Issue 4

THE AMHERST

THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF AMHERST COLLEGE SINCE 1868

STUDENT VOLUME CXLVII, ISSUE 4 l WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2017

Field Hockey Notches Impressive Victories See Sports, Page 9 AMHERSTSTUDENT.AMHERST.EDU

Students Host Disability and Inclusion Forum Shawna Chen ’20 Managing News Editor

Photo courtesy of Faith Wen ’20

Representatives tabled at Valentine Dining Hall to publicize the College Council’s release of a survey on Wednesday, Sept. 20, that evaluates the future of cable television in student dormitories.

Cable TV Survey to Reassess Student Needs Emma Wilfert ’20 Staff Writer The College Council distributed a survey to students through email regarding the college’s television programming on Wednesday, Sept. 20.

Voting will remain open until Oct. 4.

Since 1997, Amherst has provided cable television in dormitories’ common areas. As usage of these televisions declines, the Council is giving students the option of reallocating some or all of the approximately $100,000 spent on cable to other student activities.

Professor Andrew Dole, who currently serves on the College Council, said in an email that this cost to students is the primary concern regarding cable TV. According to Dole, “Every student pays a fairly large amount of money to the College for cable TV, but very few students actually use the service.”

The survey was sent out by Chief Information Officer David Hamilton and included three different options with pros and cons listed for each.

Students could choose to maintain the “status

quo” and continue receiving consistent access to cable programming. With this option, programming would stay the same. The survey noted that this is particularly useful for live access to sports programming and political coverage.

Alternatively, Amherst could eliminate its cable services from common areas altogether. While certain programs would be harder to access online, this option would allow the College Council to return the $100,000 currently spent on cable to the Student Affairs budget.

The third option would result in the pursuit of “a new model of providing television programming,” the survey said. According to the survey, this option would entail installing more modern programming with channel guides, digital video recorder and pay-per-view programming while maintaining access to sports programming. This change could potentially save the student body up to $60,000, but the survey also noted that if cable usage increased under this new program, costs could rise even higher than it currently is and some costs may be covered through a student billing service.

Benjamin Aliaga ’21 voted to eliminate cable from dorm rooms completely.

“When most students watch TV, they use Netflix or Hulu or some sort of streaming service,” Aliaga said. Considering how little cable is currently used, he said, he would rather see the $100,000 go to the Student Affairs budget.

“I think it would be good to funnel at least part of the money into [RC’s budgets], so we could do more fun things as a dorm,” Aliaga said. First-year dorms in particular could use more money for “bonding activities,” he added.

According to Dole, the individual or office that would decide how the money would be spent is still undecided.

“There would have to be a subsequent set of conversations about how the Student Affairs budget would be impacted by this,” he wrote.

He added later in an in-person interview, “The process of deciding what would happen to the money would involve both the administration and the student body.”

Continued on Page 3

Students held a forum on disability and inclusion on Friday, Sept. 22, to discuss issues of accessibility on campus. Organized by Matt Walsh ’19 and Annika Ariel ’19, the forum was an open space for conversation on topics ranging from misperceptions of disability to steps the administration could take to better address inclusion.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), discrimination against individuals with disabilities is prohibited in all areas of public life, including school, as well as public and private places open to the general public. The college’s Office of Accessibility Services is led by Accessibility Services Manager Jodi Foley and offers accommodations to students with documented disabilities according to the college website.

Ariel is a member of the Presidential Task Force on Accessibility and Inclusion, but the forum was organized independently of the task force and was not sponsored by any student organization.

Walsh and Ariel started the dialogue by asking students to introduce themselves and why they were at the forum.

Most students came with the intention to learn more about issues of accessibility both on a personal and campus-wide level.

“Coming to Amherst, I was very interested in getting more active in different political spheres and learning about racism and all the ‘-isms,’” Alyssa Snyder ’19 said. “One that I’m very much lacking knowledge about is ableism.”

Hannah Firestone ’19 also said her interest in the forum stemmed “from loved ones who need accessibility and don’t have accessibility.”

The forum moved into discussing perceptions of disability on campus. Ariel noted that the ADA “takes a really broad definition of accessibility.”

Walsh added that disability “isn’t binary.” Rather, he said, it’s “about the things that you need to fully access the resources that Amherst has.”

“It’s not even necessarily an issue of being able or disabled,” he said. “It’s about equal access in designing this school physically and policy-wise so everyone can access it, not just people who are ‘not

Continued on Page 3

‘Trump: Point/Counterpoint’ Features Diverse Ideologies Ariana Lee ’20 Staff Writer An ongoing conversation series, titled “Trump: Point/Counterpoint,” began on Sept.

19 and will continue until Nov. 16. Featuring various guests in discussion on issues relating to the current political climate, the five-part series is hosted by Ilan Stavans, Lewis-Sebring professor of humanities and Latin American and Latino culture, and is funded by alumni William Eisen ’70 and Robert Duboff ’70 in celebration of their approaching 50th reunion.

“Trump: Point/Counterpoint” was originally created as a “concept to help engender openmindedness at Amherst through a seminar which demonstrates the value of considering points of view other than your own as a key part of education,” said Eisen and Duboff in a joint email statement. “Professor Stavans decided to use the current political protagonist as an ideal

environment.”

“It seems to me that we do a disservice to ourselves, certainly to the younger generation, the student generation, when there is a diversity of racial or class or geographic, national, international backgrounds, but not a diversity of political ideological views,” Stavans said. “It’s very important to me to open up to different views and understand them and not ridicule them or [stereotype] them.”

The series features four speakers, two representing one ideological viewpoint and the others representing the other side. Speakers engage in a one-on-one dialogue with Stavans, during which they answer specific questions and present their own arguments. The fifth component of the series will focus on immigration, and in that event, members of the community — including local workers, students, restaurant staff, janitors and gardeners — will share their stories.

Speakers featured in this series “have distin-

guished themselves for having viewpoints that are strong and clearly presented, and are rational [and] intelligible in the way they pitch [viewpoints] to the general public,” said Stavans. “In the media in general … there are a lot of people screaming and shouting, and what I wanted was people who would talk — who would engage coherently and rationally.”

The biggest challenge, Stavans said, is “seeing what we do with the information that [speakers] provide to us” and how “respectful we can be with people whose views are clearly going to be very different from ours.”

“Can we allow ourselves to be exposed to those views and engage with them without screaming and shouting or silencing them?” he said.

The first event in the series, “Why BLACK LIVES MATTER Matters,” took place on Sept.

19 with Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Wesley Lowery. Lowery covers law enforcement, race

and justice for The Washington Post.

“I went to hear Wesley Lowery talk because I remembered reading his work when he wrote for the Boston Globe,” said Jeremy Margolis ’19.

“On one of the nights of the [Ferguson] protest, Lowery was arrested while he reported from a local McDonald’s, and I remember following along as that took place. It was really powerful to hear him tell that story during his talk last week.”

Through this series, Eisen and Duboff hope that the Amherst community will “foster … a willingness to welcome all viewpoints that are expressed without violence.”

The next conversation, “Illiberalism in the Age of Trump,” is set for Thursday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. in Stirn Auditorium and will feature The New York Times reporter Bret Stephens, who has won a Pulitzer Prize and written the book “America in Retreat: The New Isolationism and the Coming Global Disorder.”

News

Amy Coddington Fresh Faculty

Sept. 18, 2017 - Sept. 24, 2017

>>Sept. 18, 2017 8:45 a.m., Wilson Admissions Officers and the town fire department responded to an alarm and found it was caused by cooking smoke.

2:16 p.m., 79 South Pleasant Street Officers responded to a report of an unattended backpack near the building. Upon arrival, the owner was located.

11:53 p.m., Book and Plow Farm Two people who have no association with the college were found in the area of the Book and Plow Farm. They were asked to leave. >>Sept. 20, 2017 2:30 p.m., College Street Officers assisted the town police at the scene of an accident where a pedestrian was struck by a car.

games. Upon arrival, no activity was found. Alcohol was present but people were of age. An officer returned later and found a couple tables set up with Solo cups.

The tables were dismantled upon request.

7:55 p.m., Marsh House An officer and the Fire Department responded to an alarm sounding and found it was caused by cooking smoke.

8:07 p.m., Morris Pratt Dormitory An officer investigated a smoke detector sounding in a basement room and found it had been activated when the resident used a hair straightener.

8:45 p.m., Wilson Admissions Officers investigated an intrusion alarm and found it was accidentally set off by an employee.

2:49 p.m., Marsh House A caller reported the word “Wut” was written on a wall in a common room of the newly renovated building.

11:00 p.m., Mayo-Smith House A caller complained about loud music at a registered party. The event sponsor was notified by phone.

>>Sept. 21, 2017 1:52 a.m., Taplin House An officer responded to a complaint of loud music and found it had been turned off when they entered the building.

11:46 p.m., Mayo-Smith House Additional complaints were received about a loud party. Officers responded and had the gathering shut down.

11:41 p.m., Mayo-Smith House Two noise complaints were received for a registered party at Mayo-Smith. The dispatcher tried to reach the party sponsor by phone but there was no answer.

Officers responded and ended the party. >>Sept. 22, 2017 10:08 a.m., Plimpton House A smoke detector was found covered in a resident’s room. The matter was referred to Student Affairs.

10:34 p.m., Greenway Building B An officer investigated a smoke detector sounding and discovered it was caused by marijuana smoke. The matter was referred to Student Affairs.

10:43 p.m., Garman House An officer responded to a report of an unknown person in the firstfloor common area acting in an unusual manner. No one was found when the officer investigated.

10:58 p.m., Greenway Building B An officer investigating a smoke detector sounding discovered it was caused by marijuana smoke.

A device used for smoking was confiscated. The matter was referred to Student Affairs. >>Sept. 23, 2017 11:53 a.m., Seelye Street An officer investigated a motor vehicle accident.

2:18 p.m., Greenway Building An officer responded to a complaint of people playing drinking

>>Sept. 24, 2017 12:10 a.m., Moore Dormitory Officers shut down a registered party due to a person becoming ill from alcohol and brownies containing marijuana.

12:11 a.m., Hitchcock House An officer encountered an underage student with alcohol. It was disposed of and Student Affairs was notified.

12:15 a.m., Hitchcock House Officers discovered a registered party was beyond capacity and shut it down. A smashed window was also located.

12:16 a.m., Hitchcock House An officer encountered an underage student with alcohol. It was disposed of and Student Affairs was notified.

12:18 a.m., Hitchcock House An officer encountered an underage student with alcohol. It was disposed of and Student Affairs was notified.

10:04 a.m., Leland House Officers and the Fire Department responded to an alarm and found it was activated by cooking smoke.

12:29 p.m., Pontypool An officer investigated an intrusion alarm and found it was accidentally set off by an employee.

9:10 p.m., Wieland Dormitory An officer responded to a report of vandalism to the laundry room and discovered that someone discharged a dry chemical fire extinguisher throughout the room.

Department of Music

Amy Coddington is a visiting assistant professor in the music department. She majored in math and music at Macalester College and received her doctorate from the University of Virginia in the Critical and Comparative Studies program.

Q: How did you begin pursuing your area of study?

A: I was a math and music major in undergrad.

While I was [at Macalester College] I did an honors thesis on the singer-songwriter Aimee Mann, analyzing her music to think about the musical things she does to express the lyrical content of her songs — how the sounds of music back up what she’s talking about. From there, I graduated and was a choir conductor and a math teacher for about three years. At that point I decided to go back to graduate school because I just wanted to teach older students. My research deals with Top 40 radio and the mainstream of hip-hop. The reason I got interested in that subject is … I wanted to think about the way in which racial identity is expressed through music. Singers, rappers, you name it, have for the last 100 years, at least in America, really thought about their music as expressing racial identity. Simultaneously, it’s also been sold that way, and the relationship between how music is sold and how music is intended is … always fraught with complications, especially in terms of hip-hop. Hip-hop is thought of as — especially in the late 1970s, early 1980s — black music. It’s almost always described that way. It’s sold as black music, marketed as black music, and yet, somehow by the early 1990s, just 10 years later, most of its audience is white. So my research deals with the way in which audiences are conceived of and how audiences were sold hip-hop — how they came to the music and how people thought that they might enjoy it.

Q: How did you find your niche in hip-hop?

A: I wanted to write about race and popular music, and, especially in the last 35 years, hip-hop has been the main sound of blackness in popular music. It is the most influential genre today, easy, all over, across the world, no question about that …

Racial identity has complicated American racial identity in these really interesting and really provocative ways.

Q: How did you come to Amherst?

A: I was really interested in teaching at a small liberal arts school because I went to one, and Amherst was a really exciting place to teach because of the diversity of the student body, and also in this music department. Professors in this department are interested in a very wide array and have really open minds about what are classes that should be taught in a music department and what are classes they want to encourage being taught in a music department. Many music departments teach Bach, Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, Brahms, Wagner [and] stop. They stop at the end of the nineteenth century. This music department does not do that, and that’s really exciting to me — a music department that values contemporary popular music as something worth really studying in depth. Not just doing a survey class and calling it quits, but … asking students to really study it in depth.

Q: Can you talk a little about the classes you’re teaching this semester?

A: My “Hip-Hop History and Culture” class is … not really a lecture class, because I don’t lecture necessarily, but the class is starting in the 1970s and moving forward, investigating how hip-hop has changed throughout its … 40-year history.

Students in the class do a variety of different projects in my class. In almost all of my classes I ask my students to make podcasts. Students have to in that class write an album review and in that class we do

a combination of kind of thinking about hip-hop as a product of its historical circumstances and also thinking about it as art. So really taking the music seriously, listening deeply — learning how to listen deeply to music is one of the things I stress in that class. And then in my other class, which is a 400-level seminar, “Sounding Race in American Popular Music,” that class talks pretty specifically about three historical areas. So we start in the early twentieth century, just as American popular music as a genre, is born. In the early twentieth century … is when the music industry was born.

The music industry, as it’s created almost immediately, decides that certain music should be sold to white audiences and certain music should be sold to African American audiences. And since the 1920s, music has more or less been sold that way.

So in my class we start at the end of the nineteenth century, early twentieth century, thinking about music — what did American musical culture look like, and then how did the music industry’s idea of selling music to select racial demographics change the way that popular music was thought of? We’ll move from there to rock and roll and soul in the 1950s and 1960s, and spend a little time thinking about one of the first moments of musical integration. And then, we end the class thinking about now — 1990s to present — and asking questions about what about hip-hop’s musical language makes it sound black, makes it express blackness? What about country music sounds white? … And then also thinking about the impact that globalization has had on American popular music more generally … so that different sounds are being incorporated and American identity and racial identity is being spread out throughout the globe.

Q: What do you do in your spare time?

A: I love the outdoors, so I like going hiking. I like spending time at lakes. I’m excited about the snow and getting to ski, and I like gardening and I love cooking. Also, shoutout to my cat, Klaus!

Q: What song or soundtrack has been most influential in your life?

A: Stevie Wonder has this album called “Songs in the Key of Life” that I love. And it’s instantly the thing that pops to mind. Stevie Wonder is … an amazing musician, but a generous person. I saw him perform. He did this … tour a couple of years ago, and he gave almost as much stage time to his backup singer as he had. I mean he really is a generous spirit. For me, that album teaches me all the time about both musical beauty but also about ways to live and ways that I want our world to work. It really teaches generosity of spirit and kindness and love and peace and all things that I want.

Q: What do you want to contribute to the college during your time here?

A: The way that I think about my job is that I teach music classes, certainly, but my main goal as a teacher is to make students think about culture more generally as a product and as something that has meaning. That comes from somewhere — comes from the culture. Art comes from social and historical circumstances, but it also does things to people. So for me, one of the things that I like to impart on my students is a sense of knowing how to think about culture as both embedded in its moment but also as able to be taken and used for social change.

— Sehee Park ’20

The Amherst Student • September 27, 2017

News

3

Student-Held Forum Discusses Accessibility at Amherst Continued from Page 1 normal.’”

Joshua Ferrer ’18E, co-president of the Amherst College branch of Roosevelt Institute, a student think tank, covered a few accessibility initiatives currently undertaken by the organization, the most significant of which is the creation of the task force on accessibility and inclusion.

The conversation moved to current accessibility problems on campus. According to Ariel, applications to the college are not “fully accessible to users of assistive technology,” something the Roosevelt Institute is pushing for the Office of Admissions to change.

In an email interview, Foley said there is no single definition of “fully accessible” and that neither the Department of Education nor the Department of Justice has “established rules on the topic of accessible documents for assistive technology.”

She said, however, that the Common Application has a link for an accessible version, and the Coalition Application is finalizing an update that will “address some previously-identified accessibility concerns.”

According to the Justice Department, the recognized international industry standards for web accessibility are known as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 and can be found online. The Common Application currently requires applicants to disclose their disabilities in order to receive support services.

Another issue students highlighted was housing accommodations. If a student has a documented need for housing accommodations, often referred to as medical housing, Accessibility Services will place the student in a housing unit that meets those needs and is listed as one of the student’s top three choices. But students with accommodations cannot enter room draw with their friends, a concern voiced by many during the forum.

Residential Counselors (RCs), however, are allowed to bring a friend with them to their assigned dormitory, Walsh said.

“The explanation for RC buddies is that they shouldn’t have to live without their friends,” he said. “It really bothers me that RCs who voluntarily chose their job need the support of a buddy, but the people [for whom] Accessibility Services choose to live isn’t allowed to have one.”

According to Foley, students are given placement information prior to room draw so their friends can enter room draw with the choice to live near them. There is, however, no buddy system similar to that of RCs.

Photo courtesy of Shawna Chen ’20

Eleven students, including forum organizers Annika Ariel ’19 and Matt Walsh ’19, gathered in a circle in Friedmann Room on Friday, Sept. 22, to discuss issues of accessibility on campus.

Students also expressed discomfort with the fact that Accessibility Services consists of a oneperson staff: Foley.

Foley said that though she is the only staff member, she is part of a “campus-wide network of many other staff ... [who] work closely with each other and support the office and the students who use accessibility services.”

On campus, however, accessibility and health care are not discussed as frequently as are other issues, Ariel said.

Yet, the issue of accessibility “literally affects everyone,” Adrian Chen ’19 said. “You’re temporarily able-bodied.”

Walsh, who took a class examining disability and inclusion, brought up the idea of universal design as opposed to designs “geared to the normal.”

“If something is designed better for everyone, it’s going to work better for everyone,” he said.

Walsh is currently working on the Design Challenge started by the Center for Community Engagement and said his team hopes to tackle how to better incorporate the voices of the disabled in the process of policymaking at the college. One change he’s pushing for is a centralized reporting form for issues of accessibility which would be similar to the Title IX reporting form.

Because Amherst is an “inaccessible environ-

ment architecturally, and we can go back and forth about whether it [is] socially, people don’t want to talk about disability,” Ariel said.

“If people don’t talk about it, it’s really isolating,” she added.

Misconceptions of people with disabilities also occur with lack of open conversation, Walsh said.

“People generally attach the belief that, ‘Oh, well, you’re blind — I can tell you what you should and shouldn’t do because I know better than you,’” Walsh said. “Being aware of your tendency to be like, ‘Oh, are you sure you can do this?’ for people with disabilities is a good thing because this person has lived more of their life with that disability than you have, so it’s safe to assume they know better how to live their life with that disability than you do.”

Admitting misconceptions of disability and being open to making new points of view on accessibility are necessary to moving forward, he added.

“If you’re not willing … [to do so], then that’s a problem and that’s what creates the environments where people feel they have to hide their disabilities,” he said.

In the short term, students discussed organizing RCs on campus to back a change to medical housing restrictions, creating student positions

similar to Student Health Educators but for issues of accessibility and reevaluating the structure of guidance in the Office of Accessibility Services.

“There isn’t really a network for students to be directed to accessibility services and as a result, a lot of students fall through,” Casey McQuillan ’18 said.

More visible awareness campaigns could also bring greater attention to issues of accessibility on campus and how to access needed services, he said. McQuillan added, however, that “a lot of the small stuff builds to the bigger things.”

In a separate interview, Walsh said he and Ariel organized the forum because they felt they needed a way to further conversation around accessibility outside of institutional structure. They hope to hold similar forums in the future.

When contacted, Foley said, “We talk to students constantly and are aware of many of their frustrations.”

“We also take the issue of accessibility very seriously, which is one reason the college created the Accessibility and Inclusion Task Force last year,” she wrote. “For all of the work that has already been ongoing, and for all the work that is left to do, I am confident that with commitment and collaboration from all of us, we will continue to make significant progress.”

Survey Weighs $100,000 Against Retaining Cable TV Continued from Page 1 Dole acknowledged that “the options that we have are pretty limited [...] to what the internet service providers are willing to offer us in terms of services and pricing.”

Juliet Mayer ’18 and Camille Blum ’20 both voted for the third option. They each acknowledged that some access to cable is crucial.

“[Cable] could be really useful for certain students who are interested in sports or in certain political news channels, and that can be pretty important for schoolwork,” said Blum.

They also agreed that the student body as a whole would benefit if cable costs went down and funds were redirected.

“I think certain clubs on campus are underfunded […] and they all seem to be clubs directed

toward women and minorities,” Blum said, referring to the resource centers as examples.

“It seems good for everyone,” Mayer added.

“Maybe people could pay a little extra to have individual service in their rooms,” she said when asked about the possibility of costs increasing under the third option.

Blum, however, expressed concern about the possibility that students would have to individu-

ally pay if they want cable. “It makes it more like a privilege,” she said.

Once the voting window closes, Dole said next steps will be discussed most likely through committees made up of faculty and students, and renegotiations with the cable provider will take place.

Amherst signs its cable contract on a yearly basis, so no changes will be implemented until July 31, 2018.

Clery Disclosure Reveals Significant Trends in Crime Natalie De Rosa ’21 Staff Writer The Amherst College Police Department (ACPD) sent an email to the community releasing the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistic Act Report, an annual statement of crime statistics over the past three years on Sept. 18.

The 74-page report, which is mandated by law, compiles data from the Office of Student Affairs, Amherst Health Services, the Counseling Center and ACPD records to indicate changes in crimes rates from 2014 through 2016. The Title IX coordinator submits statistics to the police department for sexual assault and rape reports. Along with crime records, the report includes procedures for emergency situations, legal definitions and resources for students on campus.

In 2016, the number of rape reports nearly

halved from the previous two years, decreasing from nine reports to five. A more drastic decrease is seen in the amount of crimes categorized as violence against women, including dating violence, domestic violence and stalking. There were two instances of domestic violence crimes in 2016 in comparison to the six instances reported in both 2015 and 2014, and there were no reported incidences of stalking in this past year — a stark decline from the six reported in the year prior.

Chief of Police John Carter credits this decrease to partnership with departments on campus. “There is a lot of good educational work being done by campus partners in Office of Student Affairs, Title IX and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion Centers, and we think that contributes to a better community,” he said in an email. Despite these decreases, Carter also said that “we can only count what is reported to those departments.”

Alcohol-related crimes have also dwindled significantly in the past three years, dropping from 74 in 2014 to 50 in 2016. Similarly, drug violations decreased from 30 to zero between 2014 and 2016. The police department has engaged in a new approach to handling alcohol- and drugrelated issues, contributing to the decrease in arrests, according to the report.

Carter attributed these changes in liquor law arrests to the town police rather than the college’s police department.

“They adopted an early warning system around parties much like ACPD’s,” Carter said.

Through the early warning system, registered parties provide the police department with a sober contact person. In the event of a noise complaint, the police department contacts that person rather than responding first-hand.

The decrease in drug violations can also be attributed to Massachusetts’s initiative to decrimi-

nalize marijuana, Carter said. Under the guidance of the state’s Department of Education, the police department did not count instances of possession of less than one ounce of marijuana.

However, the occurrence of crime in other categories increased. The number of burglaries, for instance, increased from three incidents in the previous year to five. According to Carter, the college community can take steps to ensure that the campus is a safe environment.

“The police department and our campus partners focus in a broader way on the creation of community, civility, awareness and education,” Carter said, adding that student involvement in crime prevention remains crucial.

“As always the timely reporting of suspicious people and/or criminal activity greatly contributes to the safety of the community, the resolution of investigation and the accountability of people,” he said.

Opinion

THE AMHERST

Our Dependent Student Newspaper Letter from the Editors The Amherst Student’s editors, writers and staff have long prided ourselves on the independent nature of our student-run newspaper — since 1868, in fact. By “independent,” we mean that The Student was not funded by the school and that our all-volunteer team has worked hard to cover our own costs of printing, shipping to subscribers and distribution. While many other schools’ newspapers either started as school-funded projects or shifted to this model, The Student had managed to maintain its independence.

In recent years, this situation has changed. The slow decline of print media and rise of online readership has been a national and international phenomenon. Across the country, campus newspapers have been hit hard.

For The Student, this has meant declining advertising revenue and print subscribership, our two main sources of income.

Over the past few years, The Student’s finances have struggled to break even and periodically relied on discrete, no-strings-attached donations from the Association of Amherst Students (AAS). In the eyes of past editors-inchief and publishers, this relationship would allow The Student to stay afloat while still maintaining some degree of financial independence.

However, when we — the current editors-in-chief — entered our current roles, we recognized that such a financial model for this paper is unsustainable. We have an outstanding balance with our local printing company, and we have realized that if we fail to seek external funding, even our greatest efforts to fundraise or increase ad revenue would still not be enough.

Along with our head publishers, we reached out to members of the AAS at the end of the Spring 2017 semester, initiating a conversation with AAS Treasurer Jacob Silverman ’19 and Director of Student Activities Paul Gallegos about securing more stable and longterm funding through a source affiliated with the school. Together, we looked at the state of our finances and explored every possibility we had to improve our financial situation.

After these discussions, we formulated a plan that includes securing regular discretionary funding for future operating costs — printing and mailing — while all of The Student’s revenue from advertising, subscriptions and potential fundraising activities will contribute to clearing our outstanding printing balance. If current revenue

trends hold, this will be accomplished in three semesters, after which we will hope to secure a budget that includes The Student paying for part of our operating costs with revenue and the Student Activities fund supplying the balance.

Being part of the world of print media is important to us. Our weekly physical issues give us deadlines to meet and pressure to develop the best finished products that we can, while online-only media is less final and permanent. The college has had a strong history of student journalism, with alumni going on to write and edit for renowned publications and newspapers, and we hope to continue adding to that history.

To meet the demands of an increasingly large proportion of The Student’s readership, we are also setting our sights on developing and expanding our online presence. Currently, we are working with student web designers to improve our site’s user-friendliness and mobile functionality.

We don’t make the decision to give up our independence lightly. This is, after all, a tradition that has been carried through many years and valued by scores of student writers and editors before us. We, too, recognize financial independence as an ideal. In order for The Student to continue as a newspaper, however, we’ve realized that this is a step we must take. We want to be transparent with you, our readers, about the process by which this transition is taking place.

Reporting conscientiously on college affairs and providing students a platform for expression has been and continues to be our goal. The fact that we are financially dependent on the college doesn’t change this.

Especially in today’s political and social climate, we will continue to value truth and objectivity in reporting and give members of the Amherst community a place to make their voices heard. And as a college newspaper, we will continue to highlight the accomplishments of students, faculty and staff in the arts, sciences, sports and other fields, and their efforts to make this community and the world a better place.

Drew Kiley ’18 Jingwen Zhang ’18 Editors-in-Chief, The Amherst Student

If I May: The Hypocrisy of Donald Trump Jake May ’19 Columnist The most infuriating thing about Donald Trump is that he is a bigoted, racist, sexist husk of a man who has more business being behind bars than being behind the Resolute Desk. The second most infuriating thing to me is Trump and his constituents’ constant hypocrisy.

Of course, there is the ongoing practice of finding a tweet that Trump made prior to becoming president that directly contradicts his actions while in office. There are many examples, but a particularly damning one is Trump’s oscillating opinions on attacking Syria. This past April, Trump ordered a strike on a Syrian airfield. He did not seek congressional approval, a decision for which he repeatedly criticized former president Barack Obama in 2013 in a string of tweets, one reading: “The President must get Congressional approval before attacking Syria-big mistake if he does not!”

Furthermore, at the time Trump launched the attack, his approval ratings were in a tailspin. However, in 2012, Trump tweeted: “Now that Obama’s poll numbers are in a tailspin – watch for him to launch a strike in Libya or Iran. He is desperate.”

Finally, the very act of attacking Syria at all was something Trump had repeatedly argued against on Twitter, like in 2013, when he said (yes, he really wrote it in all caps): “AGAIN, TO OUR VERY FOOLISH LEADER, DO NOT ATTACK SYRIA – IF YOU DO MANY VERY BAD THINGS WILL HAPPEN & FROM THAT FIGHT THE U.S. GETS NOTHING!” There are countless other examples of this type of behavior from Trump on Twitter, but it is not just the president himself participating in this propagation of hypocrisy. The right-wing media, both mainstream and alternative, is unsurprisingly just as guilty. One of the most maddening is their ignorance towards Trump’s gratuitous golf outings. Both Trump and the right-wing media were relentless in their criticism of Obama’s tendency to spend his leisure time on the golf course. Of course, now that Trump is in office, he has played golf far more frequently than Obama did. According to a Politifact count, as of Aug. 1 of each president’s first year in office, Obama played golf 11 times, while Trump found time for 21 outings. Frankly, this fact alone really would not bother me. I, too, enjoy playing golf, and if I were president, perhaps I too

would play when I had the chance. However, the fact that he and the rest of the right-wing media so viciously attacked Obama for the same type of behavior makes his golf participation and the media’s silence about it truly infuriating.

Finally, Trump’s and his supporters’ hypocrisy has been on full display in recent days. The right wing has taken great offense to the national anthem protests that are going on in the NFL. Trump has repeatedly expressed his view that not standing for the national anthem is disrespectful. There are many layers of hypocrisy here, but the most frustrating is the right’s treatment of free speech. Just a few weeks ago, Trump and the right-wing media were coming to the defense of white supremacists, declaring that they have a right to practice free speech.

When these NFL players are participating in a very peaceful protest that they undeniably have the right to engage in, Trump and the right are bashing them to pieces.

It is no coincidence that the players taking part in these protests are mostly athletes of color. It seems that Trump and the right are very willing to suppress the same free speech they claim to champion if what is being freely spoken threatens them.

STUDENT E X E C U T I V E B OA R D Editors-in-Chief Drew Kiley Jingwen Zhang Managing News Shawna Chen Assistant News Editor Emma Swislow Managing Opinion Kelly Chian, Spencer Quong Managing Arts and Living Paola Garcia-Prieto, Olivia Gieger Managing Sports Nate Quigley Managing Design Justin Barry Head Publishers Emily Ratte Mark Nathin Design Editors Katie Boback, Zehra Madhavan, Zavi Sheldon

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The Amherst Student • September 27, 2017

Opinion

5

So It Goes: A Note on Compassion Brandt Dudziak ’20 Contributing Writer At Amherst — where exceptional students are met with exceptionally high expectations — the work we do is often endless and the pressures we face can become overwhelming. Stress becomes a neutral state of being as sleep slips away at the hands of problem sets, papers and club meetings.

The times when we can be alone and free of preoccupation, when we can be still, become a rarity.

Moments of introspection and reflection can be few and far between.

Sometimes, when stress gets out of hand, we might think to ourselves, “Why in the world did I sign up for this?” This question, however facetious, merits serious consideration. Why are we here? Many factors come into play in college decisions: opportunity, good fit, financial aid, family pressures. Reflecting on how and why we’re at Amherst can be grounding and can reintroduce us to our own capabilities that led us here when everything becomes overwhelming and we feel misplaced. I find that this question is one that I ask myself often and one that I think critically about when I stumble upon those rare moments of reflection.

Amherst was not my first choice when I was applying to colleges; I can’t even tell you what my Amherst essay was about. My sights were set elsewhere: University of Chicago. I could tell you exactly what my UChicago essays were about, having spent hours trying to craft the best ones that I could. I submitted my early application in Novem-

ber. That December I was deferred, and in March I was placed on the waitlist, each decision making me feel inadequate and rejected. Finally, in May, I found out that there would not be a spot for me at the university. However, that moment was different than the previous two, because at that point I already knew I would be attending Amherst College in the fall, and my excitement repelled any ill feelings.

I had made my decision to attend Amherst after visiting campus during Admitted Students Weekend in April, where I not only fell in love with the school, but fell in love with the people.

Everyone I met was warm, genuine and had a real interest in me as a person. I put immense value in being at a school surrounded by those kinds of people, so I committed. Now I’m here and I’m thankful. I’ve found that my initial impression of the students, faculty and staff here has held true, and the friends and peers I’m lucky enough to know here have helped me feel supported, loved and at home. When I imagine life at another institution, what often draws me back to Amherst is realizing that I wouldn’t know any of the people I know now. An incredible network of support keeps me afloat through the rigor of Amherst and shows me that this is the place I should be. I wish I could have offered this reassurance to my former self when I got that first message from UChicago; it would have been comforting to know that things would work out just fine. If I could, I would have told myself, “So it goes.”

This phrase — “So it goes” — comes from Kurt Vonnegut’s novel “Slaughterhouse-Five,” where

the sardonic phrase appears each time someone dies. However, the meaning I draw from it is less about grappling with mortality and more a way to understand life. Its central philosophy is that the universe is apathetic — with “the universe” being distinct from various religious figures that some folks would consider empathetic according to their beliefs. The universe does not possess the empathy or scorn to create good and bad; it simply persists. So it goes. The capacity to create joy, bitterness, disdain and love rests within the individual — an immense power to affect ourselves, impact others and shape the experiences we share when interacting with the world. Thus, the balance of positivity and negativity is dependent on our individual actions, on how we treat others and respond to challenges that we cannot control. That is why approaching life with compassion is so important.

Through compassion — not just toward others, but toward the world and yourself as well — community is built, bonds are formed and positivity is diffused across an otherwise apathetic universe.

This is the compassion I find at Amherst: a community of people who care deeply about one another. Kindness and love go an incredible distance in uplifting oneself and others, especially in the toxic, damaging and unjust political and social environment we find ourselves in today.

Communities can thrive when they’re built on compassion. Since the universe does not nurture community, we must. Since the universe cannot be compassionate or kind, we must be in its place for each other.

In this way, the phrase “So it goes” represents

our capacity and responsibility for forming the compassion that the universe lacks. There is, however, a possible presumption about the meaning of this saying. As it relates to systems of oppression, I hope not to conflate “so it goes” with complicity. Rather, the phrase symbolizes the resilience and resolve of the people who rise in the face of oppression: queer, trans and nonbinary folks, people of color, women, people with disabilities, low income families and anyone who holds marginalized identities. “So it goes” is both an expression of the structures of inequity that need to be upended — a representation of the unjust status quo — and a reminder of the fortitude and strength of the people on whose shoulders those structures are fastened. Rather than symbolizing resignation to oppression, “So it goes” symbolizes the work to be done and the determination of the people fighting and doing that work. Perhaps, in regard to the latter, a more apt phrase is “So they go.” So we go.

Finally, “So it goes” means that it’s human to make mistakes; that sometimes a good decision is better than worrying about making the best decision; that life goes on. I actually won’t know if Amherst was the best place for me, but it doesn’t matter. Maybe I could have been happy at UChicago, but I’m here, and so I will do my best and make the most of my time here and thrive off the compassion of my friends which I hope to return.

Maybe life would be different, or even better, elsewhere. But that’s none of my concern, because I am content here, in this community. I’m at home.

Whether I chose the best home is moot, because if I didn’t — well, so it goes.

Friendship and Divestment Bryan Doniger ’18 Contributing Writer In her opening remarks to the class of 2020, President Biddy Martin named friendship as one of the three pillars of community life at Amherst.

These remarks echoed not only a speech Martin delivered a year ago in the wake of Trump’s election, but also a letter she wrote to all students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and friends of the college in September of last year. In that letter, Martin praised “a student body filled with avid learners who teach one another what it means to make friendship a defining feature of community and democracy.” Other faculty have followed suit: In a co-authored piece for The Amherst Student titled “The Liberal Arts in Illiberal Times,” four professors from across a range of humanities departments wrote that “our vision of the public interest is that people from vastly different backgrounds can live and learn together, form friendships together and engage in self-examination together.”

These professors’ investment in the project of friendship is well-placed. Friendship is the process of learning to treat another human animal as an esteemed equal. It is a powerful antidote to the alienating, depressing and lonely condition of contemporary life. It is increasingly difficult, and increasingly worthwhile, to foster friendship while living within an American state riven with inequalities.

Thus, the stories we tell each other about

friendship are also stories about equality and community. However, anyone who delves into Amherst’s finances quickly finds a disturbing counter-narrative: Despite all the rhetoric to the contrary, the college remains heavily invested in corporations whose business practices annihilate friendship and desolate communities. Two particular examples come to mind: our investments in fossil fuel companies and our investments in private prisons. Both of these cases are long-standing, documented and non-trivial (fossil fuel investments comprise around 14 percent of our overall portfolio).

Private prisons are one of the many forms through which American slavery re-manifests itself in the 21st century. Prisoners provide capitalists with a massive (primarily black and Latinx) pool of laborers forced to work exhausting, meaningless and debilitating jobs for virtually no individual gain. These prisons, like all labor camps that coerce workers using threats of violence, produce what Achille Mbembe refers to as “social death.” Prison wardens, security guards and capitalists — like the slave masters who came before them — violently deny the equality of those whose labor they exploit. Mbembe tells us: “The slave condition” (and the condition of the alienated prisoner) “results from a triple loss: loss of a ‘home,’ loss of rights over his or her body, and loss of political status.” Private prisons are, among other things, devoted to the project of annihilating friendship and eradicating a sense of “home.”

Over these past two months, we have also witnessed the highly destructive consequences of continued investment in fossil fuel companies that aggravate the effects of climate change. This hurricane season has provided numerous stark examples of the way in which ecological catastrophe decimates communities all over the world.

By investing in fossil fuels, Amherst College weds itself to corporations that cause climate disasters, which — in President Martin’s words — subject millions to “injury and death, loss of loved ones, loss of homes and belongings, and absence of the most basic resources and infrastructure.”

Our desires are strange and self-contradictory: Our investment in friendship wars with our investment in social death. We may desire “to make friendship a defining feature of community,” yet our college’s extravagant wealth is only possible because we reap the surplus profit produced for the rich in a deeply unequal “democracy.” The college’s most readily available responses — donation drives, philanthropy and so on — are akin to placing a Hello Kitty band-aid on a gaping wound.

On campus, the Direct Action Coordinating Committee poses a more difficult but potentially far more fruitful response: a well-organized, community-driven campaign pressing for divestment from fossil fuels and private prisons. I think that DACC’s work is somewhat akin to what psychoanalysts call “sublimation” — resisting our desire to violently negate other humans while simultaneously reinvesting in our desire for rela-

tionality and conviviality. No one who works for DACC is naive enough to believe that Amherst’s divestment will change the world in and of itself.

Rather, DACC is valuable because its method of resistance makes it possible to form a horizontalist coalition of friends and comrades. A successful divestment campaign would result in not only a transformation in the college’s finances, but also a stronger association of students, staff and community members who desire equality. This would include bolstered relations with a number of similarly dedicated local organizations like the International Socialist Organization, the Pioneer Valley Workers Center and the Sugar Shack alliance.

A week ago, I got into a fight with my best friend Rene. A few hours later, we met to apologize to one another. We both knew that we were being dumb and insensitive. When we met, I shared a draft of this piece with him. Human relations are always shot through with slight injuries — misunderstandings, disagreements and contradictions. However, as Rene read my draft, he reminded me that friendships redouble their strength precisely in the moments when we undergo the slow, arduous process of repair. Members of DACC know that any effort to address the wounds that injure friendship at Amherst will be met with resistance — the body’s revolt against the slight pains necessary for recovery and transformation. However, the consequences of rejecting healing are too dire for us to allow the wound to bleed out.

Letter to the Community: Financial Aid Katie Fretwell ’81 Dean of Admission and Financial Aid To the Amherst Community: I am writing in response to flyers recently posted on campus and student concern expressed in a recent issue of The Student asserting that the Office of Financial Aid (OFA) has inequitably served low-income students. For both current and future Amherst students, these actions, which included disrespectful comments about the OFA staff, have created the very real possibility of actually limiting important access to financial resources. I believe that that outcome is not what anyone connected to Amherst desires.

Understanding the financial aid process at Amherst begins with learning several important facts. Amherst is among only four institutions in

the nation that practices a need-blind admission process for all applicants, meets 100 percent of every admitted student’s demonstrated financial need regardless of citizenship and does not package loans. The college has been and continues to be strongly committed to calculating financial need and meeting every student’s demonstrated need consistently and equitably. Amherst’s goals in offering one of the country’s most generous, entirely need-based financial aid programs — and one of the country’s very few entirely needblind admission processes — are to ensure that we can attract and admit the most talented students without regard to their ability to pay and that the cost of an Amherst education will be within their reach.

Regarding our policies and practices, I offer a few equally important facts. First, regardless

of increases in tuition or costs of attending Amherst, if there are no changes in a family’s financial circumstances, the college’s estimated family contribution remains the same and the college absorbs the increases in cost. When a change does occur, annual award notifications detail what circumstances may have impacted any increases or decreases to the family contribution.

Examples might be significant changes in household income or the college enrollment or graduation of a sibling. Second, while the college does not package loans, some families utilize federal or Amherst-subsidized low interest educational loans in their financing plan. In contrast to the majority of aid programs where loans are routinely packaged, Amherst meets each student’s full financial need with a combination of selfhelp from earnings and grant aid.

The college has taken a number of recent steps to increase transparency about the financial aid process at Amherst. In April 2017, we added a second cost calculator, MyinTuition, to the Financial Aid website — it takes only a few minutes to complete, includes only six questions and is available in both English and Spanish. Just last month, the OFA added staff to support a financial aid peer advising program and expand the office’s social media presence to enhance communication with students.

I strongly encourage anyone with questions or concerns to work with OFA deans to learn more about the process at Amherst and their own financial aid situation. The entire OFA staff is dedicated to openly engaging with students and their families to support their Amherst education.

Arts&Living

Photo courtesy by htxt.co.za

Although this sequel’s marketing heavily featured a spoiler, “Kingsman: The Golden Circle“ successfully builds and elaborates upon the original’s popularity.

Sharp Wit Makes Worthy Sequel in “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” Mark Simonitis ’19 Staff Writer When “Kingsman: The Secret Service” was released in 2014, it proved, along with “Deadpool” and “Mad Max: Fury Road,” that R-rated blockbusters still had a place in Hollywood. The original “Kingsman” was a delightful surprise, parodying the classic James Bond movies while still managing to be an incredibly entertaining movie on its own merits. Though “Golden Circle” may have lost some of the magic of the original, this sequel maintains the franchise’s characteristic ultra-violence, endearing characters and surprisingly heartwarming moments.

The film kicks off with a bang as the titular Golden Circle, an international drug cartel led

by Julianne Moore’s Poppy, launches a devastating strike against the Kingsman agency, a British group of spies. In the wake of the attack, Eggsy (Taron Egerton) and Merlin (Mark Strong) set off to get help from Kingsman’s American cousins, the Statesmen. We’re then treated to a rollicking adventure as the British and American super spies set out to bring an end to Poppy’s scheme.

The decision to introduce the Statesmen proves to be an absolutely inspired choice. Just as the first “Kingsman” explored the idea of the perceptions people have of the British as a nation of James Bonds, the Statesman embody the perception of Americans as a nation of John Waynes or Clint Eastwoods. Channing Tatum may only get a few minutes of screen time in this installment, but his Agent Tequila perfectly embodies the swagger and cowboy roughness of this archetype. Instead of Tatum, Pedro Pascal takes the place of our central Statesman character as the laser-lasso wielding Agent Whiskey, and it’s a treat to see him and Eggsy bounce off each other.

Unfortunately, the other two Statesmen don’t fare nearly as well. It appears Halle Berry’s Ginger Ale left half of her character arc on the cutting room floor, while Jeff Bridge’s Champagne is the same cowboy you’ve seen him play a thousand times over.

If the Statesmen are a representation of America’s grit, justice and toughness, then Julianne Moore’s Poppy represents the darker side of America. Obsessed with the nostalgia of the 50’s, Poppy decorates her secret lair with malt-shops,

barbershops and screenings of old movies, giving some of the final action sequences an almost surreal atmosphere. Moore clearly has a blast with the role, as Poppy possesses all the sweetness, can-do-attitude and consumerism you might expect from a Martha Stewart advert. Except she uses it to run a drug cartel.

As an action movie, “Golden Circle” does not disappoint. From the hectic car chase of the opening scene to the last bullet fired in Poppy’s lair, the action is creative, well shot and a blast to see in action.

Some readers may notice that I have neglected to mention another major plot point which the movie’s marketing has heavily emphasized. I will not talk about this plot point because, to me at least, it constitutes a major spoiler. Even director Matthew Vaughn has attacked the “stupidity” of this marketing decision and has vowed to take steps to ensure something like this never happens again under his watch.

I also have to give the movie credit for staying away from its predecessor’s successes. Just when you think you’re getting a redux of the bar fight from the first movie, Vaughn turns the tables on the audience. While there is a sequence of Eggsy mowing down goons in the same manner as Colin Firth’s infamous church scene from “Secret Service,” it manages to separate itself by adding a few twists to the mix. Finally, in a move I absolutely love, the final fight of the movie features a showdown between equally matched opponents rather than having a hero carve through a faceless CGI army. This is a trend that we have seen a lot in recent movies, and I hope it continues.

The first “Kingsman” proved that it could do character work just as well as its action sequences. The sequel gives its viewers much of the same. Egerton is once again an engaging and charming protagonist for us to follow. Strong absolutely steals the show on this one, taking center stage in the movie’s funniest scene as well as its most emotional one. Pedro Pascal’s performance makes me wish that the Western would get a comeback so we can see him drift into a lonesome mining town. Of course, the entire cast manages to be funny, serious or defiantly badass at a moment’s notice, just like the film itself.

However, perhaps due to the nature of the movie, “Golden Circle” has lost something that

made the original special. Throughout the original, there was a definite meta-commentary on spies and spy movies that allowed for a careful examination of these tropes, celebrating or mocking them. “Golden Circle” has the perfect opportunity to take this same approach to Westerns, but the film never follows through. The only exception to this is a plot thread left over from one of the Bond parodies in “Secret Service.” Princess Tilde (Hanna Alström), the woman Eggsy met at the end of the last movie, utterly defies the Bond Girl trope by actually showing up again for the sequel as a compelling love interest. Continuing their relationship was a smart move, providing much needed emotional beats throughout the film.

One of the most interesting aspects of “Se-

cret Service” was its surprisingly strong message about classism, especially within the British aristocracy. “Golden Circle” continues this trend, focusing its attention on drug use. Unfortunately, the message is not as clear this time, often seeming contradictory. At one point, the film manages to attack both the War on Drugs and the legalization movement within five minutes. The movie attempts to play both sides of the aisle on this one but ultimately fails to deliver a coherent message.

While it may not be able to completely duplicate the success of “Secret Service,” “Golden Circle” still stands as an excellent sequel. It loses some of its predecessor’s charm and a bit of its brains, but the film hangs onto the dark comedy, wild action and sympathetic characters that have made the franchise a runaway hit.

Photo courtesy of hit-channel.com

Halle Berry’s new character, Ginger Ale, lacks development in this sequel.

The Amherst Student • September 27, 2017

Arts & Living 7

Lil Uzi Shows Personal Growth in New Album “Luv is Rage 2”

Photo courtesy of Youtube.com

“Luv is Rage 2” includes tracks like “Two,” where Lil Uzi Vert opens up on the effects of fame, and tracks like “Sauce it Up” that revert back to his club-song style.

Jack Klein ’20 Contributing Writer On Aug. 25th, Lil Uzi Vert released his premier studio album, “Luv Is Rage 2.” The Philadelphiabased rapper is known for his mixtapes “Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World” and “The Perfect LUV Tape” as well as features on songs such as Migos’ charttopping “Bad and Boujee.” “Luv Is Rage 2” spans 16 tracks, featuring the wildly popular hit “XO TOUR Llif3,” along with top streaming songs “Sauce It Up” and “The Way Life Goes.” Uzi’s signature trap beats and themes from previous projects pervade the album. However, he demonstrates a newfound emotional and thematic range, signaling both personal and artistic growth from his past works.

In his previous albums, Uzi exhibited a teenager’s playful exuberance by almost exclusively singing anthems about chasing girls and buying cars. On “Luv Is Rage 2,” he reveals his darker side by devoting a portion of the album to his more painful experiences and his coping mechanisms for these times. He begins by admitting on “Two®” that “the fame is life, it’ll eat you up alive.”

In “UnFazed,” a brooding, bass-heavy track set to a sinister piano beat, Uzi enlists The Weeknd to boast: “take three Xannies like a hat trick / Take another pill for that magic.” In “Feelings Mutual,” Uzi acknowledges that even though it’s “not [his] first merry-go-round,” after his breakup he’s so hurt that he “can’t feel no more.” When he breaks up with his girlfriend, he attempts to stay ambivalent by telling her: “I don’t really care if you cry” in “XO TOUR Llif3.” In “Dark Queen,” over a slow, sad beat interspersed with hi-hats, Uzi begins to prove his maturity by revealing that he dreads the day that his mother passes away: “Don’t care about this money, don’t care about them cars / Lose my momma that’s a problem you can’t solve.”

Not only does Uzi finally display an emotion other than joviality and jealousy, he also allows himself to be vulnerable.

Uzi’s transformation is on full display in “The Way Life Goes.” Reminiscing about how his past lover didn’t care about his wealth, he realizes “that just goes to show me money don’t attract a thing.”

Drawing on all of his experiences and the pain he’s endured, he assures the listener: “I know it hurts sometimes but you’ll get over it / You’ll find an-

other life to live.” This revelation and advice is a turning point in Uzi’s persona. He no longer needs to self-medicate or find another girl to get over a failed relationship. He channels his previously childlike energy into a practical, positive outlook.

In addition to his introspective and intense works, Uzi manages to successfully apply his signature style to other songs on the album. On “Neon Guts,” a lively ode to the pursuit of a positive attitude set over a xylophone, Uzi and Pharrell both sing “dark energy, we don’t touch.” On “How to Talk,” Uzi exuberantly asks his girlfriend to “talk to [him] nice.” In “Sauce It Up,” a song tailor-made for parties, he raps over a catchy, energetic and up-tempo beat replete with hi-hats and a pulsing bass. Like always, Uzi’s upbeat songs are both melodious and fun.

There are instances in the album when Uzi’s struggles take a back seat to his bread-and-butter mainstream rap tropes. “444+222,” “Pretty Mami” and “No Sleep Leak” all focus on sex, drugs and money. Yes, convention dictates that these themes must be present somewhere in a commercial rap album, but it doesn’t mean that they can’t add any artistic or aesthetic value to the songs that contain

them. However, these songs are a minor blemish on an otherwise excellent album. With an extensive production cast, which includes well-known artists like Pharrell, Maaly Raw, DJ Don Cannon, Wondagurl and Metro Boomin, the production makes up for the occasional lack of lyrical depth in this album, ranging from a version of Uzi’s trademark accordion appearing in “Two®” to baseheavy tracks like “Early 20 Rager” and “X.” Epic party anthems that can stand alone as singles like “XO TOUR Llife 3” and “Sauce it Up” bring commercial viability and general appeal to the album as a whole.

Artists attain new levels of fame when either the sound or the message of their music resonates with their audience. Uzi’s latest album aims to do both. Some of his songs discuss the universally understood pain and depression that follow breakups. Others express his desire to stay positive and have fun. Both sides of Uzi in this album form a cohesive work; his challenge in his future projects will be to balance his newfound range. At 23 years old, Uzi is still just a kid. However, with “Luv Is Rage 2,” he proves that he’s on his way to growing up.

“Ingrid Goes West:” You’ll Laugh at Ingrid and Then at Yourself Olivia Luntz ’21 Contributing Writer

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.org

“Ingrid Goes West“ hits close to home as Ingrid’s journey to follow in the footsteps of her Instagram idol tackles issues of our reliance on social media.

Matt Spicer’s film “Ingrid Goes West” opens with emojis and hashtags flashing across the screen, all of the ingredients for a perfect Instagram post. But when a “#perfect” wedding ends with the bride getting pepper-sprayed in the eyes, it becomes clear that this film mocks social media culture and the insincerity it creates.

“Ingrid Goes West” follows down-onher-luck Ingrid (played by Aubrey Plaza, best known as April on “Parks and Recreation”).

After the death of her mother and a stay in a mental hospital, she decides to reinvent her life by following in the footsteps of her favorite Instagram obsession Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen) and moving to sunny Los Angeles. After befriending Sloane by stealing and then returning her “lost” dog, hilarity ensues between the mismatched pair and Ingrid’s desperate attempts to impress her new friend.

“Ingrid Goes West” is a truly laugh-out-loud funny movie. While it is hilarious to watch Ingrid carry out her misguided plans — such as photographing everything in Sloane’s shower and medicine cabinet the first time she is invited into her house — the film hits such a chord with its audience because we’re all really laughing at ourselves and our media-obsessed society.

The film explores desires we all have — we all want to be liked, fit in and portray our best selves to others — and amplifies them to a new extreme. Of course, most of us are not stealing dogs to get people to like us, but we can all understand the desires that are fueling Ingrid’s crazy schemes.

The film also provides voices of reason, one of which is Ingrid’s landlord and later boyfriend, Dan Pinto (O’Shea Jackson Jr.). Pinto fails to understand Ingrid’s desire to impress Sloane and values trust and sincerity over a lifestyle or an aesthetic. Another is Sloane’s husband, Ezra O’Keefe (Wyatt Russell) who, although married to an “Instagram star,” does not even have a smartphone. Unsurprisingly, he and his wife’s differing opinions on social media lead to frequent clashes in their marriage, unbeknownst to all of her followers commenting “#couplegoals.”

However, “Ingrid Goes West” does not simply provide its audience with the cliché message that people’s lives on social media are not a true reflection of their actual lives. The audience knows that while Ingrid looks like she’s having the time of her life in Los Angeles on Instagram, privately her life is falling apart and her mental health is deteriorating. Sloane’s life is also crumbing, due to her problems with family and finances, but, unlike Ingrid, she never has the confidence to admit how disingenuous she truly is. The movie takes this one step further, stressing how, even with that knowledge, we still long for that perfect Instagram life.

Even after social media has almost destroyed her life, Ingrid still cannot keep herself off it, and it is this bittersweet ending that makes this film nothing like social media itself.

While Instagram only shows the rosy side of life, “Ingrid Goes West” unapologetically tells it like it is. Ultimately, that makes the film so relatable and so unsettling. While the last line of the film, “#IamIngrid,” echoes in your head, you’ll realize that, indeed, there is a part of Ingrid inside each of us.

Arts & Living 8

The Amherst Student • September 27, 2017

Muschietti’s “It” Presents Fresh Take on Classic Horror Style

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In theater’s latest Stephen King adaptation, “It” transcends typical horror movie tropes and presents genuine adolescent characters with relateable fears.

Youngkwang Shin ’19 Staff Writer Just last month, an adaptation of Stephen King’s “The Dark Tower” came into theatres to no one’s acclaim and Idris Elba’s immediate regret. In true Stephen King fashion, the story follows a middle-class, white, American boy’s journey into the netherworld and adulthood, climaxing in a fantastical battle with Matthew McConaughey where childlike wonder and innocence triumphs adult cynicism. What disappointed was not the destination but the halting, screeching stops and turns it made along the way.

Now, a month later, another Stephen King adaptation graces the screen with an almost identical plot of an adolescent journey where innocence bests adults’ skepticism. But “It,” despite making several mistakes that reveal the age of its source material, proves to be a ready improvement upon this trope, particularly with the way it melds its particular horror with the universal King-narrative of children poised on the verge of dangerous change.

I found the films’ similarities a bit surprising, too, since “It,” directed by Andy Muchietti, concerns itself with not one but seven children and their terrifying encounter with adolescence. The film follows the truncated first half of Stephen King’s tome, in which children disappear in quick succession from a small town in Maine. No mystery surrounds the perpetrator: Pennywise the Dancing Clown, who Bill Skarsgard charismatically plays. His face on the poster and in the prologue all but assures us that he is responsible for these disappearances, and that these disappearances are, in fact, grisly killings. One protagonist loses his brother to these incidents, and soon, the history of violence haunting their town causes the entire group to confront its demons, within and without.

Even so, most of the film’s runtime follows these children, their speech impediments, their domestic abuse, their germaphobia and their jokes about “your mom.” The directors took a bizarre and brave risk that pays tremendous dramatic dividends by the climax of the movie.

The decision adds a thematic depth to what could have been just another rote “Conjuring” clone by examining the terror beyond the ter-

rorizer.

As gripping as the scenes with Pennywise are, the clown does not quite disturb. It is ultimately terror directed towards the audience rather than any actors of the drama. “It” makes the cleverer choice to, at times, obscure its iconic clown altogether to deliver some of its most visceral frights. Bullies, overprotective mothers, lecherous stepfathers and headless children all fill this void. Instead of feeling incoherent and thinly spread, these disparate images congeal into a sense of abomination stalking the most vulnerable members of the town, a sense that precise language cannot capture a sense of “it.”

Then, empathizing with the primary observers of “it” and its many manifestations becomes several times easier for the audience. Just like in “Dark Tower,” these children sit on the brink of growing up. In one giggle-worthy scene, one boy scratches out the word “LOSER” on his cast and writes a mighty red “V” in the place of S. It is a quiet detail, but it is unmissable, just like this movie’s concern with the emotional and sexual dimensions of growing up. Confronting the monster is not just a merry adventure. It is a trial by which these squires become knights and these boys become men. All of these small details, like that red “V” on the cast, mount to the unavoidable realization that the imminent terror that they must face and overcome function as the terror of facing and overcoming the changes in their minds and bodies.

Unfortunately, this attention to the minutest detail falters and fizzles when it comes to the actual, visible horror of the film. As much as the script deviates from the tried, true and tired beats of “Conjuring” or “Annabelle,” the actual scenes are all too proud to flaunt their degrees from the James Wan School of Scares.

Each scare is fitted to reveal something about the particular kid, yes, but each scare rushes armed with blaring noise to conjure the cheapest jumps from an unsuspecting audience. In the context of the rest of the film, these scenes waste their able actors and mark uncreative detours from what has proven to be an unique path through and away from the surrounding dreck of the genre.

Even more lamentable is the fact that the absolute climax of the movie stretches itself as one of these digressions. Aside from a poignant

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and heartfelt goodbye that severely and seriously concludes the character arc of the group’s leader, the final minutes of “It” swell and swing with the worst tropes in the business, including a tasteless callback to “Sleeping Beauty” that only reminds the 21st century viewer that the original book was written in the 1980’s and that girls have no place playing the hero.

It is a hurtful flaw, to be sure. But unlike “Dark Tower,” “It” has an assured sequel in the

works recounting the second, more significant story of the novel that would locate this movie and all its aged faults in the appropriate past to tell the story of these immature kids, grown up and still frightened. It is still a book with problems, to be sure, but it gives hope, especially considering the considerable strengths of this film. One can only hope there are no more sidetracks on this road, and that the story grows up with its characters.

VR for Real!

Student and faculty requests for support for virtual reality (VR) have increased over the last two years. Interested in finding out first-hand what VR looks – and feels – like? Stop by the lobby of Frost Library or 112 SMudd to see a demo of VR equipment. It’s a great opportunity to experience VR for yourself and consider its application in your academic work. Please stop by during the dates and times listed below: Frost Library, 2-4pm • September 15 • October 20 • November 17 • December 15

112 SMudd, 2-4pm • September 29 • November 3 • December 1 Keefe Atrium, 3-4pm • October 5

More information: http://www.amherst.edu/go/vr

Amherst College IT • 413-542-2526 • AskIT@amherst.edu

The Amherst Student • September 27, 2017

Sports 9

Women’s Tennis Suffers 7-2 Loss to Football Routs Hamilton in QB Williams in Annual Fall Matchup Reece Foy’s Return from Injury Talia Land ’20 Staff Writer

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Sophomore Anya Ivenitsky fell in both singles and doubles play, with her two heart-breaking losses emblematic of a Amherst’s struggles on the day.

Jordan Rhodeman ’21 Staff Writer The Amherst women’s tennis team traveled to Williams’ Hunt Tennis Courts on Saturday, Sept.

23rd, to battle longstanding archrival and perennial NESCAC power. The Mammoths, coming off a successful start to the season last weekend, seemed prepared to challenge the defending league champions in its first dual meet of the season (and only dual meet of the fall). However, the team fell short to the Ephs, 7-2, in a match that was closer than a casual glance at the scoreline would indicate.

In doubles play, the first-seeded Amherst duo, Kelsey Chen ’19 and Vickie Ip ’18, fell in a hardfought match against Williams’ Juli Raventos and Julia Cancio, 9-7. Anya Ivenitsky ’20 and Avery Wagman ’18 also suffered a loss in the No. 2 spot to Chloe Henderson and Rachel Cross, 8-2.

Despite the losses at the top of the doubles ladder, Camille Smukler ’20 and Maddie Dewire ’20 won, 8-3, over Sasha Cayward and Mia Gancayco in the third doubles match.

Amherst headed into singles play trailing 1-2,

needing four out of the six singles matches to come out on top.

Smukler continued her winning streak from her doubles match, winning a thrilling match in straight sets against Raventos, 7-6, 5-3. Unfortunately for the purple and white, this would be the team’s lone singles success in the counted matches.

On the next court, Chen fell short to Cross, 6-1, 6-2, while Ip fell against Leah Bush, 6-4, 6-3.

Dewire suffered a three-set loss to Cayward, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, on the fourth court. Williams grabbed another victory with Henderson snatching the match over Ivenitsky, 7-6(2), 6-7(5), 10-4.

Amherst and Williams also competed in three singles matches that largely featured younger members of the team. In these matches, it was much of the same for Amherst, with the Mammoths losing all three matches despite hardfought competition.

Despite the lack of success in this weekend’s match, Amherst looks to come back from this loss with a strong series of performances in the coming weeks. The Mammoths return to Williams to compete in the three-day ITA Regional Championships this weekend, Sept. 29 to Oct. 1.

Men’s Cross Country Finishes Third at Purple Valley Classic Veronica Rocco ’19 Staff Writer On Saturday, Sept. 23, the men’s cross country team traveled to rival Williams for the annual Purple Valley Classic. The Mammoths placed third out of 27 teams with 109 points, while SUNY Geneseo, led by individual champion Isaac Garcia-Cassani, claimed the team victory with 87 points.

Just ahead of the Mammoths was Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in second place with 95 points. Archrival and defending NESCAC Champions Williams placed fifth with 136 points.

Due to construction at Mt. Greylock High School, where Williams hosts their home meets, the course had significant changes this year.

However, the 8k race was still challenging and hilly. The competitive invitational featured five nationally ranked teams from several regions in Division III as well as international competition in McGill University from Canada.

In only his second-ever cross-country race, Clark Ricciardelli ’20E led the Mammoths with his fourth-place finish in the 324-person field.

The sophomore moved up throughout the race to run his first 8k in a time of 26:12 on the hilly course.

Just behind Ricciardelli was Mo Hussein ’18, who finished in sixth place. The senior ran his first race since Division III Cross Country National Championships in 2016 and showed his fitness after injuries kept him on the sidelines for both the indoor and outdoor track seasons in 2017.

Tucker Meijer ’19 placed 14th overall to factor in as the team’s third scorer, while Spencer Ferguson-Dryden ’20 placed 27th overall and

was the team’s fourth scorer. The sophomore is having a breakout cross country season, placing in the team’s top 5 in each of its first two races this year after not factoring into the team’s scoring as a first year in 2016.

The team’s fifth and final scorer was Justin Barry ’18, who placed 58th with a time of 27:42.

Rounding out the top 7 for the Mammoths were Jacob Silverman ’19 and Jack Wesley ’18, who placed 119th and 128th, respectively. Behind them was a pair of sophomores, Chris Stone and Ralph Skinner, who completed the 8k course in 28:45 and 28:50, respectively. The race was particularly impressive for Skinner, who only recently began running again after an injury.

Aaron Zambrano ’18, Braxton Schuldt ’21 and Ermias Kebede ’19 rounded out the competitors for Amherst.

It was an unusually hot weekend at Williams, which, along with illness and injuries, contributed to Billy Massey ’21, Kristian Sogaard ’19 and Estevan Velez ’20 dropping out of the race. Sogaard, an All-American in the 800, ran as part of the team’s top 7 throughout 2016.

“It was an incredible season opener on the whole,” Ferguson-Dryden said. “Everyone executed their race plans well, and we beat some key teams as a result.”

On Friday, the Mammoths will compete at the Paul Short Run, hosted by Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Penn. This large invitational features teams from all three NCAA divisions, and the Mammoths will compete in the Gold race, the meet’s top section.

Only ten runners will travel to Pennsylvania, as the meet only allows ten competitors per team. The Mammoths who will not compete at Paul Short will race at Westfield State the following weekend.

The Amherst football team steamrolled through another opponent last weekend, defeating Hamilton 36-6 on Saturday, Sept. 23. With this win, Amherst’s record now stands at 2-0.

Forcing a fumble on his tackle, linebacker Andrew Sommer ’19 came up big in the first play from scrimmage for the purple and white, giving Amherst stellar field position deep in Hamilton Continental territory.

On the Mammoths’ opening drive, quarterback Reece Foy ’18, playing in his first game after getting injured early last season, breached the goal line after a one-yard quarterback sneak.

However, Foy suffered a minor injury on the drive leaving him questionable for this weekend. Sophomore Ollie Eberth, who started the first game of the season, replaced him.

Hamilton looked better on their next drive, but on a fourth and one attempt from the Amherst 30-yard line, Avery Saffold ’20 forced another fumble to get the Amherst offense on the field once again.

Later in the quarter, an intentional grounding by the Hamilton quarterback in their end zone resulted in a safety, making the score 9-0 in favor of Amherst.

The Mammoths found the end zone with 17 seconds to play in the first quarter following four straight rushing plays. Junior Jack Hickey

rushed for a 14-yard gain and Foy ran for 15 yards to give Amherst a first-and-goal at the 4-yard line. Hickey finished off the drive, powering through the defense to reach the end zone.

Kicker John Rak ’19 was the star of the second quarter, hitting a 41-yard field goal with three minutes left, and then another two minutes later from 48 yards out. The Mammoths played stellar defense in the first half, blanking the Continentals.

Amherst scored two more touchdowns within the first few minutes of the second half, making the score 36-0. Hickey had his second of the day on a 16-yard rush. On Amherst’s next offensive drive, Elijah Ngbokoli ’20 tallied his first TD of the season on a 39-yard run up the middle. Ngbokoli would end the day with 78 rushing yards.

Hamilton scored its only points of the day on an 8-play drive, resulting in a 31-yard touchdown pass. Amherst blocked the extra point , however, and neither team scored in the fourth quarter, making the final score of the game 36-6 in favor of the Mammoths.

Eberth played the majority of the game in the QB slot, going 7-9, while Nick Morales ’19 went 3-5 and Foy went 1-3 with a touchdown.

First-year Matt Durborow ’21 notched a teamhigh seven tackles, while Sommer made six tackles along with his forced fumble.

Next week, Amherst is back at home on Pratt Field to host Bowdoin, who are currently 0-2.

Field Hockey Continues Dominant Start to Season With Trio of Wins Jenny Mazzella ’20 Staff Writer This past week, the Amherst College field hockey team racked up three more wins. With these results, Amherst improved its overall record to 6-1 (2-1 NESCAC), their best start to a season since 2012.

On Sept. 21, Amherst defeated Endicott College 4-1. Endicott took an early lead when they scored off a corner in the first 10 minutes of the game. However, Amherst responded a mere two minutes later when Katie Bergamesca ’18 scored off a feed from Caroline Feeley ’18. Soon after, Mary Grace Cronin ’18 notched another goal before Kendall Codey ’19 scored off of an assist from Cronin at the end of the half. In the second half, Emery Sorvino ’19 tallied another goal for the Mammoths to finish off the game.

Amherst had 23 total shots to Endicott’s 10 and enjoyed an 18-8 advantage in shots on target.

Goalie Emilie Flamme ’20 made seven saves for the purple and white.

On Sept. 23, the Mammoths got their second win of the week, defeating NESCAC rival Williams College in a close game by a final score of 3-2. Once again, Amherst came from behind to secure the win.

Just five minutes into the game, the Ephs pulled ahead with a quick goal. However, in the last five minutes of the first half, Codey tied

the game, scoring off of an assist from Laura Schwartzman ’20. Two minutes into the second half, Williams once again took the lead when the Ephs drew a penalty corner.

Flamme saved the initial shot, but Williams scored off the rebound. Elizabeth Turnbull ’18 tied up the game once again, sending it into overtime. During these extra minutes, Turnbull tallied her second goal of the game, winning the game for the Mammoths. While Williams tallied 14 shots to Amherst’s eight and 10 shots on goals to Amherst’s seven, Amherst still managed to come out on top.

The Mammoths closed off their impressive week with a midweek tilt against MIT that saw Amherst emerge victorious with a 4-2 win.

Amherst started strong in the match, taking an early lead under three minutes into the game when Bergamesca scored off a nice pass from Feeley. Bergamesca then notched her second tally of the game in the 16th minute. Although the Engineers were able to pull one back, a goal by Cronin just before the whistle gave Amherst a 3-1 lead heading into the half. The Mammoths consolidated their lead 10 minutes into the second half, thanks to Cronin’s second goal of the game and fifth of the season .MIT pulled one back, but ultimately fell short in their comeback attempt.

Amherst will return to the field on Saturday, Sept. 30, when the Mammoths face NESCAC rival Tufts.

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Captain Elizabeth Turnbull ‘18 solidified her status as the spearhead of Amherst’s offense with a pair of goals against Williams this weekend.

10

Sports

The Amherst Student • September 27, 2017

Women’s Soccer Drops NESCAC Matches to Williams, Conn. College Katie Bergamesca ’18 Staff Writer The Amherst women’s soccer team suffered two in-conference loses over the past weekend in tightly contested matches against Williams on Sept. 23 and against Conn. College on Sept.

24.

In unseasonably warm temperatures for the first days of fall, the Mammoths battled through back-to-back matches on Saturday and Sunday after a week of rest from games.

First, Amherst traveled to Williamstown to take on the Ephs. Currently ranked fourth in the nation by the NCAA, Williams was a formidable foe for the Mammoths, and Amherst ultimately lost the match 3-2.

Williams took an early lead in the first half, scoring within the five minute mark. On an assist from Hayley Roy ’20, Rubii Tamen ’19 answered back for the Mammoths roughly 10 minutes later to bring the score to 1-1.

Feeling the pressure, Williams ramped up the intensity and found the nylon two more times before halftime, entering the break leading 3-1.

The second half of the contest did not see any change to the scoreline until Hannah Guzzi ’18 found the back of the net with less than ten minutes to go in the game. Unfortunately for the Mammoths, the final minutes ticked off the clock, and Amherst was unable to notch an equalizing goal.

The Mammoths gave a valiant offensive effort, outshooting the Ephs 16-11 and maintaining a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks. Despite this attack, the Williams defense held fast, and the purple and white fell 3-2.

The following day, Amherst returned to Hitchcock Field to host Conn. College on a sweltering late September day. Amherst was

first to get on the board, thanks to an early goal from Guzzi.

Less than a minute later, the Camels tallied a goal of their own to even the score. At around the 15-minute mark, Guzzi found the nylon once again, her seventh goal of the season, to help the Mammoths regain the lead. The score remained 2-1 as the match headed into halftime.

Most of the second half was uneventful, and it seemed as though Amherst would be able to come away with a victory after the preceding day’s loss.

However, the Camels had a different idea. In the 78th minute of the game, a Conn. College player launched a ball from 35 yards out that managed to get past Amherst goalkeeper Chelsea Cutler ’19.

As the clock wound down, it appeared that the match was headed towards overtime. However, with less than two minutes to go in the match, the Camels notched the game winner with a scrappy goal. After a save by Amherst goalkeeper Chelsea Cutler ’19, a Conn. College attacker jumped on the rebound to grab the lead.

As the Mammoths desperately searched for a third goal to send the game into overtime, Guzzi sent a shot towards the Camels’ goal that went in the net, but it was ruled that the ball crossed the goal line after the final whistle had sounded.

Heartbreakingly, the goal was taken off the board, and the Mammoths fell to the Camels 3-2.

After going 0-2 this past weekend, Amherst moves to 3-4 overall on the season and 1-3 within the NESCAC. The Amherst women will look to snap their losing streak with a home game against Tufts on Saturday, Sept. 30 at noon.

Then, they place an away match against New England College the following day at 2 p.m.

Women’s Golf Places Third at Local Tournament Behind NYU and Williams Connor Haugh ’21 Staff Editor After winning last week’s Ann S. Batchelder Invitational, the women’s golf team finished third out of 18 teams in the Mount Holyoke Invitational tournament at the Orchards in South Hadley.

The team completed the two-day event with a total score of 628, just narrowly behind second-place finisher New York University and first-place finisher Williams College.

Playing as an individual, Lily Worden ’21 led the Mammoths after the first day with a score of 76, just 6-over par.

“The course was straightforward, [with] thick rough and lots of trees,” Worden said.

She further noted how uncommon it was for someone who isn’t expected to contribute to the team’s overall score to shoot the team’s low round.

Strong performances from senior captain Zoe Wong and first-year Isabelle Ouyang — each shot a 78 — put Amherst in third place after the first round.

Jessica Jeong ’20 followed just behind them, ending the day just 8-over par. Morgan Yurosek ’20 and Emily Young ’20 rounded out the team’s scoresheet, scoring 82 and 84, respectively.

Worden said Coach Elizabeth Davis’ message to the team after the first day emphasized rest and hydration to keep the team primed for a hot and humid second day.

In a strong performance, the Mammoths scored eight strokes lower than the first day, finishing with a score of 310 and securing a thirdplace finish.

“I was proud of how the team performed both days, and especially how we improved our team score the second day,” Ouyang said.

This is the first time this season that Amherst improved their score on the second day, which helped fend off the challenge of fourth-

place Middlebury.

The Panthers had finished ahead of the Mammoths in the first tournament of the year.

The quintet of scoring golfers was led by Yurosek, who scored a team low 76 and finished 15th.

Young, Jeong and Wong each carded a 78, while Ouyang scored an 88. Jeong’s combined score of 158 was enough to tie her with Yurosek for 15th place.

Wong finished in ninth place. while Young carded with a two-day score of 162 and Ouyang claimed 34th with a score of 166.

The Mammoths will travel to Middlebury College next week to compete in the Middlebury invitational at the Ralph Myhre Golf Course.

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Cutler Coleman ‘20 Favorite Team memory: Winning NESCAC last season Favorite Pro Athlete: Luka Modric Dream Job: Fishing guide in the Keys Pet Peeve: Loud chewing Favorite Vacation Spot: Siesta Key, FL Something on Your Bucket List: Go climbing in Fontainebleau Guilty Pleasure: Kit Kat Favorite Food: Any type of pasta dish Favorite thing about Amherst: I am able to play the sport I love while challenging myself academically How He Earned It: Coleman has been a revelation for the men’s soccer team this season at right back. With the departure of last year’s entire back line, Coleman has stepped up to the task, defending well and providing offensive prowess on the right flank. This past weekend, Coleman took part in both the Mammoths’ 1-1 draw with Williams and the 5-0 shutout of Pine Manor. With the results, Amherst has now only conceded two goals in four games, with Coleman an essential piece.

Further, he notched the tying goal against the Ephs with a thumping header off a free kick.

Cameron Hendricks ’20 Favorite Team memory: After tryouts when Coach Everden asked me, “Would you like to be on the team?”

Favorite Pro Athlete: Diana Taurasi Dream Job: Working for a large corporation’s charitable foundation Pet Peeve: When people walk slowly in front of me Favorite Vacation Spot: The Bahamas Something on Your Bucket List: Travel to Australia Guilty Pleasure: Ice cream Favorite Food: Hamburgers Favorite thing about Amherst: The people I’ve met How She Earned It: Hendricks continued her dominant start to her Amherst volleyball career with standout performances in the Firedogs’ trio of wins this weekend. A member of the women’s basketball team who walked onto the volleyball squad, Hendricks has seamlessly slid into the team as a dominant outside hitter. Hendricks either led outright or tied for the team lead in kills in each of the team’s matches this weekend, and leads the team on the season with 132.

Women’s Cross Country Impresses with 11th-Place Finish in Strong Field Jamie Mazzola ’21 Staff Writer At the Purple Valley Classic this past Saturday, Sept. 23, the Amherst women’s cross country team placed eleventh in a strong 26-team field including ten nationally ranked teams. While No. 3 MIT cruised to victory in the team competition and defending national champion SUNY Geneseo finished third, Amherst finished ahead of No. 7 Ithaca College and No. 35 University of Rochester. With the next invitational a mere six days after Purple Valley, Amherst rested a few of its top runners in anticipation of the next event.

“With three to four of our top 7 not racing, our overall team place is not at all indicative of how good we can be this season,” head coach Cassie Funke-Harris said.

The course, a full six kilometers near Mount Greylock High School, is known to be fairly challenging, with numerous hills posing a challenge for runners. Hot temperatures and high humidity made the conditions even more difficult, but the women’s team stepped up to the challenge, highlighting the strength in depth of this year’s squad.With last week’s Smith Invitational contested over the 5k distance, this race proved the first test for Amherst’s first years over

the 6k distance. “[I] was really happy with the patience [the first-years] showed in the early stages of the race and the way that they moved in the second half,” Funke-Harris said.

In the field of 286 runners, Kristin Ratliff ’20 placed 27th overall in a time of 23:29.0 over the 6k distance, slashing more than two minutes from her time last year and leading the Mammoths for the second consecutive event.

Funke-Harris said, “[Ratliff] has assumed a strong position at the front of our team, and with as many athletes as we lost to graduation, we really needed someone to step up into that role.”

Following Ratliff were first-year Olivia Polischeck ’21, who placed 53rd with a time of 24:15.5, and team captain Lela Walter ’19, who placed 72nd in a time of 24:32.2. Like Ratliff, Walter also registered significant improvement over her time from last year, lopping off 29 seconds in spite of the hotter weather. First-year Haley Greene ’21 (97th, 24:55.7) and junior Lizzie Lacy ’19 (138th, 25:36.5) rounded out the top five scoring runners for the purple and white.

Amherst returns to action this Friday, Sept.

29 at the Paul Short Invitational hosted by Lehigh University, competing against teams across all three NCAA divisions.

Photo courtesy of Amherst Athletics

Senior captain Zoe Wong finished ninth overall with Amherst’s best mark after shooting a pair of 78s to finish at 12-over par on the weekend.

Photo courtesy of Clarus Studios

Although the Mammoths were missing several of their top runners, the team managed to put together a strong showing.

The Amherst Student • September 27, 2017

Sports

Men’s Golf Uses Strong Sunday Showing to Claim Eighth at Williams Fall Invite

11

The Hot Corner Jack Malague ’19 Columnist In a follow-up to his last piece on the Red Sox/Yankees Apple Watch scandal, Jack looks at the punishment Major League Baseball dished out to the Red Sox. Why was commisioner Rob Manfred so lenient in his punishment?

Photo courtesy of Amherst Athletics

Senior captain Dan Langa placed 75th overall after shooting 79-90-169.

Mary Grace Cronin ’18 Staff Writer Amherst men’s golf capitalized on another impressive second day of competition in the Williams Fall Invitational this weekend, finishing the tournament eighth out of the 19 teams competing. At the end of day one, Amherst was positioned to take ninth place, but after cutting nearly seven strokes off on Sunday, they ended the tournament in eighth.

With plenty of NESCAC teams in attendance, the results could prove to be a preview of this week’s upcoming NESCAC qualifier.

Trinity clinched first place this weekend, followed by Williams in second. The Bantams and the Ephs were the only teams in the field to post scores below 600.

The only other NESCAC team to beat Amherst in the pool of play was Middlebury College, who came in fifth place only nine strokes ahead of the Mammoths.

Nicholas Kumamoto ’20 led the purple and white for the second week in a row after churning out an impressive performance at the Duke Nelson Invitational.

Kumamoto noted, “I feel like Coach has really prepared us for some of these tough courses, and I think I’ve definitely had enough practice where I feel comfortable enough to play consistently well.”

Kumamoto managed to tie for 17th overall with a two day total of 152 points, while fellow sophomore Cameron Clark ’20 was close behind.

Clark tied for 20th with scores of 77 and 76 for a weekend total of 153. Yet another sophomore, Jeffery Herr, shot 155 to finish in 29th place.

“It’s nice to have the younger guys on the team stepping up, but we still need to figure out how we can put two days of play in a row,” senior captain Dan Langa said. “If we can do that, we have as good a chance as anybody to win the qualifier and host NESCACs in the spring.”

The Mammoths’ upcoming qualifier this weekend will be hosted by Trinity, a course that Amherst has already seen this fall. With experience on the course and a burgeoning underclassmen force, confidence and consistency seem to be the only things standing in the way of a successful season for this Amherst squad.

The Amherst men’s golf team will next compete at the NESCAC Qualifier on Saturday, Sept.

30.

Men’s Soccer Moves to 2-1-1 with Draw Against Williams, Rout of Pine Manor Delancey King ’18 Staff Writer Amherst College men’s soccer impressed in an action-packed weekend. Coming off a tough loss to Middlebury last weekend, the Mammoths tied archrival Williams in a difficult away match and defeated Pine Manor College the next day.

The Mammoths started off the weekend with a 1-1 tie against Williams on Saturday. The Ephs put Amherst under pressure from the first whistle, and their early push led to a goal in the 16th minute. Williams’ Malcolm Singleton got on the end of a deep throw-in from Andrew Mathew and fired a shot into the back of the Mammoth net from just outside the six.

Amherst was unable to answer Williams before the conclusion of the first half. The Mammoths were awarded a corner within the first five minutes of the second half, however, and first-year defender Gabe Gitler stepped up to take the kick. Getting his head on the end of the well-placed ball from Gitler, Cutler Coleman ’20 notched his first goal of the season to tie the score.

The momentum of the game quickly shifted in favor of Amherst, as the Mammoths continued to create quality chances until the final whistle. Senior forwards Weller Hlinomaz and Aziz Khan both rocketed shots off the post in the 55th and 74th minutes of play, but the end of regulation saw the two teams locked at 1-1. After two periods of overtime, the match ended in a draw.

First-year goalkeeper Kofi Hope-Gund also debuted, making several key saves after coming on at the half and playing the remainder of the game.

On Sunday, the Mammoths sustained that momentum from the second half in Williamstown. Outshooting Pine Manor College 21-4, Amherst walked away from the nonconference tilt with a 5-0 victory.

Felix Wu ’21 started things off for the Mammoths with a goal in the 30th minute. Jack O’Brien ’21 and Michael Saks ’21 executed a give and go off of a short corner and found the head of Wu in the Gators’ 18.

The goal would open the floodgates for the Mammoths. Less than two minutes later, O’Brien drew a foul in the box and earned a penalty kick for Amherst. Jimmy McMillian ’20 stepped up to take the shot and calmly slotted the ball past Pine Manor’s keeper and into the back of the net.

Five minutes into the second half, Kyle Kelly ’21 scored his first collegiate goal and extended Amherst’s lead to three. Andres Pascual-Leone ’19 powered a shot on frame, and Kelly managed to find the rebound and head the ball into the upper left-hand corner of the goal. O’Brien made it 4-0 in the 67th minute when he received a ball from Matteo Mangiardi ’21 at the top of the box and was able to find the back of the net.

Dane Lind ’20 rounded things off for the Mammoths with eleven minutes remaining in the match. Getting on the end of a well-placed cross from Christopher Lewis ’19, Lind headed the ball past Pena and helped clinch the win for Amherst. Hope-Gund played in net for the Mammoths, making two saves in the Mammoths’ shutout victory.

Amherst is now 2-1-1 on the season, and they will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 30, when they host NESCAC rival Tufts University.

Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m.

Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred announced Friday that the league office had decided to fine the Boston Red Sox an undisclosed amount for using an Apple Watch to steal signs from opposing teams. Major League Baseball will donate that amount to relief efforts for Hurricane Irma.

The Red Sox are not exactly a head on a stake. Although few expected the MLB to take wins away, the loss of a draft pick did not seem to be an unrealistic expectation. Instead, MLB gave Boston a slap on the wrist and warned the other 29 teams not to repeat their errors. Most seem unsure what to make of Boston’s punishment. Perhaps baseball’s front office is convinced that the Red Sox are only one of many teams that employ technology to decode opponents’ signals and felt that to drop the hammer on Boston would violate basic principles of fairness.

There are, however, other explanations for such a mild punishment. Recall that the Red Sox, shortly after they confessed to the Apple Watch antics, accused the Yankees of using YES Network cameras to spy on Gary DiSarcina, the Sox’s bench coach. Manfred’s office investigated this claim, yet found “insufficient evidence” to support it. One might think that this would end New York’s side of the affair, but it did not. Apparently, while investigating the Sox’s claim, the league discovered that the Yankees had at one point made illegal use of the bullpen phone and fined the team a lesser amount.

Manfred’s statement read, “In the course of our investigation … we learned that during an earlier championship season (prior to 2017) the Yankees had violated a rule governing the use of the dugout phone. No Club complained about the conduct in question at the time and, without prompting from another Club or my Office, the Yankees halted the conduct in question. Moreover, the substance of the communications that took place on the dugout phone was not a violation of any Rule or Regulation in and of itself. Rather, the violation occurred because the dugout phone technically cannot be used for such a communication.”

I have no idea what that means. First, Manfred uses the term “championship season,” which might suggest that this occurred during a year in which the Yankees won the World Series. That narrows the inquiry to 1923, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1943, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1977, 1978, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009. But even then, Manfred stresses that the Yankees were not using the phone for any illicit purpose, but merely for a communication for which the dugout phone cannot be used.

This leads one to wonder what in the world this purpose might be. Was Nick Swisher asking the bullpen coach if his refrigerator was running?

Was C.C. Sabathia using up the league’s long distance account, helping his son with his math homework like Jimmy Morris in The Rookie?

From Manfred’s release, this all seems patently ridiculous. Even if the sign-stealing operation should not be considered a big deal, it still must be a more serious offense than technical misuse of the bullpen phone. The Red Sox at least were attempting to gain an advantage from their loose relationship with the rulebook. Few seem to have any idea what the Yankees were doing, but surely it was not any kind of cheating. Yet Manfred’s release nonetheless creates the appearance that these are equivalent actions. Most headlines reported simply that both the Yankees and Red Sox had been fined, which a less-inquiring reader would take to mean that both the Yankees and Red Sox had been stealing signs. One outlet even erro-

neously reported that the league confirmed the Red Sox’s allegations regarding YES Network cameras.

This certainly is odd, and not just because it feels weird to demand charitable donations as a punishment. Some reports have suggested that Manfred is quietly unhappy that this issue made the press and wishes the Yankees had handled their grievance more privately.

Perhaps this resurfacing of bullpen phone misuse is retribution for breaking understood etiquette. Red Sox general manager Dave Dombrowski, though certainly not an unbiased observer, did say that issues such as this one are typically handled between general managers without league office involvement.

This explains why the Red Sox would be annoyed with the Yankees and why they filed their counter-complaint. But why Major League Baseball would be upset remains unanswered. Unless Rob Manfred is a secret Red Sox fan, why would he care that the Sox have some egg on their face?

Just a week before Manfred released his judgment on the Red Sox, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell appeared at the Patriots’ home opener in Foxboro. Goodell drew a furor from New England fans in 2015 after he handed Tom Brady a four-game suspension for his involvement in deflating footballs during the previous season’s AFC Championship. Goodell was so terrified of the Gillette Stadium crowd that he left the field well before the stadium was expected to be full. The Patriots agreed not to show him on the jumbotron, and he did not sit in team owner Robert Kraft’s luxury box. Boston fans are not ones to be forgiving and can be relentless in their hatred (see: David Price).

Goodell had already become persona non grata to many sports fans for reasons far graver than a four-game suspension, but following “Deflategate,” he took over Bucky Dent’s position as New England’s Public Enemy No. One. With the Apple Watch fiasco, the Yankees handed Manfred an opportunity to end up like Goodell. Like his NFL counterpart, Manfred had to find a suitable punishment for a crime that is hardly ever exposed. He may have wished to create a disincentive for other teams to air the league’s dirty laundry, or he may simply have wanted to avoid becoming the story.

One might also consider the effect this will have on Manfred’s proposed rule changes for the coming winter. One such idea is limiting a catcher’s mound visits to one per inning. Another is raising the bottom of the strike zone.

These reflect baseball’s two major (and somewhat contradictory) aims: to make the games faster, and to increase offensive output. A lighthanded response to sign stealing adds an interesting and complicated element to Manfred’s objectives. Catchers often visit the pitcher to change up the sign sequence when they think the other team has picked their code. If the catcher can no longer do that, a team with an Apple Watch and a runner on second can steal away until the inning is over. This might be a golden opportunity for Manfred to get everything he wants. If he can cut down on mound visits, insert a pitch clock and make offense more potent while he’s at it, baseball would become the fast-paced, must-watch slugfest of Manfred’s dreams. A proliferation of technologically-aided sign stealing could make the Players’ Association less likely to accept these rule changes, but if they get through it certainly is in Manfred’s interest to let the shenanigans continue. This is not to accuse Manfred of some elaborate conspiracy, but his decision showed that both rule-breaking and tattling will have consequences. We will have to wait to see which consequence teams fear more.

Sports

Photo courtesy of Mark Box Photos courtesy of Clarus Studios

Sophomore Cameron Hendricks has been a force for the Mammoths in her first season with the team, leading the team in kills (132) and kills per set (3.07).

Volleyball Posts Three Dominant Victories to Push Win Streak to Six Will Zaubler ’19 Staff Writer The Amherst women’s volleyball team extended their winning streak to six games with a 3-0 week. During the streak, the Firedogs have lost only two sets and have swept their three most recent opponents, Trinity, Husson University and Colby-Sawyer College. Amherst’s record now stands at 9-3 overall (1-1 NESCAC).

Against Trinity, the Firedogs’ dominance helped them seal their first conference win this season.

Behind sophomore spiking duo Emily Kolsky ’20 and Cameron Hendricks ’20, who each had 11 kills, and defensive specialist Hayes Honea ’19, who contributed on both sides of the ball with 15 digs and two service aces, Amherst shut down Trinity in straight

sets (25-15, 25-21, 25-15). The Firedogs’ close loss to Middlebury fueled their dominance against Trinity and throughout their winning streak.

Although the Bantams managed to keep pace with Amherst for the first few points, Amherst quickly pulled away, keyed by a 8-0 run on sophomore Charlotte Duran’s service game.

“Coming off a tough, close loss to [Middlebury], we wanted to prove to ourselves that we could dominate the next few games,” Honea said. “It was important to take care of business quickly … and we are optimistic about the remainder of the season.”

The Mammoths’ next two games of the week, against Husson and Colby-Sawyer, occurred during tri-match action on Saturday at Colby-Sawyer’s Coffin Field House.

In both games, Amherst put on dominat-

FRI GAME SCHE DULE

Men’s Tennis @ ITA Regionals, TBA Women’s Tennis @ ITA Regionals, TBA Women’s Cross Country @ Paul Short Classic, TBA

ing displays, outscoring their opponents 15060.

In the first match of the day, Amherst’s balanced play, which included excellent defense and strong offense, led to a straight set (25-4, 25-6, 25-16) victory over Husson.

Husson could not find a way to cope with the Firedogs’ overwhelming attack, led by Hendricks with 13 kills, Kolsky with 10 kills, Claire Dennis ’20 with seven kills and Honea with three service aces.

Adelaide Shunk ’20 and Duran also put in great shifts, logging 17 and 12 assists, respectively.

Amherst continued their dominance into their second game of the day, this time sweeping Colby-Sawyer (25-11, 25-21, 25-10).

Like Husson, Colby-Sawyer could not find a way to contain Amherst’s balanced and powerful attack, and they surrendered kills to

six different Firedogs, including 13 from Hendricks to lead the team.

Kolsky continued her dominance from the previous game, hitting five service aces. On the defensive side, Marialexa Natsis ’18 and Asha Walker ’18 stymied Husson’s attack with 11 digs each.

“This last week we spent a lot of energy and time focusing on translating our competiveness from practice into games and not letting other teams dictate our pace or effort,” Shunk said. “It’s all starting to come together, and I’m really excited to see where we can go from here.”

Amherst now turns its attention to conference foes Conn. College (7-4) and Wesleyan (9-1).

The Firedogs hope to continue their dominating form and extend their win streak past six games.

SAT Men’s Cross Country @ Paul Short Classic, TBA Volleyball @ Conn. College, 7 p.m.

Men’s Tennis @ ITA Regionals, TBA

Men’s Golf @ NESCAC Qualifier, TBA

Field Hockey vs. Tufts, noon

Women’s Tennis @ ITA Regionals, TBA

Volleyball @ Wesleyan, 10 a.m.

Women’s Soccer vs. Tufts, noon

Women’s Golf @ George Phinney Golf Classic, noon

Volleyball vs. Stevens College @ Wesleyan, noon

Football vs. Bowdoin, 1 p.m.

Men’s Soccer vs. Tufts, 2:30 p.m.