of Amherst Students (AAS) and the Office of Student Affairs (OSA).

The permanent elimination of pay-per-use laundry fees comes after the fees were temporarily suspended in February to compensate for a nearly week-long campus server outage, which left all students without school Wi-Fi and important services like Moodle and school email, and forced students to rack up charges on their personal cellular data for access to internet connection.

According to Chad LaDue, director of finance for the OSA, all residence halls received new laundry machines over the summer, with the exception of the Greenways, Valentine Hall and Marsh House, which already received new machines in the past few years.

LaDue said that if the college had kept the pay-per-use system,

they anticipated that “with the installation of new machines, [the price] would have been at least $1.50 per cycle, a 20 percent increase.” He noted that other schools, including Mount Holyoke, Smith and UMass Amherst, all had “per cycle fees between $1.50 and $1.75 last year.”

In an email sent to the student body, AAS cited concern over “the expected increase in the per-use fee associated with upgrading the laundry machines” as one of the primary reasons senators engaged in exploring the initiative.

“The Office of Student Affairs, along with other campus partners, worked diligently to negotiate a new contract with the college’s laundry service provider to limit a price increase for the community and engaged the AAS in exploring a freeplay model,” the email stated.

“The typical student had previously spent $40 per semester to do laundry in the residence halls,” said LaDue in an email interview. “The residence hall fee increased this semester by only $33 to support the ‘free-play’ laundry service. If the per-cycle fee had increased as anticipated to $1.50, students would likely have spent $48 per semester on laundry. It is expected that the new ‘free-play’ service will save students $15 per semester on the cost of their laundry, with the added con-

venience of not needing to load AC dollars or find coins to do laundry.”

Some students expressed enthusiasm for the initiative. Tom Lupien ’22 said that he was “excited about this change because $33 in the bill is a lot less than what [he] would be spending over the course of the semester in individual laundry fees.”

“I think it makes life more convenient for Amherst students and I’m glad that they did it. I really dislike having to deal with quarters when I do my laundry,” added Patrick Spoor ’22. “Either way, in comparison to the daunting costs of going to Amherst, it’s rather minimal, I think. It’s just better that it’s easier to use.”

Laura Draucker, the director of sustainability, expressed some concerns about “the possibility of freeplay increasing use of the laundry facilities,” in turn increasing energy usage, but also noted that data will be collected “to track use and compare over time.”

“The good news is that the new washers use 15 to 20 percent less water per wash than the older machines,” said Draucker. “In the meantime, the Eco-Reps and interns in the Office of Environmental Sustainability hope to partner with AAS and ResLife on outreach in the laundry rooms about best laundry practices to save water and energy such as using the cold wash when possi-

ble, reducing dryer usage — which uses significant electricity — and doing full loads. In the past, EcoReps have provided drying racks to residents of their dorms, and we hope students will consider this energy-free alternative even with freeplay.”

ResLife has also implemented a number of other changes for the new school year.

The college removed the name for Taplin Hall, renaming it Residence Hall A, a placeholder name until it receives a new designation.

The change of name comes after the family associated with the Taplin name asked for the college to remove it from the dormitory, according to Chief Communications Officer Sandy Genelius.

An update to the Student Code of Conduct over the summer will also prohibit students from removing or storing college-issued furniture outside of their assigned room, “except [for] those with prior written approval by Accessibility Services or other relevant College authority.”

Other operational changes include the removal of Tea Times — events that resident counselors hold with their floor to encourage social engagement — in favor of a broader array of activities that fall under the category of “programming.” According to Dean Gendron, senior associ-

ate dean of students, the change was implemented due to an expansion of programmatic goals to “address wellness, inclusion and service,” which Tea Time goals would not sufficiently represent.

“The events known as ‘Tea Times’ have been understood as social gatherings that serve a casual and convivial purpose in a local community,” Gendron wrote in an email interview. “Resident Counselors are evolving their programming to a level beyond the scope of the Tea Time goals.”

These changes come after David Watts, former assistant director of student life, departed the college for Tufts over the summer. The departure leaves ResLife with six active members on their team. Currently, ResLife is looking to fill two vacancies, for a total of eight full-time positions: the role that Watts left behind and an operations assistant position. Last year, The Student reported that ResLife would be increasing its number of staff from eight to 11 people.

Watts was a well-known figure on campus due to his presence in student-attended ResLife events such as the suite selection process.

The Amherst Muck-Rake, a satirical publication, also persistently parodied his role, featuring Watts in many Instagram posts.

The Amherst Student • September 18, 2019

News 4

Workday Software to Replace ACData and Other Existing Systems Continued from page 1 “the planning phase hasn’t begun yet” for this student module, Chief Information Officer David Hamilton said, processes that will likely be redesigned include “registrar activities, student advising, grades, student activities and other things.”

Hamilton also noted that, unlike the first phase, the second phase will be implemented gradually as it is being developed, as opposed to integrated all at once.

According to Hamilton, the BIG Initiative was the culmination of years of discussion and planning on how to deal with the “collective frustration” from the campus community with regards to the “cumbersome process of using existing tools.” Although informal dialogue about the project budget began among administrators as early as 2014, the college began more formally explored the project between 2016 and 2018, when it launched human resources, information technology and finance evaluations that confirmed “how badly this project was needed,” Weinman added.

“Another way that the student voice was heard was just the collective expression of frustration with how these things rising to a crescendo over a period of years,” Hamilton said. “There are a lot of students that have trouble with getting a grasp on how the registration systems work or using their phone to interact with the systems. We get tickets and support requests from people. It was a known thing among us.”

According to a 2017 internal

report obtained by The Student, “investment in administrative technology and systems has not been a high priority.” The report acknowledged it would be critical for the college to move to more efficient and transparent information systems.

Hamilton also pointed to a “cultural change” as one of the key reasons this project was necessary.

“When we licensed Datatel, as [Ellucian Colleague] used to be called 20 years ago, it did not substantially change over that 20 years. It was patched for regulatory compliance issues and some features were added over the years, but if you contrast that with the modern cloud era, you know, Facebook is patching daily, Gmail is patching daily,” Hamilton said. “These tools that we’re licensing increasingly change at a much faster cadence than historically how we’ve managed these big enterprise systems.”

“That’s one of the major appeals of this. We’re licensing a system that’s going to get better and improve over time. It’s not as though we’re stuck with something like a car we bought 20 years ago that’s not getting all the updates of the newer models. This is a cloud-based product. Every six months, Workday comes out with a new release point, and we will automatically mold to that updated product,” Weinman added. “As they come up with better data security and better functionality, we get that as part of our annual licensing fee from them.”

The BIG steering committee, which was tasked with “simplifying Amherst’s processes and moderniz-

ing our systems” as stated by the BIG Initiative website, formed in January 2018 with Hamilton and Weinman as co-chairs. After a series of consultations, primarily with faculty and staff groups, as well as research into best practices for redesigning the college’s existing systems, the committee received approval and funding from the Board of Trustees to proceed with the BIG Initiative in May 2019.

“We’ve presented at a lot of different faculty, staff committees. We joke that by the end of this, that certain individuals, because of the different committees they sit on, that some people will go through our presentation six or seven times, so it gets a bit boring,” said Hamilton. “But it’s really important for the community to hear and be ready for it, to be excited for it but also know that it’s a challenge to get it done.”

Both Weinman and Hamilton acknowledged that they hadn’t engaged in much direct student consultation. However, Weinman noted that “the bulk of student consultation is still to come, because the student module is phase two. So, I expect there will be more interaction with students as we get into that phase.”

As to why they chose Workday, Weinman and Hamilton pointed to measures of security, efficiency, cost and accessibility, among others, as some of the key reasons. Notably, Workday is mobile-native, meaning it is designed to run smoothly and comprehensively as a mobile app.

“They disrupted the market.

They’re not the market leader in

Photo courtesy of Matai Curzon ’22

The college’s information infrastructure, which includes ACData, has received more complaints as it has grown more outdated. terms of percentage of students using the tool, but they’re getting all the contracts at an increasing rate because they are disrupting the market,” Hamilton said. “We ran a process to evaluate different tools and vendors and spoke with a number of third-party consultants who don’t have any stake in which system that we chose. And consistently, the feedback came back to Workday being the best in-class tool here.”

Due to the large scope of the BIG Initiative, the college has also formed a relationship with an implementation partner, Alchemy, and hired six term-length employees to help bring the project to completion.

Outside of that, around 20 people are working on the project “on a reg-

ular basis,” according to Hamilton.

It is currently unclear whether there will be a third phase of the BIG Initiative or whether the project will only have two phases. Weinman and Hamilton both expressed that they thought there was more work to be done, particularly with alumni and advancement data, but they were unsure whether it would fall under the scope of the BIG Initiative.

Some students expressed support for the initiative. “All the links on ACData are close together and not organized very well, which makes things quite confusing and difficult to use,” said Bethany Letendre ’22. “So, I’m looking forward to seeing the new system implemented.”

AAS Constitution Leaves ACR Appeal to JC Ruling Ambiguous Continued from page 1 senate or a student-body referendum.

According to one member of JC who requested anonymity because they were not authorizd to talk to the press, “We were asked if it was possible to reverse our decision, but they did not offer any reason as to why we should, other than ‘it would be bad if we didn’t.’”

“In effect, we decided not to handle their appeal for two reasons,” the JC member added. “There is no ap-

peals process for JC outlined in the constitution because JC is the final say in the matter and it doesn’t make sense for us to appeal our own decisions — but the senate can. They offered no new evidence. At the moment it comes down to what the senate will do.”

It is also unclear whether or not the senate could overturn the JC ruling. According to the AAS constitution, the senate cannot overturn cases in which it is a party, which in this case, it is — the senate is the party that originally brought the com-

plaint against ACR. “It’s a weird situation,” said AAS President Avery Farmer ’20. “It would be the senate overturning a sentence against the defendant to make it more lenient. A strict interpretation of the AAS constitution says they can’t do that.”

The lack of an appeals process for JC decisions has forced stakeholders to examine the function of the process in a governing body like the AAS. “Appeals processes and evaluation of due processes are a part of any

governing institution,” Director of Student Activities Paul Gallegos said in an email interview. “The current constitution predates me and the current AAS. [The] recent reevaluation of the AAS constitution by current leadership has been an earnest look at how it can be best aligned to serve the student community.”

“I think the JC should hear ACR’s appeal,” said Elizabeth Holubiak ’22, a member of ACR, in an email interview. “It sets a precedent for future cases. Granted the nature of each case varies, but the underlying pro-

cess should be a constant that people can depend on.”

The JC branch plans to meet to propose a permanent appeals process, after which the JC chair will present the proposal to the senate for ratification. Depending on the approved appeals process, the AAS will reconsider evaluating any outstanding appeals. As of now, ACR has not received any funding from the AAS. “We’re in the unique situation of having to respond to some ambiguity in the AAS constitution. It’s a mess,” Farmer said.

The Amherst Student • September 18, 2019

News

5

AAS Candidate Statements for the Class of 2023 On Friday, Sept. 20, the AAS will hold elections for eight senators from the class of 2023. The students below have announced their candidacies for these elections. Students who are interested in hearing from these candidates or are interested in running but were unable to submit a candidate statement should attend Speech Night on Thursday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. in Kirkpatrick Lecture Hall. In order to run, candidates must bring a petition with 25 signatures from their classmates to Speech Night and prepare a speech. If a candidate cannot attend, they can send a proxy in their place.

Dalya Ackerman: I have only been here for three weeks, but like you, I have already fallen in love with the campus and the amazing people who go to school here. I am beyond excited to get to know more of you and to hopefully serve as your representative to AAS. Come talk to me in Val or stop by Appleton 112 if you have questions or just want to hang out! Don’t forget to vote for me!

Fareeda Adejumo: I am not running to be your senator to check another box on my resume. I am running because I truly love student government (the debate, decorum and the ideas). I am running because the ability to improve someone’s student life makes me smile. I am running because I love the art of arguments.

I enjoy listening to different perspectives on an issue and coming to a conclusion. I am running to be YOUR representative.

Javid Alizada: Well, at my former school, I had a position of head of house, which required from me an active involvement in organizing events and making sure the students I am responsible for are fully engaged and cared about. I believe senators should facilitate student life rather than direct it, and I am here to do that. As an international student, I will be the bridge between American and international students and approach issues from different angles to create a healthy environment for all.

the first-year election. I was involved in my high school’s student government and really enjoyed the ability to contribute in making inclusivity a major part of my school. My goals are for first years to have someone who can listen to their needs and work together to come up with a solution.

Trevor Gasgarth: I believe I am fit to be a senator because of my leadership skills and my ability to bring people together. I am a naturally outgoing person, meaning I will have no problem staying in touch with members of my class. As a baseball player, I am in a unique position to help bridge the divide between athletes and non-athletes. Finally, I should be a senator because I am dedicated to improving the college experience for everyone in my class.

Sam Howe: I could tell you that I am the perfect person for the job, that I know best, that I will be the model senator, but the truth is I don’t know.

The only truth I know, the only reason to vote for me, is that I want to help, that I see problems I want to solve. I want to motivate change in our community by accelerating the Climate Action Plan and raising awareness around mental health. I want to make financial stability more attainable by formulating a more accessible system of student employment. I won’t be perfect.

Harry Brussel: As a senator for our class, I would work to improve late night dining options, bring local businesses to campus for a free local food night and make voter registration easier than ever. I would also work to launch a department ambassador program to improve academic advising for freshmen and sophomores by designating upperclassmen as advisers for their major. I will work tirelessly to create real, tangible change here at Amherst. I hope I can count on your vote!

James Hulsizer: As freshmen, we have come from across the world to lay the foundation for the rest of our lives. We have chosen Amherst College because we believe it will provide us with opportunities to be our best selves. I believe that this goal requires that we create a strong and inclusive community. With the lessons I have learned working in the U.S. government and local politics, I want to use my experience to work for you — to help build that community and give our class the best four years we can have.

Diego Carias: I’m very interested in running for a senator position in

Sydney Ireland: During the past several years, I successfully fought

for the inclusion of young women in the Boy Scouts. I was also a congressional intern this past summer with Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney in Washington, D.C. My past experience with advocacy and leadership has prepared me for this position to be a voice for all of the class of 2023. I will listen and do my best to address all ideas, critiques and concerns to ensure that students feel valued and that our voices are heard.

Sterling Kee: I bring to the table a lot of leadership experience, an enthusiasm to listen and learn and a strong understanding of AAS processes and its constitution. If you elect me, you’ll have a senator who asks questions when things don’t make sense, can take things seriously without being negative or annoying and is willing and excited to meet and talk to everyone.

Faraz Khan: I believe that it is essential to have a voice in one’s community. At my high school, Friends Academy, I represented my peers through our student-faculty board.

This organization was responsible for implementing academic and social changes on our campus. The primary missions of the board were to work with administrators to reform school policies, plan school events and manage budgets. Since school is such an essential piece of our lives, it is crucial that everyone feels comfortable in our academic environment and that we work hard to further the growth and happiness of the community at Amherst.

Xinyu Ni: I am greatly honored to be able to run for this position and to reflect my classmates’ interests through working with the AAS committees.

Upon arriving at Amherst, I have been told by many that they would appreciate non-exclusionary joint events across all first-year dorms, free printing service at Frost Library and more on-campus jobs made available to first-year students. I aim to constantly address and solve problems and be the voice of my class. I would like to stay connected with

faculty, clubs and organizations and ensure a fair distribution of activity fees among clubs. I have made it my goal to improve our campus life and to make Amherst more inclusive towards first-year students.

Lovemore Nyaumwe Jr.: I am from Zimbabwe. That is one more reason to vote for me, because I have a unique approach to problems affecting American campus life since I come from a totally different culture. I represent inclusive diversity.

Hence, my first order of business as class senator would be to break the athlete/non-athlete divide. I want to create a more inclusive environment for every freshman by advocating for inclusive parties and mixers. I want to advocate for a wider selection of food at Val in order to include dishes that are representative of different nationalities. Yes! We can all LOVE MORE!!!

Oheoghosa Osaigbovo: I did not know what the AAS was, nor was I aware of the responsibilities of the senate. Regardless, as I was ignorant of the logistics of the organization, I aspired to be a member for one reason: I tacitly understood that the goal of the AAS is to improve campus life for the entire student body. As a freshman, I understand the transition to college is difficult. In my past three weeks at Amherst, I have seen many people struggle in this new environment and I want to cultivate a culture of inclusion in which all students can thrive socially and academically.

Maira Owais: I’m hoping that I can represent all your valuable ideas and concerns to the senate and broader student body. Using my experience in student government and my multifaceted background, I plan on furthering the diversity of thought present on this campus. If elected, I plan to serve on the First-Year Life and Orientation Committee and promote a more integrated community on campus. I believe in the distinct value of every group here at Amherst and would work diligently to advo-

cate for all their goals.

Mason Quintero: I’ve been here for three weeks and I’m already loving it and looking forward to the next four years here. That being said, there are ways that we can improve campus.

We should have water filling stations and ice machines in each of the dorms so that we can happily use our refillable water bottles and be more environmentally friendly. I will also listen to all of your voices so that I can best represent you in AAS. Sam Robin: I believe I am well suited for the senate because I am great at listening to others and settling arguments. In high school, I was involved in community service and thus I feel a need to be involved and connected in my new community. I currently play varsity baseball so I know what it takes to be committed to something. Lastly, I should be a member of the student government because I am outgoing and thoroughly enjoy helping people.

Jack Trent: After only a few weeks here at Amherst, I’ve met so many amazing people with an ardent passion for the school, and I want to translate your ideas into real change.

Whether that be through spikeball tournaments on the quad, new options at Val or pushing for more eco-friendly programs on campus, I hope to foster a sense of community and inclusivity in all facets of Amherst. I’m Jack Trent, and Williams College is a terrible college. Tusks up!

Talia Ward: I want to be your firstyear senator because I want to make sure your voices are heard. In high school, I was not only in charge of the club and event budgets for students but also worked on changing school policies (like our dress code) with the administration. These experiences as an advocate for equitable spending and student voices makes me want to ensure that we invest our resources into events and programs that the student body, you all, care about and that all Amherst students are listened to.

Opinion

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Does Character Belong in Court?

On March 12, the college admissions world was shocked by over 50 charges against wealthy parents who were involved in a conspiracy to bribe college officials and to cheat on critical college entrance exams. These wealthy parents spent $500,000 to $6.5 million to bribe officials and guarantee their children’s admissions into top schools including Stanford, Yale and Georgetown.

Now, the case has resurfaced with the sentencing of Felicity Huffman, one of the two celebrities involved in the scheme, and a greater debate about leniency in our nation’s greater criminal justice system.

Felicity Huffman was the first of over 30 defendants involved in the scheme to be charged.

After she pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani sentenced her to 14 days in jail, followed by a year of supervised release, 250 hours of community service and a $30,000 fine. What is outrageous about this sentence is not the severity of the punishment but instead the disparity of sentencing that stemmed from Huffman’s identity as a privileged, wealthy celebrity.

Many critics of this case have accused Huffman of taking advantage of her public visibility as a celebrity to receive leniency in her sentencing. In a letter to the court asking for a reduced sentence, Huffman wrote about the difficulties of being a mother, stating that she found motherhood “bewildering” and that she had believed that committing fraud was the best course of action for her daughter’s success. Huffman’s husband, William H. Macy, and her “Desperate Housewives” co-star Eva Longoria also sent letters to the court asking for leniency for Huffman, writing that Huffman’s “gentle character and kind heart” warranted leniency in the eyes of the law.

But can character truly be used as a defense for leniency in our nation’s criminal justice system?

In the context of our nation’s discriminatory sentencing practices, the issue of character has been a charged one. In 2016, when Stanford swimmer Brock Turner was convicted with three criminal counts, the nation was stunned by the leniency of his sentence. Critics were outraged when Dan Turner, the defendant’s father, attempted to paint his son’s sexual assault as a mere 20 minutes of action that ruined Brock Turner’s “happy go lucky” life in a letter to the court.

In July, the nation was again outraged at another case in which the judge denied the

prosecutor’s motions to try the defendant, a 16year old charged with rape, as an adult. The judge denied the motion and described the defendant as someone who came “from a good family” and who could get into a “good college.” The judge was also concerned that prosecutors had not explained to the alleged victim the “devastating effect” the charges would have on the accuser’s future.

Ultimately, the use of character as a defense and argument for leniency is one that hits at the core of the racial and class disparities in our nation’s criminal justice system. Critics have drawn contrasts between Huffman and Turner’s lenient sentences with the harsh ones received by defendants of color. Recently, the case of a homeless mother in Bridgeport, Connecticut received national outrage when she was sentenced to five years for sending her son to an elementary school in the wrong school district. In another case, a homeless and mentally ill black man spent nearly four years in prison after stealing eight socks from a department store in Manhattan.

These cases are only the tip of the iceberg.

According to the advocacy group Sentencing Project, more than 60 percent of America’s incarcerated population are people of color.

While it would be wrong to place the blame for these stark statistics on Huffman or Turner, they do illustrate how our criminal justice system continues to discriminate against people of color and unfairly give the privileged and wealthy an unjust advantage.

Huffman’s sentencing is a bullet point in a larger conversation about the necessity of impartiality within the judicial system — and the innate paradox that comes with it. How can decisions that demand objectivity be made by inherently subjective beings? In the case of the college admissions scandal, we see bias tip the scale of justice yet again, proving that this question lies unanswered. Still, partiality may be avoidable if the right metrics of judgement are used. That means minimizing the influence of character in judicial proceedings and in turn, quieting natural biases in situations that require neutrality. After all, Felicity Huffman is just a mom who wanted the best for her child. But if we choose to value this spin over the brute facts of her crime, justice becomes even further out of reach.

Unsigned editorials represent the Editorial Board (assenting: 13; dissenting: 0; abstaining: 0)

THE AMHERST

STUDENT E X E C U T I V E B OA R D Editors-in-Chief Shawna Chen Emma Swislow Managing News Zach Jonas Natalie De Rosa Ryan Yu Managing Opinion Jae Yun Ham Rebecca Picciotto Managing Arts and Living Olivia Gieger Seoyeon Kim Managing Sports Connor Haugh Henry Newton Managing Design Zehra Madhavan Julia Shea S TA F F Publishers Joseph Centeno, Emmy Sohn, Mark Nathin Digital Director Dylan Momplaisir

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The Amherst Student • September 18 , 2019

Opinion 7

9/11 Cannot be Business as Usual Rebecca Picciotto ’22 Managing Opinion Editor I don’t have any memory of the attacks that took place on Sept. 11, 2001. I was one year old, fast asleep in my crib in northern New Jersey.

My parents got the rest of the day off from work, which, on any other occasion, would have been cause for celebration. Instead, they were huddled around the TV, watching the skyline they had always taken for granted on their daily commute get swallowed by clouds of smoke.

I don’t have any recollection of this.

And yet each year when Sept.

11 rolls around, I still know there’s something to be remembered.

Growing up in New Jersey in the wake of the 9/11 attacks meant a couple of things. It meant that I

had friends who had lost or almost lost a relative that day. It meant having school-wide assemblies to commemorate the events. It meant that throughout my childhood, I was developing a connection to a day to which I had no tangible relationship. As I got older, I started to process what happened outside of my crib.

Throughout my childhood, it was accepted that Sept. 11 came with a certain gravity. I assumed that emotional force was felt universally. College has challenged that assumption.

Last Wednesday, I didn’t hear a mention of 9/11 until mid-afternoon. There was no email from President Biddy Martin’s office. The Amherst Instagram didn’t do a remembrance photo. There was near-

ly nothing.

I asked my friends at other schools if there were any initiatives of commemoration. A friend at George Washington University said the administration emailed to request a moment of silence, but it wasn’t enforced. A friend at Bucknell University reported that students had lined the quad with American flags. The effort was there, but they all agreed that 9/11 didn’t seem to carry as much weight in college.

Maybe it’s natural. After all, as much as it may feel like everyone at Amherst is either from New York or New Jersey, that’s not actually the case. Of course, I realize that my geographic proximity to the site of the attacks intensified my obligation to commemorate it. I also realize

that it’s been nearly two decades.

A lot has happened since 2001. In many ways — though some of the affected families may beg to differ — the country has exited the grieving period.

However, it still feels off to wake up on Sept. 11 and treat it like any other day. Not just off, fundamentally abnormal.

Even if it was 18 years ago, we’re still living in the aftermath of these attacks. I’m not just talking about longer airport security lines. The post-9/11 era is a different world.

Sept. 11 created a context for the rise of Islamophobia. It turned U.S. national security into a hyper-militarized machine. As Omer Aziz of The New York Times puts it, Sept.

11 created “endless secret wars, waged in the cover of night, in dis-

Seeing Double: How to Read Local Cole Graber-Mitchell ’22 Columnist

At Amherst, we know to emphasize eating and buying local. Valentine Dining Hall serves local food from as close as the Book & Plow Farm, and A.J. Hastings and Amherst Books, both independent businesses, are our campus bookstores.

What we forget about, however, is reading local.

For example, take a look at the newspapership expenses of the Association of Amherst Students, our student government. Last week, the AAS voted to buy roughly 2,000 digital subscriptions to The New York Times for use by students, adding to our already-existing digital subscriptions to The Wall Street Journal. But we spend next to no money on the local news sources that serve the town of Amherst or the Pioneer Valley.

Students at Amherst don’t have free access to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, or its weekly sister the Amherst Bulletin, both of which run important stories about the town and region in which we live. We don’t support other local news sources in neighboring towns, like the Valley Advocate or Greenfield’s Recorder.

And we can’t read the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald and other bigger Massachusetts newspapers.

What happens in our local community affects us, no matter how insulated Amherst College might seem from the rest of the town and valley. Local stories cover our neighbors, events happening down the street and proposed additions to our community. Local news is what connects us to the world around us. We buy pizza from Antonio’s and books from Amherst Books, but we are still not truly in a community with the people working in Amherst or the people who live here year-round. Local newspapers build these connections and invest us in the wellbeing of the Amherst community at large.

Of course, national journalism has its place and purpose. I’ve written previously in this paper about the real impacts of national politics on campus, and national papers cover those issues with resources that local papers don’t have. But The New York Times and Wall Street Journal can’t overcome the fact that their presence in communities around America is ephemeral and story-driven. And I have yet to see any stories about affordable housing proposals in Amherst, the destruction of the North Village apartments for UMass graduate students and families or the LGBTQ Fall Film Fest in Northampton coming up on Sept. 21 in those national news behemoths.

The families living in the North Village are our neighbors, whether or not we’ve met them, and we should be concerned with the events that affect them. The same is true nationally. Local newspapers bring together communities across deep divides and contribute to a shared sense of ownership over where we live. In news deserts — counties with no local news publications — median incomes and rates of college and high school graduation are lower, while poverty is more common.

When local newspapers close, government costs increase due to a lack of accountability.

And yet, one in five American newspapers have closed in the past 15 years. Other newspapers have converted from dailies to weeklies, substantially tightening their budgets and becoming ghosts of their former selves. Many are bought by massive, national chains: 25 of the biggest chains own one-third of all American newspapers and twothirds of the nation’s dailies. These mergers and acquisitions hurt the public’s trust in local news and contribute to lower readership. Acquisitions also move ownership of the paper out of the areas where they operate, so the owners have no stake in the community. As of now, 171 counties have no local newspaper.

More than 2,000 have no daily paper.

Still more have daily papers owned and operated by national chains. In Western Massachusetts, we’re lucky to have a vibrant local news scene.

We should make use of it and ensure it sticks around.

The AAS should fund digital subscriptions to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, our local newspaper, for all students. Right now, a paywall prevents us from reading more than five articles each month. To integrate Amherst College more closely into the surrounding community, we should support our local news. The AAS should also look into getting students access to larger, state-level newspapers like the Herald and Globe. Yes, these newspapers don’t serve our immediate community as well as the Gazette. Instead, they help us understand what’s going on at the state level and national level as viewed from Massachusetts.

Our campus newspaper, The Amherst Student, should work with the Gazette to sum up the most important news of the week in a “week in review” article. Right now, most of the reporting in The Student is focused on the college. To accurately reflect our lives, The Student should include reporting on the broader community. To this end, The Student should also run more original stories

tant places where the victims are invisible.”

So maybe the country no longer needs to be in deep mourning — though the victims of the attacks will still be in my thoughts on Sept.

11. Still, treating 9/11 like business as usual simply doesn’t make sense.

As time goes on, the way we commemorate the day may change.

Instead of moments of silence, maybe we need deliberate conversation about the impacts of 9/11. We cannot let the significance of the day get lost. Even if we’re not right next door to the World Trade Center, we cannot normalize a day like 9/11 by not talking about it. If there isn’t an acknowledgement of these attacks, the college risks forgetting history.

And when we forget history, we lose the lessons that come with it.

focused on local news. Last year’s reporting on Hampshire College was excellent, informative and important — we need more.

I can’t talk about local news without also mentioning the importance of campus news. The Student does great work, but that work is often inaccessible. With more help, The Student could improve its digital presence and require less out of each individual while still producing a great final product. It takes a lot of work to publish a newspaper, especially one in print and online, and The Student struggles to recruit staff.

Other newspapers pay their staff, the student journalists, editors and web designers at The Student might do better with compensation too.

In 1822, James Madison wrote that “a popular government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy; or, perhaps both.”

Two centuries later, he’s still right.

Local news is our only way to keep up-to-date with what’s happening in our own communities. We don’t live national lives, despite how important those dynamics can be. Just like it’s better for Amherst when Val serves local food, it’s better for us all when local newspapers are given the resources and readership they need to thrive.

The Amherst Student • September 18, 2019

Opinion 8

Yes We Can: Victory and the American Psyche Thomas Brodey ’22 Columnist As anyone who has seen one of President Donald Trump’s rallies can attest, the president loves to talk about winning. “We’re going to win so much, you’re going to be so sick and tired of winning,” Trump said in a typical remark.

Critics of the president often disregard such statements as childish and meaningless. Yet this criticism ignores the fact that Trump’s remarks strike a chord with a wide audience.

Americans have a unique obsession with complete and total victory, either against an external force, an internal problem or something more abstract. This fascination extends past party lines and affects everything from domestic programs to foreign policy. Only by understanding the underlying cultural traits that Trump taps into can Americans curb their own worst impulses and fully real-

ize their potential.

American fascination with victory has deep roots. When Alexis de Tocqueville visited America in the early 1800s, he wrote that the United States “directs its every action [toward] ... indefinite perfectibility.” De Tocqueville perceived an early form of the American obsession with utter and complete triumph in every conceivable goal.

This obsession stems from a potent cultural brew of Ameircan exceptionalism, individualism and a deeply-rooted belief in the benefits of hard work and meritocracy.

The American obsession with winning has manifested in many forms, from strict parents who expect their child to rise above the rest of their classmates to the stubborn refusal of the U.S. government to admit defeat in Vietnam during the 1970s.

But the obsession also has tangible effects on the nation’s psychology. A recent Gallup poll revealed that America is the sev-

enth most stressed country in the world. The reasons for America’s poor showing are complex, but psychiatrists have identified stress in the competitive workplace and frustration at an inability to achieve personal goals as major causes. Such levels of stress, especially when considering America’s relative affluence and stability, suggest that Americans may be suffering from a case of unrealistically high expectations.

The American drive to win is also visible in areas of national policy, particularly in the most competitive of all national pursuits: war. America has historically benefited from a strong determination to win military conflicts.

Ironically, the chief failures of the U.S. military occurred because of the American will to win. When the military refused to concede in Vietnam and instead escalated a logistically unwinnable war, it turned minor setbacks into crushing defeat. More recently, similar

efforts to secure victory in Iraq and Afghanistan have led to lengthy conflicts in those regions, leading the U.S. to become increasingly isolated from its allies because of its more ambitious agenda.

The drive for victory furthers appears in our nation’s domestic policy as well. American leaders have a fairly unique tendency to describe social programs as uncompromising conflicts, such as in the wars on poverty, crime and drugs. Yet while the goals of these “wars” are often noble, the very nature of government-instituted social programs guarantees that complete success is impossible.

When faced with the impossibility of the promised total victory, politicians must either admit defeat and end the program, creating mass disillusionment, (like that which occurred after President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty) or double down on the programs, instituting increasingly extreme measures in an attempt

to attain the terms of victory originally promised. The latter choice is politically easier, yet far more destructive than the former. The wars on drugs and crime stand as lingering examples of what can happen when officials drag on failing policy in attempts to escape the stigma of defeat.

The reader might be tempted to think that America should try to abandon its competitive drive, but this would be unrealistic. Despite what Trump says, Americans will never grow tired of winning. Instead of trying to change our cultural DNA, Americans should try to emphasize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses.

The desire to succeed can drive Americans to achieve great things.

The Space Race and the American effort in World War II stand out as examples of well-intentioned competitive spirit. The key is to ensure that Americans curb their fear of failure and direct their desire for victory into worthwhile endeavors.

Freshman Add/Drop Period by Emi Eliason ’22

Arts&Living

Lana Del Rey’s Newest Album Rewrites American History

Photo courtesy of Virgin Radio

Del Rey’s latest album “Norman Fucking Rockwell!” is an ode to a America — one that acknowledges the country’s brokenness but also brings hope.

Julian Raiford ’21 Staff Writer On her latest LP and sixth studio album “Norman Fucking Rockwell!”, Lana Del Rey pens a troubled homage to an America that is caught between a rich history of art and poetry, and a future that grows increasingly grim in light of modern politics. Del Rey offers no solutions, but instead attempts to write her own American history — nostalgic, confused, fractured, yet above all, hopeful.

In the opening and title track, it is apparent that the singer intends to pull no punches in discussing her political convictions — even as she juxtaposes them with her familiar romantic lamentations, wilting beauty and astoundingly fast cars. This opening signals that the rest of the album is far more political than Del Rey’s earlier work; the tracks also create a near anthology of the singer’s chosen hallmarks of American art, poetry and pop culture.

Though Del Rey’s curated references are a bit cliché as she cites the likes of Robert Frost, David Bowie and even Kanye West, they are presented modestly enough in her collaborations with industry-respect-

ed producer Jack Antonoff.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, Del Rey recalled sitting down to pen the title track and exchanging ideas with Antonoff about how she was staring at the face of a modern America that distorted her understanding of the American Dream.

“It was weird how that actual title came to me. I was riffing over a couple of chords that Jack was playing for the title track, which ended up being called ‘Norman Fucking Rockwell.’ It was kind of an exclamation mark: so this is the American dream, right now. This is where we’re at — Norman fucking Rockwell. We’re going to go to Mars, and Trump is president, all right,” she said.

Within the track itself, the singer croons about a disappointing lover across the soundscape of a sprawling, lonely piano melody.

The singer introduces him as a “goddamn manchild” who has almost deceived her into loving him, despite his unsophisticated poetry and self-indulgent monologuing.

The singer laments about how she knows that she is settling for a broken man whom she can’t change despite his destructive and egotistical ways. She asks herself, “Why wait for the best when I could

have you?” Politically spinning this romantic failure as a sign of the times, Del Rey reflects her criticism of self-obsessed politicians within an apathetic polity in this loveless track. She is both longing and helpless, yet unabashedly hopeful, even if she becomes self-effacing by refusing to do better for herself.

This tone of hopeful versus helpless bleeds into the following track “Mariners Apartment Complex,” in which Del Rey unmistakably voices her manifesto as a woman who “ain’t a candle in the wind,” despite often being portrayed as fragile by the media and her romantic partners. The singer explains that she doesn’t have to be saved and that she can even be the savior. The recurring promise of the chorus is: “You lose your way, just take my hand / You’re lost at sea, then I’ll command your boat to me again / I’m your man.”

When Del Rey performs the last line in her most gravelly, whispery voice, she makes a clear allusion to singer Leonard Cohen’s single “I’m Your Man.” This is an unsurprising homage from Del Rey because both the singer and Cohen use heavy religious imagery and share how their inner darkness continues to shift the tides of their

romantic lives. This track also provided the lyricism that inspired the album artwork for “Norman Fucking Rockwell!” as Del Rey reaches out to the viewer from her ship.

While Del Rey’s vision of a political and profound work of art is admirable, the heart of the work falters past these first two tracks.

The third track, “Venice Bitch,” feels like a well-intended nod to Del Rey’s past, but is ultimately confused and corny when she refers to herself over and over as a “Venice bitch” arguably the least attractive motif of the entire album.

Additional thematic distractions appear in Antonoff ’s production around this point in the album as the soft rock sound of the early 2000s dominates the instrumental portions of “Venice Bitch.”

If this break in sound was not disappointing enough, Del Rey was poorly advised in including a cover of Sublime’s “Doin’ Time” on the album. Though the song does fall in line with the singer’s fetishizing of summertime darkness in her home of California, it is blasé and uninspired at best. The same goes for the following tracks “Love song,” “Cinnamon Girl” and “How to disappear,” which were wisely situated in the middle of the

album. These will not be known as Del Rey’s strongest works — they feel like thematically lazy filler tracks, making them easily the most forgettable tracks of the entire album.

Del Rey, however, redeems her name as a songwriter on “California.” While the titling of this track is unimpressive, the song itself is based enough in the sultry, timeless sound that made Del Rey, and yet it is nuanced enough to show a side of the singer that is ashamed and authentic in her longing. This is a particularly melancholic love song that admits a sense of failure on the singer’s end as she croons about how she wishes she had been more receptive to her lover’s pain and sorrow.

She tells him, “You don’t ever have to be stronger than you really are,” even though this message is clearly delivered too late. She is pleading not only with this lover, but with fate as well, trying to demonstrate that they can live the way he wants to in a bacchanalian fervor when he “come[s] back to California” — as if that could erase all the sadness that drove him from his home and their love. While this is a

Continued on page 10

Arts & Living 10

The Amherst Student • September 18, 2019

ALASKALASKA Starts Strong with Debut Album “The Dots”

Photo courtesy of kiyi

Indie band ALASKALASKA uses a mixed sound of drums, synths, guitars and saxophone riffs to continuously build chemistry among their members and produce a unique sound.

Jack Klein ’20 Staff Writer The idiosyncratic indie band ALASKALASKA lives and dies by the saxophone. The group layers multiple instruments, including various drums, synths and guitars, but its saxophone riffs bring it all together. The best songs on their debut album, “The Dots,” either

feature the sax or find a way to infuse it into the music.

The band hails from London, and its style can best be characterized as a mix of alternative rock and jazz fusion. The music is immersive — it is not the type of altpop that you want to throw on at a cocktail party. It demands both mental and emotional attention.

It’s an overused cliché, but

ALASKALASKA really does have its own sound — one greater than the sum of its parts. The drawling, hazy vocals, provided by band leader Lucinda Duarte-Holman, do not distinguish themselves on their own. Rather, when combined with sanguine synths and psychedelic percussion, they create a pleasant harmony.

In “Moon,” a song that explores

the experience of taking drugs, the band uses a saxophone beat that crescendos during the chorus, in addition to a combination of synths, drums and, yes, even a cowbell. Duarte-Holman croons, “For goodness sake, if life’s a cake / I want to eat it all right now / It’s a risk I’m willing to take.” The song bubbles with energy, and it’s impossible not to nod your head to the beat.

“Bees” takes a more restrained, yet similar, approach, with more pronounced percussion, a walking bassline and a distant saxophone refrain. It discusses the power dynamics and the struggle of daily life: “Funny honey, you fake it ‘til you make it […] Let’s go shopping, buy another face, pretend.”

The crown jewel of the album is “Meateater,” a single released before the full album. Duarte-Holman sings, “And you’re shuffling your feet for a beat / For a beat you can eat / Just to taste it / And remember that you never liked meat” in perfect cadence with the beat.

“Meateater” is ALASKALASKA’s magnum opus — a symphony of instruments, vocals and a smooth saxophone solo that creates an earworm you won’t soon forget.

Despite all of the laudable songs, there are others where the group seems to lose its magic touch.

“Heaven” takes too long to develop, and the lyrics are nonsensical.

Duarte-Holman drops into a displeasing flat pitch during the song,

and there is an unnerving refrain in which she attempts a strange falsetto. In “Happyface,” she adopts a sarcastic tone while mumbling run-on sentences, almost as if she is speaking to an infant.

Listening to the album, released this May, I was confounded by the inconsistency in its quality. I wondered how a group could make some songs that are so enjoyable, yet others that do not even belong in the recording studio. The unpredictability can maybe be explained by the experimental nature of ALASKALASKA’s music. As the band builds more chemistry and establishes its own artistic style, hopefully the music will become more consistent.

“The Dots” is so enjoyable because it differs from its main genre counterparts. In the past, I’ve written about genre-defying artists such as Tom Misch and Kaytranada. Part of their appeal stems from their willingness to establish new paradigms for fusion and the use of certain instruments. Their music is not the result of random experimentation. Rather, it is the product of fearlessness, technical expertise and thousands of hours of practice.

If you haven’t listened to “The Dots,” it is worth exploring, especially for its highlights. Hopefully, ALASKALASKA’s future installations will not require a review in order for listeners to find their excellent songs.

“Norman Fucking Rockwell!” Is an Ode to Broken America Continued from page 9 song of deep desire, it beats against itself in waves of nonchalant passivity and fighting to admit the fear of her lover never returning.

In “California,” Del Rey’s mastery of ironically expressing her willingness to put aside her fast cars and stardom to take her lover into her arms marks the peak of the album, which begins to tamp down across the tracks “The Next Best American Record” and “The greatest.” The latter track feels like a cheaper version of Father

John Misty’s “Bored in the USA” as it explores virtually the same ideas, but far less articulately through a copy-cat chord progression. Despite paying homage to Misty earlier in her album, Del Rey undermines her own talent as she borrows the content and irony of an artist who has mastered his own sound far better than she ever will.

Despite faltering in creating her own vision of a musical mélange of broken American history, Del Rey manages to land the album as a moderate success with her closing track, “hope is a dan-

gerous thing for a woman like me to have — but I have it.”

This is interestingly the only track on the album that features no capitalization at all, so the visual format of the title reifies the heart of the tune as well. Del Rey sounds resigned to the current melancholic state she occupies personally and politically, even as she sings about hope. She paints herself as a modern-day poet — a “24/7 Sylvia Plath,” who is an interesting artist to juxtapose herself with given Plath’s suicidal ending is hardly a symbol of hope.

Building her case for hope around this tragic irony, it is almost as if the singer has already given up. However, the slight melodic rises shine through as the true heart of hope: Del Rey repeats to the point of her voice breaking, “Hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have.” Her failure to cease demonstrates that, yes, Del Rey does have hope, which is perhaps what distinguishes her from Plath.

As the album fades out, the listener is left wondering where this hope will take Lana Del Rey

and whether it’s enough to save her from the broken version of the American dream that looms over her, and us all. While this is not Del Rey’s strongest work, it is not easy to write off as a complete failure of an album. Aside from pulling off the miracle of having Jack Antonoff not overstep as a producer, “Norman Fucking Rockwell!” is a dense and idealistic work that experiences many small successes in its poetic intricacies. It’s a complex American ode that is so broken, but so ready to forgive what has been offended, all in the name of hope.

Arts & Living 11

The Amherst Student • September 18, 2019

What We Can Learn From the Latest Influencer Scam

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Natalie Beach, former friend of Caroline Calloway (above), revealed herself as Calloway’s ghostwriter last week.

Isabella Weiner ’20 Staff Writer I have long been intrigued

by Instagram influencer Caroline Calloway, who boasts over 800,000 followers on the social media platform. Well before the 27-year-old Virginia native set the internet ablaze when her nationwide “scam” literary tour crashed and burned — Calloway had promised attendees that for $165 a pop, she would provide “personalized” care packages and provide tips on how to “cultivate creativity” and craft an Instagram brand — I often flipped through her Instagram page.

As far back as 2014, I remember being enchanted by her life: she attended school at Cambridge University in England, wore orchids in her hair and, most importantly, had a Swedish boyfriend, Oscar, who seemed like a character straight out of a romantic comedy. In snappily charming prose, she recounted this fairytale romance, taking her followers back to when they first met, and often ending her posts with a “TO BE CONTINUED.” I was hooked.

She also frequently made references to her forthcoming memoir “And We Were Like,” posting pictures of its cover, a pair of girlie white sunglasses

artfully displayed on a bed of flowers.

Then, suddenly, in 2017, her Instagram went silent. It stayed that way for more than a year.

When Calloway ultimately resurfaced, having archived her posts from the previous two years, she had shifted away from her lengthy captions to using the Instagram story function (similar to Snapchat, these stories disappear after 24 hours).

And despite scoring a $350,000 advance deal for the book (a number Calloway occasionally changed to $500,000), “And We Were Like” was never published.

Then, in 2019, Calloway launched her ill-fated tour, dubbed a “one-woman Fyre Fest” by the media. Calloway herself captured her downfall, posting Instagram stories of being inundated by mason jars (1,200 jars were delivered to her NYC studio apartment as part of her care packages), complaining about making lunch for everyone and abruptly moving all of the tour locations to New York.

Her followers (and ticket-buyers) desperately asked her to reconsider; they simply could not make the cross-country journey.

Here’s the thing: Calloway had never even booked the venues.

But the backlash, while perhaps temporarily humbling

Calloway, ultimately did not dissuade her. She hosted an event in August called “the Scam,” where she embraced her new identity and sold tickets for the same $165 price. And people showed up. (Why? Out of a desire to see another disaster unfold before their eyes? A still-burning admiration for the “artist?”)

Perhaps her biggest scam of all was revealed less than a week ago. Her former friend, Natalie Beach, published an article for The Cut, revealing herself as Calloway’s ghostwriter. She had co-written many of Calloway’s Instagram captions — the very ones I had been avidly following — and had authored most of the proposal for the book that had never materialized.

She also revealed that Calloway had purchased tens of thousands of fake followers when trying to launch her account; the

Instagram account itself was a lie. In the article, Beach also discussed Calloway’s all-consuming Adderall addiction (something Calloway had also revealed to her followers), her friendless existence at Cambridge (she had been rejected twice and attended NYU first, but could not bear the thought of an NYU degree), and her propensity to cry over mundane gifts and to lie about objects from her room being stolen, only for them to reappear days later. Everyone around Beach told her that Calloway was bad news. But she didn’t heed their advice.

While Calloway was posting dreamy pictures of Cambridge’s storied halls and dates with Oscar, she was actually drowning in her addiction. She was depressed and suicidal, squandering her massive book deal. (To date, she has not paid back the advance to

Flatiron Publishing.)

Her Instagram captions now more closely reflect this reality: they are angry, messy and weirdly self-aggrandizing about her “faculty with language” and creativity. She posted constantly about Beach’s upcoming article, the scam news coverage and various journalists who both disdain and are fascinated with her.

She is a “self-obsessed mess,” as one Vice article dubbed her — and a phrase that Calloway began printing on her own merchandise. But maybe for the first time, we can see the mess.

And maybe Calloway can tell us something larger about influencers, about the power they have over their followers — who are willing to spend substantial amounts of money just to meet them — and about the stark difference between Instagram and reality.

Arts & Living 12

The Amherst Student • September 18, 2019

The Life Behind “Living”: What We’ve Been Listening To

Olivia Gieger ’21 Managing Arts and Living Editor In the Arts and Living section, we spend every week upholding, analyzing and exalting the arts and culture on the campus, in the valley and world around us. But, it’s also worth taking a moment, or two, to look within the section for the arts and culture we ourselves consume. This week: podcasts.

As the summer season of binging and intern-commute listening comes to an end, there’s still room for podcast consumption.

It just might take some revived inspiration, so consider this list of my favorites as a push back into podcast bliss.

Still Processing

They take the pieces of culture we consume, from Kanye and Jordan Peele to the fandom surrounding the presidential elections and blow them up to analyze and ultimately understand how these influence the ways we live, act and interact.

Listening to “Still Processing” is always the highlight of my day, and I often find myself waiting for the episodes’ Thursdays releases. Wortham and Morris are the cool, older, New York friends that I wish I had, and I suggest you should too.

The Cut on Tuesdays

In a similar vein, New York Magazine’s The Cut puts out a weekly quick, clear meditation on the cultural forces that push our lives.

The show has touched subjects from how we discuss money — interviewing Stacey Abrams and Abigail Disney — to how close female friends navigate gender transition.

The show, and its amiable host Molly Fischer, does what The Cut does best: takes fascinating, absurd and intriguing slices of life and dissects them, holding them up for questioning and appreciation in our modern lifestyles.

It’s Been a Minute

Back this fall with a new season, “Still Processing” is some of The New York Times’ finest work. The paper’s venerated critic-at-large Wesley Morris and staff writer Jenna Wortham, who focuses on issues relating to gender and sexuality, cohost the show.

It’s a brilliant meditation on the world and cultural forces shaping it. Wortham and Morris bring their deeply informed expertise and rich range of interests and life expriences — both are queer, black writers.

Sam Sanders is an absolute treat. In his show, “It’s Been a Minute,” he bridges the gap between strict news coverage and light cultural commentary.

Sanders hosts each episode alongside two guests, who are usually local reporters following a beat that’s at the forefront of the news.

It’s a refreshingly light conversation with serious, sound analysis from those closest to the matter. Sanders has a unique ability to dance between subjects that make us laugh and those that make us wring our hands with worry.

Every week, the show ends with voice clips sent in by listeners describing the best part of their weeks, something I’m no stranger to shedding a small tear at.

Post Reports

Consider it the counterpart/ cousin of the The New York Times' beloved “The Daily” (which, of course, I do listen to on the daily, but it’s too much of a given to include here). The show takes the day’s top stories, and digs into them, breathing life and voices into the day’s headlines.

It’s released at the end of the day, bookending the deluge of morning news podcasts quite nicely.

The Drop Out

For devoted fan of "S-Town" and "Serial," ABC News' series on the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes comes close to quenching the same thirst for uncovering mystery and truths in murky realities. It’s surprisingly gripping for a story that does not center on murder, as true crime podcasts are wont to do. But it's absurd and surreal in every other way.

And, the story is still unfolding on a national scale with major players whose names ripple through U.S. politics. The story is one that's fascinating across mediums — John Carreyrou's book on the subject, “Bad Blood” hit The New York Times best sellers' list — but listening to the story come alive fleshes out a new dimension of the tale in ways words on a page cannot.

You Must Remember This

“You Must Remember This” made its ways into my ears this summer because of its thorough analysis of the Manson murders.

Inspired by Quentin Tarantino's most recent film (which reimagines the famous murders), I listened to the show for the entire season it dedicates to the historical conditions and characters that created the Manson cult and

murders. Listening to the show made me appreciate hidden nods to the rich Hollywood history embedded in the film, which I otherwise would have missed upon first watching.

As a whole, the show explores the mysterious histories of early Hollywood.

swers from experts; and they host interviews of burgeoning feminist advocates.

It's a good listen for a long car ride and for freeing your thoughts into the obscure corners of female empowerment.

Up First

Good One

Another strong series from New York Magazine, “Good One” cross-examines comedians and their jokes. Host Jesse David Fox expertly interviews some of the industry's biggest names. He takes a single bit, scene or punch line and closely goes through the joke's evolution with the comedian; it's an interview technique that is surprisingly revealing and paints a full and unique picture of the people behind our favorite punchlines.

While some shows demand that I consume every drop, “Good One” lends itself to dabbling, with episodes that stand alone well.

Unladylike

Speaking of morning news podcasts “Up First” ranks among my personal favorites. Pithy and just personable enough, NPR’s best reporters runs through the news in true NPR style. The show is succinct and thorough and defends NPR's place as the master of the airwaves.

More Perfect

I'm admittedly new to the game on listening to “More Perfect,” but as a podcast about the Supreme Court decisions and workings, it makes the list in honor of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's upcoming visit to campus. Prepare for her talk by listening to the episode “Sex Appeal” which is the story of Ginsburg's work arguing against sex discrimination in front of the Supreme Court.

In Contrast

Unlike those above, “Unladylike” is untethered from any major news outlet; it's produced

by Stitcher and the Unladylike team itself. This gives the show the freedom to meander, swear and discuss issues that do not fall into the ever-spinning news cycle.

Hosts Cristen Conger and Caroline Ervin are fierce feminists and self-described research addicts, who take their show through the meandering halls of feminism. They give history lessons of unnoticed or underappreciated female heros; they pose questions on seldom-explored female issue and seek their an-

I’d be remiss without mentioning the work of Amherst's own Ilan Stavans. Cards on the table, I spent a semester working on Stavans' show “In Contrast” which focuses on in-depth conversations with intellectual leaders. It's a delightful opportunity to hear artists, writers, thinkers and all kinds of creative individuals reflect on the broad questions of the day, in conversation with another thoughtful mind.

Produced in partnership with NEPR, “In Contrast” has a local flavor and insight into valley issues while still touching global concerns.

Photos (clockwise) courtesy of Lean Crew, GCLibrary, bottomshelfbooks, Veroni-caarellanodouglas and Wikipedia

Sports Ada Okorogheye ’23 Makes A Splash for Men’s Soccer Alexandra Dangas ’23 Staff Writer Ada Okorogheye ’23 isn’t missing home just yet. One of the men’s soccer team’s six first-year recruits, Okorogheye is adjusting well to college life an ocean away from London.

Fortunately, he hasn’t had to look farther than a few lockers down for a surrogate family.

Playing against Bowdoin on Sept. 7, Okorogheye scored his first goal for Amherst in their opening match after an excellent through ball from a teammate left him with only the keeper to beat.

“I remember scoring and I’d like to think I’ve scored more important goals in my life, but I was overcome with so much emotion,” Okorogheye said.

“That moment showed how much the team already meant to me in a short space of time,” he added.

This goal, as well as a brace against Babson, may have singled Okorogheye out as the player to watch as the season unfolds.

The bonds he’s built so far with teammates and head coach Justin Serpone are all the more significant as he is one of only three international men’s soccer players (and the only player from the U.K.) on this season’s roster.

Despite these numbers, Okorogheye said that Amherst stood out to him and his family after a visit last December with Serpone – even compared to the Division I American schools he looked at, including Dartmouth, University of San Diego and the University of Pennsylvania, among others.

The clincher came down to the “personal touch” offered by both the college and the atmosphere of the men’s soccer team, carefully cultivated and

consistently emphasized by Serpone.

“The best quote that I ever heard coaching-wise was: ‘Recruit players you’re willing to lose with,’” Serpone said.

“What you want is a bunch of people that have the emotional ability to give themselves and care about their teammates; we have that, and Ada’s another example of that,” Serpone added.

While Serpone was certainly impressed with Okorogheye’s skills on the field, what singled him out were his leadership skills, genuine nature and hardworking habits, he said.

Okorogheye is certainly poised for success at Amherst, but it’s not to say that the transition has all been smooth sailing.

Having come from a soccer-based academy where he spent 12 hours a day on the field and prepared to become a professional athlete, adjusting to a more academically-oriented institution has come with its challenges, particularly with time management, said Okorogheye.

Balancing his classes, which include economics, statistics and religion, with practices and games often leave him with 25-minute intervals to get out of class, get dressed and be ready to go on the soccer field.

Though this transition is certainly strenuous on any student-athlete, both Serpone and Okorogheye agreed that a higher international athlete population would benefit Amherst.

While Serpone emphasized the importance of diversity in team relationships interpersonally, Okorogheye suggested that more diversity could even lead to a better record, specifically for the “international” sport of soccer.

“Since I’ve been here, I’ve been learning a lot about the American version of soccer, but I’ve also been able to let the boys know how things are done at home,” said Okorogheye.

This fusion of tactics almost creates a different perspective to the sport that could be a big advantage to Amherst.”

Okorogheye used a soccer agency, Tom Nutter Soccer Scholarships, to connect with

Amherst, but he emphasized the importance of the personal visit, as well as getting the Amherst name out overseas, to recruit more international players.

Serpone also conveyed a desire to bridge the gap between the rates of international students and international athletes at Amherst, but acknowledged the unpredictable nature of the recruitment process.

“The recruiting process is non-linear. We’d like to bring in an international student every year, but there are certain pieces of the admissions cycle that come into it, and it doesn’t always work easily.”

Complications aside, if Okorogheye is any example, Amherst has hope in courting talented, well-rounded community members from around the world.

The Amherst Student • September 18, 2019

Sports 14

Youth Players the Right Way Forward at Chelsea

Ben Gilsdorf ’21 Staff Writer

As a Chelsea fan, I have to admit that despite recent successes — including winning a Premier League title in the 2016-2017 season, the FA Cup in 2018 and this past season’s Europa League title — an overall air of frustration has marked the past few years at Chelsea Football Club.

The 2015-2016 10th-place finish (the team’s worst since 1996) comes to mind as an example of the up-and-down nature of the team’s performances, while the premature sale of players like Mo Salah, who went on to win two Golden Boots in the last two years, and Kevin De Bruyne, who recently set the record for fewest games needed to reach 50 assists, not only shows Chelsea fans what could have been, but also points to a deeper failing of management to identify and retain talent.

When FIFA announced earlier this year that Chelsea would receive a transfer ban for signing and loaning out too many foreign players under the age of 18, it felt like adding insult to injury. For

years, the club had signed talented young players yet never played them, even when the usual starters experienced a dip in form, which endlessly frustrated the club’s fans.

To then receive a ban on signing new players felt like even further punishment for Blues supporters, especially after the sale of marquis player Eden Hazard to Spanish giants Real Madrid.

I will be one of the first to admit that the sale of Hazard coupled with the transfer ban made me think that Chelsea’s chances of finishing in the Premier League’s top six, let alone its top four, were all but dashed.

Enter Chelsea’s new manager Frank Lampard — a team legend who is the club’s all-time leading goal scorer and who captained them to a heroic Champions League victory in 2012.

From the very beginning, Lampard was open about his desire to give Chelsea’s young players the opportunity to compete for spots in the starting line-up.

This included players like Tammy Abraham, who scored 26 goals in 40 starts for Championship side Aston Villa last season, and Mason

Mount and Fikayo Tomori, whom Lampard managed at his former club Derby.

In Chelsea’s first game against rival Manchester United, Lampard put his money where his mouth was at, and gave Abraham and Mount the start.

The result was disastrous: Chelsea was shut out 4-0, the biggest debut loss for a Chelsea manager since 1978, and their biggest defeat away to Manchester United since 1965.

In its second game, the Super Cup final, the club played fellow Premier League side Liverpool and lost on penalties, with Abraham missing the final spot-kick that cemented the defeat.

Chelsea fans had finally gotten their wish — the young players were starting, but instead of seeing this move pay off, the team’s inexperience and youth were holding it back.

Rather than backing off this strategy, and benching Abraham and Mount in favor of older players like French striker Olivier Giroud and Spanish winger Pedro, Lampard doubled down and insisted that the young players be

given the chance to prove themselves. Since that 0-2 start, Chelsea has not lost a game. The Blues have scored 11 goals in their past four games, with each goal coming from an English player under the age of 22 who came up through Chelsea’s academy. Tammy Abraham especially has rewarded Lampard for his trust, scoring back-toback braces against Norwich City and Sheffield United, and then bagging a hat-trick this past weekend at Wolverhampton.

His seven league goals make him the joint leading scorer in the league, alongside Manchester City striker and perennial Golden Boot candidate Sergio Aguero.

After years of watching our academy players flourish at other clubs, I was beyond happy to see Chelsea’s young players lead the team to victory.

It finally feels like Chelsea has a skilled, reliable young core of players who will make the club compete for Premier League titles for years to come.

I still have several concerns for the team this season: Chelsea’s defense is among the worst in the league, conceding 11 goals in five

games and scoring two own-goals in the process.

But again, the answer could come in the form of another young player as talented 19-year-old full back Reece James prepares to return from a lengthy ankle injury, and center back Tomori continues to gain experience. There will be other challenges that emerge too, especially if the young players struggle with form or if their inexperience takes the better of them in big games.

But even if this season ends with the Blues outside of the top six, I still believe that Lampard’s philosophy will pay off, and Chelsea will be able to return next season with a squad that can reliably challenge giants like Liverpool and Manchester City.

I am excited to watch this squad develop, and I hope that Lampard will give other young players — like American wunderkind Christian Pulisic — a chance to prove themselves on the big stage.

As the banner that hangs inside Chelsea’s home stadium Stamford Bridge says, I believe that “Super Frankie Lampard” is back and better than ever.

The Roundup: All The Stuff You Missed In Sports This Week Volleyball: This weekend, the Firedogs took down Clark on Friday and Worcester State and Brandeis on Saturday in quick sucession. Across the three matchups, the team failed to drop a single set and remains undefeated this season.

Field Hockey: Last week started on a high note for the Mammoths, who shelled Keene State in a Wednesday night matchup, 8-0. On Saturday, however, Amherst traveled to Clinton, New York, where they faced Hamilton in a crucial NESCAC matchup.

It was too little, too late for the Mammoths when Beth Williamson ’22 scored at the start of the fourth quarter. Hamilton had already scored two goals, and would go on to score two more before the period ended. The Mammoths lost 4-1.

Women’s Tennis: The MIT invitational, the Mammoths’ first event since a successful spring season, was equally fruitful for the team.

Jackie Buzkin ’22 and Claire Evans ’22 swept the doubles table, winning all four matches, including a sweep of the finals against an MIT duo, 8-1 and 8-3. Camille Smukler ’20 also

performed well, finishing second in the consolation singles bracket and in fourth place overall. The team returns to action in two weeks at the ITA Regional Tournament.

Cross Country: Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams competed at the season-opening Little Three Championships this past weekend. Sarah Gayer ’21 paced the Mammoths, finishing fourth overall. Gayer was followed by captain Olivia Polischeck ’21, who finished 10th overall. First year Sophia Wolmer impressed in her first event with a 13th-place finish.

In the men’s race, Amherst blew by Wesleyan but fell to Williams. Depth was key to the finish, as Amherst had six runners finish in the top 20: Spencer Ferguson-Dryden ’20, Jamie Mazzola ’21, Braxton Schudlt ’21, Ajay Sarathy ’21, Billy Massey ’21 and Braedon Fiume ’23.

Men’s Golf: The men’s golf team finished 11th out of 23 teams at the Duke Nelson Invitational this weekend. Will Lonnquist ’20 cut seven strokes off his day one score to end the tournament

in 30th place individually, pacing the Mammoths. Improvement on day two was par for the course, as the Mammoth squad cut a total of 18 strokes off of their top five players’ scores. The team must look ahead to next weekend when they travel to the Williams College Fall Invitational before finalizing their fall season with the NESCAC Qualifier.

Women’s Golf: Like the men’s team, the women’s squad vastly improved on day two of their event, the Ann S. Batchelder Invitational. Morgan Yurosek ’20 finished tied for fifth overall at the tournament after carding 74 strokes on day two. Overall, the Mammoths finished in fourth place behind Williams and Vassar, despite winning the tournament for the past two years running.

Men’s Basketball: Longtime head coach David Hixon will take a leave of absence from coaching the squad this coming season, according to a statement by Director of Athletics Don Faulstick on the Amherst Athletics website. Assistant Coach Aaron Toomey ’14 has stepped up as interim head coach.

The Amherst Student • September 18, 2019

Football Shakes Off The Rust With Win Over Bates Cale Clinton ’20 Staff Writer NESCAC football teams, in comparison to any other college programs, face unique restrictions.

These restrictions exist to better the lives of players, but challenges like a two-week preseason instead of months of preparation and no “camp” over the summer are par for the course for NESCAC schools.

In the Mammoths’ home opener this Saturday against Bates, the team seemed to polish themselves from unwieldy, unhewn stone into a competent football team as the game progressed. Amherst found themselves down 13-6 at the start of the second half, but responded to the challenge and shut out Bates in the second half, scoring three touchdowns to clinch victory.

Three aspects of the Mammoths’ play followed this trend of improvement. In the opening of the game, the Mammoths’ run defense was outplayed by the Bobcats. On Bates’ first drive, Amherst allowed Bates to rush for a total of 62 yards over 12 plays before they scored. The next Bates drive, however, Amherst forced a three and out when Flynn McGilvray ’23 and Alex Katchadurian ’20 snuffed out successive halfback dives and a designed quarterback run. Only 11 of 55 Bates’ primary running back’s yards came in the second half as the

Mammoths tightened things up.

The second problem was on special teams, where only some parts of the unit were successful.

Tristan Andrzejewski ’21 forced a fumble on the opening kickoff, and Connor Kennelly ’22 kicked well when given the opportunity.

The offensive line on special teams, which is supposed to protect the kicker, however, clearly had issues throughout the game. Punter Henry Atkeson ’20 and Kennelly both had Bates players power through the line and alter the kick. The team ended strong, however, with two successive, successful conversions.

The final issue was settling in tailback Brandon Huff ’22. The sophomore had just two carries last season, but now functions as the primary tailback. Despite struggling early in the team’s two fourth-quarter comeback drives, Huff snagged a crucial pass and broke into the secondary on a 14yard rush.

One might expect that, having shaken off the dust left by eight months of rest, the football team will rise to the similar levels of excellence it has achieved in recent years.

Three-year starter Ollie Eberth ’20 will lead the offense with a more passing-focused attack, and the defense will be astute as always. The team travels to Waterville, Maine to face Colby next Saturday, and will be likely to prove this point.

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Ollie Eberth ’20 led two fourth-quarter touchdown drives to lift Amherst over Bates this weekend.

Sports 15

Views from Sparrow’s Nest Matt Sparrow ’21 Columnist Matt Sparrow calls attention to the impressive legacy of tennis star Serena Williams as she navigates the twilight of her career.

No, the U.S. Open Final did not go as planned for Serena Williams. In a shocking upset, 19-year-old Bianca Andreescu became the first Canadian ever to win a Grand Slam.

This was supposed to be Serena’s coronating moment, her chance to finally make it over the hump, win her 24th Grand Slam and tie Margaret Court for the most in tennis history.

Considering that Andreescu had never before made it past the second round in a major tournament, it seemed like a pretty safe bet.

But the young Ontario native showed poise well beyond her years and used her powerful groundstrokes to run Serena around the court and force errors. While Williams did show some fight late in the second set down 5-1, breaking twice to even the match at 5-all, it just wasn’t her day and Andreescu claimed the last two games and the match.

With four consecutive losses in Grand Slam finals since the birth of her daughter, many are questioning if Serena will ever be able to win one again.

To me, it’s irrelevant whether or not she wins one more or 10 more.

As her career winds down, it is important that we do not take her success for granted and cherish every moment she steps foot on the court because you never know when it might be her last.

It’s amazing to realize that Serena’s first major title came 20 years ago, when a 17-year-old Williams beat fellow teenager Martina Hingis at the U.S. Open.

It was actually her older sister, Venus, who was more successful earlier on. But their father Richard Williams, who had coached them since they were

five years old, felt confident that Serena would be the better player when all was said and done, and he was absolutely right.

In her illustrious career, Serena has outlasted two different generations of tennis greats. She battled Hingis and Justine Henin in the beginning, Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic in the middle and Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka towards the end, not to mention Venus all throughout.

She has held the number one ranking in the world for more than six years in total, ranking third all-time amongst women.

She has won seven singles titles at the Australian Open, three at the French Open, seven at Wimbledon, and six at the U.S. Open to go along with four gold medals and another 14 Grand Slam doubles championships, all with Venus.

However, equally as impressive as her on-court accomplishments is what she’s done for others and the game of tennis off the court.

As a black athlete in a historically white sport, let alone under a microscope since her teenage years, controversy has always seemed to follow Serena.

From having beads in her hair fall off mid-match and multiple incidents with officials at the U.S. Open, to refusing to play at Indian Wells due to racial taunts from the crowd, Serena has dealt with her fair share of headlines.

Nonetheless, she has used her platform to speak out on a number of issues important to her.

She is an outspoken supporter of Black Lives Matter. Following her finals loss at Wimbledon, when asked about whether her increased visibility in the public sphere has affected her tennis,

she said, “The day I stop fighting for equality and for people that look like you and me will be the day I’m in my grave.”

She has written articles for Wired and Fortune Magazine about the lack of women and people of color in the tech industry and how gender-based pay disparity affects women of color the most.

In a symbolic move testifying to the power of women everywhere, she even won the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant at age 35. Serena then took the rest of the year off to have her daughter, Alexis Olympia, and came back to make the Wimbledon and U.S. Open finals the next year.

The problem with Serena is that we expect too much of her.

We assume she’s going to win every single match in dominant fashion, and anything less than that is a disappointment.

If she doesn’t win whatever tournament she’s in, no matter if she just missed a full season because she had a child, it’s considered shocking.

We’ve never experienced greatness like Serena Williams before, so we don’t know what do with it.

Legends don’t last forever, and it appears that Serena may finally be slowing down, which means it’s even more critical that we are grateful for however many matches she has left.

I also hope that we appreciate the amount of grace with which Serena deals with pressure on a daily basis.

In addition to being a black woman in a predominantly white sport, she’s a mother, a sister, an activist and in my opinion, the greatest tennis player of all time, and she does not always get enough credit for that.

The Amherst Student • September 18, 2019

Sports 16

Defense Key to Women’s Soccer’s Perfect Record Connor Haugh ’21 Managing Sports Editor The women’s soccer team has had an impressive start to the season, keeping a perfect record and making statement NESCAC wins, like this weekend’s 1-0 triumph over Hamilton College. What is arguably more impressive, however, is that through the first four matchups, the Mammoths have yet to concede a goal.

Given the Mammoths’ style and caliber of play, this is not surprising, but several key factor are primarily responsible for their defensive success.

The first and most efficient key cog is the work of head coach Jen Hughes. By implementing a trio of center-halves with unique responsibilities, the Mammoths retain the solidity at the back to drive numbers forward and harry the opposition before they even cross into the Amherst half.

Hughes’ emphasis on maintaining possession, regardless of the position of the ball on the field ,also feeds into their strength. This trio, most often made up of Kim Zhou ’22, Bella Palma ’20 and Sloan Askins ’20, has worked together since last year’s NCAA tournament quarterfinal campaign. Each brings different attributes to the table. Zhou, swift, left-foot-

ed and excellent in possession, screens the half-space between the opposition’s striker and wide players with speedy decision making, preferring to defend by shepherding opponents in directions they’d rather not travel. She also provides a jumpstart going forward, always looking to make an incisive pass down the line to her wide midfielder to carve open the opposition defense.

Palma anchors the center with a certain serene grace.

Although she never seems in a rush, her leadership marshals the trio as if on a string and she commands the players in front of her with ease. Often, central defenders in the “sweeper” role are long and lanky, but Palma, in the mold of FC Barcelona legend Carles Puyol (who despite his famous “large” hair was routinely dwarfed by his opponents), uses her knowledge of the game, rather than strength, to snuff out any opposition attack.

Askins, operating on the right of the trio, might be the most exciting to watch as a fan.

Often tasked with immobilizing the opponent’s most promising attackers, Askins relies on her excellent judgement and speed to cut out attacks before they begin in earnest. She also has a penchant for the tackle — some of her sliding efforts are

WED

GAME SCHE DULE

truly a thing of beauty. Given the ball in space, she often will loft a diagonal ball up towards the strikers to cleave the opposition defense in half.

Although the three-at-theback approach works wonders for Amherst, the Mammoths have one more failsafe in defense. Antonia Tamarro ’21, who transferred from the DI program at St. John’s University last fall, has been consistently excellent – most notably in her shot-stopping ability. The keeper recorded 10 shutouts last season and saved 90 percent of the shots she faced. Tamarro attributes her success to the rest of the squad in front of her.

“We’re so confident in the three players we have [in defense], so it gives the rest of the team the confidence to be more attacking-minded,” she said. “Since we have already had a year of playing together, the back line and I are super comfortable with each other’s playing style and tendencies. We also know how to communicate in a way that helps us get the most out of each other, whether that is motivation or support.”

With this strong defensive unit dictating the flow of the game, the Mammoths look to take on a string of tough fixtures, starting with Connecticut College at home on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 1 p.m.

Sloane Askins ’20 has been a part of 23 shutouts in 63 starts over her four years in the back line of the women’s soccer team.

SAT

Men’s Soccer @ Merchant Marine Academy, 7:45 p.m.

Men’s Tennis vs. Hobart College and Colby-Sawyer College, 10 a.m.

FRI

Volleyball @ Colby, 11 a.m.

Volleyball @ Bates, 7 p.m.

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Field Hockey vs. Conn. College, noon Women’s Soccer vs. Conn. College, 1 p.m.

Football @ Colby, 1 p.m.

Volleyball vs. Endicott College, 1 p.m.

Men’s Soccer v.s. Conn College, 2:30 p.m.

Men’s Golf @ Williams College Fall Invitational Women’s Golf @ Mount Holyoke College Invitational Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Antonia Tamarro ’21 has yet to allow a goal in four matches this season as the Mammoths’ goalkeeper.