THE AMHERST
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF AMHERST COLLEGE SINCE 1868
Football Defeats Bates in 19-7 Victory
STUDENT
See Sports, Page 9
VOLUME CXLVIII, ISSUE 3 l WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018
AMHERSTSTUDENT.COM
New Program to Serve First-Gen Students Ryan Yu ’22 Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of Matai Curzon ’22
Association of Amherst Students (AAS) President Silvia Sotolongo ’19 registers a student to vote as part of a drive to increase the number of student voters in advance of the upcoming midterm elections.
Study Shows Low Voter Turnout Among Students Shawna Chen ’20 Managing News Editor Editor’s Note: The Amherst Student is part of the newly formed task force on civic engagement and is involved in campus efforts to increase voting and voting registration. 9.5 percent of Amherst’s eligible student body voted in the 2014 midterm elections, according to a report by the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement (NSLVE). The 2014 voting rate for all academic institutions, in comparison, was around 19 percent. The study also showed that in the 2016 presidential election, 53 percent of eligible students voted. The study, which was spearheaded by the Institute for Democracy and Higher Education (IDHE) at Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, used enrollment records and publicly available voting files to provide estimated voting and registration rates at different college campuses. Students who were under 18 at the time of the elections were not included in the data, as were an estimated college-reported number of students who are not U.S. citizens. In the 2014 midterm elections, 62 percent of the student body was registered to vote, but only 15 percent of registered students voted. While roughly the same percent of eligible men and women voted, a significantly smaller portion of
eligible students of color voted than eligible white students. While 13 percent of white students voted, 4 percent of black students, 6 percent of Hispanic students and 3 percent of Asian students voted. According to Professor of Mathematics Tanya Leise, who teaches a class on voting, voter turnout for midterm elections tends to drop universally in comparison to presidential elections. The press does not cover midterms as closely, which means voters are oftentimes less likely to pay attention to the election. Barriers to voting also present a challenge, Leise said. “For U.S. elections, how you register and get your absentee ballot depend on the state,” she said. “Some states are really easy — I think Oregon for a while had online voting … — whereas some states make it much harder and have more barriers: different forms of ID and proof you have to present before you can ever register and get your vote accepted.” Director of Student Activities Paul Gallegos, Association of Amherst Students President Silvia Sotolongo ’19, Amherst Political Union President Taylor Pelletier ’19, staff members from the Center for Community Engagement, Queer Resource Center Director Jxhn Martin and The Student Editors-in-Chief Isabel Tessier ’19 and Nate Quigley ’19 began meeting earlier in the year to discuss ways to bolster registration and voting. The task force’s main priority was to figure out a way to
streamline the voting process, which resulted in the creation of the “one-stop shop” tabling booths, Gallegos said. Computers and online tools such as allintovote.org will be available for students to register to vote, check registration status, print out absentee ballots, scan forms of identification and obtain postage and envelopes. Student volunteers will offer guidance throughout the process. “Part of what deters folks is that it’s a multiple-step process,” Gallegos said. “Convenience is really key, especially when you’re trying to fit it into your day.” In the next few weeks, the task force will work with student groups on a poster campaign and plans to table from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday through Friday in Keefe Campus Center, where students will be able to access the one-stop shop. Maintaining a long-term task force on civic engagement is the end goal, Sotolongo added. “Most of the time, for voting, there isn’t a lot of institutional backing in the sense that every two years, we have to recreate a system for people to register and vote,” Sotolongo said. Other schools in the NESCAC have resources in place that automatically encourage civic engagement — such as registering students and increasing their awareness to vote during orientation. This year, various political groups on campus will host efforts of their own to increase voting
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As part of an ongoing effort to support traditionally marginalized communities on campus, a new initiative called the Meiklejohn Fellows Program was launched this semester. Aimed at first-generation and/or low income (FLI) students, the program is designed to improve general access to opportunities, in this case by providing resources and funding specifically for FLI students. The program will offer its participants dedicated advising and career development opportunities, as well as direct funding and support for summer opportunities such as internships and research projects. As it stands, only those in the class of 2022 and future classes are eligible for the program, although similar opportunities are available to FLI students who do not fit that criteria. This project originated from the Loeb Center for Career Exploration and Planning and Office of Campus Diversity and Student Leadership (CDSL). Casey Jo Dufresne, who previously worked as a program director on campus, will lead the implementation of this initiative. The program is named after Alexander Meiklejohn, who was president of Amherst College from 1913 to 1923. In his roles as educator and administrator, he was known for his dedication to educational reform. According to Tenzin Kunor, associate director of diversity and leadership, the program is just one of many that have been piloted in support of FLI students since the CDSL launched a year ago. He emphasized the importance of the CDSL’s activities at large with respect to FLI students as well as other targeted groups, including transfer, undocumented and veteran students. “Our CDSL programming invites students to access our resources and services as some of their individual circumstances and complexities could limit the informed guidance they receive — or possibly don’t receive — from family about navigating higher education,” he said in an email interview. Kunor also noted the key role that alumni engagement played in facilitating these programs. “About two years ago, a generous donor contributed a gift to support FLI-identifying students for post-graduate planning through the Loeb Center,” he said.
Science Center Cafe Delivers on Sustainability Zach Jonas ’22 and Lauren Pelosi ’22 Staff Writers The new Science Center cafe celebrated its opening on Monday, Sept. 17 at 8 a.m. The cafe, which was designed with community-building in mind, will operate from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and is open to students, faculty, staff and the public. The menu at the new cafe features sandwiches, salads, coffee drinks and items not found in other locations on campus, such as parfaits, sushi and customizable smoothies. The menu will evolve to include daily and seasonal specials, according to Director of Dining Services Joe Flueckiger.
The menu was designed with the well-being of the college in mind. Flueckiger said that the cafe’s offerings will be “generally more healthy, but still delicious,” featuring lighter options like openfaced sandwiches and sushi. The cafe also has an added focus on sustainability — it will feature local produce from the Pioneer Valley with the intent to minimize the environmental impact of the food served. “The building is this LEED [Leadership in Environmental Energy and Design] Platinum certified building; it’s pretty exceptional nationwide ... and so we wanted to deliver food that dovetailed nicely with the concept of the Science Center,” Flueckiger said. The cafe’s local food offerings are
part of a larger focus by Dining Services on sustainable food systems, under the new leadership of Executive Chef Stefania Patinella. According to Flueckiger, the layout of the Science Center was designed to foster community, and the cafe serves an integral role in promoting social interaction. “Designers wanted it to be a community meeting place, where people get together, whether it’s students or a group of faculty getting a cup of coffee, discussing a problem they’re solving,” Flueckiger said. “[Food] levels the playing field when you’re eating together,” he added. “There’s a universality to that experience — it makes it easier to interact.” The cafe’s hours of operation will remain flex-
ible as Flueckiger receives feedback from the community. Weekly hours may be adjusted, and Sunday hours may be added to better serve traffic in the Center. The menu will also change to reflect customer preferences. The cafe currently only accepts AC Dollars and cash, but Dining Services plans to implement payment by credit card within the first months of operations. Clinton Oshipitan ’22, a prospective neuroscience major, said that he would be amused “if there were science-themed drinks or food names.” For now though, Oshipitan is “looking forward to trying out new things and experimenting, seeing what [Amherst] can offer and add to [its] menu.”